Charitable Idiots

I don't know what it it about the not-for profits (why does the term always change? Are people dumb enough to think that "non-profit" means they run at a loss no matter what? Is "charity" bad, like "handicapped", now?) in this town, but I find them fucking hard to do work for. And I mean, they don't usually seem to want me to shoot for them (for free): I can't count the number of times I've been simply ignored when I make the offer. A couple of examples: the IWK Foundation, who thought I'd be perfect to do a long-term project on sick children at the IWK, but rejected me because I insisted that I would have to maintain copyright to my work, and reserved the right to exhibit it. Not sell or license, just show to people. The nice lady told me she didn't think I was entirely altruistic; no fucking shit, I do enjoy my art and like to be able to show it around.

Now-and-then, though, I get to some cool stuff, like a two-day visit to the Salvation Army camp near New Glasgow. All the kids there were having a hard time of it for one reason or another, and seemed to have a huge time getting away from the city. But it didn't all end well: after I turned in the proofs, the Army PR droid (an incredibly loud, incredibly earnest recovering-fun-haver named Ron Zima) asked for high-res copies of everything on DVD. I told him that I would provide retouched files on a job-by-job basis when they were needed: and I never heard from him again. Waste of time, but good shots.