From my brother

His idea for a superhero. And I quote -

"CAPTAAAIIINNN BREAKFAAAST!!!

"What’s that kids? You don’t have time for breakfast? No problem!

"And he whips up something old people ate when they were kids, like goatmeal or lardcakes.

Brilliant right?"


I can see the comics now - Captain Breakfast Vs the Toaster Waffles of DOOOOOOM!

A list of Things

Inspired by Laurie (from Crazy Aunt Purl; read, laugh, obsess, buy a book.), I shall make a bad-mood busting list of Things that I Enjoy.

My son
Obviously. He cheers me up like nobody's business. Even when he's the one whose actions have gotten me cheesed off in the first place, a little hug or cuddle from the kid gets me right back on track.

Secret Platinum deodorant
Because nobody likes a sweaty fat chick. Now, I am simply a chick. Without an unpleasant odor. Bonus!

Rediscovering gaming
I haven't played a tabletop roleplaying game in YEARS. Still liked them, just didn't play any. Now, I'm in one game and pl anning on starting another. Hooray! It's like improv, without the appreciative audience! And with dice. And geeks. But geeks rock. So there you go.

Lion brand Magic Stripes yarn (and any other self-striping sock yarn, actually)
Let me tell you about this stuff! I love knitting things with a lot of different and fun colors. I detest weaving in ends. I have mittens and a hat sitting and waiting for their ends to be taken care of, and they look sad, but I systematically avoid working on them. Intarsia, fair isle, they're great for adding stuff. Don't get me wrong. Once you know how to do them, you can use them judiciously to make things beautiful. But I digress. Hate changing colors in a piece, especially small items. And lo and behold.... self striping sock yarn! In many many colors! And the Lion Magic Stripe was cheap at the craft store, so I got what, five different colorways? I can make socks that look like they took a million billion years, and yet it's TV knitting in the round. Wheeeeeeeeeeeeee! That's some awesome stuff.

The cats and the laser pointer
Enough Said.

I will add more lists of great stuff as they occur to me.

Also: sorry about the hiatus int he hero stuff. I'll be on that sooner or later, I'm sure. Until then, just remember - mutant super powers do not a well-rounded hero make. Talking like Yoda, on the other hand, interesting makes your sentence structure, hmmmm? Yes, innate telekinesis. I threatened to use it at work last weekend. Still one of my favorite powers.

Mesopotamians!

The camping was brief, but a nice exit from reality for a while. Kiddo had so much fun picking blueberries and going to the zoo, and we rode on the little golf cart just for fun, and there were margaritas by the campfire at night... ah! I punked out a bit yesterday, what with being miserable and not having slept much, so after Seeking Out Discount Stores™, I took a nap, and rejoined the world next to the fire pit for supper and s'mores. Oh boy! I got to share a bed with Kiddo in the trailer - a full-size lower bunk, not bad, with a down blanket. (He says, "It's a giant pillow!) Today was the zoo, Local Diner Inspection, and Futzing About before we underwent the long drive home.

Ever notice how random capitalization of phrases makes things seem more exciting?

No superhero theory tonight; just a note that Kiddo thinks my assortment of powers is lame. But then, he thinks Aqua-man is cool, so I'm not taking it personally.

It's Z's first full day at government training, he reports that it has rained, and he was offered a free bicycle. Also, lots of paperwork. *sigh* It's still good to hear from him. I bought him a present. I can't tell what it is (he may end up reading this!) but it's pretty awesome.

I'm making amigurumi veggies to kill time. No patterns; just making it up as I go along. I'll post photos eventually, if I remember.

And what does the title of this post have to do with anything? I have "The Mesopotamians" by TMBG stuck in my head. It's not 700 hobo names (thank goodness), but it's super-catchy and I can't wait to buy the t-shirt.

Swiped from a knitblogger.... and more on heroes

First off, every one say hi to qutecowgirl, from whose blog this meme was nabbed.

.... I only say "fart" once? That's not like me one bit. I'm generally a not safe for work little potty-mouth. I mean, I can cuss up a blue streak, especially when I've had a few. Maybe I'm more polite when I type it out? That's my theory; I'm nicer on paper. Yay.

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Back on the superhero front!

Once the powers are chosen/granted/discovered via a surprisingly non-lethal getting run over by twelve tractor-trailers and an angry moose, and one decides to live the life of fighting Eeeeeeevil™, how exactly is the heroic alter ego's name chosen?

There are options; you can base it on the powers themselves, either specifically (like Green Lantern and his.... green lantern. Ok, so it's a ring lately, but you get the idea.) or by allusion. The Flash comes to mind as an example of the latter. Sure, his blinding speed does make him go by in a "Flash" (har har), but his hero name could just as easily be given to a hero with the power to blind the enemy with bright flashes of light (although he'd more likely call himself Captain Paparazzo or something) or one with a distressing tendency to expose himself to unsuspecting citizens.

Sometimes inspiration comes from elsewhere. Batman chose the symbol of the bat because of the fear it strikes into the heart of evil-doers, not because he sleeps upside-down in a cave and finds criminals by means of echolocation. No matter how cool that would be.

Others are a bit more generic. Yes, Superman and Wonder Woman and even Ultraman; their names work, but they're also extremely generic. It's like calling yourself Admiral Awesome. It gets the point across, but no one really knows what you actually *do*.

Now, on to the imaginary hero I'm cooking up here. With my chosen powers of teleportation, animal communication and shapeshifting, powers obtained via aliens and/or magic.... right. I can't think of anything. Alas! The city goes unprotected while I wander around trying to figure out what moniker to slap on my contact cards. It's important to make it sound impressive. No city wants to be saved by Tele-shift DooLittle, after all.

Heroes - not the TV show

It's difficult to decide what kind of superpowers one would choose for oneself, if given the option. I know, most superhero origin stories don't allow for picking and choosing of super-human abilities, but what would an optimal assortment of powers be for a unique hero, without just lifting the entire skillset from an existing hero?

Me, I'd opt for communication with animals, shapeshifting (mass-limited), and teleportation. Not a very human-based set of abilities, and not something that I can see as being granted via earthly science, this would plead a magic- or alien-based origin story. I dig the idea of off-worldly origins, even if Supes has this category made more or less cliche.

I'll come back to this later.