josie

Kangaroo- my parents were in Australia for awhile and my mum couldn't bring herself to do it more than once. They're everywhere, and you can buy roo burgers in McDonald's and roo steaks in restaurants. Both my parents said it's really not that different from most meat, it's a little tougher and gamier than your average beef, but that's what you expect. She just felt weird going to a nature preserve, watching big roos and little roos bounce around and then tucking into kanga stew for dinner. But then, I've done that at Yellowstone with elk and fuzzy creatures... and yeah, peacocks... I really don't understand their reason for existing, other than to yell a lot and poop on things. Admittedly, that describes a lot of the animal kingdom.... and children. Don't eat children.

Oh I totally agree with you. I bought a smallish bag of quinoa to see what the fuss is about and still haven't finished it off for reasons I stated somewhere up above. I'm all for people discovering different foods, I'm just slow on the uptake/a cheapskate. And ostrich is good. So's emu. I like making bison sloppy joes. Or bison burgers with some sage and homemade tzatziki. Haven't done that in awhile. Usually cheaper to just buy a big slab of cow.

Tripled in price and I've read a couple places that Bolivia, where it's mostly grown, has had some issues with the recent obsession. Turning llama grazing land in to more quinoa crop fields, which is screwing up the soil, and upsetting a rather fragile ecosystem. I don't know the details, if someone else knows more or has a handy link to better information, have at it. So GoDD, by not eating namby pamby quinoa, you're saving the llamas, you big ol' big hearted person, you. :)

The going through the phone thing- obviously there's not a lot of trust in that relationship. I've never done it, but I have a very close friend who constantly goes through her fiance's phone. Fun thing- she regularly finds pictures and texts that would make me dump his ass were he my man, but... well, they have a horrible relationship so, that's their business. No trust, no talking, no openness- awful. Drunk person + sober s.o.= bad, yes. But getting out when ###### starts to go down sounds a lot easier than it really is. I'll give you the perspective of the sober person. You've watched the person slide into it all night. "Oh no it's happening again" is all you can think, and you get preemptively upset, which makes them more upset. You can't imagine that it's going to get worse, it can't, right? You know this person. But it does, then it gets better, then worse, and oscillates and it's 5 am and where the hell are you going to go without it turning into a huge deal? Call/wake up your best friend, explain the situation and drive over or have them come get you? Wander the neighborhood? Risk making the drunk person who is clearly incapable of normal reactions even more angry or sad or put themself at risk? Where's the line? Remember, you may have a couple drinks yourself, you're upset, you're scared, you're not thinking straight, you're trying not to overreact, and leaving is like driving a nail into the coffin of a relationship that otherwise is really wonderful. You want to be understanding, but damn. And then the next day, they have no clue why you're upset and can't/won't believe what you tell them. Especially if there were no others around to witness it. Yeah I went through this with d4rk as he has said, but I went through it in previous relationships as well- one of which turned violent one night. And I didn't leave then, because I was 19 and stupid and it was my first long term relationship and it must have been my fault. So said my young stupid brain. For Patrick and the lady involved, I have a lot of sympathy, and I hope they both learned from it. D4rk and I learned. It wasn't easy. It wasn't fun. Many of our friends told me to get out early on. But i saw improvements, and enjoyed being with him, and he listened, and now a couple years later, that trust is mostly back and we have more fun being the old fart sober couple on the couch going home at 1 am. And on a happier note- Dennis- on the rock- congrats!

Ugh. Sounds like a brown out. Never fun to deal with someone when they're in that condition. It's like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Too bad.

Ah. I had no idea what to do with it, and every recipe I read warned that if I didn't soak it and then rinse and strain, it would taste like soap. If that isn't true, then I may have another quinoa fling in my future.

Out of wine, mostly out of beer, out of vodka, out of gin... Oh hey, ginger ale and Kraken. Not really a dark and stormy, more of a broke and lazy. Oh well, they can't all be zingers. Quinoa- I like it when I remember to let it sit and soak. I am not one who abounds with patience when it comes to food... there's a sad reason most of my dinners consist of scrambled eggs and a grapefruit if I'm feeling adventurous. But I have heard quinoa is quite good with a bit of brown sugar and cinnamon as a dessert.

I'm always super hard on myself and am never too happy with anything I create. Honestly, knowing I can make one person that happy with something I made makes it all worth it. He struck me as a pretty soft hearted guy- I'd messaged him that I was running a little slow and not to worry- I didn't forget about it, and he told me the main reason he does the gift exchange is because he loves the giving part. Still, makes me happy to know he'll probably really treasure that piece. All the warm fuzzies.

That's awesome. Both your achievement and the censor. Congrats!

I did the r/hockey gift exchange recently. The person I got is an Islanders fan whose fav player is Kyle Okposo. I did a quick painting of him, printed, framed, and got it sent out a day before the deadline. Just got a notification in the email tonight that my giftee had posted what he had received. Apparently my gift made this guy so happy he cried. I don't usually enjoy making men cry, but in this case, it totally made my night.

I'm driving home to Ohio to hand deliver a painting a friend of mine did (he does zoological illustrations for Cornell and I bought a print of one of his chickadees- truly exceptional stuff) and a couple of those beautiful Ukrainian painted eggs from easter that are too fragile to send in the post. Usually sending flowers does the trick. And chocolate. I had a guy just commission me last minute to do a painting of the family cat for his mum. Little stuff to make 'em smile. Generally I don't think too many mother's day gift recipients care, it's knowing that they're on your mind that means the most.

Hiya! Nice to meet you! I annoy everyone with my art and am d4rk's long suffering girlfriend! :P Just lots of gallows humour and what X said.

That's one five hole I would not want to take advantage of.

Big body, big stick.

I've never looked. I'm sure it's about as attainable as a 1936 Bugatti. I... I need to be alone for a few moments. In the end I prefer rat rods anyways :)

:P Now that actually looks like something you'd do "for a laugh"

1932 Duesenberg sound good?

I've wanted a bike and a license for a long time now. However, a couple years ago I was in Germany visiting my Dad. I saw the results of motorcyclist vs fully loaded logger truck on the Autobahn. Part of him wasn't with the rest of him, and that particular part of him was staring at me through a busted visor as we sat in traffic waiting to get by. The other person riding with him was there with the police, let's just say that if dead man's eyes weren't enough, the living man's face did the rest. That has haunted me and every time I've pulled the money together and gotten ready to buy the bike/take the class, it comes floating back and I put the money back in the bank. It also is why I will give TONS of room to bikers on the road. I wanna ride but god, I'm scared.

"life is hard"

haha aw. Not that Satan. He's cool.

Haha we've reached the point where my nudity is boring/normal. Whoops. Oh well, black and yellow looks way cooler. Thank you, and ###### the Bruins. As a Red Wings fan, I cannot tell you how much hatred I have for Satan Lucic, Marchand's twisted beak, Chara's ability to avoid any and all repercussions to his actions, and Tuuka's little elfin Ferngully face. Every team I had amiable feelings towards has been beaten in the first round. It is now a case of "lesser of evils" for me, and a lot of drinking. Also, my playoffs bracket is a study in who NOT to pick.

That someone was me. Sorry. I was shamelessly throwing my art around. And I'm going to do it again. But I'm not wearing shoes. Or a shirt, really. ugh, go habs? :wacko:

I'm going to try to do little illustrations for more of the playoffs. Here's a shot of one I've got in progress for Boston v Montreal. Bear vs. Rocket ghost. Gotta figure out how to make him ghost-y. Still a lot of linework/placeholder mess and figuring out to do, but should have it done tonight. Thought you guys might wanna see :) btw- is there going to be a 2nd Round Playoff Thread started tomorrow?

To me, the word thug brings to mind an almost cartoonish gigantic skinhead/meathead dude type. Add a torn sweater and little bowler hat and it's almost a college mascot. Might be because in the industry I work in, we refer to a bad guy and his gang of thugs, and it generally is a more Streets of Rage blanket term for big scary baddie with huge muscles and scars. This includes large baddies of color. This thread is really one of the first places I've seen it acknowledged as a race specific term. Maybe I live under a rock. Thug and goon have always been interchangeable in my mind... Yeah... Usually I hear something far more uh... colorful.. in that situation. :sick:

1. Boston 2. Philly 3. Ottawa 4. revolving door of Pitt, DC, Toronto I can't believe I'm doing this, but I'm going to be saying "Allez Tricolore" soon. Anyone but Boston. If it came down to a Chicago- Boston final I'd just slam my head into a wall a lot.