Weekend Warble 323

This Weekend Was Hard

I want to state firstly that I'm gonna delve into exactly why this weekend was hard, but if you're not here for that, you can stop before the break. Compassion fatigue is real, and if you are at your limit, you shouldn't feel bad for skipping the end of this blog. Keep yourself going. You matter.

Here's the light part:

This weekend I received a few packages from my partner, who decided that I needed snacks and who I am eternally grateful to. In these packages were a big bag of Japanese snacks I'm working my way through slowly (so far my favorites were the green apple konjac jelly cup, the grape konjac jelly tube, and the Texas Corn!), a 4lb (1757.7g) container of M&Ms, and an 8-pack of homemade pretzels from Kentucky that are just as good in the microwave as they are in the toaster oven, taste faintly of honey mustard, and are bigger than my ding-dang hand! These snacks are a lifesaver, since I haven't really been able to get to the store lately. Some friends of mine also sent me a lovely cloth mask that I'll be using to pick up some bottled water and/or juice later this week, I think.

I haven't been watching much tv or many movies, though I learned a bit about a failed Gilligan's Island follow-up and I've been watching both a PPV for the blog and a lot of Ghost Adventures for research purposes (story idea). I've been writing a lot, I've been practicing my digital art, and I've been crocheting.

I've played so much Breath of the Wild lately, because it's the only thing that has been able to keep my attention. I've tried to play quite a few Kongregate games, but none of them are keeping me focused, which isn't the games' fault. There's a lot on my mind.

I enjoy cooking, and I did actually make more quickbread with Everything Bagel mix for my partner, but I didn't cover it. I might eventually make some Soda Bread for home, but between the pretzels and the fact that it vacillates between 80℉ (26.7℃) and 60℉ (15.6℃) I haven't really felt the need. Also, I have to see if I can use one of the lidded casseroles to stand in for a Dutch Oven, which I don't believe we actually have here...

So this weekend was productive, just not maybe blog productive, lol.  It's been a lot of practice, novel progress, and listening to Dandy Wellington.

***

Now for the heavy:

It's been a bad weekend across America. Our 400 year history of screwing over people of color is really coming up, and it hasn't been pretty. People are dying. Police are killing people. A reporter was blinded by police who targeted her. A very old man was shoved down by police for the crime of walking slowly with his cane. It's... not good.

I hope there is progress made. I hope the officers involved in George Floyd's negligent homicide are charged. Not stopping a fellow officer from taking a life for no reason - no one was endangered by Mr. Floyd, who was accused of passing a counterfeit $20 (a nonviolent crime that anyone could commit by accident, think about that) - is, I believe, a crime in and of itself.

Now there are protests across the nation, and just like in the 1960s, when there were righteous protests filled with angry people who were tired of being commanded to die for no reason (Vietnam), angry people tired of being beaten and abused by society (people of color), people who were tired of being mistreated for their very essence of being (LGBTQ folks), and so many more people who were crying out for justice, these protests have been met with violence by the police. Just as wretched are the people who are obviously unconnected to the protests themselves who go about committing arson and looting and acts of violence of their own - the Umbrella Man with his very suspicious tactical gear, the old scumbag with the bow and arrows (trying to murder protesters!), the white morons with their automatic weapons, the white monsters starting the riots themselves while black organizers scream and plead for them to stop...

It's a terrible mess. It's a terrible time.

I suppose we never learn.

There are good things to focus on, though.

There are the hundreds of law firms who see the protesters who have been arrested (not, likely, the actual looters and provocateurs, if I had to guess) and are offering pro bono services.

There are doctors, nurses, paramedics giving advice on how to treat the most common protest-related injuries (chemical burns from tear gas and pepper spray, bruises, light dislocations, etc), offering confidential medical assistance.

There are people passing out water so no one gets dehydrated.

There are people who are using their voices.

Hopefully there will be justice for George Floyd. Hopefully, there will be justice for the reporters who have been beaten, bloodied, one with her (thankfully non-dominant!) eyeball exploded by a rubber bullet despite her obviously not being a threat. Hopefully, there will be a disarmament of the police, because as we see time and time again, the more weapons you give a person, the more often they will use those weapons, whether they need to or not.

I have hope that the people of America will (eventually) start doing the right thing. That we will destroy the systems that allow men like George Floyd to be held down until they die, or that allow police to destroy the private property of citizens without regard, or that allow police to slaughter women in their sleep (Breonna Taylor). This has to stop.

Black Lives Matter.

FC

Thursday Art Walk 323: Learning To Draw

In Which I Have Been Practicing

So, I was given an XP-Pen Star G430S for my birthday by my incredible partner (who also got me a yarn ball winder and a mug with our favorite bunny Tato on it but we're talking art today lol). I've been experimenting with it, and I'll be sharing my progress as I learn how to use the Paint.net program. I've never used a stylus-based drawing tablet before this year, and my exposure to digital art-making was almost exclusively MS Paint until recently. This has made for an... interesting learning curve.

I know how to draw. I know how to paint. I know how to do both of these things pretty okay. But I only really know how to do them in the analog pen-or-brush-to-paper world. Drawing with a touchpad, which is how all of my previous digital art was produced, is very awkward, but fairly intuitive and fairly easy for me to do. Using a stylus and tablet is a whole different animal from either pure analog or pure digital.

See, if I'm drawing with a pen or a paintbrush at my kitchen table, I'm watching the pen as much as the work, but... that's not the case with the Star G430S. You watch the computer screen, not the pen. The work is not below you but before you, and there is a definite difference in the way you control a writing implement you're looking at than one you're using on a screen separate from the point of contact. It takes a lot of getting use to.

Add to that the fact that I barely understand the program I'm using and you end up with some frustration.

But there's also the joy of discovery! I'm learning something new every single time I play with the tablet, and today I made a multiple-layered, gradient-backed drawing that, while incredibly childish, is still cute and still makes me happy!

"Bunbun" digital art; 2020

Holy cow, guys! I made that!

It... kinda looks like a NeoPet.

Were the NeoPets originally designed in Paint.net?!

But yeah, I'm pretty happy with how that turned out (though the gradient and flowers are a bit low, and Bunbun looks like he's levitating...)!

Would you believe I did all that while my arms felt like they were going to fall off? Because that's how they feel. I think I have a touch of inflammation in my tendons right now because while typing doesn't hurt, gripping and holding and pushing do. The pain is in my thumbs running down to my elbows, far worse on the right (dominant hand) than the left, and it feels like the time I hyperextended my elbow but much calmer. Like my body is warning me.

I guess this means I cannot play Breath of the Wild today :(

Part of the discomfort could be that I failed to stretch before I moved a large, heavy tent outside the other day, then got myself sunburned because I'm stubborn, but it could also be that I've been making test images every day for up to three hours a day using the tablet. Even with regular art, I try to take a day off between sketches because I developed repetitive motion soreness in my college art classes.

All in all, though, the tablet is a dream come true, and I'm having a lot of fun with it. When I'm not drawing with it, I've been using it like a mouse, because you can actually use it as an input device! I love that! I've been using it to play PokefarmQ and scroll through Facebook. It helps me figure out the sensitivity, the maneuverability, and the right way to hold the stylus.

What a blast this has been so far! I'm looking forward to using this inexpensive tablet literally to death.

How about you folks - are you trying anything out this week? Learning a new skill? A new craft? Trying out sketching or something? Let me know!

Go Enjoy Something!
FC

Wednesdaymania 323: Working Hard For The Coffee

Exciting News: I'm boring.

I've been commissioned for another PPV, recently, so that's what I'm watching this week! Stay tuned next week for that commission. For now let me see if you can guess what it is with three hints:

• "I'm gonna wear what I wanna wear"
• An American Mortician in Peril
• Kids being forced to say the pledge in a voiceover

Yes? No? Check back next week to find out!

I'm also working hard at my book, averaging between 100-150 words a day, and some days I've written over 300 words at once. I'd like to be more at my max than my average, but when your bedroom is 84 degrees with both fans running and you're a fridgeblossom like me, it can be hard to concentrate.

I'm pleased with the quality of my work, though, and that's just as important. If I hate my story, I won't write it, and that would be devastating.

So stay tuned, keep on keeping on, and stick around. It's been a really rough month for wrestlers, so if you're following any on Twitter or other Social Media, maybe send them a few positive messages - like telling them what you love about them!

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Talk About Tuesday 323

In Which I Blather

It is a beautiful day, despite a foggy, muggy start. Yes, there's a continual breeze. Yes, it seems a bit hazy. Yes, it is still muggy.

But it's almost 70℉ (21℃), and it's pretty sunny out there.

I baked a loaf of quickbread today (recipe here) with Everything Bagel mix in it. Drank some coffee, wrote some lines in my book. Pestered the cat, talked to ducks, and even did a few squats.

Today has been pretty good!

I will admit, I'm pretty tired - my brain kept waking me up last night with ideas and schemes, and I'll be honest, I've forgotten maybe 99% of what was waking me up, but I do remember one thing: I came up with some underpinnings for the dragon lady dress I came up with. In order to make the conical bust (not the 1950s kind, the 15th/16th century kind) - using either a Pfalzgrafin, Effigy or this kind of stays or early corsetry. Basically, I want to minimize the appearance of individual breasts, since the dresses are depicting a non-nursing specie (dragons) and a ton of cleavage would throw off that idea.

There's a time and a place for booby dresses. This is neither.

So yeah, today is productive, though I'm a little sleepy. I have some stuff to finish setting up, and I think I'll be getting a thing or two today, so keep an ear out lol.

Here's the upcoming ideas I have for the blog:

• Tomorrow, I'll be blathering about Wrestling, though, boy, it's been a rough month.
• Thursday will have some art progress to show you
• Friday I might talk movies or I might not, we'll see lol
• Saturday might involve cheesy games
• Sunday might involve me gushing about food because I'm fat.
• Next Monday, I hope to have a lot of progress to show you on my projects
• Next Tuesday I'll blather at you some more.

If you're in quarantine, stay in and stay safe.

If you're stuck out there in the world, stay as safe as you can.

Wear your mask when you can, don't breathe on each other, don't call the cops on guys who are reminding you of local laws, and try to enjoy one thing today, whether it's a show you like, a food you enjoy, or the delicate scent of fresia dancing on the breeze.

Just...

Enjoy Something.

FC

Fiber Monday 323: Giving Up

Uh, just to be clear, I'm just giving up on my internet today. Sorry for the clickbaity title.

I've been trying for the last hour to upload pics of what I've done this week, and it's just not going well - internet has been a real turd today.

So let me just tell you how today has gone, crochet-wise:

• Another repeat on the Downton Abbey shrug! I'm 1/4" closer to being done!
• I did a few repeats on my hair scarves, which means I'm closer to completion on those, too!
• I made another arm for my very colorful sasquatch/yeti doll I'm working on
• I did some work on a vest
• I did some work on some shorts, decided I hated the way they looked, the fiber I was using, and the pattern itself, so I ditched those. Translated patterns are always a crapshoot.

So I'm being productive, I just... don't have the best internet today :|

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Thursday Art Walk 322: Inspiration Strikes

Sometimes, the inspiration just hits ya

I am a big fan of CosTube - YouTubers who  make fashion and costumes and such - and recently one of the ladies I follow, Angela Clayton, gave an update on her efforts to recreate a famous Worth Gown. Worth was a gentleman who made some of the wildest gowns in the 1800s, so to see modern people making their own versions is wonderful.

Ms Clayton used a beautiful reflective mesh for her overskirt, and my imagination went wild. I know you can't really see this image (no matter what I did to the contrast, it wouldn't come out right...), but it made me think of dragons.

Dragon Gown 1

Actually, yeah, the photo I took with my phone looks better than the actual scan. What the heck...

Dragon Gown 2

I know it's hard to tell what you're looking at, but that's okay - I'm planning on digitizing the art and making a more visible version of it in my drawing program. Basically, it's a white dress to resemble a white dragon, but with the magic of digital art, I can create a lineart version, then make recolors galore. Hopefully I can figure out how to make things look like gold lamé, since that's what the gold version of the dress would have.

I don't think I'll ever have the skill necessary to make real live versions of this outfit, though, so don't expect to see me do that :P

Then again...

If I just make it a pants-set...

But no, that would be just as hard.

I cannot sew lol.

Regardless, I will get to work on drawing these bizarre dragon princess gowns (maybe each one will be slightly different?!) until this inspiration leaves me.

Just... don't expect boobs.

Dragons are lizard-like beings. They don't appear to suckle their young, and most mammary-bearing critters hide their boobs until they're nursing, so... dragon ladies probably don't show much cleavage lol.

Which is why I chose an 18th Century stays-based bodice - hide them girls.

Anyway, that'll about do it for me today - I have some things to do (including a bike to ride!). It's gorgeous out, at 65℉ (18.333℃), slightly hazy, breezy, and nice.

Go Enjoy Something!
FC

Wednesdaymania 322

The man above is Shad Gaspard. If you hadn't heard, he went missing on Sunday after a riptide pulled him out to see. His last act on earth was ensuring that his son would be saved first. His body was found this morning.

He was one half of Cryme Tyme in 2006 with JTG, but he was also an actor and a graphic novelist. He was a father. He was, by everyone in the wrestling world's reactions and words, a very good man.

I feel so awful for his family, having had to wonder for days where their loved one was, whether he was alive and injured or the worst had come to pass. It sucks.

It just sucks.

Go check out his work,

FC

Talk About Tuesday 322

In Which I'm ... late.

Today was a good day, more or less. There were ducks, hummingbirds, and tasty homemade chicken tenders. I went for a very nice walk, I washed some rugs, I did some squats. I also mastered Whistle-Sprinting in Breath of the Wild (a speedrunning tactic where you hold down the whistle button and tap the run button while holding the direction you want to run - way harder than it sounds). But I did forget to do one thing.

Obviously.

I forgot to write my blog this morning.

Which is why it's up now lol.

Here's my plans for the next 7 days:

• Tomorrow I'll talk Wrestling
• Thursday will involve art!
• Friday might be about some weirdness I've seen online?
• Saturday will probably be an update on how my gaming has been going lol
• Sunday will probably be about something I've eaten rather than food I've made
• Next Monday I'll update you on the crochet projects I've done
• Next Tuesday I'll be back to blather, hopefully on time!

I'll be working on more fun things tomorrow, keeping up on the novel, and maybe going for another walk (or bike ride!)

I think that'll probably do it for me tonight - I've got a book to write, wrestling to watch, and crochet to hook :P

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Fiber Monday 322: Progress Continues

In Which I Am Still Making Progress, But I Cannot Spell

No joke, I could not get my fingers to type out "progress" in the title. I wrote "porogess", "porgress", and "progorss", but it took about six tries to get it right. And yes, I slept last night. I slept really well. I think my nightlight may be dying though... I should look into getting a new one.

But enough about my pointless nyctophobia!

I'm slowly making progress!

I added another half inch of length to the ol' Lady Sibyl this week. Just... maybe 4" to go? Regardless, it's coming along.

But my startitis is pretty bad this year, so of course I have a side project. I've decided to make a sasquatch.

A very loud one

I'm using this pattern, but I'm making mine look more like the yeti. The seafoam green (yeah, that's green, color balance is hard) will be the face, hands, and feet. The rest will be a rich magenta. So far, so good!

How about you guys - how are your projects coming along? Have you completed a ton in the time it's taking me to make one rectangle folded in half and seamed at the sleeves? Lol...

Go Enjoy Something, guys
FC

Weekend Warble 321

Apologies for the Radio Silence...

What a whirlwind weekend it's been here in Quarantine/Social Distancingville! Let me give you a brief rundown of what things have been like since Thursday:

• I was an exhausted, sleepless mess on Friday, spending most of the day watching silly YouTube videos and playing Breath of the Wild.
• My mom made roast chicken for dinner that night.
• Saturday, I was so tired that I'd become dizzy with exhaustion. Been a while since I've done that.
• The roast chicken was reworked into a delicious leftover-based dinner!
• Despite the sleepiness, however, I managed to write over 200 words!!! That, I credit entirely to a very productive and enjoyable digital work session with my partner. <3 li="">
• Today, I helped my mother fix one of our windows, which became weirdly angled in its tracks. It took the better part of two hours to wrestle the dang thing back into the right position. Tilt to clean windows are great, but they pose their own risks lol.

So I mentioned a leftover-based recipe above. You want it? I give it:

CHIKKY BIKKY BAKE

• Leftover cooked chicken
• Chicken Gravy mix
• herbs & spices to taste
• Frozen Corn
• Onion
• Cooking Oil
• A biscuit recipe, prepared

Do you have your grandma's drop biscuit recipe? If you don't, just find one online. They're usually pretty simple. You don't really want a firm, cut biscuit recipe, though, so don't pop open the Pillsbury or whatever - you want to splat that dough on at the end, so hold off on it until you've got everything assembled.

1. Pre-heat the oven according to your biscuit recipe
2. Shred up that cooked chicken as thick or fine as you want, then dump it into the bottom of a casserole dish in a more or less uniform layer
3. Sprinkle the gravy mix over your chicken - use as much or little as you like! Then add maybe 1/4 the water it calls for, throwing in any herbs or spices you like and think would go well (like thyme, for instance). Smooth the new chicken/gravy mixture out into a nice layer.
4. In a saute pan, drizzle some cooking oil and cook up some frozen corn and diced onion! You can use any veggies here, though you'll want to par-boil any potatoes if you use them. You want the onions to get translucent and the corn to get soft.
5. Dump your veggies on top of your chicken, spread this layer out gently so that it's still on top of the chicken
6. Remember your biscuits? You want them to be a little wetter than your recipe calls for, so add milk or water (whichever liquid your biscuit uses) until it's just a bit easier to move around. You want it to be able to easily cover your casserole dish of meat and veg.
7. Once your biscuits are plopped/spread over the casserole, you want to pop it in the oven for about the same time as you would if you were just straight-up making biscuits.
8. Watch this like a hawk! Don't let these biscuits burn!
9. Once the biscuits seem done to you (they're the only thing uncooked, after all!) take this puppy out and let cool just long enough to be edible.
10. Spoon this tastiness out and gobble it up!

I'd have a photo for you, but we ate the food so fast there wasn't a chance to photograph it!

And once you're done eating, if you're looking for a game to play, may I suggest Idle Mine Remix on Kongregate? It's a simple clicker game with a lot of random chance to it. If you like that kind of gameplay plus simple graphics, go for it!

That'll do it for me today. I'll go back to sipping my coffee and griping about the hole in my sock :P

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Thursday Art Walk 321: Hippity Hoppity I Can't Use Photoshoppity

In Which I'm Getting Better at Paint.net!

Three things:

1. I'm 31 now. I am going to try much harder this year. At everything.
2. That includes trying to figure out how to do shading in my free paint program on my computer
3. I really, really liked the Bunnicula series as a kid. What's not to love? It's a book series supposedly written by a fairly silly dog about a vampire rabbit and a theatrical cat and a sweet numpty of a Dachshund!

So now you know what I started painting today:

Bunnicula 1, digital; 2020

As you can see, I'm still not 100% confident with the use of transparencies and layers, and I haven't even begun to cover backgrounds. I'll work more on this piece in the future, I think. It's based, of course, on one of the millions of stock photos of "smol bunny" in Google, but I hope I've changed it up enough that while the pose is similar, it's its own thing.

I'm actually kinda okay with the gray shading around the eye, and I'm looking forward to brushing in the floof and highlighting the ears so you can tell where the ear starts and stops. I'll be adding more shading to the inner ear, too.

I'm really happy with that eye, though. That's a really good eye, in my opinion.

I really can't use Photoshop, though, guys. I can't afford it, first of all, and secondly, it's... super complicated to me. I don't understand 99% of the tools available, and, to be honest, it just feels like a gross cash-grab from Adobe. So no Photoshop or Lightroom for me. No thanks. I'll find free alternatives and do my best to master them.

So expect a lot of progress shots from me learning digital this year.

I'm about to go scramble an egg into some leftover Thai food from dinner last night, so I'll just leave you with this:

Whatever art you make is awesome.

Yes, even crayon doodles.

Yes, even potato faces.

Yes, even the doodled genitals in the margins of your notes (but make sure those don't end up with your teacher or boss).

Yes, even fingerpaints or random Play-Doh sculptures.

Yes, even glued-together popsicle sticks.

Your art is great and valid and I love it.

Make your weird poured-paint organs and bones.

Make your ugly monster dolls.

Make your hyper-realistic insect paintings.

Make your super-simplistic line sketches of plants.

Splash some color on some canvas or paper.

Go monochrome.

Just...

Go Enjoy Something!
FC

Wednesdaymania 321: Birthdaymania

In Which I Have Gone Around The Sun Again

Every year, many of us celebrate the day we drew our first breath with our own lungs. Today, it is my day of first free air, and I'm rejoicing that I've survived for 31 revolutions of this big blue rock around our big yellow sun.

I watched a fair bit of wrestling this past couple months - mostly it's been WCW Prime and WWF Shotgun Saturday Night, which... definitely look for those on YouTube if you haven't seen them yet! Actually, let me just... list my viewing experiences for ya:

• WCW PRIME
• A WCW C-Show
• Dusty Rhodes Moos a lot
• Great wrestling that just keeps getting better
• A laugh riot and exactly what the doctor ordered
• A+++ 10/10 will continue watching
• Even if the eventual co-host, Chris Cruise got AEW fined 10k...
• WWF SHOTGUN SATURDAY NIGHT
• A WWF C-Show
• Great Wrestling that keeps getting better
• Unfortunately just as racist as WCW at the same time, since no one bothers to learn how to pronounce the Japanese and Mexican names... Except Sunny.
• Sunny is peak hotness at this point
• HOLY CRAP ARE THESE FUN SHOWS
• A++, 9/10 will continue watching
• WWF SUPER ASTROS
• A Spanish-Language C-Show
• BEST WRESTLING
• You will get sick of hearing the name Papi Chulo, though
• But seriously, muy bueno
• BEING THE ELITE
• They are at the top of their game, guys.
• These are seriously some of the best episodes ever
• Now with 100% more actual wrestling!
• And seriously, they may be largely joke-based matches, but they're obviously well-worked and really fun!
• Watch this stuff for your AEW fix :)
• DARK SIDE OF THE RING: COCAINE AND COWBOY BOOTS
• Buckle up buttercup
• This is a biography of the rise and fall of Herb Abrams and the UWF
• Don't be drinking anything during this, some of the lines are crazy funny
• Also, it is so not suitable for children. Look at the title. That's the super tame version of events, though also a very good description of events.
• You will never look at baby oil or baseball bats the same way again

I also watched more Kana-chan TV (Asuka's YouTube channel) and some Wrestling with Wregret!

I'm actually watching Brian Zane's review of the AWA's Wrestle Rock Rumble right now, so I will have to leave you lovely folks for tonight.

Be well, be safe - keep breathing as you hurtle through the universe with me

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Talk About Tuesday 321

In Which Birds Are Hella Loud

It's 5AM. The sun is rising slowly behind a damp slate gray wall of clouds towards the ocean. The road is drying from last night's rain. I just heard my mother go outside to feed the birds - a scoop of mixed seeds for the songbirds who woke me, a huge scoop of duck feed for the wild mallards who have decided our backyard is the finest diner in town, a brick of suet for the brazen woodpeckers, and if I'm being honest, probably some seeds for the chipmunk who lives near the steps.

I'll probably go grab some coffee soon, maybe some toast, and I'll start my day (grudgingly). I haven't been able to sleep lately. Not more than a few catnaps. I can't get comfortable. I should try bringing up a full water bottle tonight - it's been a while since I properly hydrated.

Sunday was Mother's Day, and I made a last minute doily for my mother. I can't remember which pattern I used, but I made it with pink thread and it has two 3d rows of petals on it like some strange flower. I'm pretty proud of it! It should've taken less than five hours to make, all told, but let's be real, I was skating on too little sleep even then.

I do worry sometimes that I've developed chronic insomnia or that weird brain condition where you stop being able to sleep and just... die slowly.

That's not at all likely.

I'm probably just dehydrated. That's what it always is.

But paranoia is easy (if exhausting), and I'm a suspicious-minded moron, so that's how things are sometimes lol.

I wrote over 800 words in the last two days. I'm pretty damn proud of that.

Aside from the doily for my mother, however, I haven't been crocheting enough. I just haven't had the focus. That's right, writing - the creation of entire worlds and narratives from sheer imagination and willpower - is easier for me to do tired than crocheting - a series of small muscle twitches and basic counting skills.

I'm looking forward to trying to play Pokemon SNAP like this today lol. It should be a blast. I don't remember all of the ways you're supposed to make things work, though, so I don't know if I can get past the first secret! Seriously, I've forgotten how to solve the hidden routes, where the signs were... I seem to recall being really good at the game, but the last time I played... I barely got that Voltorb to explode.

I think it's raining again. Ugh. I don't want to close my window. I like hearing the chickadees, sparrows, cardinals, blue jays, grackles, red winged blackbirds, woodpeckers, and ducks. I even like hearing the neighbors' silly chickens. And yeah, very little is funnier than watching a chicken in a vest jumping over another, bigger chicken.

And big news!

Tomorrow I turn 31. I already have my major gifts - a gorgeous bike from my parents, and hands-down the cutest mug I've ever owned from my partner! I legit don't know which I'm more excited for, because yeah, the bike is going to open up my possibilities over the summer, but... Tato mug! I'm looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow, maybe blathering about wrestling a tiny bit on here, but if the spirit moves me, tomorrow might just be a workathon on the novel.

The novel is, after all, about wrestling. It suits.

Yeah, I think that's what I'll do!

I'll wear the awesome Marty Scurrl t-shirt my partner gave me, I'll throw on a YouTube playlist or a music stream, and I'll work until the afternoon.

That actually sounds pretty nice :)

Yeah, the rain is coming in now.

I'll have to shut the window as the crows caw outside, huddled and dripping on the telephone wires. It's pretty pleasant, but the wet will ruin my woodwork, so... shut it must be.

Here's the week's plan real quick:

• Wrestling talk tomorrow? Maybe. Might just be a quick note and a smile from me.
• Art Thursday - hopefully unassisted
• Movie discussion on Friday - not sure what yet, but I'll think of something.
• Video game talk on Saturday - maybe I'll tell you how badly I sucked at a game for babies?
• Maybe food talk on Sunday - we'll see lol.
• Hopefully I'll have pics of stuff for Monday - I need to free up some space first
• See you back for blather next Tuesday!

I love you all.

Stay in if you can.

...

I really should close this window.

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Saturday Casual Gaming 320

In Which I Have Been Gaming!

So, this month, I've been gaming a lot! It's just... not free stuff :| Mostly.

Here's a list of games I've played this month and some notes on said games:

• Resident Evil 2 (N64)
• I am so glad I used Infinite Health and Infinite Ammo, because I couldn't figure out how to walk, much less run, away from the zimzams, resulting in my just... slowly circling as zombies chewed on me for about ten minutes
• Graphics? Not great, but holy crap I'm impressed at what they crammed onto an N64 cartridge, since... uh... it was not designed for a cartridge-based system but a cd-based one!!!
• Music: Gorgeous, eerie, some of my fav music.
• This was especially poignant due to Paul Haddad, voice of Leon S Kennedy, unfortunately passing away. Yes, he had cancer, but his surgery had to be postponed because of COVID, so we can thank the 21st century plague for us not having this absolute treasure of a man any longer :(
• The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Switch)
• I love this game, even though it kicks my ass.
• Seriously, this game is kicking my ass.
• Maybe I overestimated my abilities with Master Mode?
• Yet! I totally killed three Hinox yesterday, a feat that was... much harder in the regular mode, especially with Black Hinox...
• I'm using way more two-handed weapons this go-round, but I haven't yet mastered the dodges.
• I... think I'm experiencing some pretty annoying Drift, because sometimes, my POV will just shoot straight down, so I'm in a top-down view, and sometimes I can't look up.
• I think I have more Star Fragments in this run than in my previous three regular modes combined...
• Watching so many speedruns has made me... not better at the game, but perhaps a little braver. But I still hate any of the falling hazard shrines (like the Synced Swing shrine - ugh)
• DOGS!
• My horses are murder machines in this runthrough - they won't stop running over all of the wildlife. On the plus side, I have so much food.
• I am hoarding arrows like a madbeast because I desire vast quantities of Ancient Arrows in the future...
• Coloring Pixels (Steam)
• What can I say? I like filling in boxes, and that's all this game is.
• Seriously, it's a paint-by-number.
• I like it. It's free.
• Escape Room Computer Office Escape (Kongregate)
• This game was fun!
• It was short, but only once I figured out the logic behind the puzzles. At first I was in chicken-with-no-head mode, running around and clicking everything. Thankfully, if you keep a level head, all of the puzzles give you their solutions... eventually.
• You should give it a go if you like escape room puzzles!

And that's my gaming updates for this week :)

Go Enjoy Something, guys!

FC

Filmic Friday 320: Watching The Internet

The Internet: A Huge Resource For Movies And Entertainment

Let's be real, y'all already know what the internet is all about, what's on it, and what you like to look at. I won't bore you with an in-depth history of New Media and social networking and all that.

Instead, let me bombard you with a few YouTube channels I've been watching this week:

• NintendoBlackCrisis - I've been playing more Breath of the Wild, so it makes sense that I'm watching a lot of Zelda Theory videos. NBC provides some pretty nifty theories, and they're easy jumping off points for your own theories on the deep, confusing lore of a series that only recently became interconnected in more than name and theme.
• 2Can TV - a man with toucans. What more can I say? I like birds.
• Rachel Maksy - a delightful young lady with a penchant for vintage dress and creative costuming (including a feminized Creature from the Black Lagoon).
• PointCrow - Another Zelda guy, though he's more known for being a very quirky speedrunner. Ever wanted to see someone beat Breath of the Wild without ever turning Left? He's done it. Feed all the dogs? Done it. No Stamina, ever? Did it. Never getting the Sheika Slate?! DID IT.
• Chunk the Groundhog - Exactly what it says on the tin. A cute groundhog. He has a girlfriend. They're cute.

I'll try and give you guys some more recommendations next week :) For now, just stay in if you can, wear a mask, wash your hands, and know that I love you all.

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Thursday Art Attempt 320

In Which I *TRIED* To Make Art

So you haven't seen many examples, but one of my favorite art forms is watercolor. I love painting with watercolors. I find it very relaxing, I love how dreamy the colors can be, and I really enjoy the process.

Unfortunately, I forgot to close my door today.

So I ended up with a "helper"

Evie cannot be around the watercolors when they're out, since they're not pet-safe, so I had to wait for her to decide to leave my room.

Guys, that was three. Hours. Ago.

She's still in here, wandering around, giving me death glares when things aren't to her liking. My allergies are acting up. I won't be able to finish this piece today :( BUT! I did get an undersketch done. Check back next week to see if I managed to finish this watercolor of a cityscape!

Now, a few extra wrinkles:

• I haven't used this kind of watercolor paper before. I haven't had much luck with the paper tablets you can get at most stores, because I tend to work very wet, and that just... mushes the paper up. I prefer a good cotton paper like Arches or something. Still, this is what I found, and as far as practice goes, this should help.
• It's been over a year since I painted anything. Hopefully I've still got it.
• I don't know what colors to make this. It's a four-layer image: background of the sky, mountains, cityscape, and foreground of a park. I usually just do two layers (sky and city), so I'm not sure what colors to make things. Mostly, I need help with the foreground (do I just do darkened shades of what the actual park colors would be or should I go with a monochrome effect?) and the background (I know the top is black, but what should it fade down to? Is this black-to-purple, black-to-red, black-to-green?!)
• I don't 100% remember how to watercolor paint properly, so if this comes out looking like garbage, we'll blame my poor practicing, right?

Regardless, I'm looking forward to getting back into watercolor again :)

What are you guys up to, art-wise?

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Talk About Wednesdaymania 320 lol

In Which Wait... This Isn't The Right Image?!

I can explain.

So... Tuesday. I'm writing this (technically) on Tuesday.

It's Taco Tuesday.

It's also Cinco de Mayo.

I'm not Mexican, but I do love an excuse to load up on beef & cheese in a taco shell...

But that's not the reason it's my Saturday image on a Wednesday while I talk about Tuesday!

Simply put, time lacks meaning right now.

So since it was/is Cinco de Mayo, we watched some AAA matches and some WWF Super Astros. Don't know what Super Astros is? It's the Spanish-language version of Superstars, basically. One of the episodes we saw was right after Over the Edge, so they were discussing Owen Hart and his unfortunate end constantly.

The matches on Super Astros were incredible. Lots of Super Loco, El Merenguero, Papi Chulo, and most fascinating of all: Tons of Minis. I have nothing but admiration and respect for the Minis of WWF. They put on insanely good matches with greater consistency than any of the other talent, and at the end of the day, they worked so much harder than they had to. I wish they'd have put Minis back into the mix, because while Hornswoggle was fun, he wasn't enough. Not when Max Mini and Mini Nova and El Torito were all running around.

Love me some crazy wrestling!

The AAA Matches are on their YouTube channel, so if you want to watch a clown and a dragon totally wreck the Lucha Bros in style, you go find that! There's also an intense, bloody match with Blue Demon Jr involving blading, bleeding, and a ball-peen hammer. It was a bit hard to watch in places, but insanely good. Seriously, go check out the AAA YouTube page!

So that explains the Wednesdaymania, right? And it happened on a Tuesday, so that's Talk About Tuesday... why video games?

Because I set up the N64 in my room today and set up my laptop so that I could have my partner watch me play through Resident Evil 2 on the N64... because I don't have a streaming setup and I don't have any way of streaming a legit N64 game via the internet.

It was a blast, so if you have a loved one who you like to play video games near, definitely set something like that up. We used the Facebook video chat feature, and it took a bit of fiddling with my overhead light, the window shade, and the angle of my laptop's camera to get everything to work. Then we worked on my unfamiliarity with N64 controls.

I used to play N64 games over at my cousins' place in the 90s and early 00s. We played a lot of the original Smash Bros, Pokemon Stadium, Pokemon Snap, and... actually, yeah that's it.

I played fifteen seconds of the demo for Ocarina of Time in a store once?

But yeah, I have very very little experience with any other N64 games.  And Resident Evil 2 has Tank Controls. Thank goodness I had put in both the invincibility cheat and the infinite ammo cheat, because I was running in circles constantly in the beginning. See, I couldn't figure out how the Tank Controls worked. I suuuuuuuuucked at first. And then my partner patiently walked me through the panic that was setting in (I was afraid I'd broken either the game or controller) and we made it all the way past the Spade Key! I'm lowkey not looking forward to the dogs...

But yeah, today was spend mostly clearing out space for me to play the game (I should get a chair...) and then playing the game! Then I went downstairs and ate tacos, and then I came back up to watch a bunch of great wrestling.

So that was today/yesterday.

I hope you guys are having a productive and/or safe Corona Season.

Go Enjoy Something!
FC

Fiber Monday 320

In Which I Am Very Sleepy But I Did Do Some Work

It's another gray day here at the homestead, and everyone is in a nappish mood. The cat has claimed my mother's lap for a snooze, my mother has claimed her recliner and is yawning loudly downstairs. I'm curled up on my bed debating whether or not I'm tired enough to sleep in jeans. I think I may be.

I did a bunch of squats last night - 5 reps of 20!

My thighs hurt. Imagine.

I did my laundry this morning.

I added about 1" to the Downton Abbey Lady Sibyl Shawl I've been working on forever. I started a pair of shorts that might be too big. I started a bag that might be too small. I've started work on some lace that might be too complicated. I am making an amigurumi that might be too cute.

It's been a busy month.

It's only the 4th.

Tomorrow is the 5th, and I'm excited because it's both Cinco de Mayo and Taco Tuesday, and while I have 0 Mexican heritage, like most basic white bitches, I do love me some Mexican culture. I'll see if I can catch some lucha matches online tomorrow...

I moved about 30lbs of random boxes of crap to a different part of my room and I've been slowly organizing. I need to move things out of the way of my TV, but more on that tomorrow, lol.

Today is about the fiber arts. And I am still working hard. I hope you guys are all working on your projects too! I hear that there are new requirements for masks - 1 to 2 layers of tightly-woven cotton for the fronts, a layer of tightly-woven natural silk for the inside layer, try to include a filter pocket for either some HEPA filter bag bits from a vacuum cleaner bag or fold up some paper towel if you can. I added the Dinorar design to my Redbubble shop if you guys want to buy a mask from there with a lil dinosaur on it.

As for the projects I'm working on, I have to say, they're all going real slowly except for the amigurumi. Those tend to work up really fast, even if the patterns are more complicated than the one for the shrug. It's literally a 4 row repeat on the shrug. It should be so much faster than it is...

And don't even get me started on the blanket I set out on. It's going slowly because I can't read the chart very well. It's supposed to be a bobble chart, but I'm doing it in single crochet... so I have to translate while I work. And my math brain is broken.

But that's enough white whine. I want to hear how your guys' projects are going! Are you making masks for your family and friends? Are you making blankets? Vintage-style dresses? Potholders with inappropriate anatomy on them? Wall-hangings of famous artists mashed-up with famous monsters? Actually, I should do that some time.... Fright-a Kahlo (as the Bride of Frankenstein?) sounds like a fun piece to work on...

That'll do it for me today.

Go Enjoy Something!
FC

Weekend Whimsey!

In Which I Forgot To Post Yesterday, so Have Some Noms &; Blather

Guess what guys? Yesterday was taken up largely by me trying out my new bicycle.

Ain't she purty?

So, yeah, that happened yesterday. It has a bell, a reflector, a back board for strapping stuff onto, and a front basket (not pictured). It's been 20 years since I last rode a bicycle with any regularity, so I'm having to relearn how to use it. Also, I'm maybe 1 inch too short for it, so mounting the saddle is a littttttle difficult. It's probably the best time to get a bike here, because all of the high-traffic events have been canceled, and we've closed our harbors to cruise ships with more than 50 passengers.

I'm excited that I'll get to be more mobile. I'll need a bike lock, but other than that (and some practice) I'm ready for this! I'm stoked!

But enough about a bicycle...

Usually on Sundays I've been posting food, right? So where's it at? It's on YouTube :P I made me some more Nissin Demmai Black Garlic Oil Tonkotsu Ramen after it was requested by a fan who purchased me a couple of Ko-Fi's. This was someone who knows me first-hand, so they knew I had the ramen to test. I probably won't be able to do stuff like this all the time, but it's fun to be able to do it once in a while.

Alright! There's the video!

And hey, if you guys like it, give me a like and hit subscribe on the ol' YT.

That's all from me today - got me some crochet to work on and people to watch videos with!

Go Enjoy Something!
FC

Filmic Friday 319: Pandemic Presentations

In Which I'm Back on Daily Blogs and Blather About Movies In Seclusion

So you've finished Netflix. You're binged out on the newest and best. You're looking for cinematic comfort food. You don't know what to watch because you're bored and you're months into your quarantine.

What are you watching?

I know almost everyone has seen the big Netflix and Hulu features, we're all talking about tigers and meth (though you do not want to talk to me about that particular flick, I promise), and reality tv and maybe you've seen CATS too many times, but...

I promise, there are things out there to watch!

The first advice I have for your viewing-pleasure is this: pay attention to your feelings!

If you're feeling very stressed out right now, perhaps Night of the Hunter should wait for when your resting heartrate doesn't resemble that of an Olympic sprinter mid-race. If you're looking for ways to stay up at night to finish that project you've been putting off, then you might want to skip the Bob Ross marathon. Maybe you're trying to stop overeating - stop watching Chopped or Eat, Drink, Man, Woman.

How you feel is very important to finding something you'll enjoy watching. If you're in the wrong mood, even a beautiful film will be the wrong fit! If you're feeling like schlocky horror, then that's what you should watch - don't force yourself to watch Forrest Gump or Shakespeare in Love.

The second thing you should pay attention to is who you're watching the movie or show with. Are you surrounded by children? Maybe hold off on Raiders of the Lost Ark (though I saw that as a wee lil baby and I loved it, so gauge your kids' hardcore-levels). Is your partner a romantic? Maybe don't watch anything by Eli Roth... Does your mom hate horror movies? Try to avoid The Thing or Aliens.

But if you're alone, then anything is game, right?

Maybe.

Like I said - pay attention to your mood. Don't just throw something on and think you'll react the same no matter what. Especially now. I've found that paranoid viewing right now is a major no-go. No one should stay up with their heart in their throat, jumping at every noise (unless that's what you find to be a good time, you wild person, you). You may find that your tolerance for childhood classics has dropped to shockingly low levels, and when you throw on that copy of Beauty and the Beast or Bambi, you are inexplicably angry. There's nothing wrong with you. You're living through something that hasn't been part of daily life in about a century. You're coping the best you can.

So if your usual comfort-watches aren't working, try to find something else! Maybe you remember a movie you kind of enjoyed but haven't seen in a while? Try that one! You may find that the weird noir movie you saw that one time at a library event is just what the doctor ordered, or maybe you usually only watch crappy action movies when you wash dishes and now you're craving them like a pregnant person craves fishsticks? That's fine! Watch what you feel like you're watching.

And finally: TURN IT OFF if it's bothering you! You are under absolutely zero obligation to finish any movie, show, episode, or video you embark on. You might go through thirty YouTube videos to find the right one. That's okay. You're not doing anything wrong.

Everyone's going to go through this differently, everyone will cope in their own way. Just make sure you're taking care of yourself and not letting yourself get overwhelmed (which is its own challenge).

If you're looking for a way to watch things with a partner, there's a website called watch2gether.com where you can share videos with each other in a chatroom - just keep it legal, folks lol.

I hope you guys are doing okay out there right now, and I hope to see you all back here once in a while as I begin to write daily blogs again. Don't be alarmed if I miss a day here or there - I might have nothing to say on a particular day, or I might be busy (like many people are right now).

Welcome back to the blog!

Go Enjoy Something!
FC