Raindrops on Roses and Whiskers on Kittens

Monday getting you down? Here are a few things that are making me smile.

Spring sunshine.

Original theatrical release poster, image from Wikipedia.org

Seeing the new live action version of Beauty and the Beast. (No, it's not as good as the original, but I liked the modern touches to casting and character development and the new songs weren't half bad. And it looks gorgeous. Mind you, I'm incapable of losing the nostalgia goggles here, because this is a childhood favourite.)

Glad threads for summer.

Spaaaace broccoli!

The way honeydew melon seeds look like slimy monster teeth when you scoop them out just right. (Yes, I'm in my thirties, not tweens. What?)

And, best of all, only a couple of days to Mass Effect Andromeda!

Shakespeare's Greatest Insults

Shakespeare's insults are legendary. Here are a few of my favourites:

More of your conversation would infect my brain.

Coriolanus (2.1.91)

They have a plentiful lack of wit.

Hamlet (2.2.198)

'Sblood, you starveling, you elf-skin, you dried neat's tongue, you bull's pizzle, you stock-fish! O for breath to utter what is like thee! you tailor's-yard, you sheath, you bowcase; you vile standing-tuck! 

1 Henry IV (2.4.227-9)

Thy food is such

As hath been belch'd on by infected lungs.

Pericles (4.6.156)

Thou sodden-witted lord! thou hast no more brain than I have in mine elbows.

Troilus and Cressida (2.1.41)

Here's one for writers:

Thou hast the most unsavoury similes.

1 Henry IV (1.2.75)

Ooh. Burn!

Want more?

 This Shakespearean Insult Generator will toss some random Elizabethan insults your way.

Source:
http://www.shakespeare-online.com/quotes/shakespeareinsults.html

Let's Build Minas Tirith!

Have you seen this?

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/realise-minas-tirith#/story

Apparently a group of Tolkien fans are trying to build a real-life Minas Tirith in the UK using crowdfunding.

That would be so awesome! I'd totally live there.

But not everybody thinks so. Here's the counter-proposal:

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/destroy-minas-tirith#/story

Which side will you choose?

Where's My Shoggoth? aka the Coolest Birthday Present Ever!

Yeah, the title says it all:) A friend got me this for my birthday, and I can't thank her enough. This is officially the greatest thing ever: a children's book of the cutest, fluffiest eldritch horrors imaginable, and the cover even glows in the dark!

I've had an obsession with H. P. Lovecraft's work ever since I encountered his books in high school. They have it all; scary monsters, beautiful language, and a certain kind of feel to them, creeping dread mixed with a sense of wonder. Though they were written in the beginning of the 20th century, they still remain some of the scariest things I've ever read. Lovecraft's enduring popularity just goes to show that you don't need torture porn, graphic violence, or buckets of gore to make something scary.

But there is a lighter side to the Lovecraft fandom, that comes in the shape of Cthulhu plushes and Lovecraftian Christmas carols. This is a product of that branch of it, I think. Come on, what good be sweeter than the tale of a boy and his shoggoth?

Yup, I want a night-gaunt of my very own. Awww! 

There's even a youtube video of a guy dressed as Lovecraft reading this to his kid. Check it out!

You can check out more of his videos here: https://www.youtube.com/user/lemurbouy

What Does Your Fridge Door Say About You?

Here's mine. The drawings are by my nephew. For those unused to abstract kiddie art, that's Darth Vader on the top one. The other one is a portrait of me. I have antennae because I'm an alien, apparently :) The Fridge poetry is Lovecraft-themed, you can see it better on the close-up below. (It was called "Lovecraftian Letters," but I'm not sure if it's available any more. )

Want to share yours? Post a link in the comments.

I am Groot

                                  Tiny Groot is cute

                        Cutie Groot Groot

                        Cute is Groot

                        Groot cute Groot

                        (Groot?)