In strangely apposite news ...

[blamebrampton]

Noob, defriend and defollow are all in the running to become the millionth word in English. This from a language that came up with tatterdemalion. That will teach it to go slumming for a bit of rough.

Absolutely knackered at the moment after spending far too long on the internet last night and at work this week. For tonight, it's been a really fun beta, an actual four paragraphs of story, the yummiest sourdough with French butter, and the world's easiest dessert (Savoiardi biscuits with rose-petal jam and double-thick cream. SO yummy ...)

The semi-annual festival of angst seems to be doing the rounds again. I offer only these simple pieces of advice:
* Lolcats are superior to angst, check them out instead.
* It's always exactly your choice how much you angst, always.
* If the lolcats aren't working, find a real cat. Pick it up and give it a cuddle.
* If that still doesn't work, then check out The Engineers' Guide To Cat Yodeling. I just went back 320  in my flist trying to find who posted this a few days ago, no luck. Whoever you are, thank you! You have brought joy to many overworked editorial staff members this week!

Oh sod it ... I really do need to sleep ... posted this without adding in the bit I meant to add last night!

leochi , who does some very good art and who came up with the brilliant yay_potterkids , is posting art tutorials at her private journal. Check out her notes on pencils here, on using pencils here, and on three-tone crayon work here. REALLY inspirational stuff! Do pop by and read through if you have any interest in the topic, or just to check out her illustrative examples!


ETA:  If you like the idea of cat yodelling (the cats are only mildly annoyed, which is a normal state of affairs for the average cat), check out the whole YouTube channel. Ah engineers, I  find your rationality strangely comforting. Thanks,_inbetween_ !

Comments

[aldehyde.livejournal.com]

but i don't like cats that much :(

but i do love dogs :D i have seen as many as 4 beautiful german shepherds in the last 2 weeks! 2 of which were blindingly whiteeeeeeee.

i wish i had a house large enough + the finances to afford a dog. sigh.

ps:- sourdough bread is nice. y'know what else is nice? butternut squash *drool*

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

trust me, the yodeling is funny even to cat haters.

Happiest thing I have seen in my whole life? A Boxer dog with three tennis balls in its mouth. Its owner told me that if it could fit in a fourth, it would consider its mission in life fulfilled.

And white shepherds are gorgeous, they're a lovely breed all over! You will have a dog one day!

As to butternut -- YUM! my fave is to cut out most of the innards with a knife, crank up the oven to 200 deg C, remove the seeds and slice the cut-out flesh that remains into cubes, then, on two foil-covered baking trays, arrange the squash husk, the cubes, a small cubed sweet potato, and slices of purple onion, red pepper (capsicum) and aubergine (eggplant). Then drizzle everything with olive oil and drizzle the aubergine with salt. Roast, turning at least once, until everything is golden on the outside, then pack all the veg inside the squash husk, press down to mix the flavours a little, and pop back in the over for another 5-10 min to finish cooking. You can add cheese for this bit if you do cheese.

Om nom nom nom ...

[aldehyde.livejournal.com]

*brain explodes*

ok i have to copy-paste this awesome recipe so i can try it out! will just have to skip out on the eggplant since i'm allergic to it. it sounds fabulous!

last weekend, i went out for a meal with pals and had this amazing butternut squash ravioli with goat cheese and pine nuts. it was heavenly, guh. usually i can never finish meals at restaurants and my friends were amazed that despite being full half-way through, i still gobbled down the rest of it :D

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

It's the perfect leftover meal, too, if you have leftover veg or half a pasta, just roast the squash bits and take the leftovers out of the fridge when you put the squash in the oven, then mix it with anything from spaghetti napolitana to cheese, pinenuts and tofu and slap it all in. You can even add cooked shredded chicken or light-flavoured white fish if you eat meat.

Can you tell that I am obsessing over what to do for Calanthe's cookbook?

[aldehyde.livejournal.com]

oo! totally archiving these lj notifications so i can look them up again soon :D

i'm not sure what to submit for v2.0 of cal's recipe book. i'm going to re-submit the pacific rim stir fry i submitted last time since i sent it to her past the deadline and she didn't have enough time to add it in. but i think i might want to share some south asian recipes as well? and perhaps 1 or 2 of my fave cakes. i'm planning on submitting the photos too which means i'll have to cook/bake the items and photograph them before the deadline. so i'd better not get TOO ambitious :P

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

YES YES YES to all of the above, please!

[furiosity.livejournal.com]

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

It's my Cookie cat's cousin! (She destroys Roman blinds, transforming them into cat byways ...)

[furiosity.livejournal.com]

Don't worry, she will graduate to destroying evil in due time! \:D/

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

As soon as she stops being distracted by thickness (my Monster cat, who is adorable, but oh so dim ...)

[leochi.livejournal.com]

Awww, you're a sweetheart! Thank you for the lovely rec, my dear!

As for those two engineers with their cats, they make me laugh every time I come accross them. Unfortunately my cats don't make a sound when I cuddle them (at least no meowing sound). Leonardo just sticks his paws into my face while purring furiously and Oilily pulls back his ears with an annoyed expression.

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

J has taken to experimenting with the neighbourhood cats, since ours were sad failures, too. Monster just wonders where the food is, and Cookie looks at us with the sad face of despair in the face of betrayal.

[leochi.livejournal.com]

Ahahahahaha - just like cats never to do what you expect of them. And I know this sad face of despair only too well.

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

It's a good thing they cuddle us, or we would realise their true evil!

[leochi.livejournal.com]

Ahahaha - no, I really have to disagree, now. I've got the sweetest non-evil cats of the world. They're so incredibly lovely and sweet, they never hiss or spit and they always come when I call them. Err, well, Leonardo does. Almost all the time. ;D

But Oilily is very good at ignoring me or at "the Annoyed face".

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

Mine never hiss or spit either, unlike grumpy old Min cat, which leads me to suspect them of Deep Plotting.

Though it may just be them wondering how they can trip me over when I get the fish out for dinner ...

[http://users.livejournal.com/_inbetween_/]

Don't miss their original "Engineers Guide to Cats". It's less polished, but it started it all. There's also them running around with the cats in front of them in outstretched arms, pretending the cats are having an airfight.

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

OMG!! MUST GO! And was it YOU who posted the original link? A synapse just fired suggesting it may have been. Many many thanks if it was!

[http://users.livejournal.com/_inbetween_/]

Yep, I did :) I'm just lazy now but I also linked to the original which was rather hard to find amongst their many youtube vids: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHXBL6bzAR4

And I noticed the "Funny Cat Fighter Jets" are a seperate clip in the sidebar.


(Mine? STOPPED MAKING THE NOISE! They know I'm after it now. Grrrr. But they also like the interior decorating you'll see in their other vid.)

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

NO! Oh that would be even more heartbreaking than stubbornly refusing to make noises at all *glares at Monster the cat, who sings opera at other times* (Cookie is off the hook, she even miaows silently unless the kibbles are all gone)

[http://users.livejournal.com/_inbetween_/]

Exactly, the betrayal! I grabbed Kobold, certain she'd do her usual meeee if held like that, but nothing. Kendra did Tom Waits from kittenhood on. She goes from close-mouthed mrp to old-drunkard-dying-of-lung-cancer in a second, but never once she HAS the attention, so it's tricky getting in position to shake her *really really wants to hear the wobble sound*

Damn engineers.

[shadowclub.livejournal.com]

Oh, angst! Your suggestions do make it better though minus the picking up of the real cat as I fear them...

Wow, I don't think I've ever heard of "defollowed". Is that like in reference to twitter or something? I am not up on this hip internet lingo...

Speaking of which- is noob really the same as n00b because I've had people tell me that they are completely different things.

[potteresque_ire]

THAT IS ONE AWESOME VIDEO!!!!! I want to get a cat, follow the protocol and repeat the experiment. I used to be a dog person but cats have been growing so much on me. I'd love to have a perfectly black cat to complete my W-I-T-C-H image...

That guy in the video sounds totally like the people in the safety video we have to watch very year; looks as blank as well. Maybe we should insert it in somewhere—at least the audience won't fall asleep as fast!

Are there angsty LOL cats? Like cats denied of cheezburgers?

[alicambs.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the link to the cat yodelling, I was laughing non stop by the end!

[beatnikspinster.livejournal.com]

HAHAHAHAHA!!!! The cat yodelling video is freaking hysterical! Thank you for link to that! My life is complete.

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

Seriously good stuff ;-)

I have been essentially doing double my workload all week, and the subs dept on the mag I have been in has been beset by horrors, that video may be the only reason there were not wails coming from the office this week. Well, maybe there were a few of laughter ...

[bryoneybrynn.livejournal.com]

I've been staying out of this round. Aren't you proud of me?

Though I've been very, very tempted to make a post. Am trying to resist. No one really gives a shit, anyway, right? lol

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

Darling, I am ALWAYS proud of you. But yeah, it will all blow over shortly, and you know the good part? People have been using names when they have been talking about new writers they like, so it's easy to compose lists of people to check out! Benefits!

You SHOULD make a post Bry, it should be titled 'Certain Dark Thinks, Chapter ...'

[meredyth-13.livejournal.com]

I have nothing to contribute, just waving in a friendly fashion in your direction.

*hugs*

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

MERE! *mwah!* (have you watched the cats? OMG! (and apparently I am 12 and from California ...))

[dharawal.livejournal.com]

ALL tatterdemalions like a little bit of rough 8-)

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

When people friend me, this is my usual process:
* Check their journal;
* Read a few entries;
* Look at their profile;
* Read a few more entries to make sure it is not one of the stalkers I have collected along life's path;
* Add them back.

When you did, I looked at your name, checked you weren't a bot and ticked ADD immediately, because I knew by your name choice that you had to be awesome.

[dharawal.livejournal.com]

LOL

well thank you very much for that ringing endorsement, that's quite made my night!!

[tomatoe18.livejournal.com]

I just want to say that the engineers are awesome. That is all.

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

They ARE, aren't they? I have found a majority of engineers to be brilliant people, sadly, the remainder are ghastly, so you do have to choose carefully ;-)

[grey-hunter.livejournal.com]

It's always exactly your choice how much you angst, always.

Yes.

Not a cat person but cats are kinda Zen so cat=de-angst device has definite possibilities in my mind.

[uminohikari.livejournal.com]

...tatterdemalion? Really?

Cats are cuter in pictures than in RL :( They have claws!

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