I used to think it was awful that life was so unfair. Then I thought, 'wouldn't it be much worse if life *were* fair, and all the terrible things that happen to us come because we actually deserve them?' So now I take great comfort in the general hostility and unfairness of the universe. – M. Cole
Well, we’re home from GenCon. A very nice vacation and I’m exhausted. Here are some more photos of what we saw and did out in Indianapolis. If anyone sees a photo that they would like a copy of, I do still have the original digital files. I’ll probably keep those around for a few weeks. The following are my cleaned up versions of what I took. (part one of this series can be found here)
More photos from the zoo
If you are new to this blog, you may not know that Vel likes the world between 1920 and about 1950. It’s often termed “dieselpunk”, taking a riff off the concept of “steampunk” which is about alternate history for the Victorian Era. You of course can see I like the Art Deco style from the title logo.
Very fun 20s-30s versions of modern songs, as well as the usual American songbook songs.
We Will Rock You – yes, it’s Queen
and yes, Oops I did it again
It reminds me of Riff Raff singing it.
and on Sesam Strasse – in German. I haven’t a clue what he’s singing, but I love Sesame Street.
While I’m sitting here listening to the soundtrack of Rocky Horror Picture Show (my husband introduced me to this when we first were dating), let me show you some cool links.
Awesome photos of the tunnel projects in New York City: http://xfinity.comcast.net/slideshow/news-nyctunnels/?cid=hero_media
Planetary romance webcomic of the same genre as “A Princess of Mars: http://www.perilsonplanetx.com/archives/comic/coming-soon
Hard-boiled noir webcomic: http://www.gravediggercomic.com/?comic=welcome-to-gravedigger
Steamfantasy webcomic: http://www.ineffableaether.com/2011/07/11/ch01s01-2/
Crowd sourced research: https://www.zooniverse.org/ (alas my computer at work is too old to do this anymore)
How to drink like a gentleman – H.L. Mencken
And as a reminder, always lovely pictures here.
Stuff I think more people should know about…..
Reproductions of historical house bits that aren’t mind-numbingly expensive (I just left it on the Art Deco since that’s my favorite): http://www.houseofantiquehardware.com/Art-Deco
Articles on how to be “manly” but works for men or women, basically how to be an expert human being. Hot Cocoa for everyone: http://artofmanliness.com/2012/12/17/the-surprisingly-manly-history-of-hot-cocoa/
Awesome steampunk/dieselpunk/fantasy webcomic: http://www.ineffableaether.com/
A bazillion atheist-themed graphics: http://www.atheistmemebase.com/ and a few of my favorites:
http://www.atheistmemebase.com/2012/10/02/the-christians-bible-is-a-drug-store/
http://www.atheistmemebase.com/2012/10/01/god-give-daddy-strength/
http://www.atheistmemebase.com/2012/09/02/the-bible-does-not-say-stop-gay-marriage/
http://www.atheistmemebase.com/2012/08/27/the-neutral-position/
http://www.atheistmemebase.com/2012/05/26/deserve-to-be-intensely-disliked/
http://www.atheistmemebase.com/2012/06/29/healing-amputees/
Lovely historical costuming blog: http://mantuadiary.blogspot.com/
Excellent perfumes and scents: Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab Just got a few of the RPG line ones in the imp ear size. Favorite so far is a blend of Ranger (foresty) and Orc (leathery). I find the descriptions very accurate. The Bow and Crown of Conquest in the Sin and Salvation line is also good, especially for a man. (you’ll have to scroll down a bit).
George Takei reading “50 Shades of Gray” – oh so definitely not safe for work but damn funny.
Bits of weirdness:
And educational but weird: XKCD’s What if?: Answering your hypothetical questions with physics, every Tuesday
Goggles and a jetpack. Much more fun than a imaginary man who was all about denying the world.
http://www.sinfest.net/archive_page.php?comicID=4237
Club Schadenfreude 