Lucy Draws, Rants, Cooks and other things

AREN'T YOU GLAD

2009-09-07T03:59:00.001-07:00

THAT I CAN'T FIT ART HISTORY INTO MY COURSE SCHEDUEL??!?!!

Original:

I'll be posting more old shit from Tegaki E, 'cause, you know, the world needs my bastardization of popular and anique culture.

O HAI there

2009-09-06T18:17:00.000-07:00

Oh man, The Office... OH MAN...
I used to watch this show religiously 3 years ago, and just last week, I caught up and rewatched all the seasons in less than a week.
Now I need more episodes. Fortunately the new season starts in two weeks :D

P.S. go Pam + Jim!! ~~and Michael/Ryan~~ They were recently seen getting married, along with the camera crew on Niagara (the American side of course). What a show for the lucky tourists!

Now, here's a video for all The Office fans (click on the video for the lyrics to all those glorious references)

Late post is late

2009-04-18T23:11:00.000-07:00

A good cause is made better when SADIQ and HERACLES approve ~~because Turkiye and Greece are obviously gay for each other and wants to put aside their hate and support gay rights on April 17th mmmkay~~.

Mind block

2009-03-21T23:36:00.000-07:00

I really should be working on an essay proposal about the Cold War and American popular culture, but side-stops are always welcomed before my brain celles end up in hell.

Guess I don't need to hit my ratty, choclate stained Social Studies 11 workbook for the Begbie prep blahblahexcuseblahexcuseexcuse.

History Bites is totally my favorite TV show (that I don't watch on TV....) right now. I try to only watch the ones relating to 16C - 19C European History because they help me with my AP studies (and provide much lulz) but all the episodes are extremely amusing, it's really hard not to waste precious pre-exam time on them OTL...

One of my favorites is the complete episode from season 5 that parodied The Osbournes with the Borgia family (The Osborgias, hurr). Though I had a much more attractive image of Cesare (Yuu Higuri's Canterella, insert long dreamy sigh...) in mind than anyone or anything that remotely resembles Jack Osbourne.

Historical gay sex: trufax

2009-03-11T00:21:00.000-07:00

I'M GONNA DRAW THE HOTTEST TEUTONIC KNIGHT DOING THE HOTTEST POPE EVER.

Sereiously, I miss drawing :(

I heard there was trouble, eh?

2009-02-21T22:19:00.000-08:00

~~This is a crash course on the start of WWII.~~ Well, at least they had the Canadian entry down.
I'm sure this has been posted on a thousand Internets already, but here it is again!

Also, it's kinda awesome that I get to use the "Canada" tag again.
Oh France, you precious cheese-eating surrender monkey, you.
~~And we can all be America's backup.~~

and audio file:

The rest of Sunday's image dump

2009-01-27T19:23:00.000-08:00

The pickled peppers were so good, that they warranted their own entry. But I wasn't going to subsist solely on pickled vegetables... I mean, I could. I'd have one bad case of dehydration of malnutrition though.

I took out the newest issue of Vegetarian Times from my local library about two weeks ago. First of, it shocked the hell of me that my tiny local branch had this magazine in the first place. Secondly, well, it shocked the hell of me that my tiny local branch had this magazine. Anyways, sweet I thought, and checked it out, along with some gay erotica and splatterpunk paperbacks (hey Poppy Z. Brite, how's it going). The librarian lady gave me a weird look (obviously not the first one I received).

So, Vegetarian Time is a pretty decent read for vegans. I'd estimate about 2/3rd of the recipes could be easily veganized, and all the other ones (mostly backed good) can be modified with a laborious trip to Whole Foods or experimenting with the chemistry of ground flax or something like that. Surprising though, the first recipe that truly appealed to me is an user-submitted one in the editorial section.

So, here it is. Vegan carrot cake.

I added lemon juice to the icing for some tang.

Didn't have any walnuts, so I used a combination of pecans and Brazilian nuts (which I think taste gross if eaten alone).

I reserved half a roasted red pepper for topping a pizza I made. I used a very popular dough recipe from vegweb.com made with wholewheat flour and the addition of rosemary. I topped it off with some "white sauce"... hrm... humus, haha. Then, I caramelized a large onion with some seasoned TVP grounds, and steamed some spinach. I added those, with a layer of sliced black olives.

That's my lunch for the week!!! Together with that carrot cake, great fuel for writing this week's mid-term exams.

A new favorite in the household

2009-01-27T17:59:00.000-08:00

No, we are not replacing the dog.

It's pickled roasted red peppers! I'm really glad that last Sunday was fair, so I took advantage of the good weather and the (now very rare) free time to do some cooking, and take some decent pictures of course. Not that cooking is a rarity. Actually, cooking all of my meals is mandatory for survival, haha. I used to fret about dinner everyday after I come home, but now I plan my meals, cook only one or two days a week, and eat reheated leftovers for the rest. Yay!

Right then, carry on- for those of you who like your food porn with a twist of BDSM:

Can you hear those hot babes scream? Yea? Can ya? Well, I could... or it was the smoke alarm going off.

I swear to god this picture looks like a profile of smoked salmon. That creeped the hell outta me.

And in we go to the cauldron.

Along with some Fleur de sel.

Dump in the acid to get rid of the bodies. Mmmm... bodies with garlic, rosemary, oregano, dried hot chili peppers, and demerara sugar.
Let them sit for two days (that's today!! Hooray!)
It's a delicious keeper :)

=*D

2009-01-26T13:43:00.001-08:00

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release January 22, 2009

Statement of President Obama on the 36th Anniversary of Roe v. Wade

On the 36th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, we are reminded that this decision not only protects women's health and reproductive freedom, but stands for a broader principle: that government should not intrude on our most private family matters. I remain committed to protecting a woman's right to choose.

While this is a sensitive and often divisive issue, no matter what our views, we are united in our determination to prevent unintended pregnancies, reduce the need for abortion, and support women and families in the choices they make. To accomplish these goals, we must work to find common ground to expand access to affordable contraception, accurate health information, and preventative services.

On this anniversary, we must also recommit ourselves more broadly to ensuring that our daughters have the same rights and opportunities as our sons: the chance to attain a world-class education; to have fulfilling careers in any industry; to be treated fairly and paid equally for their work; and to have no limits on their dreams. That is what I want for women everywhere.

THE WHITE HOUSE, January 22, 2009.

Via Feministing.

At times like these,

2008-12-25T13:04:00.000-08:00

I wish I am Jewish...

Might go out for Chinese later... mmmm...
...But since I'm even cheaper than the Jews in that video, I'll probably end up making my own at home.

You go, Syph

2008-12-22T22:55:00.001-08:00

YEA SYPHA! Well, I'm not entirely sure on what the context is, but a good screencap is a good screencap.

In the mood for love- I mean essaaaay~

2008-12-11T23:43:00.000-08:00

This is mainly intended for the newcomers to social-political aspects of slash fiction/BL; but to those who are already aware, it also presents some new ways of looking at the issues behind slash fiction as well...
--------

Gossip Girls, perfume ads, fashion spreads, reality shows... with whatever the media is trying to target us these days, they all spell out the word "straight". That's basically how you sum up heteronormativity and heterosexism in a nutshell. It's not quite as offensive as blatant homophobia, but pretending queer people doesn't exist in the media is just as nasty as wrist-flicking gay jokes.

In the past decades, the media has successfully imposed its own delusions of grandeur onto the average consumer. In plain English, it means that people think any given character from The O.C. is an accurate representation of the average young North American. Therefore, it's easy to see why people expect you to be white, straight, and slim (only if you’re female, of course.)

If you happen to fit the profile of white, slim, and -please- female (only female), you may proceed with the "adventurous" path of bicuriousity. Of course, this will only be a phase. After you have made out with that other white, slim, female hottie, you will be able to throw a tantrum and go back to the arms of your white boyfriend. If, heavens forbid, that you genuinely like other women (again, only if you're white and slim), please exit the stage as soon as you're done with putting up a good show for the boys. If you happen to be of the rare, verboten species of gay men, the media welcomes you with the awkward end of a shit stick and predictable laugh tracks.

The above paragraphs sum up, verbally, my general cynicism of the media's heteronormativity. Subconsciously, I think this concept developed long before my still limited knowledge of feminist theories.

Growing up watching anime brought an eclectic mix of emotions to my childhood. Back at my grandparents’ house, when my male cousins returned to my uncles and aunts, and grampa and gramma were resting in the streets, on their beds made of bamboo, I would sneak into the lounge-room to watch reruns of Knights of the Zodiac. I felt ashamed of it because I knew Knights was a show for boys. But despite my fighting my older male cousins to watch Sailor Moon instead of this wretched sausage fest, I was actually beyond curious to see something other than tits in miniskirts. So, cautiously, I curled my toes and tuned in whenever I had the chance.

I recollect that I was mesmerized by an androgynous young man who wore a form-fitted suit of pink armour. His name is Shun. Not only is he physically gorgeous, he is also of amiable character. But not surprisingly, at the tender age of eight, I didn’t know Shun is a boy. So, I looked up to Shun instead of Malibu Barbie.

On a meteorologically-forgettable afternoon, I watched, entranced, as Shun almost touched lips with a male companion of his. This wasn’t a romantic gesture, but rather, it was an act of unselfishness to save a friend by giving him physical warmth. At the time, these characters’ gender didn’t matter to me, nor was I able to distinguish among romance, friendship, and lust. Maybe my cousins thought Shun’s embracing another boy is indecent. Maybe they didn’t know Shun is a boy, either.

After years of exhausting the tedious vault of magical girls, talking stuffed animals, and of course, watching shows made for boys in secrecy, I finally resorted openly to stories of robots fighting intergalactic wars and battles of feudal samurai lords. From these “boys’ shows”, I discovered the anti-heteronorm.

On the Internet, among female fans of T.V., films, video games, literature, and just about any other format of fictional entertainment, there is a particularly strong dislike towards female characters. We argue that, compared to the robust, heroic, and brilliant boys and men, the girls and women are one-sided, flat, uninteresting, and solely there to support their superior, male counterparts. Unlike the male fans, we fail to find them sexually attractive, and therefore we dismiss the heroines. As a result, it makes sense as to why so many girls and young women turn to shows, books, and video games stereotypically targeted at the other gender and dominated by bold, male characters. For this certain niche of girls, both lesbian and straight, the boys and men of fiction became desirable in a way that would tickle us giddy like a group of Go-Go boys would to the drunken, after happy-hour crowd of martini consuming office-women.

Now I’d hate to stereotype against my own gender, but the female’s adoration for romance is generally regarded as universal. You can expect to entertain an average gal with a chick-flick, while her presumed-male beau either will contemptuously sulk in a corner, or he will sit through the garbage in hopes of obtaining some sexual favour after the Mandy Moore-cued credits. But this niche -this cynical, jaded niche of girls and women who are piss tired of predictably klutzy damsels in distress and their equally predictable douchebags of boyfriends- refuse to fall for the works of Stephanie Meyer and Meg Cabot. Instead of being depraved of romantic entertainment and becoming generally unhappy, we pair up the boys. With each other.

Now let me assure you, that this isn’t a new, hedonist fad that you’re so indecently exposed to just now. At the risk of dating my then nonexistent self, I will express my ambiguous knowledge of the fan-imagined funny business between Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock from Star Trek. See, way back in the sixties and seventies, girls and women already had the hots for moderately attractive men appearing on television in tight pants. Though Kirk and Spock do not interact romantically or sexually on the small screen, their fans’ imagination certainly was able to run wild. Instead of female fans wishing they could have Mr. Spock’s baby, they now wished that medicinal technology was advanced enough so Mr. Spock could have Captain Kirk’s baby. Kirk/Spock. Call it refreshing, grotesque, erotic, unspeakable, this is how slash fiction began.

Psychologists find this phenomenon odd, and you may find it even odder that legit, prestigious researchers get paid to study how women get their hots on by watching men getting their hots on with each other. Some scholars argue that many young women are attracted to the sexual allure of a male-exclusive relationship because of a lack of presence of female biology. Apparently, we are unable to respond maturely and seriously to our own sexuality without linking it with lesbianism, the same way that any boys in this room will think that a male who is not wearing a shirt will be automatically come on to him. It doesn’t help that in mainstream media, the woman is always the object of sexual desire or beauty, and therefore, this conundrum does not affect boys in the same way. In theory, it summarizes the arbitrary psychology that if you openly appear naked and without shame in front of the same sex, you are a homosexual. In fact, if you happen to be a naked woman that’s not particularly attractive according to societal standards, even if you’re flaunting it off in front of the guys, you are somehow a lesbian. But this argument is flawed in at least one way. There are lesbian women who enjoying reading about, writing about, and drawing about gay male relationships, even the explicitly sexual aspects of it. While I will not speak on behalf of them to present an explanation, I would like to think that this is an evidence of the fluidity of human sexuality.

While slash is wholly fiction, the one realistic upside of a gay male relationship, from a straight woman’s point of view, is its egalitarian properties. It’s no surprise that readers find escape from the suppression of any one partner in a relationship in slash fiction. And, you can’t deny that once in a while, it’s nice to pretend that there is a perfect balance in which no one particular person is confined to cook, scrub, vacuum, and pop out babies once every nine months. But do you remember Shun? Or Mr. Spock? Or even Legolas ala Orlando Bloom? The stereotypically feminine or even slightly physically androgynous men become the new “wifey’s”. In the average slash fiction, these typically younger, softer men are more than willing to cook a nice meal or put on sexy lingerie’s. Believe me, I ‘m not exaggerating, especially on the second part. I don’t think slash fans possess ill-intents when they replace, both physically and socially, the traditional femmes with pretty boys, but rather, the concept of inequality in relationships is so ingrained into our culture and minds that we are subconsciously confining ourselves in these sexist restrictions. These gender dynamics are like herpes, and the heterosexist media is the sociopathic rapist that’s giving it to everyone.

In addition, you should not expect all slash fictions to be gay-friendly. No, in fact, it would be equally preposterous to assume all porn are women-friendly. Slash fiction is a creative, escape medium for women, predominantly the heterosexual variety. There is a good reason why only an insignificant fraction of slash fans are gay men, and why even one gay activist in Japan spoke up so negatively about Boy’s Love, or BL as slash is known in Japan. He argues that men are degraded sexually and objectified in BL fiction, just as women are in mainstream pornography. As a matter of fact, sometimes slash fiction reiterates rape fantasy with the no means yes mentality, similar to the worst offender of its kind in mainstream pornography. This is where the slash fans have to draw the line between fantasy and reality. Right now, slash fiction has an incredible cult status; on Google, a search for YAOI, one specific subgenre of gay fiction exclusive to popular Japanese culture, alone turns up over 11 million results. Then again, a search for porn turns up 220. What many young men don’t realize is that distinct and sacred line between fantasy and misogyny. To the best of my knowledge and personal experience, the girls are doing a much better job. Furthermore, once again not to generalize, but I would like to comment that it is physically more difficult for women to sexually assault men. Many slash fans are feminists and supporters of the gay community, me included. The majority of us realize that the men of our fantasies are very much, well, fantasies. We don’t have that same expectation for the men in our reality. On the other hand, it’s not surprising when a young man expects attractive young women to perform fellatio on him after they exchange pleasant eye contacts on the street. Now I’m not making a negative assumption of all or even the majority of male mankind, but this is a reasonable statement to get across of what the porn and rape culture is teaching young men today.

That’s all very nice, you say, but isn’t there something terribly weird about two dudes getting it own in a perfectly heteronormative world? Yea, you’re right, and we as slash writers and artists ignore that fact. I can literally count, with the fingers on one hand, of how many times I’ve read about social issues such as homophobia or AIDS dealt with seriously and with great lengths in slash fiction. Quite frank, it’s fiction, and unless it dolls up the drama, we really don’t care. To make an impudent comparison, do you watch porn or chick-flicks so you can find out if the protagonist went ahead with that abortion? Yea, I thought not. Let’s leave the serious business for the social activists.

All in all, the close-knit slash community depends on the insatiable, female sexual appetite; it is just as proud and flamboyant as their male counterpart, yet it’s almost always ignored in the mainstream media. Of course, there is also fem-slash that is not explored in this essay. But given the media’s welcoming acceptance of lesbianism as a selling point, female homosexuality is less ostracized. Slash writers and artists are girls and women who are tired of being told to buy crap produced by companies who tell us we’ll never be good enough, fronted by airbrushed models which we will never become. Some of us are more aware of that fact than others. As females, we are taught by the media to automatically accept overt promiscuity from other women, who are stereotypically more attractive than us. Yet men do not suffer the same fate. Selling male sex appeal to other men is condemned homoeroticism, while selling female sex appeal to other women is a foolproof money-making scheme. Is it any wonder on why we have self-esteem issues when almost all of the average 3,000 ads we see per day tell us there is something disgustingly wrong with us? Well, we are no fools. We are creating our own alternative space of sexuality. Do we expect mainstream acceptance? Of course not, at least not anytime soon. Do I expect, that as a slash artist that you, the passerby, will suddenly understand that I draw pictures of beautiful, sometimes androgynous men, homoerotically charged or otherwise, for the sole purpose of artistically appreciating the beauty of men, and not for your twisted, snickering pleasures to question, “hey, is that a dude or what?” No. At that point, all I can do is take a breath, smile, and bear with your misogynist, heterosexist insensitivity.

Do I see

2008-12-07T16:48:00.001-08:00

a new anime about making noodles?!

What?
IT'S NOT THAT RIDICULOUS.

Via SeriousEats.

1000 ANYONE?

2008-12-05T15:11:00.000-08:00

Comment here if you happen to visit when the counter at the bottom left reads 1000.
I'll whip up something for you, either in the form of drawing, food (if you live around the area/ go to my school), and yes... even rants.

tl;dr

2008-12-04T22:22:00.000-08:00

(My layout boy looks awfully cold there... I'll (hopefully) get some free time when the 20th rolls around, and get redesigning then.)

I think I had what is my first brush with censorship in the past couple of months. I was pretty cheesed at a local youth's paper for not publishing my stuff (if you're local, you know the one I'm talking about.) I called their bullshit, through a politely written e-mail to the editor of course, a few days ago.

First, not to be a jerk with a God-complex and a bar of gold up my ass, but the quality of my work is undeniably solid for a person of my age. Second, if an ad from some asshole like HMV took up the same amount of space as the creative section, something is not right. Then they tell me they have too many submissions and not enough space, two months (that's two issues later) after I e-mailed them my submission. If I hadn't e-mail them to bitch politely about the situation, my hard work would be lost in the general void of forgotten cyberspace for all I know.

When I did receive my response from the editor earlier today, he went on about how his paper receives too many submissions/not enough space. Not to be pushy, but I call their bullshit (on my blog, not in the once again civil replay I fired back). See the "not enough space" tidbit from above. Finally, he addresses that my two figures are not fully clothed, and mentions that some people may have concerns over my nudes. I love the fact that the writer thinks there is no gender-connotation with using the word "figures" instead of "men''. But I think it's pretty obvious that the main problem is not that they are semi-nude, but rather that they are semi-nude, and have dicks (well, could argue the heraphroditism of angels) at the same time. And without a doubt, there is not way in hell that's gonna get through without stirring up a shitstorm. Will, they didn't wanna stir up the shitstorm, and hope to sweep this artist's hard work under a carpet, but that doesn't stop me from initiating the favour.

Well, "no shit Shakespeare," you say, it's a paper for teenager (whose views are of the average hetero male bravado that ostracizes gay/female sexuality) but that doesn't mean I should take this bullshit and sit gagged while my artist expression goes down the swirling toilet of censorship. But with all due respect to the editor who replied, he handled it with some sensitivity.

Letters below:

On 12/2/08 5:21 PM, "Lucy Xie" wrote:

Hi [redacted],

I am resubmitting a piece of my work that I e-mailed you over 2 months ago. Two months have passed, and this has been neither published, nor did I receive a letter of postponement or rejection. I am upset at the lack of response. Please understand that I made sure that my submission have been sent, and no electronic courier mistakes have been made. Otherwise, I would not be inquiring. If this is simply because of an accidental overlook, I apologize for my unnecessary inquiry. I look forward to seeing my artwork published in the future [redacted] magazine. If that is not possible, I would kindly request an explanation.

Please find attached, the artwork once again. Here is my contact information.

Lucy Xie
[redacted phone number]
[redacted] Secondary School
Grade 12
Vancouver

Cheers,
Lucy

From: [redacted]
To: Lucy Xie
Sent: Thursday, December 4, 2008 9:07:15 AM
Subject: Re: Artwork resubmission

Re: Artwork resubmission Hi Lucie,

It is impossible for us to inform each student that submits an article, artwork, photograph, etc whether or not his or her work is going to be published. There are just too many submissions for us to do that. We do still have the piece you sent a couple of months ago in our system ready to be used, but that is one among many. We begin production next week on the January issue and I will do my best to see if we can get your piece published in the next issue. It is a wonderful piece, with my only concern being that the two figures in your art piece are not fully clothed. I know it’s not anything inappropriate at all, but I just wanted to let you know that this may be a concern for some. I’m thinking it should be fine. If you have any other work you want to submit feel free to send it to me... Try to keep it to two pieces per month so that my inbox doesn’t get jammed. Hope this helps!

[redacted]

Hi [redacted],

I understand that you are very busy, and I appreciate your response. At first, I feared the lack of feedback and publication was a measure of censorship, because I am fully aware of the nature of my artistic expression. I hope you can understand the point of view that I am coming from as an artist, and why I was* upset because I felt I was being silenced for my hard work. I also understand that your readers would most likely treat my work with little controversial reaction if my subjects were female. But I digress; this letter is not about the nature of sexism**. In the end, I want to thank your magazine for giving a voice to countless young writers and artists***.

Regards,
Lucy

*Still fucking am. Still fucking will be until I see my stuff published.
**NO, NOT AT ALL, REALLY. Do you want me to spell "sarcasm" in capital letters too?
***Self explanatory, genuine comment. Especially from an artist like myself.

I need an apple and some peanut butter.

Breathe.

2008-12-04T20:36:00.000-08:00

Concerto pour deux voix - JB Maunier et Clémence Sint-Preux

OMNOMNOMNOM.

2008-11-19T18:54:00.000-08:00

JB Maunier looks so OMNOMNOMNOM in legwarmers. He should be careful about bending over his marvelous ass like that.

I got it

2008-11-06T19:24:00.000-08:00

Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia takes place after Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, sometime in the mid 1800s. As the Belmont Clan had vanished by that time, several organizations are created in order to research countermeasures against Dracula and his army's eventual return.

~~THE TRUTH~~ Here's a theory:

Richter eloped with Alucard. Therefore, the Belmont gene was lost. Oh, Richter, how would you! Who's gonna be the baby daddy of the next generation of muscular vampire-hunting boys in BDSM gear?!

A miserable pile of secrets

2008-11-06T19:01:00.000-08:00

Dracula, Richter, and the Sisters are all on Jeopardy.
Alex Trebek reads question. "What walks on 4 legs in the morning, 2 legs in the afternoon, and 3 at night."
Dracula immediately buzzes in and answers " WHAT IS A MAN!?"

- Atownsduke from GameFAQs.
I know, I know, I'd bad for laughing out loud at this. My parents are now looking at me kind of strange.

Ben Affleck and Matt Damon: do want?

2008-11-02T13:30:00.000-08:00

Well, 11 years ago anyways. I'm also doing my best to mentally erase that disturbing image of Robin Williams with a beard.

But the ~~explicit slash porn~~ bromance is still very much alive, I shit you not.

Oh Sarah, please have my baby

2008-10-23T17:03:00.000-07:00

VP candidate says she's a big reader, wants son named 'Zamboni.'

I'm going to get some Palin look-a-like reading glasses from a drug store on October the 30th, and I'll scare the living shit out of everyone the day after.

Hilarity of the week

2008-10-22T16:24:00.000-07:00

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Diets worldwide that are rich in fried and salty foods increase heart attack risk, while eating lots of fruit, leafy greens and other vegetables reduces that risk, a groundbreaking study showed.

VERY FUNNY, GUYZ.

Now why isn't this is the NO SHIT section?
.. wait, why isn't there a NO SHIT section? Seems like 90% of "new studies and realizations" belong in the category.

It's kind of hot,

2008-10-21T20:34:00.001-07:00

m'I rite?

Anyways, Marcus Nonius Macrinus's tomb has been unearthed.

I remember that part in the movie, where the slave trader/Maximus's master asks him, that as a reward for his good performances in the Colosseum, if he'd prefer a female or a boy. I'm still not over the fact that he didn't pick a dude. I don't remember if he refused the reward, or picked some lady... either way, talk about my impossible expectations for the mainstream media.

Hot damn,

2008-10-20T23:55:00.000-07:00

Amanda Marcotte used "douche", "douchbag", and "douchebaggery" multiple times too, like, half a dozen times in one page!

...but I digress.

Since I try to make at least SOME of my post not a complete waste of the cyberspace, speak now or forever hold your argyle-induced blue balls, my friends.

Suggestions:

Do we really need initials/last names? Though I can how you can get your shirt mixed up in some other team member's laundry. Shudder. We can replace the DT namesake with First Initial. Last Name, if your ego exceeds, well, everything else.

Is that infantile domestic flightless avian slightly less artistically offensive than the douchebag that is our current school logo?

The argyle, stay or go? (Can we at least give the ILLUSION that we're a classy school? Save your "LOL's" regarding that comment.)

Before anyone asks, if you want me to change the design on the account that it's too girly, I will come up to you personally and rip away some precious body part. Yes, I do know your student number. No, girls put up with way too much macho bullshit to hear you whine.

In all seriousness, I've decide to go with Spreadshirt as our provider.

The cheapest option I've found is $15 dollars (lightweight tee) for doubled sided graphics. AA tee's would end up at around $25 a pop, and there are many, MANY other options (no kidding).
There is also the option of have emblems on the sleeve(s).

Well, what do you folks think?
Y/N?

Does calling a person a douche make me a bad feminist?

2008-10-06T20:52:00.000-07:00

IDK, perhaps.

The original meaning of "douchebag" is so outdated, I don't really know why anyone would be offended by it. I ain't. Is it so bad to call someone the thing that olde time folks used to wash their vajayjays with?

I remember one of the facilitators at the young feminists' convention back in August brought this up. You'd think she's some srsbsns older lady, but she was actually a twenty-three year old, fifth year Women's and Gender Studies student. You'd think someone that young wouldn't like, gripe over the using of "douche" in a negative connotation, but no, she really did.

For a while, I was kind of careful about using that word. Eventfully enough though, I saw the word today, from the pen of another young feminist, twenty-seven year old Jessica Valenti (of Feministing) in her book, He's a Stud, She's a Slut, and 49 Other Double Standards Every Woman Should Know (phew). Let me tell you something, her mouth is foul. That's an excellent quality for angry young women to have.

Some of the insults, I can definitely understand why women would be upset at. Words like, "pansy", "chick", "Mary", "pussy", all suggest being a women, or being feminine is inferior, a unwanted quality. Ironically though, society expects so much more from women. Amidst the seas of expectations, the tremendous amount of things we do are always, ALWAYS, taken for granted. Things like, giving birth, or taking care of kids, are traditionally female things to do (hell, can the first one be any otherwise?), and as soon as we choose not to do it, we're selfish cold bitches who care for nothing except our own asses.

It's simple. When it comes to parenthood, a woman taking good care of her children is the standard. If a man does it, he's dad of the year. One the other end, women who don't have kids are mean career ladies, while men are considerate bachelors looking for the right girl, living the high live ... well, them boys will always be boys, hyuk, hyuk.

So back where have we's. Douchebags, yes. Sure, I'll always keep the somewhat sexist connotation in mind whenever I hear that word being thrown around (but not by me, because that is sooooo 2006). Doesn't mean I'm gonna correct that cute boy who's working on his B.A in Poli-Sci everytime he calls the head server a douche for not letting him going home early to study for next day's exam during a closing shift though, no ma'am.

First I was like >:(

2008-09-28T12:58:00.000-07:00

then I LOL'd.

RAGE at R2 25 >:(
...until I went on /a/.

Wasn't Schneizel the Prime Minister to begin with? Now he's still (?) the Prime Minister, but with a snazzier outfit. GAIN (over the span of two fucking seasons)!!!

Capitalist Pigs

2008-09-24T10:24:00.000-07:00

No, really... are those coming off later to sell hundreds of thousands? Count me out.

And mostly unrelated, other than I LOL'd pretty hard like a snorting pig:

I neeeed this

2008-09-20T22:44:00.001-07:00

Need this need this need this.

(Yay there are two copies at Metrotown Chapter's :D)

Fall's bounty

2008-09-20T22:29:00.000-07:00

"2. Kabocha: If ye ol’ American orange variety of the pumpkin is starting to bore you, there’s always the Japanese version! It’s an election year; I say let’s try to reinvent the local varieties before looking abroad."

Number two on Serious Eats' WJS's Ten Foods to Eat This Fall, and unfortunately the only thing on the last I have in my produce drawer... My mom insisted on buying them for some reason. OK, never mind, they were on sale at T&T. I was scratching my head about what the hell to do with them, but luckily, salvation occurred in the form of a recipe from Veganomicon (underlining, courtesy of my English teacher) : Kabocha-Udon Winter Soup (ignore the Winter part). I'll make a batch of those tomorrow afternoon.

I need to try some rutabaga and quince, next.

EXCITED.

2008-09-18T21:55:00.000-07:00

Ok, Ok, Ok... I just paid for and submitted the custom order for my prom dress.
WHY ISN'T IT HERE YET?!?!

Anyways, graduation is half-assed srs bsns. Half assed, but srs. I'm going Elegant Gothic Lolita, with painful platform mary-janes.

P.S. Vian ILU tooooo! I will be your prom date ~~WETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT~~ and we can be EGL together. Don't kill yourself with IB before we get there mmm'k hun.

:*D

EDIT, Google Image lol: "EGL"

Obligatory brag

2008-09-11T18:46:00.000-07:00

Be still, my beating heart... I totally wasn't expecting my first food-blog contest entry to get anywhere, especially not first place...!

Thanks Nick! Let the good times roll (like a pig in peanut butter... wait, that's me).

Hetalia.

2008-09-11T17:53:00.000-07:00

SRSLY?

Oh Germany, why are you so GAR? Japan is so moe, as expected. And Italy is just, Italy...
Learning about pre-WWI in history class wants me to draw Germany beating the crap out of Italy. Yea, that's hot.

Honestly, if Britain and America were anthropomorphized into a gay couple, I would never have thunk that Britain would be the one to take it from the behind. How's that for international relations? Britain's tightened fist must be an allusion to... er... um... Bono's ass, yea.

To bad my country's not important enough on the international scale to have its own anthromorphisized anime-style representation.

Oh, wait... what if Billy Bishop had a kid with a polar bear fetish...

Oh WAIT. (this would've depressed the daylight out of me if I saw it during the games...)

OHWAI- (now I can't go to Washington without giggling)

I wanna design characters for provinces and territories... ain't I a Canadian nerd? :D

The cake is a delicious lie...

2008-09-09T23:32:00.000-07:00

My house smells like chooooo~colate, at almost midnight on a weekday.
Thank you Dessert Mag.

Excuse me while I go and burn my friggin' tongue off :9

Hot Schneizel dub is hot

2008-09-05T22:49:00.000-07:00

Really.

Apparently, he also VA for Abel from Trinity Blood (who's also pretty FABULOUS, but not on par with Schneizel, obviously) and Yuri from Tales of Vesperia (will be FABULOUS in North America, soon).

FABULOUS.

Code Geass R2 21

2008-08-31T20:27:00.001-07:00

D:

Why is Schneizel in Cambodia again?
~~Khmer Rouge?!?!11~~

Can anyone really take a season 3 of Lelouch v. Schneizel? On the other hand, there must be a reason for "why the combined screen time of the real final boss in 2 Goddamn seasons < 10 minutes". Unless, of course, Sunrise is going to spam Schneizel left right and center in the last three episodes, which I'm hoping for. Either that, or a NEW SEASON OF FABULOUSITY.

I LOL'd

2008-08-30T01:50:00.000-07:00

So hard.

4chan, I want my life back :D
Actual read-worthy entries can wait.

Everything is FABULOUS.

2008-08-22T16:58:00.000-07:00

It will be even more fabulous when Schneizel either:
a) nuke more stuff, preferably with Suzaku
b) go batshit, preferably with Suazku
c) take out Curly
d) take out Lelouch
e) talk Nina out of tablefucking by FABULOUSLY reviving Euphie
f) the second picture.

But he will probably do all except d) and e), in no particular order.

You see how Schneizel's hand isn't quite touching Kanon's ass? Instead of going back to fix that, I convinced myself with something MORE BETTER.

tl;dr: "...the real important question here is that if he uses this wishy washy 50% outlook for everything, then when he fucks Canon in the ass, does he only put his dick in 50% of the way up his ass or what?"

QFT, I fabulously concur.

Where'd all the PB go?

2008-08-22T02:59:00.000-07:00

Why, to the Vegan PB & J Sandwich Ice Cream, of course.

For Peanut Butter Boy's Great Peanut Butter Exhibition #4... the theme is no-bake! How exciting! I can't wait to see what wonderful entries the other contestants have whipped up.

Yes, the "sandwich" comes before the "ice cream".

Makes 1 scant quart

3/4 cup peanut butter (I used smooth natural no-salt sugar-free)
3 cups soy milk (or any non-dairy milk)
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. salt (I used fleur de sel. Reduce amount if using table salt; omit if using salted PB)
1 tbsp. agar agar (from Asian grocery stores)

1/2 - 3/4 cup jam, any flavour (I used strawberry)
2 slices whole-grain bread, crusts removed (or keep them, your call) and torn into small pieces

In a saucepan, bring the soy milk and sugar to a gentle boil over medium heat. Add the agar agar and stir, for a few minutes until completely dissolved. Remove from heat.

Stir in the peanut butter and salt, if using.

Cool the mixture to room temperature. It should resemble a pudding-like consistency. Refrigerate it overnight.

After removing from the fridge, stir the PB mixture vigorously and pour it into your ice cream machine. It doesn't take very long, about 15 minutes, so this is great for the impatient (aren't we all?)

When the ice cream is ready, fold in the jam and bread piece by using a wooden spoon, or alternatively, adding the ingredients in small batches while operating the motor intermittently.

Yay! Totally vegan PB & J sandwich ice cream. I wish I could write more in terms of instruction, but m' afraid this really can't get any more simple. I'm very pleased with the texture. I've always stayed away from non-dairy ice cream before becoming completely vegetarian, but now that I have no choice other than to embrace it... this isn't bad! In fact, it's pretty awesome. I've always been scared of the "soy/rice/hemp/almond aftertaste" in mock-dairy, but I gotta admit, this isn't far from the real thing, if not better than.

For a very special friend...

2008-08-21T20:41:00.000-07:00

This is a shout-out for my ~~腐女子~~ special, special buddy Vian, who is in volunteering in Africa right now!!! Bless her brave soul, and I miss her very much. I wish I had the courage to do what she is doing right now. Vian, if you're reading this, just want you to know you're doing an awesome job and your friend Lucy is proud of you and can't wait to see you again!

XOXO

srs bsns, guyz

2008-08-21T19:49:00.000-07:00

My vegan diet is going freaking awesome. I'm not missing milk, cheese, yogurt, eggs, whatever. Actually, now that I think about those days it feels kind of gross. My skin is the first difference I noticed, which also means I probably won't be wearing skin make up, seeing as good vegan cosmetic is hard as hell to come by already. All non-vegan make-up is saturated with rendered animal fats mixed with poop (yay, poop!), but I'll gross you guys out some other day.

In terms of food, I barely felt like "giving up" anything. Trust me, I have a huge waiting list of recipes and foods I'd love to try. Most importantly, my ice-cream machine isn't any less loved. Soy milk, nut butter, and a little bit of agar agar (I love that word...) makes yum yum. I haven't tried seitan, tempeh, and TVP yet. I'm not too big on analogues/mock meats, since I'm those people who gets grossed out about eating meat (red meat, especially) even before I became vegetarian.

I found a brand of soy-cheese, and it's actually quite good! But unfortunately, I was fooled by the grand imge of "soy" cheese (read, vegan) and neglected to read the ingredients. Casein, a milk protein, was along the list... darn. Well, lesson well learned. I'll pick up some nutritional yeast to try when I get the chance.

Making the vegan switch actually broadened my menu. Things I thought I'd only try once in a while in restaurants, especially ethinic and regional cuisine, I learned to make and love and enjoy at home, every day and every night. I'd never thought I'd eat Mexican, Middle-Eastern, Chinese, Indian, and so much more every day of the week. It's wonderful!

At first I switched to vegan for personal-health benefits. Then I began to read about ethical, environmental, and political issues. It's quite mind-opening! I felt, slightly better, that I read about them after cutting out animal foods from my diet, because if it was any other wise, I'd feel so much more guilty and horrible about myself as a human being.

I understand a lot of young vegans meet difficulty when their non-veg family try to cope with the fact. To my parents' credit, they are awesome and totally OK with it. Though my mom still questions my choice of lifestyle, she would never interfere with it (doesn't mean she won't eat my FABULOUS vegan cooking). I have a own set of cookware, and cooking for one is seriously fun.

Aside from food, everyday shopping for house-hold item and clothing become tests. While I have always been pretentious about label-reading, I suppose I will have to work even harder now. Once again, living with my non-vegan family is a conundrum. Can really convince my Chinese-mum to buy that 4 dollar bar of vegetable soap, or that 6 dollar vegan toothpaste? If you think I can, you frankly don't know Chinese mom's. All can say is, I'm working on it. When it comes to clothing, it's rather straightforward to identify animal sources, so I'm not particularly worried about that.

Some people have negative perceptions about vegetarians, vegans in particular because of their "radical" diet habits. Hippie stereotypes (actually, I'd take it personally as a compliment) aside, non-veg*ns perceive vegans are elitists. Even though my transition from a meat-eater to vegan took barely three months, I can't help but silently judge my meat-eating friends. Is that wrong? Absolutely, and that's all I can say. But will that make me stop making and keeping my non-veg*n friends because everything ultimately (shouldn't) comes down to eating habits? Oh, pshaw, far from it. Though, will I occasional gross you out? You bet.

YEA YEA YEA Larabars! (spaz)

2008-08-21T18:42:00.000-07:00

OMG OMG OMG I haven't posted in so long because I got these really awesome books from the library and have been reading non-stop for like 8 hours a day tell you about it later kthxby- SPAZ SPAZ SPAZ etc.

Last Thursday I went to Metro and Richmond and had the best ever time, like, ever. ~~Who says shopping can't fill that pathetic, pissy, PSMing void of your soul?~~ Went to pick up stuff I ordered on Mallvibes (awesome, and pimpin' it) from Forever21's online store. Random impulse buy~~s like a pink gingham headband only 5-year old sexually-confused little boys would wear along with a tutu~~? Nonsense.

Dropped lots of munny (lots... :<) on a sale at Plen+y, and then busted my ass over to Richmond, for Daiso. Yay Daiso! (further spaz) I bought the most ridiculously cute pink bento box (that makes me go "<3",>for like half an hour which unfortunately was rather small, with some older issues of Biblos, Beboys, and such. Ahem. But most importantly, I was looking for Code Geass Knight.

Being the eccentric, non-Japanese-reading, flamboyant geek that I am, I asked the lovely cashier to help me, and help she did! Wasn't my first time of course, shamelessly asking for Japanese language assistance for the purpose of ~~locating gay pr0n~~ EDUCATION. Once at BookOff (believe it or not there is one in Vancouver), I had the most hilarious (read, awkward) time finding BL. I located the nearest young, female staff (didn't thunk that dude with a grey 'stache there reads BL) and asked for "YAOI". I was met with confusion. "Boy's Love?" Nope. "...BL? Beeee... Aaaal..." Wut? "Boizu.... Rabu..." Oh! Might have an idea...? Anyways, the ending was happy, I found my Boizu Rabu.

OK end with that random spaz. Unfortunately they only have volume 3 in stock. Ugh. Though they had many volumes of Nightmare of Nunally, but meh, do not want. Suppose I will have to hunt down the other 3 volumes through YesAsia or the like.

By the way, I'm glad I dropped all that munny on a book I can't read (all the more fabulous, right) because according to my ninja-math skillz, the ratio of flipping the pages and stumbling upon Schneizel (more on a batshit fangirl post later) was 1:8. HRM.

Tell you about Larabars some other time, then.

= :)

Will spaz more on this later.

I assure you won't see Waldo, but if you're anything like me you should see something else. I kind of like it when nature takes care of them Photoshop bsns for me.

Do... want?

2008-08-15T21:22:00.000-07:00

Before I went vegan, of course.

Via Serious Eats.

DO WANT

2008-08-14T22:04:00.000-07:00

his hair-waxer's #.

Sometimes I forget the "Draws" comes first.

2008-08-14T20:30:00.000-07:00

So here is an art dump to make up for it. Plus, Prismacolor have an amazing way of driving me batshit insane.

Story: I started this in April. I finished it last night. That's enough story.
I started with a 0.5 mechanical pencil, also a tool of batshit-insanity. You see, ~~like Lelouch the douche,~~ my pencil is a doubled-identity superpower. Kicking Scantron-asses in the morning, and the accomplice of ~~an old perverted man~~ Lucy at night.

But like using any other batshit-insanity-inducing-art-supplies, great power comes with great responsibility. Alas, I was unable to contain such power.

This pic drove me

But of course, that wasn't even near my past extremes, non non mes cheris...

Ack, never again... maybe.

Time: Me batshit-insane brain lost count.
Dimensions: 8.5 x 11
Tools: 0.5 SUPA batshit-insanity-inducing mechanical pencil, Prismacolor Premier pencils (Apple Green PC912, True Blue PC903, Goldenrod PC1034, Sienna Brown PC945, Peach PC939, Black PC935, Crimson Red PC924, Pink PC929, Colorless Blender)

And a post-scanning quickie PS for background. At least my brain isn't completely batshit, or else I'd penciled the mother... (see BATSHIT INSANE)

Hola! Hola!

2008-08-10T14:55:00.000-07:00

Them pretty cathedral and castle thingums can, like, wait.

The first grub spot we hit was Hernade'z in St. Andrew Square, beside the St. Andrew's Roman Catholic Cathedral.

The interior is very funky and vibrant, with lively Latino music, some real eye-catching artwork (talk about Spanish surrealism! Also some cool Catholic vibes... for geeks, that's a chapel and a Mexican catacomb in one), and two very friendly Spanish-speaking fellas, whom I assumed were brothers and owners of the spot, but don't let the family-owned impression get you. This place was pretty much packed, yet the two never misses a "gracias" or "hola senor".

Since we were on the run to cover the rest of Downtown, we ordered from the express menu (they also had a "slow food" menu, for the patient few). For vegetarian fair, the basics were bean burritos, bean and rice burritos, or the deluxe with guacamole, cheese, sour cream and other goodies. We opt for the second to share, since our sources tell us the serving size is generous.

For three bucks each, it was awesome to say the least! The beans were very flavourful and complimented (melded into, actually) the rice. Bonus, it was topped with a generous amount of microgreens! Yum.

And the portion size? Perfect for sharing on the go. We were filled, but not stuffed, which was good since 4 hours of walking waited upon us. For hungry (and broke?) girls and boys, they have $5 for 5 tacos on the "Slow Food" menu.

Hernande'z
735 Yates St.

If I had to eat icing sugar and butter by the spoonful...

2008-08-09T16:43:00.000-07:00

Yea, that would be absolutely disgusting.

Now fudge, on the other hand...

My sources tell me Fat Phege's fudge is good, like, very very good. Located in the Market Square, the heart of Olde Victoria, Fat Phege's is a charming little piece of history, much like many other stores in downtown Vic.

The selection of confections and other yummy goodies dazzled me. They even had penuche! However, they were sold by the 1/2 lb. blocks (ranging from $5.50 to $6.50 per 225 grams, weighted on the scale). As much as I wanted to buy the whole store, ending up with 20 pounds of fudge didn't seem like the brighted idea... I had to slap my inner-sugar addict (this 3-feet tall little maniac with pigtails, a maniacal grin, and a diabolical glint in her little eyes) and settled, hestantly, on a lovely block of (surprise) peanut butter chocolate fudge.

Not wanting to wait any further, I almost dashed out the door, but not before the kind little old lady at the cash register pointed me to a bundle of plastic knives. "These'll make sharing easier," she informed. Sharing?

"What sharing?" says the little 3-feet tall sugar-demon. I told the cashier I won't be sharing them, but reluctantly took the damned utensil anyways.

The PB fudge is very creamy... but not as peanut-buttery (Webster, bishplz) as I had hoped. Furthermore, a tad too sweet! I know, I know, I should be complaining when the primary ingredient is icing sugar. I'd liked it a little more salty, maybe with some kosher salt or fleur de sel. The chocolate section was quite alright, because, well, it's difficult to fudge up plain, chocolate fudge. It was very similar to my home-made recipes, so, no-brainer I suppose.

Anyways, I was expecting some sort of gourmet, outta-this-world experience, but I suppose the old-school candy-store experience sufficed.

The website shows their on-site fudge-making, very cool! And they offer mail-orders!

Fat Phege's Fudge Factory
134-560 Johnson Street
Victoria, BC V8W 3C6 (250) 383-3435

A Nanaimo (or eight, well almost) in Victoria

2008-08-08T18:02:00.000-07:00

i'm in ur capitol, eating ur bar.

OK, that's not true.Though we didn't visit Nanaimo, the lure of the legendary desert was too much. I was faithful to Cakespy's guide. To the Olde Time Deli!

Iz gud, I sayz.
Indeed, indeed it was. I found nothing to write home about (how ironic...) though, perhaps because I was never a huge fan of western deserts. Then again, this was also my first Nanaimo. I guess I will have to do a few (an underestimate, we find out later) more testing before rendering the verdict.

The last time I was in Victoria, I by-passed the Victoria Ice Cream & Fudge Factory with much regret, perhaps because then was April. In B.C, April is rarely a time for ice cream, I guess that was the reason in addition to the hurry I was in to browse Johnson St. in a one and a half hour time-crunch. This time it wasn't going to happen again. We came out with 6 Nanaimo Bars. Blimey!

They offered 6 flavours, but only 5 were seen (the cryptic Nanaimo... hmmm). If I remmembered (they were gone in no time, of course) correctly, we had the Irish Cream, Caramel, Peanut Butter, the Traditional (best tied with PB, no more of course) and one more that I don't recall (the mystery sickens...). They made a great snack while we waited for the ferry.

The overall texture and taste was very similar to the one from the Olde Time Deli, but the base was thicker (which I preferred, meaning I had to wash it down with less of the vileness known as black coffee), taking up about half of the bar while the previous, only one-third.

In Cakespy's review, the Nanaimo that "got away" was apparently a blond (what's a classic mystery without one?) from the Bond Bond's Bakery . I had never intended to stop by, but I discovered it by chance while heading down Blanshard. I had already crossed the street but my tingling NB senses dragged me back. Examining the tantilizing pastry case, there were plenty of NB's (brunets, albeit... even a PB variety... tempting) but no sexy blonds in sight! What horror! I inquired, a little desperately at the bakery clerk, and was told there were none...

And Then There Were None...
Right, right, that's enough references to mystery novels.

Bummer! They had ran out.
Sigh...~~back to the hotel to finish the other six!~~

~~Honestly,~~ I didn't eat six of them in one sitting.
~~Thank goodness~~Too bad I'm going vegitan... gotta make up for it, you know.

Olde Time Deli
1009 Government St

Victoria Ice Cream & Fudge Factory
905 Government Street

Bond Bond's: More Than a Bakery
1010 Blanshard Street

I missed the party. Also party-goers' Parliament garbage.

2008-08-05T17:34:00.000-07:00

Actually, you can't really miss the Parliament's garbage. We pay them to sit and rot daily in the Legislative Chamber. On a lighter note, I'm going to Victoria tomorrow. Will be back to catch the Olympics' Opening Ceremonies ~~and public beatings of Tibetans~~.

Research, of course, is vital.

BC. (C is for 'cookie', that's good enough for me) (actually, no cookies)

2008-08-04T19:08:00.000-07:00

BC Eggs
BC Dairy
BC Strawberries
BC Blueberries
~~Gordon Campbell~~

dub-ya.

2008-08-03T02:57:00.000-07:00

I was like, 'fk'n seriously?'
Oh yea, can Ollie stick in some Donald Rumsfeld on Dick Cheney action?

Holy crap did I just type that?
~~Rummy must be played by Jared Leto and Dick Cheney has to be portrayed by Francisco Bosch in a mini-toga.~~

What are you talking about? He was born to play fat republicans.

who sez i nevr drw wimmins?!: An Informational Timeline.

2008-08-02T02:47:00.000-07:00

I have come across many, many people who are bewildered by my reluctance to draw wimmins. You guys are observant geniuses, and this post is for you. Most readers will find this entry mind-bogglingly educational. I apologize.

~~Some old art dump from 2 years ago~~.
Conclusive evidences of Lucy drawing wimmins: Confidential and for your (by you I mean the Interweb) eyes only, after the jump.

Before Lucy learned the female anatomy. Timestamp is July, 2006. Take notes, will you?

Lucy is learning the female anatomy through Bram Stoker's Dracula in an English class, March, 2007. Yes, it's indeed a head-scratcher.

And Lucy betters the female anatomy exactly one year after the infamous "Blue Boobs".

Finally, Lucy perfects the female anatomy.

Oops...
Fix'd.

So where is Lucy today on wimmins and the female anatomy?
A thousand words, peeps (pun intended).

The fireplace is on and we're eating frozen yogurt.

2008-07-31T16:52:00.000-07:00

It's bloody cold in here... I'm reduced to wearing fuzzy slippers. Vancouver weather usually pampers me, but this year it's highly unreasonable. Either that, or I'm used to complaining every year this time rolls around (or anytime... yea, definitely anytime). But that's OK, a little bit of home-made frogurt makes everything much betta.

I've been really holding out on taking good pictures, with the weather like this. I really hope the sun rolls out around BC Day, because I'm gonna be fixin' something special ~~for Gordon Campbell~~.

Recipe and nutrition after the jump.

Low-Fat Bittersweet Chocolate Frozen Yogurt
Serves 8.

3 cups plain yogurt (I used a whole 750 gram container, fat-free) *see note
1 1/2 cup milk (any kind, I used 1%)
1 tbsp. starch (I used tapioca, but cornstarch or arrowroot powder is fine)
1 cup cocoa **see note #2
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla or 1 vanilla bean

You will need an ice-cream maker for this! Am I evil for telling you this now?
I have a Krups GVS1 that makes 1 quart at a time.

The day before, throw your ice cream maker in the freezer (turn it to the coldest possible setting to avoid any disappointments the day after... this happened to me).

Dump your yogurt in a few layers of large cheesecloth, tie off the ends (throw away the keys too!) and let it strain in a wee, lonely corner of your fridge. Set a bowl underneath it to catch the whey ~~which we will chug later when no one's looking~~ . Leave it alone for a good few hours or overnight. When it is ready, you'll end up with a little less than two cups of the creme de la creme.

In a sauce pan, stir in the milk, cocoa, starch and sugar over medium heat. If you're using vanilla bean, throw it in right now. Get ready to stir like crazy folks, do not let your eyes or that spatula leave the pot of good stuff. If you do burn your pot, some boiling lemon juice during the clean-up should do the trick. When the mix starts to boil gently, remove from heat and stir for one more minute. Congrats! We just made chocolate pudding ~~and if you're like me, steal a big spoonful right now~~. Remove the vanilla bean and scrape out the seeds.

If you're using vanilla extract, mix it in the pudding, then fold in the strained yogurt. Give them a good, vigorous stir and forget about the whole thing in the fridge for another few hours or overnight.

Now, the yogurt should be chilled and your ice cream maker should be ready. Go ahead and dump that bad boy in, and watch as the fro-yo goodness unfold before your eyes in ~~no time, well, I wish~~ 20-30 minutes.

Right out of the ice-cream maker, it has a soft-serve consistency. Some people prefer theirs more firm, so go ahead and freeze it for an additional 30 minutes before serving.

I served mine with some homemade maple creme anglaise (as a part of special BC Day fixin's ~~for Mr. Campbell~~) which I will post later.

Per serving:

173 Cal, 2 g total fat, 1.2 g sat. fat, 4 mg cholesterol, 93 mg sodium, 35 g carbs, 3.2 g dietary fiber, 28.4 g sugar, 8.7 g protein

Note: I find strained plain yogurt makes just the right tanginess. Greek Yogurt is too tangy for my taste, but if that's your thing feel free to switch it up.

Note #2: The cocoa powder is really what gives the bitterness (but also chocolate goodness!) to the recipe. Some people may find it too strong, and should either reduce that amount or increase the amount of sugar.

C&PB Granola Bars

2008-07-30T14:09:00.000-07:00

Ah, peanut butter and chocolate, possibly the greatest combination of flavours in the existence of humankind, but feel free to argue. Though these can't beat eating peanut butter by the spoonful (or even better, off your finger straight from the jar), they make a great on-the-go breakfast or snack. Plus, licking the spatula at the end is the best part.

You can get away with any kind of peanut butter here, but I only found Jif in the cupboard (Skippy fans and natural PB elitists, hold your critisms). But, feel free to use that extra-crunchy or organic natural.

Recipe and nutrition after the jump.

Chocolate and Peanut Butter Granola Bars

Makes one dozen.

1/4 cup milk (any kind, I used 1%)
1/2 cup cocoa
2 cups sugar (or sweetener equivalent. I used Splenda, will try maple syrup next time)
1/4 tsp. salt (more, if sweet and salty is your thing)
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup beanut butter (I used Jif Smooth)
2 cups oatmeal (I used quick-cooking)

Combine milk, cocoa, sugar (or sweeterner), salt and vanilla in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.

Mix in the peanut butter and mix it well (I had to microwave it for about 30 seconds after adding the PB)

Finally, add the oats.

Line a 8 x 8 square pan with plastic wrap, hanging over the edges. Spoon in the granola bar mix and smooth it out. Chill in the frige, for 2 hours or overnight.

To cut the bars, lift the plastic wrap out (aren't you glad we did that) and use a large chef's knife.

Each bar:

with sugar - 320 Cal, 12.2 g total fat, 2.7 g sat. fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 153 mg sodium, 49.2 g carbs, 3.7 g fiber, 36 g sugar, 8.1 g protein

with sweetener - 191 Cal, 12.2 g total fat, 2.7 g sat. fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 153 mg sodium, 15.9 g carbs, 3.7 g fiber, 2.7 g sugar, 8.1 g protein

with 1 1/2 cup amber maple syrup - 294 Cal, 12.3 g total fat, 2.7 g sat. fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 157 mg sodium, 42.3 g carbs, 3.7 g fiber, 26.1 g sugar, 8.1 g protein

The first Cooks post is about dog food? The Ya celebrates five with cookies.

2008-07-28T14:21:00.000-07:00

I saw a very interesting cookie recipe at Farmgirl Fare weeks ago. Though the inner-health freak prevented me from making these, I didn't hesitate to click on the original recipe link (pour les chiens) because with a name like that, who can resist!

Alright, bananas... check (courtesy of my freezer), honey... check, flax seeds... check! Let's get to work. These look and smell very much like cookies for humins! Though I can't attest for that myself, I'm sure they're delicious... as least according to Yaya. Next time, I'll try it with maple syrup so I can have some too ;)

MOAR PLZ.
Happy birthday!

Fire Emblem revisted: Oliver the Bishop in "Gay Gay Gay!"

2008-07-26T18:42:00.000-07:00

I can't lol enough at this. The painting in the background gives away too much about what Oliver's gonna do to Reyson (holds vomit). Music is pretty good though... trying to pin it down on the Path of Radiance OST right. Can't go wrong with a harpsichord, especially in Fire Emblem.

Oh yea, Reyson, this isn't madness...

This is Sparta.

EDIT: It's "26 Power-hungry Fool". Not sure if I like that name, but yes, that's definitely Oliver...

Somewhere, there is a guy trying to smite me...

2008-07-25T11:41:00.000-07:00

I'm gonna let you on something folks. I like to stay hydrated when I work. I'll finish liters of water before I'm done with a picture. In this specific case, I spent, oh I don't know, 2 dozen insignificant (not including time spent annoying my dog, or watching Kenny vs. Spenny) hours over the span of two weeks on this pencil drawing. I broke two... two glasses, both half filled with water. Here's the extra kicker, I pricked myself both times while cleaning them up.

I think whoever I'm offending is trying to tell me something.

There is definitely some sexually charged eroticism being exchanged between those glances. This style, I'd like to call Classically-inspired. I mean, I can definitely see the influences of classical art, mixed with my own style of course. I'm a total sucker for that gorgeous contrast presented by artworks from the Renaissance and Baroque era like I'm a sucker for a good tune from Bach.

Though I honest don't care much for the religious elements, they are significant in terms of symbolism, which is a large portion of the story that an artist is trying to tell through her work.

Actually, I think most classical art are very homoerotic, even pederastic. I think we're definitely a lot more reserved about nudes and erotism now a day, at least to the public eye. Often when we see them, they are presented in commercialized forms. It's a pity, really.

Take zee apple...
Time spent: approximately 25 hours
Dimensions: 11 x 14
Tools: 0.5 mechanical pencil, softlead pencils (Mars Lumograph), Kleenex, ruler, compass, a lot of water, two broken water glasses
References: Fodor's Guide to Holy Rome, Christian Jubilee Edt. ~~andtheBible~~

Fangirling? I have not heard of such a word.

2008-07-24T17:08:00.000-07:00

(the music is strange... nothing unbearable, but strange)

...Or have I?
OH.MY.GOD. Finally, Square-Enix is revealing more about Versus. Wait, this is a leaked video, never mind. I am mad excited about Versus. Who cares about FFXIII? Huh? Huh? Huh? Yes, I'm talking to the Lightning fanboys (hell, why are you here in the first place).

You know why I'm excited about Versus?

It's because of this group of incredibly dashing douchebags.

Especially the king of all douches.

And man hugs, especially man hugs.

Too bad none of them have real names... imagine their conversations.

Shotgun Guy: Why can't you be gentle in public :(
Scarred Face Guy: Only in bed, because I'm a douche, like you.
Driver (glasses guy): I must keep a pokerface... I broke my Dolce&Gabbana frames and I can't let my enemies see my weakness. (sniffle)

...Getting carried away there.

Seriously though, the concept of modern technology versus traditional combat (origin of game name?) is pretty kick-ass. I'm very curious about the white-robed figure... will see how it plays out when Versus hits store shelves, hopefully (yea right) by Christmas.

About Layout:

2008-07-24T15:45:00.000-07:00

It's certainly summer appropriate, isn't it? Something I pulled out of my sketchbook from grade 10 art class (honestly, little productivity came from art 10... art class of any sort, matter of fact).

Now that I look back at my work from a couple of years ago (courtesy of ~~finally~~ cleaning my room, of course), my art style really, REALLY changed, a lot. I think, mainly from improvements, and I'm glad that my previous works look like crap . (more on that in another post)

Making of the layout after the jump.

There he is, pure, unadulterated and fresh off the scanner. Comparison to post-pink massacre.

The text bubble contains some transliterated German non-sense (look it up if you're curious), because both words begin with an H. Yay! Added the "verboten" hip tattoo/scribble post-scanning.

Only 7 layers! Do I deserve a hand or what? Massive-layer abuse to come in future posts.

Think I'll keep this for a while... well, maybe not until Christmas (but why wouldn't you want him around for Christmas?) but we'll have to see about that :)

Intro post! Intro post!

2008-07-24T14:40:00.000-07:00

Oh no! You found me! (OK fine, I most likely linked you here)
Anyways, welcome to lucydraws. Navigation to your left and enjoy your stay!

~Lucy