Life is Lies: Good Writing

And Oh Yeah! this went up; a while ago, I think, but the actual day slipped my watchful eye. Check it out! On page two! (which is for some reason comics?page=1 in the web address!) (excitement!) I'll notify you as I notice them go live, in case you don't feel like checking yourself periodically. Tiny Mix Tapes has a bunch of other comics, though, so you should have a look.

Not Just Werebeer

I was using my magic crystal ball just now to spy on Those Who've Seen This Blog. It's very useful. I noticed that last month someone was referred to the site via Portsmouth Brewery's blog, which is a coincidence – about that time ago I went out there to snag some Kate the Great. Some real Grail Quest action. Portsmouth is great, check them out.

"mmm, i'm delicious!"
I know I have a few posts about Werebeer already, but it's not the only beer I've made. In fact, it was the second; first I had to learn how to make it, from a friend of mine. Logically, that one was called Friend Brew:

snapshot from a now-who-knows-where restaurant placemat

second draft: it's good with just a touch of color, right?

I'm dying to make more labels. First I need to make more beer, I guess – order in all things.

...and then I found $20.

Banana-Brahma

[The following constitutes the entirety of an email I wrote to a friend to encourage him to bake banana bread]

Banana Bread doesn't have much to do with Brahma, but whatever.

INGREDIENTS
[and process]

1 1/3 cups flour (wheat, but whatever)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

[mix this in a bowl and set aside]

2/3 cups sugar (brown & white, but whatever)
1 tablespoon lemon juice (i use 2, from a plastic lemon)
1/2 stick butter (aka. 1/4 cup; salted or unsalted, whatever)

[mix this in the bowl where you mix everything – call it "Awesome Bowl"]
(NB. the lemon juice is for acid, and for dissolving the other stuff; you can substitute other stuff that does that, like vinegar, or a Coke, right)

2 eggs (Awesome Bowl)

[mixy mixy]

3 bananas (Awesome Bowl; they're great when they're ripe and spotty)

[mix mix mix]

now add the flour stuff you mixed at the beginning to Awesome Bowl, along with whatever else you want to add
(eg. 1/2 cup wheat germ; makes it dense and dark
or - 1 cup instant oats; makes it bready and light, with a crust
or - whatever, do whatever; i'm going to try 1/2 cup peanuts next time)

(it's also awesome to put stuff on top of your bread once it's in the pan – oats, salt, whatever – makes it look real pro-pro. also, i use a hand-blender, but if you're the boss you rock a Cuisinart)

oh right –

preheat the oven to 350° (which i never remember), bake the bread for an hour
when you take it out make sure to take it out of the pan, otherwise it gets mushy

recipe says to use a 5 x 9 x 3 inch bread pan. mine is sort of that, whatever. you could probably pour it into a casserole dish and be fine (don't get on my case if it isn't, i haven't tried that). be sure to butter it.

Cards Cards Cards (Cards); First Run

I've been a little behind in getting these to market – still am, in fact – but they're here to see. Contact me by clicking on the flying alien with the laser gun if you'd like to order some! Be sure to indicate quantity, address, and method of payment; and to direct any questions you may have regarding shipping or other considerations.

Availability: 7/8
Some have the dark half on top, while on others it is inverted (as above)

Availability: 6/9
One is in yellow ochre (as seen below), while the rest transition to red rather abruptly

Availability: 8/15
Ten are as pictured, while five are bordered

Availability: 17/24
A good first run; all in yellow ochre

Remember – no two are identical! (just close). All will be stamped with the Swimmy the Dish chop, and serialized.

Kyaraben

So this happened back in December, but I found the pictures and I was like, "yeahhhh!" There was a book signing at Giant Robot and you got a cookie† if you brought a bento box, so I made one. Except I don't have a bento box, or tupperware, or anything like that really, so I made a sea-diorama in a jar. There's an inside-jar with lunch, and an outside-jar with desert. See –

octo-sausages, sandy-rice, sea star-carrots, a pickle-sea cucumber

carrot crabs! it's hard to see the dill-seaweed

then the jell-o cooled around the inside jar, with big apricot-tunas attacking Swedish fish; next time i'll subtly sweeten a clear gelatin, cause it was like, three servings of absurdly saccharin, almost opaque gloop.

Giant Robot has a slideshow with pictures of the whole event.

___________________
†cookie = book, in this case