Pheromones Part 2

Pheromones

I've been thinking about pheromones the last few days. 

Wanted; Sparring Partner

Something I need in my life. 

Plans

Some things I'm think about to (maybe?) improve these videos a little.

Maybe.......Maybe Not

I am, once again, considering trying to finish my psychology degree. 

Ⓥ T.O.F.U. Book

T.O.F.U. magazine is releasing a book, and my article is going to be in it! 

Kickstarter campaign

T.O.F.U. magazine

Review of You're Never Weird on the Internet (Almost)

Here is my review of Felicia Day's book!

Typhoid Mary (Video)

This is my Typhoid Mary "audition". I was hoping to find a good image of the original scene but, alas, I couldn't. So I guess I'll just explain it to you. It is the opening scene from Deadpool #6. It takes place in a psych ward and is a conversation between the three aspects of Mary's personality; Typhoid Mary, Bloody Mary, and Mary Walker. Try not to make fun of me too much.

Inspired (Video)

Sorry, there was no video yesterday, we went to the vegan festival in Pittsburgh and I ran out of time. Anyway (I figured I might as well go ahead and use that word one more time, seeing as how I used it about 87 times in the video) I've been reading Felicia Day's book and it has inspired me to want to be more creative with my videos. So we'll see how that goes.

Excessive Nerdiness

I just felt like gushing about comics for a while.

Shakespeare and Psychology (Video)

Some thought inspired by Romeo and Juliet. 

Ⓥ Book Review

I know I have mentioned many times how much I like to support vegan artists. I love knowing that something was made by someone who shares my values. I have also mentioned how hard it is for me to find vegan artists who make the type of art that I like. I have had an especially hard time finding vegan authors who write the type of books I enjoy reading. For the most part, vegans tend to only write book about veganism or animal rights, and they seem to be especially fond of writing cook books. This is great and I do still try to support these people but I, personally, can only read so many books about veganism before I get bored and need something more exciting. Well I finally found a vegan author who writes my kind of books! 

Frank E. Bittinger writes paranormal/supernatural/horror novels. This genre has always been, by far, my favorite. For some reason, it also seems to be the least embraced by vegan authors. I suppose it makes sense that some vegans would find the blood, gore, and violence that frequently accompanies horror stories to be in conflict with their peaceful way of life. I, however, enjoy books that offer a sense of danger and adventure that I can't get in my real life, which is why I was so pleased to find Frank Bittinger. 

I recently read his book Angels of the Seventh Dawn. I don't want to give too much away, because I'm hoping you will read it, but It covered several different species of supernatural creatures and managed to blend them together, and into our own society, in a way that somehow seemed natural and believable. It also blurred the lines of good and evil in a way that I found quite intriguing. It forces you to question your own ideas about the nature of humanity, and why most authors of paranormal type books always assume that the humans are the good guys, in every scenario. Plus it sort of highlighted the fluidity of human (and not-quite-human) sexuality, which I always appreciate, since so few authors seem willing to do that. It did not have any animal rights overtones, so don't go into it expecting that, though there were a few little things thrown in here and there. Overall, it was a new and unique perspective on a familiar topic that left me wanting to read all of the rest of his books. Check them all out on his Amazon page! I already have the others on my wish list. 

Shocking

Well, surprise surprise, I didn't sell anything at the artist fair. My sister gave out some business cards, but that was it. I pretty much sat there and read Deadpool (and then a novel, after I finished the volume of Deadpool I had) for six hours. Then we went home. Super productive.

My dad and I did get a little but of work done of the camper today. We got the water lines into the well, and got the pump put together (for the most part). Next week, we're going to try to get the electrical lines over to the pump house, so we can make sure the pump works. Then we have about 8000 other things that we still need to do. So yeah, it's still going to be a while.

Speaking of shocking, in this issue, Deadpool did his version of The Aristocrats and I found it pretty hilarious (don't judge me!).

I've Gone Too Far!

You know how I have mentioned multiple times that I have been reading Deadpool? Well, I think I have gone a little overboard. See, I decided that I wanted to know the whole story, because I'm a crazy person and I can't stand not knowing everything about the things I like. However, I wanted to do this with as little expense as possible (because, as I have learned, comics are more expensive than regular books). I really had no idea how to do that though. So I went searching on Amazon. I found a series called "Deadpool the Complete Collection, by Daniel Way". Now, since there were only four volumes, I should have realized that it was not, in fact, the "complete collection" but I thought maybe they were just really big volumes. Wrong. In was actually just all of the stories written by Daniel Way (hmmmmm....probably should have realized that, based on the name......) which are all pretty recent, and offer very little back-story. So, once I figured that out, I went back to Amazon and found "Deadpool Classics" volumes 1 through (so far) 11. I thought "Classics. That should have the oldest stories, right? I can start at the beginning!" Well......kind of. It turns out that those contain mostly Deadpool appearances from other comics, and very few of his own comics. So now I finally bought just plain "Deadpool". Probably I should have started there in the first place. None of them have arrived yet, but I feel like I should pretty much know every single thing about Deadpool by the time I'm finished (which I guess was the point, right?). Anyway, I guess my point here is that I am going to have a shit-ton of Deadpool comics! Also, that I really don't even want to think about how much money I have spent on them.

But look at this cute baby Deadpool fan art I found. 

This Is Why I Don't Have Friends

I went grocery shopping today and twice I realized, too late, that I should have tried to interact with people I encountered. I just do not have whatever it is that allows most people to talk to other people, especially people they don't know. I know, for a fact, that other people meet new people at random places and end up getting to know them. I don't know how to do that. I just don't.

Quick back-story, Kroger has an "in" door, and an "out" door. While both are clearly marked, the "in" door is easily wide enough for two people to pass comfortably, while the "out" door is just barely wide enough for one person. So when someone comes in the "out" door, whoever is trying to get out has to either push them out of the way or wait. Well, I'm trying to leave three people barge in through the "out" door. Naturally, I back up and wait politely for them to get out of the way, while mentally cussing them out. The last guy is taking for-fucking-ever! So, finally, I look up to see why he is walking so very ridiculously slow....and he's staring right at me, and smiling. Now, probably, I should have smiled back and maybe even said something to him. Instead I sort of nodded and ducked around him to get outside.

Honestly, I'm not terribly upset about not talking to the guy at Kroger because, whether he was flirting with me or not, he was being super annoying. This one I am upset about though. I was checking out at Target and the girl running the register says "Did you make your necklace?" I smiled in her general direction (without actually making eye-contact) and said "Yeah, I did." Then she said "I like it." I smiled again (still not really at her) and said "Thank you." Then there was the standard "Have a nice day." "You too." and I left. Afterward, it occurred to me that my necklace says "Vegan" on it. Probably most people wouldn't make a point to say that they liked a necklace that says vegan on it unless they are also vegan. I mean, maybe some people would but I feel like there is a good chance that I spoke to another vegan today and basically blew her off. What is my problem? Why can't I get this whole social interaction thing?

Also, again after I left, I realized that while I was shopping I noticed a copy of the Thug Kitchen cookbook displayed in a very prominent place. When I saw it I was really excited that 1- a vegan cookbook would be in a place like Target at all, and 2- That someone would put it right out in the open, where everyone walking by would be sure to see it. After the whole thing with the necklace I thought "You know what would be a good reason for a vegan cookbook to be displayed like that at Target? If there was a vegan working there, and she put it on that display!" Of course, there is always the possibility that I'm being stupid here, and she wasn't a vegan, and the book was just a coincidence, but I still just feel like I missed yet another opportunity to connect with a like-minded person. Fuck my truly pathetic social skills!

I'm still really happy they have this ^ at Target though.

The Best Part of Waking Up.....Is Deadpool

I have been on this serious Deadpool kick lately. Remember when I mentioned that I had been reading a whole bunch of book that I felt like I should read, for one reason or another? I feel like I've also mentioned that I'm almost always reading two books at once, but I can't seem to find where I said that, so maybe I didn't. Anyway, I'm almost always reading two books at once (there, now I said it), one that's informative, or intellectual, or important in some way, and one that's just entertaining. So lately I've been reading famous and influential literary works.....and Deadpool comics. I always read for at least an hour in the mornings and, if it's something I really like, it helps me to be in a better mood for the rest of the day. I must say, I have not found anything that helps me start of the day on a high note better than Deadpool. He's just so fucking hilarious, and weird, and insane, and I love it!

Unfortunately for me, comics are a lot more expensive than regular books, and there are a shit-ton of Deadpool comics out there. So I have wracked up a rather ridiculous balance on my new Amazon credit card recently. But hey, what can you do?

A Perfect Summary of Cats

I am currently reading the third Sandman collection "Dream Country". It contains a story called "A Dream of a Thousand Cats". This particular story is pretty interesting for several reasons. First of all, it is told from the perspective of cats, which is kind of cool in and of itself. Second, there is a little bit of an animal rights theme because one of the cats is talking about wanting to rebel against humans because her "masters" killed her kittens for not being purebred. Third, she presents the idea that if enough people (in this case, cats) dream about the same thing at the same time, it becomes real. The Dream Lord, who appears to her as The Cat of Dreams tells her that cats once ruled the world, but the humans got together and decided to dream of a world in which they were the rulers. This changed reality and cats became small and submissive to the humans. She is going on a sort of pilgrimage around the world trying to convince all the cats to dream themselves back into a position of power. Supposedly, it would only take a thousand of them. The fourth thing that was so great about it was the line that I think pretty much sums up the very core of what cats are. A kitten asks one of the older cats if he believes that it will happen and the older cat replies "Little one, I would like to see anyone- prophet, king, or god -persuade a thousand cats to do anything at the same time." Yep, that sounds about right.

Does It Still Count?

It's after midnight so I suppose I officially skipped a day's post. The reason is that our internet is still being exceptionally shitty. It's all slow, and sporadic, and generally infuriating. This wouldn't be so bad if I had anything else to do with my time, but I really just don't. I mean, I guess I kind of do, but I need the internet to get me in a good enough mood to do those other things without putting my fist through the wall or something. Also, I ordered the next Sandman book forever ago and it's still not here! No internet and no book, grrrrrrrarrrghhhhh!

You Know What? I Don't Even Want to Know This Time

Okay, so you guys know about my whole thing with all the weird recurring themes in my life that seem like they should mean something but I can never figure out what? Well here's one for you. What exactly is the symbolic significance of creatures with mouths where their eyes should be? Yeah. You know I mentioned a while back that I was reading The Sandman? Well, I just finished the second volume, The Dollhouse, and in it there is a character called The Corinthian. He basically just looks like a regular guy except for the fact that he has mouths where his eyes should be. Kind of creepy, right? You know what's even creepier? The fact that the night after I first read about the Corinthian, my dad and I watched an episode of Angel involving this weird slug-looking demon. You know what I didn't notice about this particular demon the first time I watched this episode? That it happens to have mouths for eyes. Holy fucking shit, Powers That Be! What are you doing to me with this shit?

The Sandman

I've started reading Neil Gaiman's The Sandman series. It took me a while to get into it because I had heard good things about it, but didn't realize it was actually a comic series when I bought it. It took me a while to get used to the format, but now I'm really enjoying it. Anyway, a couple of interesting things. 1- the story is sort of split up into all of these small sections involving a bunch of different characters that everyone has heard of before. On Tuesday night, I got to a part about Cain and Abel. This was the same night as the Supernatural episode that dealt with the story Cain and Abel. I'm not sure what the Powers that Be were trying to tell me with that one, but I'm fairly certain I don't want to know. 2- There is this one part that I think really sums up an idea that I have been trying to explain to people for years. He says "Ask yourselves, all of you...What power would HELL have if those here imprisoned were NOT able to DREAM of HEAVEN?" Of course, he was actually being literal when he said it, but my point was that it's the idea of what our lives could be, or could have been, that makes what they are seem so shitty. If we all knew this is just what life is, this is how it always is and how it always will be, we could probably deal with it. It's thinking that it could be better if you knew how to make it better, or that you missed your opportunity to make it better, that ruins everything. This has been......Your Depressing Thought for the Day!

It really is a great story though.