FA+
Shop
Fun new artist!
Posted 14 years ago
Love their random characters!
Le What?
Posted 14 years agoHoly cats, Vancouver, what's up with you?
Urgent! Help the arts and a good cause!
Posted 14 years agoI know I don't have many watchers, but maybe I can start a chain reaction - this community is good with charity that way.
---
Here in Canada The Keg Steakhouse restaurant chain has decided to give $1,000,000 to charity, in the form of 40 grants of $25,000.
Across the nation and the world people can register (a simple email + password) for projects in Canadian communities that desperately need funding.
The Window Art Gallery and School of Art here in Kingston is one such non-profit organization, dedicated to providing art classes and gallery space at low rates to the entire community, old, young, and in-between.
The money will go entirely to expanding classes, establishing a unique community gallery, buying equipment, and hiring a badly-needed part-time staff member from the community.
By going to THIS LINK and registering, you can vote for the WINDOW ART GALLERY once each day from now until June 14th and increase the Gallery/School's chance of winning one of the $25,000 grants!
Please help support art and art education by voting every day until the 14th of June! Put this notice in a journal of your own, and spread it among your friends! Tell your relatives! Tell everyone! Let furry power triumph!
---
Personally, I'm a student and volunteer at the School and Gallery. They really are doing a fantastic job with very little. I've gone back to art after a 20-year hiatus, and rediscovered something wonderful - which I'd never have been able to afford at the university or the local college. I'm learning watercolours, pastels, life-drawing, oils, acrylics...and I hope to pick up some printmaking soon!
The art I'm now putting up in my gallery is an example of my work from the past 6 months. And yes, FA's going to benefit from lots more furry art as a result of these lessons XD
I swear, if FA folks start voting and we get a grant, I'll tell everyone at the school and the board of directors that it was furries that did it for them.
---
Here in Canada The Keg Steakhouse restaurant chain has decided to give $1,000,000 to charity, in the form of 40 grants of $25,000.
Across the nation and the world people can register (a simple email + password) for projects in Canadian communities that desperately need funding.
The Window Art Gallery and School of Art here in Kingston is one such non-profit organization, dedicated to providing art classes and gallery space at low rates to the entire community, old, young, and in-between.
The money will go entirely to expanding classes, establishing a unique community gallery, buying equipment, and hiring a badly-needed part-time staff member from the community.
By going to THIS LINK and registering, you can vote for the WINDOW ART GALLERY once each day from now until June 14th and increase the Gallery/School's chance of winning one of the $25,000 grants!
Please help support art and art education by voting every day until the 14th of June! Put this notice in a journal of your own, and spread it among your friends! Tell your relatives! Tell everyone! Let furry power triumph!
---
Personally, I'm a student and volunteer at the School and Gallery. They really are doing a fantastic job with very little. I've gone back to art after a 20-year hiatus, and rediscovered something wonderful - which I'd never have been able to afford at the university or the local college. I'm learning watercolours, pastels, life-drawing, oils, acrylics...and I hope to pick up some printmaking soon!
The art I'm now putting up in my gallery is an example of my work from the past 6 months. And yes, FA's going to benefit from lots more furry art as a result of these lessons XD
I swear, if FA folks start voting and we get a grant, I'll tell everyone at the school and the board of directors that it was furries that did it for them.
Good Advice?
Posted 14 years agoCaught in spam filter:
Subject line:
"Blow up your penis now, and see results!"
Subject line:
"Blow up your penis now, and see results!"
My bearded dragon...
Posted 15 years ago...is up on the windowledge, pawing at the glass, trying to get out.
The ground is covered with snow. There are half-metre-long icicles on the eaves of the building opposite. It's a second-story window.
I have no idea what he's thinking.
The ground is covered with snow. There are half-metre-long icicles on the eaves of the building opposite. It's a second-story window.
I have no idea what he's thinking.
An Interview With the Nativity Innkeeper, by John Scalzi
Posted 15 years agoWhoa.
Posted 15 years agoRun, don't walk, and check this person out:
they're amazing
they're amazing
Vincent
Posted 15 years agofor misunderstood children everywhere:
Another addition to the family!
Posted 15 years agoSo, I got a pet rat today :D
He's a rescue from the lab where my sister works; he was an extra, and they have to kill them, but he's lucky and gets to have a cushy life with me instead.
My sister (who's a vet tech, and has kept and worked with all kinds of animal, including rats) bought me a huge cage (like a luxury 4-level rat condo) and bedding and food and stuff as a Christmas present.
He's a hooded rat, with a brown front and white behind, brown splotches on his back and a pink nose. He's a real sweetie, gentle and curious. He nibbles and licks fingers but never bites, and loves to hide in towels and get his cheeks rubbed. He got used to me really quickly and played in a bunched-up sheet on my lap, then fell asleep in the crook of my arm <:3
I'll post pictures as soon as he's confident enough to come out and pose.
I'm not sure what to call him. Some ideas:
Lucky
Felix (Latin for 'lucky', also for 'happy', which the Romans felt was the same thing)
David, after
thecruelseasons' mouse character
Rosco(e)
Roscuro or Botticelli, after my favourite characters from The Tale of Despereaux
Professor Ratigan :3
Samuel
Biscuit, after
Biscuits, the sexiest rat boy on FA XD
Oop! He's discovered I've left the cage door open and is peeping out. I better go play with him :3
He's a rescue from the lab where my sister works; he was an extra, and they have to kill them, but he's lucky and gets to have a cushy life with me instead.
My sister (who's a vet tech, and has kept and worked with all kinds of animal, including rats) bought me a huge cage (like a luxury 4-level rat condo) and bedding and food and stuff as a Christmas present.
He's a hooded rat, with a brown front and white behind, brown splotches on his back and a pink nose. He's a real sweetie, gentle and curious. He nibbles and licks fingers but never bites, and loves to hide in towels and get his cheeks rubbed. He got used to me really quickly and played in a bunched-up sheet on my lap, then fell asleep in the crook of my arm <:3
I'll post pictures as soon as he's confident enough to come out and pose.
I'm not sure what to call him. Some ideas:
Lucky
Felix (Latin for 'lucky', also for 'happy', which the Romans felt was the same thing)
David, after
thecruelseasons' mouse characterRosco(e)
Roscuro or Botticelli, after my favourite characters from The Tale of Despereaux
Professor Ratigan :3
Samuel
Biscuit, after
Biscuits, the sexiest rat boy on FA XDOop! He's discovered I've left the cage door open and is peeping out. I better go play with him :3
Meat is bad for you.
Posted 15 years agoSintel
Posted 15 years agoTrusty Spellcaster Will Join Your Party For Reasonable Share
Posted 15 years agoI Am A:
Alignment:
Neutral Good A neutral good character does the best that a good person can do. He is devoted to helping others. He works with kings and magistrates but does not feel beholden to them. Neutral good is the best alignment you can be because it means doing what is good without bias for or against order. However, neutral good can be a dangerous alignment because it advances mediocrity by limiting the actions of the truly capable.
Race:
Humans are the most adaptable of the common races. Short generations and a penchant for migration and conquest have made them physically diverse as well. Humans are often unorthodox in their dress, sporting unusual hairstyles, fanciful clothes, tattoos, and the like.
Class:
Wizards are arcane spellcasters who depend on intensive study to create their magic. To wizards, magic is not a talent but a difficult, rewarding art. When they are prepared for battle, wizards can use their spells to devastating effect. When caught by surprise, they are vulnerable. The wizard's strength is her spells, everything else is secondary. She learns new spells as she experiments and grows in experience, and she can also learn them from other wizards. In addition, over time a wizard learns to manipulate her spells so they go farther, work better, or are improved in some other way. A wizard can call a familiar- a small, magical, animal companion that serves her. With a high Intelligence, wizards are capable of casting very high levels of spells.
Link: Find out What Kind of Dungeons and Dragons Character Would You Be?, courtesy of Easydamus
===========
"...neutral good can be a dangerous alignment because it advances mediocrity by limiting the actions of the truly capable"?
I smell Americanisms :|
Neutral Good Human Wizard (5th Level)
Ability Scores:
Strength-9
Dexterity-10
Constitution-11
Intelligence-16
Wisdom-12
Charisma-14Alignment:
Neutral Good A neutral good character does the best that a good person can do. He is devoted to helping others. He works with kings and magistrates but does not feel beholden to them. Neutral good is the best alignment you can be because it means doing what is good without bias for or against order. However, neutral good can be a dangerous alignment because it advances mediocrity by limiting the actions of the truly capable.
Race:
Humans are the most adaptable of the common races. Short generations and a penchant for migration and conquest have made them physically diverse as well. Humans are often unorthodox in their dress, sporting unusual hairstyles, fanciful clothes, tattoos, and the like.
Class:
Wizards are arcane spellcasters who depend on intensive study to create their magic. To wizards, magic is not a talent but a difficult, rewarding art. When they are prepared for battle, wizards can use their spells to devastating effect. When caught by surprise, they are vulnerable. The wizard's strength is her spells, everything else is secondary. She learns new spells as she experiments and grows in experience, and she can also learn them from other wizards. In addition, over time a wizard learns to manipulate her spells so they go farther, work better, or are improved in some other way. A wizard can call a familiar- a small, magical, animal companion that serves her. With a high Intelligence, wizards are capable of casting very high levels of spells.
Link: Find out What Kind of Dungeons and Dragons Character Would You Be?, courtesy of Easydamus
===========
"...neutral good can be a dangerous alignment because it advances mediocrity by limiting the actions of the truly capable"?
I smell Americanisms :|
Happy Birthday To Me
Posted 15 years agoI am 40, woo
30-something nevermore
ever ever
30-something nevermore
ever ever
Bump mit meme
Posted 15 years agoI need to bump the last journal, it's stale. Have a meme.
1. ( ) Have you ever howled at the moon?
Silly silly :3
2. (X) Have you ever barked at someone?
Who hasn't made animal noises at some point? I used to speak Cat fairly well, but it's a little rusty these days.
3. (X) Have you ever found yourself drawing or scribbling furry art when you're supposed to be doing something else?
Mostly in school, long ago. I want to get back in the doodling habit.
4. (X) Have you everworn an animal costume or tail as a child and pretended to be an animal?
When I was a kid, and when playing with kids :3
5. ( ) Have you ever eaten out of a dog bowl?
6. (X) Have you been to at least one furry con?
EF '09; had a great time.
7. (X) Do you like to look at furry pornall the time?
8. (X) Do you RPor play second life as a furry character?
9. ( ) Do you own a fursuit or at least a tail?
Would be fun to have one.
10. (X) Do you know what all these words mean or have used them at least once?
11. ( ) Do you have at least 5 videos of you acting or doing something furry on youtube?
12. (X) Has your anthropersona/character been drawn in a furry porn type manner?
Yes, and he says he isn't paid enough.
13. ( ) Are you well known in the furry fandom?
*submarine noises*
14. ( ) Do you dream furry while you sleep?
15. (X) Would you transform into your character /fursona if you were given the chance to live like that for the rest of your life?
Sure...one of them. Changing into a different person would be pretty cool, generally.
16. ( ) Have you ever worn a collar?
17. ( ) Do you own more than 20 art badges of your fursonas or characters?
Not yet! :3
18. ( ) Have you been to more than 20 furry cons in your lifetime?
19. ( ) Do you think that deep down you have the spirit of an animal within you?
Surely humans are animals? ;3
20. (X) Do you enjoy hanging out with other furries?
But being furry is neither necessary nor sufficient for me to like people :)
21. (X) Do you think we should have a furry run for president of the USA?
Hell yes; I'd love to see you Yanks all become 'murrrrricans, hahaha!
22. ( ) If you ever became rich would you own a room in your house that was just to display your fursuits or furry art?
23. ( ) Is your best friend furry?
24. ( ) Do your furry friends call you by your furry name in public?
25. (X) Have you been in the furry fandom for at least 5 years?
12 points. Furry!
1. ( ) Have you ever howled at the moon?
Silly silly :3
2. (X) Have you ever barked at someone?
Who hasn't made animal noises at some point? I used to speak Cat fairly well, but it's a little rusty these days.
3. (X) Have you ever found yourself drawing or scribbling furry art when you're supposed to be doing something else?
Mostly in school, long ago. I want to get back in the doodling habit.
4. (X) Have you ever
When I was a kid, and when playing with kids :3
5. ( ) Have you ever eaten out of a dog bowl?
6. (X) Have you been to at least one furry con?
EF '09; had a great time.
7. (X) Do you like to look at furry porn
8. (X) Do you RP
9. ( ) Do you own a fursuit or at least a tail?
Would be fun to have one.
10. (X) Do you know what all these words mean or have used them at least once?
11. ( ) Do you have at least 5 videos of you acting or doing something furry on youtube?
12. (X) Has your anthropersona/character been drawn in a furry porn type manner?
Yes, and he says he isn't paid enough.
13. ( ) Are you well known in the furry fandom?
*submarine noises*
14. ( ) Do you dream furry while you sleep?
15. (X) Would you transform into your character /fursona if you were given the chance to live like that for the rest of your life?
Sure...one of them. Changing into a different person would be pretty cool, generally.
16. ( ) Have you ever worn a collar?
17. ( ) Do you own more than 20 art badges of your fursonas or characters?
Not yet! :3
18. ( ) Have you been to more than 20 furry cons in your lifetime?
19. ( ) Do you think that deep down you have the spirit of an animal within you?
Surely humans are animals? ;3
20. (X) Do you enjoy hanging out with other furries?
But being furry is neither necessary nor sufficient for me to like people :)
21. (X) Do you think we should have a furry run for president of the USA?
Hell yes; I'd love to see you Yanks all become 'murrrrricans, hahaha!
22. ( ) If you ever became rich would you own a room in your house that was just to display your fursuits or furry art?
23. ( ) Is your best friend furry?
24. ( ) Do your furry friends call you by your furry name in public?
25. (X) Have you been in the furry fandom for at least 5 years?
12 points. Furry!
Avatar'd
Posted 16 years agoJust got back from the theatre.
I really liked it. The story was all of a type; there weren't really any elements that I hadn't seen or read before dozens of times, but they're good elements, which is why they get repeated. The dazzling spectacle of Pandora matchless CGI, and some really good voice acting (especially by Zoe Saldana) made it all fresh again.
Well, mostly. There were one and a half times when I rolled my eyes, but after thirty years of theatre-going that's really quite good.
As for the dazzling spectacle/matchless CGI: hoo, boy. The plants and animals of Pandora are characters just as much as the people. Being me I was rapt by all the little details, my brain occupied with figuring out the design and function of everything, from the human ship/base interiors to the breathing of the native life.
(anyone else wonder whether the Na'vi are actually related to any of the other creatures?)
I'm full of design thoughts. What would an intelligent biped with the body plan of the wildlife look like? Hm...
And CGI characters were pretty much completely convincing - a wonderful achievement! I had no difficulty connecting with their thoughts and feelings. Their displays of grief were very moving.
Also, Na'vi guys have really nice butts, something I know I will appreciate over and over again.
I really liked it. The story was all of a type; there weren't really any elements that I hadn't seen or read before dozens of times, but they're good elements, which is why they get repeated. The dazzling spectacle of Pandora matchless CGI, and some really good voice acting (especially by Zoe Saldana) made it all fresh again.
Well, mostly. There were one and a half times when I rolled my eyes, but after thirty years of theatre-going that's really quite good.
As for the dazzling spectacle/matchless CGI: hoo, boy. The plants and animals of Pandora are characters just as much as the people. Being me I was rapt by all the little details, my brain occupied with figuring out the design and function of everything, from the human ship/base interiors to the breathing of the native life.
(anyone else wonder whether the Na'vi are actually related to any of the other creatures?)
I'm full of design thoughts. What would an intelligent biped with the body plan of the wildlife look like? Hm...
And CGI characters were pretty much completely convincing - a wonderful achievement! I had no difficulty connecting with their thoughts and feelings. Their displays of grief were very moving.
Also, Na'vi guys have really nice butts, something I know I will appreciate over and over again.
Un divertissement avec raison
Posted 16 years agoAujourd'hui je commence un cours de français.
*le serpent s'habille d'un béret*
*le serpent s'habille d'un béret*
I'M-A BACK!!!
Posted 16 years agoCANADA, wheeeee...!
Got back safely last night! Icelandair is a very modern, comfortable line; I was impressed with everything. Sweden's Arlanda airport is gorgeous; the second airport I've been in that I kind of wanted to explore a bit (the other was Vancouver). Reykjavik was also neat.
Iceland looks awesome from the air. I really want to visit there now.
Now I'm relaxing at my sister's place in Toronto; will bus back to Kingston as soon as I can face the idea of a bus - probably tomorrow sometime.
To
godzuki, 
eustache, 
charha, 
morgain: I can't adequately say how lovely it was to meet you all. You exceeded my already high expectations of wonderfullness :) You realise I plan to do the same thing again next year? XD
To
Flywheel I love you, sweetie
Oh ghod, I think I left some unwashed dishes in the sink at home x.x
Got back safely last night! Icelandair is a very modern, comfortable line; I was impressed with everything. Sweden's Arlanda airport is gorgeous; the second airport I've been in that I kind of wanted to explore a bit (the other was Vancouver). Reykjavik was also neat.
Iceland looks awesome from the air. I really want to visit there now.
Now I'm relaxing at my sister's place in Toronto; will bus back to Kingston as soon as I can face the idea of a bus - probably tomorrow sometime.
To
godzuki, 
eustache, 
charha, 
morgain: I can't adequately say how lovely it was to meet you all. You exceeded my already high expectations of wonderfullness :) You realise I plan to do the same thing again next year? XDTo
Flywheel I love you, sweetieOh ghod, I think I left some unwashed dishes in the sink at home x.x
Le Grand Tour, Day Thirty-five
Posted 16 years agoSWEDEN
Mmm, Swedish breakfast. Sweet bread, butter, cheese, jam, just-baked scones, lots of tea, and Pink Stuff ™. I may switch breakfast styles when I get home.
Yesterday was pleasantly undemanding, a quiet walk around lovely Uppsala, through a graveyard and the University/Cathedral district, with lots of interesting local history stories from Anna and Andreas. And in Uppsala local history goes back to the 16th century and further.
I learned that Spring in Sweden can't start until the president of Uppsala University makes his Spring Speech from the balcony on the library.
The University has a Book Tree, where books grow. Seriously, I have pictures. Why have they not exported this technology to the world? Surely they could make cuttings. I wonder if the immature trees grow pamphlets?
Sweden's most important king, Gustaf Adolfus, is buried in Uppsala cathedral in a magnificent chapel he stole from the Virgin Mary (Reformation, you know) and furbished with wonderful propaganda. We know he was Sweden's greatest king because he made sure people would be saying so for the rest of time :)
And there was a lucky lunch in an Italian restaurant where the lunch menu turned out to be more Swedish than the Swedish restaurant that we couldn't find in the first place.
And a lovely supper of pea soup and pancakes. Swedish food seems very satisfying and easy to make. Also, there is a lot of singing and alcohol. You're not allowed to drink certain alcohols 'till you've sung about them first. Last night I learned a Punch song.
Swedish punch is not like the bowl punch we get back home. *hic*
Now I sign off, finish packing, and head for the train to Arlanda airport. Flight at 2:10pm, an hour and a half stopover in Reykjavik, then arriving in Toronto at 6:55 in the evening. Canada here I come back!
Mmm, Swedish breakfast. Sweet bread, butter, cheese, jam, just-baked scones, lots of tea, and Pink Stuff ™. I may switch breakfast styles when I get home.
Yesterday was pleasantly undemanding, a quiet walk around lovely Uppsala, through a graveyard and the University/Cathedral district, with lots of interesting local history stories from Anna and Andreas. And in Uppsala local history goes back to the 16th century and further.
I learned that Spring in Sweden can't start until the president of Uppsala University makes his Spring Speech from the balcony on the library.
The University has a Book Tree, where books grow. Seriously, I have pictures. Why have they not exported this technology to the world? Surely they could make cuttings. I wonder if the immature trees grow pamphlets?
Sweden's most important king, Gustaf Adolfus, is buried in Uppsala cathedral in a magnificent chapel he stole from the Virgin Mary (Reformation, you know) and furbished with wonderful propaganda. We know he was Sweden's greatest king because he made sure people would be saying so for the rest of time :)
And there was a lucky lunch in an Italian restaurant where the lunch menu turned out to be more Swedish than the Swedish restaurant that we couldn't find in the first place.
And a lovely supper of pea soup and pancakes. Swedish food seems very satisfying and easy to make. Also, there is a lot of singing and alcohol. You're not allowed to drink certain alcohols 'till you've sung about them first. Last night I learned a Punch song.
Swedish punch is not like the bowl punch we get back home. *hic*
Now I sign off, finish packing, and head for the train to Arlanda airport. Flight at 2:10pm, an hour and a half stopover in Reykjavik, then arriving in Toronto at 6:55 in the evening. Canada here I come back!
I Pimp Pangolins
Posted 16 years ago
ExToLe Grand Tour, Day Thirty-Three
Posted 16 years agoSWEDEN still, I think
Well, we did it. Flywheel got to his plane and flew off back to the land of bröt and wurst *sniff* I waved goodbye to the receding plane in the freezing light of dawn...
It wasn't easy to get that far, though. We caught our train just after midnight, and I managed to forget my airport bus tickets. Good thing I gave duplicates to Flywheel! The kind train lady told us how to catch the connecting city bus, but it deposited us at 1:35am in a dead city.
Stockholm just stops at that hour. Even the central train station is closed, even the frikken subway was closed, and it was really cold! We walked around and around in the freezing wind looking for something, anything, and I began to conceive a real hatred of Stockholm when we finally stumbled across a kebab place that was open.
Boy was that place seedy. We only stayed long enough to see one drunk ejected, but that was long enough to eat something that gave me stomach trouble for the next few hours.
Finally the terminal opened at 3:30am and we caught the airport bus. Hour and a half to the airport, wait an hour for Flywheel's plane to board, sun comes up, plane takes off, I wait another hour and catch the first bus back at 7:50am.
Back in Stockholm the city is so beautiful in the morning that I forgive it immediately. I think it's the second-loveliest city I've been in on this trip; maybe the first if Paris' grandeur doesn't please.
Tired as I am I decided to go see the Town Hall, an amazing brick building constructed in the early 20th century. It's gorgeous, and there's a princely view from the top of the gigantic bell tower. The simplicity and artistic vision in this one structure left me amazed and delighted, and my biggest regret on this trip so far is that I had no camera with me when I visited it or the Old City today.
All was not perfect, though; my cell phone decided to run out of both battery and money at the same time. So I had no idea my texts to my friends weren't getting through, then the thing died before I could realise the problem. I could still receive messages though, and after a somewhat desperate enquiry as to my whereabouts, I decided to abandon my sightseeing and take the next train back to Uppsala. Damn!!
However I have been mollified by an excellent supper of varieties of pickled herring, and accept my disappointment with equinamity. Tomorrow is my last day here; we're going to tour Uppsala and maybe play a game in the afternoon. I have already visited the ancient pagan heart of Sweden.
Friday I fly back to Canada!
Well, we did it.
Flywheel got to his plane and flew off back to the land of bröt and wurst *sniff* I waved goodbye to the receding plane in the freezing light of dawn...It wasn't easy to get that far, though. We caught our train just after midnight, and I managed to forget my airport bus tickets. Good thing I gave duplicates to Flywheel! The kind train lady told us how to catch the connecting city bus, but it deposited us at 1:35am in a dead city.
Stockholm just stops at that hour. Even the central train station is closed, even the frikken subway was closed, and it was really cold! We walked around and around in the freezing wind looking for something, anything, and I began to conceive a real hatred of Stockholm when we finally stumbled across a kebab place that was open.
Boy was that place seedy. We only stayed long enough to see one drunk ejected, but that was long enough to eat something that gave me stomach trouble for the next few hours.
Finally the terminal opened at 3:30am and we caught the airport bus. Hour and a half to the airport, wait an hour for Flywheel's plane to board, sun comes up, plane takes off, I wait another hour and catch the first bus back at 7:50am.
Back in Stockholm the city is so beautiful in the morning that I forgive it immediately. I think it's the second-loveliest city I've been in on this trip; maybe the first if Paris' grandeur doesn't please.
Tired as I am I decided to go see the Town Hall, an amazing brick building constructed in the early 20th century. It's gorgeous, and there's a princely view from the top of the gigantic bell tower. The simplicity and artistic vision in this one structure left me amazed and delighted, and my biggest regret on this trip so far is that I had no camera with me when I visited it or the Old City today.
All was not perfect, though; my cell phone decided to run out of both battery and money at the same time. So I had no idea my texts to my friends weren't getting through, then the thing died before I could realise the problem. I could still receive messages though, and after a somewhat desperate enquiry as to my whereabouts, I decided to abandon my sightseeing and take the next train back to Uppsala. Damn!!
However I have been mollified by an excellent supper of varieties of pickled herring, and accept my disappointment with equinamity. Tomorrow is my last day here; we're going to tour Uppsala and maybe play a game in the afternoon. I have already visited the ancient pagan heart of Sweden.
Friday I fly back to Canada!
Le Grand Tour, Day Thirty-Two
Posted 16 years agoSWEDEN
Flywheel and I ended up staying five days in Finland as guests of charha and morgain, who were wonderful hosts.
Friday had to work, so after we lazed around for a while took us out to see a kind of preserved part of old Turku, a "craftsmens village" that dated back to the 18th and 19th centuries, one of a few parts of town that survived a fire that burned down most of the city.
It was pretty interesting seeing those old small wooden houses, and the tools and furniture preserved inside. Apparently there used to be a lot of re-enactors who could actually do the jobs and tell you about them, but the place has little money now and there were only a couple.
I particularly liked the old way of baking bread in rings and hanging it from poles across the rafters. You could just reach up and grab dinner!
After that charha had to take a train to Helsinki so she could recieve a prize from a comics contest in the morning, so flywheel and I played computer games the rest of the night!
The next morning we and morgain took the train to be at the ceremony ourselves, courtesy of charha's mother buying our tickets, hurray for her! The ceremony was a bit of a badly-organised botch, unfortunately, rather disappointing. Hopefully charha was able to make some good connections there to make up for it.
Lunch at a truly awful student cafeteria, then a lot of wandering around Helsinki looking for comics and a games store, the latter of which closed just as we got there :( But Helsinki is rather beautiful, with a lot of old architecture that looks like layer cakes with various styles imposed on each other.
Then back to Turku and more video games :)
Sunday was a big excursion to Turku Castle where we saw a lot of medieval and renaissance stuff and some cool paintings and costumes, then back to the house to finish up our Cthulhu adventure!
At least, that was the plan. We played 'till 4am but didn't finish. The characters did get to meet a lot of suspicious Scottish rural villagers and spend a night in a haunted house where they were tormented by nightmares that seemed so real that their sanity was threatened. And one of them was brained from behind by a stone axe. We plan to finish the adventure online :D
Three hours sleep and flywheel and I were off to the ferry for Sweden!
"Ferry" is a misnomer; it was more like a cruise ship. Ten hours through the Finnish archipelago and across the Baltic to Stocrkholm, in really great comfort, and only 30 Euros for the cabin! I spent a lot of money on Tapas and red wine from Chile... >.> We also slept so much that we were speculating whether there was something soporific in the cabin air.
came along because it was actually cheaper to ship to Sweden and fly from Stockholm than fly direct from Helsinki back to Germany. Go figure!
And I'm glad he did, because he got to meet my friends and ex-gaming buddies Andreas and Anna (now returned to Sweden from Kingston), and we could walk through old Stockholm in the evening and saw medieval streets barely a metre wide, and today we could go out to the burial mounds of the Viking kings of Sweden in Uppsala, but mostly because I got to spend two more days with him <3 <3 <3
Now I'm typing this at 10:30pm as we're preparing for a trip only slightly less difficult to plan than the Normandy invasions, and I'm not even travelling! Everything has gone wrong, but we still hope to get on his plane at 7am in Stockholm, even though there's no train and the buses don't take our money and we'll have to stay awake the whole time and I'll be coming back to Uppsala at 6 in the morning by myself after no sleep. We leave in less than two hours, assuming we can buy our tickets. Heaven help us!
Flywheel and I ended up staying five days in Finland as guests of charha and morgain, who were wonderful hosts.Friday
had to work, so after we lazed around for a while took us out to see a kind of preserved part of old Turku, a "craftsmens village" that dated back to the 18th and 19th centuries, one of a few parts of town that survived a fire that burned down most of the city.It was pretty interesting seeing those old small wooden houses, and the tools and furniture preserved inside. Apparently there used to be a lot of re-enactors who could actually do the jobs and tell you about them, but the place has little money now and there were only a couple.
I particularly liked the old way of baking bread in rings and hanging it from poles across the rafters. You could just reach up and grab dinner!
After that
charha had to take a train to Helsinki so she could recieve a prize from a comics contest in the morning, so flywheel and I played computer games the rest of the night!The next morning we and
morgain took the train to be at the ceremony ourselves, courtesy of charha's mother buying our tickets, hurray for her! The ceremony was a bit of a badly-organised botch, unfortunately, rather disappointing. Hopefully charha was able to make some good connections there to make up for it.Lunch at a truly awful student cafeteria, then a lot of wandering around Helsinki looking for comics and a games store, the latter of which closed just as we got there :( But Helsinki is rather beautiful, with a lot of old architecture that looks like layer cakes with various styles imposed on each other.
Then back to Turku and more video games :)
Sunday was a big excursion to Turku Castle where we saw a lot of medieval and renaissance stuff and some cool paintings and costumes, then back to the house to finish up our Cthulhu adventure!
At least, that was the plan. We played 'till 4am but didn't finish. The characters did get to meet a lot of suspicious Scottish rural villagers and spend a night in a haunted house where they were tormented by nightmares that seemed so real that their sanity was threatened. And one of them was brained from behind by a stone axe. We plan to finish the adventure online :D
Three hours sleep and
flywheel and I were off to the ferry for Sweden!"Ferry" is a misnomer; it was more like a cruise ship. Ten hours through the Finnish archipelago and across the Baltic to Stocrkholm, in really great comfort, and only 30 Euros for the cabin! I spent a lot of money on Tapas and red wine from Chile... >.> We also slept so much that we were speculating whether there was something soporific in the cabin air.
came along because it was actually cheaper to ship to Sweden and fly from Stockholm than fly direct from Helsinki back to Germany. Go figure!And I'm glad he did, because he got to meet my friends and ex-gaming buddies Andreas and Anna (now returned to Sweden from Kingston), and we could walk through old Stockholm in the evening and saw medieval streets barely a metre wide, and today we could go out to the burial mounds of the Viking kings of Sweden in Uppsala, but mostly because I got to spend two more days with him <3 <3 <3
Now I'm typing this at 10:30pm as we're preparing for a trip only slightly less difficult to plan than the Normandy invasions, and I'm not even travelling! Everything has gone wrong, but we still hope to get
on his plane at 7am in Stockholm, even though there's no train and the buses don't take our money and we'll have to stay awake the whole time and I'll be coming back to Uppsala at 6 in the morning by myself after no sleep. We leave in less than two hours, assuming we can buy our tickets. Heaven help us!Le Grand Tour, Day Twenty-Seven
Posted 16 years agoToday, Tuuli and Mortimer slept off their hangovers after being up drinking 'till 8 or 9am. Watching people sleep was Not Amusing so I went out around 1pm and explored the city, walking down the river halfway to the harbour and seeing all kinds of ships tied up, including two lovely tall ships.
Then home to pizza! I got kebab meat, blue cheese, red onion and mushroom, because why not? Apparently you can get peach on pizza here, but they didn't have it at this place. I'd like to try ham and peach.
We've just been playing Call of Cthulhu, the "Coven of Cannich" adventure from Shadows of Yog Sothoth. Our characters are a social-climbing (but short) businessman, an antiquarian, and a batty occultist girl, all in true 1920's British goodness. Off to the Scottish highlands! There are dark doings in the remote village of Cannich... We'll finish the adventure over the weekend :D
Now to bed, it's half past three in the morning x.x
Then home to pizza! I got kebab meat, blue cheese, red onion and mushroom, because why not? Apparently you can get peach on pizza here, but they didn't have it at this place. I'd like to try ham and peach.
We've just been playing Call of Cthulhu, the "Coven of Cannich" adventure from Shadows of Yog Sothoth. Our characters are a social-climbing (but short) businessman, an antiquarian, and a batty occultist girl, all in true 1920's British goodness. Off to the Scottish highlands! There are dark doings in the remote village of Cannich... We'll finish the adventure over the weekend :D
Now to bed, it's half past three in the morning x.x
Le Grand Tour, Day Twenty-Six
Posted 16 years agoFINLAND
Land of cold, bears, wolves, alcohol, and Charha!
Flywheel and I arrived here last night, but it was the wee hours by the time we got to Turku, where we're staying with the lovely gypsy cat and her boyfriend, Morgain.
Today we got up reeeally late, got some groceries, then went for a walk into the city centre and back. Turku's pretty nice, a very open, green, and lightly-populated place with a mix of modern and older architecture. We visited the big cathedral, amid lots of modest protests from about how other European cities had cathedrals on every corner but Turku was still proud of its one - and justifiably; it's a simple, dignified building in brick and stone, with all sorts of interesting old remnants inside - tombs, old coats of arms, etc. I felt much more of a sense of human story in the place than I did in Notre Dame.
We crossed the river and wandered downtown, where there was a lot of excavation for some reason, lots of street being dug up and building foundations exposed. We ended up reaching the local roleplaying game shop :) where I was impressed by the selection, and envious of a lot of wonderful old RuneQuest material available in Finnish that's really hard to find back home.
was happy to find the two latest volumes of HunterXHunter, which haven't come out in Germany yet.
We then bought more groceries and walked home. I got some reindeer soup in a can. is now cooking us pasta for dinner :9
Finnish is a really cool language to listen to and read. and I were talking about how interesting it is to not be able to understand anything at all: between our various bits of Romance and Germanic languages, we can take a stab at most of the signs and things in Europe - he's particularly well off in the north, where as he says everything just reads like bad dialects of German - but Finnish is its own beast, and we can't make anything of it. I had a similar experience in Japan, but even there I'd had a year of it at university.
Finnish restaurants are ridiculously expensive; 50% - 100% more than anywhere else I've looked. There's a burger chain here called "Hesburger" that's so popular it's driving out McDonald's (!), and a cheesburger is like 3,50€. Blargh!
is turning out much more social than me so far XD
Anyway, the last days in Frankfurt were fairly uneventful, but we did get to the Museum of Applied Art and the Museum of Architecture. Frankfurt has a lot of good little museums, and a very civilised package ticket - 15€ and you can visit about 20 of them over the course of two days. I took lots of pictures :3
Frankfurt opened up to me by the end, especially on the Sunday we went out walking early, when there were few people about. I ended up feeling pretty comfortable there, and really enjoying the different faces the city had, all in a fairly small area. It doesn't push its character in one's face the way Paris does, but I think there's a place in Frankfurt for just about any mood.
The dash for the plane on Tuesday, though, is something I don't want to repeat. We got to the check-in desk just as it was closing!
Land of cold, bears, wolves, alcohol, and
Charha! Flywheel and I arrived here last night, but it was the wee hours by the time we got to Turku, where we're staying with the lovely gypsy cat and her boyfriend, Morgain.Today we got up reeeally late, got some groceries, then went for a walk into the city centre and back. Turku's pretty nice, a very open, green, and lightly-populated place with a mix of modern and older architecture. We visited the big cathedral, amid lots of modest protests from
about how other European cities had cathedrals on every corner but Turku was still proud of its one - and justifiably; it's a simple, dignified building in brick and stone, with all sorts of interesting old remnants inside - tombs, old coats of arms, etc. I felt much more of a sense of human story in the place than I did in Notre Dame.We crossed the river and wandered downtown, where there was a lot of excavation for some reason, lots of street being dug up and building foundations exposed. We ended up reaching the local roleplaying game shop :) where I was impressed by the selection, and envious of a lot of wonderful old RuneQuest material available in Finnish that's really hard to find back home.
was happy to find the two latest volumes of HunterXHunter, which haven't come out in Germany yet.We then bought more groceries and walked home. I got some reindeer soup in a can.
is now cooking us pasta for dinner :9Finnish is a really cool language to listen to and read.
and I were talking about how interesting it is to not be able to understand anything at all: between our various bits of Romance and Germanic languages, we can take a stab at most of the signs and things in Europe - he's particularly well off in the north, where as he says everything just reads like bad dialects of German - but Finnish is its own beast, and we can't make anything of it. I had a similar experience in Japan, but even there I'd had a year of it at university.Finnish restaurants are ridiculously expensive; 50% - 100% more than anywhere else I've looked. There's a burger chain here called "Hesburger" that's so popular it's driving out McDonald's (!), and a cheesburger is like 3,50€. Blargh!
is turning out much more social than me so far XDAnyway, the last days in Frankfurt were fairly uneventful, but we did get to the Museum of Applied Art and the Museum of Architecture. Frankfurt has a lot of good little museums, and a very civilised package ticket - 15€ and you can visit about 20 of them over the course of two days. I took lots of pictures :3
Frankfurt opened up to me by the end, especially on the Sunday we went out walking early, when there were few people about. I ended up feeling pretty comfortable there, and really enjoying the different faces the city had, all in a fairly small area. It doesn't push its character in one's face the way Paris does, but I think there's a place in Frankfurt for just about any mood.
The dash for the plane on Tuesday, though, is something I don't want to repeat. We got to the check-in desk just as it was closing!
Le Grand Tour, Day Nineteen
Posted 16 years agoGERMANY
Here I am in Frankfurt with Flywheel
It's been pretty headlong on the trip so far; I'm taking this week to relax, so we haven't been doing much in terms of tourism. It's really good to be with him; I've been looking forward to this for a long while.
I don't have much of a feel for Frankfurt; I can't grasp the character of the city. The whole place was bombed to rubble in the war, and all its physical history, the stories, the atmosphere, the centuries of life that were written in its stones, was erased. Some things have been restored, but even in those areas the contrast with Paris is stark.
So, isolated as I am from the people here, Frankfurt feels a bit lost and sad to me, in spite of all its modern hustle and bustle. And it is a very modern city, with a nice blend of skyscrapers and more human-scale areas. And a lot of the city's interesting areas are accessible by foot, at least for someone like me who doesn't mind walking a mile or two to do something.
The food contrast with Paris is huge too :3 Here I'm eating wieners with mustard, strong dark bread, beans from a can and instant rice. Flywheel's like an anti-gourmet XD But I'm happy with it. And today I finally experienced the traditional German delicacy, Huge Slab of Meat On A Bun, bought from a street butcher. And man, it was delicious; the slab in question being ham an inch thick with the fat at the edge done to perfect crackling, crunchy and salty as I ate it.
Also today was the Frankfurt Zoo, only 15 mins walk from the apartment and well worth a visit. It's pretty small, but there are some lovely animals there, and I had a lot of fun seeing the birds and reptiles. I took a lot of pictures, which I may soon be able to link to now that I've upgraded my Flickr account...
Anyway, it's time for bed!
Here I am in Frankfurt with
FlywheelIt's been pretty headlong on the trip so far; I'm taking this week to relax, so we haven't been doing much in terms of tourism. It's really good to be with him; I've been looking forward to this for a long while.
I don't have much of a feel for Frankfurt; I can't grasp the character of the city. The whole place was bombed to rubble in the war, and all its physical history, the stories, the atmosphere, the centuries of life that were written in its stones, was erased. Some things have been restored, but even in those areas the contrast with Paris is stark.
So, isolated as I am from the people here, Frankfurt feels a bit lost and sad to me, in spite of all its modern hustle and bustle. And it is a very modern city, with a nice blend of skyscrapers and more human-scale areas. And a lot of the city's interesting areas are accessible by foot, at least for someone like me who doesn't mind walking a mile or two to do something.
The food contrast with Paris is huge too :3 Here I'm eating wieners with mustard, strong dark bread, beans from a can and instant rice.
Flywheel's like an anti-gourmet XD But I'm happy with it. And today I finally experienced the traditional German delicacy, Huge Slab of Meat On A Bun, bought from a street butcher. And man, it was delicious; the slab in question being ham an inch thick with the fat at the edge done to perfect crackling, crunchy and salty as I ate it.Also today was the Frankfurt Zoo, only 15 mins walk from the apartment and well worth a visit. It's pretty small, but there are some lovely animals there, and I had a lot of fun seeing the birds and reptiles. I took a lot of pictures, which I may soon be able to link to now that I've upgraded my Flickr account...
Anyway, it's time for bed!
Le Grand Tour: EUROFURENCE 15
Posted 16 years agoGERMANY
So, this was my first furcon. And lo, it was fun!
I was rooming with godzuki (and his friend from California) so I knew one person already. I still expected there would be a lot of "new con, don't know anyone, don't have much to do" and there was, but I quickly met up with a couple of 'Zuki's friends from England and that was a start.
I also got to meet
Zed *checks wallet*
Ranek *stuffs into shirt*
and
Serpentus *hiss!*
Great to meet you guys! Hurray for Austria!
I did some good shopping, got badges made by Gideon and Dark Natasha, and commissioned some sketches as presents.
ran some great roleplaying games; the favourite was his Adventures of Baron Munchausen game where people competed to make up the most outrageous stories, aided by lots of alcohol. Kudos, gargy!
The hotel was good; I regret it won't be at the Ringberg next year, as the staff were all wonderful and really pulled out all the stops for the con, which I understand they've done the past two years as well.
I loved all the fursuits - people said there were quite a lot of them, and some of them were wonderful.
Two big highlights were Uncle Kage and 2 the Gryphon's back-to-back performances, and the big Pawpet show. Both so much more fun than I expected!
So, I think I'm going to see about attending at Magdeburg next year :3
So, this was my first furcon. And lo, it was fun!
I was rooming with
godzuki (and his friend from California) so I knew one person already. I still expected there would be a lot of "new con, don't know anyone, don't have much to do" and there was, but I quickly met up with a couple of 'Zuki's friends from England and that was a start.I also got to meet
Zed *checks wallet*
Ranek *stuffs into shirt*and
Serpentus *hiss!*Great to meet you guys! Hurray for Austria!
I did some good shopping, got badges made by Gideon and Dark Natasha, and commissioned some sketches as presents.
ran some great roleplaying games; the favourite was his Adventures of Baron Munchausen game where people competed to make up the most outrageous stories, aided by lots of alcohol. Kudos, gargy!The hotel was good; I regret it won't be at the Ringberg next year, as the staff were all wonderful and really pulled out all the stops for the con, which I understand they've done the past two years as well.
I loved all the fursuits - people said there were quite a lot of them, and some of them were wonderful.
Two big highlights were Uncle Kage and 2 the Gryphon's back-to-back performances, and the big Pawpet show. Both so much more fun than I expected!
So, I think I'm going to see about attending at Magdeburg next year :3
