A five star review from me, but probably a 4.5 star review overall, simply for the fact that this book will not appeal to everyone. Sarya is the galaxy’s worst nightmare: a Human. But most days, she doesn’t feel like the most terrifying creature in the galaxy. No, most days, she’s got other things on her mind. Like hiding her identity among the hundreds of alien species roaming the corridors of Watertower Station. Or making sure her adoptive mother doesn’t casually eviscerate one of their neighbors. Again. And most days, she can almost accept that she’ll never know the truth about why huma ..read more

What is it with creepy baby Jesus paintings in museums? I am seriously starting to suspect babies didn’t exist 600 years ago. Is this a doobie? A small, kinky man with a boob fetish? Who knows? Not this painter. Not the most majestic baby Jesus, but at least he is…properly proportioned. AAAAAAAAAAAAH GOD KILL IT WITH FIRE OHMYGURD MUUUUM Maybe this is what babies looked like during the Irish potato famine, but, hopefully, baby J was a little better fed. Okay, I’m getting some very creepy vibes from this one. Baby J looks like he is one step from leaping from Mary’s lap and biting into my ..read more

I have heard, time and time again, of people avoiding Covid testing because they don’t feel like having a q-tip shoved up into their brain by a sociopathic nurse, Egyptian mummy style. This is understandable. It hurts. It’s gross. It’s invasive. But, guess what? Covid tests are NOT supposed to hurt. The swab that you use only has to be put up your nose until it meets resistance, similar in depth to a good nose picking. In fact, I swab myself twice a week for Covid and the worst pain I felt was a particularly aggressive sneeze. So why are there reports of nasal violation in testing, when this ..read more

Bread made with my homemade starter, 10 days later. How To Make Your Own Sourdough Starter Fill a clean cup with one cup of flour and 1/2 cup water. Whole wheat flour helps your starter mature faster, due to the added nutrients, but white flour can also be used. 2. Cover the cup with wrap or foil. Don’t cover too tightly, your organisms to be able to enter your starter, to give it flavor. 3. Wait 24 hours. Discard half of your mixture, then add 1/2 cup flour and 1/2 cup water. Mix. 4. Cover, then repeat step 3 every 24 hours. 5. When your starter doubles in size between feedings, and is nice ..read more

Hello loyal readers. It is time for yet another of my (soon to be) famous random informational posts! Last time we learned the basics of how to shoot a bow and arrow. Today we will be discussing something even cooler. How to properly caramelize onions. Now, just for the record, I can’t stand onions. They are slimy, smelly, weird tasting, and just generally unpleasant to find in your food. This is why I love to properly caramelize the daylights out of my onions. The more I do, the smaller and less visible they get. They also taste…not bad (really amazing) when caramelized properly. “Okay” you ..read more

Anatomia Artistica is one of the best book series I’ve found for life drawing references. With thousands of drawings of every portion of human musculature and skeletal structure, this series is an excellent reference for all artists, whether your style is based in realism or caricature. This book series is “technically” in Spanish. I say technically because the real value of this series is in the hundreds of perfectly rendered artistic templates contained within its pages. If you wish to start drawing people, but have no idea where to begin, this series might be right for you. Some of the tem ..read more

A little light reading to freak out your significant other… I picked up quite the lovely little book at the used book store the other day… The complete history of poisonings, but accidental and…otherwise. Fun Facts Gleaned From This Treasure: Did you know the term “Mad Hatters” came from the insanity brought on to these tradesmen through the mercury they used to soften hat leather? 2. It also turns out that the beautiful green arsenic wallpaper so favored by the rich in the 18th century was…not a good idea. In dry weather it was fine but once it got moist out…bye bye sanity. 3. In Victoria ..read more

Under the guise of comfort, or habit, or laziness, I default to staying indoors. I wonder if there’s more to it, now that I am putting my personality under the microscope. To be honest, it feels safe to stay inside. No way that I’m going to get hit by bus from my couch. There’s always an excuse to stay inside, too. Laundry, dinner, my tutoring schedule, the entire season of West Wing….even this blog. Yesterday, I stayed inside all day writing. It’s not like I couldn’t do that in fresh air. On the other hand, there wouldn’t be this blog if I got hit by a bus. Living in fear is no fun. Which rem ..read more

Overall Book Rating: 3 StarsIndie Book Rating: 4 Typewriters After years in Wonderland, Alice has returned to England as an adult, desperate to reclaim sanity and control over her life. An enigmatic gentleman with an intriguing job offer too tempting to resist changes her plans for a calm existence, though. Soon, she’s whisked to New York and initiated into the Collectors’ Society, a secret organization whose members confirm that famous stories are anything but straightforward and that what she knows about the world is only a fraction of the truth. It’s there she discovers villains are afoot ..read more

The BEST Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe (As perfected by quarantine.) Ingredients: 1 cup unsalted butter 3 cups All-Purpose flour 1 cup light brown sugar (not dark brown) 1 cup white sugar 2 tsp vanilla extract 1 tsp almond extract (1/2 tsp if you’re sensitive to the taste of marzipan) 2 eggs ½ tsp baking powder 1 tsp baking soda 1 tsp salt 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips Instructions: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a separate bowl mix baking soda, salt, and baking powder with the flour. In a new bowl, cream butter and sugars together until combined (no chunks). Mix or beat in eggs ..read more