Hello, Watchers! An update about site changes and FUNdraiser!

Hello, Watchers! How’s it going??? OH GOD I HAVE THINGS I WANT TO TALK ABOUT BUT I CAN’T YET SO I WILL JUST TEASE YOU LIKE I ALWAYS DO.

So let us discuss things I can talk about!

1) As you may have noticed, the downvote button has been removed. I should have done it earlier, but I’m stepping up and being accountable for it now. It was recently used to bully someone who tried to talk about cissexism and I no longer want to host an environment that can lead to such things. So it’s gone. FOREVER. Like Firefly 🙁 🙁 🙁 🙁

2) The site rules have been updated this week to further define my site’s policy regarding oppression/being called out, so please read and internalize such things. This is not up for discussion.

3) I really, really need to change this theme I have going on here. I initially liked it, but it’s responsible for a lot of the Internal Server Errors many of you are seeing and it sucks up bandwidth like a vacuum in my apartment where I wage a daily war I like to call Mark Fights His Cats’ Hair And Repeatedly Loses. So, are there any WordPress themes any of you are partial to? I’m thinking of going with a Headway theme, since they’re easily programmable and I can move away from such an image heavy site. It should improve load times and also be much more accessible for folks concerned about accessibility, since it comes with the ability to add image descriptions as captions! Pretty neat, I think!

4) In less than two weeks, I will disappear from the world for about eight days. Every summer (this being the fourth in a row), I participate in the AIDS/LifeCycle, a 550+ mile bike ride that raises funds for HIV/AIDS prevention and awareness in California. Because federal and state funding was slashed recently, this ride is more important than ever! I’m riding for the San Francisco AIDS Foundation this year since I now live in the Bay Area.

Over the course of seven days, I’ll ride my bike from Cow Palace in South San Francisco all the way to the Veterans Center in West L.A. Yep. All by bicycle! Along the way, I’ll help raise awareness in the many towns that I pass through on my journey down south. On top of that (because we all know that money sometimes truly does help things out), I will have raised thousands of dollars for the SFAF!

I initially wanted to raise $10,000, but between a full-time job and a full-time writing deal between my two sites, I totally slacked on fundraising. However, I am just about $800 short of my fundraising minimum of $3,000, so I’m turning to all of you to see if you can help! I did something special for Mark Reads and covered a Janelle Monae song if people helped me reach $2,000, so I would like to offer something similar to all of you if you can get me to $3,000! The thing is….I don’t know what to do! Want to see a video of me doing something? Or a one-off review? Or a specific live-blog? I AM HERE TO BE USED BY YOU, MY COMMUNITY.

I know money is tight for many of you, so if you cannot donate the minimum ($5), please pass this along to friends and family if you can! Post it on Facebook or Twitter or Tumblr. This is honestly a fantastic cause that quite literally keeps people alive, since many folks depend on the SF AIDS Foundation for their prescription medicine to keep them alive, and you’ll be doing a great job in helping keep a center open that services a lot of queer folk and people of color!

So, here’s my donation page at this link.

Whatever is the highest-rated suggestion below is what I will do when I reach $3,000. Unless it’s like MARK MAKE A PORN VIDEO or something. EXCITED! Thank you so much for everything. And I am planning on a full week of posts during the time I am on the ride, so I expect that it should appear as if I’m still here. YAY!

REALLY IMPORTANT EDIT

I have reached $3,000 and will do Mark Reads My Immortal over the course of the week that I am actually on the AIDS ride in June. You are all amazing!!!

PLEASE DONATE TO MY BROTHER’S FUND INSTEAD OF MINE. He still needs a lot more money to make his minimum donation amount!

THANK YOU ALL!

About Mark Oshiro

Perpetually unprepared since '09.
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310 Responses to Hello, Watchers! An update about site changes and FUNdraiser!

  1. CuriousApe says:

    Host a Doctor Who live blog party on blogTV so that people can watch the show with you and feel like they're all in the same room 🙂

  2. Aimee says:

    MARK MAKES A PORNO!

    I'm kidding. I second the Doctor Who vblog idea.

  3. @maybegenius says:

    I definitely think there needs to be some video evidence of your reactions as you watch Avatar or something. On an episode of our choosing (which we will select by number rather than title, like "Season 2, Episode 13").

  4. @emtc says:

    Hey, it's Erin from your crew of GlobWorld minions!

    I vote that you review a restaurant. Awesome vegan food FTW.

    • EATS! says:

      Oh my, if there was a Mark Eats about culty eaty places….!

    • burritosaurus says:

      I am now drooling over the thought of awesome vegan food (and silently weeping because I forgot to bring my lunch today 🙁 )

      Also: GlobMinions FTW!!

    • agrinningfool says:

      Totally not a vegan but always up for awesome food, non-vegan or not. This would have been great. 🙂

  5. breesquared says:

    I donated $10 [: You got me in the summer which is when I tend to have the least amount of money (I am a college student and I live on financial aiddd). But I hope you're successful! It's awesome that you commit your time to these things.

  6. Syd K. says:

    Mark, have you ever read ‘The Eye of Argon’? :3

  7. echinodermata says:

    Write self-insert fanfic.

  8. ShayzGirl says:

    I so badly want to help out with this and I was so ready to donate when I got paid on Thursday last week and then an unexpected bill hit me and I couldn't do it. But because I so badly want to donate, I am going to be selling some of my movies and cds and video games and I will make sure to have enough so that I can donate.

    Also, I agree with the above who said you should vblog an episode of Doctor Who.

    Oh and when I read this "OH GOD I HAVE THINGS I WANT TO TALK ABOUT BUT I CAN’T YET SO I WILL JUST TEASE YOU LIKE I ALWAYS DO." I have to ask: Mark, when did you start taking evil lessons from Moffat? haha. J/K.

  9. ThreeBooks says:

    I vote that Mark Watches Doctor Horrible happens very soon, because Nathan Fillion Neal Patrick Harris Felicia Day Joss Whedon.

  10. giga_pudding says:

    Mark Watches Hayao Miyazaki flims!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    You will not regret every second you watch them, cause he is the true animation genius!
    I'll make a list of his films:
    Spirited Away (my favorite)
    Princess Mononoke (my 2nd favorite)
    Ponyo (one of my least favorites)
    My Neighbor Totoro
    Howl's Moving Castle (my 3rd favorite)
    Nausicca of the Valley of the Wind
    Grave of the Fireflies (sad movie about war)
    The Castle of Cagliostro (his first film)
    Porco Rosso (Haven't watched this)
    Castle in the Sky
    Kiki's Delivery Service
    Remind of others I missed.
    PS: The OST's (by Joe Hisashi) are unforgettable
    in a good way
    I will be so happy if you watch them and if you already did, then I just wasted my homework time

    • ThreeBooks says:

      I second Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, Ponyo (so cute!!!!!), My Neighbor Totoro, Nausicca of the Valley of the Wind, and Castle in the Sky. But only because I haven't seen the others and he needs to read the book before he sees Howl's Moving Castle.

      Srsly. That book and that movie are so awesome.

    • Lizzie says:

      you missed Whisper of the Heart! And the only reason I know this is because I happened to watch it a couple of nights ago. It's seriously cute, and has Cary Elwes as one of the voices (:

      Miyazaki is ♥

      • maccyAkaMatthew says:

        Whisper of the Heart wasn't directed by Miyazaki, although he did write the (adapted) screenplay. There's a sort-of sequel The Cat Returns which is fun, if slight – which was designed to bring through a new director, so Miyazaki's involvement is even less.

    • Anonymouse says:

      Grave of the Fireflies is a Miyazaki film? How did I not know this?

      • maccyAkaMatthew says:

        No. It's a Studio Ghibli film but it's not by Miyazaki. It's by Isao Takahata, co-founder of Ghibli who also did Pom Poko, which I think is wonderful; My Neighbors the Yamadas, which I didn't like; and Only Yesterday, which I haven't seen.

    • maccyAkaMatthew says:

      Porco Rosso is really good, I think. It's more of an adult story than some of the others.

      I don't think we could ask Mark to do more than one movie as a special extra. I'd have to go for Spirited Away in that case. There is non bike ride related suggestions page:
      http://markwatches.net/reviews/suggestions/

      I keep meaning to add some stuff to it, but have yet to read everything that's been suggested so far.

    • Colin says:

      Grave of the Fireflies, sad? It's horrifying.

      No, The Castle of Cagliostro is a good start. And it won't send him spiralling into depression.

    • bookgal12 says:

      YES! I'm so glad someone has suggested this. I really want Mark to do a review of Totoro because I know how fuzzy inside he will be once he sees it. *Starts humming the theme*

  11. agrinningfool says:

    Mark Watches My Little Ponies: Friendship is Magic! At least the first two episodes which formed the pilot. That's all I want!

  12. Eva says:

    I don't know how feasible this is, but the prize could be: a fake review! Mark watches/reads something in the future, and writes up a fake review where his reactions are completely not what we readers would expect (i.e. if he was fake-reviewing the Blind Bandit and his review talked about how boring he thought Toph was, or something) and puts it up on the website and pretends like it is a real review and brouhaha ensues! And then he reveals it was a joke and puts up the real review.

  13. Girlonfire says:

    Mark Watches Starship!

  14. doesntsparkle says:

    Mark Watches The ROOM!

  15. sabra_n says:

    ZOMG "COLD WAR" I LOVE THAT SONG.

    Erm…no substantive thoughts here. Move along.

  16. Openattheclose says:

    Mark Reviews something while in character as a character from another Mark Watches project.

    Examples:
    Snape Reads Twilight
    Iroh Watches Doctor Who
    The Doctor Reads Harry Potter.

  17. -edit- Tripod didn't win (just as I expected) but thank you to the 5 other Tripod fans here. Woooo! If anyone (Tripod fan, or hasn't even heard of them) is interested in the sound of these I put in a regular request down the bottom of page 12 in the Mark Watches suggestions page. So if you want Mark to watch Tripod sometime in the future please add your support there.

    Video of Tripod's Gonna Make You Happy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSqFqhUzutg
    and Air Guitar: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1n5H1ITqQ8
    For interested parties. There are more videos in the request comment.
    /edit

    MARK WATCHES TRIPOD VS THE DRAGON
    or
    MARK WATCHES TRIPOD TELLS THE TALE OF THE ADVENTURES OF TOSSWINKLE THE PIRATE (NOT VERY WELL)

    …Is never going to get as many up votes as My Immortal but I simply had to suggest it.
    C'mon fellow Tripod fans – unite!

    <img src="http://www.gifsoup.com/imager.php?id=2101116&t=o&quot; border="0"/>GIFSoup
    <img src="http://www.gifsoup.com/imager.php?id=2101153&t=o&quot; border="0"/>GIFSoup

    I will take this over to the regular suggestions post immediately too – because GORRAMIT! why didn't I think of this before?

  18. arctic_hare says:

    Mark Reads Howl's Moving Castle!

    • maccyAkaMatthew says:

      Gets my vote.

      Although Mark reads Hexwood and his head explodes would be even better, shame it doesn't seem to be in print in the US.

      • Helle says:

        Mark Read Everything Diana Wynne Jones Ever Wrote is unfortunatly probably not an option. 🙁

      • arctic_hare says:

        Hahaha, yes, I would LOVE to see him read Hexwood. And Time of the Ghost is another mindbender I read recently and would be fascinated to see his reactions to. Also, Dark Lord of Derkholm once he's gotten through LOTR and is thus more familiar with the type of high fantasy she parodied there.

        … it's a long list of awesome books. XD

        • leighzzz31 says:

          Time of the Ghost! One of my favourite books ever and a mindf*ck if there ever was one! (I can't read it in the night time to this day, I get too creeped out!)

    • thefireandthehearth says:

      YESSSSSSS

      Okay, I'd admittedly prefer Dark Lord of Derkholm, but it's not like anything the inestimable Lady Jones wrote was bad, and Howl's is definitely better known. And then we can have a liveblog of the movie! Which is really pretty, and almost nothing like the book! (which is okay)

      • arctic_hare says:

        Oh believe me, I'd love to see that too… but given how her writing of Tough Guide to Fantasyland and later Dark Lord of Derkholm was inspired by Lord of the Rings clones, I think Mark would appreciate it more after reading LOTR. 😀

  19. janype says:

    "Every summer (this being the fourth in a row), I participate in the AIDS/LifeCycle, a 550+ mile bike ride that raises funds for HIV/AIDS prevention and awareness in California." Oh man that's like 900 kilometers, my butt gets sore just thinking about being on a saddle for that distance.

  20. Anonymous says:

    Mark reads The Shoebox Project.

    The world of fanfiction is a scary place, but if you have to read 1 Harry Potter fanfiction, make it this one, please. It's unique and refreshing and SO true to life and…it doesn't deserve to be called 'fanfiction', it's that good. Plus, REMUS LUPIN is one of the main characters. That's right Teen!Remus. GOLD, I TELL YOU.

    Sorry if this has been brought up in the read suggestion thread, I think I might've posted something, but I can't remember, so this is just in case. Read it here: http://www.lomara.org/sbp/

    😀

    • Mandi says:

      I think Shoebox is a bit long for a one-off type review. Though it is good!

    • Emily says:

      I'm in this weird place where I really like the Shoebox Project as a piece of stand-alone writing, but feel that it ultimately fails as a fanfiction because the character drift in it becomes so strong that I can no longer imagine their James, Sirius, Remus, or Pettigrew doing the things that they did in the canon.

    • Anonymous says:

      EDIT:- Even though this didn't win, Mark (My Immortal–that should be painfully hilarious to read- I salute you for taking it on! :D), I highly reccomend you read and review this when you have the time, it's definitely worth it. Thanks for all the enjoyment you've given to all of us readers/watchers and best of luck with your bike run!

  21. Tauriel_ says:

    Mark reviews Life On Mars / Ashes To Ashes.

    Yep, that suggestion wasn't predictable AT ALL… XD

  22. enigmaticagentscully says:

    Mark Eats Fishfingers and Custard. On film.

    I'm told it's quite the Youtube craze. And it doesn't taste half as bad as you might think. *evil laugh*

    • enigmaticagentscully says:

      P.S. Sorry I couldn't donate much since I'm unemployed atm. But every little helps, right? And I'm cheering for you all the way! Good luck. 🙂

    • ffyona says:

      Vegan fish fingers and custard.

    • ShayzGirl says:

      It really is quite delicious. I eat it every Saturday for dinner before I sit down to watch Doctor Who. It's tradition on in my house. Pizza Friday, Fish Fingers & Custard Saturday.

  23. Macy says:

    MARK WATCHES ADVENTURE TIME

    It'll be totally algebraic!!!

  24. hpfish13 says:

    I'd like to put in a plug for Mark Watches Princess Tutu, but that might be better as a long term project!

  25. giga_pudding says:

    Mark Reads Series of Unfortunate Events and then rereads
    Just think of the hints he'll miss out on
    PS:
    "Never ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever play with plugs. Ever."

  26. hallowsnothorcruxes says:

    Mark reads The Princess Bride.

  27. xpanasonicyouthx says:

    FYI THIS WON AND I AM AT $3000. BLESS YOU ALL.

  28. Michael says:

    I would recommend that you do a liveblog of A Very Potter Sequel. You did the first, after all, and need to finish it at some point!

  29. giga_pudding says:

    Mark plays AddictingGames!
    and then does a review on the game

  30. qwopisinthemailbox says:

    THAT SLIGHTLY MAKES ME FEEL BETTER, THAT YOU ACTUALLY WANT THIS TO WIN.
    I WAS ONLY ABLE TO READ THE MEMO AND A SMALL PORTION OF THE FIRST CHAPTER BEFORE I REALIZED I COULD FEEL MY BRAIN CELLS DYING. YOU ARE OBVIOUSLY A STRONGER PERSON IF YOU CAN MAKE IT PAST THAT. (I DON'T DOUBT IT)

    did you know Tv Tropes has a drinking game page for this fic?

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