2025 Update Video/Projects Announcement/State of Things (bad)

Thanks for talking about this. I'm a member of my local unitarian universalist church and we recently did our yearly pledge drive. I increased my donation to them and I'm also increasing my patron pledge here too. I'm glad to be able to support the people and organizations who give me so many ideas to ponder.

I appreciate you sharing the depth of your financial situation, and acknowledging how this is not unusual. Way too many people seem to think self-employment as an artist is some fun easy thing now we have the Internet, rather than the absolute grind it is.

Love ya Ian. (Parasocially of course) The money troubles are real and I’ve seen another creator friend going through the same will I won’t I dance with YouTube so I know some of the financial and emotional toll… I’ll ride this Patreon ship to davy jones locker, but if you need out, get out - fuck capitalism but I’d rather know you found a job that pays your worth and finally gets your head above water more than see you trade your well being for our entertainment. If you ever need anything, don’t be shy. Starving artists can simply be artists if only we feed them.

I bumped up a level when I saw your SOS on Bluesky, but I also find myself mainlining your videos again and again - is it better economically to rewatch on YouTube (I have Premium if that matters) or on Nebula? Where does our attention net you the best money?

I'm looking forward to seeing a little more behind the curtain and the bingo transparency. As I said in the survey, the old bingo was a non-event to me and a skip, for the reason you mentioned in this vid. Now I'm interested. I want to see you overcome those frustrating roadblocks you sprinkled in. Those RNG RGB squares are gonna be a bitch, lol. I LOVE the idea of more transparency with progress on works, while acknowledging the risk of failure and disappointment. But you know what? It's my disappointment to feel or not feel and I appreciate that you're going to let me manage it myself, instead of you taking on that burden for everyone. I'm sorry to hear about your financial struggles. I'm even more sorry you didn't ask for help sooner. Your vigilance against manipulative begging is appreciated, but I'm a patron, so let me patron! It's my pleasure and honor to support a creator with a unique voice. I don't feel the least bit exploited or manipulated. I do feel underutilized. As it so happens, I've recently purged some parasitic subscriptions from my finances (example: I was paying $9.99/month to Sony for a service I literally never use, and that for over a year!) That money is yours starting now and I'll be there for the fundraiser also.

Small note on the media updates you've been doing: Because of your music lists I (re)discovered Zeal & Ardor and I got to see them live on monday. It was fantastic, thanks for shining a light on so many amazing and varied artists!

Happy to ride the roller coaster all the way to wherever it's going, whether that be onwards or the end of the channel (hopefully not, but if so, I understand). I'm sorry things have been so rough, and I hope that you can get your taxes corrected - getting taxed on income twice as high as it actually is BS. I lived in the same metropolitan area as you for a few years, and it was a fantastic place to be. I loved it so much, but the living expenses were indeed absolutely off the charts. Now, I was on a salary and fixed-term contract, so I knew I had limited time there and also enough money to pay way too much rent on a small studio without a proper kitchen. But at some point you can't justify that cost for even the best place to live.

I watched Mars Express. It's great! Especially, a great opening scene!

That's a heartbreaking place to be financially, and I can empathize with how tough it is to admit that to your community. I'm glad you still have a desire to find things you love, because you deserve to be able to love things! I'm... never going to be a very active part of your journey, but I want you to know I value your journey and hope you'll reach a place where you can teach even more people about the techniques and lessons learned <3

Christ. I didn't know how much you were doing on so little. I definitely didn't understand the volume of dedication and sacrifice the channel represented for you. I've been here since Phil Fish; all I can really say is that in the decade since I've not found anyone else doing anything close to what you do anywhere remotely near your level of quality. When I was self-employed I withheld taxes from myself so I could be clear-eyed about what I was actually being paid, and whether it was how much I needed—but more importantly, whether it was how much I felt I was worth. It's clear that you have not been paid what you needed, let alone what you are worth, and you've just been absorbing that deficit and pushing forward for the sake of the project. This is just as stoic as it is tragic. I can't sit pretty and say that your financial (and I'm sure emotional!) jeopardy is worth it for me, the viewer, to enjoy some video essays; even if they are the most substantial, most clarifying, most well-written, most powerfully concise and clear-eyed video essays on the planet. But I know it's worth it for you. I hope that if there's a way through, you find it. Your channel is a success either way.

So stoked about the Lana Del Rey deep dive! On another note, the realization of "I should have been withholding my taxes" is a position I've seen more than one of my friends in, and I'm sorry you're going through this. I hope you get the OIC!

It's so sad that it's impossible to make a living as a creator. I hope you find a way of navigating through this acute financial situation. Bankruptcy is not worth it, and I'd be very willing to contribute to a fundraiser. Completely understandable if you need to go get a job ❤️

Tim Rogers prose is slowly seeping into my scripts too. Once you see how much fun he's having with words, it's hard to resist :P