Lions and Tigers and Cute Baby Elephants!

Ever since I went off to college, I've made it to the zoo at least once a year. Most years, I've gone to the OKC Zoo. However, I have also made it to the Fort Worth Zoo, Tulsa Zoo, and Wichita Zoo during that time.

Again, most of those times were with Sherri. (In case you were unaware of the fact, Sherri is obsessed with the zoo. Really obsessed. Like, she's-been-getting-a-Zoo-Friends-Pass-for-several-years now-as-all-of-her-friends-trade-off-buying-it-as-a-Christmas-present kind of obsessed.) Occasionally it's been without her, but on those rare occasions I typically was accompanying a small child.

Therefore, it came as no surprise when Sherri informed all of us that she was going to the zoo on Saturday, and we were more than welcome to accompany her. Our friends Rapier Wit and Literary Cat were in town, and Walking Hyperbole's birthday was this past weekend, so a trip to the zoo seemed an excellent idea.

Unfortunately, Sherri ended up not getting to go with us on Saturday because of family, but the rest of us decided to go ahead and brave the heat and crowds because, well, it's the zoo! And we had plans! And there were animals to see!

(Sometimes I channel my inner five-year-old. I'll try to keep her under control.)

Since all of us have visited the OKC Zoo multiple times in the past, we did not do a full tour, instead choosing to visit the exhibits that most interested us that day. In particular, we were on a quest to see the baby elephant, Malee. I think Adorable Nurse would have thrown us to the alligator if we had skipped the baby elephant.


We did see several other animals, of course, and I even managed to grab a few decent shots along the way. Even though I've posted most of these elsewhere, it's my blog and I feel like showing them off. After all, not everybody frequents the same places I do!

One of the first animals you see when you enter the zoo is a rhino. As this was my first trip with my new camera, I was looking forward to giving it a workout here.

These are a couple of the prairie dogs that were brave enough to risk the heat. Even though the predicted high was only for the high-to-mid-80's, by the time we left that afternoon it was pushing 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

Needless to say, most of the animals were taking an afternoon nap.

They looked quite adorable too.

Not all of them were snoozing the afternoon away, however. The black bears were full of energy.

This grizzly just kept walking the same circuit over and over again. It made me wonder what he was nervous about.

Of course, other animals were lucky and could just go for a swim to cool off. The sea lions were quite happy to be aquatic animals, and would have have teased the other animals if they'd been nearby to see.

Eventually, we succeeded in our quest and found the new Elephant Exhibit. (It's gorgeous!) Malee was also very active and willing to show off for the throngs of humans who'd gathered to gaze adoringly at her.

(Once again, I apologize for the lack of updating. I blame it on so many fantastic people coming to town for Memorial Day, the last of whom are finally home. Don't worry, I'll more posts about our adventures in the coming days.)

The Fuzzy Pack

Another trailer for your viewing pleasure...

It's coming...

I'm so, so excited! Please, just watch this through to the end. It's worth it. I promise.



Thanksgiving can't get here soon enough for me! (At least in regards to this movie....)

Marvel(ous) News

While I'm not a huge comic nerd (I'm not rushing down to my local comic book store every Wednesday), I still grew up knowing a fair amount about the more popular franchises due to their representation in other mediums: television, movies, and novels. This is how I discovered Batman, the Justice League, Spider-Man, the Hulk, and of course, the X-Men.

In fact, the X-Men are what eventually lead me to reading any comics at all. (That and later on Neil Gaiman's Sandman series.) My discovery of X-Men resulted not from the movies that came out out when I was in college, but rather the animated series that ran in the early 90's.

Man I loved that show.

Well, yesterday I discovered something that made me utterly ecstatic, and today I'm sharing it with all of you: all 63 episodes of X-Men (The Animated Series) are available to watch for free on the Marvel Website.

You're welcome.

Lust

As some of you may have gathered, I have a thing for pen and paper games. Well, really, I have a thing for games in general. But I especially enjoy games where you get a half a dozen people together around a table and play--hence why our weekly/monthly games make me so happy.

So the other day I'm killing some time over on the RPG sub-reddit, and people get to talking about customized gaming tables. It made me smile, imagining just how crazy some people can go over their respective hobbies.

And then somebody linked to this.

The first table that I came across was the Emissary.

At first glance, it just looks like a nice dining room table that can set about six people, made from actual hardwood instead of particle board. Nice, but not really anything special. 

But, appearances can be deceiving.

By day a mild mannered dining room table...

...by night a fun-tastic gaming table!

(Please pretend with me that I did not just use 'fun-tastic' as a word. Thank you.)

It can have between 4-6 drawer/desktop areas you can pull out, plus an area with extra room for your GM/DM. More importantly, the top of the table can be removed, and underneath is a dropped down space to place your maps and minis. If it gets to be midnight and people need to go home, no worries, just put the table top back in place and come back to the game at a later date and time.

Pretty nifty, and not too badly priced at $1,500. Still, not something I'm going to have taunt me in my dreams because I can't have it.

And then I came across the Sultan Gaming Table.

This is, quite possibly, the most awesome gaming table I've ever come across. Like the Emissary, it has a removable top and 'stations' for players and the DM/GM. However, these aren't some roll-out desk. These come complete with their own drawers, dividers, and map storage areas. For each player. (It sits 6-10 people.)

Tee-hee!

It also has built into it what they call a "Layer Cake," which basically allows you to lay down your maps and then place a translucent sheet of squares or hexes atop them so you can write on the maps without damaging them. Or spilling drinks on them. It also has a plain whiteboard you can place on top of that if you want to draw out the dungeon.

And speaking of spilling drinks, this comes with cup holders at each station. A small thing that made me quite happy.

The DM's station is also pretty freaking awesome, with storage for handbooks, dice, minis, and other odds and ends for the game. The sides of the table can also open up, providing a "bay" for you to roll your dice, preventing mishaps with dice killing minis.

Trust me, when I'm rolling dice, you want something protecting the minis.

Of course, all of this awesome is not cheap. The advertised price before taxes or any added features is $8,850.

Yeah, that's not happening any time soon.

Nor do I have room in my house for such a thing.

But if we ever win the lottery/get a massive inheritance/suddenly start making millions a year...

This is in no way a paid advertisement/endorsement. Geek Chic doesn't even know that I exist. I just wanted to drool and make a fool of myself in public.

This is all fake

While checking in on Facebook yesterday, an old high school friend posted a fake trailer called The Batman Complex. It isn't the most well done fake trailer I've ever come across, but the idea of the story it told intrigued me, so I felt like sharing it.



This in turn reminded me of a mash-up I'd seen for Community and 500 Days of Summer, called 500 Days of Brita, which is very well done.



Watching these two fake trailers reminded me a of a different kind of fake trailer I'd come across awhile back, which had excited me greatly until I realized that it was, indeed, a fake: Nathan Fillion as the Green Lantern.



Just a little something to get you excited about the upcoming summer blockbusters, even though none of these will be among them.

Four things

I've got some stuff to get done today, so I can't focus too much attention on the blog at this moment. However, I have come across a handful a links I feel like sharing.

• For Literary Cat: A Dribble of Ink has a post up with a series of links for free downloads of short stories, novelettes, novellas, and one novel that are all up for the Hugo this year. If you're looking for something good to read on the cheap, feel free to go through these!

• For Something Catchy: Here's a rage comic that Sam and I came across last night. I have a feeling you'll be able to relate.

• For the history buffs: from the article, I have the impression this is only for the iPad and doesn't include the iPhone, but I wanted to point it out because it's pretty freaking awesome. Basically, someone's designed an app that is an interactive newspaper that takes you through the Civil War in real time. Meaning they started releasing articles on April 12, and each day they update with headlines from the actual war, photos, military maps, and other trivia/information that had to do with that day during the Civil War. It's $7.99, but would be an awesome learning tool.

• For my D&D buddies: This video is pretty cute, and made me giggle.

Pink

After yesterday's post with those adorable girls in their Easter fanciness, I was struck by the stark contrast between the subject matter and the dying autumn leaves:

Just a bit jarring, aye?

And so, I decided to tweak the background for the blog. I'd spent time looking through various templates, per Sherri's recommendation, but I actually like the layout of the blog as it is, I just wanted to change the background.

I started thumbing through some of the pictures I've taken in the past month of the arrival of spring. Roses, irises, trees, kitties, lettuce, sunsets.... I had plenty of pretty items to choose from. Eventually I opted for this picture, which had previously served as my desktop wallpaper:

I did a little bit of fiddling, and that's how we wound up with the very girly background. (Yes, my inner sixteen-year-old is not impressed.) Of course, once that was done, I needed to change the font colors and so forth so that it all complimented one another. Because I'm thorough like that.

Spring has finally arrived at my work in progress!

Love you, Mama

Fifty-nine years ago today, Grandma Nena brought my Mama into this world. Today, she and Papa and a couple of their friends are headed out east to celebrate this fact. With any luck, they'll return a little bit richer than when they left.

Happy Birthday, Mama! It was good to see you this weekend, and I can't wait to hear how your trip went. :-)

Laughing Penguin

This is for Sherri. The cutest sound in the world is in the last 20 seconds or so.

Meet Cookie!

Oh, no. Humans are far too private to ever do that....

I laughed a great deal at this particular video. It's a little longish (10 minutes or so), but totally worth the time invested. It's a mother's recounting of how she ended up sharing the news about "the birds and the bees" with her 8-year-old daughter, so be forewarned that some, ahem, clinical terms are used. However, if those words don't bother you, then it's a perfectly clean and wholesome story. Mostly.



Mom and Dad just headed back north, carting off our old van with them. We also have an action-packed weekend planned, so it's entirely possible you will not hear from me again until Monday. Have an excellent weekend!

Spider-Man, Spider-Man, George Takei should be Spider-man...

Yesterday I had planned to write this very touching post about Sherri's visit on Tuesday night. Unfortunately, my main hard drive had a catastrophic failure and put the kabosh on that.

And I do still want to get back to that touching Sherri post. Right now, however, I am unable to do so because my parents should be here in about an hour, hour-and-a-half, and I still need to get things done around the house.

So, instead, I present you with this absolutely wonderful video which involves Broadway, Spider-Man, and George Takei.

Will, Sherri, you're welcome.

Tradition

Saturday, in celebration of Rapier Wit's birthday, we went to Ted's Cafe Escandido for excellent Mexican food, and then we proceeded to the local Medieval Faire.

Our group of friends have attended this particular faire every year since '05. Not everyone can always make it (I missed it both years I was in Dallas), but at least four or five of us make it there every year.  Part of that is because it always falls the weekend before or after Rapier Wit's birthday, and thus it's become a tradition.

This year we did not dress up in full regalia, partly because it was in the 80's. However, we still had a great time. Sherri got to pet an owl this year. To be honest, I don't know how that matches up with the year she got to ride an elephant (pictured right), but she was pretty excited about it. I, however, did not pet an owl this year, because I made a poor choice in footwear so Sam and I left early. Ah well.

The fun thing about returning to the same faire year after year is seeing people you recognize from previous years, whether that be vendors, other vistors, or those participating in the jousting tournaments.

We of course had to make a stop for the huge glass bottles of root beer that are sold each year. I sometimes suspect that the root beer is why we make this trip each year.

Yes, it's that good.

Through virtue of lack of funds, Sam and I managed to resist purchasing any of the clothing that they sell there. However, I will confess that there were a couple of dresses which I lusted after.

First there was this blue dress, which immediately made me think of my halfling character, Annie. It's totally something that I could see her wearing.

However, the one that really got my heart pounding was this gorgeous outfit:

I make an excellent pirate wench, for the record, and this dress would be perfect. Alas, it was not meant to be.

The other outfit which we came across that excited Adorable Nurse in particular was this awesome steampunk outfit:

Adorable Nurse has a not-quite-obsession with steampunk, so she had a grand time seeing all of the steampunk-style items for sale at the faire.

Here you can see Adorable Nurse modeling that rocking hat. 

Isn't this completely awesome? I love the detail work on it!

Of course, Adorable Nurse had to show it to her husband, Walking Hyperbole.

Doesn't he look distinguished? If only he had a cane with a sword in it....

A Capella Mario

It's Monday. It's rainy. My sink may or may not be fixed.

Let's brighten our day with a bit of Mario, shall we?



Sam claimed it was one of the best arrangements of the Mario music he's heard. I'm inclined to agree.

Also, go check out his You Tube page. He has a lot of other awesome videos (particularly Ching Chong).

Then and Now

Eight weeks ago, this was the view out my front door:

So snowy. So cold.

So bleak. So desolate.

A frozen wasteland, if you will.

But that was then...

and this is now!

The trees are blooming.

The grass is green.

And there's color everywhere!

T.V. Tropes

I spent more time yesterday than I care to admit looking through the website TV Tropes. It started with someone linking to it about Eberron, then moved to looking at Our Elves Are Better, which lead to... there's got to be a better way to do this.

Okay.

Eberron --> Our Elves Are Better --> Can't Argue with Elves --> Babylon 5 --> Badass Boast --> I Am the Noun --> The Thrawn Trilogy --> Nightmare Fuel --> Who Wants to Live Forever --> And I Must Scream --> Fallout --> It Just Bugs Me --> Aladdin --> Clark Kenting --> Magical Girl --> Sailor Moon --> Xanatos Gambit --> Xanatos Speed Chess --> Magnificent Bastard --> Word of God --> Shrug of God --> A Wizard Did It --> Fridge Logic --> Fridge Horror --> Stuffed in the Fridge --> Put on a Bus --> The Wheel of Time

To be honest, I could easily continue from there, but I don't honestly remember the path I took from there to get to The Wesley.

So, basically, if you enjoy having names for archetypes and tricks in stories, it's a place you can very easily lose a week. If you decide to venture forth, I do recommend you have someone who can come pull you out of it.

Just saying.

Blessings Continued

Thirty-nine days after the death of Frank, we welcomed a new, fully functioning computer into the family. This resulted in much rejoicing in our home, and I'm now actually capable of having three different windows open at once.

Plus I have my music back.

And my Photoshop.

*sighs happily*

We have not yet officially named the new computer. It takes a little bit to discover a computer's personality, after all.

Last weekend, Rapier Wit and Literary Cat came down for four days. The first day, Literary Cat, Adorable Nurse, and I walked down memory lane (literally as well as figuratively), made food for the guys, and then had a fun night just hanging out.

The next day I was considerably ill, but it could have been worse, so I'm still grateful.

Saturday all of us got back together to play D&D, and something that I've been planning for months finally occurred to my character.

(My almost-teenage cleric is going to be angsty for a little bit. Lord have mercy.)

Also, Literary Cat loaned me The Broken Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin, which is the sequel to the book she gave me for Christmas, The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms. So far I've managed to keep from disappearing inside of it, but I have a feeling that after I'm done catching up around the house today and tomorrow, I'm going to disappear Wednesday and devour it.

It's good to have friends who feed your addiction.

Sherri made it safely back from her visit with will and family, which I'm very glad for. I've missed my sister terribly.

Overall, there's a lot of happiness in my life right now, and I felt like sharing. I hope things are going equally well for you!

Pretty cool, NASA, pretty cool.

This goes out to my father, and all other fans of the original Star Trek series.



Bill Shatner rocks. That is all.

It has arrived

It's heeerrrreeee.....

Tiger is so ready for us to open those boxes.

Seven kinds of awesome

I'm apparently having good luck coming up with fun videos today.

(No, the computer isn't here yet. Yes, I'll let you know when it happens. Trust me.)

As it is, please enjoy this fantastic music video of Scattered Trees' "Love and Leave."

(Found on Boing Boing)