Babies, Brock, and Birthdays ... Oh My!

It was my first baby shower so I had only the advice of others on what to expect while my friend is expecting! Awful pun and kitschy party games aside, I had an amazing time and I now demand that all of my friends get pregnant so that I may attend more showers. This particular party was for my best friend Shannon, her boyfriend Jason, and their soon-to-be-born baby Vada. (Congratulations again, you guys!) Having never attended one of these deals before I had no idea what was considered a "suitable" gift, but I do have my own little midget, giving me first-hand knowledge on what a new mommy truly needs - diapers, and lots of them. After a ton of internet research, a mass of videos, and more design changes than I'd care to admit, I ended up with my finished product. Honestly, it took about three hours to assemble completely (and I had help rolling up all of the diapers), and it was as easy as ... pie! (Betcha thought I was gonna say "cake", huh?) In case anyone out there wants to order one themselves, or is simply curious, I'll list what this cake includes:

"Shannon Sweetheart" 3-Tier Diaper Cake

• 84cnt. Size 2 Huggies Little Snugglers Premium Diapers
• 2 bibs (one with Dinosaurs, one with Cupcake)
  
• 4 "Rabbit" washcloths
  
• 3 pairs of "Rosette" socks
• 2 pink spoons
• 6 bath-time water squirters
• 6 glitter hair-ties
• 1 bottle baby powder
• 1 bottle baby wash
• 1 colorful rattle
• 1 cuddly "Piggy" blanket
  
• 1 soft, pink plush

And the cake comes decorated with a gorgeous pink and yellow wire ribbon featuring a print with tiny feet and pacifiers. I'm not entirely sure on the price range right now, but eBay sellers are making a GRIP on these cakes; I won't tell you my final cost because there will be a mark-up for profit, of course, but I've done the math on similar cakes and some are selling at 100-150% profit PER cake. So yeah, {plug} Are you or is someone you know planning a baby shower? Don't know what to get or need a zazzy centerpiece to add that certain "zazz" to your party? Candace's Cakes© can help with made-to-order Diaper Cakes for ALL themes, including but not limited to: Jungle, Sweet Treats, Dinosaurs, Cars, Disney™ characters, Emily Strange™, and The Nightmare Before Christmas™! {/plug}




Now that my shameless plugging in finished we can move effortlessly toward the next topic of da blurg: The fucking Venture Brothers. If you, yeah you, if you have never seen this show GO DO IT NOW. I am making my way back through season three, having recently acquired the unrated DVD version, and it requires constant discipline to contain my gigglefits and joygasms whilst watching. This may be old news to some, but SRSLY, I'm waging this epic battle in my head now - Venture Brothers very well may take the lead as "Best Adult Swim Show To Date" ... we shall see. It's absolutely worth first place, no doubt, with it's superb voice acting, idiotically creative characters, complex underlying themes, extremely beautiful digital animation, wittier-than-fuck dialog, and countless homages to so much shit ranging from passing fads to obscure comic book references ... but I won't let Home Movies down from first place just yet. (Betcha thought I was gonna say Metalocalypse, didn't ya?) Oh yeah, I am a FREAK for Home Movies - hands down the most underrated show on AS. Don't worry, though, my fellow brutalists, the boys of Dethklok take the bronze with pride.



Before I end this post, because it's getting way too fucking long, I have a few more things to talk about. The first being this website that my little brother got me to join called Last.fm . So far it's pretty fun - basically it's a social network for people who are in to music. It compares your music to your friends, syncs with a whole bunch of music players to grab your library, tally charts and graphs, and silly stuff like that. I enjoy it, and I think others with an interest in music and an analytical mindset will as well.

In the interest of being more outwardly social, and not for gifts, I'm pointing out that my birthday is on Friday. We will be seeing "Taking Woodstock" sometime Friday evening in Newport News, and we'll have ice cream cake if anyone wants to be a big kid with me. Everyone is welcome to stop by, and if Newport News is too far of a drive, I believe we've changed the Virginia Beach thing to Saturday, but I'll have to double check.

Well, that's all I feel like typing this morning, it's still quite early and I've only had one thermos of coffee thus far! As I part for more caffeine I will leave you with my favorite poem (J.D. started in on Facebook):

Death Be Not Proud

Death be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadfull, for, thou art not soe,
For, those, whom thou think'st, thou dost overthrow,
Die not, poore death, nor yet canst thou kill mee.
From rest and sleepe, which but thy pictures bee,
Much pleasure, then from thee, much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee doe goe,
Rest of their bones, and soules deliverie.
Thou art slave to Fate, Chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poyson, warre, and sicknesse dwell,
And poppie, or charmes can make us sleepe as well,
And better then thy stroake; why swell'st thou then?
One short sleepe past, wee wake eternally,
And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die.

John Donne (1572-1631)

House and Holmes, or Warlock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels

So, it's been a while, - trust me, I know - but I don't wanna hear it. No, nope! Bep bep bep! That's better. Now sit down, chil'en, and I'll tell you a tale that begins at 221B Baker St.

A week or two ago I went to see the new Harry Potter movie (Half-Blood Price, it was meh), but I did see a trailer for what I believe is going to be a wicked movie: Sherlock Holmes. I watched with a big ass smirk and bewildered eyes as Robert Downey Jr., of all people, bantered with Watson (Jude Law), and fought against a really large man ... shirtless.


The point is, I went to show the trailer to Jeremy and then read, as I always do, the countless YouTube user comments beneath the video to be bombarded by what I can only describe as an "unruly, ill-informed mob of HATERS"! I encourage all to view the barrage of insults towards actors, director, and even fellow YouTube users simply because these people think that this new movie is destined to be an inaccurate travesty. I read things like, "Why is he fighting?", "There's too much action", and "Why isn't Watson fat?". (Also a lot of, what I assume to be women, complaining that Holmes doesn't look "sophisticated enough".) Well, please oh please allow me to burst the collective bubble by announcing that, gasp, I've actually read a Holmes novel by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and I can therefore accurately base my opinions off of something other than a few old movies and a black and white television series! I mean, c'mon people, if you're going to say that something isn't "cannon" at least compare it to the original source. Sherlock Holmes was extraordinarily messy; he was a frequent drug user, a boxer, a fencer, and studied a style of Japanese martial arts. Holmes was also notably cold and calloused towards anyone who didn't peak his interest in crime solving, and once a case was finished he would lose interest in any and/or all of the individuals involved. Aside from a seeming infatuation with one Irene Adler (who, to me, is pictured in the trailer as a strong and defiant woman), Holmes cares only for Watson and expresses these feelings towards Watson so infrequently that Watson clings dearly to the few momentous words of compassion Holmes throws his way. And as for Watson being fat, well, that's relying on the movies and TV show again ... he was described in the books as an ex-military man (who had served in war), and strongly built, not tubby or fat. And, too much action you say, well we all know that's what trailers are all about; those two and a half minutes of action in the trailer are probably all the action the movie contains and they jam it together to make the movie seem interesting to those it would normally have no effect on. In the future, I highly advise everyone to pick up a book and read, something, anything. It's good for you.

In other news, I dinged level 70 on my Warlock, Cheydris, last night and have been playing WoW a bit more after my short hiatus. I came back just in time for patch 3.2 and, patch-day bugs aside, so far so good. They've lowered the level requirements and prices considerably for every mount (other than your Epic Flyer, though Faction discounts are in place), and I spent a good two hours just flying around Outlands on my Ebon Griffon.


And some dragon flight-point thing in Northrend...

It's been fun, to say the least, and I have yet to fully enjoy all of the delicious new things that have been added since the Wrath expansion debuted in 2008. Now, with my Flying mount out of the way, I have to save up the bazillion million gold that buys my Cold Weather Flying skill, my Epic Flying Mount, and the skill to go along with that. Oy, someone wanna farm for me? But, there is good news: this week, I will be attending my first ever Karazhan run, so I'll probably post some screen shots of that up here! Exciting!

I meant to post pictures of the apple pie I baked last time I sat down to write a blog, but ... I didn't so maybe next time. I have a busy few weeks ahead of me, but I'll try my best to update in a timely fashion, in between all of the running around and grinding.

Upcoming Events:

• August -- September - Reach at least level 75 on Warlock (see below)
• August --September - Spend time with friends, leave the house
  
• August 23rd - Shannon's Baby Shower
• August 23rd - Dinner at parents (followed by partying at Shannon's some more?)
  
• August 28th - My birthday! (No plans yet, open to suggestions and presents)
• September 13th - Dawn's Birthday
  
• September 14th - Death to the Horde (slaying the Horde leaders for mount/achievement - must be 75)
  

I know there's probably more to add to the list that I'm forgetting about, but all of this is on top of my normal duties of house keeping, Guild Nights, and lazing around. I'm definitely going to have to cut down on my lazing around time ... bothersome!

As if all of this weren't enough, I now have friends hounding me to brave the tunnel to the other side of the Seven Cities to go gallivanting and adventuring throughout the town. Not that I mind, mind you! I love each and every one of my friends very much and it's been a real pain in the ass living on this side of the abomination that is the HRBT, and if someone would pick me up like they've been saying they would ( /glare) I'd be more than happy to quest in the name of friendship! It gets a little lonely being a hermit day after day, so a break from the mundane would be welcome; I've even considered getting a part-time job for a little cash and company, but don't quote me on that.

Alas, I must depart. Time to threaten some Republicans for threatening Democrats for threatening to give me free/affordable healthcare regardless of preexisting conditions. And play WoW.


"If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals."
- Sirius Black, "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire"