New Year's Resolutions

In the hopes of forestalling the inevitable eye roll that will undoubtedly accompany your perusal of the title of this post, know that there will be no mention of diets, unreasonable exercise regimes, or bad habits in need of kicking on this list. Everyone knows those are just uncreative and will fail within the first few weeks of 2010 anyways.

So here, as follows, are my New Year's Resolutions--a more specific and hopefully do-able to-do list than last list, or the list before that, or the list before that.... 
(1) Learn how to make:

          - sourdough bread

          - cinnamon rolls

          - stovetop cheese

          - frosting roses

          - tamales

(2) Expand the range of facial expressions I'm capable of drawing

(3) Get better at drawing feet

(4) Back up my computer on an external hard drive, just in cases

(5) As per Tessa's request: get into Lady Gaga

(6) And hey! Here's one that will directly benefit you, MTTPL fans: Create one piece of 2D art at least as large as a notecard every single day (a challenge I plan on undertaking with Tessa, as per her suggestion)

(7) Taking a page from Haley's book: get SCUBA certified

(8) Eat at the Alpenhaus....finally

(Note: this list is currently under construction, as I will continue to add to it until 11:59 p.m. tonight. Feel free to post your own reasonable resolutions in the comments section. I'm curious to see what high hopes you have for yourself in the coming decade.)

Christmas presents!

I got a Christmas present yesterday! My momma took me to a foundry to make the final aesthetic decisions regarding....wait for it....wait for it....

a MANTA RAY NECKLACE!

Last summer, I was fiddling with one of the many pieces of sculpting wax lying around my apartment-- you know, like you do--and I made this. And then my mom had it cast!

Best present ever.

More Than This Provincial DEATH

The greatest homage to my blog that will ever be, in Christmas card form, courtesy of Katie. Feel free to ask for clarification, since inside jokes, TV references, and "Twilight" jabs abound.

'Tis the season!

It's December, dear darling cherished readers, and you know what that means, don't you? A new nickname!  Or, uh, St. Nickname, if you will...

MANTA CLAUS

For those of you keeping track out there: 1 exam down, 2 to go.

Snowman(ta)*

I had to go to the mall today. It went something like this.

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So...it's snowing now. Like, a lot. So much so that if Obama were for some reason visiting Montreal right now, he'd be wearing a parka AND a scarf:

(image from http://obama-weather.com/)

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The view from my window.

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*Incidentally, Snowmanta is my January nickname.

Happy Sinterklaas!!!!

I just found this is my shoe, attached to a box of chocolates. For those of you who don't know, Sinterklaas is the celebration of the name day of St. Nicholas, patron saint of children (and more!). In Holland, Sinterklaas leaves presents in children's shoes on the eve of December 5 for the children to unwrap when they wake up the next day. Black Pete (pictured above) is Sinterklaas' unfortunately black-faced assistant.

Katie, who wishes she were Dutch, has decided to embrace this holiday by wearing her Netherlands jersey all day, and by gifting me and Hal our very own Sinterklaas presents. Thanks Katie!

Which holiday pie are you?

I've never had this kind of pie before, but I bet it's good.


A quote about pie (from the delightful "Dr. Horrible's Sing-along Blog"):
Penny: Sometimes people are layered like that. There's something totally different underneath than what's on the surface.
Dr. Horrible: And sometimes there's a third, even deeper level, and that one is the same as the top surface one. Like with pie.

Which holiday pie are you? Find out by clicking: http://www.marthastewart.com/quiz/holiday-pies

Good news, MTTPL fans!

Um, did I mention that I'm done with school now*? Because I am. Expect more comics ANY DAY NOW!


*Or, as the Canadians would say, "did I mention that I'm done school now." Seriously people: that phrase requires a preposition.

What to get your salamander sweetie for Christmas

So, salamanders have a very peculiar way of mating that involves packets of sperm, called spermatophores, and complex mating rituals, including though not limited to: chin-slapping, tail-wrapping and orgies.

I drew this whilst listening to Herp presentations last Tuesday. It seemed topical. Also this:

There's a rhyme to help you remember the different between the extremely venomous coral snake and the non-venomous king snake that goes: "Red touching black is a friend of Jack, red touching yellow, you're a dead fellow" (or some variation thereof). However, this rhyme only works in the southeastern US.

I never tip over 10%

Manta rays, on the other hand, are great tippers.

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Credit for this excellent elasmobranch comic goes to Nigel, who submitted it mere moments ago!!! I'm glad someone out there rose to the challenge. Thanks Nige! Enjoy, readers!