Today's crap I'm reading: Games and comics.

I visit other places for games and comics now, but here are my vintage links.

Comic Art Community:

http://www.comicartcommunity.com/gallery/index.php

Paranormal News. Warning: Flashy stuff.

https://i31.org/paranormal-news/default.asp

American Hauntings. Think I'll keep this one around:

https://www.americanhauntingsink.com/

Subterranean Britannica:

https://www.subbrit.org.uk/

Mystery in Mind. Writers of murder mystery roleplaying games. Looks like it's been defunct since 2013:

http://www.mysteryinmind.co.uk/News.html

Necronomicon Press. Without these guys plus Hippocampus Press, I'd be unable to complete any research on Lovecraft:

https://necropress.com/

Random.org. About random numbers, theory, generators, etc.

https://www.random.org/

RPG.net. I can't believe this is still going:

https://www.rpg.net/

The Perry Bible Fellowship. A webcomic that I would never have recalled, even under torture. Looks to be as good as it ever was:

https://pbfcomics.com/

Yog-Sothoth.com. The best place online for Call of Cthulhu gamers and others of that genre:

https://www.yog-sothoth.com/

Today's crap I'm reading: Things I used to be.

Man, it's been a long time since I looked at the links in the "Hack Yourself" folder.

After Dubya was re-elected, I realized that I didn't recognize America any more, and I started looking into living overseas.

Deutsche Welle:

https://www.dw.com/en/top-stories/s-9097

ESL Lesson Plan, a board for TESOL people:

http://www.esl-lesson-plan.com/

43 Folders. Looks like the most recent post was in 2011:

http://www.43folders.com/

Flylady has been saving my butt for longer than I care to discuss:

http://www.flylady.net/

Lifehack. It was a thing, may still be a thing.

https://www.lifehack.org/

See, the problem with listening to Rammstein is that for FUCKING WEEKS AFTERWARD I have their music stuck in my head. Especially if I was drunk listening.

https://www.rammstein.de/en/

Oh, soma.fm. I love you. Probably the best Internet radio site around. They play stuff you won't find elsewhere.

http://somafm.com/

The Snowflake Method for writing a novel:

https://www.advancedfictionwriting.com/articles/snowflake-method/

Winksite. God, I'd forgotten I had an account. REMEMBERED MY PASSWORD FIRST TRY YISSSSS:

https://winksite.com/site/site_profile.cfm?susid=4192

BBC Sport Academy. They used to have good, short videos on specific techniques:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/academy/default.stm

American TESOL Institute:

https://americantesol.com/blogger/?id=2

Ten simple ways to save yourself from messing up your life:

https://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifehack/10-simple-ways-to-save-yourself-from-messing-up-your-life.html

Typepad. Holy crap, Typepad. Couldn't get this password in one, though.

https://www.typepad.com/dashboard

WTH is this:

https://www.sota.com/default.aspx?page=LightWorks

Wasps' Ladies first and second XV page:

https://www.waspsfc.co.uk/teams/6682

Today's crap I'm reading: Staycation bar crawl list plus stuff I don't have time for but will probably get anyway.

Staycation bar crawl:

https://dc.eater.com/maps/best-new-bars-dc

I HAVE TO HAVE THIS LEGO LINE:

https://www.lego.com/en-us/search?q=hidden%20side

Anyone else on WT: Social?

https://wt.social//

Criterion Channel. I'm not fooling anyone.

https://www.criterionchannel.com/

Oh, god, an illustrated Moby-Dick. My heart flutters. Might have to get that for myself for Christmas.

https://topatoco.com/products/ed-mobydick

I've got retirement savings, but I need more (as do we all, I guess):

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/retirement/im-55-and-have-no-retirement-savings-what-should-i-do/ar-BBWAyBC

Today's crap I'm reading: Holiday items here and there.

The husband wants a globe for his birthday:

https://www.amazon.com/slp/world-globe-with-stand/epoehh7acbsh5rj

I'm just now hearing about this consignment shop, which isn't a surprise, given that I am a non-shopper. I'm in the market for a set of sterling:

https://www.christchilddc.org/page.cfm?p=504

The Goop holiday gift guide. Neiman Marcus's is still more fun:

https://goop.com/holiday-gift-guide/

https://www.neimanmarcus.com/c/gifts-christmas-book-cat75250765

Today's crap I'm reading: Email from Descended from Odin.

Pretty cool message. Apostrophe added in the title, otherwise text as sent from the organization.

Gungnir Broken: A Warrior's Tool in a World of Peace.

Odin created his own monstrous wolf in the form of Fenrir through his insatiable desire for knowledge of all things and trying to control that which he could not.

Through his own actions he sealed his fate, but his final act redeemed himself. Having seen his own fate, and seen that beyond that the world would be born a new with the return of his shining and loved son Baldr, he let fly Gungnir for the last time.

The spear which never misses its target, landed not in the heart of the wolf, for Odin did not wish to kill Fenrir and spare himself. Instead he let the spear fly over the wolf and over the battlefield to announce his end.

This art showing the broken shaft of Gungnir is about acceptance and letting go of the self in order to become new. For Odin to create the better world shown to him, he had to let go of his own ego, his own desire to know and control all and lay faith only in the way of things and trust in balance to be restored as fated.

After the seeming death of the famed shape shifter, an eagle is seen flying over a new, pure world. To fly in this way, lifted by the winds and carried in peace, we must surrender to the path before us, we must find peace in who we are and be able to watch and observe. Fighting to forge the world to our own will will only ever end in creating our own monstrous wolves.

Like Odin, we each create our own monstrous wolves. Like Odin though, we each can forgive ourselves, release aspects of the self and surrender to change. We are capable of peace under a new sun each day. 

Today's crap I'm reading: Eraserhead and Lovecraft.

An interesting article on the soundtrack to Eraserhead:

https://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/35200/1/eraserhead-soundtrack-40th-anniversary

I've got way too much to read this weekend, so of course I got a link to this today:

https://www.academia.edu/8449909/Speculative_Landscapes_H.P._Lovecraft_s_Weird_System?email_work_card=view-paper

Today's crap I'm reading: Warren Ellis.

Preface: I am not a stalker.

Warren has bios all over the place, so I won't gather them here. But he's brilliant.

His daily check-in/proof-of-life place:

https://warrenellis.ltd/

He's an ambient music guy (among other genres), and he's on bandcamp:

https://bandcamp.com/warren

His IG, though he's on and off it depending on things:

https://www.instagram.com/warrenellis/?hl=en

His Twitter, though as above it's something he uses depending on things:

https://twitter.com/warrenellis

His IMDb:

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1979137/

His website:

http://www.warrenellis.com/

And yep, he's got a Wikipedia page just for his bibliography:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_Ellis_bibliography

Today's crap I'm reading: More random than random.

So I'm eclectic.

I need a new scent. Maybe this one?

https://www.amazon.com/Clean-Parfum-Shower-Fresh-1-Fluid/dp/B001KYTYH0/

I DON'T CARE IF WE JUST GOT THROUGH HALLOWEEN. But god, these are $12.95 each, and there are multiple styles.

https://www.thegrommet.com/products/flatyz-handmade-holiday-flat-candle

Speaking of thinning veils:

https://wildhunt.org/2019/11/column-checking-in.html

Why did no one tell me about this before? You're all fired.

https://www.signupgenius.com/

I am still grooving on The Purge, so naturally this came across my phone:

https://www.alphabetagamer.com/strobophagia-rave-horror-alpha-download/

Today's crap I'm reading: WTF.

If the question is "Bela Lugosi's Dead," the answer is yes:

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/bauhaus-bela-lugosis-dead-reunion-show-live-907609/

I found this while trying to find an image to make sport of a friend on his birthday today. I am feeling the need to do a deep dive into this series, especially considering it's got read-along links:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJwxMgo-lQQ

Today's crap I'm reading: Food and cooking.

Good god, I'd forgotten about a bunch of these, and I have no idea why I had some open as tabs. A few date back to several New Year's Eves ago when I went on an Italian appetizer kick. Wood stoves? WTF? No way I'd willingly own one, but there's a tab for it. Anyway, enjoy.

Big Kahuna burgers, as in Pulp Fiction, as in STFU and get to making these.

http://www.bakespace.com/recipes/detail/Big-Kahuna-Burger/25690/

101 Cookbooks. I think this site's been Internet famous for a while:

https://www.101cookbooks.com/

After 5, mostly barware and entertaining kit:

https://www.after5catalog.com/

Apparently it was important that I know where to get stuff made in Belgium:

https://store.belgianshop.com/

Brian's Belly. Might not've been updated since 2016, but I've posted older links:

http://briansbelly.com/

Blake's Cake and Candy in Oregon. I must've been tracking down something:

http://blakescakeandcandy.com/home.php

Candy Addict, last updated 2012, probably some dead links but it's still hanging in there. It had interesting articles on oddball and obscure candies:

http://candyaddict.com/blog/

Everything2. I may be one of like 15 people alive who remember it AND who posted to it. Here's the cookery section. One of my favorite pressure-cooker recipes (a curry) came from here:

https://www.everything2.com/title/Cookery

Cooking for Engineers. For those times when precision is needed:

http://www.cookingforengineers.com/

The Cook's Thesaurus. I recall its being super useful at one time. "The Cook's Thesaurus is a cooking encyclopedia that covers thousands of ingredients and kitchen tools.  Entries include pictures, descriptions, synonyms, pronunciations, and suggested substitutions."

http://www.foodsubs.com/

CopyKat. One of those knockoffs of Todd Wilbur's site:

https://copykat.com/recipes/

Cupcake Takes the Cake. Publishing slowed down after March of this year:

http://cupcakestakethecake.blogspot.com/

Hungry Girl used to be A Thing, not sure now:

https://www.hungry-girl.com/

Joy the Baker. Looks like I was going through a serious baking phase. Anyway, this one's still going:

https://joythebaker.com/

Conversion chart for kitchen measurements. More helpful than you'd think:

https://www.chemistrystore.com/measconv.html

Recipelink.com. These guys have been doing it since 1996.

https://www.recipelink.com/cgi/public_frames?page=holiday/merrygifts

Lorann. They specialize in oils for flavoring:

https://www.lorannoils.com/

Cocktail Database. Looks like the last post was May 19 of this year:

https://www.cocktaildb.com/blender-guide/

Vegan recipes (remember, they're vegetable dishes, which you've been eating since your traumatic childhood):

https://www.all-creatures.org/recipes.html

Recipe Source. Like Recipelink.com, these guys have been around forever:

https://www.recipesource.com/

Wood stoves, who the fuck knows.

https://servicesales.com/

Smitten Kitchen. I think I've pinned more of her recipes than anyone's:

https://smittenkitchen.com/

Case in point, her gingerbread, which I make every holiday season. This isn't the crybaby gingerbread you get at Starbucks. This is old-school, kick-in-a-Nazi's-door gingerbread, no fuckery allowed:

https://smittenkitchen.com/2008/12/gramercy-taverns-gingerbread/

Wilton. If you've got freaky baking in mind. they've probably had a request for a pan shaped like your naughty, naughty idea:

https://www.wilton.com/

Ina Garten's recipe for Flower Cupcakes. I tried making this as a yellow cake in sheet pan form and wasn't stellar:

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/flower-cupcakes-recipe-1915667

Baking Bites. It seems like baking makes for Internet longevity:

https://bakingbites.com/

Crostini alla romana. Yep, this was probably for New Year's Eve:

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/crostini-alla-romana-recipe-1937704

And Italian stuffed mushrooms:

http://www.razzledazzlerecipes.com/newyears/italian-mushrooms.htm

Guinness chocolate cake. This is spectacular. The same site has variants, one made in a cheesecake pan (it's not cheesecake, it just uses the pan) and one for cupcakes (I found them too rich):

https://www.irishcentral.com/culture/food-drink/irish-christmas-cake-guinness-chocolate-cake-recipe

Today's crap I'm reading: "Current cool stuff."

I used to bookmark pages in a folder labeled "current cool stuff" in an effort to manage my attention, reading, interests, and time.

The only thing that's ever helped me with the four items above is using paper and pen/pencil to organize my thoughts and activities.

So here's what I had way back when. I deleted the links to pages that are now defunct, like Second Brain, which was a huge shame because between it and del.icio.us, I thought I'd gotten a handle on myself. (Also, oh my god, Delicious is still around. I just logged in [https://del.icio.us/mensan98th]. Remembered my password on the second try. I last saved a bookmark to the site on April 8, 2010. It was to geekchichq.com, which is now defunct.)

And we're off.

I used to think of my internal life and interests as a Wunderkammer:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabinet_of_curiosities

Looks like Cabinet is still going:

http://www.cabinetmagazine.org/index.php

Carbonite, you have saved me more than once.

https://www.carbonite.com/

I went through a period where I needed a SMS management system (it had to do with events I was running). I don't think I ever tried this one.

https://slytext.com/

I would intermittently read articles on weight loss because I believed I was, I dunno, Cinderella? Sleeping Beauty? A matryoshka? Here's one in that set of links.

https://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/motivation_articles.asp?id=685&from=IBSYS&affiliate_code=fran

Still love me some retro. I get Christmas cards from Retro Christmas Card Company for the past couple of years. The link below is to a different business:

https://www.retroplanet.com/

30 things to do to keep from picking up a machete at work:

https://zenhabits.net/30-things-to-do-to-keep-from-getting-bored-out-of-your-skull-at-work/

I can't remember bookmarking this, but here it is:

https://citrinitas.com/

Lifehack is not lifehacker. Case in point:

https://www.lifehack.org/articles/featured/whats-your-sticking-point.html

Remember the laughing Quaker Guy?

http://www.hetemeel.com/hahaform.php

As with many, many things online, this site was funnier when it first started:

https://www.someecards.com/

Good to see that The Long Now Foundation is still around:

http://longnow.org/seminars/

Can't recall why I bookmarked this, but here's some horror photography:

https://joshuahoffine.com/

Looks like she dropped off the planet after having a baby:

http://www.notcot.com/

Y'know, I tried, Second Life. I did. Multiple times. Fuck all happening each time I tried. Apparently I was doing it wrong by not cybering the guys I'd run across. PS: If you know what "cybering" is, you're old:

https://id.secondlife.com/openid/login

Okay, yeah, this one goes back to 2007. It might still be relevant to me, though.

https://www.harvardmagazine.com/2007/09/writing-as-performance.html

Today's crap I'm reading: Bookmark'd "blogs."

Oh, the heady days of bookmarks. Here's a decluttered list (believe it or not) of blogs I bookmarked from about 2007 up through, looks like, 2016.

Hack Yourself:

http://www.bloodletters.com/2011/09/hack-yourself/

Varieties of Unreligious Experience. This guy may be blogging elsewhere. It was a shame that he stopped this one. Complicated content, pretty specialized, but I enjoyed his prose:

http://vunex.blogspot.com/

Sign and Sight, Eurocentric, which stopped posting in 2012:

http://www.signandsight.com/

Click Opera. One never knew what Momus was going to do next:

https://imomus.livejournal.com/

Jim Woodring's blog (he's now on FB). Amazing art from "the Dutch uncle of dreamland":

http://jimwoodring.blogspot.com/

We Make Money, Not Art, a blog that's a crossroads for numerous topics:

https://we-make-money-not-art.com/

Making Light. It's about all kinds of stuff. Both eclectic and well prepared:

http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/

Tiki Central, because it's me and cocktails will be served at some point:

http://www.tikiroom.com/tikicentral/bb/index.php?PHPSESSID=941c9970344e990eb91c0851cd827f5c

Dark Roasted Blend. Hard to tell if the blog is still going, but looks like they may be active on FB. From their about page: "Started in 2005 by Avi Abrams and based in Canada, is dedicated to the ongoing quest for wisdom and beauty, for all things cool and wonderful in our world, featuring the best in art, travel and fascinating technology."

http://www.darkroastedblend.com/

33 1/3. Looks like they've gone through some changes since I bookmarked them in 2012:

http://333sound.com/

ESL Jobs Forum, back when I was looking to teach English as a second language:

http://www.esl-jobs-forum.com/

Dareland, Michael Dare's blog. Most recent post is from 2017:

https://dareland.blogspot.com/

Fimoculous. Another person I followed from my first days on Twitter, back in 2007:

http://www.fimoculous.com/

Geeks of Doom. Man, they've been at it for a while. If you're interested in gaming, film, etc., this is your place:

https://www.geeksofdoom.com/

Paul Graham, essayist. Brilliant stuff.

http://www.paulgraham.com/articles.html

Rock Paper Shotgun for PC gaming:

https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/

John Scalzi's Whatever. This plus Chuck Wendig's blog make up the writer's life raft:

https://whatever.scalzi.com/

Robot Wisdom. I'm hesitant to post this link because this guy took a far-right turn, but he hasn't posted on this blog since 2007, and I've no idea what he's up to now. He used to have interesting ideas before the turn:

http://robotwisdom2.blogspot.com/

Ectoplasmosis. Full of the weird and wonderful, though it looks like their Tumblr died off in 2014:

https://ectoplasmosis.tumblr.com/

Lisa Gold's research blog. Looks like she might've moved to a different venue, but there's lots to dig through here:

https://lisagoldresearch.wordpress.com/

Science 2.0. You know you need this.

https://www.science20.com/

The Bloggess. She's literally saved people's lives by talking about her own problems with depression.

https://thebloggess.com/

I'll let the bloggers themselves describe this one: "Him, an adventurer, CISO, soldier, Marine, law officer, author, professor, spy, yachty, motorcyclist, photographer. Her, was the church lady librarian, got divorced, joined a motorcycle gang, became a hacker, and world adventurer."

http://selil.com/

Smart Mobs stopped publishing on the blog in 2014, which is too bad unless they've moved elsewhere. They were waaaaay ahead of the times:

http://www.smartmobs.com/

Warren Ellis, hierophant. Warren has always been so far ahead of the rest of us that sometimes it sounds like he doesn't know what he's talking about, until 5 or 6 years pass and we catch up to him:

http://www.warrenellis.com/

Scrum Half Connection. Fuck you, it's rugby.

https://scrumhalfconnection.com/

I have no idea why I bookmarked this. Seriously. I don't do drugs (including weed) and am not about to start.

https://realitysandwich.com/start-here/

Today's crap I'm reading: Past bookmarks, including some TTRPG-related items.

My Chrome bookmarks are a longtime source of embarrassment. Here's some of what I bookmarked for 5 January 2016.

Custom tombstone builder:

http://www.tombstonebuilder.com/

Innsmouth Gold's campaign coins (beautiful work these guys do):

https://campaigncoins.com/innsmouth-gold-coins-10/

Not sure why this came up under Google Japan, but sure. The various nuances of 'nous':

https://www.google.co.jp/search?q=nous&oq=nous&aqs=chrome.0.69i59j69i60j69i57j69i65j69i60l2.983j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Borges's Library of Babel, online.Yes, that's what I said.

https://libraryofbabel.info/

The Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution fascinate me, mostly in the ways in which they didn't happen elsewhere:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/10/28/why-the-industrial-revolution-didnt-happen-in-china/

If you need to sketch up a Call of Cthulhu character and can't get Byakhee to work on your laptop/PC, here's The Dhole's House:

https://www.dholeshouse.org/Default

No idea of how I ended up here:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criterion_of_embarrassment