#not a good standard to set for the first monday of the year but eh. it could be worse

[radramblog]

Full-Art Lands Pt.2

Hello internet persons, this is Rad from 2/9/21 speaking. I am tired from an early early shift at work, and also just got the first vaccine dose, so I’m going to be posting these words written on Monday when I anticipated exactly this level of exhaustion. This might defeat the purpose of “a blog post a day”, but its hardly the first time I’ve done it and also I think I have a pretty solid excuse.

Anyway. This is a continuation of a discussion of every Full-Art Basic Land set in Magic: The Gathering, starting now with Modern Horizons. It counts!

Modern Horizons

Kind of cheating, because technically the Snow-Covered Lands are different cards, but unless you’re building around them (or a card like Extraplanar Lens) then they’re functionally pretty much the same. These are also literally the only Full-Art Snows, so if you’re running those then this is basically your only pimp option.

Ultimately these are kind of held back by the fact that, well, everything has to be blanketed in snow. There’s some interesting blues going along with the Plains and Mountain, and there’s some fun sky colours, but the remainder is left a little bland.

I currently believe these are worth investing in, for what it’s worth. Both Full-Art Lands and Snow Basics always go up eventually, slowly, over time, and these are still less than a dollar each for now.

 Secret Lair: Artist Series: Seb McKinnon

This one is kind of a special case, because there’s just a Swamp. And there are technically two of them, but one is just an older version of the art. So I wasn’t sure whether or not to count these.

Because of these limitations, it’s hard to recommend these unless you have a lot of money and also a mono-black deck. They look great, matching Seb’s excellent style from the other cards in the drop, but it’s a bit of an awkward one. That said, I just have these sitting around, seeing as I got this drop just for the Damnation, so…might as well, I guess?

 Theros: Beyond Death

Much like Amonkhet/Hour of Devastation, this set has one full-art mixed in with several regular basics. The difference is that these are representative of Nyx, the world of Theros’s gods, with its symbolic and nebulaic art.

There’s no real getting over the part where these just look like the Basic Energy cards from the Pokemon Trading Card Game. Considering WoTC’s hand in designing that game, and that the two are equivalent because, well, WotC designed them that way, it’s a fair comparison. But I don’t think this is why these ones aren’t as good as other full-arts. I have two main issues with these lands, and the first is that, well, there’s no land on them. For a set themed around a specific plane, one would expect that plane to be represented in the art, and Nyx does have actual landscapes on it. I get the space-themed design, but they could have been up in the sky above an actual Mountain or whatnot.

The other is the missed opportunity of these being Nebulae. That’s a fine enough design choice, though the symbology is a bit hammered in, but like. In a set based on Ancient Greece and its astronomical focus, with Gods that look like and are represented by constellations, with a mechanic called Constellation, they probably should have just been constellations. It would have made for a more subtle, less, well, Pokemon look, as well.

 Unsanctioned

New Un-Set, new basics. These ones are kind of a hybrid between the Unglued and Unstable ones, with that golden frame and almost borderless design. I’m actually not sure how I feel about these, since while the frame looks nice, it’s also kind of pointless, and the texturing on the mana symbols is a little weird. I don’t like how smooth and reflective they are.

The art is at least still excellent. Not John Avon, but Adam Paquette does a great job distinguishing himself, less realistic but still believable places that feel fantasy. I actually feel like Unsanctioned was overall a miss, especially since each box came with like 2 of each of these basics, but that’s not something I’m holding against them.

 Secret Lair: The Godzilla Lands

Secret Lair has been an opportunity for WotC’s designers to experiment a lot with card frames, though this set of basics doesn’t quite represent that. I’m not sure how well this one did, to be honest, though they did make future basic-only SLs, so fair enough I guess.

So, do you like Godzilla? Because he’s on all of these, along with some other Kaiju from the greater series canon. It’s kind of a little distracting, because the landscapes are otherwise gorgeous. Ironically, though, Godzilla himself is kind of being a scale-reptile in these pieces, giving a sense for just how big that mountain is, or how far away the “camera” is from the ground.

The only Island I see in that Island is Godzilla himself, though.

 Double Masters

These are just a set of reprints from Unhinged and Battle for Zendikar, but in a more borderless style. I’m honestly not sure how I feel about the Unhinged arts being blown up like this. But this is a reprint set, and these are honestly kind of boring, so eh.

 Zendikar Rising

Another Zendikar more lands etc. etc. you get the idea. Like the title suggests, this iteration of the plane has a lot of vertical exploration in its flavour, and the new basics reflect this. Especially  in the Plains, Islands, and Mountains, that sense of adventure and traversal is back from the first Zendikar set.

Interestingly, this one doesn’t have any reprinted arts, unlike Battle for Zendikar, even though there’s only 3 of each land here. There’s probably something to be said about distancing this set from BFZ- that set faced a fair bit of backlash, and it is thematically very different from ZNR. There’s also the conspicuous absence of the Hedrons, apparently having been replaced in art and in flavour by the Skyclaves. No, I still don’t know what those actually are supposed to be.

At the end of the day, these cards do end up making Zendikar feel like it’s lost its edge a little. They’re just a bit too bright and friendly for my liking, even with the inclement conditions in some of the images. I think it literally just might be the clear, bright skies in this one.

 Secret Lair: The Unfathomable Crushing Brutality of Basic Lands

Yeah these are about as edgy as the name suggests. Monochromatic and striking, this set of basic’s iconography is much more evocative than literal, the mood of the colours in their themes, captured largely without them.

It does greatly amuse me that literally all of these arts contains skulls. Talk about gothic. I like these a lot better than the Theros: Beyond Death lands, despite the similarities- Particularly, that the mana symbols aren’t literally just the standard ones- arguably the Island is, but it at least is in the form of negative space.

I can’t get over how thematic these are. Plains embodies community with its weapons and runes and roots, and the human face on the Sun icon. Island represents the vastness of knowledge with its endless waters and starred skies. Swamp is death, skeletons mired in the depths of the surroundings. Mountain is fire, bold and unflinching, while Forest’s gnarled branches running through the skull shows the unflinching nature of, well, nature. They’re all so utterly sick.

 Innistrad: Midnight Hunt

The most recent addition to this list, and one you actually can’t get yet. I think the frames on these being so thin is excellent, since it means they aren’t taking away from the spectacle of the art- not to mention the monochrome of the border and art.

These pieces are magnificent gothic landscapes, the kind you’d expect to see illustrated on the inside cover of Frankenstein or a Lovecraft story. Each and every one of them is ominous in its own special way, with the Swamp that’s a ruined river town to the rugged cliffside path of (presumably) Geier Reach. And the Island with the waves crashing across the cliffs is utterly gorgeous.

Obviously we haven’t seen these in paper quite yet. And the monochrome may make it difficult to tell them apart at a glance. But these are sacrifices I am willing to make for the sake of style.

This is the sum total of all the FABs. For now. Something I didn’t quite realise when writing this was the sheer number of options for this kind of pimping, and how much they’ve ramped up in production over the last few years. Much like with the increase in cards in general, I suppose, as well as premium product versions like the Secret Lairs. I would be genuinely shocked if the game ever exclusively started using Full-Arts, but I’d also not be surprised if we saw them yearly at the longest. 

Either way, I’m sticking with my BfZ lands, because those are the ones I already have!

[jenroses]

sunken-standard replied to your post “okay but homemade elderberry syrup is delicious however I only ever...”

how much of each do you use for say, a pint of syrup? (I usually turn my elderberries into jelly, but always have juice leftover and just do plain syrup, but ginger and cinnamon sound good)

ginger and cinnamon? IDK, I put a couple cups of berries in a pot with a buncha water and a cinnamon stick and a few slices of fresh ginger, simmer for about 45 minutes, cool to about 105 degrees, use a ricer to squash the juices out, discard the solids, strain the juices, add water if it’s less than 2 cups of liquid remaining, and then toss in a shitwack of honey. (1-1.5 cups) and stir/shake/swear until mixed. (I use raw honey that often gets crystalized, hence the swearing.) That makes almost a quart, from ehhh 8-ish ounces of dried berries.  Dose for flu is about half a tablespoon for the younguns and a tablespoon for us olds, every 2-3 hours while awake.  Points: Must simmer long enough to deactivate the parts of the berry that can make stomachs upset. Must strain well.  Must cool liquid to below 110 degrees before adding the RAW honey because otherwise you might as well use corn syrup--cooking the honey makes it much less helpful. It’s easier to dose consistently if you use the same end ratio of elderberry extract, but amount of liquid can vary based on cooking temperature and other factors, even if you always start with the same amount of water. I add water if it appears to be running low, and the end result gets topped up to 2 cups regardless.  A shitwack is a scientific measurement, but sources vary on how big it is. Do not use less than 1 cup of honey per 2 cups of elderberry extract, and you’ll have a hard time dissolving more than 2 cups of honey in 2 cups of extract.  Some people add lemon or orange but I have a kid who reacts to citrus so nope. If only grownups will be partaking, I hear you can add booze to the cooked product and it will keep longer.  During flu season one batch will last my family significantly less than a week, but we’ve got 3-5 adults and 2 kids dosing the stuff right now because flu sucks. Does it help? Youngest was blazingly feverish and limp and slept through the first 22 hours of the flu... and was eating the next day and now has a mild cough and low energy a couple days later.  I just feel kind of leveled but honestly the drug-induced lupus reaction I had in the fall was worse. I’ve had many worse bouts of flu in my life. I have RA and am on immune suppressants, and between elderberry, tamiflu, stress dosing medrol and stopping xeljanz, I have yet to throw a fever or cough, I just feel shaky and fluey but nowhere near as painful as the flu usually is. I usually rage a fever and then everything is blisteringly painful and then I snot for 2 weeks and then I get a respiratory infection, and this time I started tamiflu before I got sick and elderberry, and it’s... I’m not well, I’m dizzy, I’m tired, food is iffy at best.... but on a grade of 0 to that awful H1N1 we had a few years back that set me back HARD for a long time?  This is like... a 3?  It’s always iffy with the elderberry because of my meds, which is why I only take it if someone tests positive for flu in the house, because the stuff stimulates cytokines, especially tumor necrosis factor, and one of the things they try to do for RA is suppress the hell out of that shit. So there’s always the “RA kills slowly, flu kills fast” equation to balance out. HOWEVER...xeljanz works on different pathways and steroids get used up by the body when we’re sick, so I seem to be doing okay this time.  But put it this way... Tamiflu can shorted the duration of sickness by eh... a day, day and a half, and reduces hospital admissions. Elderberry knocks back the severity by about 5 points and appears to lop 4-6 days off the illness.  Last year when I got the flu and suffered for 2 weeks to keep getting worse... when I started with elderberry it was like flipping a switch on the lingering flu. Gone, done. However, it also flipped a switch on my expensive infusion drugs which I only got every 8 weeks, so the consequence was not pain-free, but I was really sick and then I wasn’t, so the joint pain was kinda worth it.  Kiddo got sick Sunday, started taking Elderberry Monday evening, and by Thursday was bouncing off the walls and only occasionally acting sick at all.   Anyway, it’s simple to make, works a treat, and should be in the arsenal.  (Especially if you have the kind of autoimmune bullshit I do, which makes vaccines hard to deal with because they trigger awful flares. If I’m on enough med to suppress that kind of flare, I’m on enough med to suppress my immune response to vaccination.) Oh, and for maximum hippy, I usually drink my elderberry syrup in tart cherry chia kombucha. (Tart cherry is good for inflammation, the chia is entertaining, and the kombucha helps nausea--I only do commercial because they use standardized strains that don’t mess with me.) Bonus points if it’s in a mason jar.

[theaveragekenyan]

Eyes of a Stranger...

Especially in the workplace or on television you will soon notice that when discussing something important, Kenyan people like to make verbal lists.

These verbal lists occur in response to a question, for instance, during a conference, a quick meeting at work, a brainstorm, or in the case of television, a debate. Queue the spotlight to be turned, colleagues to shuffle their phones and throats to be cleared, this is that persons big moment.

So, the person will start off their answer with a completely irrelevant and tedious introduction stating their full name...“My given names are….” date of employment... “I’ve been working for....” their full day to day job description and duties... “What I do is....” and the obligatory reference to God “We give thanks to God for…..” 

Once the insignificance is over, the person will then move onto answering the actual question. This will involve repeating the question and then answering in a listed style, e.g “The reason we have so much Poverty in Kenya is because…Number 1….” and thus begins  the persons answer, an answer that will go on and on and on and on and on and on zzzzzzzzzz.

This initial answer will cover everything the person has ever known about anything loosely connected to the question. The person will continue to waffle so much they will lose track of the question and also forget that they set about answering the question with a numbered list. It is extremely rare the audience will ever get to hear point number 2.

If ever they do get to point “number 2….” I guarantee the next words they will say are “oh, hang on, I forgot to mention….” and we’re back to point number fucking one again…which will go on and on again until they start to bore themselves, at which point the answer will be wrapped up with an assured “so that’s all I have to say about that…thank you” cue enthusiastic applause and the fact that, in other parts of the world 30 minutes was spent doing something actually valuable. I dread to imagine if the person had the content to fill 5 points, I can only recommend blocking out 2 days for the meeting.

Of course, It’s possible to assume “Number 1” is the Number 1 and most important point and that the rest of the list is considered irrelevant. Another option, and this is the theory I find most likely, is that they heard somebody else say “number 1” and thought they’d copy.

Personally, I find there’s very little to copy in Nairobi. As you drive around the City, there’s very little to be inspired by. Don’t get me wrong, Nairobi is a vibrant and fascinating place to live, but the appeal doesn’t stem from architecture, design, originality or even surprisingly, a rich cultural identity. There’s very little of interest in Nairobi, compared to millions of other far less important places in the world. There are no beautiful bridges spanning a river, there isn’t a beautifully manicured park, there isn’t an area of outstanding design. Obviously the most beautiful sources of design and architecture all originate from nature. The people, the trees, the mountains, the flowers, the birds, the animals etc etc. Essentially very little man-made wonders exist, in fact I’d say none, which is sad considering the how long the city has existed for and in comparison to many other cities and towns around the world.

Sure, there are tons of ideas out there, but unfortunately Kenyan Governments have never sought to change societies outlook on such simple pleasures. I imagine any creative idea falls down flat at the corruption hurdle.  

In terms of identity, all of the other major Kenyan Towns and Cities all look the same. Nakuru, Naivasha, Eldoret, Kisumu, Kisii, Machakos, Wote, Nanyuki, Meru etc are all almost identical. Sure, the countryside and people have big variety, but the places themselves, on the whole, look exactly the same. Mombasa does look different in design, as it draws deeply from the Muslim culture, but the city itself is a huge disappointment and such a letdown for the huge potential it has.  

So, with very little to see it’s hardly surprising that the average Kenyan loves to stare at other people.

When I walk around, I look at the nature, the sky and of course mainly where I’m going, but when I do look around, what I see, is people staring at me.

As we move into the year of vision, 2020, the average Kenyan still loves to stare at white people, or maybe it’s just me.

I know to Kenyans, all Crackers look and sound the same…I think the worst comparison for me has been Wayne Rooney, but in all honesty, we’re not too far removed if you’ve drank 8 pints of Gin and have been dreaming of launderettes.

I do get stared at a lot though, really...certainly enough to get angry about it, definitely enough to have the nuclear option of “fuck you looking at?” in my locker. I really have to work hard at keeping that option for extreme measures only and I do keep it just for emergencies by understanding most Kenyans stare out of pure interest, curiosity, and in most cases, affection.

I have written before here that I enjoy to jog. This makes me an easy target for “starers”, pure game. How it plays out is like this; I’ll be running toward a group of people, they’ll be chatting away happily, but then as I come closer into their space, their chatting descends into complete silence and their stares begin. Then, only once I’ve passed, will their volume return to original levels and is often accompanied by great laughter and whoops of joy, and all because I ran past them.

I also enjoy walking in Nairobi, and when confronted with a “starer” the scene usually plays out in a similar direction, but with with more pathological pleasure for the “starer”

The “starer” will click their first “Initial Stare”, on average, the “Initial Stare” consumes around 4 seconds of me and I’m aware of it through my peripheral sight, ESP and darting snapshots back and forth of them. I ignore the “Initial Stare”

Then, the “Secondary Stare” takes focus. This stare is longer and extracts more of me, it can last anything up to 6 seconds, or at least until I break it by looking back into their eyes, thus causing an eye seizure in the “starer”. Moving on from the  “Secondary Stare”, we now develop into eye to eye warfare as we walk closer toward each other.

These can be quick, sharp retaliatory stares fired between as we cross each other’s pass, but this depends how interested the “starer” is.

Then, as soon as we’ve passed, without warning, in comes the “After Stare”.

The “After Stare” is for pure greed and sycophantic lust.

I now glance back, and this is when I start to defend myself by increasing my stare onto them, I call this the “Angry Goose Stare”.

Now, and for the very first time, the “starer” has something to genuinely stare at, however they are also properly confused and intimidated by the situation, “Why is this freaky looking white man staring at me…and why is he looking like an angry Goose?”

My retaliatory “Angry Goose Stare” works immediately and they cease their stare. However now, they’re thinking “Eh, what’s this silly Muzungu doing?”. So, they come back for more in the shape of the “Befuddled Stare”. 

The only way to disarm this confrontation and to stop myself going nuclear by shouting “fuck you looking at?” is to wind my head in, turn my frown upside down and smile like a Thai Tourist and say “Hiiiiiyer….yer alright duck?” in my friendliest Leicestershire accent. Immediately the “starer” is faced with a warm, welcoming, if a little disturbing, Muzungu and they then revert to their default setting of ‘Lovely Kenyan person’. I’m not sure if my methods are a solution to stopping staring, but it is certainly entertaining and provides a bit of light relief to the dull intensity of the surroundings.

In Nairobi, particularly in the CBD, smoking cigarettes is banned. If you want to spark up, the safest place to not get arrested is to smoke in one of the “Smoking Shacks”. I say, shack, because that’s the best way to describe them. The shack is a basic structure, I’d say the design was heavily influenced by the Vietnamese Torture Cages, perhaps the contractor saw ‘Rambo’ and thought what a great theme that would be for Nairobi’s smokers. I’ve never smoked in one and never would, they do have a great effect on stopping.

With this in mind, I feel the Government of Kenya should introduce “Staring Shacks”

These shacks would then become the focal point in Nairobi for unashamed “starers” to gather and practice their hobby with other like-minded individuals in a safe and designated area.

“Nairobi Starers” woud become the Facebook Group which would list where “Staring Shacks” could be found and where special meetings or events are happening. Perhaps there could be special meetings i.e “Muzungu Monday” “Wahindi Wednesday” “Freaky Friday” anything really, all fetishes would be welcomed.

I feel the shacks would add a new dimension to the staring scene and allow the hobby to become a little more like Train-spotting. It would instantly create a new culture within Nairobi and instead of “Culture Walks”, I’d suggest “Staring Walks”. Enthusiasts could walk from shack to shack and be with like-minded people in a non-judgemental environment, safe staring for the modern Nairobian.

EXT – ‘STARING SHACK’ 10 AM

WOMAN ENTERS “STARING SHACK” AND SITS DOWN NEXT TO HER FRIEND.

Agnes -                                    Sasa.

Brenda -                                  Poa.

Agnes -                                    Seen anything good yet?

Brenda -                                  Nah…pretty quiet so far.

Agnes -                                    I stared at a Muzungu on the way here.

Brenda-                                   Oh yeah?

Agnes -                                    Yeah, fairly standard really.

Brenda -                                  Was there any odd face?

Agnes -                                    Odd face? No, why?

Brenda -                                  Nothing really, just the last Muzungu I stared at,    looked like an angry Goose.

Agnes -                                    Wow, sounds strange…get a photo?

Brenda -                                  No…he smiled in the end, he was ok.

Agnes                                      I did have a good stare at a Kenyan man pushing a baby buggy.

Brenda -                                  No way….??

Agnes -                                    Straight up!

Brenda -                                  Where?

Agnes -                                    Lavington.

Brenda -                                  Obviously, bloody show off. Get a picture?

Agnes -                                    Yeah, did actually, let me find it – SHOWS PHOTOGRAPH

Brenda -                                  Oh yeah….that’s nice…good one.

Agnes -                                    Yeah, I’ll upload it to the Facebook group.

Brenda -                                  Did you see the photo I uploaded of the Indian Man and the Kenyan Lady?

Agnes -                                    What? I must have missed that, when was that?

Brenda -                                  About two weeks ago. I was in town and I was walking around the corner of Biashara Street and Moi Avenue, know where I mean?

Agnes -                                    No

Brenda -                                  Anyway, as I came around the corner I spotted them, large as life…. holding hands they were as well

Agnes -                                    What?

Brenda -                                  Totally…so I crossed over so I could, you know, get a few proper stares in like.

Agnes -                                    Amazing.

Brenda -                                  Then I carried on walking towards them…standard stare procedure really…so I pretended to be on my phone and that’s when I got this…SHOWS PHOTOGRAPH

Agnes -                                    Wooooah, Indian Man and a Kenyan women, insane…during the day as well…that is rare.

Brenda -                                  Yeah well happy with that photo.

Agnes -                                    So what happened then?

Brenda -                                  Well, they walked past, so I went in for the ‘after-stare’…You know… standard.

Agnes -                                    nice.

Brenda -                                  Yeah it was until the Indian man looks back around at me and says “Fuck you looking at?”

Agnes -                                    No way

Brenda -                                  Way.

Agnes                                      What did you say?

Brenda -                                  Nothing, I just carried on walking like nothing had happened.

THE END

Something for the illustrious Kenyan Nation to stare at and be genuinely proud about is long overdue.

And to be picky, I’m very sorry but, a long and wide ass road built by a foreign country, a Kenyan in Running Shoes or a Train track devastating wildlife doesn’t count. I’m talking about a safe and entertaining City Centre, a rejuvenated recreational Uhuru Park, a state of the Art Museum / Gallery that type of thing. Something original, uniquely Kenyan and not copied. Ah ok, sounds like my “Staring Shacks” will be up and running before any of that happens.

[filosofablogger]

Good Monday morning, my friends!  Another rainy one, eh?  Don’t worry about tracking the mud in … we’ll clean it up later.  Just come on in.  How was your weekend?  Did you do fun and exciting things?  We are finally now officially in summer.  On the first day of summer, parts of Colorado saw up to two feet of snow! 

We, on the other hand, have had fairly mild temps, but I do wish the bloomin’ rain would quit.  Then again, at least I haven’t had to water the flowers for over a week now!  So, are you guys in the mood for a bit of humour to start this week off right?  Grab a snack and a drink and pull up a chair … let’s get this show on the road, shall we?

Long arm of the law …

Amy Rush is now 45 years of age, but back in 1990, at age 15, she tried to run away from home.  She was apparently hitchhiking when an older man picked her up (no, don’t worry, this isn’t a story about sex, drugs and alcohol) and gave her a ride.  Well, the man was stopped for speeding, and young Amy was also ticketed … for not wearing a seat belt!  The ticket was for $35, and the officer didn’t question why Amy was with the man, or what relationship there was.

Fast forward to last week when Amy, much to her surprise, received a letter from a debt collection agency looking to collect that $35!  According to Amy …

“I’ve almost considered driving down there the two and a half hours to talk to a judge to tell him how absolutely ridiculous this is and what a waste of taxpayer money this has been for the 15 years. I can’t imagine the postage they’ve paid on following me around trying to get this $35.  I told them they can keep sending me mail and wasting more money because I’m not paying it.”

Good for her!  I wouldn’t pay it either, especially in this day and age where some can commit murder and not be held accountable!  Twenty-nine years it’s been, and they’re still trying to collect.  🙄

What to do with those pesky pennies?

I am not a big fan of spending hours … even days, months or years … building something for the sole purpose of proving that it can be done, or in this case, setting a Guinness World record, and then destroying all that work.  However, Cory Nielsen of Phoenix, Arizona, has built something that is really rather cool, and I couldn’t help but share it with you. 

It is a pyramid made of pennies.  1,030,315 pennies, to be exact.  It weighs 6,360 pounds and stands 44.6 inches tall.  At the base, it is 65 rows wide by 65 rows long, and stands 65 rows tall.

About three years ago, Nielsen built a small one on his desk at work (nothing else to do?), using only a few pennies … 41,000 to be precise.  He showed pictures to some colleagues at work, and they wondered if that was a world record. Nielsen replied to them, “I don’t know; if it isn’t, I’ll make it one.”

Originally thinking the world record was made of only 626,789 coins built by a man in Colorado a couple of years ago, Nielsen knew he could beat that, and so the building process began.

Once the pyramid construction began, he found out that the actual world record was set in Lithuania.

“I was already committed, and so I went ahead and beat that one too.”

And what do you think Mr. Nielsen plans to do with the pyramid that has more than $10,000 worth of copper in it?  Destroy it and take it to the credit union.  Somehow … I’m just not sure it was worth all that time, but it is rather cool … in a way.

Mr. Nielsen has a few YouTube videos …

Congratulations to Mr. Nielsen  … I guess … on fulfilling his life’s goal?  I wonder what’s next for him?

A new job for Filosofa?

I have been in an Ikea store just once, and once was enough.  It was a frustrating, painful experience, and even prompted a post on this blog some five years ago … wow, has it really been that long?  I still remember it as if it was only yesterday!  I just went back and looked … it was in the early days of this blog, and I had exactly one ‘like’ and two comments on that post!  Anyway, I don’t like to shop there, but I have a friend who works there, and I do know they treat their people very well.  So, I think I might just have found myself a job, folks!

According to United Press International (UPI) …

Furniture chain Ikea posted an unusual job opening for a “happiness hunter” willing to temporarily live in Denmark and get paid in money and meatballs to study what makes a home happy.

The company said the winning candidate will live for two weeks at a temporary home in Copenhagen and will experience “home visits, guided tours, talks and dinners” in a bid to determine the ingredients for a happy home.

The person will document the experience on social media.

The winning candidate will be paid a salary that corresponds to the average Danish living standard and receive free meatball meals from Ikea.

Applications are being accepted online through July 1.

What do you think, guys?  Sounds good, yes?  Guess I better update my résumé!

As you know, for me the only way to kick off a new week is with a cute animal video …

And I came across these …

And lastly, I promised this song, The Rainbow Connection, sung as only Kermit The Frog can sing it, to a special young reader …

And that’s it for today, my friends.  Be sure to share those smiles this week, for not everybody got to hear Kermit singing!  Keep safe and have a great week!  Love ‘n hugs from Filosofa and Jolly!

Jolly Monday Smiles Good Monday morning, my friends!  Another rainy one, eh?  Don’t worry about tracking the mud in … we’ll clean it up later. 

[justadrifting1]

04.06.2017

hello hello my blog.

it is june and i am back again at my blog. :) on a happier note, i have went through my second interview for my sponsorship. i hope everything works out. i have also finished my portfolio (all the writing parts) and i am verrrrrry happy lol. basically now all i had to do is to prepare for term 3 and qccr in july and im free to just think about my korea trip already.

yesterday we had our usual saturday dates where we just met up. we went for a run cause we didn’t had a chance to on friday. cause friday we took half day to go paktor also LOL. so we ran around 11 plus and it was so hot cause the afternoon sun was right overhead. it was a hard run but we managed to pull it off. went back to his place and watched silly videos and just chill. we were watching the extreme cheapskates video with ppl skimping on their wedding and it was nice to just watch and discuss with him lol. feeds my imagination that we might have a future tgt eh. he always says one step at a time. and he’s not wrong. definitely we have to go one step at a time, but, sometimes its nice to imagine too. 

on friday we took half day and we went to science centre. it was pretty nice. some of the things remained the same since primary school times when we last set foot there. but there are some changes already and i felt like it can’t be compared to like the LCKNHM. maybe cause im old already. regardless we had fun. we went to the chinese garden and japanese garden afterwards and it was a lot of walking but we took lots of pictures too. and he took some nice pictures of me which im very happy about haha.

we went to this tzi char place that he goes to with his army friends. it was ok. he said the standard drop tho. but it was a nice date regardless, getting to leave early and just enjoying his company.

he’s going for his reservist in 2 more weeks’ time. we’re at that part of the year again. i remember the last time he went for reservist. the week is the longest week ever, but at least i get to see him in his uniform which is like HOT. hehe. i hope i get to see it again this year. 

i will miss him terribly when he is away. :(

last week i had blood in my pee and it was such a scare for me cause yknow blood. i went to the doctor and its just uti. i got antibiotics and it cleared up in a day or two. thank goodness. it was a first for me and i got soooo scared. he went with me to the doctors so i’m very thankful for that. my boyfriend is the best to me.

tmr is monday again, back to work, back to the slog. 

till then, 

💕

[thejpfdude-blog]

The Week in Anime (Week of 2/6/17)

Hi, and welcome to another edition of TWiA! We got some more episodes of the shows I’m watching, and some more of my thoughts about them. So let’s get started with all that, starting with...

Rankings:

~1 (0). Demi-chan wa Kataritai (8.5/10) [5/?]

~2 (+2). Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon (8.5/10) [4/?]

~3 (0). Kuzu no Honkai (8.5/10) [4/?]

~4 (-2). Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo! 2 (8/10) [4/10]

~5 (0). Gabriel DropOut (7/10) [4/12]

6 (0). Little Witch Academia (TV) (7/10) [-/25]

7 (0). Nobunaga no Shinobi (6/10) [18/?]

8 (0). Aggressive Retsuko (6/10) [-/?]

9 (0). Sengoku Choujuu Giga: Otsu (5/10) [4/13]

10 (0). Rewrite: Moon and Terra (4/10) [-/?]

~11 (0). Nyanbo (4/10) [18/26]

Awards:

The “I’m Busy With Stuff So I Forgot to Watch This” Award: Rewrite (Moon and Terra) and Little Witch Academia

Oops.

The “It Didn’t Get Subbed So I Couldn’t Watch It” Award: Aggressive Retsuko

See above.

The “Obligatory Beach Episode” Award: Gabriel DropOut

Hey, something I actually watched. This week’s edition of “Angels and Devils: Roles Reversed” took place mostly on the beach, a standard fare for most CGDCT shows (either that or a hot springs episode. Or both!). It was your standard episode, featuring the classics like watermelon smashing and all that. This show has been a fun watch: it’s not anything special, but it helps to keep me entertained on Mondays, and it’s something nice to counter the short known as Nyanbo.

The “Please Let This Be Over” Award: Nyanbo!

Speaking of Nyanbo, it’s not fun. I feel like I said this a lot the past few weeks, but it’s true. And the last few episodes haven’t helped with that: they’ve been either so boring that I distract myself with my Rubik’s Cube or so painful to watch that I subconsciously tune out. I don’t really remember what happened the last few episodes other than nothing significant happened, because really all that matters in the end, is that the finale is going to be something to the tune of “we’re not done with our UFO, but we’ll keep trying through the power of friendship!” Oy vey: I think my run with bad shorts is starting to a take a toll on me. I’m looking at shows next season and the ones that I normally probably might have given a shot a few seasons ago I just straight up am not going to watch. Speaking of the new season, probably not going to watch much. Maybe that new PA Works show, the new season of Saekano (I’ve been blazing through the first season and am loving it so far), and the obligatory CGDCT show. Next season looks great if you love action shows, but if you’re like me and you like those shows with slice-of-life or comedy or romance, it’s not looking as good as this season.

Wow, I went off topic. Conclusion: Nyanbo = bad, don’t watch.

The Best Reaction Faces Award: Demi-chan wa Kataritai

One of my favorite things about this show is the reaction faces, specifically from a certain blond-haired individual.

If I had the time, I would link images showing examples, but I’m typing this up at 11pm Sunday night and I need to go to sleep soon.

Actually, it didn’t take that long to find a GIF compilation.

I’m a huge sucker for reaction faces, which probably stems from my love for chibi faces. Or is that the other way around? Probably the latter honestly. They elicit all sorts of reactions from laughter to aww and so on. It’s a shame that I’m not finding the recent episodes as good as the first two episodes, but then again those episodes were really really fun to watch and were hard to top. Still a fun show, but not the 10/10 that it was for me after episode 1. Not that that’s a bad thing though.

The Lewd Award: KonoSuba 2

This week marks the return of Darkness, and with it marks the lewdest episode of the young second season. And I have to say, I’m not a fan. I never really was a fan of Darkness to begin with: sure she had her moments, but her masochistic nature was a bit too much sometimes even for someone who’s a self-proclaimed sadist (AKA me). And this episode sort of took that to the max. I’m not going to say it wasn’t funny, because this episode still made me laugh more in 24 minutes than a lot of comedies from last year did in 12 episodes. Yet it’s not the type of humor I like out of KonoSuba: the humor I liked was the meta stuff, the scenes where Kazuma subverted common tropes and proudly did so. Or the verbal berating, most of which came to the expense of Aqua, everyone’s favorite useless goddess. I hope the lewdness isn’t this bad in the future episodes, and that the animation continues the route of episodes 2 and 3 and not of episodes 1 and this one.

The Lewder Award: Kuzu no Honkai

Yay, more lewd. Except this is different from KonoSuba’s lewd: with KonoSuba, the lewd was mostly used to drive the humor. Yet for Kuzu no Honkai, the lewd was used as a symbol of all of the complicated emotions the characters are feeling as well as a tool to show just how messed up the situation is between Hanabi and Ecchan. As the scene develops on the bridge, it’s still somewhat normal: sure it’s a bit creepy that Ecchan pretty much stalked Hanabi, but eh it’s amore. Then the hug happens. Well, okay, Hanabi’s in a tough situation right now. That’s fine I guess. Then the setting changes to a room, and now it’s escalating a bit too fast. And then they start kissing, and now I’m making sure my door’s locked so nobody walks in on me watching this. And then the clothes start coming off, and I find myself wondering what I’m doing with my life.

But actually, it’s interesting. It’s uncomfortable to watch, but at the same time it’s something I couldn’t keep my eyes off. It’s a trainwreck in the best sense: a trainwreck of emotions and love all being tangled up into this scene. There are so many ways of looking at it, and I haven’t even mentioned the girl teacher’s whole way of life and how that’s fucked up as well. There’s a lot you can say about this show, but for me, as someone whose least favorite subject was English, I’ll just say that it’s a really interesting take on the genre of romance.  And by something different that’s being executed well, it’s one of my favorites of the season so far.

The “Red Flags” Dropped Show of the Week Award: Nothing this week

Hooray?

Best Episode of the Week Award: Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon

This award was really close between Maidragon and Kuzu no Honkai, but with the Lewd Award in play, I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to one-up it with the Lewder Award. And so we get Maidragon with the best episode of the week. What can I say. This show is getting better by the week with more characters being introduced and their relationships being fun to watch. Kanna is becoming the poster child of /r/awwnime and for good reason (though it is annoying seeing like 10 posts of her on the subreddit’s front page). It’s the right amount of funny, heartwarming, and art style that really makes those Wednesdays worth living. That’s really exemplified with this week’s episode, especially with the end scene with Kobayashi giving Kanna the keychain. My goodness, that was cute. I love it.

And that’s all for this week! Thanks for reading for another week, and I’ll see you in the next post!