More 3am art (with out the 3am)

Ya, I know I should be working on ADGW or even Turtles...yet here I am posting more of this crazy art work of mine...hahahhaahhaaha!

I call this one ...broken...

-adc-

Hello from digitalcole!

Time for what has become a monthly update. We're still working on ADGW. We've hammered out the characters and have found people to fill their rolls. I'm still shooting for a December release date probably around Christmas.

hang in there...

-adc-

Where are they now?

"a logo by Lukus Traverso"

Well just over a month from our last post and here I thought I'd keep on top of things, like filling your heads with all sorts of minute details about how are endeavors will be bearing fruit any moment now...no...wait...wait a little more...um...

I'm putting together a menu for ADGW and we've shot some video as well. As for the story we're putting together a "pilot" that will introduce the characters and add some background. I know I'm jinxing this by writing it but, we're looking at a December release, that's still 07 right?...thanks for hanging in there.

-adc-

two months and nothing!...what is up!

"gun prop for ADGW"


I can't believe our last post was in June...Man where has the time gone. Let me see...we're still working on getting ADGW together, we've taken many photos and now we're working out the first part of the story...it's looking like we'll be adding a lot more video to this project, we have so many cool ideas and we want to explore them all.

Robotech is going on the back burner for now, It just seems like the community is a little too angry for our taste but, we're not giving up. So Robotech fans have faith.

TMNT project...well, all we need to do is draw it...all I need to do that is get one hand free...a real challenge with a 7 month old running around...but, I'll see what I can do.

Yet another futile art sale is on the horizon. Yes I know I should have learned my lesson four or five times ago but, if we don't generate some extra cash the future is going to...how should I say it...look very bleak.

Sorry for not posting, I'll work on that...no really ;)

-adc-

A Day Gone Wrong

...set in a "Post Apocalyptic" Earth we see how the few that are left live and die, a place where more often then not it's "kill or be killed". A dark prediction for the human race that has yet to come to terms with its own tumultuous destiny.

Watch the trailer.

-adc-

Our first "fan" LAG-Novel is up and ready!

Hello all
I'm here to announce that the first portion of our Robotech Live Action Graphic (fan) Novel is up and ready for viewing. I'm hopping for it to be our first step towards taking an interesting and entertaining look into the Robotech universe...actually I just want a wikipedia entry form me and my cohorts...

thanks and enjoy
-adc-

PS feel free to comment on the Robotech LAG-Novel blog. Thanks.

A Day Gone Wrong "test menu"

Hi everyone!

Just thought I'd share with you one of the early "test" menu ideas for ADGW. This is not the finale menu just some shots cobbled together to get an idea.

Also Moonbug and I collaborated on a TMNT project for Fanime. It was a framed piece of the four turtles and Splinter...and it sold too!
















enjoy
-adc-

Now that I'm back at work...

Now that I'm back at work...

Things will probably be running even slower (i.e. how long has it been since my last post?). So...what are we doing? Still working on our Robotech fan project, I've started yet another fan project (TMNT) with a very good friend from my day job Andrea aka moonbug...no idea when that'll be up but I'll keep you posted. A Day Gone Wrong is our next major project and we're putting together props right now. I want to do something special with Chased/Chaser but, I need to wait till the camcorder comes back from the repair shop (don't ask...its a long story).

Till then enjoy this really cool pic from MT Tamalpais in the SF Bay Area...



-adc-

I don't want to go back...

...to work that is. I'm about half way through my family leave for "the kid" and I've already decided that I don't want to go back to work. It's not that I don't love my job...actually sometimes I hate my job but, I do love the people I work with. It's just...if you had a choice between working and staying home and raising your child, wouldn't you be a fool not to choose to stay at home. This is all a moot point really...Nancy and I can't financially handle living on one income. Even if one of us were able to stay at home it'd probably be Nancy only because I make a higher income then her and I'm ok with that...I just think it should be mandatory for one parent to be available for the child at any given moment but, It should also be mandatory that it be financially possible for that to happen.

As for the art auction...I'm setting a record at being 0 for 4. May be I should start selling drugs...at least I know they're demand (for the ATF/FBI I'm just kidding). Actually I told Nancy that "the kid" either needed to be a drug dealer or a CEO because these are the only two job professions left in the USA that have the potential for growth...everything else is either being shipped overseas or pays about as well as the jobs we both have which has put us on the verge of destitution.

Who knows, maybe I'll win the lottery...

thanks for ready my rant.
-adc-

Chased Chaser part 13 is up and ready.

Believe it or not, I've update chased chaser...yes it's one day (and several months) late but, part 13's now up and ready. You'll notice a new menu and I'll probably be adding other things later on...but, for now, enjoy!

-adc-

Chased Chaser updated...this is no april fools joke.

Chased Chaser fans rejoice!

Yes you see it right. I've updated Chased Chaser. The first part of the update is already online, it's a new pic for digitalcole's main page and a menu to help make navigating easier. The second part of the update should (fingers crossed) be up tomorrow...yes a new page (part 13)!

enjoy
-adc-

Time off for dad.

Now that Nancy's back at work it's my turn with the kid. To be honest I was a little apprehensive to be leaving work for such a long time (six weeks), I am grateful though that good old California has a paid time off program that fathers can take advantage of.

I think if more fathers spent "quality time" with their kids...hell if even one parent spent "quality time" with their kids...or should I say if we lived (USA) in a society that considered raising children to be parents utmost priority and gave them the necessary tools (figure out a way so that parents can afford to keep one person home with the child) then you'd see much better performance in schools and a less violent society. We'd also probably (I'm only guessing at this point) be a more likable people.

But, lets not let that get in the way of getting one over on each other...

-adc-

More art up for sale!

Hi all
In my continued (hopeful) attempt at generating some extra income. I put some more art up for auction on ebay. I hope this auction goes better then the last three (didn't sell at all...not even the framed fairy that the starting bid was $1.oo!). Oh well, wish me luck...

PS. Did I mention that this print is signed by the artist?

If you love me you'll bid.
-adc-

G-LOK breaths again!

I've added the G-LOK manga to digitalcole.net, check out the audio for an idea on where we're going with it.

...and for those chased/chaser fans...no I haven't given up. I'm actually working on a menu to make it easier to navigate and some basic maintenance to make the pages cleaner so please don't loose faith...yet...

enjoy
-adc-

Our blog has been relocated.

After doing some research Nancy as learned that its better to have the digitalcole blog attached to our domain then to keep it with the blogspot url. You should be redirected automatically but you should update your book marks just to be on the safe side.

I'll also be adding some new content to digitalcole.net, it should go up tonight.

thanks
-adc-

The Greed Stops Here!

This characters an oldie but goodie for me. He's from an online manga called G-LOK that I started a few years ago. Can you guess what his contention is? I'm contemplating turning it into a LAG-Novel some time down the road...

enjoy
-adc-

Geek Fairy Sketch

After the inquiry by Sharon, I sketched out an idea for the Geek Fairy. So what do you think?

-adc-

George Bailey is my middle name.

I imagine that just about every single person on this planet has seen It's a Wonderful Life. How could you not. Nancy and I don't even watch TV anymore (we gave it up a long time ago) but, I can tell you right here and now it'll be on at least once before Christmas...and why shouldn't it be, it's a great film. You could call it a film of hope. The character George Bailey starts out with a head full of ideas and dreams and just when he's about to fulfill them he's forced to sacrifice them for the sake of his family and for the sake of the town. He's actually shown sacrificing throughout most of the film till life finally dumps the big one on him and he decides to sacrifice the one last thing he has to give, his life. Well along come the angels to help show him what would have happened if he wasn't around to sacrifice for everyone. In the end George wants his miserable life back and gets it only to find all the people he sacrificed for help him out. Like I said its a great story, I always get teary eyed at the end...why because I need to be able to hope that something like that will happen to me someday. That the good deeds you do for others will come back to you .

Like George Bailey I had dreams of my own. I wanted to be a musician, I was even going to college as a music major and all the time my family told me don't be a musician do something more grounded, something that's stable. I have a good stable job now and I can tell you I am fucking miserable. But, lets not get ahead of ourselves. I didn't just get from being a music major to this. It was a gradual slide. It really started with my family imploding. My parents were evicted out of their house just as I had started college and I was lucky enough to be able to live with my grandmother and Aunt. They told me I could stay as long as I kept going to college and when I graduated I'd need to move out. Fine I said but, as soon as they found out I wanted to be a musician then the lectures started. You know, considering I was the only one of three brothers actually trying to get a degree (I had a job as well) I didn't think they'd balk too much about what I wanted to do so as long as I did something. That was not to be the case. I'll tell you now for any parent out there reading this. Your child needs your support! Even if it's not what you would do. If you cut them down for following their passion, it's not only inhuman...its demonic!

I continued my pursuits even though it wasn't popular at home and then my grandmother got really sick. At first my aunt was taking care of her but, then my grandmother had a stroke and she stopped sleeping at night (she was afraid she would die if she went to sleep) so...my aunt stayed up with her. This went on for a little while until my aunt started going crazy (2hrs of sleep a night will do that to you, just ask any parents of a new born) I had quit my job by then and started staying up with her. I'll tell you its so painful to watch a person who was the glue that held the family together, this strong and wise woman go from that to basically an infant. I still remember her asking me every five minutes "I'm I ok?" That went on for a year and by that time I just stopped going to school. I just couldn't handle it emotionally. Well she passed away right about the time I started my new job and all I wanted to do was work and try and pay off the bills that I had racked up (I'm still paying them off). After a couple of years working I met Nancy (one of the few things that's gone right in my life). We wanted to build a life together and I was really interested in getting away from my family, so we moved away. That lasted a year...then I found out my aunt had cancer. Because of the deteriorated relationship of the family I was really worried what was going to happen to her so...Nancy and I moved back home (Nancy had a miscarriage shortly after) and we helped out as much as we could. Or should I say we tried, some people think totally and completely backwards and its really hard to make them see the light. But, we tried. Eventually my aunt lost her fight with cancer and I vowed that I was done watching people die, it's just too much. So we moved out again.

Now I'm saddled with dept no hope to pay it off, can't declare bankruptcy because our congress felt only corporations should have that privilege. We do have a new son (that and my step daughter are truly joys in my life) but, I'll never be able to pay for their schooling...hell we can't even afford day care and Nancy goes back to work in a couple of weeks. So how do we make that work? I'm selling my art on ebay but judging by the bids (0$ as of this date) someone's going to get a hell of a deal on that framed piece. When the car breaks down again (its done it once already) I wont have the money to fix it, unless we go with out eating. We've already sold a lot of our personal stuff just to pay rent...so there is no extra cash flow unless we can generate it ourselves...hence the art for sale. Hell Nancy's even going back to school (absolute insanity to do that while working a full time job and with a baby) just so we can defer her student loan payments.

So...the question I ask is where is my angel...my Clarence? Because if ever I needed one, I need one now. Or I would even settle for the town stopping by and dropping all their money on my kitchen table, that could happen too. In the end though I don't really want a hand out, although I think I'm desperate enough to take one at this point but, what I really want is chance at a better life and a better life for my family.

Just a chance thats all I want...
-adc-

PS You may be asking why I'm writing all of this, the honest answer is...I don't know. Maybe its the sleep deprivation (a new born that screamed at the top of his lungs for three hours straight before going to sleep), maybe it's because of the fact that its 3:30 in the morning or maybe it's the headache that I've had on and off for the past three days...I really don't know.

Only because Nancy liked it...

Hello
I don't know if this falls into the category of 3am art because from a weird stand point it's not. But Nancy liked it so I thought I'd put it up anyway. The only name I can think up is the unglamorous "Fairy Butt". May be you-all could do better.

-adc-

PS please check out my Fairy Auction on ebay...or better yet start bidding large sums of money on them...Thanks!

PSS as an amendment to the above PS, betting large sums of money is encouraged only if the bidder is willing (and or able) to pay that large some of money. Thanks!

let the auction begin!..

This is The Bat Fairy. It's the one framed piece.























This ones called Sun Burst Fariy. This one's not framed.

I'm also actioning off a print of the Dragon Fairy.

so with out further adieu, let the auctions begin!

Thanks
-adc-

preview of my auction...

Here's a preview of what I'm auctioning off...

This particular image is called Dragon Fairy, it's a print done on water color paper 90 lbs. and it measures 11"x 14.5". It's number 8 in a series of 100 and was completed in 03/2003. I made this one spacial for Nancy.

The other two going up for auction are:

Bat Fairy (this one is the original on mat board and it's framed)

Sunburst Fairy (this one is also the original in mat board and is NOT framed)

I'll post the pictures of these other two (with their information) when the auction starts.

Thanks and enjoy
-adc-

More "3am art"...

Here's some more "3am art". I call this one Rough 01. Also I'm going to be actioning off some of my old art pieces from my fairy collection. Some of them are framed, others are the art only. I'll post pics and links to the e-bay auctions as soon as they go up. So bring your wallets the next time your here and help provide my son with a future...just kidding...well kind of.

-adc-

3am art

I think I should call this 3am art because that's about when I come up with it.

later
-adc-

My crazy!

I don't know, I really don't...

I also forgot to put the link in for Chased/Chaser page 12. Here it is.

enjoy
-adc-

Chased/Chaser page 12 is up and ready....now with audio.

Hi-all
I hope you have your speakers turned on because Chased/Chaser now has audio added to it! I don't know if I'll have audio for all of them but...who knows? As for updating Chased/Chaser I may need to update every other week or so...on account of the brat taking up all of my time...(I know, he's not at brat...at least not yet...but, I have hope.) If you want to see pics of him check out my wifes blog.

enjoy and sorry for taking so long to get back to it.
-adc-

Chased/Chaser will be continued next week...

Just an fyi, I'll have the next Chased/Chaser up next week. I plan on doing something a bit different so stay tuned. I'll also have a new schedule for it.

thanks for hanging in there.
-adc-

TMNT anyone?

I know I should be working on Chased/Chaser but, I wanted to do something that was just a one shot process. So Here you go.

May be later we'll do a fan project...who knows?

enjoy
Aaron

More sleepless nights...more art...

I'm calling this one "Cyber Being".

-adc-

A happy vacuum.

My wife took this fantastic photo...I colorized it. He takes up a lot of our time and its hard work but, he's worth every minute of it.

-adc-

Things that happen when you don't sleep...

It's been a while, I my self have been practicing sleep deprivation...and I must say, it's much easer when you have a one month old...it's kind of like an alarm clock that goes off every hour on the hour, with something like that you don't need to worry about accidentally falling asleep on the job. I've also noticed one other thing about sleep deprivation, you're imagination starts thinking up some crazy "SHIT" and with out further a dew...

This one's pretty tame just some sort of priestess worshiping...I think...





















I'm calling this one "The Clown"





















No I don't smoke crack...OK!





















Hay...look...no hands.

















Well that's all folks...I'll try and get the next page of Chased/Chaser up soon...

Till then
-adc-

Sorry folks server issues :(

Hi
Sorry I've been having server issues and wasn't able to upload Chased Chaser till today. I also wanted to say that I'll be on vacation till sometime in Jan when I'll start up again.

We are continuing work on our fan project, you can check out our blog for the that here.

Thank's for reading and have a great holiday!
-adc-

Chased Chaser page 10 is up and ready.

10 is up and ready here.

enjoy
-adc-

The long awaited page 09 for chased chaser is up!

It's up and ready...sorry for taking so long but, look at the bright side it's only 4 days till the next update.

page 09

-adc-

Word of the day "umbrage"

Sorry sorry
I wish I could tell you that the next page of chased chaser is up and ready but, its just not there. I plan to keep it in the factory a little longer until I feel it's done...probably around Thursday. Sorry for the inconvenience.

In the mean time you could check out the fan LAG-Novel we're working on here.

most regrettably
-adc-

Chased chaser page 08 is up and ready.

Hi-ya
Page 08 is up and ready. I also plan to add a menu to Chased Chaser in the near future...just letting you know now.

enjoy
-adc-

Another update for digitalcole.net

Hi All
digitalcole.net has been updated again. I've added...or should I say re-added the links page. Right now we have two links there. They're two very special people that have been extremely supportive and have given a wealth of advice...which I intend to use. The first is a web comic called LOGO by Justin Llamas. You can buy his book here. Second is a link to a site called Moonbugwings by my friend Andrea who's been so helpful in giving advice for running a better website and some helpful hints as far as animating goes. Please check out their sites.

The other bit of news is that we added a page for donations. We're accepting gift certificates from various retail stores namely Home Dept and Amazon.com. You can also send checks or money orders as well, although we're not accepting paypal donations at the moment.

back to work now
-adc-

chased chaser page 07 ready

It's up here .

enjoy
-adc-

Chased Chaser page 06 is up and ready.

page 06 is up and ready.

enjoy
-adc-

Chased Chaser #5 is up.

#5 is ready.

enjoy
-adc-

Chased/Chaser page 04 is ready.

Hi-everyone

Chased/Chaser Page 04 is up and ready.

Enjoy
-adc-

Chased/Chaser page 03 is up.

Hi-all
Page 03 of Chased/Chaser is up and ready.

Enjoy
-adc-

Embed the font Aaron...Embed the font...

You may have noticed that some of the fonts look like comic text and some...well...I'm working on getting it all fixed. I've also noticed that the only way to clear out the old font is to clear the cash. Again sorry for the mix-up. :(

later
-adc-

Chased/Chaser page 2 is up and ready.

Hi-ya
The second page for Chased/Chaser is up and ready.

enjoy
-adc-

Chased/chaser upday set for Monday.

fyi-
I'm going to set the update for chased/chaser to be on Mondays. The next upday will be on the 9th.

Till then
-adc-

The first two pages of Chased/Chaser are up!

Hello all
Chased/Chaser has launched, check it out here. The plan is to update it weekly or so...



more later
-adc-

Sorry for not posting...

Hi all
It's been a couple of weeks from the last post. I just wanted to let everyone know that the lag in posting is only because we're hard at work on our new material.

I'm expecting the first couple pages of Chased/Chaser will be up some time next week and our fan-graphic novel should be up in the next month or so.

If your interested in the fan novel you can check it out here.

See ya
-adc-

Here's a sample page for the victim_ LAG-Novel

Page 19 of victim_ the live action graphic novel.

enjoy
-adc-

victim_ is now listed on TopWebComics.com

If you liked victim_ then please show your support by voting for us at TopWebComics.com!

thank you in advance
-adc-

victim_ has a banner now

Here's a banner for victim_ for anyone who wants to spread the word...

thanks
-adc-

digitalcole.net got a face lift

Yet another re-work of the main page. I'll be updating other parts of the website soon.

later
-adc-

fyi updates in store for digitalcole.net

hi-ya gang
I'm just letting you know that digitalcole.net will be getting yet another update, just trying to make the site more user friendly and logical. Your feedback, as always, is welcomed.

ps remember to refresh them there browsers.

thanks
-adc-

New stories for the coming months

First off I wanted to say thank you for visiting our site and taking part in our story telling. It’s been really fun having you. Please let us know what you think, you’re input is always welcomed.

So here are some of the stories we’ll be bringing you in the coming months…

(2007) A DAY GONE WRONG: Set in a post-apocalyptic Earth. What’s left of humanity is trying to survive and when people look back to try and understand what happened all they find is “when they finale realized what they’d done, it was truly a day gone wrong.”

(2006) FAN PROJECT: We’re not disclosing what it is “yet” but, those clever enough to look will find it.

(2006) CHASED/CHASER: Who are you?

(TBD) YARDY’S: At some point in your life you have worked or will work a retail job, it’s inevitable.

(TBD) VICTIM_: continuing the story.

(TBD) IMPOSSIBLE SAMURAI: He killed her father and took his sword but, he made one mistake…he didn’t kill her.

Thanks again
-adc-

digitalcole.net myspace facade

Well I guess it was inevitable, digitalcole.net has a myspace page. I really don't know yet what we'll do with it. At this point the only thing I can think of is use it to try and drive traffic to the website. We'll need to ponder this for a moment...

more later
-adc-

digitalcole.net myspace

We're already in pre-production for our next LAG-Novel

Even with victim_ still hot on the plate we're already working on our next live action graphic novel. This is the "epic" that we mentioned on the audio commentary for victim_.

more later
-adc-

victim_ the live action graphic novel

victim_ the live action graphic novel is up and ready. Thanks again to everyone who helped out!

enjoy
-adc-

victim_ the live action graphic novel

Hello all
Well the day that we've all been waiting for has arrived! It's taken seven or so months and a lot of hard work but, I think it was all worth it. I'm very pleased to announce that victim_ the live action graphic novel will be up and ready to read Monday morning. Just to give you some teasers as to what you will get, not only will you be able to read/watch the graphic novel. You will also get to go behind the scenes with our out-takes, audio commentary/podcast and sketchpad. You'll also get to download all the music used in this production as well as some wall papers for your desktop. Thanks again for all your support!

Well back to work I go...

Thank you
Aaron David Cole / writer & director for victim_

digitalcole.net has a new logo

Welcome to the new logo for digitalcole productions....it also comes in black!

More victim_ updates

Hello
Just letting everyone know that the audio commentary is done. We (Lukus Traverso, Daris Crear and myself) all huddled , so to speak, around one mic but, I still think it turned out pretty good. We used a Blue Snowball USB mic and I must say I LOVE IT! As for the recording we used Audacity, the two work fairly well together.

Now all we need to do is compile the video introduction and we're done...yay!

later
ADC

Another update for digitalcole.net

Hi all
Just letting everyone know that digitalcole.net had been updated. You may need to re-fresh your browser for it to show.

In other news victim_ is 99% done! We're just finishing up the extras and BAM...it'll be up.

Now back to work...
Aaron

We're almost there...

Hi all

Just a quick message, victim_ is almost done! We're putting the finishing touches on it and then up it goes.

More later
Aaron

Citi Bank , Corp , Master Card; what ever they want to call themselves! THEY ARE DEAD TO ME!

I have vanquished the enemy!...Well not really, but I just mailed in my last payment to "CitiMaster Card"...Oh the joy I feel now that I'm no longer under the thumb of that repressive organization...No longer do I need to live in fear of "them" changing the payment schedules or needing to get signature conformation on my payment to insure that "CitiMaster Card" doesn't "accidentally" hold one of my payments so that I can accrue a late charge. I am done with them and it feels GREAT! I'm also posting the letter that I included with my last payment...Enjoy!

_________________________________


Dear CitiMaster Card (Citibank)

This letter is to inform you that I'’m no longer interested in doing business with your company. I've been mistreated and abused as a customer and will now be closing my account with CitiMaster Card.

I didn'’t approve or appreciate your purchasing Helzberg's charge card and eliminating my ability to not only make payments in the store but to also make payments online. I didn'’t appreciate your lack of support for online pay when you reissued me a CitiMaster Card to replace my Helzberg charge card and then gave me the run around when I enquired during the years of phone pay that you where working on it and at the very least you could have allowed payment of my account at the local Citibank yet I was not even given that as an option!

A word of advice so that you don'’t encourage more customers to close their accounts. First STOP BUYING OTHER COMPANY'S CHARGE ACCOUNTS! Second, if you can'’t follow rule number one than you had better be willing to support those charge account holders by offering the very same standards/if not better as the original charge company.

Enclosed is the total pay off balance of my account, I want my account closed and I will be shredding my "“CitiMaster Card".

A totally dissatisfied customer:

Aaron Cole

___________________________________

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone for supporting me in this endeavor. You "Rawk"!

Aaron David Cole

PS maybe I'll post the video of me shredding the credit card...and then maybe I'll make a mosaic out of what's left...and sell it on Ebay!...oh the joy...THE JOY!

I've up-dated the site...check it out!

Hello Everyone

I've up-dated the site, check it out. Please note it runs in flash.

Thanks
Aaron

...Diligently working on victim_ LAG-Novel...

digitalcole.net has launched !

It looks like I'll need to put the hate (citibank) on hold for a moment. Our new website is up and running with a trailer for Victim_ a live action graphic novel!

I just wanted to take this opportunity to say thank you to everyone who has helped out on this project. You guys did great!

So go and check out the trailer and if you like what you see please help support our efforts by buying something from our Cafe Press store.

digitalcole.net

Thank you
Aaron David Cole

The “Liberation of Aaron” campaign has begun.

I’m declaring war on Citibank. I’m tired/sick and fed up with how I’ve been treated and from what I’ve gather on the web I AM NOT ALONE. It’s truly disgusting that they are allowed to conduct themselves in such a dishonest and disreputable way. Well no more!

I intend to devote much of this blog to providing information on Citibank’s dirty practices and to help provide resources to those who are fighting their own wars with Citibank.

I also ask for your support in this campaign. By purchasing a shirt saying "I got screwed by you know who" or soon to be other products from my store you’ll help to make sure that Citibank can no longer terrorize me.

Thank you in advance for your support.
Aaron David Cole

Citi Bank , Corp , Master Card…what ever they want to call themselves…THEY SCREWED ME!

This is a story about a person who wanted to make a payment on his Citibank MasterCard, this is a true story.

First, some history. A few years ago my fiancé and I were in the Sunvalley mall Concord California when we decided to get our rings. We went to Helzberg Diamonds and found a very nice set; we paid for them by signing up with a charge account. Everything was fine. I had the ability to pay in the store or online (I, like many of you, prefer to pay my bills online) all was great especially, the fact that we had rings now.

After about a year, I discovered that Citibank bought the credit portion of Helzberg. I already had a credit card with Citibank and didn’t really desire another one. To my dissatisfaction I was notified that I would not be able to make my payments at the local Helzberg store; it was a real convenience to have that option. I also found out later that I wasn’t able to make my payments at the Helzberg website either. My Helzberg account was converted over to a Citi-MasterCard. For almost two years I’ve been making payments through Citibank’s phone pay system , a service they charge for, because I feel that mailing the bill is unreliable. Every time I made a phone pay to them I asked when they would support this new City MasterCard online. I was told only that they were working on it. I quickly became discourage with this new account and near the end of 2005 I transferred the balance over to a BofA card with the full intention of canceling my Citi-MasterCard. Well, Christmas came and through lack of better judgment I used my Citi-MasterCard. So, now I’ve made two payments on it, Jan 06 and Feb 06 but for March I was worried that if I mailed in the payment I’d be late, and I didn’t want any late fees; I also didn’t want to be charged for a phone pay again. So I thought I’d make a payment in the bank. I know what you’re probably thinking “Why didn’t he just do this from the beginning?” Well, this is where the story gets really interesting.

I went to the bank on the 4th of March (a Saturday), the day my payment was due. My statement said to make the payment before 1pm of the due date. It was around 12pm. After trying to run my Citi-Master Card the teller said that she couldn’t accept my payment and that I’d need to come back on Monday when the credit office was open. I said if I don’t make a payment today I’ll get charged a late fee and I don’t want that. The teller told me they would wave the fee, so I said ok and left. I worked Monday, It’s now Tuesday. I went back into the bank hoping to get this fixed. I talked to the same teller who instructed me to wait for one of the bank managers to help fix my dilemma, so I waited. After a few moments the teller asked for my Citi-MasterCard to try and run it again, it didn’t go through. She then called someone on the phone to get help and they informed her that Citibank could not accept my Citi-MasterCard payment! I’d have to make a payment over the phone. I told them that this was absurd that a bank to whom I have a credit card with can’t take a payment for that credit card. They told me that they couldn’t do anything for me. Let me say that the people who know me know that I don’t really get upset nor do I usually raise my voice when angered but, these people made me hot! I find it outrages that the company that has their Logo on the card refused to accept a payment for that card. I walked away totally and absolutely dissatisfied with Citibank’s customer service.

When I got home I called the toll free number and got a rep, I apologized up front because I was very upset by what was transpiring and explained my situation to her. Her response was also less than satisfying. She informed me that the Citi-MasterCard that I held could only be paid one of two ways either through the mail or through phone pay, and also that my account was now late and that I would be charged a late fee which they could not remove. I tried to explain to her that it’s not my responsibility to try and make a distinction between Citibank and Citi-MasterCard, which has the Citi logo on the card by the way. She gave me the run around and told me that because the original account was a charge card that Citibank didn’t support it. At this point I really felt parts of my sanity leaving me, I kept thinking to myself, why is this happening to me, their trying to make me the one who’s at fault for this. I asked to speak to her supervisor. When she came on the line I again apologized for being upset and said that I know that this wasn’t her fault, I then explained the story again. She actually repeated what the first attendant said, that Citibank wouldn’t accept my account, that they couldn’t transfer my account into one that they could take unless I applied for a new credit card, that I was in default of payment and would be charged a late fee and if I wanted to make a phone pay it would be roughly $14 on top of the payment and late fee.

I don’t know what else to say except that I am absolutely mortified now. I can’t believe this happened to me. I asked at least remove the late payment fee, thinking that’s the very least they could do but she refused.

So as it stand now as of March 7, 2006 I’m late on this payment and will be charged a late fee, I can’t make a payment in an actual Citibank I can only mail in my bill or use phone pay which adds a phone pay service charge and I have no online support for this account.

It's been some time....but at least the spammers like me :)

At least the spammers have something to spam to...but alas I fixed that so I guess you guys are out of luck...oh well. have fun spamming someone else.

Are we there yet?...

Well it's September now, hum...I'm sorry that I haven't posted the new G-LOK page I still need to work on it. I've been working on a new story using a very different technique. I'm not quite ready to post any more info about it but, I'm hopping around November I'll be able to give you guys some pics. That is provided "Hello" from Picasa is working (it's not currently) other wise I would have posted the really cool pics for the first live TWITcast. May be Nancy will be nice and post the pics on her blog...hummm.

I'll post more soon...

Aaron

A small Hiatus...

I think I need a break from G-LOK.

I'm going to be spending some time on my other art and maybe even some music. I'll post pictures as I finish them. For those who know me and my "fairy" drawings you'll be pleasantly surprised.

As for G-LOK I plan to start up near the end of August. I'll post when the date nears.

Thanks
Aaron

G-LOK page 12 is up finale...Sorry about that.

Well it's a week late but its up now.


Sorry I had to kinda had to skip a week. As you know I work in a bookstore so you know HP6 took over everything this past week. I'll try and be better about posting notes as to when the page will be up.

again sorry for the delay.

Aaron

Sorry sorry...:)

I'm sorry I didn't post today. G-LOK page 12 will be posted on Monday. Thanks for being hanging in there.

Aaron

G-LOK page 11 is up.

OK folks, page 11 is ready for viewing...



enjoy
Aaron

G-LOK page 10 is up and ready.

Your Saturday morning cartoons are here...Ok I just wanted to say that.

G-LOK page 10 is up and ready...enjoy!

Aaron

Page 9 is up and ready!

G-LOK page nine is ready for viewing.

Thanks
Aaron

Page 9 will be out on Sunday...again...

It looks like Sunday is going to be the "day" for G-LOK. I will at some point try and move it back to Saturday morning (does anyone remember Saturday morning cartoons?).

Aaron

Electronic Frontier Foundation

The EFF is helping to support bloggers so please help by supporting the EFF.

Thanks
Aaron

Independent World Television (web?)

I just found this site. It looks like they may be working on getting an international news organization out onto the web...(video IP?).

Have a look.

IWTNEWS

Aaron

As promised G-LOK page 8 is up and ready!

G-LOK page 8 is up and ready.

Enjoy
Aaron

Sorry Folks :(

I'’m not done with pg 8 of G-LOK. I'll be posting it tomorrow (Sunday June 12th). Again, I'’m sorry for inconvenience.

Please feel free to comment on this blog.

Thanks
Aaron

TURN OFF THE F#@*ING TV!!!

You can watch your stupid reality shows and news shows that lie and hide the truth some other time, this is more important!

Republicans and Democrats are the same thing and nether one has your “the average American citizen’s” or what I like to call the “Lowly 99’s” interest at heart. Doubt this; we couldn’t have become a police state without their help.

If you want your freedom back the only way you’re going to get it is to vote independent.

Vote Green
Vote Libertarian
Vote American Independent

2006 is just around the corner and we “the people” need to take congress back!

I know what some of you are saying…Republicans and Democrats have too much power (it helps that big business contributes to both parties). My answer to that is easy…

TURN OFF THE F#@*ING TV!!!

If you want real news go to the web. Plus the web levels the playing field and negates the huge money advantage those two fake parties have over the independents.

The choice is ours, we can choose to take our freedom back or we can choose to be treated and tagged (National ID Card and RF ID) like cattle.

G-LOK Terminology 101

Welcome to the "G-LOK Terminology 101" class. I've created a page to help explain and reference the new terminology that you'll find in my online manga.


Idiosyncrasy and the history of the Man-Machine Interface. (this also references "force-data")

Blast from the Past...

I do claim to be a musician in my bio, well guess what...I found my old IUMA page. I don't know if the music can still be downloaded but if you want a sample of what I was doing in the mid to late 90's go and check it out.

G-LOK page 7 is up!

G-LOK Page Seven is ready for viewing. Thanks to those who have provided feed back. I really appreciate it!

Thanks
Aaron

G-LOK page 6 is up!

The new page of G-LOK is up and ready for viewing. As always your comments are welcomed.

Enjoy
Aaron

My G-LOK manga is up!

Hello all.

My manga (titled G-LOK) is up and ready to read. Please feel free to comment on it, you can post your comments on this blog. I’m going to update it about once a week and I eventually plan to pitch it to Wirepop so please give me some useful feedback.

Thanks and enjoy!
Aaron

PS Thank you Nancy for getting my site up!

Nancy Has A Blog Now!

The love of my life has now entered the blogging world.

Check out her blog.

When did big business start getting its ideas from the Mob?

Maybe it’s just me but have you noticed an egregious movement towards subscription down loads for music. Yahoo is opening an online music store which will allow you to pay for and down load music that you’ll never be able to fully own. Not only do you have to pay a subscription cost you’ll also need to purchase the actual music itself which can range in price. Let me say again, you will never fully own the rights to this music that you’ve paid for!

This reminds me of those movies where the thugs come to the old guy’s store and say “You need to pay us to keep your store from getting damaged.” What they don’t say is if the poor old guy doesn’t pay the thugs will be the ones doing the damage.

What the consumer needs right now is a music store that sells you the music without charging a subscription fee and then allows you own the right to it FOREVER!

Right now I only know of a few sites that are actually taking the honest path.

Apples itunes
MusicMatch’s store through Dell
Wal Mart (as much as I loathe their other business practices)

Here’s a question. What happens if that business goes OUT OF BUSINESS, are the consumers who have to pay this monthly extortion bill just “SOL”?

How about another question? Does the Artist receive any portion of the subscription fees? If they don’t than I really think ASCAP should get involved.

Join the twits!

If you're a fan of the old Screen Savers, than check out this site. This is the future of the Web!

This Week In Tech

This one is kinda funny...

Nancy found this blog using the Firefox browser and an extension called Stumble Upon . It's really funning and kind of gross, but funny-gross...oh just read it!

The Sneeze

Oh by the way Firefox rules!