Saturday Casual Gaming 310: Merge Magic

In Which Gram Games Has Done It Again

Once Upon a Time, I played a mobile game called Merge Dragons, and it was good. It got overwhelming at a certain point, and some of the challenges seemed literally impossible, but I enjoyed it when I played it.

Then I discovered Gram Games' other merge/match-3 game: Merge Magic.

What a pretty loading screen...

So Merge Magic is basically identical to Merge Dragons, but with an emphasis on other mythical beasts, rather than solely focusing on dragons. So it's literally the same game with a paint job.

Except...

I'm having more fun playing it, it's more challenging yet much more fairly balanced, and a lot of the creatures are cuter than the dragons were.

So I'm having a blast. I've got magic llamas, magic squirrels, fairies, and more - all digging up rocks and throwing money at me and it's great.

And the holiday events! If I devoted an entire weekend to them, like they seem to expect, I might actually be able to beat one, one of these tries, but they're impossible for a casual player to defeat unaided by real money. Then again, half the fun is seeing how many event points you can rack up before the event ends, so that's still really fun!

And it's actually pretty easy to get the home garden cleared in good time, too!

So basically, if you liked Merge Dragons, you'll probably like Merge Magic. Keep an eye out for secret levels on the level select screen, match away to your heart's content, and just... earn all of the stars. Earn them all. Every last one. You never know when one will turn out to contain gems (the premium currency)!

It's available in the app store, if you were wondering.

That'll about do it for me today - I know, short and sweet...

Go Enjoy Something!
FC

Writing Day (Again, yes)

Thursday Art Walk 310: Damp Bird Day

In Which It's Really Gross Out

It's currently 38℉ (3.3℃) and pouring cats and dogs. It's blowing a gale out there and about as dark as can be. I just want to curl up with coffee and curry or something, but instead I am sitting in the dark waiting for the rain to calm down so that I can go and curl up with noodles and blather about writing with my favorite writer.

Dedbert wanted to go for a walk this morning, so I gave him an umbrella and let him go out.

"Damp Bird"; ink and pencil sketch; 2020

It was short-lived.

Now he's curled up in his nest with some popcorn and a good book, so that's good.

My day is looking to be damp and dreary but also cozy and productive. How about you guys? What are your days looking like?

Go Enjoy Something!
FC

Wednesdaymania 310: Light The Fuse Indeed

In Which There's A Few Things To Discuss

So, last week on Dynamite, one of the Executive Vice Presidents, Cody Rhodes, son of the American Dream, brother of Gold Dust, husband of the Chief Brand Officer, owner of Pharaoh, had one hell of a cage match against Wardlow, a sentient wall of meat and malice who we'd seen very little of in the ring up until this point.

It was, in a word, awesome, and not just because it was a really good match.

It literally inspired awe.

Like... Biblical awe.

Because that was a 23' tall (7m) cage, and he just...

He moonsaulted off the top of the cage.

And won.

Somehow no one died.

Now, you may be thinking to yourself, so what? Wrestlers jump off of stuff all the time, so what's so special about this?

Well, pooky, lemme tell ya:

Tony Khan told him not to do it.

That's right, the owner of AEW, Tony freakin Khan told Cody not to moonsault off the top of the cage, and the nutbar did it anyway!

AND IT WAS WORTH IT!

Usually, I have a very negative reaction to wrestlers endangering themselves like this, but the match literally demanded it, and it felt like exactly the kind of desperation move this new, reckless Cody would pull. He even used MJF's Ring against Wardlow, which I thought was an ingenious move.

So yeah, if you haven't caught up on Dynamite, do it now.

But that's not the only news we have to discuss right now.

No, we've got to talk about the elephant in the room: Coronavirus.

With public health and safety in severe jeopardy in Japan, how is DDT going to move forward, especially since Kenny Omega is doing some shows with them?

From what I've heard, that, at least, going to be alright: they'll be doing empty arenas and streaming shows from their dojo.

New Japan has cancelled what looks to be all of March's planned shows, but hopefully, they'll also run some shows from their dojo.

What interests me most about this situation is that Streaming isn't really that much of a thing in Asia - they prefer television to internet-based streaming (which is why NJPW does not currently have a Roku app, is my guess). However, with newly limited access to theaters and other issues with gaining access to entertainment, I'm guessing that streaming will finally find its place in the culture. Perhaps we'll be getting that NJPW app this year?

Not much of a silver lining, considering the terrifying clouds...

That'll about do it for me today, guys.

Go Enjoy Something!
FC

Talk About Tuesday 310

In Which I Blather

The sun has fled, but fortunately it left behind some glorious warmth! It's 44℉ (6.7℃), which feels fantastic after the bitter cold we've had this winter. My cat is asleep on the back of my mom's armchair, my mother is complaining about pop music at TJ Maxx, and it's just another Tuesday here. Still, I'm excited, because in a couple of hours, I'll be starting a writing marathon that hopefully won't stop until quite late!

But first, here's my plans for next week:

• Tomorrow I'll talk about that insane cage match on Dynamite, as well as other wrestling news
• I'll be doing some art on Thursday!
• Friday will be a look at Zodiac
• Saturday I'll talk about one of the games I've been playing
• Sunday I'll show you some noms, maybe review another supposedly "animal-free" Tonkotsu ramen we got
• Next Monday I'll give you progress updates on my projects!
• Next Tuesday we'll blather on here for a bit :)

So that's my plans for the next seven days!

But what about today?

Well, today's plans are: 

• get some shopping done so I have dinner - I was thinking soup and a sandwich, but who knows what I'll find?
• set up a few playlists so I have music to listen to while I write
• get some household chores done
• write from then to whenever I feel done, only breaking when I feel like it's time to eat!

Sounds like a basic plan, right? Well, nothing I do is ever straightforward, so we'll see how I botch it lol.

What are you guys up to this week?

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Fiber Monday 310: The Lady Grows Some More

In Which I've Done A Lot Of Work On A Lot Of Projects

I promise I worked on the shrug, but I've also been working on other projects, so it's not as impressive as it usually is :|

The Progress
also my feet lol

I've been working for a while on making some vintage lace to turn into a lovely choker, which I've finally finished (for the most part - I still have to weave in the ends and clip the extra string)!

The choker

I also get to practice my Blocking with this project, which is a first for me. I've never blocked before, so I hope I've done it more-or-less correctly and that it comes out well. I don't need it to be perfect - I just want it to work.

A closeup of the blocking. You can't really see it, but it's quite damp right now.

The other thing I'm working on (as winter wraps up, of course) is a snuggly brown sweater. It's a top-down affair in a thick worsted acrylic with a pattern from the Yarnspirations website. The pattern calls for zig-zags, but I think I'll just work down to where the pattern starts being solid (probably right at the armpits, tbh) and then make some sort of repeating pattern - maybe Fairisle, maybe something nerdy, idk. But for now, we're barely at the shoulders!

It's a much darker brown in real life. My phone eats color :(

So that's what I'm up to this week in projects! How about you guys? What are you up to?

Go Enjoy Something!
FC

Survival Sunday 309: Breakfast Time Again!

In Which I Make A Breakfast

I'm not really a breakfast person 99% of the time. I like breakfast foods - pancakes, waffles, French toast, quiche, toast, eggs, bacon, oatmeal, etc - but when I've just woken up, cooking is the last thing on my mind.

And then this morning, I had a craving for Cream of Wheat. Which I never usually want, but hey, who am I do deny my stomach?

So I set about making Cream of Wheat for breakfast.

Your first step is always to gather your ingredients and measure things

So for one serving of Cream of Wheat, you want 3 Tbsp (three tablespoons) of the cereal and 3/4 cup of either water with a pinch of salt or just straight-up milk. I chose milk, today, since I wanted to maximize the filling-potential. Then I readied my morning cup of coffee and set the kettle on to boil, but that was just for the coffee lol.

Also, the tongs are on the counter because I had to dig for my tiny whisk and the measuring spoons.

Next, you heat the milk!

I set up the milk on medium-low, stirring constantly until it came to a light boil. I didn't want to scorch the milk or burn it onto the pan (which is a pain to clean up), so I watched it like a hawk. Now is about where I'm going to admit that my initial plan was to just... nuke it in the microwave instead of making it on the stovetop. Then I thought for a second and reconsidered. It's a good thing I used the milk, too, since it's gonna go by soon...

Once the milk or water boil, slowly add the cereal mix and start stirring like mad

I've made Cream of Wheat using a spoon before. Don't do that. Find or buy a small whisk - this one came with a hot chocolate gift set a few years ago - and use that instead. You want to go until the mix is gloopy and makes slightly obscene bubbling sounds as you stir.

And then dump it in a bowl with some cream, cinnamon and sugar, and some brown sugar!

At this point, it was a bit pasty, and even after mixing in the cream, it was a little too thick, so it was a good thing I'd just heated the water for my coffee!

This is before I added water and mixed it together.

As for the texture, well... I remember Cream of Wheat being much soupier as a child, but between me whisking rapidly the whole cooking time, using milk instead of water, and continuing to stir like mad once it was in the bowl, the end result was like eating a soft, faintly sweet bowl of clouds.

I'm a convert.

This was so much better than most of the oatmeal I've made...

I think I'm officially old. That's cool :)

So what about you guys? Do you have any breakfast foods you used to dislike that you're now really cool with? What are your favorite hot cereal toppings?

Go Enjoy Something!
FC

Saturday Casual Gaming 308: Epic Battle Fantasy 5

In Which I Talk About A New Entry In A Fun Series

I'm pretty sure I've talked about Kupo707 and their Epic Battle Fantasy series before on here - I'm too lazy to check, but it's a fair bet that I have. I really like this series, too,and their latest offering on Kongregate and Steam, Epic Battle Fantasy 5, is a really great addition!

So far, in the series, we've been introduced to the five main characters: Matt the strength-focused swordsman, Natalie the sexy mage, No-Legs the legless cat who may or may not be a demigod, Lance the gunman who may or may not be a straight-up fascist, and Anna the tough and awesome ranger. They've fought dragons, monsters, gods, cats, and each other, many many times. It's been pretty... well... epic!

Every game is basically a soft reset of their universe, with none of them remembering each other (despite the quintet being in every game!) and with the world not really remembering their past exploits. It's kinda like in Legend of Zelda where there's always a hero named Link and a Princess named Zelda but the maps and everything else are pretty varied. And that's true of EBF5, too - combat and travel and locations are all just a little different.

There's teleportation via a few different cat-slimes throughout the world, and when you interact with them, you're taken to a screen between realities where you can warp out to other cat slimes you've already seen. It's useful, but they're not marked on your map, so you kind of have to remember where you saw the cat slime with the tophat and its relation to the cat slime with the skulls behind it...

Teleportation is fairly important because of the gathering quests you encounter in the world. Someone in the tundra wants new socks? You have to go find those socks (which might be dropped by enemies or discovered in random chests), then you have to come back to the tundra and find the guy you got the quest from to return it. This can be a pain (especially before you have all of your mobility items) but it's worth it for the extra skills and goodies they can give you!

Speaking of mobility items, there seems to be one item per area. Ice is slippery, but with the right item, you can walk right across it. There are booster tiles that send you speeding in one direction until halted by a wall or zoomed away in a different direction, but there are boots that let you stop on certain magnetic tiles! There are lily pads and clouds to walk on, and there are gaps to fill with ladders, and there's water to raft across, and it's all very complicated until you realize that you're probably going to find those items in a similar area to the one you're struggling with - probably from the area boss!

And the bosses are pretty darn fun! Mammoths, trees full of mind-controlled cats, alien artifacts, dragons, mechs... the list goes on! In a browser-based Flash game that lasts at least 30 hours, you're going to have a lot of bosses to kill!

But you don't have to just kill - you can also capture underlings and random monsters like in Pokemon - but by dropping a box on their heads instead! That part can be fun, but it can also be frustrating. Some of the monsters just do not want to get in the box (dragons and monoliths, I'm lookin at you...). Some of these captives can even be useful for upgrading your weapons or armor or they might be required for a quest!

And there are tons of weapons and armors for every single character.

Ever wanted to see a cat dressed like a samurai? How about a mage with an elephant on her head? Or a swordsman dressed like a pirate? You can do it! And they can wield weird weapons, too - swords made of ice, guns made of wood, bows made of pipes, and even a skewered hot dog as a weapon! Then there's the Flair - random accessories to boost various stats on your characters!

The battle system is pretty straightforward: You have a team of three with your two other characters in reserve, when it's your turn, you choose whether to attack, use a skill, change your tactics, change your gear, or use an item or run away. It's pretty easy to figure out what's what, since it's all clearly labeled, and the ability to switch gear in combat has saved my butt more than once. It's fun to bash up your enemies or to land that Area Of Effect spell to blast a whole mob, but sometimes I forget to pay attention to which wave I'm on and use a spell with a longer cooldown too early in the fight.

But enough about the mechanics of this game - what's it like?

Well, it's pretty darn fun, to be honest. You control whoever you've put down as your leader while you're walking around the world using either the arrow keys and spacebar on your keyboard or the mouse and right-click. Some things you can interact with will just give you some flavor (like a book telling you more about the ancient cat religion the world is obsessed with), whereas others will be hidden items (yay more snow I totally needed more snow thanks).

The art is lovely and colorful, the combat is fun, the movement is responsive, and the story is engaging, yet silly. Somehow they make the rise of fascism and eugenics funny? It's pretty great.

My only complaint is that it's really, really easy to accidentally start a new game after dying. For some reason, every time I get killed (usually in the Glitch World segments), I end up accidentally clicking "New Game" instead of "Continue" and when you're 20 hours in, that hurts.

I can't even complain about the paywall(s), guys. There are a few areas in the Kongregate version you cannot access without paying for it, but they're optional areas, and you still get some of the optional areas for free! Yeah, it's about twenty bucks to buy the game on Steam, but the free Kongregate version is still hella fun and you can still access everything you need in order to progress. The money helps Kupo707/Matt Roszak keep making these wacky fun games, and I'm all for paying the creators of video games when I can, so I might start buying some of these on Steam as I go along...

I think that'll about do it for me today, guys.

Go Enjoy Something!
FC

Filmic Friday 308: Spoiled for Choice

Too Much Of A Good Thing Is A Real Problem To Have

So I've been watching more movies in the last couple months than ever before - almost a movie a day in some cases! So what do you do when you feel overwhelmed with the amount of movies you've watched?

You take a break from movies for a little while. Which is what I'm doing today. I have seen a couple of movies recently that I'd like to talk about later, though, so here they are: First, there's Zodiac - a serial killer is on the loose and a newspaper cartoonist begins to descend into obsession while trying to track him down. Then there's CATS (2019) - A musical I've seen, but done poorly and with rushed cgi. I eventually want to talk about the stage production of CATS, but that'll have to wait.

I'm pretty sure I've seen a couple other movies I wanted to talk about, but I've been very tired lately, and my memory is absolutely garbage :(

How do you guys handle film burnout? Do you just keep watching and hope that you enjoy what you're seeing, or do you bow out?

I'll be back tomorrow, guys, never fear, but for now, I'm going to go pack up some food and head out.

Go Enjoy Something!
FC

Thursday Art Walk 308: The Sun Is A Liar

In Which The Sun Tells Lies

I got up with the sun this morning - a rare feat only occasionally accomplished either through insomnia or just poor quality sleep (which was the case last night). It was a beautiful sunrise - all pink and purple and bright - and then the sun itself appeared and took its place in the sky, shining brightly. The sun made a lot of promises when it got up this morning. It has kept none of them.

It's currently 23℉(-5℃), there's a breeze, and while the sun shines brightly... well... the ice is very slippery.

The Shadow would be alarmed.

So poor Dedbert, he took one tentative tap on the window to see if he'd be interested in going outside today, and... well...

"The Sun, She is a Liar"; washable marker and graphite on sketch paper; 2020

He's currently huddled in his nest, pretending it's not daylight.

I'm tempted to do the same, but I have dinner to make, a story to write, and a partner to team up with, so off I go, into the cold, cold day.

How's the weather out there, folks? Cold enough for ya?

Go Enjoy Something,
FC

Wednesdaymania 308: A Wrestling (Very) Brief

In Which I'm A Bad Wrestling Blogger

Full disclosure, guys - my internet went out this morning and I've been playing catchup with emails and social media. I also haven't been watching as much wrestling as I usually do - but that's more because I'm a sleepy birb lately.

Here's what I *do* know about wrestling this week:

• Nyla Rose as Women's Champ in AEW is awesome and I'm looking forward to it
• I also dig the Being the Elite stuff with Kenny and Hangman vs the Bucks.
• I need to watch more Powerrr because it's awesome
• I have a lot of catching up to do on MLW
• NXT is still awesome and Bianca Belair has it. She's got herself all figured out and it's a treat to watch her in the ring.
• Liger is still being adorable online
• I should watch some more New Japan soon

So not a lot to report (despite a lot going on, I'm sure), but wrestling is still cool, I'm still enjoying my shows, and I like that I can access most of modern wrestling via my Roku... except for NJPW.

Seriously, NJPW, get on this. It sucks to have to hook up a phone or laptop to a tv to be able to see what's going on!

Anyway, I hope that NJPW doesn't go through too much trouble due to Coronavirus, especially since it's battering Japan the way it is and with so many businesses trying to limit exposure.

Hopefully this year will be the death of the handshake and public health will become more of a focus for everyone.

I think that'll do it for me, guys

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Talk About Tuesday 308

Let's Blather, eh?

It's Tuesday, which means it's time to blather at you about the week and how life goes. It's a gray, lightly snowy (so far) day, 32℉ (0℃), and it's apparently quite raw out there. Not surprising, it's bleh.

I've had a hard time getting myself up and motivated today, guys. Seriously, I'm really sleepy and feeling the inertia. Hopefully I'll overcome it, though, because I have writing goals to meet today.

I also have crochet projects to work on and I hope to be able to get more done on the DA Lady Sibyl shrug.

So here's the plan, man:

• Tomorrow I'll probably talk about wrestling, since I'm thinking about the Business a lot.
• Thursday, I'll make some art to show off
• Friday will be about some kind of movie I've watched - not sure which one yet
• Saturday might be a mobile game
• Sunday might be a video?
• Next Monday, I should have more shrug to show you!
• Next Tuesday, I'll be talkin at you some more

It's gonna be an interesting week! I'm looking forward to seeing how my story progresses, how my art and crochet progress, and how much food I might possibly maybe make.

It's a short blog, I know, but I have pants to put on and food to pack up and a partner to work with on writing, so I'll see you tomorrow!

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Fiber Monday 308: Speed Up Would Ya Lady?

In Which It's Slow Going

I promise, I worked on the shrug, it just doesn't really look like it. Between the thinness of the lace yarn and the fact that I probably only did one or two pattern repeats, it's not too much bigger than it was. I apologize for this. I blame my poor time management skills. Also the fact that I've been super distracted by writing lately.

Still, it's lookin good!!!

If a little hazy. And furry.

Since today is a high-allergy day, and since I live with a cat and have worked on this around dogs, it's full of pet fur, which is annoying and makes my nose burn. At least it looks like a beautiful day, and it's in the mid thirties for temperature (above freezing!). It's sunny and bright, but the sky is pale and the horizon is that off-blue color you get when the atmosphere is odd.

It's lovely.

I'll be heading out there soon, but I just wanted to reassure you all that I am, in fact, still working on this project.

Go Enjoy Something, guys!
FC

Writing Again!

This Birdy Gettin Wordy ;P

Go Enjoy Something!
FC

Saturday Casual Gaming 307: AdventureQuest

In Which I Talk About One Of My Old Favorites

Real Talk, guys, I don't like MMORPGs. I'm only slightly (and begrudgingly) social, so I don't really want to spend 90% of my gaming time being bombarded by gold-sellers, whiney teenagers, and human trolls. I don't want to be constantly ganked. I don't want to be hassled. I just... want to hit the bad-bads with my pointy stick in peace.

So imagine my joy when I discovered browser-based Single-Player RPGs!

And imagine my exultation when I discovered Adventure Quest?!

But what is AdventureQuest?

Well, it's a browser-based single-player RPG made by Artix Entertainment and based in a world called Lore. You're an adventurer, and you're basically just... free to do whatever! You can click on the hills behind the town of BattleOn (yes, that's the town name) and just roam around, hitting the bad-bads with your pointy stick. Or you can just click on random buildings and take on quests! Or you can get hopelessly lost in menus while you try to find a sword you want to drop your hard-earned gold on! Or you can pay real money to become a Guardian (big bonuses, cool armor, you help the game exist, etc)! There's even housing, now!

All in a brightly-colored Flash-animated wonderland!
This is what it looked like for Halloween one year.

 The game does a pretty good job of explaining itself once you get playing, but it can be overwhelming. I know I was a little overwhelmed after going back for the first time in years. My old account was deactivated because that email address doesn't even exist anymore, but once upon a time, I was pretty good at the game.

You can even buy special armors that level up with you and give you special abilities!

Like this Vampire Slayer armor, which lets you have extra bonuses vs Vampires and Werewolves

The game has changed a lot since I started playing, I have to say. The art has evolved a lot, though... Character heads seem to be about the same. Also, there's no body difference between masculine/feminine armors, which is pretty fun, because you don't have to play a girl in a chainmail bikini!

You can play a girl in heavy robes beating the crud out of a sea dragon, instead!

Sometimes I get nostalgic for the old art, but... well...

The redesigns were a vast improvement...

All told, however, I have to say that I still love AdventureQuest/BattleOn. It was my first positive online RPG experience, and it let me play a blue-skinned, lime green-haired murder machine in Digimon goggles, so I can't help but love it. I also love that it's not afraid to grow and change with the times. There's a 3D version of the game now, too, but I haven't played that yet. Maybe some day...

What about you guys? Do you have any odd games you fell in love with long ago that you're craving a return to?

Go Enjoy Something,
FC

Filmic Friday 307: Post Oscars Silliness

Ever Wonder What Brad Pitt's First Movie Was?
It Was This One.

So the Oscars are over, Parasite won a bunch (deservedly so), the cast of CATS ripped on the visual effects people (which was not deserved, they did their best and got fired because of overblown expectations), and Brad Pitt won an Oscar for Once Upon A Time... In Hollywood (also deserved).

But what did Mr Prettyboy do in his first movie?

I'll tell ya: not much.

Yes, this is his first roll.
In an 80s/90s slasher.

Cutting Class is a rock stupid movie that thinks it's clever, is full of actors who have better things to be doing with their lives, and is only really of importance because it's the film that launched Brad Pitt's career. The acting is either stilted and wooden or over the top, because apparently the director micromanaged the actors' performances - especially Jill Schoelen's.

Baby Brad in all his adorkable glory.

Jill Schoelen's character is being left alone for the week by her District Attorney father (Martin Mull) as he goes for a brief hunting trip to unwind. She is played hypersexualized but... comes off as a baby instead of a sex kitten. Her boyfriend, Brad Pitt (and boy, that must have been interesting when his career took off, do you think she told people she dated him in a movie once?), just wants to goof off and get drunk and have sex.

Get used to that facial expression, guys.

Really, the cast is what makes this movie. The principal of the school, Mr Dante (you'll notice that's the only name I remember!), is played by Roddy McDowell, who is played as a bizarre lech of a man, but is also one of the only adults to not be killed. Spoilers, someone's killing students and teachers at this disfunctional sex-starved school. It's not Roddy, though.

He's just creepy and weird, that's all.

No, the killings are all done by the Weird Kid (played by Donovan Leitch). They don't hide it, and even the brief moment we're supposed to believe Brad Pitt is the killer doesn't work.

He's a fairly effective killer, though.

Now, usually, in movies where there's killing in a high school, all of the kids look like adults, and that's a problem here, but Donovan? I buy him as a high schooler. He's that creepy intense kid everyone talks about but nobody talks to. It's hard to believe that this school would just... let him back in after he'd killed his dad, but boy, they don't do much to support him.

This could all have been prevented if he'd been given therapy instead of shock treatment...

Anyway, the worst part of this movie has to be Martin Mull, who spends the whole time trying to get help after he's shot with an arrow in the opening scene. It's played for laughs, but it's as unfunny as bad comedy can be.

This part was crap.

But if you're still interested in checking out Cutting Class, go for it! It's not the goriest movie you'll ever see, but it's one of those "European director tries to capture the American high school experience" movies that are so much fun. It's pretty fun to watch, actually.

Except for the Martin Mull bits. Meh.

That'll do it for me, guys!

Happy Violently Beheaded Catholic Saint Day!

Go Enjoy Something!
FC

Thursday Art Walk 307: Sleepy Stinky Birb

In Which I Has A Sleepy

It's a sleepy kind of day. The snow is falling, the air is cool, and I stayed up way, way, way too late. I stayed up so late that I saw the dawn. That's how late I stayed up. So I grabbed some coffee, came upstairs, and drew a little picture of my boy, who (since I was awake all night) had also stayed awake all night. Bert may be an owl, but still needs more than 2 hours of sleep!

Since we'd stayed up all night working on intellectual pursuits, you wouldn't think we'd get sweaty, but you'd be wrong. I sweat a ton when I work all night because my body keeps trying to give me subtle hints and reminders that sleep is a thing, and when that doesn't work, it just floods me with heat to make me get away from whatever I'm so focused on. At that point, I usually fall asleep and wake up super dehydrated.

It didn't work on me last night, so I was asleep on my feet getting my coffee together and drinking it. Eventually, though, I took a shower and went back to bed. Dedbert also got to freshen up and get some rest, but I don't have an after pic for you - just a before pic.

"All Nighter #1"; pencil on printer paper; 2020

Poor Dedbert. He's so tired he's melting! He's stinky and sleepy and just wants to curl up with his bunny slippers, coffee, and toast before having a nice preen and a good sleep. He's very grumpy that I only slept a few hours, so I'll probably go back to bed soon.

I'm also definitely going to redraw this later with inks and colors, because that's a cute image and I want to put it on Redbubble...

Alright, that'll about do it from me, guys!

Go Enjoy Something!
FC

Wednesdaymania 307: Keeping Up With Wrestling

What Do You Do When There's Too Much Wrestling?

I'm just one person. I have two eyes that are barely functioning, two sets of two limbs, one brain, one heart, same organs as almost anyone else. I have the same amount of hours in the day the rest of you have - 24. 8 of these hours are supposed to be spent sleeping, 3 are spent eating, and then there are various bathroom breaks. So let's say I've got about 10 hours total in which to do everything that needs doing - writing, working, etc. That's if I don't eat while doing other things (which I usually do).

So when you've got this many quality wrestling programs to keep track of, something's usually gonna give, and since I refuse to give up food, it's either gonna be sleep or wrestling.

Usually it's sleep, to be honest.

This week, wrestling kinda went to the wayside as I focused on writing, crochet, and other things that needed to be done (chores, for example). I don't have my usual company-by-company updating to give you, so instead, let me tell you what I have learned about wrestling, this week!

• The NWA: Powerrr episode this week was great, and I really enjoyed both it and last week's episode.
• I still haven't watched Cody Rhodes' back getting turned into hamburger, and I'm actually uncomfortable with the idea of watching it. I don't do well with real pain, guys. I just don't.
• Which is why I skipped the barbed wire match between Jimmy Havoc and Mance Warner on ep 94 of MLW Fusion. I have seen the next episode, but I haven't caught up to ep 96 yet!
• I'm still following Jyushin Thunder Liger on Twitter, and if you aren't yet, you really should, because his adorable posts about what he's eating, his love of carnivorous plants, and his extreme talent in sculpting are incredible and give me life.
• I haven't heard much about Ibushi's health, but apparently he was in some kind of kaiju movie? I only know about it because my Film and Editing Friendo heard about it and told me!
• I'm slowly warming up to the use of Pantera in the NWA: Powerrr opening, but I dig that they change themes after every PPV.
• It's really fun seeing Shawn Mooney again!
• Taz is a darn good commentator for AEW Dark
• Even the little guys are getting on tv now - I hear that one of the YouTube based wrestling channels will be on a small French network now? Cool!
• I just really like wrestling, guys, even if I don't always watch it

If you're falling behind on wrestling on YouTube and in the world, I strongly suggest subscribing to one of the many internet wrestling news services out there:

• Wrestling With Wregret
• Wrestlamia
• WhatCulture Wrestling
• Wrestle Talk
• Wrestling Observer/Figure 4

So it's a shorter blog than I'd intended, but it's almost time for my writing sprint (30 minutes where I just write without any tabs open or other distractions), so I've gotta go.

I love you all.

I love wrestling.

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Talk About Tuesday 307

In Which Today Is Hard

Today is not cooperating with me, guys. I want to get up and do things, but I also just want to sleep. It's gray out there - sky, street, everything is gray. It's above freezing, but below warm out there. It's going to rain this afternoon. I'm not, therefore, excited for today's weather.

I'll be fine, I just feel lazy and tired.

Speaking of lazy - here's my plans for the next week:

• Tomorrow I'll talk wrestling
• Thursday I'll make some art
• Friday I'll tell you about the first movie Brad Pitt was in (I also saw a certain musical, but I'd like to compare it to one of the older productions before I finalized that blog lol)
• Saturday might be video games, or I might end up writing again - stay tuned to find out!
• Sunday maaaaaaaaaaaay be a video - we'll see
• Next Monday I'll have more Lady Sibyl Shrug to show you
• Next Tuesday we'll reconvene for coffee and blather :P

So yeah, I don't have a whole lot of plans for today beyond writing, returning bottles, and hanging out. I might even read!

Lazy lazy lazy me.

Go Enjoy Something, guys.

FC

Fiber Monday 307: The Abbey Lady Groweth

In Which I Have Made A Little Progress!

So you'd think I'd be a lot further on this shrug by now, but I've been distracted/busy lately. I have no excuses, really. It's not that I haven't been crocheting, I've just been crocheting things that aren't the shrug lol!

I made my dad a crocheted rubber duck for his birthday because he works in IT, and when they have a problem, there's a process called "Rubber Ducking" where you talk through the problem and process out loud to an inanimate object (such as a duckie), which usually helps you figure out what's wrong.

I also started work on a sweater using some brown Caron Simply Soft, which I'm going to try striping with a dark green I was given for Christmas!

I'm also working on a piece of crocheted lace for a choker I'm making for someone. It's been a long couple months lol.

So of course I've fallen behind on the Lady Sybil shrug.

Still at about 3" long, though! That's not bad - that's about 20% completion!

It's going to take a few more weeks to finish the body of this project, and then it's sewing time! And after that I get to add a lacy border! Super excited about that, tbh!

As for the rest of the projects, we'll see how all of that goes :)

Today, the weather is hellishly miserable. I mentioned that we had a massive ice storm recently, right? Well, now it's 39℉ (4℃) and drizzly and gross out there. There was about an inch of uneven, slippery ice on the sidewalks last night (which was a pretty but snowy night), so that's probably a death trap right now. I'm still gonna go walking today, though, because I'm a badass and the weather has no hold on me (that's a lie, but one I'm going to keep telling myself lol).

I think that'll do it for me today, guys!

Go Enjoy Something!
FC

Survival Sunday 306: Spinach For The Unwell

In Which I Made Simple Food For Sick People

At some point in everyone's life, they get sick. Sometimes, you're not the only one who gets sick, too, so that makes feeding yourself and others pretty dang hard. That's what happened to me a twice in the last two months. First, someone I care about was sick, then I had my migraine episode last week. Today, I'll tell you how I handled both kinds of illness with food.

The first illness was marked by severe headache, fever, nausea, and a general malaise. One day of misery, then gone. The intention was to make something filling but not too potent so that the ill party wasn't going to barf.

We chose some spinach soba from our Umai Crate along with a soup base that seemed like it would be hearty enough to be worthwhile but not so strong as to upset anyone's stomach.

The broth is on the left, and yes, it's kumamoto soba

As you can see, the somen is meant to support some veggies and spice, but we couldn't do spicy that day.

It didn't have much of a green color to start with, to be honest

I prepped the noodles by measuring out the appropriate amount of water and boiling it. I should have rinsed the noodles, but we were getting pressed for time, and I just wanted to get lunch over with. If I ever got these noodles again, I'd rinse them, but they weren't too salty in the broth despite the lack of washing.

And they were a bit more green when they were done cooking, too!

Overall, the spinach soba were very much appreciated. They were filling, and the soup base was rich enough to be flavorful without being so rich as to overwhelm. The next day, we were able to appreciate the noodles more, since we weren't sick anymore, but in the moment, we were just happy to eat.

As for the migraine?

The problem with my migraine experience is this: all of my senses become extremely over...sensitive? Is there a better way to say that? Regardless, light is brighter, dark is more absolute, colors are more vivid, sounds are clearer and more robust, touch sensation is vastly increased, taste is more extreme, and scent...

Scent is horrifically powerful.

I usually love the smell of a good chicken sandwich, but one whiff of my mother's lunch sent me charging into the bathroom to abandon the three sips of coffee and two ibuprofen I'd taken earlier. But I'm not one to let a little headache and nausea get me down (it felt like my skull was imploding on top of the nausea), so I got myself situated and headed out. After gingerly nibbling some water crackers and taking more ibuprofen, I was able to take a nap and sleep the worst of the migraine and enjoy the rest of my day, but for me, migraine food is: a little caffeine, bland white foods (especially crackers), water, maybe a plain bagel with cream cheese.

The cream cheese was a stretch - it's usually a significant trigger for me - but by the time I busted in on the bagel, I was well on my way to being better.

So that was my culinary adventure recently. Some noodles, and trying not to overdo it on a migraine day. The winter is always the hardest for me, health-wise. I don't get the proper vitamins and minerals from my diet, going outside is a crapshoot for whether or not I'll be getting dampened by the clouds, and I'm always, always stressed about the state of our streets and sidewalks. This is a terrible combination.

But what about you guys? What are your go-to sick day foods?

Go Enjoy Something!

FC