Have I no shame?

This morning I spent some time considering if posting what I’m about to post is a great idea or not. I had a big explanation written up- how OV makes a choice (and it’s a choice I’m going to stick with) to not monetize the site; no paid advertising will ever show up here* and we’ll never allow ads on our youtube videos.

Right now, the site costs me nothing to keep online save time and man-hours; the video clips I put up here take on average five to ten hours each to get online for ya’all to watch. A five minute video clip takes Five hours. Between reviewing the tapes, capturing the footage, cleaning up the video and audio, editing them, branding them and uploading. It takes a while.

Since the death of my scanner a few weeks ago, the reprints of interviews by Mr. Shaw have to be typed. Word for word. Then proofread to make sure I got them right.

“Jeeze, Shawn… I get the feeling you’re about to lay a guilt trip on me” you say?

I am.

Traditionally I tell people who ask “what do you want for your birthday?” that I just want to see them. And I mean it. This year is no different. I’m going to be enjoying some sushi at May’s Place in NYC on Tuesday 31st July at 10pm and encourage anyone local to the area to come on out, enjoy some cheap sushi and help me deal with getting older.

The guilt part is this:
Should you feel like saying thanks for the work that gets put into OV in the form of a swell birthday present….

This year I’d like to get some traveling in, so I’m asking for Southwest Gift Cards for my birthday. I know that gift cards are usually thought of as an impersonal present, but they’ll help me see friends that I rarely get to see. And it’ll make you feel good to know that you’ve sent a total stranger on a vacation. (Ok. I’m stretching it a little.)

Southwest Gift Cards.
The email account is awap@aol.com

Cities I’d like to visit include:
Austin, Texas
Denver, Co
Tampa, Fl (David Bruehl visit!)
San Francisco, Ca
Chicago, Il

So if you’re in any of those cities… there’s a chance I’ll be able to thank you personally!
Any amount helps, from $5 on up. I’ll be packing my video camera and checking out shops in the city (cities?) I visit, and the content will end up back here on OV. so it’s like that scene in the Lion King. With the circle of life.

Honestly, in about five minutes I’m going to feel really guilty about posting this, but that guilt will be suppressed by gift cards 😀

*Wordpress.com places ads on all sites hosted on their server. To remove those ads, I’d have to pay for server space etc, which would make OV go out of pocket on it. I’d rather have their ads than tattoo suppliers etc.