2011 Saw the very first ASSCAT and I was (although not a big winner) a very happy participant.

Click here to find links to everyones Round 2 submissions

Click here for Round 1 submissions

And since it has now come to an end I thought I’d share what I took from this epic challenge.

I’ve laughed, I’ve Cried, I’ve almost died from Slushee induced Hypothermia but I’ve also loved learned and lived more in the past few weeks than ever before….well maybe not quite that far but you get my point ;P
To finish the 11 challenges I managed to complete I have had to skip work, miss sleep and walk for miles. I’ve met at least 5 (probably more) new awesome Xangans and in the end have a handsome pile of eprops to show for my troubles.

But what individual lessons have I gained from the ASSCAT’s and their challenges?

Well from Alex/Flip @FlipGuy31O
I learned That deep down despite not having the opportunity I too have the desire and ability to abuse works of public art
He also taught me that LipSynching is harder than it looks, and allowed our dear Pika_Whoosh to finally express himself and get something important out of the closet off his chest

Sonlay @Sonychak
From Sonlay I discovered that taking random videos of Junk is a lot harder than it looks and should be left to the masters. And That Slushees are available in the UK but they are tiny and absolutely no fun to drink in the rain.

Shawn @Junbelievable08
Shawn Gave me many important lessons, first being that I need to add some epicosity to my meals, since I was unable to take a photo for his first challenge, and second that I need to get drunk more often lol
But his most important gift was not related to the ASSCAT and was the mysterious secret of Korean Drama Hair.

Chris @Cakalusa
Chris Was the first person to ask me to plank so disturbingly he took my Planking Virginity :S and so will always hold a special place in my heart. ;P
He also highlighted the fact I have not talent…so really what more can I say but thanks Chris :S

Alex @Roadlesstaken
Alex with his boyish charms stole all our hearts away by offering to visit if we could but only tempt him.
And also unlocked my inner Swagger, thus allowing me to realise that I’m going to be fine without him lol

Timmy @Timmmmmmy
And last but by no means least Timmy Not only got me to introduce myself but introduced himself too.
He also managed to pick the only challenge that was even vaguely in my wheelhouse by asking for ASSCAT art…even though we all know he was just getting free work done for his secret ASSCAT e-shop and merchandise line

So as you can see much was learned and we are all better people for it
I’d like to join in with Pika_Whoosh the glorious winner of ASSCAT2011 in saying a massive THANKYOU to the ASSCATS for doing this, it must have been a lot of work and time and it really was lots of fun and very cool so thanks guys you make Xanga more awesome everyday!

And now as a special treat from everyone who watched my submissions, voted for me or just were involved in the challenge in any way shape or form here’s a video of OutTakes from a couple of my challenges

This post was supposed to be up so as to more neatly arrive close to the end of the challenge, but due to Xangas video que and my lack of free time to use a youtube alternative it was a bit held back. After this i might even post something none ASSCAT related for once

Korean Hair.

This post is a letter to Jun @Junbelievable08 of team ASSCAT and is a request for him to share the secrets of Korean Hair.

I am a big fan of Korean cinema and have watched a number of Korean films including the film Tidal Wave entirely in Korean (with no subs) even though i don’t actually speak a word of the language. :S

But while I love the sound of Korean, the style, the point of view and humour, prehaps the most eye catching is always the Hair, somehow Korean heroes have epic hair at all times, no matter if it’s wet, dry, burnt, blood soaked or otherwise compromised it always looks incredible.

Is this just a lucky quirk of being Korean? or is there some secret process that has been developed in hidden parts of Korea to change normal hair into the epicness of Korean Hair.

To illustrate my point here are some Korean actors (mostly from my favourite ever Korean Film ‘The Good The Bad and The Weird’)

Would it ever be possible for me to one day change from this…..

To this….

With Respect,

yours sincerely.

Bede

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Voting time! So if you come across this go to This Dude and Vote, links to the other submissions are on the voting page.

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Right since i’m hoping to get the next three neatly in this post, i’m going to split them up so if you want to see my first three submissins just go one post back

For Shawn @Junbelievable08: here goes for my story.

Okay well I have to admit I’ve got pretty much nothing good to tell drunk story wise, basically because whenever I’ve been drunk it’s usually at home and I’m always the first one to say I’ve had enough, even when drunk I’ve relentlessly sensible.

But I suppose the best tale I have to tell started in the morning quite early for me (before ten) when I’d gotten up to see the lovely sunshine. The previous night I’d come back from a trip to Edinburgh to see an art gallery and found that my bro had gone out that night to spend sometime with a friend who has had a bit of a rocky life and has a tendency to over indulge in alcohol.

So when I woke I found that my bro was still not back and went I went outside I saw a car parked that I didn’t recognise, heading up a near by hill I spotted one of our canoes out on the water and curious I went down to investigate.

When I got to the shore I found my bro and this friend in the canoe obviously still the worse for wear from last night, with a bottle of Vodka.

So after a small disaster involving one of the occupants trying to exit the canoe 10 feet from shore, they get back on dry land and we end up finishing the Vodka off between us (this is all still before midday, and is by far the earliest I’ve ever been drunk) but it doesn’t end there because it’s then decided that wine is needed and I am volunteered to go and acquire it.

So I head back to home to find my mum making fruit juice and while still very drunk from the Vodka have to act as normal as possible while I made sandwiches surreptitiously collect wine and escape back down the croft.
This I achieve rather well….i think, and the rest of the entire day is spend on the rocks of the shore playing truth or dare :S until we all three of us fell asleep pretty much on top of each other….(well I was the pillow,) until the sun starts to set.

Not the most dramatic story but for me that was pretty damn wild lol since I have never before or since been that drunk that early or that long.

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And for Timmy @Timmmmmmy: I have nothing short of a masterpiece

The ASSCAT Team poster, with uniforms. (incase it’s cut off because of your monitor size here’s the direct link)

I had hoped to make the drawings a bit neater, but with the time limit i had to just do em rough and then rely on Photoshop to save me.

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And finally I managed to get the Slushee! For Sonlay @SonyChak:

But it was anything but easy, first I had to hitchhike into town, and no one stopped so i had to walk for an hour before i got a lift. Then as soon as i got into town it began raining and continued getting heavier through out the challenge.

The ONLY place in town that sells Slushees only offered a pitiful cup under the name Large and once i’d bought it for an extortionate price for the quantity, I had to walk with it half way across town to find a relatively protected and secluded place to video me drinking it. By the time i shot the video it was raining at it’s hardest and i was soaked.

So if any of the other ASSCATS would be willing to do a ‘hit’ for me, should i win i’ll be more than happy to pay some of my winnings to anyone kind enough to pour water over Sonlay for me ;P

Hehe of course i only joke it was kind of fun in a wet, cold, headachey sort of way and i’m really pleased to have done all six this time!

 

 

I will pay anyone at least half my winnings

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Voting time! So if you come across this go to This Dude and Vote, links to the other submissions are on the voting page.

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Okay round two challenges!

Three videos to start with:
@FlipGuy31O For your challenge i’ve uploaded a song for the ASSCAT RatPack.

for @Cakalusa I’ve combined some of my most incredible talents to blow your mind!

@Roadlesstaken And for Alex I hope you’ll enjoy my video Swagger (believe me this is as cool as i get

More on the way including some epic ASSCAT art, somekind of crazy true story…(if i can remember one)
and with a bit of luck a slurpee (or maybe slushy) drinking contest….do you know how hard it is to
find a Slurpee in the Highlands of scotland???
 

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LipSynch:

 Talent:

 Swagger:

(Yes i know i should be busy with the ASSCAT, but i had this all ready to post

Heavy Metal magazine is a periodical i have personally never read or recived.
But I have on occasion come across the art work that aparently it has on it’s covers,
mostly being a rock magazine (i think) it seems the art work used isn’t exactly the most classy in the world and comprises mostly of woman with large breasts carrying an asortment of guns or swords.

But even though i may not entirely agree with the subject I do like the skill of some of the Artists such as Luis Royo.
Also sometime a while ago a very strange but suprisingly fun computer game was made based on a character called Juile Strain who has appeared more than a few times on the cover of this magazine, and in honour of both the artists and the game I have tried to draw Juile for the first time.

This is also my first overtly ‘sexy’ drawing, since i usually try to go for more modest depictions.

So here are a couple drawings of Julie done by MUCH better artists which i used for inspiration for my one.

This one below is mine, obviously

Just recently the always lady like and polite Amalia (Fabolousclown) called me Gay and it got me thinking about the subject.

First off if i’m honest if i met me i’d be wondering if i was gay or not, for the following reasons: (and here follows a rather lazy list of TV stereotypes that I of course do not mean any offence by)

I say Fabulous way too much,

I’m very neat and like to wear my clothes in a particular way (folded collars, tucked shirt etc).

I like and want a moustache (not even sure why this is such a Gay stereotype but acording to TV world it is.

I adore women and want to be one (given the choice i’d have picked female).

I just wrote a sentance with the words ‘I adore women’ in it. 

I like German disco music from the 1980′s, Queen, Avril Lavigne and various other similar types of music.

I love Costumes and dressing up, Given the money i’d have wardrobes of TV/Game/Anime Costumes and replicas.

I find the male form beautiful…(no admittedly not physically attractive) but some guys are just plain gorgeous in an asthetic way.

And I’m sure i could list more but you get the picture. Now the thing thats interesting to me is that despite all that i’m not Gay simply because Women are actually sexually attractive to me and no amount of other less stereotypically heterosexual habits and behaviour is gonna change that but still i find that when in the limited experiance of interacting with other men i’ve had there’s a definate pressure not to be for want of a better term ‘too gay’ 

Take for example women, they can quite happily say “wow she’s gorgeous” or compliment a another woman without everyone thinking they are lesbians, but if a man were to say “wow he’s handsome” certianly around the areas i’ve see it would leave only one conclusion. This kind of annoys me I don’t think we should be limited by such silly fears and social norms, much like when a woman can appreciate another attractive woman so should men be free to do the same.

It’s seems like evidence of crazy old perspectives that no longer fit and if only more men were willing to be just a little bit gay we’d all be much freer and less self conscious when interacting with other dudes.

The very funny quote from Seinfeld comes to mind: Elaine”You know, just admitting that another man is attractive doesn’t necessarily make you a homosexual.” = George”It dosen’t help”

hehehe Anyway once again i reach the end of my post with no idea what my point is or how to end it with any sense of conclusion so i’ll just say Thanks to every one who is Gay or straight as long as your ‘Free’ to be who you are because the more people like you the better this whole world is going to be, so stay Fabulous!

Oh also go here and Vote on the ASSCAT, make sure you check out the submissions before making your choice, and also give it a REC. Thanks

ASSCAT: The ultimate challenge that sorts the Xangans from the…errm…other bloggers from other sites that don’t have challenges….or groups of people willing to self appoint the name ASSCAT….(note to self, must come up with better dramatic intros)

Well as the first round comes to a close, it’s good to see that so many contenders are still in, also a little daunting….because so many did so well.

I just about managed 5 and am pretty pleased by how the turned out, apart from my planking which was pretty standard (blown out of the water by some of the other Asscat-sters)
but never the less it’s been fun and cool to see the competition and participate.

With round two on the VERY near horizon there are a few issues facing me though, 1st being Time. I really want to basically just do this but time is damn short at the mo hence my lack of xanga for the past two days so that a bit of a concern for R2, lets hope we all get the same couple weeks timelimit again.
2nd and perhaps most annoying, my camera broke!! And i have to admit almost entirely to be ready for the ASSCAT i’ve bought some extra stuff for it, so heres hoping for fast post.
3rd I actually realized, i really want to do well in this challenge lol, not only cos i like the guys and want to create something entertaining for them but also because they’re pretty cool prizes …..(and if i win something i can almost justify not working to complete challenges

So what have i learned from R1?
well be creative for one.
a little bit of skin dosen’t hurt
Alex is a sucker for a song.
and most important think outside the box.

I’m a bad winner if i’m honest, in fact i don’t really like to ‘win’ and usually either consciously or unconsciously try to let others win, so i’m not aiming for first place…but second place sounds pretty good, so expect at the least a five but with luck a six in completions in R2 (if there are six challenges that is)
I’m pumped!..i’m psyked!…and have slightly sore elbows and wrists from too much computer use!! so bring it on ASSCATS!!!!

The update is here at the top, below the horizontal rule under this video is the original post,

This should hopefully bring me upto 5 complete this round, kudos to those who managed all 6

Okay here’s the new one for @sonychak

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Okay here it is Four out of the Six possible ASSCAT challenges, and they weren’t easy.
I might be able to add a fifth late on this week, but the Epic eating challenge is looking un-likely,
due largely to my lack of epic food stuffs at easy reach, but we’ll see.

First up is my Very first EVER ‘plank’ not sure it’s all that interesting but there it is anyhow.
@Cakalusa

Next up is my monument abuse Vlog. Now I will admit this one dose bend the rules somewhat so i’m totally fine if i don’t get points for it,
but it was just fun to do so i’ve put it up anyhow.
@FlipGuy31O

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And now a short video for Alex, explaining why both Scotland and me are a good choice for a visit.
@Roadlesstaken

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And last but by no means least my Video-Intro for Timmy, this one i’m quite proud of
@Timmmmmmy

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Hopefully thats me passed into round two at least, but i’ll also maybe get a video of me going through a box/bag or pile of junk for
SonyChak later on, have to admit i’m dubious as to what the future could hold in the ASSCAT challenge as these ones were tricky enough, but
even if round ones my limit it was still a lot of fun and i can’t wait to check out everyone elses offerings

The night; always a nice time to be up on your own kinda feels like your getting free extra time…if you don’t think about when you have to wake up in the morning ;P

Also nice to see the different ‘shift’ of Xangans log on as other time zones come online. The quiet hum of a computer in a house full of snores, nice

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Today has been a lazy day…kind of.

for most of it I and my bro were lost in the wasteland of Fallout New Vegas, with a slight interuption when someone came over to have their dead PC checked out.

There’s lots on my mind though at the moment and I can see that days like today must become rare if i’m going to find enough time to do everything i want to

first and foremost i’ve GOT to earn something, it dosen’t even have to be much just something would help so much, then i want to get at least one more ASSCAT under my belt before the 15th, there’s a lot of good quality challengers out there and i feel like i need to get my points up, on that subject i don’t envy the teams job of judging all the entries, i wouldn’t be able to call it myself since each one i tend to like more than the last lol

Also on the subject of the ASSCAT, it’s kind of cool that we all have this oppertunity to do things like this, i’m really grateful to the ASSCAT members for spending the time to set all this up, I have to admit i find a lot more fun and satisfaction in spending my time making a challenge entry than doing most other things online at the moment. So major props and thanks to the Team you guys rule

I have to go and deal with ‘real’ people tomorrow :s by that i mean with no computer seperating us. The thought of this still daunts me, i like people and don’t mind dealing with them….but i so much prefer the interactions i can have online, i’m more honest and free here.

And I have soooo many drawings i want to do too, at least two new heroes that i’ve yet to draw and i have five whole drawings ready to digitize and colour. All i need is time…but every moment i spend doing something fun just reminds me that it’s not a moment i’ve spent on building the systems/learning needed to start earning…sometimes, more often recently, I really wish i just could work for someone and not have to constantly monitor myself, i suck at self-discipline.

It seems more and more to me that what i really need to find is a way of combining what i love about Xanga and being creative using computers, with a way to earn so i could actually finally do what i love and get paid for it…..I know it’s possible it just seems like i’ve got to be patient and see it through this frustrating bit.

I really love so many of the folks here, and i’m amazed that I already have 127 friends, i really want to get to know so many of you better. I t’s always kind of sad how i find that for a while i’ll bump into one or two xangans regularly for a while but then we’ll drift apart for a bit, as soon as i can justify it with myself i’m spending some solid weeks just hanging with ma xangans ;)

ho hum, must sleep up early for the whole people thing :/

Despite my obvious awesomeness I am in fact not perfect….no no don’t all disagree at once

there are many things in my life and mind that i’m not happy with and currently the one most obvious would be Guilt, but as is so often the case it’s the side effects that are perhaps the most harmful.

So with hopes of some blogging therapy allow me to unload some of my observations on the subject of Guilt and it’s effects here.

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On it’s own Guilt is bad enough, it’s persistent and hard to entirely let go of, since we are always our harshes critics. But as i’ve tried to figure out various solutions (by analysing my motives and whats going on in my mind and emotions) i’ve noticed the real harm we can cause if we let this emotion run free in us.

First we hurt ourselves by constantly berating either our failure (that caused the original guilt) or our lack of action or ability to change it. Then since we feel angry at ourselves and often ashamed we start to wall ourselves off, from others and even our own attempts to fix the problem. 

This only serves to further compound the effects and we can end up beginning a kind of spiral of self criticism that adds to the distraction and lack of self confidence that guilt can cause in the first place.

But thats only half of it, because then (if say you feel guilty for something involving other people close to you) you end up closing yourself off from them as well, thus stopping anyone helping and making you feel isolated and stressed.

Then of course our ever cunning minds start to get angry, angry at not only ourselves and the situation but also at the other people, and since your angry with yourself and ‘they‘ arn’t helping (because you’ve closed off) you end up getting short tempered and missing out on or actively destroying perfectly nice times and interactions basically because you don’t feel you deserve them.

It was quite facinating to see as i examined how i was feeling, that so many negative things and thoughts had sprung from just one source. The problem is we are fantastic pattern recognition devices and it really dosen’t take much for our minds to run wild with a thought or emotion quite on automatic, and often by the time we start to think there’s something seriously wrong it can be tricky to find our way back to where it all began.

How exactly this sort of self analysis helps, i’m still unsure of. Luckily that dosen’t stop it from helping I suppose the moral of the tale would be don’t let your mind run off with you and over complicate things, more often than not it’s the simple answer and we’ve just added all the extra stuff in there to make it interesting.

And also it’s your responsibility, thats not to say your on your own but rather it’s your responsibility how your going to react to what your given and experiance, puching people who could help away is as much an interaction as letting them help. What we have responsibility over is how we do things, and how we let it effect us and others through us.

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Kind of like when you’ve got a song stuck in your head and then you listen to it and suddenly it’s gone, somehow sharing stuff like this helps in the same way. I’d love to know the psychology behind it….but for now i’m just hoping it works.

Thanks for taking the time to read this, Hope everyone has a wonderful day