'Tis My Birthday! Hooray!

Another year older, and life is moving at a pretty fast clip.  Today I worked on a 2D animation of Dripbird jumping for an apple, which I hope to have refined and posted by Wednesday.  I also, finally, purchased an Adobe CS6 package for my PC.  Two weeks from now, I will be creating awesomeness from my own desktop!

Also, my roommate and I teamed up and made cupcakes (from scratch!) and decorated them with icing and chocolate (from the store).

Yay, cupcakes!

 In other news, I was helpful!  I got to help make a prayer network board Willow Chicago is using for its kids' program. I designed the swirly background and mapped out where the colors would go.  The painting and string was by some other super talented person.  I think it turned out great!

It's also upside-down.  But I kind of like it better this way.

Earworm of the Day:  We Got a Dollar (or I Got a Pickle in some versions) from The Little Rascals.  Of course, thanks to NATSU I now have an entirely different (equally catchy) song stuck in my head, but I'll let them have the glory for that.

"I got a birthday.  I got a birthday.  I got a birthday, hey hey hey hey..."

And I Cook This How... ?

I've spent most of the day world-building with Animalburg (so many ninja critters, so little time...) and doing chores.  I actually bought raw chicken thighs today.  Raw chicken.  I almost never buy meat, meaning I have no herbs, spices, bread-crumbs, or any workable idea about how to actually incorporate meat into a meal.

Eh, I'll just do what I do with everything else:  Heat it until the safe-consumption requirements have been met and add it to a plate of spaghetti and pasta sauce.  Food's food.

Ninja kids.  Their games of hide-and-seek are EPIC.

Earworm of the Day: Outta My Mind by Anthem Lights

Skip

I totally just went a week without posting.  Wow.  Shame on me.

I had a great Thanksgiving with my family, and I learned how to make pie crust (successful on first try!)  Pie crust isn't hard, but it's a consistency thing that doesn't translate well onto a notecard.  You really have to have to learn it from someone who knows what it's supposed to look like.

Can't say I got anything else noteworthy accomplished, but I plan on making a figurine of one of my characters tomorrow.  We'll see how that goes.  If I'm successful, I shall post the picture on Wednesday.

Earworm of the day: "76 Trombones" from The Music Man.  I only had to hear it once to memorize the tune as a kid.  It's that infectiously catchy.

Misplaced Wildlife and Festive Banana Bread

"Catch of the Day" by myself:


I really must apologize to anyone glancing at my linked-in profile right now.  I know it'll be getting double videos in the blog-feed-link-thingy, but having video embedded looks so much better than simply providing a link and saying "go here".

The fall quarter is almost done with, and I'm really, really, incredibly excited to go home for winter break.

I made banana bread today.  The recipe was just a basic one pulled from a Better Homes and Gardens cook book.  Nothing special at all.  Well, ok.  I didn't have any plain cinnamon, so I used pumpkin pie spice.  All my baked goods have tasted of pumpkin pie as of late because buying more spices is not a necessary item on my to-do list.  I also don't own a loaf pan, so I did some quick math to make sure the 10 1/2 x 7 wouldn't overflow and shortened the cook time to 20 minutes instead of 50.  Turned out just fine.

Earworm of the Day: "Taken by the Storm" by Article One.  Yes, that's a violin.  Also, they're Canadian.  For more cool stuff from north of the boarder check out the NFB.

Webcomics and Pie

I've found another webcomic to obsess about.  It's called Slightly Damned, and it is hilarious.  My archive binge was on Friday, which means I'm just about out of the obsessing phase and into the "regular follower" phase.  A good thing, since I have lots of homework to do and I really need to focus.

Also on Friday I made that pumpkin pie.  I am thankful my roommates were here to help make it.  Never before have I seen a pumpkin split open with such swift efficiency... after the three of us got impatient of carving it the normal way that is.  Here were the results:

Mmmm...pie.... :)

Earworm of the day:  "Me Against the World" by Simple Plan (It was stuck in my head yesterday.  No explanation exists as to why.)

Mashup

I am reading a book on animals that went extinct within human history, and it's got me thinking of Twiggy and the Jackalope again.  Part of the story involves a Rare/Extinct animal zoo at the north pole. There's also an entire army of vengeful dodos, descended from those who escaped their home island long ago.

Of course the Dodo Army is an equal opportunity employer, and has therefore picked up a few other animals over time.  For comedy's sake, one of these is a chicken.  (and yes, I didn't look up the spelling of the name "Meredith" until later.  Note to self: always spell-check the names.)

DoFranklin, DoMeredith, and DoTreena; members of the Dodo Army.

Character detail of DoMeredith the chicken.

All the dodo names are ["Do"(as in dodo) + Some actual given name] and they earn a second name later in life by doing something unique.  For example: DoDonald Cleaver (favors a meat cleaver as a weapon), DoElla Dial-Tone (spent years in the north pole zoo pretending to be empty-headed), DoMaynard The Bard (self explanatory).  Oh, and did I mention that the dodos wear hats?  It's a cultural thing.

"And now for something completely different!":

EY's Spaghetti-Fish-n-Veggie Meal
--or--
Too-Lazy-To-Go-Buy-Spaghetti-Sauce Meal
Ingredients:

• 3 to 4 servings spaghetti noodles
• A cup or so of frozen mixed vegetables
• 2 breaded fish sticks (fully cooked)
• 1 Tbsp butter or margarine (I use butter)
• Handful of shredded cheese (two singles slices work ok in a pinch)
• Enough water to cook the spaghetti, 1-2 Tbsp for the vegetables, and a 1/4 cup for later.

How To:

1. Cook spaghetti according to package directions.  Use a 2 quart pan (trust me, you'll need the space).
2. While that's cooking, put vegetables in medium-sized microwave-safe bowl and add a tablespoon or so of water.  Cooked covered for about 4 minutes on high.
3. Remove vegetables with a hot pad or oven mitt.  Immediately add butter and cheese and stir until mostly melted.
4. Reheat fish sticks (0:45 to 1:00 will work fine)
5. Break fish sticks into smaller pieces.  Add to veggie-cheesy mixture.  Stir.
6. Cover and place in microwave for another minute to make sure everything's melted together.
7. By now the spaghetti should be done.  Drain and return to 2 quart pan.  Dump in the veggie-cheesy-fish mixture and stir.  Add 1/4 cup water and keep stirring.
8. Serve with a side-dish of fruit to make a meal.

Makes 3-4 servings.

Nutrition Facts:  More nutritious than a bowl of ramen, but would never be endorsed by Dr. Oz.  Fish and vegetables are good for you generally, but I would not recommend eating this if you have qualms about fat or carbs.  The fish, cheese, and butter do add salt.  It's college student fare; use your better judgement.

Earworm of the day: Nothing springs to mind.  Have a nice day.

A Day for Videos

So I've gotten into my head that I want to make a pumpkin pie for halloween.  I'm talking buying an actual pumpkin.  It took a while for me to find a recipe that didn't call for a 15 oz can of Libby's.  I don't care if it's "100% pure"; if I don't get orange gunk on my hands and fresh seeds for roasting, it's not pumpkin.  I did find a recipe with an actual pumpkin though.

In Storyboarding class we discussed editing and the importance of timing.  We also watched The TV Show.  I recommend it in full-screen.  For my homework assignment, I brought back my character Jimmy and pitted him against a bunch of frog-things.  (a better quality video can be found here on Vimeo)

I subscribed to Vimeo for my Storyboarding class.  I'm not going to do a compare/contrast between Vimeo and YouTube because I've never joined YouTube, but I've been happy with Vimeo so far.  There's a lot of high-quality stuff on there.

In case you need to get Zorba's Dance out of your head...
Earworm of the Day:  "Faking My Own Suicide" by Relient K

Easy Cheesy Potatoes

Have you ever bought a pack of that "easy melt" cheese?  It's the stuff that comes in wrapped slices like American cheese, but it's especially made for making grilled-cheese sandwiches (aka it's probably mutant Velveeta).  It makes a fine grilled-cheese sandwich, but ever tried to eat that stuff plain?  It's nasty.  It's not real cheese.

So a year or so ago I bought a pack of the easy melt stuff, not knowing what I was getting myself into.  Several months later it was still in my fridge, and it hadn't grown any mold yet.  This could be proof that it's an orange, hydrogenated dead-zone similar to the ones found in the ocean, only it was in my fridge which is almost as disturbing.

So, getting to the point:  one day, faced with a 2 month old half-pack of undead easy melt slices and some very much alive potatoes (they always sprout eyes by the time I use them), I created this recipe:

EY's Easy Cheesy Potatoes

Need:

• washed potatoes (doesn't matter what kind they are, or if you peel them.  I buy what's on sale and keep the peels on.)
• 6-8 (or maybe 10) slices of single-slice cheese product of your choice
• water
• oven-safe casserole dish or baking pan large enough to hold everything without overflow
• aluminum foil
• knife

How to:

1. Preheat oven to 350 deg Fahrenheit (176 Celsius)
2. Cut up the potatoes into slices about 1/4 -- 1/2 inch thick.
3. Lay potatoes in bottom of dish/pan, layering to 2 slices deep.
4. Add enough water to surround but not cover the potatoes.  Tops of potatoes should be sticking out of the water.
5. Unwrap singles-slices and lay a single layer on top of potatoes like a big cheesy blanket.
6. Cover pan with aluminum foil.  Place in oven.  Place on top of cookie sheet if using a small or shallow dish.  There's a chance it will boil over.
7. Cook for about 45 minutes, or until potatoes split in half when you stick a fork in them.
8. Remove pan from oven.  Remove foil.  Serve with vegetables and/or meat of your choice.

Servings:

Creates as much as you put into it, or about 1 person per potato if we're talking russets.  Smaller potatoes and you're on your own.

Nutrition facts:

How should I know?  The nutrition info for an unpeeled potato can be found here.  Read the package on your chosen cheese product and do the math.

Earworm of the day: Can't Shut Up by Anthem Lights

Turtles, Arowanas, Pirhanas

Went to the Shedd Aquarium today for the first time since I was... 4?  5?  Well, it's been over 12 years so it was time to go back.  We went out for brunch first though at this amazing place called Yolk.  The food was very good and Dad loved the coffee.  The aquarium was fun.  They had an exhibit about the amazon, which included some of the biggest freshwater fish I'd ever seen.  Forget trying to catch one with a fishing pole; they'd pull you under before you could reel them in.  There were also a lot of turtles.  We saw an aquatic show that featured white-sided dolphins and a talented sea-lion.  It was surprisingly short, but I guess it's best not to tire out the animals.

The sad thing was, most of the fish I knew the names of, I learned from facebook's Fish World game.  Well, you can't say I haven't learned anything.

On another topic:  When one is creating stuff, it's always good to check if it's been done before.  I can't say yet whether or not someone else is developing a tv-show with ninja hamsters, but I did find the game Ninja Hamsters vs Robots.  Now if only I can get past the 3rd level.

Earworm of the day: Wake Up by The Arcade Fire (because the Shedd uses it in their aquatic show).