Saturday Casual Gaming 311: Terrarium Garden Idle

In Which I Grow Plants

I will be honest: I have a brown thumb. I do not grow things well. I want to have plants, but I've actually killed fake plants before (you pick em up the wrong way and suddenly the inside wire snaps and you have a very crummy plantlike object).

Now I can have nice, healthy plants in my pocket without having to worry about them being dead!

Because they were never alive to begin with.

They're pixels.

Green Panda Games made a game for mobile called Terrarium Garden Idle, and it's pretty darn fun!

It's also a very attractive game!

So you start out with some weird greenish orbs and buy yourself a lil plant. Then you just tap the crap out of it to get more green orbs. Eventually you level up. The more you tap and level up, the more plants you can unlock. Every 20 levels or so, you can open a new shelf to give yourself room for your obsessive plant habit.

And once you run out of space/make enough orbs, you can literally jump to a new world.

There's a lot of plants.

This is a great little time-waster app, and despite Green Panda's affiliation with Ubisoft (gag), this game is somehow not pay-to-win. Yeah, you can buy pink diamonds for special stuff, but if you're like me and you don't care how fast this goes, you can just... chill. Yeah, you can watch ads for powerups, yeah you can buy them with green orbs, but I've never needed them.

Then again, I'm not a high enough level where the wait time for a plant to grow becomes an issue.

So yeah, this is a fun game on the app store, and you should probably go play it if you need something to do at, say, the DMV or something.

Go Enjoy Something!
FC

Filmic Friday 311: Zodiac

In Which I Discuss True Crime

Once upon a time, there was a serial killer who called himself "Zodiac". He has never, to our knowledge, been caught. Evidence is shaky. Eyewitness testimony, while extremely valuable, has not been sufficient to nail this beast. Of course there had to be a movie made about this horror. Several, in fact. But the one I'm going to talk about today is the David Fincher movie from 2007.

The poster is absolutely not kidding.
There are, indeed, many ways to lose your life to a killer.

Zodiac is a film based on the Robert Graysmith book of the same name name. Graysmith was working as a cartoonist at the time of the first Zodiac killings in the late 1960s. Jake Gyllenhaal plays the role of an obsessive artist and puzzle-lover in the film, which he plays really well against Robert Downey Jr's Paul Avery (a reporter), Inspectors Toschi (Mark Ruffalo) and Armstrong (Anthony Edwards).

The Newspaper Men

The Detective

The Zodiac

The entirety of this film is about what happens to everyone caught up in the Zodiac's horror. Paul Avery does his best to nail the killer to the wall with his writing but only succeeds in destroying his reputation and descending into narcotic and alcoholic hell. Inspectors Toschi and Armstrong are slowly consumed and then crushed by the public scrutiny and the impossibility of the crime. And then there's Robert Graysmith, the artist who likes solving puzzles. And he's consumed so fully that he convinces himself of a man's guilt.

Which, let's be fair, Arthur Leigh Allen was a horribly creepy dude, and he did commit some heinous crimes.

Even Arthur Leigh Allen gets consumed in the search for the elusive killer. He is dead, yet his name keeps coming up.

Seriously, though, the Zodiac is one of the creepiest stories out there about an uncaptured serial killer because of how much has gone wrong with the investigation, and Fincher's film does an excellent job of keeping the focus away from the violence of the slayings and firmly upon the people and lives that were impacted.

One of the most powerful details about this film is that one of the killing scenes (along the shore of a lake) was directed by the survivor of the attack, who appears in the background of a scene in a movie theater with his wife, moving quietly across the background. It's powerful to see someone who this monster meant to murder, whose life was irrevocably altered in those awful moments, take control of  that moment, revealing it to the world as truthfully as possibly, and then to show himself, defiant and alive in the face of a true beast. So thank you, Mr. Mageau, for showing us your truth and for not being forced to hide.

Go watch this movie.

Go Enjoy Something,
FC

Thursday Art Walk 311: March Weather

In Which It Is Definitely March

It's a gorgeous day out there, today. The sun is shining, the birds are going around and doing happy early spring bird things, and it's 46℉(7.8℃)!

The wind is also screaming through the trees and tried to toss me into the bay, yesterday.

Seriously, we've got gusts up to 24mph (38.6kph)! It feels like 37℉(2.8℃).

It's 100%, absolutely certainly March.

"March Weather"; ballpoint pen and graphite on printer paper; 2020

Poor Dedbert has to stay inside today, lest he take an accidental flying lesson he didn't sign up for!

I'll be heading out into the maelstrom soon enough, returning a sack of bottles for the deposit and meeting up at the library in anticipation of another day talking about books, writing, and all the nerdy things we love with my partner.

It's a beautiful day for it.

If a windy one.

Go Enjoy Something!
FC

Wednesdaymania 311

In Which I Blather On Wrestling

I have a confession to make:

I'm behind on wrestling.

Yes, I'm caught up on Dynamite, but... I haven't seen a bunch of other stuff and I'm behind on NJPW, NWA, and MLW. I apologize for this.

Some weeks feel less like Wrestling weeks than others.

So here's what I do know for this week:

• AEW is apparently hinting at an appearance of Brodie Lee (Luke Harper)
• Lance Archer has joined AEW
• Colt Cabana has joined AEW
• Ian Riccaboni has half-joked about how, while he's very happy with ROH, he could be bought if someone offered him everything he already has plus some Disney loving...
• New Japan is still bananas, though they've cancelled half of this month's shows (not a full month like I stated last week)
• Kenny is injured
• Asuka is injured
• Trent Beretta is a fantastic wrestler
• Orange Cassidy is nuts and amazing
• Beyond The Mat, a great documentary, is currently on Netflix, so go check it out!
• Dynamite continues to spank NXT in the ratings, which is awesome

As for that last one, a lot of WWE "fans" are being total dingbats and claiming that a company which has only existed for less than 2 years should somehow be able to directly compete with a A-list show owned by a Carny billionaire who has worked in wrestling for longer than literally anyone involved in the new company has been alive. That's not how competition works. That's not how business works.

A small online retailer is not going to take on Amazon within one or two years. It would take decades, if not a full century, of courting the public away from a behemoth like that.

The same is true of a wrestling company.

They are in the wooing stage. That is how it works.

Chill out.

It's like pizza - there's a million different ways to make it, some people like one more than the other. Chicago Deep Dish is not magically superior to New York Style, and calzones are not magically inferior. You're allowed to like different kinds of pizza. Just because standard Hand-Tossed Pan Pizzas are the most popular doesn't mean they're the best - it means they've been the best marketed for the longest time.

Chill.

Go Enjoy Something,

FC

Talk About Tuesday 311

Blather Time!

It's a gorgeous day today! It's a balmy 53℉(11.7℃), partly sunny, 48% humidity, and it looks like early, early spring out there!

I actually can't wait to go outside!

Also, it's Super Tuesday, so if you're like me and you live in a Super Tuesday state, it's time to go vote!

ACTUALLY DO IT DANGIT!

This is your opportunity to make a difference! Now, in my case, I'm an Independent, so Primary voting is not in the cards for me, but I get to help make other decisions in my state - it's a ballot day for us on top of our Primary, and I'm excited to make my voice heard.

If you know me, you know that's not really a problem.

You can probably hear me for miles.

(I'm a very loud person. I apologize. I'm losing my hearing a bit...)

Anyway, aside from the important Civic Duties, today is also usually the day when I tell you what's up with my blog!

• Tomorrow, I'll talk about some Wrestling!
• Thursday, I'll draw you a pretty picture!
• Friday, I plan to talk about a movie - possibly Zodiac?
• Saturday I might be blabbing about plants
• Sunday I might have a video!
• Next Monday, I'll give you some progress shots.
• Next Tuesday, we'll reconvene and I'll blather some more!

That's my plans, man.

I also intend to write more words this week than last week (which is always my goal, tbh), and I really want to have this section of the book done by May. Then I can start on Part 3, which is about one of the supporting characters in both sections.

Oh! And I read a book, yesterday!

Yes. A Whole Book.

My partner is livid.

The book was She Rides Shotgun, by Jordan Harper, and if you haven't read it yet, you absolutely should!!! I hear it was optioned in 2017 and the author is writing the script? I will see this. It was such a good book, and the writing was so visual that it felt like I was watching a movie the whole time I read!

Yeah, books rock.

I can't wait to have one to publish!

Right, I'm gonna go write for a bit, then vote, then maybe write some more!

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Fiber Monday 311: One Day Crochet

In Which I Oopsed Another Birthday

So yesterday was my mother's birthday. I had forgotten. I always forget. I have a major problem with annual dates. I literally only remember my birthday, my partner's birthday, Christmas, New Year and Halloween. That's it. I remember literally nothing else.

I needed a quick gift for her.

After about two hours of rapidly skimming the Thread-Weight Free Patterns on Ravelry, I found this pattern. While it was technically an afghan square and therefore any-weight yarn or thread, I decided I'd give it a go with some dusty rose thread and a 1mm hook:

I think it came out really well!

My only alteration is a row of sc all around the square with ch3 at each corner (to maintain cornery-ness). I clipped the thread and wove it in with an embroidery needle, and I was finished just in time to deliver it in person!

It seemed like a happy birthday, to me :)

All told, this project probably took anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour (I was not paying attention to the time :| ).

So yes, if you're looking for a quick project to make for an occasion (or you'd like to make yourself a cool looking afghan), then definitely try the pattern!

Go Enjoy Something
FC

Survival Sunday 310: Dollar Dinner

In Which I Try Cheap Food For You

My family was out of town the other day and the oven was broken, so I had to fend for myself. I did so with the toaster oven and microwave and with about 8 bucks (I bought some snacks). The food I bought for dinner, however, only cost a dollar per serving!

We have a Family Dollar close to my house, which I can't necessarily recommend as a place to buy groceries in good conscience, but the second closest grocery store was a mile away and I was very tired and very hungry and I walk everywhere, so I chose the closer (cheaper) place.

And what a haul I got! A tall can of Coke, a Mountain Dew, and some hot cocoa mix made up my non-dollar purchases, but for a buck each, I picked up a bag of Bugles and two dinner items:

First up we have a Red Baron Deep Dish Pepperoni Pizza

I've heard horror stories about these pizzas, guys. Some people have said they're the worst, and you know what? I believe them. If I'd microwaved this puck of pizza, it would have been viciously bad.

But I used the toaster oven instead because it said I could, so it was actually... pretty okay!

I mean, it's never going to taste like a homemade pizza...

It kind of reminded me of how bagel pizzas tasted as a kid. The sauce was a little overabundant and made the crust soggy under the cheese, but the overall eating experience was pretty decent. I'd absolutely eat that a second time. I will never, ever, ever microwave a dollar pizza again now that I have tasted how much better it is in the toaster oven.

Next Up we have a faintly terrifying meat patty in bread

Guys, I love bbq. Ask anyone who knows me and they'll be well-aware of my preference for bbq-flavored anything (except Frito twists for some reason...) This $1 Fast Bites rib sandwich was not something I'd held out a lot of hope for, though. I've had some meh sandwiches from Fast Bites, so I was anticipating a soggy, gristly mess between two slabs of bleh, gooey bread. I was... pleasantly surprised.

This sandwich only has microwave instructions, so I bucked up and did as I was told, nuking the sandwich in its wrapper (opened) for the required time. When it came out I was happy to find that the top bun was actually quite nice and springy and not wet and gross like I'd feared. The bottom bun got soggy, but that happens with the little White Castle sliders you can get from the freezer section, too, so I wasn't overly surprised.

Then I bit into the sandwich and was pleasantly surprised yet again! It had a good, but not overwhelming, bbq flavor, the meat was obviously pressed and formed but it didn't have any inedible bits in it and tasted like smoky pork instead of depression, and the bun actually tasted pretty decent. For a dollar, that almost tasted like a cheap fast food option rather than a horrifyingly cheap freezer option!

All in all, I'm pleased to see that dollar foods aren't the hellscape they were when I was in college. I'd love to know what changed, but I also don't actually want to know how they're made because I'd probably have more nightmares with that knowledge...

Actually, that's the last thing I wanted to talk about.

Whether it was the pizza or the sandwich, the only downside to this junkstravaganza was that when I finally did sleep that night, I was awakened by a night terror that featured a monstrosity somewhere between the alien threat from XTRO and a locust or grasshopper crawling up the far wall of my room, across the ceiling, and perching itself face to face with me while I was paralyzed. It just... breathed on me until I got annoyed and fell back asleep.

My brain is weird.

So yeah, despite the night terror (which could have actually been caused by having a tall Coke, a blue Mountain Dew, and three cups of coffee, let's be fair) I'd actually recommend these foods to anyone who is on a budget or needs a quick bite to eat. Just... use the toaster oven or a conventional oven for the pizza if you can.

Go Enjoy Something!
FC