When Big Hero Six released its first trailer, I wasn't sure if Hiro was a boy or a girl. When it was confirmed that he was a boy, I wanted to design a character that looked a lot like him, but was a girl.
And Mabel did it for me! I love her design. Both as a human and a beaver.
I love her passion for protecting the beautiful pond.
Though the movie was a bit weird for me. Maybe I'll feel differently after a second viewing.
Well, I make a post about each X-Men movie I see. So I guess I'll do one about The Gifted.
It was basically a series in which they broke in and out of places over and over.
It was depressing. It may as well not have even been in the X-Men universe, because it's in my least favorite timeline in which the X-Men are gone. And mutants are about to be wiped out? So we know that's waiting ahead for most of the characters.
I don't plan to watch season 2.
I'm impressed when a long-time series manages to keep a clear continuity.
The X-men movies don't have good continuity. Which is distracting, but it doesn't stop me from loving many of the movies.
Doctor Who does have good continuity. I haven't seen all of it. Indeed, many episodes seem to be lost forever, so no one can watch all of it. But I haven't noticed any glaring plot holes from the timeline (Doctor Who logic isn't always logical, but that's a different issue). In some bonus features, they say that people go back through old episodes, to make sure that everything lines up.
There are also audio shows, books, and other stuff too. I wonder how those fit.
I found the anniversary specials with The Doctor and Donna. It was great to see them together again. But they changed the word for "gravity." Does that mean that from now on, they can't use the word "gravity"" in Doctor Who? Or will they go fix it? Perhaps this has been answered already - I haven't caught up with the newer seasons yet.
Star Wars wasn't created to be a series. George Lucas was happy just to get one movie out. He didn't even know if he'd be able to complete the first trilogy, let alone prequels. But since then, there have been more and more movies and series. Characters will pop up from older shows, which is always fun. (Even though I still don't buy the fact that Darth Maul survived being chopped in half).
On the flip side, you almost have to watch all of the different series now just to understand some of them. For example, I watched Ahsoka when it came out. And only now that I'm in the middle of Star Wars Rebels do I realize that many of those characters were actually introduced before. I didn't know I'd need to watch Rebels for Ahsoka to make sense. So while I love that they build off of each other, there's just so much of it now that it's a real time suck if you want to actually follow one of the newer shows.
One of this year's guest speakers at Fanime was Hiroshi Nagahama. He worked on the Mushishi and Fruits Basket anime (the first one). As well as several others I haven't yet seen, like Utena, which I now need to watch.
He had a presentation of storyboards from near the end of Fruits Basket, which was cool to see since parts of it were different from the final version.
He also showed off some of his comic book collection. It was fun to see how excited he was about them.
After his talk, I went up to tell him that Fruits Basket was my first manga, "so the anime holds a special place in my heart." It was cool to get to talk to him.
(I had actually read Pokemon manga before that, but I didn't even know what manga was back then, so I don't count it XD )
Elsewhere in Fanime, they now have these "rallies." If you buy something from all involved artists, you get a special print. Which is so bizaare. You can't buy the print if you like it. You have to spend money at a bunch of other places first, for stuff you may or not care about. More ways to suck every coin out of people.
They were playing Princess Mononoke on one of the big screens, so I went to watch that. I think one guy in the audience must have come in during the middle of the movie, and had not seen it before. Because when a couple people get limbs shot off during the final battle, he made shocked exclamations. I couldn't help laughing. If you'd only seen Ghibli movies like Totoro and Ponyo, it would be a shock.
The next log of my Europe trip, continued after Paris.
November 17, 2023
I turned on the heater last night to try to dry the clothes I'd washed. It didn’t work. I wrapped them up with the damp parts inside, so I could transport them without getting the rest of my luggage wet.
My train tickets weren’t until almost noon. I tried another boulangerie for breakfast. It was really good, and I wish I'd found it earlier. I had bad luck finding good food in Paris.
I left my hotel early, with lingering paranoia from my last train ride. I got to the train station almost an hour and a half early. I wasn’t thinking straight, because I couldn’t seem to find my train to Frasne listed anywhere. There was one that left at the right time, but it wasn’t listed as the Frasne train. I wandered around, looking for information. I sat and waited for half an hour, expecting the train to pop up on screen a little later. Someone was playing a piano. They were doing a good job, but the piano was slightly out of tune. Not surprising, since the room wasn’t sealed from the elements. Still no sign of the Frasne train. I talked to a staff member, who pointed me in the right direction (and I finally remembered that the train was listed by it’s final destination, and Frasne was not the final destination). I got on without any trouble.
Made it to Frasne no problem and transferred to another train. From there, I just watched the scenery. It was the best so far. As we got toward the Alps, the fall colors became stunning. Golden trees, which darkened to orange and red the farther we travelled. For a while, we were riding alongside a river. Cliffs and ridges rose up around us, and some of the highest distant peaks were sprinkled with snow.
Finally we arrived in Bern. I hauled my stuff across the station and to the bus stop. I’m always nervous with new public transit. Each place has been so different, and I didn’t even know what the main language was in Switzerland. The last train had been announcing most of the stops in French, but the names didn’t look French. And most of what I heard spoken was German.
As I boarded the bus, I showed the driver the name of the stop on my phone, to make sure I was headed to the right place. The bus was packed and I could barely squeeze in with all my luggage. But I arrived okay, and luckily my hotel was right next to the bus stop.
This was my nicest room so far. Spacious, with a huge bed and big shower. The only funky thing is that you don’t get a normal sized blanket. You get two small ones that only cover half the bed. That’s a first. Clearly meant for two people, though I am only one.
I headed next door to the Co-op market. I grabbed some snacks for a simple dinner. But when I tried to check out, the lady told me something about the apple. I couldn’t understand her, and she left, taking the apple with her. The guy behind me explained that I was supposed to weigh it back in the fruit area. She returned with a sticker that covered about a third of the apple, and I headed back to the hotel. With a detour to pet a friendly cat.
November 18, 2023
didn’t have any reservations for Bern. I did look into a tour, but none were available today. I could just walk around town and relax. It was nice, after worrying about public transit and ticket times every other day.
My map marked the main sites around Bern. The town is a Unesco heritage site. Just around the corner from my hotel was a rose garden. I didn’t expect much action in November, but I went to check it out. There were actually some flowers! But even better, the rose garden was on top of a hill. Across from us was a stunning view of the old town of Bern. The river wrapped around the town, and the water was bordered by autumn-colored trees. The cathedral tower stood high above everything. In the distance, snow-covered mountains melted into the clouds.
After I took in the view, I headed toward the resident bears. They have a nice hillside enclosure beside the river. I wasn’t sure if they would still be awake, with winter fast approaching, but two of them were up and about.
I watched them for a while, then crossed the bridge into Bern. It was after 10, but nothing was really open yet. There’s a big, beautiful old clock tower in the middle of town. Though it kind of ruins the effect when there’s a McDonalds and Gamestop at its base.
There was a little stand selling roasted chestnuts. I sat by the path, peeling the chestnuts and breathing hot steam (I wrote a poem about that memory).
As I continued on, I spotted a tea shop and headed inside. I said I was interested in oolong, and they told me about the different types they had, offering to brew some for me. As it steeped, I talked to the lady there. I think I’m kinda desperate to talk to people since Paris, where I no longer understand the language. It’s a strange kind of lonely isolation. I’m tempted to say things even if I overhear people speaking Spanish or Japanese. I think I chatted too much to the lady there, and she deflected me when she could. I turned away, kinda embarrassed and wondering if I was babbling.
The guy who had been brewing the tea for me returned with a tray and invited me to sit down. He had four cups –for the both of us to try both teas. He poured the first kind, explaining the difference in flavors and origins. I’ve never been good at telling the details of tea flavors (As Uncle Iroh would say, I’m fine with some “hot leaf juice”). Though I can tell if I don’t like a tea, or if it’s too flavorless. But with his descriptions, I found that I could sense some of the differences. Even when the tea sat for a few minutes, there was a shift in flavor. He told me there were six kinds of tea, all made from Camelia sinensis (green, black, oolong, pu’er, white, and yellow). Some teas are so reliant on quality plants that they’re hard to find. I’ve had pu’er twice, but never really liked the flavor or feel. He said that it was probably made the cheap, fast way. I’ll have to try the good kind someday.
I was there over half an hour. It was good to have someone to talk to, and I learned more about tea! Back when I read The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane, I went on a quest to get a tea tree of my own. It took over a year to find one though. Earlier in the year, I’d dug out a big root ball from a sickly pittosporum, and planted my tea tree there. I harvested just a few leaves, not wanting to stress the new plant. I tried making tea out of it, but messed up and made the leaves too crisp. They didn’t have any flavor.
I continued exploring. The houses are beautiful, with unique shapes, or angled roofs with towers.
I crossed the river, heading for the natural history museum. The second floor was a hall of animal skeletons. I had fun trying to identify them before looking at the signs. Some of them are really bizarre, like the dugong. The shoebill skeleton was cool – I’d love to see a living one.
Then there was the exhibit on St. Bernards. Crossing the Great St. Bernard Pass was so dangerous that there have been shelters there since Roman times. At an elevation ot 2,500 meters, it could snow at any time of year, and could catch people unprepared. In the 1000’s, Bernard of Menthon built a hospice at the top of the pass. Anyone was welcome to come in – the doors were never locked. Every day they sent out guides to help people. Some time in the mid 1600’s the guides started taking dogs with them. The guides and dogs saved over 2,000 people. Bernard was canonized in 1123, hence the name of the pass, and the name of the St. Bernard dogs. Originally the mountain dogs were a variety of breeds – St. Bernards became more common later. Oddly enough, present-day St. Bernards have been bred in directions that no longer make them ideal dogs for mountain rescues. And you know how you often see images of St. Bernards carrying little barrels of rum around their necks? Yeah, that never happened in real life.
The creepiest room was full of bottled specimens. Including a few shelves of puppies in jars. That’s enough to make you a bit queasy. It turns out that this museum has the largest collection of pedigree dogs (all dead from natural causes, luckily). Scientists use this collection to study how dogs descended from wolves.
They can use ibex horns to study climate change – because the chemicals in the grass they eat leaves traces in their horn growth. And fish specimens can show historical amounts of plastic pollution.
On the bottom floor, they had a crystal display, with nearly 2 tons of quartz.
Back across the river, and to the cathedral.
Because I was chatting to the camera during my climb, I didn’t really notice how long the spiral staircase was. But climbing down in silence, it never seemed to end. Finally I was back out in the town again.
Both here and at the train station in Paris, you have to pay to use the bathroom. I get it in Peru, but not here. Luckily it was time to eat, so I found a restaurant and used their bathroom. The panini was really good: spinach and tomato, and something called la bouze cheese. Creamy and melty like brie, but not as salty. I haven't been able to find it anywhere since.
In addition to the storefronts, there are basement-areas with trap doors. Many of these open up into shops! One of them had boba, so I had to get one. It was really good.
I headed back to the hotel, crossing the bridge. There was a restaurant near the bears, and they had a sign for gelato. I hadn’t had any since I last came to Europe (not good gelato, anyway). The great thing is that you can pick two flavors. I got dark chocolate and marzipan. It was amazing!
I decided to take the slightly longer route back, through the rose garden again. The city was starting to light up for the night.
The cathedral bells started chiming. When dark fell, I felt a couple rain drops and decided it was time to go. The stone wall had frozen my butt, and it stayed cold until I took a hot shower.
I have weird taste.
I sometimes see art of animals and food. As in, a cat sitting in a cup of boba. Or an owl sitting in a bowl of ramen. An animal wouldn't want to sit in a cup of soup. Except maybe a raccoon, which will eat anything. They'd get gross and sticky. And who would ever want to eat something that an animal had been sitting in?
Am I being too literal? Absolutely. But these are the things I think of when I see pictures like this.
But if you give me a cat that's MADE of boba, I love it.
I just finished Arcane: League of Legends a couple days ago.
Through season 1, I was impressed by the animation. But I never liked how the series made me feel. Whenever I finished watching for the day, I felt angry or upset.
I liked a lot of the characters. And then because I like picking out my favorite characters, I landed on one at the end of season 1. Viktor. Which is especially funny, because I was so suspicious of him at first. When he said that he came from nothing, I immediately got an image that I've seen elsewhere. A sort of "I clawed my way up from nothing, and I'll be damned if anyone tries to take that from me. Maybe I can use this magic to gain more." Except I was so wrong. This show loves to trick you about characters, so maybe they even intended something like that. But Victor ended up having a genuine desire to help people.
I won't turn this post into a full analysis of Viktor. Though if I ever do watch the series again, I can't promise that won't happen. And if I do watch it again, it will probably be to get a better grasp on Viktor.
I just looked up a few clips of him on Youtube. I love his expressions. And he has so much more enthusiasm before the first time skip. Before the disease takes its toll. There are actually some funny moments in there, which I didn't appreciate when I first watched the show. I love it when a character makes me laugh.
Jayce asks, "Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Viktor shrugs and grimaces. Jayce does it anyway.
And what happens when he gets caught picking a lock? "Wait a minute, this isn't my bedroom!"
Plus he likes big weird monsters, so that's even better (Actually, Rio is adorable).
Yeah. After watching those clips, I love this guy.
And now,
In season 2, everything kind of fell apart for me. The animation was still amazing. But they crammed so many things into the season that a lot of them never felt clear, or resolved. Like the Black Rose?
And I stopped understanding why characters were behaving the way they did. I just talked to Nicole about it today, and she said she felt like she'd missed an episode. Which is exactly how I felt, twice.
I had just decided that Viktor was my favorite character, and was horrified by his injuries. Then I was glad to see that when Viktor got powers, he immediately tried to help people. Though I could tell something was off about it. But then all of a sudden he became the ultimate evil in the show? I was so blindsided and confused. What had happened to all of his morals? I knew something was strange, but immediately before that, Viktor had still been trying to help Vander. I couldn't grasp such a dramatic change happening so immediately. Especially the fact that he allied himself with a warmonger, who killed many people during the final battle. How could Viktor be okay with allowing that much death? I wondered if he was kinda possessed by that weird magic, or something? And he died, but then somehow came back? I had no idea what was happening during that whole scene.
When Jayce reappeared from getting sucked through the vortex, he immediately killed someone. That shocked me. Then Viktor said that person wasn't actually Jayce? But it was Jayce? I still don't understand any of that. And then we see where Jayce had gone to that broken future. He was getting infected by that weird magic stuff through his wound. And his food too, if I remember correctly? There seemed something seriously wrong with him. But then he was fine when he got back home?
Jinx's psychotic episodes also seemed to completely stop in season 2, though she certainly wasn't in any better state of mind.
Vi and Caitlyn attacked Ambessa, then just leave her there? Why the heck didn't they try to lock her up or something? It felt like such a half-ass maneuver, which of course backfired badly.
And they brought Vander back for a brief moment, only to make his life worse than death?
Did they really kill that cute kid just to teach Jinx a lesson? It really didn't feel like Isha had to die. The whole situation felt contrived. Just because Jinx couldn't stand up quite fast enough, Isha kills herself to save Jinx?
I was glad that Viktor was shown not to really be evil at the end. Jayce says that Viktor's imperfections were important. And I love the sentiment. But it felt really weird when Jayce said that he appreciated the illness that was about to kill Viktor? I don't think that was meant literally, but it was weird.
Anyway, that's just a sampling of what confused me.
On a positive side, I liked the episode where Ekko saw the better world. I think he might be my second favorite character. Like Viktor, Ekko was also working desperately to help people.
So, it's been well over a year, but I've gotta plan some Fern interventions. Especially to help Viktor. He didn't deserve that ending.
My cousin wanted to check out the spring Sacanime convention. To my astonishment, Don Bluth was one of the guests. That's right - the guy responsible for films such as The Land Before Time, and Secret of NIMH. Who gave Disney a run for its money for a while. One of the most famous American animators.
While we waited in line, I checked out some of the other convention guests. Jeff Bennett would have been cool to meet. He played characters like Kiki's dad in Kiki's Delivery Service. I never got the chance to talk to him though.
I really wanted to meet Sam Vincent. He voiced Julian in Cardcaptors (or Yukito, if you don't watch the older English version). I really liked Julian as a kid, though it's only recently that I realized why. In the shows/movies I had, he was the only teenage boy that was really sweet and kind. I wanted to tell the actor how much that character meant to me, but once again I didn't get the chance.
It took about an hour for my cousin and I to reach the front of the line. We read the price list, bewildered. A signed poster was $120. He'd also written a book, and an autographed copy of that was $80. So I bought the book. I want to read it anyway. To get the book personalized in any way, even just your name, would cost an extra $40. When they asked for my name, I gave it. And when they tried to charge me for it, I said no. So they crossed it out.
Seriously, how do they figure out these prices? Fanime hasn’t charged me for an autograph. Does Sacanime just do this so they can skim off a lot of the money? Because some of these guests don’t seem like their autograph should cost $50.
When we stepped up to meet Don Bluth, he autographed my book, and wrote my name anyway. So that was cool. He said that if I bought his book, I must be able to read. I said I like learning how things are made. And that my graduate project had been about environmental fiction, so I’d discussed themes in The Secret of NIMH and Titan AE. He didn’t have any response of that. But I think he commented on my Haku plush, because I ended up saying that I should make a Mrs. Frisby plush. He encouraged that idea. So I guess I’d better do it. I wish I could show him the result. It sounds fun. I already have the perfect pattern.
It was a pretty quick meeting, after waiting for an hour and paying $80. I asked my cousin if she’d talked to him. She said she smiled at him, and was charged $5. I laughed. It sounded like the kind of thing that would have been on the price chart.
Don Bluth had a panel coming up. Joining him were three voice actors from The Land Before Time: Gabriel Damon-Littlefoot, Candice Hutson-Cera, and Dan Molina-Spike. I was crazy about that movie in preschool. Me and some friends would pretend we were the characters. One of those girls ended up playing in band with me years later. She was an absolutely fabulous trumpet player. We played a whole piece featuring her. I hope she still plays.
The four panelists talked for a bit. (Spoilers) Don Bluth talked about the scene where Littlefoot’s mom dies. He said that it was inspired by the scene in Bambi. Then he recited the whole build-up to the meadow. He combined the two meadow scenes, but the dialogue was spot-on.
He said that digital animation is just puppetry. I can see his point of view. It's an entirely different art form to hand animation. He also said that AI isn't art. It doesn't feel. Amen to that.
It opened up for questions. One person asked Don Bluth which movie he though was worse: A Troll in Central Park, or The Pebble and the Penguin. The crowd erupted in protest and I laughed. Don Bluth said that he’d trash both of them. Either he was joking, or he hadn’t gotten to do those movies the way he wanted to.
At another point, he said that all of his films are about bringing family back together. And that someone had calculated how long it would have taken Walt Disney to animate and ink Pinocchio all by himself. 400 years. So the entire crew of the film is worth praising.
I got in line to ask a question. I figured that this was my first chance to ask a filmmaker about environmental themes in their work. But Don Bluth didn’t answer that question. Instead, because I mentioned Secret of NIMH, he talked about his idea for a sequel in which NIMH realized that the rats were smart, and came after Mrs. Brisby’s family. I thought it was hilarious that he answered a totally different question, but it was a cool response. I wonder if he’s not interested in environmental problems, and it was just a side-effect of story. But I'm curious what that sequel would look like.
Hmmm.
I just did something that even I didn't really expect. I got a tattoo XD
Of a fern. What else? A design I've had in my head for probably over fifteen years. I always knew if I got a tattoo, it would be this. (Then again, my dad's covered in tattoos, so anyone that knows him might not be surprised that I got one too).
We have a family friend who does tattoos. But I didn't know until recently how well known he is as a tattoo artist. I thought it would be simple, but he made it really fancy! He said taht "elaborate" is his middle name.
I can't show you, because it's bandaged up XD And it hurts! He said that leg tattoos often hurt more than expected.
I need to figure out how to make my Beauty and the Beast story more exciting. There's almost no action until the end. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I want more than people just talking and getting to know each other.
Luckily Maya does have some good stories to tell, so those could be like cool interludes.
And since Maya reads a lot of books, I'm wondering if I could include scenes from those. I'm not sure how well that would fit in, but I might try it.
I recently stumbled upon something at a used bookstore. Defying Gravity: The creative career of Stephen Schwarts.
Needless to say, I was intrigued. But I did not expect to learn that the guy who wrote the songs for Wicked also wrote the songs for Pocahontas. Which includes one of my two favorite Disney songs (Colors of the Wind and Let it Go).
He also wrote songs for Prince of Egypt, which I love. And Hunchback of Notre Dame - the Disney version. Here's something he said about the latter movie:
"My favorite character I have ever written is Frollo, who is probably the most despicable human being in anything I've done; I love him as a character. He was so totally self-justifying and in such denial of his own true motives. It was really fun to go to dark places in myself I would never let myself do in real life. It made me understand why actors love to play villains."
Because it made me think of the villain post I wrote a little while ago XD
Another good piece of advice from his book: Writer's block means you're acting like an editor too early. Let yourself suck first.
Since I took my research roadtrip for Evva's story, I realized that some of the locations were inconveniently out of the way. I tried working that into the story, but it made for an awkward time jump.
Sooo, that means that I had to go back and start the story somewhere else. All the research I did for the original location is no longer relevant. I did make a stop at a place that works for the new starting point. But I didn't spend much time there. Sigh.
Fly Away Home doesn't get enough attention. It's such a beautiful movie. The basic premise, for the purpose of this post, is that a girl rescues some goose eggs. They hatch, and her dad teaches them to fly along with his small airplane, so they can migrate.
I recently watched the bonus features on my DVD, which made me like the movie even more. The dad was based off of the guy that actually taught geese to fly with planes: Bill Lishman. His ultimate goal was to teach endangered species their traditional migration routes. Of course Bill Lishman didn't teach a little girl to fly a plane. But he is a person you see throughout the movie. Whenever the dad is flying on screen, that's Bill Lishman. And the two of them became great friends.
They raised a few clutches of geese to make this movie, since goslings grow up fast. A couple of the cllutches were imprinted on Amy (Anna Paquin). And the rest were imprinted to fly along with the plane.
My movie had an unusual commentary. It played the film with no dialogue - only soundtrack and commentary from the composer. So there would be stretches where the movie played with no sound. Then the composer would talk at the same time the music was playing. It was odd, but I love hearing about soundtracks. He doesn't write melodies for characters. Instead he has melodies for different themes through the movie. Such as planning, flying, and flying with the geese.
I've always loved the music in Fly Away Home. I've looked many times over the years, but iTunes never carries the soundtrack. Just the opening song (which is gorgeous). I finally dug the soundtrack up on Youtube, so that's something.
And the best part? At the end of the movie, Bill Lishman took his plane and flew those geese south.
I just discovered that Sherlock Hound is an entire series. I rented it from the library a long time ago, but it turns out that was just a few episodes squished together into something like a movie.
It's something Miyazaki worked on before Studio Ghibli. He didn't do all of the episodes, but you can definitely see his influence in parts of it. There's a swimming submarine, just like Fujimoto's underwater boat. Another ship looks like Goliath in Castle in the Sky. And there's plenty of air travel.
There's also a cartoony feel about it, reminiscent of Castle of Cagliostro.
And the girls are tough. When one lady is kidnapped, she ends up with her captors wrapped around her finger. Not unlike how the pirates all dote on Sheeta and Fio.
And wow, I think The Great Mouse Detective stole quite a bit from this series.
A couple months ago, I first noticed kokedamas. At least, I first heard of them by name. I finally looked them up, and stumbled across guidelines for how to make one. That kind of stuck in my head, and I had the vague idea of trying to make one later in the winter, when I could find moss.
I didn't want to go buy moss, because a lot of the time it's ripped illegally out of forests where it doesn't always recover. But we always get some in our garden when it gets wet outside. A few days ago, I was pulling weeds out of my tiny native grass lawn (I want to make it bigger when I can afford more native grass seed!). I noticed that moss was growing at the edge of the grass. I immediately got excited about making the kokedama. Moss doesn't hurt your lawn. It just kinda creeps in if the lawn isn't very thick. But I used my fingers to comb out a pile of moss, which I put in a saucer full of water. I did research that night, and the next day I dug up a baby lemon button fern that had split off from the parent.
Then it was time to make a dirt ball. After some sculpting, I made a beautiful sphere of potting soil. Then it came time to press a hole into it, and the entire thing fell apart. So I started all over. And because my moss didn't come in a solid sheet (no idea where they harvest/grow/manufacture that kind of thing), it was a beast to wrap around the dirt. But I finally strung the moss into a nice green orb around my fern.
It turned out pretty nice! I don't mind if there are a few grass blades sticking out of it. Now we'll see how the fern fares in its fancy new home. It's getting a new frond, at least!
So that's how you make a fancy planting arrangement without having to buy anything. XD Especially moss. If you read the book Gathering Moss, you'll understand (Though I guess I did buy the potting soil).
A little while ago, I posted about how I had to come up with a bunch of books for a character to read.
Then John Green posted a video about "books within a book." He really likes them, because a book that exists within another story can be infinitely good. You'll never actually read it to find faults with it, so you can think of it as being a flawless masterpiece.
Whereas I don't think you can call any real book "perfect."
It's tempting to do that with the books I invented. Leave them as titles and ideas, so they can be pictured as "perfect masterpieces" by the characters, and the readers.
Except I really want to write those stories XD So their time as an unknown perfect may be limited.
I think Imax is wasted on me. Unless it's one of those curved screens.
I just saw the Odyssey with my cousin. It's the first movie filmed specifically for Imax, so I thought it would be good to see it that way. But I was focused on the story and characters, so I had no idea that it wasn't an ordinary theater screen. Even though it cost a lot more.
My other cousin said that you can see it on even better screens, but there aren't many of them. I wonder if I could even tell the difference.
If I see a movie in 3D, I also kind of forget part way through the movie.
It's interesting that the movie decided to kinda delete the gods. In the book, they were a very real and physical presence. In the movie, they're only shown as forces of nature or hallucinations. I guess it's going for the view that you can't have faith in a god if they're so easy to see and talk to. They have to be sort of unknown and mysterious, to test your faith? That's just speculation. There were plenty of humans in the movie that had magic.
For a few years now, I've been seeking out environmentally friendly products, such as soap and shampoo. The EWG rates these sorts of products, and most of what I list here are certified by them. If they're not certified, I'll try to mention so (probably because I haven't found a working alternative yet). I'm also adding my own standards, which include products that actually do the job well, and don't cost a fortune. This is for my own reference as much as for anyone else who's interested.
I've asked advice of dentists and doctors to clarify some things. And I've added other little tips that people might find useful. It's still a work in progress. I found perfect makeup, for example, and then the company stopped making it.
Also, everyone's a little different. What works for me may not work for you. But I hope this is a helpful start!
My favorite soap is Seven Minerals: Pure Castile Soap. It's good for washing your hands, showering, washing dishes, hand-washing clothes, and I even shaving cream. It's concentrated, so you add water to double or triple the amount you buy.
Attitude makes a good hand cream. The different scents smell really nice too.
But there are a couple very easy things you can do to keep your hands from drying out so much. When you're washing your hands, pat them dry instead of rubbing them dry. And dry them thoroughly.
Exfoliants can really help get your hands smoother. But all the ones I've found have been shockingly expensive. I did some research, and found that they're very easy to make. Just put a dab of coconut oil or olive oil in your palm, and sprinkle on the same amount of salt. Scrub it all over the front and back of your hands, and across the fingers. Then wash your hands - though it's fine to leave some oil on - and put lotion on. My hands go from disgusting to pretty smooth!
Wellnesse used to make shampoo and conditioner for curly hair. And it was great. Then they stopped making it. They still have normal shampoo and conditioner, but it's not quite as good. I haven't found a good replacement yet.
If you do have curly or wavy hair, there's a simple way to make it look sleek instead of puffy. Before your brush or comb your hair, mist it all over with a spray bottle. It helps the locks cling together instead of flying apart.
I actually made my own shower scrubber out of hemp fabric. But I'll try to find a brand that makes a useful, biodegradable kind. Some styles just don't work very well.
Kooshoo makes plastic-free hair ties. They work well, and last a long time.
It took me forever to find makeup concealer that works, is rated well, and doesn't cost a fortune. I got one container of it. Then the company, Juice Beauty, stopped making it. The store where I found it no longer exists, so I have no idea where I'm going to go to find a replacement makeup now. And the original company refused to help me in any way.
Natracare makes biodegradable pads. I use regular and night maxi pads.
Razors can be tricky, because most of them are plastic, and have disposable heads. I bought a razor where you replace only the blades, and I used it for a while. But every time I changed the blades, it would carve up my legs no matter how careful I was. When it got dulled some by use, it would finally stop razoring my shin skin off. If you don't shave your legs, it's probably worth getting one of these. Maybe some companies have a better design than what I ended up with. I've seen one from Leaf Razor that I really want to try, but it's expensive. It has multiple blades instead of one, so it might be kinder to my legs. If I ever cave and buy one, I'll let you know if it works.
I've also run across a razor with a bamboo blade, from The Bull Dog company. I haven't tested it yet, but next time I need a new razor, I may get one.
I sometimes use a cuticle cutter to take off hang nails or cracked skin around my fingernails. But if you use one, don't take off the entire cuticle. It exists to keep anything from working between your fingernail and the skin.
You can get nail-clippers specifically for your toes. They're a different shape, which I've been told helps prevent in-grown toenails.
Patch-bamboo bandages are biodegradable. They stick well to skin, but not as well to themselves. So if you have to wrap a bandage around a finger, angle it in a way where it touches your skin more than the other end of the bandaid (for some reason, the last time I bought them they left a lot of glue behind on my skin).
I'm still looking for a good deodorant. I'm not happy with the one I have now.
I'm also looking for a chapstick I really like. As well as a sunscreen chapstick I like.
For a while I had cracked heels. Naturalia heel balm worked wonders, but then they stopped making it. I have yet to find anything as effective.
Finding a good sunscreen has taken me years. I've come across so many different problems with them. For example, 365 sunscreen made my eyes burn if I ever put it on my face (as if there was some weird fume it put out?) Solara time traveler dried out my skin, and always ended up separating in the bottle. And Solara Fortune Teller would run off if I sweated even a little. Right now I'm experimenting with Attitude's Sunly sunscreen stick. It's kind of thick so it takes a while to work in, and I haven't tried it on my face yet. I'll see how it goes.
Wash your pillows every month. Not just the cases, but the whole pillow. Stuff can start to grow in them, and make you break out.
You want to sleep with your mouth shut, so your gums don't dry out. I was told that tilting your head slightly down with a pillow can help your mouth stay shut. But I've also noticed that tilting my head too much puts a little extra pressure on my throat, and I think even makes me snore some.
I used to grind my teeth at night (and possibly still do, though I like to hope not). I need to wear retainers while I sleep, so I don't grind my teeth to nubs. You can get cheap, simple mouth guards at sporting stores. I tried one of these, though I had to cut it to the right size. It kinda worked but it would chafe inside my mouth, and was really bulky. I finally caved, and coughed up the money to buy a new set of fitted retainers. There's a plan where you pay more up front, but they'll replace them every year. You need to replace them when the plastic starts changing color, because that may mean that something is growing in them.
In regards to grinding teeth, I was told that magnesium pills can help relax your muscles and reduce the amount of grinding. You take a pill half an hour before bed. I didn't really notice much difference when I tried them though.
I've been using David's toothpaste. I might try something else, because all of their toothpaste I've seen says "whitening." That usually means that there's something abrasive, which isn't great over the long-term. Though when I asked my dentist, he said it should be fine as long as it doesn't feel gritty. David's toothpaste doesn't feel gritty. But I should probably do more research.
For floss, I use Bamboo Switch- the plain kind. They also have a charcoal floss, but I think that might be hard on your teeth. Bamboo floss works well. It doesn't splinter like the corn-based floss I tried (that stuff was awful- once a piece broke off in my teeth so badly that it took several minutes to finally get it out). I have put bamboo floss in my compost, and it doesn't biodegrade very well. After some months, it's still intact.
Radius silk floss works well, and is biodegradable. But keep in mind that silk is made by killing lots of caterpillars. Which doesn't seem worth it for a piece of string you use once and throw away.
It's better to floss before you brush your teeth. It helps open up gaps between your teeth, so the toothpaste can get in there and clean better.
Wellnesse makes a copper tongue scraper. They work well, and don't make me gag like some others I've tried. Tongue scrapers are good for your dental hygiene.
You don't necessarily need mouthwash, as long as you brush and floss. But you might need it if you have sensitive teeth. I've been told to use it. I get Simply Silver mouthwash. My dentist said that it looks pretty good. It doesn't have the highest grade on the EWG, but it's the best brand that contains hydroxyapatite. That ingredient is good for your teeth, and is a good alternative to flouride. Flouride has long been a hyped ingredient for teeth, because it helps them absorb good stuff. But there are some potential hazards to it. I've heard some back-and-forth on the topic, so I need to dig deeper. But for now, I'm staying away from flouride.
If you catch a cold, one of the few things that can help you recover faster is zinc lozenges.
For sore muscles, magnesium helps. Epsom salts in your bath contain magnesium.
Keep pill bottles out of your bathroom. The humidity in the air can get into containers and make the medicine go bad faster. Store pill bottles somewhere dry.
I've only found one natural cure for headaches that actually works for me. I grow feverfew in my garden, and dry the leaves and flowers. If I get a headache, I brew a bit of very strong tea with them. Both the fresh or dried flowers and leaves work. It tastes terrible, but so far it's always worked (my Dad said that the headache goes away because the body is scared to drink more of that tea).
I've seen essential oils used to treat many different ailments. I've only found a couple that have worked for me, so your results may vary. And if you're buying bottles of concentrated essential oil, you must dilute them! They can do harm if you use them undiluted. Look up the proper methods for doing so, but I add a couple drops essential oil to a tablespoon of base oil (I use olive oil because that's what I have, but I've never seen it used elsewhere).
Diluted lemongrass oil - rub a couple drops under and between your toes every week or two to prevent athlete's foot and such. And if you get it, the oil will help clear it up if you rub it in once or twice a day.
Diluted peppermint oil - while you can't eat many essential oils, you can eat this one. A couple drops in a glass of water helps settle my stomach.
Eucalyptus essential oil - I don't dilute this one, because I use it in a diffuser. It helps me breathe easier when I'm sick and congested. I found a little metal oil diffuser, where you light a candle under it to vaporize the oil. The glass ones kept cracking, so I recommend finding a metal one. But I've heard that these oils in the air can be bad for pets, so take proper precautions.
Hemp seems to be the most sustainable fabric. Wama underwear makes their products from hemp. I haven't had much luck with them fitting me, but that's probably not a common problem.
It's important to wear good shoes. The way you stand impacts a lot about the rest of your posture. I like to go for minimal shoes. Humans didn't evolve to need thick-soled shoes. Merrell makes a great thin-soled shoe that is my favorite.
That being said, when I had to work all day while walking on concrete, it started to have an impact on my ankles. I had to use thick-soled Hoka shoes. It did indeed make the ankle problem go away. And when I injured my heels, that was another good use for the thick-soled Hokas.
For running, I recommend Vibrams. They're another thin-soled shoe that gives your foot and ankle its full range of strength and motion. I've actually used Skeletoes, which is a cheaper brand, but seems to be quite similar. I do want to try Vibrams though. I've heard great things about them. It may take a bit to build up the muscles around your feet to get used to these. Running in these shoes makes your ankles so strong. I once twisted my ankle really badly - landing on it with my full weight. But it barely bothered me at all. Before I used Skeletoes, that would have left me limping all week.
Keen makes hiking sandals. You can get them wet too. I think I'll try to find an alternative, because I've had trouble with their fit. My little toes just kind of fall out the sides. I just bought the men's sandals, which seem to work better. I'll try them out and see.
Salomon makes good hiking boots. They don't cover your ankles, so they get the full range of motion.
Meditate every night before bed. It can be hard to build the habit, because it doesn't feel right at first. But if you practice, it has amazing benefits such as helping people get less upset over things, and coping better.
Exercise every day. And do yoga to keep things working smooth.
I recommend seeing a chiropractor. So many people - myself included - have bad posture, so this helps mitigate some of those problems. A well-aligned spine helps reduce headaches. And he's helped me recover faster from injuries. I have a funky tendon in my shoulder, which sometimes pops out of place. I didn't even have to mention it, and he could tell right away that there was a problem there. He's even helped me with my jaw. I think because I had braces, my jaw pops when I open it too wide, but it's much better after his help. The way I open my jaw also has an impact.
When I was on my feet all day, I started getting leg cramps at night. I found a couple simple things that seemed to help. One was that I stopped standing in place. If I had to stay in the same spot, I would pace. And when sleeping, I make sure the covers are pushed up around my feet, so the toes can point up. If I do feel a cramp coming on, I quickly bend my toes up as much as possible. Don't know why either of those work, but they do for me!
When you use a public restroom, it's always a good idea to wipe the seat off first. There can be some nasty stuff on them, which can leave weird welts on your thighs. Gross. Usually toilet paper does the trick, but it doesn't get everything. I'll use a bit of my hand sanitizer on the seat, and wipe it down with the toilet paper. If I don't have that with me, a bit of soap from the bathroom works.
And if you get anything on the seat, wipe it off! Some people have trouble cleaning the seat themself, and they don't want to sit in your pee.
Close the toilet seat when you flush. Otherwise a could of toilet water can leave residue through the room. Where you probably keep your toothbrush.
Who Gives a Crap is a company that makes toilet paper, tissues, and paper towels with no plastic packaging.
You can make some of your own simple cleaning products with non-toxic ingredients. For example, 2 cups of water with half a cup of vinegar makes a good glass cleaner.
Attitude also makes good cleaning products. I use their "all purpose cleaner" for counters and cabinets. The "floor cleaner" works well also.
For cleaning the bathtub, sink or other tougher areas we usually use Bar Keeper's Friend. It's made with natural ingredients, and they have recycled packaging. I don't know how it compares to other products though, so I'll have to do more research. And I always use a mask with it, because it makes my lungs feel icky if I didn't cover my mouth. I don't know what causes that, but I sure don't want to encourage it.
We have closets with sliding wooden doors. After a while, they start to jamb some. Clean out the runners, and rub along and between them with a bar of soap. I don't usually buy bars of soap (I use liquid soap). So if I go to a hotel, I bring part of one of their soap bars home. I don't need a whole bar just to wash my hands, and I never use that stuff in the shower because it dries out my skin. But if you break the bar of soap in half, sometimes room service just throws the remainder away. Be creative to avoid wasting so many bars of soap. However, one hotel had soap bars that left big bleached streaks down my pants when I tried to wash them. I can only imagine what ingredients were in that thing.
I've been trying to find simple house products made with biodegradable materials. I found a few on Etsy:
Sponges: StephanieJos: Unsponge
Bamboo pencils (dipped in ink): (Just found their shop is closed. There are probably other shops that sell bamboo pencils though)
Walnut ink to go with the pencils: (Just found their shop is closed. There are probably other shops that sell walnut ink though)
This one isn't on Etsy, but Wisdom Supply Co makes a "Zero waste binder." I ordered a few, and stuck calendar pages on the outside to decorate them.
Moving to the garden. Snails and slugs don't like crawling over hair. If you cut your hair (or get some from a local salon) you can spread it around plants that snails find tasty.
We used to have huge problems with ants. For one particularly bad stretch of time, they would get in the kitchen, or anywhere else in the house, every single day. Whether or not they found any food, they would go for crumbs, or residue on the counters. Terro liquid ant bait saved us. It's just sugar and borax. Leave it out where the ants are. They bring it back to the nest, and it wipes them all out. I don't like doing that, but sometimes ants just take over. You might need to put out a few of these before it takes full effect. There's also an outdoor variety, if the ants are doing outdoor damage. That being said, don't needlessly kill ants. They are an important species for many things.
For aphids, all you need is a few drops of dish soap in water. Put it in a spray bottle and coat the aphids. Biodegradable soap doesn't seem to work. I've only had luck with typical dish soap.
If you garden, or go in the woods, or touch a tree, you may get sticky sap on your hands. It never seems to wash off. I accidentally discovered something that helps wash the sap away. I would never have tried this deliberately, and I recommend you do it when you're taking a shower. Because if you blow snot in your hands and rub it around, it takes the sap right off. Then wash your hands with soap. Different sap may behave differently. And I've never asked anyeone else to test my technique. So let me know if it works for you.
Moving on to pets.
If your cat gets fleas, there's a few things you should do. Wash all their bedding to kill fleas and flea eggs. To get rid of fleas in your garden, I've gotten nematodes from a nearby hardware store. You spread them around your lawn, and it's worked well for me. I'm still working on the actual flea application for cats. The last time I bought a common brand name, it didn't help at all (I don't remember what it was. - it was a long time ago). I think my vet recommended Cheristin, which did work. But I've since heard some potentially alarming stuff about it. I tried a natural flea medicine (maybe neem oil? That was also a long time ago) I think it worked, but it burned my poor cat's skin.
You don't want to feed your cat only dry food. It can lead to health problems later in life (it did for my last cat). My cousin's vet told her never to give her cat wet food. But my vet said that it's good to give your cat some wet food. Not sure where that discrepancy comes from. I think wet food is worse for their teeth. So I give my cat three small meals through the day - one of dry food, one of wet food, and one of chicken (or some other plain meat).
A lot of cat food is made with wheat and stuff that cats aren't evolved to eat. My last cat got bad gas from eating that kind of stuff. Blue Buffalo worked for her. But I haven't found anything about that company being eco friendly. I did find one that is eco friendly, but they don't ship to my area.
I get Greenies as cat treats. I think I started getting them because they're supposed to help clean your pet's teeth. But my vet says that they don't really help. I've recently found a company called Pezzy that makes pet treats out of invasive species, like carp. I got some to try with my cat, but cats are picky. You may have better luck.
I guess with computers, it never rains but pours. I just had to buy Microsoft Word again, because my computer decided it doesn't like it anymore. And now the same thing just happened to my printer.
Luckily I looked on the Best Buy website, because when I went to the store, they tried to sell me a massive beast for $600, or an insufficient one for over $100.
"I thought you had one for $90," I said. Yes, there was one left in the back.
And then I spent a chunk of the evening setting it up. Now I'll have to order extra ink, because of course the other kind I have doesn't work. And I might need to buy an extra cord too. It all makes my head spin. @_@
I thought I'd do a nostalgia post, now that I've rewatched Wild Thornberries season 2 (which turns into something else).
Eliza is now nicer to Darwin, which is great.
And I remembered Debbie as being a useless whiner. But she holds up pretty darn well during their travels. She's not enthusiastic about their lifestyle, but she finds a lot of ways to cope with it. She makes friends in new places, and even takes care of her adopted little brother.
Betty White had a role!
I had one of my silly thoughts. Nigel Thornberry is probably the nicest character that I've seen Tim Curry play. Of all his roles, Nigel Thornberry is the person I would prefer to meet. He may be eccentric, but I could learn a lot about animals from him.
Which of course made me think about some other actors, and which of their characters I would most like to meet. I didn't follow this train of thought very far, but some actors it would be really easy. If they voiced one of my favorite characters, it would be a no brainer. I haven't seen Wade's voice actor in much else, but I'd definitely want to meet Wade.
It was a little harder to decide for my favorite actor. Which of Hugh Jackman's characters would I most want to meet? Wolverine isn't particularly social. Maybe Bunny? That's kind of cheating though. I love rabbits. I guess I'd be biased toward animal characters...
I learned an unusual amount about how to make a survey work effectively. Mostly during science classes, but also while asking people to do surveys for a while at the zoo. Questions have to be phrased clearly, have helpful answers, and so many other variables.
I just took a survey that came on the Brandon Sanderson newsletter (author of Mistborn). One question was not very effective, because no response actually fit me. A different question brought about an entirely different problem. It asked what I would name my shard blade. So I started thinking what Fern's sword would be called. The survey was put on hold as I brainstormed possible ideas. I got some ideas, but I still need to work some more on the final name. I could only put a prototype name on the survey.
I just watched some of the behind the scenes for Beauty and the Beast (the live action Disney version). I've mentioned before how Dan Stevens is really good at doing different voices, to the point where I can't recognize him between most of the roles I've seen him in.
I had always assumed that his beast voice had something artificial added to give it an extra growl. But there was a clip of the actors reading their lines, and he just did that with his voice. So cool! Now I'm even more impressed with him than I was before.
So, I just learned that there's nothing you can do to stop Instagram from using your art for AI. So I've taken down most of the things I just posted. And I probably won't be posting much more here. What a waste of time.
I think I have the Rats of NIMH in my garden.
Something fell against the catch, so the door couldn't shut. The rats somehow knew that it was blocked, because they finally went into the trap to steal the food.
I fixed the trap and put new bait in. And they somehow got in without triggering the catch.
Then somehow they managed to trigger the trap without getting caught in it.
Then I found a bird in the trap. I let the poor thing out, and reset it.
Then, once again, the rats got the bait without triggering it.
Then it caught another bird.
And another.
So, I stopped setting the rat trap. I don't want to traumatize out native songbird population by locking them away for part of the day before I find them and let them out.
I finally finished another sketchbook! And it only took about four years. So it's time to share my favorites. There are more than ever, which is hopefully a sign that my art is improving. I will resist pointing out the mistakes I made XD
This is a scene I redrew from The Last Unicorn. I tried to get something of a tapestry feel to the image behind her.
Wade, from Elemental! I was amazed at how hard he was to draw. They said that he was a beast to animate, but I didn't realize that drawing a single image of him would also be a beast. I would have thought that the lack of any solid shape would have made him simpler to draw. But it just meant that certain details had to be just right, or he didn't look like Wade anymore.
My favorite work of art is Winged Victory, in the Louvre. Which I finally got to see a couple years ago! At one point, I looked up images of what the statue might have looked like if she weren't broken. And none of them looked very good. So I did my own! It may not fit an expert's pattern, but it fits my vision.
When I was playing Undertale for the first time, I was horrified when Asgore broke the Mercy. I wanted to try to capture that moment.
Queen Tara and Ronin, from Epic. I love both of these characters. Queen Tara is still the coolest namesake I could hope for.
