Disaster Wipes Out DepARTment Store Merchandise and
GIFShop Souvenirs!
(AP*--Geocities) Over a thousand digital images were lost
in a virutal at the end of January. When artist and proprietor
Ann-S-Thesia went to open up her shops on Sunday morning, February 1, she
was shocked at the devastation. "It was horrible, just horrible,"
says Ann, "broken images everywhere. Such a waste...they're damaged
beyond repair." Fortuantely Ann had opened up a consolidated free web graphic resource
at her newly-revised S.S.Studio
site just a couple weeks prior to the GeoCities disaster. It features all
of the graphics and more that had been offered at the depARTment
store and the GIFShop. "Fortunately I can offer nearly uninterrupted
service," said the Aesthetic Pharmacist as she is sometimes called,
"and the S.S.Studio's free graphics are all in one place, unlike the
GeoCities sites which were more spread out in different sites due to space
allocation. I guess if there had to be a disaster like this, it couldn't
have come at a better time."
When asked if she would restore the existing GIFShop,
she shook her head. "It'd be foolish. I'm already spending an inordinate
amount of time restoring the rest of the Aesthetic Pharmacy to its original
condition. I'm certainly not going to restore part of it that's already
available at my other site. But don't worry, the other non-free graphics
part of the Pharmacy will still be available--the personal
area, pets, the Phairy,
etc., it's all still there. Hey, I just got a virtual
domain here and I'm not going to let it go to waste!" As to the
depARTment store, Ann does concede that
is a total loss. "I won't be restoring that one. All the depARTment
store did was offer free fine digital merchandise, and now all that is
destroyed."
Broken glass, ceramic bits, molten metal and shredded
fabric now litter the floor in the depARTment store where once beautiful
blown glass buttons, gold metal bars and fine wallpaper were once displayed.
The windows are all blown out and it is not advised one ride the elevators.
Ann's husband, Stan Starbuck, who leases the depARTment store for her in
the SoHo Studios neighborhood doesn't rule out foul play. "There's
a lot of uncreative hacker nerds out there who'd love to see artists homeless.
I feel sorry for some of the artists who were actually living in their
lofts. Now where do they go? Fortunately we've got the other place."
Starbuck, who also maintains the site "prozACADEMIA,"
in the Athens neighborhood, was asked if that site would continue to offer
Ann's free graphics since it was not affected in the disaster. "In
solidarity with the SoHo sites, I will eventually discontinue those graphics
too. They're all available at the other
site anyway."
GeoCities landlords who own all the spaces damaged by
the disaster could not be reached for comment.
*not Associated Press, Aesthetic Pharmacist!
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