Brandy's back!

[Muriel]

Jason "poetry" book was already published by Publish America a print-on-demand book publisher a few years ago...

Brandy and Jason didn't realised that it was not a real publisher and were sure Jason was a published author on his way to win a Pulitzer price... It was pathetic, they finally got warnings about the publisher from blog readers and cancelled their deal with it.

What is amazing with both of them is that they never seem to learn life lessons from their mistakes, they go on and on with no change :(

[Mustang Sally]

I doubt his Kickstarter will make the goal, since I think many similar Kickstarter projects don't meet their goals. No need to incite their persecution complex by starting a campaign against it.

I think it's great to have dreams and goals like this, even if they seem wacky. However, in their current situation this kind of thing, if it becomes a big time-sink into which a lot of their resources of energy and time and attention go, could be totally counterproductive for them. They are still, effectively, homeless, even though they are no longer roughing it. The first priority in such a situation should be finding stable income and getting back on one's feet. A Kickstarter for a poetry book, while a nice hobby, isn't a realistic way to do this.

[Sola]

Jason "poetry" book was already published by Publish America a print-on-demand book publisher a few years ago...

Brandy and Jason didn't realised that it was not a real publisher and were sure Jason was a published author on his way to win a Pulitzer price... It was pathetic, they finally got warnings about the publisher from blog readers and cancelled their deal with it.

What is amazing with both of them is that they never seem to learn life lessons from their mistakes, they go on and on with no change :(

Interesting. What is publish america?

[MonkeyMomma]

Interesting. What is publish america?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PublishAmerica

Vanity publisher with shady practices - note 18 on the Wikipedia page links to documents from a class action suit.

[Sola]

Nice. I've just been reading some of Jasons poetry. Well that was five minutes of my life I'll never get back again. Jason, get a damn job.

[bea]

That literally sounds like the worst job ever.

The funny thing was that it wasn't that bad. It was tedious, the work environment (almost all male prison guards and managers, and I was a young female) was hideously sexist and harassment was rampant, but that job actually lead me to discover that I had a talent for data.

I worked "outside the wall" with a VERY primitive database system to keep track of visitors. As I was there longer, I took over background checks for visitors (who could have no felony convictions, had to be the ACTUAL child or wife of the prisoner, etc.) on another very primitive database. Eventually, I transferred over to the admin office and worked on the importation of all the written data into a DOS database

I went to college for English Lit and did really well with the full realization that I was going to need to do something after school Based on my experience with databases and my discovery that being really really picky about data normalization was one of my character traits, I got a masters in Library and Information Science, wrote my thesis on relational database management, and wound up working as a consultant with a Big 10 consulting firm for a number of years as a "competitive intelligence specialist." Basically, I snooped online for a living and got paid very well to do so. Worked from home, too. Sigh. I miss the dot-com days. I will never make that much money for doing that little work ever again.

And then I became a project manager and quality assurance tester for software, both due to database experience and knowledge.

So as it turned out, the worst job in the world led me to figure out that I'm good at databases, which turned into my career.

SEE, BRANDY? Awful jobs can have really good results!

(sorry to derail, back to your regularly scheduled WTF over someone deciding to "make it big" with indie publishing bad free verse)

[Witsec7]

Looks like Brandy want's an iPod for Xmas. What happened to her rejecting blatant consumerism? Oh that's right, I forgot that was before they were collecting unemployment.

Brandy Cormier â€@BrandyCormier

@tiffane_cormier oh and psst, iPod reminder ;-)

[jesssnerch]

Looks like Brandy want's an iPod for Xmas. What happened to her rejecting blatant consumerism? Oh that's right, I forgot that was before they were collecting unemployment.

Psst, Brandy, get a job.

[emmiedahl]

They are not hippies. They lack the hustle. I don't mean hustle like 'rip off', I mean hustling like do-what-you-gotta-do-to-live-outside-the-mainstream. I have a good friend who is a hippie and radical unschooler. She and her husband lost their business and their home, filed for bankruptcy and divorce. All in the same year. And she has more children than Brandy and Jason. At the time, one was a newborn.

What's a hippie mom to do? She did not want to put her kids in school/daycare, so she let it be known that she would do anything except sexual favors for money. I mean, flyers, craigslist ads, telling clerks at stores. She sold almost everything she owned (except for the kids' things and necessities) and slept on the floor for lack of a bed, gardened and sold organic heirloom produce in front of her home, cleaned houses, weeded gardens, took low-paying copywriting jobs, designed websites, etc. She taught a class on couponing for a local community center and was a speaker at a convention. She put every iron in the fire that she had, and her kids never went without anything even though she had to bum rides and work her tail off. She actually lost a ton of weight, went from being chubby to being very lean, and I suspect she was either working herself to death or eating less to afford better food for the children.

She ended up being pretty well known in the community and now has a job in the field that their business was in, making enough money to live in a nice home in a semi-rural area that is flexible enough that she can work from home half the time and go into the office when her husband has their kids. Everyone knows she is a woman who gets shit done.

Take note, Brandy. My parents were the same way. Living outside the mainstream takes *more* work, not *less*.

[lilith]

They are not hippies. They lack the hustle. I don't mean hustle like 'rip off', I mean hustling like do-what-you-gotta-do-to-live-outside-the-mainstream. I have a good friend who is a hippie and radical unschooler. She and her husband lost their business and their home, filed for bankruptcy and divorce. All in the same year. And she has more children than Brandy and Jason. At the time, one was a newborn.

What's a hippie mom to do? She did not want to put her kids in school/daycare, so she let it be known that she would do anything except sexual favors for money. I mean, flyers, craigslist ads, telling clerks at stores. She sold almost everything she owned (except for the kids' things and necessities) and slept on the floor for lack of a bed, gardened and sold organic heirloom produce in front of her home, cleaned houses, weeded gardens, took low-paying copywriting jobs, designed websites, etc. She taught a class on couponing for a local community center and was a speaker at a convention. She put every iron in the fire that she had, and her kids never went without anything even though she had to bum rides and work her tail off. She actually lost a ton of weight, went from being chubby to being very lean, and I suspect she was either working herself to death or eating less to afford better food for the children.

She ended up being pretty well known in the community and now has a job in the field that their business was in, making enough money to live in a nice home in a semi-rural area that is flexible enough that she can work from home half the time and go into the office when her husband has their kids. Everyone knows she is a woman who gets shit done.

Take note, Brandy. My parents were the same way. Living outside the mainstream takes *more* work, not *less*.

Yep.

In my childhood my mother sewed gorgeous patchwork quilts to sell and my father freelanced as an organic gardener so that they could focus on being there for my childhood. Then, the year I started high school, they left their property and moved closer to town so I could have a social life and Dad could take a job at an alternative bookstore. At that point my mother started tarot reading professionally, and eventually Dad ended up with his own headshop and Mum owned and ran an alternative healing centre. That's pretty typical of their social group, who are the original alternative life stylers in northern NSW. They find ways to live the lifestyle they choose while still functioning in society and providing for their children. The poets I know are participating in poetry slams and performance nights at local venues, not starting kick starters in the hope that someone will realise that their genius exactly fits the gap in the market for Vorgon poetry.

Brandy never manages to be authentic at anything, she just thinks if she takes on the uniform and the lingo she will magically change to whatever her current chosen identity is. Life just doesn't work like that.

[Lynn18]

She wants to go to Burning Man? Bwahahahahahaha....ha.....hahahaha...ha.

I'm a Burner. She wouldn't last 6 hours. There's a reason it's called "radical self reliance".

[fundiefun]

She wants to go to Burning Man? Bwahahahahahaha....ha.....hahahaha...ha.

I'm a Burner. She wouldn't last 6 hours. There's a reason it's called "radical self reliance".

Future burner here hoping to go in 2014 I know getting tickets for 2012 was nuts due to the pooling system or however they set it up. I've been to many music fests over night, but nothing like a burn, but I'm willing to stick it out and try it out as a first timer. I've gotten tons of tips from other burners on how to survive on the playa and you're right its 100 percent self reliance on the playa if you wan't to make it the week. They key to going to a burn is PLANNING and being able the thing necessary not just something you jump into.

[miffy]

:lol: My mum is a published poet (not self published!), but as you can't actually make money out of she is a teacher.

[Lynn18]

Future burner here hoping to go in 2014 I know getting tickets for 2012 was nuts due to the pooling system or however they set it up. I've been to many music fests over night, but nothing like a burn, but I'm willing to stick it out and try it out as a first timer. I've gotten tons of tips from other burners on how to survive on the playa and you're right its 100 percent self reliance on the playa if you wan't to make it the week. They key to going to a burn is PLANNING and being able the thing necessary not just something you jump into.

Yeah, we didn't go last year. Lot's of old timers didn't due to the cluster of a ticket fiasco. Sadly (and I know I sound like an old lady) its turning into something less fun that it used to be. What lots of newbies don't get? If all the people who DO stuff don't come out? There won't be anything FOR them to see/do.

My biggest advice? One gal. of water per person for every day you are there. Dust mask. Goggles. Sunscreen. Don't bring food that rots easily in the heat (melons spring to mind). You must pack all your trash out...ALL OF IT. Black Rock City only sells ice (proceeds go to the Gerlach community nearby) and there is some kind of beverage kiosk at Center Camp. There is NO BARTERING. Bring what you need. Don't rely on your neighbors if you forgot your sunscreen. Radical Self Reliance. Oh, and fun!

[Witsec7]

Brandy Cormier â€@BrandyCormier

Had such a fun time with @tiffane_cormier doing some Christmas shopping! Thankful for giftcards that allowed me to get our girls gifts!!

This is an interesting twatter.

[Always_Save]

In looking at her tumblr thingie, it seems to me that she is trying really hard to impress her sister in law, or whoever she is.

Which is sad, since she is what, 30 now? her whole way of thinking is geared towards only herself and that nitwit husband of hers.

[jesssnerch]

Is Hippie Brandy blog no more??

[Witsec7]

I called it I said it would be gone by 12/20. I gets cake :lol:

[MonkeyMomma]

In looking at her tumblr thingie, it seems to me that she is trying really hard to impress her sister in law, or whoever she is.

Which is sad, since she is what, 30 now? her whole way of thinking is geared towards only herself and that nitwit husband of hers.

Wait, she's got a tumblr now? Address?

[jesssnerch]

Wait, she's got a tumblr now? Address?

Of course she would have a tumblr. That's what all the cool kids are doing now.

[Gil]

Wait, she's got a tumblr now? Address?

http://brandycormier.tumblr.com/

It's pretty mundane. The highlights include a picture of dreads (not on her own head, of course), this, a comment of "AMAZING dreads. Can’t wait to be able to put beads and stuff in mine!", "hahahahaha … wonder if our now-outdoor cat, Isis, will ever get that comfortable with snow."

the rest is just your average hipster blog. nature photography with occasional words on it. meh.

It'll be interesting to see how she feels about a world where she can't delete commentary on her content.

[Witsec7]

wonder if our now-outdoor cat, Isis, will ever get that comfortable with snow

Do you mean before it dies of exposure?

[Vex]

Outdoor cat? That's so unfair and irresponsible to the neighbours and wildlife... Housecats aren't built to live outdoors in the snow. Fuck her, SHE can go live out in the snow if it's so great.

[MyNameIsJonas]

That is probably the most stock hipster blog I've ever seen. Geez, I see enough of this on Tumblr from dreamy teenage girls, but this is a grown ass woman who should have more to do than reblog pictures of lions. I mean, reblog some natural healing recipes, political news, articles on frugal living, comics, anything! There's much more to Tumblr than just dancing through the "nature" and "hipster" tags.

[Dysfundamental]

Outdoor cat? That's so unfair and irresponsible to the neighbours and wildlife... Housecats aren't built to live outdoors in the snow. Fuck her, SHE can go live out in the snow if it's so great.

"Outdoor cat" in New England generally means a cat that goes outdoors sometimes, not a cat that exclusively lives outdoors.