YouTube Tuesday: Abandoned Miniatures

This channel has only been around a few months and only has 6 videos so far. However, those videos are amazingly creepy and very good!! Check out the video below to see what I mean:

I don’t know the name of the man who does these videos as he doesn’t say. He does say he’s an urban explorer and photographer who has turned to creating dioramas based on pictures he’s taken.

I think he’s amazing, and I’ve already subscribed to his channel in the hopes he’ll keep going with his builds. He has some great techniques for making his creepy creations as well.

I highly recommend checking out at least one of his videos – the realism is incredible!!

See you on the flipside and don’t forget your towel and sonic screwdriver!!

Forest Based Bioeconomy

Bioeconomy is economy based on nature. It doesn’t just include making money, it also includes sustainability, technological development and community development. There are three areas of bioeconomy:

Blue Bioeconomy – based on all bodies of water such as oceans, seas, rivers and lakes

Forest based Bioeconomy – wood based including naturally occurring forests and tree plantations

Agriculture based Bioeconomy – mainly based on farming but can include animal husbandry.

I’ve already discussed Blue Economy a little bit. You can read the post here: Blue Bioeconomy

As stated above, Forest based Bioeconomy is based on forests, wood products and by products such as waste. Finland is the best example of a Forest based Bioeconomy that is well developed and successful. Other countries in Europe including Russia and France are working on their own Forest based Bioeconomy policies as a way to holistically improve not only their economies but their peoples’ ways of living.

The United States is considering bioeconomies but since the country has such a varied geography, using just one would be quite limiting and, in the end, not very successful. Individual states seem to be working on their own policies based on their own local resources.

Case in point is Michigan who has held two conferences on the subject as well as teaming up with experts in Finland as a way to leverage their own Forest based Bioeconomy policies. Technology is being developed, and practices are being put into place that will not only bring more jobs to the state, it will stimulate the local economy. Two must read articles are below:

The Second Michigan Forest Bioeconomy Conference

Finland, Maine and Michigan partner toward sustainable growth in forest bioeconomy

The following is a PDF that explains Forest based Bioeconomy better that I can:

Forest Bioeconomy

It’s important to keep apprised of these developments not only from the standpoint of sustainability but also investment and job opportunities. Technology is being developed to assist with achieving a circular economy from forest based products on a global scale, not just regionally and locally. As policies and practices are developed and perfected, more jobs will be created and the environment will still be protected.

Yes, there will be trade-offs, nothing is perfect. However, the trade-offs will become nominal as more circular economies based on bioeconomy are adopted and become successful.

As always, don’t take my word for it, read and research yourselves so that you can be informed on what’s going on in the world around us. I didn’t know about any of this until I audited a class online, and I am amazed at how long this has been going on, especially in the rest of the world.

See you on the flipside and don’t forget your towel and sonic screwdriver!!

Free Pattern Friday! : Potholder and Dishcloth

This is a crochet pattern I’ve used in the past to make housewarming gifts. It’s a fun little pattern!

Simple Border Potholder and Dishcloth

This pattern uses cotton yard because it’s the best for pot holders and dishcloths. If you use a special heat resistant fabric in combination, you could use other types of yarn as well. I’d just be mindful of how flammable the yarn is or how easily it might melt.

Enjoy!!

See you on the flipside and don’t forget your towel and sonic screwdriver!!

Movie Review: Daybreakers

I found this movie on Peacock, and I decided to watch it because I had never heard of it before.

This film was originally released during the Toronto International Film Festival in 2009 and later, produced and distributed by Lionsgate in Australia and the United States in 2010. It was written and directed by The Spierig Brothers, Michael and Peter.

It stars Ethan Hawke, Willem Dafoe, Claudia Karvan and Sam Neill.

According to Rotten Tomatoes “Though it arrives during an unfortunate glut of vampire movies, Daybreakers offers enough dark sci-fi thrills — and enough of a unique twist on the genre — to satisfy filmgoers. “

Set in 2019, most of the world’s population are vampires, and they’re running out of humans to harvest for blood. Ethan Hawke plays a vampire hematologist looking for an alternative. He meets some humans and a former vampire who are trying to recreate the process that changes the vampire (played by Dafoe) back into a human when there wasn’t supposed to be a “cure” for the condition. Sam Neill is a very powerful man and Hawke’s boss, and he is intent on keeping his wealth and power as a vampire at any cost – even the life of his daughter who didn’t want to become a vampire. As the supply of blood dwindles starving vampires are turning into something that looks like Nosferatu with bat ears, bald heads and wings.

I watched all the way up until Ethan is being recruited by Dafoe and his humans. They even show him their base even though he hasn’t committed to their cause. The movie was a bit slow for me and seemed to struggle. Dafoe wasn’t his usual powerful self either, most likely because he had a supporting role and couldn’t do more than the leads. I was quite disappointed in Hawke’s performance.

The movie has a good plot, but I just couldn’t get into the story in general.

As always, don’t take my work for it. Check out the movie for yourself and if you like it, great, if you don’t, it’s still all good. I am not an expert on movies though I have seen a great many vampire films, good and bad. It’s all a matter of personal taste.

See you on the flipside and don’t forget your towel and sonic screwdriver!!

Writing Prompt: Monster?

Write a short piece starring a monster not being a monster. It doesn’t matter what kind of monster or what kind of world or anything else. It’s your choice. The only constraint is to keep it short Under 300 words short. Feel free to share your work here.

Redgurrrr stomped into his lair with his mace on one shoulder. The mace was stained with blood as was a great deal of his black scales.

“Oh pus bucket, you’re home!” a voice snarled at him as he set the on a ring set into a wall.

Redgurrrr growled as he turned in time to be cuffed on the side of the head with a huge clawed hand. He bared his teeth at his mate even as he smacked her right back.

“What’s for dinner bile spewer?” he asked before grabbing her in a bear hug and squeezing hard.

She bit his shoulder, and he let her go again.

“Two kobolds are on the spit<” she said.

He grunted.

“Good, I’m starved. I had to chase some humans around those old ruins up by out favorite swamp,” he snarled.

A small scaled creature came scrabbling into the room on all fours, screeching. Redgurrrr kicked it when it got close to one of his back legs before snatching it up.

“Pup is horrid?” he asked it.

It bared a full mouth of teeth at him and snapped at him.

“Yes sire!” it snarled.

Redgurrrr threw it onto the ground with a grunt.

“Good. We eat soon,” he told it.

His child clung to his leg as he led the way to their dining cave where the two kodolds were roasting on a spit, waiting for him to finish them off.

A bit rough but it stands. I hope you have fun with this one.

See you on the flipside and don’t forget your towel and sonic screwdriver!

YouTube Tuesday: Wizardry Workshop

This fantastic channel is run by Danny who is a big fan of Harry Potter. 98% of what he creates is related to Harry Potter, and he looks like he knows what he’s doing! He also does unboxing videos of items that are also Harry Potter related so if you’re into HP, this channel is for you! Check out this video below to see what I mean:

If you like Wizardry Workshop, be sure to subscribe and let him know by dropping a comment on the videos you like!

See you on the flipside and don’t forget your towel and sonic screwdriver!!

It’s Spring!! March 2021 Update

Yes it is!! Winter has finally gone, and Spring is sweeping in with bright colors and warmer days. At least she is here in East Texas!

I know I didn’t post anything after my writing prompt post on Wednesday. My lights just turned off suddenly plunging me into emotional darkness for a few days. My insecurity over something could have done it, but more likely it was just something that happened with no reason. It happens from time to time. Sometimes, the lights are out only for an hour or two and sometimes, they’re off for a long time. I have learned to do things to try to turn the lights back on., and I’m able to shorten the blackout times. Mental health is not something I take lightly, and my only issues cause me to be a big supporter of my fellows and their ways of coping.

Still, the lights are back on, and I’m feeling a great sense of rebirth and renewal in everything!! I am starting this week on a positive note and writing a belated update of my escapades.

Here is my darling watching me work and waiting for me to get up so she can steal my chair. 🙂 We’ve been taking longer walks now that the weather is getting warmer. She makes me go for walks even in my dark times, and I give thanks for her every day because of it. It helps.

Writing

I am nearly done with The Inbetween. My niece is waiting on a pen she wants to use on the cover art she’s making for the novel, and I’m okay with that. I don’t want to rush her, and we both be unhappy with what she does. We both want her to do a good job.

Golden Knave is still with the beta readers, so I’m not doing anything else with it yet.

I’ve also gotten a copy of Gabriela

Fiber Art

I’m making a new doily, using a pattern I downloaded recently. I’ll post a picture of it when it’s done. I’m also waiting on yarn so I can make a boho vest for Chantal. I’m now a member of the Raven Family of Patreon supporters, and I’m able to speak to her directly. She’s a very nice person, and I am inspired by her.

Other Projects

I have a book nook I’m making using techniques I learned from Chantal at Darkest Raven Designs, Neil at Real Terrain Hobbies and Jeremy from Black Magic Craft. I am waiting on a piece that should help me with creating an infinity mirror effect. I hope it will anyway. This is the first time I’ve done something like this so I hope everyone will be gentle when they critique it. I took pictures of most of the build, and I plan a two part post talking about it.

I’m also still studying languages on Duolingo.com. I am still studying French, but I’ve also added Spanish and Italian: the three Romance languages. I am finding myself mixing up words because so many of them are close in spelling and meaning, but that’s part of the learning process. I am also using Rosetta Stone to learn Greek. The learning difficulty is about the same on both platforms, but I find I am preferring Rosetta for learning Greek. I’ll try out French on there next month. Learning languages is fun for me, and I find I am rather good at it – at least so far.

That’s my life in a nutshell so far.

See you on the flipside and don’t forget your towel and sonic screwdriver!

Writing Prompt #1 Switching Genders

I’ve decided to step away from the Writer Igniter and the book I was getting my prompts from because I want to try something a bit different. Something I hope will get your juices flowing if nothing else. This week’s prompt is thus:

Think of your favorite fictional character – doesn’t matter if they’re from a book, a movie or a television series. They just can’t be real.

Think about how they look, how they move, and how they behave.

Now, change their gender. If they’re male, they become female. If they’re female, they become male.

Without saying their name, use them in a scene. Describe them in such a way we would be able to tell who they are without knowing their name. If they have a companion, don’t say their companion’s name either.

Once you’re done with the scene, you can say who the character is, if you want. I’ll be letting you all post your guesses in the comments after my attempt at this. Let me know if you like this prompt or not too. Be sure to keep the scene fairly short. Too much detail, like too many cooks spoiling the soup, will spoil the surprise.

She flicked a piece of lint off the sleeve of her tweed coat with a blunt tipped finger, the nail trimmed so it barely rose about the nailbed. Her eyes fell on her legs, and she eyed them critically. Despite the generous cut of the trouser legs, she could still see the contours of her calves.

I need to walk more, she told herself. The muscle tone is off. Can’t have that.

She lit a thin cigarette and looked about her. Her companion frowned at her, but they remained silent.

“You enjoy the occasional cigar,” she said, flicking ash onto the sidewalk.

“I am not a woman,” they reminded her.

“Indeed not,” she replied, her attention on the traffic. “We have a visitor. Let us return to our rooms.”

She turned on her heel and headed inside, a hand briefly touching the hat perched neatly on her thick bun.

“I hate this hat,” she muttered.

Her companion chuckled.

“It becomes you,” they said. “Besides, people expect to see you wear it.”

Her full lips thinned, but she stayed silent.

So, do you know who the character is?

See you on the flipside and don’t forget your towel and sonic screwdriver!!

Linen and Threads MSAL Update: March

For those of you who don’t know what a MSAL is, it means Mystery Sampler Stitch – A – Long. The one I’m involved with currently is hosted by Linen and Threads. It’s free to join up so please, do so. I found out about this one from Anna at My (mis?)adventures with yarn.

This works on a monthly basis with parts of a large sampler being published once a month. There are three currently available on the site, and I’ve done almost all three. I forgot to take a picture of what I’d done in January, but I did remember to take one of the block released in February. I’m nearly done with this month’s part, and I’ll post a picture of it next month when I do my update.

The designer is allowing us to choose our own colors and since it’s based on Talavera pottery, I chose these for the first block. There are at least six blocks in all by the way the outline was done – you’ll see what I mean next month. Each sampler will be one of a kind, and I’m planning on either auctioning off or raffling off mine for charity.

Please post if you decide to stitch along with myself and Anna, I think she’d enjoy having more people to stitch with!

I’ll see you on the flipside and don’t forget your towel and sonic screwdriver!!