Wednesdaymania 22

There will be no full Wednesdaymania this week because I'm on my way to an ROH/NJPW show! See you tomorrow and expect a lot of inarticulate squealing!

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Talk About Tuesday 22

Our jack o'lantern now sits on the deck, miraculously in one piece so far!

She fits. She sits.

I haven't voted yet, but I'm going to after I finish this blog, so don't worry. I'm all about that civic duty! Since it's still technically the morning, I'm in my pajamas, hanging out on the couch. The cat's asleep in one of the recliners, and the fog-wreathed leaves are slowly falling from their trees, a blanket of gold and crimson which sets a dramatic scene or two at this little house in this little town.

This past week has been full of animals we don't usually see in town or at my house. It started with my mother spotting a big, healthy-looking coyote in our back yard this past weekend. It stared at the house, knowing that if it saw movement it would have to run. People in this town don't seem to like coyotes, and I get that they kill pets and livestock, but they also eat the behemoth squirrels and overabundance of mice and rats, so I say leave them alone. She had a picture, and he was quite the handsome coyote for a canine who likely lives in the dump.

Her encounter was quickly followed by one Z had. I got a text the other day telling me Z'd seen a fox on his way back from my house. The two regarded each other near an intersection before the fox left. I'm told it had a massive tail. That's usually a good sign that they're healthy. I hope so. The coyotes will need all the help they can get cleaning up from this year's roadside carnage (there are more squirrel and bird carcasses this year than any other I can recall).

I kind of live at the edge of town, and it's not a very urban town to begin with, so animals aren't too uncommon. I grew up watching deer and moose, ducks and geese, squirrels and chipmunks all playing in the tall grass of our field, which we only mowed once in a while to keep the alders and swamp maples out. It was a losing battle.

Now we just keep a path down the middle and on either side.

It is in this section of our lawn that today's strange visitor appeared. My mother was getting ready to go and vote, maybe get some shopping done in-town, and I had opted to stay home, drink coffee, and blog. Neither of us expected that me wandering into the kitchen as she settled her purse and bags in the car would result in me bolting out the door to give her the news.

We had a bobcat today.

This is incredibly unusual for my area. The coyotes are bold, so we see them. The raccoons and skunks are fearless, so we see them. The foxes are attracted to our neighbor's hen-house, so we see them.

None of us have ever seen a bobcat out here.

It was smaller than the ones I'm used to seeing on Big Cat Rescue's YouTube channel (because they're Florida Bobcats, not quite the same as ours), but bulky. Its bobtail was twitching as it peered out of the brush on the left hand patch of alders and swamp trees. Its huge paws reached out tentatively into the path. I could tell the bobcat didn't like the path - it loped quickly across and was lost in the brush on the other side. As soon as I thought it would be safe, I bolted out to tell my mom, who was just pulling down the driveway.

All of this happened in a matter of seconds that felt like an eternity.

So now I know that if I see anything the size of a large skunk lurking in the back yard, it might not be one of the usual suspects.

I hope I see it again so I can take a picture, because it was gorgeous.

Remember to vote today, if you're American, and check your local businesses! One of ours is giving a 10% discount if you show up with your "I Voted" sticker, so always check before you head out.

And keep an eye out for unusual creatures! We've had owls and eagles, and now with the exception of bears (which I hope I never see), mountain lions (which I really hope I never see) porcupines, & beavers, I think I've seen all the major native mammals in my backyard now...

Go Enjoy Something!
FC

Fiber Monday 22: Pumpkin Continues

I had hoped to finish our pumpkin today. Unfortunately, it's still slow going. I will say, though, that we're getting there.

I also hoped that my second skein of orange would match tones, but... it's slightly redder than my original orange. That's okay - pumpkins are rarely uniform in color, so it should be fine.

It's kinda obvious, though...
On the other hand, I'd say we're getting there on the height (left-to right)!

I think the pattern's looking pretty good, too!

While I was crocheting today, I was listening to some video game music on YouTube, and while it was playing, I happened to look up. The music was pretty neat - some sort of middle-eastern beat - and that's what made me glance at the tv. What I saw there, however, stopped me cold. I even gave an audible "what" when I read it the first time.

The game the music came from was called "Valkyrie Profile", and I've never heard of it.

That's not what baffled me, however...

"Should Deny The Divine Destiny of The Destinies"
What.

I... I don't know, man. What the heck.

I don't think they localized their English very well on this one, and it makes me wonder if any of the rest of the game is quite so... odd.

Seriously, though, what does it mean?

"Should Deny The Divine Destiny of The Destinies" indeed...


That'll do it for me for today!

Go Enjoy Make Something!!!
FC

Survival Sunday 21: What is Loaf?

I. Love. Bread.

Not as much as Satoshi Kojima of New Japan Pro Wrestling, but I really, really like it and consider myself a member of Bread Club 4 Loaf.

That's right - this guy. He loves his bread.

Like, really, really loves bread.

So I really love bread.

I just suck at making it.

So this week, I'd like to talk about various breads and see if there's any interest in me experimenting. Bear in mind that I'm terrible at bread and don't always have the kitchen to myself, so I can make no promises. I'll also try to keep the choices limited - after all, I'm not going to start myself on a difficult bread when there are easier ones to attempt!!!

1) Anadama Bread

A tasty New England treat!

This bread is amazing when warm and spread with melting butter. With hints of molasses and memories of cold nights in a warm kitchen, surrounded by family with no means of escape... er... holiday cheer! It's a delicious bread, and one that has a lot of history in my family. I doubt I'd be making it in a Dutch oven, which is how that loaf is round, but I'm fairly confident that I could, eventually, make it right.


2) Boston Brown Bread

Yeah, that stuff you can get in a can from A&W...

I'm not a huge fan of brown bread (even less so with raisins), but it's still bread and it's still good with butter on a cold day. It's also good with baked beans, and I should really put a recipe for that most sacred of New England traditions up on here before too long. If you want to watch me desperately try to make bread in a can, this is the one to request :P


3) Slow-Cooker Bread

What's this?!

 I love bread. I love slow-cookers. This seems like a match made in heaven, and I want to try it some day. Also, it's bread. How could it not be good? Then again, I had literally never heard of this before I went looking for pictures of bread today, so I have no idea how good it is.


4) Sourdough

Possibly one of the best sandwich breads!

Sourdough and I have a long history of me eating sourdough bread and sourdough bread being consistently delicious. Unfortunately for me, sourdough is also one of the more difficult breads to make, requiring a sourdough starter. I don't currently have any starter, so I'll have to go looking for some (probably in one of the local shops, since I'd trust their starter more than something from a national chain that's been shipped across the continent several times before ending up in one of our Z-grade shops). That being said, I love me a good rustic sourdough, so any effort would be worth the final product.


5) White Bread

Simple, basic, tried & true...

Possibly the most popular bread in America, white bread is the most basic of breads. It's good with pretty much anything and for pretty much everything. It was, however the victim of my last attempt at breadmaking and came out like a set of bricks because I'm garbage at kneading! Maybe a second attempt (with a stand mixer and more supervision) could be what I need?


So those are the 5 breads I'm curious to try my hand at. If you have any suggestions, please make sure to leave them in the comments below - I get an e-mail notification every time you post, so I should be able to read them all!

But if I'm doing a bread overview, then what shall we do for a spice this week?

Molasses!

This bizarre goop is thick and bittersweet and completely ubiquitous in New England households. This byproduct of sugar production is often enjoyed by the older generations with some butter on warm bread. I've never been a huge fan of molasses on its own, since the flavor is pretty strong and polarizing. It's the licorice of the sugar-production world. To be honest, I just don't like it. When it's in bread, however, it give a deeper, richer flavor than more refined sugars, and it darkens the color of the bread to a significant degree. It's in both the anadama and brown bread recipes above, after all!

I would actually  recommend having some on-hand if you can find it, since it's got a some uses in cooking, but if you can't get a bottle of this stuff, don't fret overmuch. You'll probably be able to get it on Amazon, after all!



I think that'll do it for me today.

Go Enjoy Something!!!
FC

Saturday Casual Gaming 21: AdVenture Communist

Game: AdVenture Communist
Creator: Hyper Hippo Games
Platform: Mobile (Android, iOS)
Type: Idle, Resource Management, funny

So, I don't believe that Communism works as a social structure because it basically seems to require a degree of Fascism to operate. I'm all for some kind of Socialism, but it always has to bow to the will of the people and I just haven't seen Communism really do that. Honestly, it'd be pretty nice to have a society that is, by its own virtues, entirely interconnected and supportive of every single person within it, but that's not the point of this game.

The point of this game is potatoes.

That's right.

Potatoes.

Potatoes and State-Mandated Fun...

In this game, you can choose to be either a lad or a lady who begins a communist regime where your entire economy is based on potatoes and the "comrades" who farm them. There's science, specialists, and, eventually, space, but mostly there's potatoes. And eventually bananas.

You spend your time in this game meeting quotas (missions) in order to gain more resources from the glorious state - my current missions are to Collect 30 Cards (which give you bonuses and automatic production), Collect 5 EE land, and Collect 140000 Plantations. I'm at 6/30 cards, 8.54 DD Land, and 64466 Plantations. I've been playing for a few months now.

You rank up by completing these missions, which also give you more science and/or cards and/or other bonuses. I'm currently Rank 9, which means I have a fashionable olive drab shirt, a nice moustache and a 5 o'clock shadow. Fancy.

I have to say, though, this game is actually a lot more streamlined than Hyper Hippo's other game, AdVenture Capitalist, and the implications of the cards are much funnier than the Managers in Capitalist. I mean, there's parodies of the Joker/Animaniacs, Team Rocket, and Ronald McDonald ("Wacko Joker", "Blast Off Buds", and "MacTuber" respectively), so it's all fun and games there!

Overall, this is a fun, lighthearted take on idle games and Communism, and I highly recommend it to anyone with a mobile device.

Farm up some taters for me, would ya?

And Go Enjoy Something!
FC

Filmic Friday 21: Blood Waters of Dr Z aka ZaaT

Movie: The Blood Waters of Dr Z (MST3K)
Format: Digital (Shout Factory app on Roku)

This is so much cooler than the movie.
There are no scuba fins, no catfish attacks, and the monster looks much dumber.

Sargasm

Sorry, had to start with that. That's how this movie starts: with a terrible voiceover blathering on about sargasm and fish being better than people. The rest of the movie isn't much better. There's just not much you can do with a plot where it hinges on a weirdo who turns himself into a fishman and just wants to make himself a girlfriend fishlady.

Spoilers:
He half-succeeds by the end.

Now, we watched the MST3K, so there were plenty of jokes to keep us from going bananas watching this heap. If you're offended by dude chests, look away, though. At one point in the MST3K episode, the 'bots are trying to convince Mike that any scene is better when played in the nude. Brain Guy and Professor Bobo oblige.

With a scene from Glengarry Glen Ross, of all things...

As for the movie itself, it's fairly boring, but it does have its interesting points. I'm chiefly interested in learning what drugs the filmmakers were on when they came up with a movie about an evil catfish-obsessed scientist...

It's like the Creature from the Black Lagoon got ripped off by LJN...

I missed maybe 90% of the plot, but I doubt any plot can really explain why the Fish Doctor wound up getting crunk on a bad pharmacy set.

Because when I think "pharmacy" I think "pegboard and a mini fridge with no lock".

I'm also not sure why his first attempt at making a girlfriend failed.

And why does her bathing suit have weird stains now?

I'm not sure who the main heroes are besides "hickish cop" and "virtuous scientist man"

Shown here with "inexplicable wheel of bad science!"

I'm not sure why a guy obsessed with walking catfish, a freshwater specie, wants to dump his catfish-man-juice in the ocean, either...

Or why the movie ends with him winning?

The ending, which has his slightly more successful victim walking out into the sea in a daze while one of the heroes calls out to her, makes absolutely no sense. Nothing makes sense in this movie.

But it is a lot of fun!

If you like bad monster movies, terrible mad scientist movies, and MST3K, give The Blood Waters of Doctor Z a try. If you can't find it under that title, then try it under ZaaT! because that's the original title and the name of the fish-juice in the weird red hotdog under his arm...

That's all for me this week!

Go Enjoy Something!
FC

Thursday Art Walk 21: Inktober Finale

It's a day late, but! My 2018 Inktober extravaganza has been completed!

Inktober 2018, #26; "Stretch"; Ink on Index Card; 2018

Inktober 2017, #26; "Squeak"; Ink on Index Card; 2018

Inktober 2016, #26; "Box"; Ink on Index Card; 2018

Inktober 2018, #27; "Thunder"; Ink on Index Card; 2018

Inktober 2017, #27; "Climb"; Ink on Index Card; 2018

Inktober 2016, #27; "Creepy"; Ink on Index Card; 2018

Inktober 2018, #28; "Gift"; Ink on Index Card; 2018

Inktober 2017, #28; "Fall"; Ink on Index Card; 2018

Inktober 2016, #28; "Burn"; Ink on Index Card; 2018

Inktober 2018, #29; "Double"; Ink on Index Card; 2018

Inktober 2017, #29; "United"; Ink on Index Card; 2018

Inktober 2016, #29; "Surprise"; Ink on Index Card; 2018

Inktober 2018, #30; "Jolt"; Ink on Index Card; 2018

Inktober 2017, #30; "Found"; Ink on Index Card; 2018

Inktober 2016, #30; "Wreck"; Ink on Index Card; 2018

Inktober 2018, #31; "Slice"; Ink on Index Card; 2018

Inktober 2017, #31; "Mask"; Ink on Index Card; 2018

Inktober 2016, #31; "Friend"; Ink on Index Card; 2018

All in all, this was a lot of fun, and I look forward to next year's prompts. I hope I can keep up with doing some more art like this (maybe on a larger scale? Maybe a few more colors? Maybe layering techniques with markers & ink?).

That'll do it for me this week. Hope you've enjoyed this year's (and the previous two years') Inktober.

Go Enjoy Something!
FC