Ramblings and webcomics from LeEMS
I am not doing my best at writing today, so I made a cover for my Nanowrimo novel instead. I present: The Devil of Westhope-Fairview.
Westhope and Fairview were each very small towns in the same valley in Wyoming, recently relocated so that the valley could serve as a water reservoir. To save money and labor the two towns were combined into one not far from the shores of the reservoir. All of the townsfolk are settling into their new, factory shiny, homes, and the local government is gearing up for an election season to trim the duplication of town officials.
Charley Albright, formerly of Fairview, thinks one of the mayoral candidates, the Westhope attorney Hilary Beedle, is the antichrist. Charley has made it his mission to stop Beedle at all costs, to save the town and all the world.
If I have not said this before, I love the internet archive. I imagine that the sentiment is shared by anyone trying to dig up old information. I have been saved by books digitized by the internet archive in my work, and in my private genealogy research.
I also love the Public Domain Review. It is almost like a best of the internet archive, in that it pulls out items of interest like the Curiosities of Puritan nomenclature (1888). Of course, the Public Domain Review also highlights items of curiosity in other places all over the net. It is a great place to find archival collections of all sorts that are normally not easy to pull out of a [insert name of search engine here] search.
Now if you, like me, have spent some real time with genealogical research then you have spent time with the nitty gritty of history. You have read over land grants, court transcripts, and small claims; you have dissected the language of historical sketches and town diaries written hundreds of years ago; you have wondered why 15 men within two generations of the same family are named Vine. So books like the Curiosities of Puritan nomenclature (1888) are interesting because they explain why surnames came about at all, where they came from, why there are so many Rogers and Johns, and much more.
Burke and Boogie from Leftovers, another comic trapped in the planning stages, but I swear I will get there.
I was reading about how a group of researchers endeavored to map out temperament and disposition across the nation. It made me think of the times I’ve traveled and left a state with a distinct impression of the people who lived there.
America’s Mood Map: Find Which State Matches Your Personality | TIME.com. uses that research about the temperament and disposition of people who live in different areas and makes it into a quiz too. I belong in North Carolina! I tried to go there once too…hoping to get my Masters at UNC, but I didn’t get there. I got my Masters, just not in North Carolina.
Every company has meetings where people sit around and throw out ideas for how to make more money without providing any new/improved service or product. It looks like Verizon’s idea is to effectively cripple the internet by monetizing access to certain web sites. Big Deal Big Money – Common Cause explains the situation with a vibrant and clear infographic (part of which is copied here) and links you to ways to take action.
Somehow, getting more information on how big companies buy government support with vast amounts of money makes the government’s recent struggles with budgeting even more ridiculous. I mean, if it could get any more ridiculous.
Too bad, too, I was just talking about how much I liked Verizon’s phone service. Looks like every business is susceptible to bad business practices.
Dancing and dancing. Maybe this was college. I dunno.
Bread Bowl Spinach and Artichoke dip
Ingredients: creamed spinach (I get the frozen-steam-in-bag-kind), a jar of artichoke hearts, feta or goat cheese, mozzarella shreds, and a nice, round, unsliced loaf of bread.
Instructions: 1.) cook/heat/nuke creamed spinach if it is frozen, then mix creamed spinach, artichoke hearts, and cheeses. 2.) cut the center out of the bread so that it creates a bowl. 3.) place bread bowl on cookie sheet and surround with the torn to chip sized innards of the bowl. 4.) fill bowl with dip mixture. 5.) bake at 400 for about a half hour, then remove the bread pieces and put the bowl back in the oven. 6.) bake another 15 to 20 minutes, arrange in an aesthetically pleasing manner and enjoy!
I did it. I didn’t miss a single day of Inktober this year, and I didn’t even wear out my Chartpack grey tones pack, and I didn’t use any pencils…at least, not for Inktober drawing.
Happy Halloween.
On to NaNoWriMo!
Happy Halloween!
Are you ready? Have you deciding on what you will write yet? Have you made me a buddy?
And the conversation goes something like this:
Alvin (yeah, all grown up): “What are you supposed to be?”
Annie: “I’m a gorgon, you know – Medusa- What are you?”
Alvin: “Ah, um, I dunno – an army dude?”
Annie: “An army dude…because of cammo pants? Why didn’t you even try?”
Levi: “Hair’s too long, kid.”
Annie: “It’s not just that – not that you’re any better. I mean, you really went all out with that makeup.”
Levi: “Thank you!”
Annie: “I was being sarcastic.”
Alvin: “Are those snakes real?”
Annie: “Of course not.”
Alvin: “I think one just hissed at me.”
