November 19; Nintendo Wii Launch Day: 'That late night/early morning, we had discovered quite a multitude of enthusiastic Nintendo fans clustered around various stores in Glendale and Burbank.  At 3am, prior to opening, most spots were ALREADY filled; i'm talking HUNDREDS of people in line... all Wii systems called for at 2 Targets and 1 Best Buy.  After a bit of driving, we decided to scope out the Toys R Us on Victory Blvd...  It was an eerie pitch black dark parking lot; no working street lamps; no nearby lit businesses..and the line was only visible once we were mere feet from the store's front door.  As we drove by, several members from the line approached the car and welcomed us....and we were ( somewhat ) grateful they weren't undead rotting hillbilly corpses. 

Rob and I decided to join the party; Howie teleported over shortly after :D

Then, at 8:30am, the TRU store employees started handing out tickets... (( we were nerds #16 and #17 ))  Then, just one hour later, our group was escorted into the store, and very orderly might i add. 

No or , so yay! 

Everyone in our campout got a Wii; no one left unhappy  :)  Rob got me the System + Zelda + Monkey Ball + Classic Controller + extra Wii-mote.

Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz>  The main game is GREAT!!!.... 'Wii controls are superior to the analog, imo! Oh-so-clever progression of levels, too: ya got the Jungle, then Desert, then..you guessed it... the snow level, and so on. /:) Unfortunately, 90% of the multiplayer party-games have clunky controls and seem very uninspired / half-assed thrown on there.  I picked this as our 2-player wii game, but i honestly can't recommend it for that.  It's all about the 1-player mode.
(( <3 YanYan  ^_^ ))

Twilight Princess> 'Controls are top-notch; gameplay is near-perfect. The way I understand it,  this game was pulled from the GC line-up, and thrown onto the wii without very much ( if any ) graphical adjustments.  The colors are desaturated and muddy and there is some bizarre lighting and glowing filters around the characters.  A more streamlined style with a simpler pallet would be better suited for the wii's capabilities.  'Going the photo-realistic route does not impress like it would on the 360 or the PS3; component cables or not.  I'm really missing the Windwaker / Minish Cap look... but the majority demands

Virtual Console> 'Playing stuff like Contra and Toe Jam and Earl with some non-local pals MAY have been worth me re-buying some games i already own...but alas; there's no online multiplayer.  TG16 BomberMan ’93 provides a good amount of local multiplayer entertainment @ $6.  And it's got "pause screen" soundFX's almost as good as Battletoads  :P   Nintendo has been consistently adding 4-5 new games to the VC every Monday.  For now, I’m patiently waiting for some more obscure releases... 'maybe even some unreleased stuff!  'The ultimate, of course, would be Goonies ( famicom ).

**I've updated my flickr account : more photos from the Wii launch, and some of my nintendo toys on display**

....i think we were his only fans.  Some dumb ass bitches kept screaming at the top of their damn lungs as they attempted to 'run' away in their ridiculous heels.  Hahaha.  Rats = the perfect 'dumb ass bitch repellent'.  

We visited the second happiest place on earth: Disneyland!  :D  The infamous, Rob K., my hilarious brother, joined us for adventures....  

Yeeee-hawwwwwrrr! 

              
Ugly Doll           Ed             Rodolphe        Marty            Brad        Bill&Alberto    Pastaface

We didn't buy much.... 'though i made sure to pick up Chris Sander's new sketchbook and put my name on his mailing list 4 thousand times  :)  Alberto, very generously, gave us an AMAZING set of his most recent prints!  'Also got copies of Marty "Paintmonster"'s new book, Clarke's book, stickers from Ragnar and some awesome Pea and Bear pins....

This year, we crashed at my brother's new San Diego apartment... which was just a few miles from the convention center.  CONVEIENT! That saved us at least $200, so he was the comicon hero  :)   Larry bought these really awesome King Kong and Godzilla movies and played a few select scenes before we headed out for breakfast Sunday morning.... ahhh, the sound of a boulder hitting a sea monster in the head  ...i'll never forget.    ...Never.

Also worth a mention: my brother recommended this cute local place for breakfast:
The Broken Yolk.  'Not a fan of eggs in the least, but the pancakes there were top-notch  <:)  It's one to keep in mind for next year, guys.

'Vegas entry coming soon....

Hi again!  Ready for more?  'So soon, too! 

BEHOLD!!  Everyone's favorite squid-pal, GEZORA!!!:

Larry and I are starting a Gezora internet frenzy.  GET SET!!!  It's gonna be huuuuuge, you'll see...

And speaking of squids, guess who came in the mail last weekend????  Why, it's your other favorite squid-pal: CAPTAIN SQUID direct from the land of eBay!!  Yaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!! :D

Jolly Roger (( right )) has been reunited with his bastard sidekick.  They can go pillage and plunder the bookcase, now! 

This would probably be a good time to mention, Katie and I will be launching a toy blog soon.  :D Tons and TONS of pictures of all the retarded little treasures we've been collecting over the years... and yes, that means DREAM PETS galore  :)  Once that's up, we'll make an announcement...so stay tuned and be excited!

 AWWWW!!! LOOOOOOKIT THE BABY CRABBY FACE!!!!!!!!!!!

 Last weekend was another rad one, of course: on Saturday, Rob, Larry, and I took a trip to the Long Beach Aquarium.

(( Yes, as a matter of fact, there were squids there, too. )) 

'Kinda bummed to discover my most-admired Anemone Crab was MIA  :(  How shit is that?  Here's a picture of him i took 2 months ago.....

I just added a few more pictures of him ( and other things ) to my photo album; be sure to check those out!  ^_^

A few shots from Saturday:

Of no relevance to squids:

(( left ))  'No doubt these two are plotting against me  :P 

(( right )) Gameworks: House of the Dead 9845358...or 4, whatever.  "This can't be happening!"

While walking over to Gameworks, we over-heard some guy talking to his female companion.... and days later, it's still on my mind:

"Your mother warned you about that apple......"   

........................................and that's all we heard.  I'd give pretty much anything just to find out why mom did not approve of that apple. 

On Sunday, Howie and I checked out the Long Beach Flea Market.... This marks the 3rd consecutive successful visit!  'Found 3 more Dream Pets i needed...... Including "Unknown Beetle" who was just laying in one vendor's pile of crap toys.  'Good thing for my Dream Pets radar:

No one has been able to ID this one yet.  I've never seen one with tags attached....  Once in a blue moon, he'll turn up on eBay, and usually ends anywhere from $30-$50.     .......I paid $5  :)   

Also of note: one vendor (( who specializes in reproduction 60's / eames-style furniture )), put together a pamphlet listing 31 of the absolute BEST vintage shops in Long Beach!!  :D  It's called "Reece's Antique and Retro Shopper's Map".  I'll scan it and add it to my photo album shortly....  this list doesn't seem to be on the 'net anywhere....  and i'm sure some of you guys may be interested  :)

'Until next time.....  ♥

Hiya gang! ‘This’ll be a long one…get set. 

At the absolute last second possible; I managed to get into E3! I won’t bore ya with the details, but yeah…. After pretty much accepting defeat, as my credentials were not up-to-date, it was an unexpected surprise; leaving me in super-charged nerd mode all week.  I typically dislike going to most conventions, but I *always* enjoy myself, here….

Day 1: Since I hate Nintendo so much, I decided to go there first just to get it over with.  :P

Their booth looked like a giant jellyfish  :D  ….a Jellyfish you can walk into and there’s lots of games in his belly. ^_^   I played Yoshi’s Island 2 for a good long while, which was very similar to the original SNES title. I have an uncontrollable weakness for all that is Yoshi, so my biased ass loved the ever-loving crap out of it. ‘Though I can see you unbiased asses loving this one, too  ;)  It’s a Nintendo platformer for cryin’ out loud!  Those almost never suck.  Speaking of 2D platformers…quite a few of them are in the works; including THIS ONE; Super Paper Mario!  :D  Somewhat odd: the Gamcube had ZERO presence at Nintendo's booth.

‘Rob and I also liked both volumes of Brain Games, a lot!  Brain Age and Big Brain Academy. We got a little competitive …which was just more indication that we’re gonna have to get another DS sometime down the line.  ….And oh, convenient enough: the DS Lite comes to the US next month.  Well, DANG! 

The Wii line was roughly an hour and a half long right around opening time on day one (( 10:00am on Wednesday )).  Rob and I declined…thinking it wouldn’t be as bad the following day.  Ha!  It only got worse…a LOT worse.  ‘More on that later…

Here we have Sony’s booth.  ‘Nice use of the Spiderman font, here.  Mmm-hmmm…

Let’s see….  I liked Capcom’s Okami  (( but I played that one last year, too )).  ‘Same ol' thing… 3D platformer…smash crates…get items...blah, blah, blah… BUT!  It’s oh-so-nice on the eyes.  ‘Very interesting art direction; which is nice for a change.  ‘Not a big fan of that muddy rendered "realistic-as-possible" look that constitutes sooo many 3D platformers these days.  I'll take bright colors and a stream-lined look, over exceedingly complex, desaturated models any day. 

I’m regretting not returning to the PSP area to try out Loco Roco…’cause that one looked like it’d be right up my alley. 

For me, the Sony area highlight was Guitar Hero II.  It was my first encounter with the game, and I was sold after just playing through one song!  The masses are positively SPOT ON with this one: it’s a total must-have.  I’ll be picking this one up very soon.  ^_^ 

Namco’s booth always rocks.  The dancers were there again this year…

They also get the “best gimmick” award for keeping my ass stationed there for a good long while.  If you play one of their cel phone games (( not for you fellas with the long nails :P )), you’ll be rewarded with a pacman token...which can then be used in various capsule machines they had set up all over the area!  Collecting all the little PacMan capsule toys became a fun little side-quest  :P

Thankfully, many were eager to trade with me, making my little enterprise much easier.  :)  ^^Sue!

Day 2: I stood in the West Hall’s entry line with Rick at 8:00am, thinking we’d have a good shot at avoiding a bit of the Nintendo line Wii-tardedness we’ve witnessed the day prior.  ‘Quite the opposite: as the doors opened at 9:00am, the nerds practically trampled eachother running over to the Nintendo area!!  Holy crap, the sliding glass doors were actually shaking!!  STAMPEED!!!  Oh man, I wish I documented this…. You’ll just have to trust me; it was a sight to behold. See, this particular crowd wasn’t exactly in the best physical shape… <:)  ’watching them clumsily run with over-sized backpacks while trying not to spill their coffee was quite a spectacle.  Rick and I decided to keep our dignity and power-walked instead.  Our wait for the Wii: 2 hours 15 mins.   I held our place and played 7-player Mario Kart DS with my new pals I met in the line while Rick explored.  That 2 hours+ went by pretty quickly, actually.

Wii area:

Impressions….

Wario Ware: Smooth Moves...  I’ve always loved this series.  In the demo, you have to point and move the remote around to clear the stages (( no buttons were used )).  Rick loves it:

Zelda; Twilight Princess: ‘Had to wait an additional hour to play this one  /:P  I played through the dungeon level and boss battle.  Fun!   ‘Took a few minutes to adjust to the new gameplay, but once I remembered what all the buttons did, I thought it worked surprisingly well!!  Using the remote’s pointer for the bow-and-arrow mode required a very steady hand, though.  If you’re a total spazz, this’ll be a huge pain in the ass.  ‘Having a fairly big TV screen would probably help, too.

Most everyone I talked to around here was just completely apeshit over the new Smash Brothers Brawl trailer.  ‘Not a huge fan of this series, but Pit looks really, really awesome  o.0

‘Some gaming celebrities:

(( left )) Me and head cheap-ass, CheapyD, of www.cheapassgamer.com !  Cheapy’s site has saved me hundreds of dollars over the years.  I visit CAG almost daily.

(( above )) The-Artist-Formerly-Known-as-The Blindfolded Pianist: ...The VideoGame Pianist! 

(( ‘Just taking a break to mention… it’s been extremely difficult typing up this E3 report when I’ve got THIS nearby in my peripheral vision.  I haven’t even opened it yet!!!  It wants to be played in the worst way.  Tell it to shut up!  ))

Day 3:  More Wii.  ‘Got in line AGAIN in the early am; the line was just plain ridiculous: a 4 HOUR WAIT from where I entered the line (( which was now wrapped around Nintendo’s booth, then through the fire exit area, and then into Sony’s area. )).  Soon after I took my place, the line was CLOSED. 

While standing there, wondering if I should forget it and move on, I get a call from Larry telling me he had arrived and was looking to meet up.  ‘Figured now, I could at least give him the option to bypass about an hour or so of waiting if he were to join me line where I was standing.  ‘Though, just 10 minutes later, that was no longer an issue:  a Nintendo executive was walking along the line and shouting “DOES ANYONE HERE HAVE ANY MARIO TATTOOS??”  Nobody was really paying attention….   'too busy playing their DS's.

As he got a bit closer to me, I showed him my Bowser pin that’s been a permanent part of my PF messenger bag for the last few years.

I got this “Oh c’mon! … A pin isn’t even CLOSE to an image forever inked onto you skin.” expression. Ha!  ..But then that quickly changed to a “Hmmm…oh wait…does that count for something..?”.  ((  I’d like to think it was my adorable smile and the little hip twist thing I did  :P  ))  He agreed to let me and my pals jump to the front of the line!  I called up Larry; I sounded like the fast-talking guy from the old micro machines commercials; ‘telling him we can just walk in! 

 We  Wii got the royal treatment…Here we are in the VIP couch area!!  Larry and I are taking turns playin’ some Zelda:

Well, I'm old as balls, but i'm still feeling pretty young and silly, so who cares! Hooray  :D  Thanks for all the nice well-wishin', guys; i had an awesome day  ^_^  'Guess these are my last 2 birthdays....before there's a "3" as the header.  Maybe, THEN, i'll actually throw a party....in honor of stupid, stupid 3's  ;)

Rob, Howie and I went to this new joint that opened up 2 weeks ago right outside our apartment on Los Feliz; Asia.  They claim to have invented the whole  "Neo-Thai fusion" .....thing.  This place is sooooo new that there's not even a proper sign for it out front, 'rather they project their logo onto the wall of the building next-door.  'Still no reviews on opentable or citysearch...so here's my take:

The food's waaaay pricey ( $5 for a cup of green tea; $6 for 2-piece sushi; average entree was $25-35 ), but the service is top-notch and staff is very friendly.  I ordered the scallops wrapped in bacon w/their secret "XO" sauce....mmmmm... super, super good!!!  Each peice ( 8 total ) was placed atop an individual shell ( see pic ), which made cutting the scallops in half a huge frustration ( teeter-totter effect ).  I hate putting too much food in my mouth; i look like a damn hamster  XP  ....yeah, yeah, "it's cute"... but i feel disgusting  :P  

OK!  So would we eat there again?  It's likely, but that's mainly due to the close proximity of this place to our apartment.  The food IS excellent, but it's expensive and there are cheaper alternatives just a few miles down the street with similar dishes.  The bar: Asia's quieter and better lit than the bar ( BigFoot Lodge ) across the street, if you're just looking for a night of drinks (  average-priced @ $7.00 ) where you can actually hear what your friends are saying.

Mom, you'll be glad to know i spent my birthday $$ on the most practical thing i could think of.  Look what i bought at the Rose Bowl Swap Meet on Sunday. 

 <--------

 <--------

 <--------

 <--------

..........Oh, don't i WISH  :P  Hahahaa.  The vendor was asking $750 for this meaty masterpiece, though i'm positive i could've talked him down a few hundred, at least.  (( I can imagine it being a tad inconvenient lugging that fat, fiberglass ass around every week. ))  *Sigh* And the one day i'm without my wheelbarrel;...it just wasn't meant to be  :P   

Garden Gnomes: OUT! : Falling Fat Guy Statue: IN !!!

(( Seriously, though... I haven't gone shopping yet  ;) ))

Awesome surprise: check out the new creature Rob got me for our 40-gallon aquarium!  :D 

He's an Orange Diamond Goby!!

LOOK, LOOK, LOOK HOW CUTE!! ♥♥♥

Ahhhh, i can't stop looking at him!!!  Best present everrrrr!!!  ^_^  I'd stick my head in there and give him a big kiss if i wasn't so worried about contaminating his delicately-balanced watery home with hair products and moisturizer.

I watched him dig caves all over the tank yesterday.  He's a bit shy, and likes to travel under the sand from one side of the tank to the other.  

**You can send him fan mail to my address and i'll see that he gets it:  sue@suesrock.net

More drawings, as promised: These are some raccoon sketches from my comic-in-progress...

"Cat House"  ©2003 Morita Yoneo; Published by GAKKEN

For those who are easily aMEWsed, here is the story of kitties who bravely venture into cardboard real estate: the friends they make and the risks they take. 

......I hope to someday be able to read it  ;)  -by Sue K. 2006

Anyhow, based on the photos alone, i give this book a 6 out of 10.  The creator loses points for not making some much-needed cardboard environments...like trees, gardens, streets, park benches, Godzilla, mountains, a fish-filled pond, etc.  ALL of the photos show houses and cats on eerie plain white backgrounds...like they're in the Matrix!!  Also, these photos would be 9000% more interesting if the cats were actually interacting with each other instead of just peeking out the houses or walking around outside of them.  The concept is cute, and the house designs are cool, but the presentation is lacking.   'Bought this book with the intention of constructing a similar residence for Niles.  If you're craving more of the cardboard / kitty bonanza, i've added some additional scans to my blog's photo album ( the link is under my avatar  :)  'Go nuts!

Thanks for all the nice emails lately, guys.  I've been getting the same question over and over "Will you be making a separate blog for your drawings?"  Nope, I have no plans to.  It's hard enough keeping up with ONE blog, as you can see.  ;)  Besides, isn't "Look what i drew! Look what i drew! Look what i drew!" what the drawingboard's for?   Gummyfish Wrapper gives you the opportunity to delve into my deepest and most complex thinking (( ^^ see above )).

...but i guess it's been a while, so here's the bluebird of crappiness and her pal, that slug thing:

Now that i have more time to draw for myself, i'll be posting art more frequently! 

On to more important things...

Pot and Banana!!  These guys are CRAAAAAZY!!!!  Banana's always losing his car keys down Pot's head!  What a frikken IDIOT!!  Pot just has that affect on people......  or bananas; whatever.

'Until next time....  

♥♥Sue

PS: Check my photo album frequently; i'll be adding random pictures to it regularly!  ....whaa ha ha!

***ADORABLE EXPLOSION!!!***

Hi again! As promised, here are some crazy new additions to my steadily-growing empire...

'You love them:  "Alcoholic Rodent" and "Cuckoo-Puss".  Are you jealous yet?

"Slutty McMutt"                     ......and.........                          "Steven ( the Chimney Goblin )"

...as you can see, i surround myself with nothing but the most beautiful monstrosities.

I have huuuuge plans to showcase my entire collection of awesome vintage toys on my website, ...whenever i get around to the relaunch.  ..I know you don't believe me; but that'll happen one day  :) 

Anyhow, that's the one thing the internet is lacking: a big-'ol Dream Pets gallery.  'Just look up the little shits on flickr, blogger, google images, etc... the results are disappointing.  The wikipedia entry is pathetic, too.

So here's a taste of what you can to look forward to...

....all three of you who care ....and all 2 of you that still humor me  :)  I love you guys!!  ^_^

XXOXOXOX

-Sue

^^ Oh you love it  :P 

'Still trying to catch-up, though it seems i'll have more time for this kinda stuff over the next few weeks. All of a sudden, my hectic schedule is now nonexistent...which is good and bad  /:)

Yippie!! Winter Holiday report:

Rob, Howie, Maiya and I kicked off Thanksgiving weekend with a commemoration dinner at the Encounter restaurant; ( that's the big UFO-lookin' thing right across the street from LAX airport ....yep, that one. ).  The restaurant designed by Disney Imagineers was everything i had hoped for: swirly shapes, purple chrome elevator, a creepy glowing ceiling, ray guns that dispense fountain sodas, and lava lamps out the wahzoo. 

What i wasn't expecting: the food is actually decent; ...i'd even say it's pretty good!  BUT, you're paying for the sci*fi-chedelic atmosphere.  It's no shocker: purple couches and an aerial view don't come cheap.  If ya have an hour or so to kill before your flight takes off ( when does that ever happen? :P ), i'd say check this place out.  We had a great time  :)

After our alien feast, we went our separate ways. Rob and I got back on the 5 and headed south to meet my family in San Diego for a weekend of 'home'-cooked turkey, aggressive early morning sale-shopping, and the Zoo  :D

Fry's had some good deals on Black Friday.  At 5:00am, the entrance line wrapped around the entire store.  All in all, the enormous crowd of coffee-guzzling sale-zombies was pretty tame, though my sister nearly got trampled by some lard-ass trying to get to a $5 CD binder.  Moron.

We've discovered many of the most sought-after items were left up at the checkout area; people changing their minds at the last second ( there's a tip for ya for next year ;).  One of the biggest draws: Lots of items were sold with mail-in rebates; making them FREE once ya get the check in the mail.  Since i'm posting this so late, i can tell you: of the 5 rebates we've qualified for and sent out...we've only received 3 checks so far (  now @12 weeks later :P ). 

'Shiesty companies are: Hitachi and Meritline.  *throws poo at them*  You guys are lame.

Speaking of poo, here are some new friends from the San Diego Zoo:

Here, Panda discovers that twigs do not taste as good as the magic orange crackers that come out of the white tube.  :D  ( i wanted to ride on his back )

I had discovered a new feline: the Siberian Pallas Cat; which was on display in an out-of-the-way area behind the polar bears.  Holy crap...it's like a cat / raccoon hybrid!!  Two of my very favorite animals combined to form the superior creature.  And it's a fairly rare zoo animal...only 2 zoos in the states have them ( San Diego and Cincinnati ), so seeing this ferocious beast live and up-close was pretty exciting  ^_^  Hooray for new kitties!   'Just sorry I don't have any of my own pictures to post  :(  My camera isn't able to focus through the thin fencing around the cat's home.  (( ^^above kitty-cluster is taken from a random image search ))

BONUS! Awesome foliage sighting: the SNOWFLAKE TREE!!  :D  (( trevesia palmata )) 

C H R I S T M A S ruled  ^_^  It always rules.  Rob and I flew home to the land of 98475485 diners, refineries, mobsters, and 3-lane highways: New Jersey.... to be with our families and our hometown friends. So many adventures.... :

My DS library had nearly doubled over the month of December.  (( I'll save those details for a future entry )). Seeing how I was on such a huge Nintendo high, I was dyyyying to see the Nintendo World Store in New York City.  I had dragged a big bag of money onto the plane eager to blow it all on Nintendo treasure (( exactly what our apartment needs  ;)) ....

This location was once the Pokémon Center...as you can see they didn't change much; just the signs over the door and windows!  Here's a look inside the store:

There were no less than 5 million people in there; every Gamecube and DS station had a line.  Tons and tons of kids ( and big kids ) putting their Christmas money from Grandma to good use! 

**Best attraction: the Nintendo museum!!  'Lots of rarely-seen  memorabilia and historic items on display.

I was incredibly disappointed with their merchandise...  nothing too amazing.  Too few "exclusive items": shirts ( bland designs ), pins, shot glasses, pens.... nothing to go apeshit over.  Of course, they sold the games, but the prices were horrible.  No holiday promo's were in effect. Biggest let-down: I was hoping they'd have those great gashapon toys and ufo plush you see on www.lik-sang.com ;... no dice.  Damn...

((Left)) Decent items found at NintendoWorld:

-NES controller beanie ( doesn't even fit my tiny skull! ) $12.99

-Lanyard ( ehh ) $5.99

-Super Mario Brothers 2 pen ( awesome ) $2.99

-Yoshi plush from Mario Party ( cute ) $12.99

-Mario Kart holiday wrapping paper ( for the hell of it ) $2.99

((Right)) AWESOME toys from www.lik-sang.com NOT at the Nintendo store!! 

Well, if you're a huge Nintendo fan, this is a cool place to check out.  'Just realize this store exists mainly for pimpage purposes and not for unique and amazing products.

On to Philadelphia, where we met up with friends, Keith and Chris  :D 

-Keith is world-famous for his themed parties and video game gatherings  ^_^

-Chris is envied by monster-lovers everywhere.  Check out his Godzilla shrine ( roughly 15% shown here ):

'Highest priority on our itinerary was Cereality; the cereal bar!!!  Holy crap!! This place was soooo cool!!  o.0...

This cute little blue-canopied café is an oasis of flakes, O's, puffs, and milk...'Complete with refrigerator magnets and a cozy breakfast table.  I can hardly wait for this to explode all over the states!!  Geez, who DOESN'T love cereal??

Cereality kicks so much ass in the 'charm' department. 

I ordered one of their house specialties, called "Life Experience"...that's 'Cinnamon Life' and 'Golden Grahams' cereal with fresh bananas, and almonds; topped with honey and brown sugar.  It's served in a leak-proof white box ( much like a Chinese food carton ).  With cereal in hand, you can then mosey on over to the milk bar,..which resembles a cow-patterned refrigerator, and help yourself.    Of course, you can go nuts and make up your own extreeeeme cereal concoction using whatever cereal and toppings they have on hand.  They won't stop you... no matter how retarded you wanna be with the malted milk balls and espresso.  :)

More to come:  Christmas continued, Pinball Parlour, New Years, Animal Crossing, Electroplakton, new Dream Pets, etc.  :D

See ya!

I'm back!!!  And as i'm sorting through millions of photos and getting my next few entries ready.... let me send you back in time:

By popular demand, i just posted my Hal's bachelor party report ( October 1, 2005 )...

**CLICK HERE TO BEGIN**

Expect lots of updates over the next few days....  holidays, new toys, San Diego Zoo, Animal Crossing, etc etc....

...and MORE!  Oh boy....

Paul Frank and Hasbro are in cahoots; planning something special for an upcoming charity auction ( i think that's all i can say before they start sending their minions after me ).  I suppose i can show you these...

..but now i'll have to confiscate your eyeballs immediately!  :P  These fun sketches were sent to Hasbro as part of a care package from the Paul Frank art dept.  :)

Halloween ruled!  I was a "Hamburger on a Stick" girl....'cause hotdogs are so friggin' GROSS!!  blah!  We ( Rob, Howie, Maiya, and me ) went to Cosmo's Zombie party where he unveiled his completed Zombie film starring US!!  It was projected onto the wall, while live zombies played live music to the film's action.  Ahh, it turned out to be quite awesome. 

'Too bad i didn't take many pictures....  See, i had a prop in one hand ( my burger staff! ) and booze in the other.  That's about all my uncoordinated ass can handle; d'oh! 

That night, as I transformed into my radioactive zombie form, I had obtained a pretty impressive collection of heads....  You can tell i'm growing quite bored of this... though, that was my favorite head of the night:

Ah, then there was 'the staring contest': Maiya VS Rob.  To her advantage, she had attached some creepy-ass light grey contact lenses to her eyeballs.  If you ever wanna win big in a staring contest, just make your eyes as spooky as possible and wear a huge, white afro.  'Guaranteed victory, my friend.

Dinosaurs have total disregard for the craftsmanship of modern technology....

...The cooler it looks, the more fun it is to destroy, after all.  And if these toys actually belonged to me, i would've had a bit more fun ( and a much better blog entry ;). 

We decided to check out the Allied Model Trains store in Culver City on Saturday.  'Cool place!! ...( Don't let their horribly bland website fool you. )  'Lots to see: there were several LARGE displays: entire towns; 'so much detail! 

'Look how amazing:  these are all very small models; the people are about an inch high..

'Like many hobbies, i can see how this one can be especially life-consuming.  'Expensive, too.  A 4-pack of those 1-inch high figures runs $10.00.  ...and it just gets worse from there  :)

After just visiting Esco's blog, i had fallen into this timewarp-of-a-website. 

 BONUS: Zombie-form!.. 

Hah!!!  :D

Tagged by Esco!  Look around you, choose five things nearby, list them and comment on them: what is it, how it ended up nearby, and why you need it.
Choose five people who have enough crazy junk in their homes to do the same thing in their journals, and write their names below. (pics optional, yet encouraged)

Katie, Corbett, Neneuche, AtomicTerrier, and Rex ( 'not sure if you have a digital camera, but i know you have some crazy stuff laying around ).  Everyone else is welcome to play, too!

First...

My favorite orange carnivore is always close by.  Niles weighs more than most bowling balls...and has an alarmingly loud alleycat 'MEOW'.  In this photo, he's asking me to take out the Nintendogs cartridge and replace it with Trauma Center: Under the Knife..  because he loves to watch people bleed.  His best friend is Howie.

Also of note: Nintendo continues to attract more pussy than Sony and MS.

Next...

My Paul Frank Aku slippers!   'Alligators are *very soft  ^_^  These are usually kept near our computer desk.  Aku's a pretty handy fellow to have around when it comes to the warming of the feet. 

'Though i am immensely amused by it, Rob does not appreciate my surprise!-icicle-feet-attack.  ...Aku keeps my evil powers subdued.  :P

Moving on...

A recent swapmeet find; 1950's cookbook:  "Cooking Bold and Fearless"!  Wow!!  :D  Just look at how fearless that pig is!  He's certainly a smart one, i tell you what.  He can smile and laugh all he wants because he KNOWS he can't fit in Cowboy Retard's tiny ass pot.  Here, let me show you some other examples of bold and fearless from within the cookbook:

Even with a pistol boldly aimed at his head, watch how Eddie can fearlessly pour gravy onto a spoon! 

'Still not impressed?

"Can fish feel pain?"  If i may be so bold to answer: 'No, of course not!!  ...Or else they wouldn't be fearlessly boiled alive!  Ya know..., this isn't just mere fearlessness, here,.... THIS is a pot of uncontrollable glee!   :D

Ok, last one; in case you're still not convinced:

Look how fearless Joe and his trusty mule, Barney, are. They boldly trot along, and don't even care about their pal, Mr. Turkey-plucker's, warnings about Mechagodzilla lurking in the bushes just ahead. 

Ah, to be fearless....  I will one day be cooking very fearlessly whenever i get around to selecting a recipe from this wonderfully bold book.

'Time to continue!

StarFox SUPER WEEKEND snes cart!!  All the true nerds know what this is  :P  Allow me to make a comprehensible analogy for the non-dorks reading this: It is of equal value to your average pair of Prada shoes.... and is as fun to show off as any toy-dog breed wearing a knitted sweater!  ....which explains why i keep it close by and why i need it:  i just want to be cool in the dorkiest way possible!  Hooray! 

Ok, last one...

*hugs eBay* .... 'Feared by plankton everywhere; my newest Dream Pet,.... "Jolly Roger" strikes a most intimidating pose. (( Actually, i'm looking to rename him, so if anyone has any ideas....  :)  ))  Why is he so important?  ....

.......he just is, ok! 

Hahaha, it's waaaay past my bedtime  <:)  I may add a bit more to this tomorrow..

EDIT* 9/30:  Retarded Nessy!!!  Hooray!!  :D

'Managed to get a few captures of Minotaur's launch  last thursday evening:

'Just sorry they're a tiny bit blurry  <:) ...Hehehee.. these were taken by my very excited coworker, Ariel, out the passenger window of my car.  There was a beautiful trail of spiraling color which was caused by fuel particles and vapor from the rocket's contrail reflecting the sunset...so we saw bright red/orange/blue...VERY pretty; though unfortunately not shown in the above photos.  Lots of drivers on Los Feliz Blvd were swerving into the wrong lanes while viewing the rocket ... "Ahhh!!! It's the end of the world!!  Run for it!!!"   I'd probably be flipping out along with them.... that is, if i hadn't witnessed this before. 

Here's a photo ( taken by Shane; Maizekid ) from a 2002 rocket launch...  one showing similar fancy effects:

'Neat?

About the Chatsworth fires:  Shane, Ratna, Corbett>  i saw the thick smoke across the LA skyline while driving home from work today ( as i was passing the city of Commerce ).  That's what?  Like 50-60 miles from you guys!  o.0 'Hope you all got home ok...i'm hearing it's a mess over there.  Check your email.

For those non-drawingboard.org members reading this silly blog of mine, we will be having a Katrina charity art auction next month featuring an assortment of works from fellow board members. ((  Details here. ))  I've got something in the works, and 'figured i'd share the rough concept/color key:

It's Maulie.... being all ferocious "rrraaarrr!!"  Feedback is welcome...'just know: that is not the loch ness monster pin-cushion-variety growing out of her back...  Or maybe it is.  Either way, it'll most likely be surgically removed in time for the auction.  /:)

I looooooooove visiting the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach ^_^  Rob and I took a trip there last weekend for fun & inspiration. Photographing animals is one of my most favorite things to do....

My bestest pal: the stingray!!

The stingrays are my *favorite*  animals at the aquarium ^_^  They glide by like flying saucers and make their food disappear by hovering over it.  When they're cranky, they bury themselves in the sand and pout. Oh, the best: when you're not looking, they love to sneak up on you and SPLASH you right in the face!  Hahahaha  Not only are these guys completely adorable, but you're allowed to pet them as they swim by!  You'd figure a million hands reaching into their home would piss them off.  Nope. They're attention whores. :)  In case you're wondering, they feel like soft, smooth rubber bathtoys.  ...i wanted to pet the enormous snow crab, too, but i wasn't allowed  :P 

Sneaky Mr. Flounder!

He's actually in that 1st shot... only he's pretending to be gravel with his amazing gravel-camo abilities!  And his talents don't end there!....'Ever see this?: flounder turning checkerboard   Plus, i think it's pretty cool how they swim; rippling up and down instead of side to side like most other fish do.

This crab is awesome!

I haven't ID'ed this hermit crab yet ( there was no sign by his tank )... though he had MANY cute female admirers giggling and stroking the side of his tank. I'll eventually post his picture on nano reef ...the fish nerds will know for sure!  :D

They must not be feeding these fish often enough...  For the amount of time it took me to turn my head and face the camera, the blue tang started gnawing a hole in my head!  Jerk.  So i borrowed a wet suit, dove in, and kicked his stupid fish ass.

I think we counted at least 98457345 moms who shouted to their kids, "WOW, LOOK!! IT'S DORY!!! / NEMO!!!"  Of course it's fun for the kiddies to relate the movie characters to the real animals, but shouldn't the parents then tell their kids what the fish is really called?  ...'couldn't hurt.     

'Wish more of my photos came out ( there were baby boxfish, staghorn hermits, weedy sea dragons, etc ); i gotta bring my film camera next time ( which is still out for repairs ).

So, I *rarely* buy DVD's....  Sure, i love to archive old cartoons and animated features, but aside from that there's really not a whole lot of movies/ shows i'd watch more than once.  'Wanted to go ahead and recommend both the Blue Planet box set and Life of Mammals box set ( if you're interested in animals and amazing photography ).  The footage on these DVD's is just 'wow'...  and i can't get enough of them. 

We have about 984537456 loose VHS tapes with ugly-ass handwriting on them ( doesn't everybody? ).  Well, 'thing is, they look extra shitty all crammed onto our shelves, and we've been meaning to remedy this for quite some time, now. 

Me, i'd be perfectly cool with chucking them out the window into a pile and setting them ablaze, just because i don't have the patience to go through them one by one to find the 4-5 shows i'm interested in holding onto.

Rob, on the other hand, had belovingly archived years and years of martial arts tourniments, extreeeeme yo-yo tricks, home videos of him being dragged by a jeep, punching Zach in the face, etc.

Oh, what to do; what to do....  We needed a way to camouflage our stack of ugly, black plastic bricks.  Then we think, OMG CONTAINERS!!!  So, we go to the container store:

This place was an oasis of plastic storage.  They had containers for every size imaginable.  If you couldn't find the right container,.... then you're just retarded.

We picked out a few of the long ones that fit under the bed.... ( Niles approves ):

...So now i was able to make room on the shelves for the truley important stuff...

Hahahaha, on a side note, i should mention how lucky i am...  most guys would've kicked my ass by now  ;)