Aquarionics

Cheques for Free

So you remember "Save Karyn"? Karyn is a valley girl who ran up about $20,000 in credit-card bills before somebody, somewhere stopped giving the stupid bint money. Her reaction to this was not - as society dictates - to get two jobs and stop paying for cable, but to sell some stuff (Good move), Keep her current job (good move), and ask the Internet to pay her credit card bills.

Hmm.

Didn't do anything, wasn't offering to do anything, just straight out asking for money. Now, I can understand people asking for money for things, when I was employed I made a point of putting something in the tip-jar of the comics I enjoy reading, but that's slightly different because it's a two way thing. Piro draws comics, I buy Megatokyo blankets; Randy draws comics, I pay paypal; Keenspotters draw comics, I buy Keenspot Premium service. Now, I'm not sure what I find more disturbing about this whole thing, the fact that Karyn just asked for money, or the fact that she got it.

Because she did. As of November 2002, Karyn raised the full $20,000 ($13,000 from donations) and finished paying off her debt.

She isn't alone.

Now, some of these people are asking for help for stuff that either isn't their fault, or is generally due to Bad Stuff Happening like Rob who got run over, and Karyn lists more of them, but there are others like HelpAGeekGetLaid.com who are just asking for money for the sake of it.

New latest one to be doing the rounds is GiveBoobs.com, where you are asked if you really supported a persons right to modify their personal image (or "get big tatas" as the site puts it) you are now given the ability to donate money so that an unnamed American can pump herself to look like Lara Croft for just for and a half grand.

And people say you can't make easy money out of the Internet...

And Karyn? Karyn's writing a book, due to come out Autumn (It'll be the funny story of what happened, she says sort like "Confessions of a Shopoholic" meets "Bridget Jones." Welcome to my wacky world! So look for it then! Buy it up!) and a new clothing-selling website at Prettyinthecity.com.