Hey there everyone,
As I write this, the fundraiser is closing in fast on three-quarters of a million dollars and there are only three days left.
I’ve been working pretty solid 12-16 hour days for a while, and I’m starting to feel it. So today I’m going to keep it simple and share a video of my little boy: Codename Oot.
For the last couple years, Oot has had his own team page for the fundraiser because he wants to raise money for cows. This year, he had the bright idea of painting some pictures he’s going to give away on that team page, to encourage people to donate.
This is “Cow in the Morning.”
This is “Cow in space.” (I didn’t do a good job of catching the gold painted stars on this one. But they’re pretty great in better light.)
Here’s a third one: “Red Cow in the Desert.”
When I asked him if the red cow had a sunburn because it was in the desert, he just looked at me for a while as if he were confused. Then he said in a slightly exasperated tone, as if he really couldn’t believe I’d asked the question, “Is the cow in space blue just because it’s in space?”
So yeah. That’s fair. I’m obviously overthinking it. I didn’t question the blue cow. Why should I question the red one?
A few quick notes before I turn in for the night:
- Anyone who donates on Oot’s Cow Jar page is also eligible for the daily prize draws and stretch goals on my page.
- You’re also eligible for the $170,000 worth of books and games we’re giving away, too.
- My younger boy, Cutie, has painted some pictures, as well. Including quite a nice one of a duck. We’ll be putting those up on Oot’s change jar page soon too. (I’d do that myself right now, but it’s three in the morning and I need to be up in less than five hours.)
- If you’d like a graphic that would help you promote the fundraiser on social media, here you go:
- I’m going to be doing a livestream with Oot later on tonight (Friday from 5:00-8:00 CST.) We’ll be playing games together, answering questions from the chat, and talking about cows. You can watch us or follow the channel here to get notifications whenever I stream….
Here’s another link to Oot’s Page, if you’re feeling like you might want to help make the world a better place.
See a bunch of you on the stream later tonight,
Spread the word.
pat
18 Comments
For Oot-
Great job!!! I hope to see more paintings soon. Maybe some cows under water with scuba gear or some flying cows? :)
I am going to head over to your page now and donate. Thanks for spreading the word and helping other kids, Oot. You have a big heart.
For Pat –
Thank you :)
*hugs*
You have such sweet boys Pat!
(that edited in *bam* at the end there made me choke on my breakfast a bit xD)
Looking forward to the stream later! Great job Oot!!!
I love that the space cow has a glass bubble helmet! What a thoughtful way to encourage donations Oot :)
You ever have those days where you needed the reminder that the world wasn’t all horrible? Yeah I needed this today. Thank you Pat and Oot. Just thank you.
Way to go, Ooot! You got my donation! :)
Could you also please post a graphic with a goat that is $120 – I think my friends and family are more likely to donate the amount of a goat rather than a cow. And also goats are adorable. It’s the amount that I plan to donate. I would share that graphic on multiple social media avenues.
https://twitter.com/PatrickRothfuss/status/1071569065892868096
Re: Heifer International.
Pat, have you seen the Joaquin Phoenix narrated documentary Earthlings https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxVtCSLyGFs or read Peter Singer’s life changing book “Writings on an ethical life”?
Team OOT! what a great kid
Pat,
I have heard you mention not once, but twice recently that you have a dream to kickstarter a DnD type story telling experience for little kids. This caught my attention because my brother in law (one of the finest geeks I know) has been developing exactly that for the last few years. It is called “little adventures” and features story element cards out of which an adventure can emerge. His kids love it, and rightly so in my opinion. If you wanted a starting point for developing such a thing, that could get you a great start. Also, he would be beyond thrilled to hear from you. If you are so inclined to see what he’s got, just shoot me an email and I’ll forward it on to him. Thanks!
p.s. I don’t have a website, so I put a link to his non profit site in that field in case you wanted to check out what kind of awesome geek he is :)
Space cow is wearing a blue spacesuit. Duh.
I’m sorry about the comment above me, pat. Do your thing. Make the world a better place. We are with you.
Ott has created the ultimate cow lvl.
When I look at the red cow I see a man’s face, and it haunts me.
…it also gives me an idea for a surreal D&D encounter.
The cow is obviously suffucating wich, as we know, makes beings blue.
What lovely kids you have. To be so aware of those in need at such a tender age is a credit to your home, it really is. Seeing this level of awareness in children so young means we can expect great things from them in the future. They are just wonderful.
Years ago I was in Powell’s Books in Portland. I was told to read Game of Thrones by a friend. When I found it’s gigantic section, I noticed an employee had scribbled a note on the shelf. It read something like ‘If you’re just starting to read this you are too late. We recommend reading The Name of the Wind instead.’ True story. I’ve read and re-read. And just finished the audiobooks. Not a first timer to the blog but a first poster. Thanks Pat. Sex on a stage indeed…. King has his constant readers. You have something along those same lines but slightly different. Keep doing things right.
Looks wonderful… Picasso has a replacement! Gotta say it’s great when you see members of society that have taken their responsibility of unsuring that their offspring turn into contributing members of society… Seems like your son is already finding his own way of contributing! It’s so cool of you to share yourself and your family with all of us… It make you all the more fun to relate with. After following your blogs and videos years ago it seems like you’re in a better place mentally… As I’ve had to deal with my own things (like I’ve heard you say therapy, therapy, therapy it was hearing it from you that made me finally give it a try) I just wanted to tell you that both your words in videos and blogs have been a tremendous help and encouragement. I’d also like to thank you for sharing Temerant with me. Having the ability to escape my world before I learned to process things in a healthy way into the magical one you’ve created was sometimes the only thing that I felt I could do. I’ve never been so close with a cast of fictional characters nor felt so easily immersed in a fictional kingdom. I’m sincerely hopeful that like you said in the prologue of TWMF that you have more time away from writing and more time to talk about ducks with your son (It warms my heart every time I restart that book and see your prologue) I also hope you never forget that your fans that are truly decent humans feel the same way they did in between NotW and TWMF the most important thing isn’t the books it’s your health and ability to not miss time with the ones you care for, then it’s writing a story that you feel proud to attach your name to. Besides you’ve crafted a story with such intricate storylines so richly filled with subtle hints that can be deciphered and used to make inferences for what lies ahead… Even with the amount I’ve read and re-read NotW, TSRoST, TLT and TWMF I have yet to come away from a single reading that hasn’t given me a deeper insight into the story your telling. So take your sweet time and know that there’s some of us that realize that this world and story was initially just a personal experience, a hobby if you will, done for your own personal enjoyment and when culminating a story of such complexity that was 20+ years in the making it’s perfectly understandable and reasonable that someone would be going through everything with a fine tooth comb. I’d wanna have certainty that it was perfectly how it was intended… Write what you wanna read! Cause that’s what I wanna read too!