I'm BACK!

"Please make sure you have all your personal problems with you"
--American Airlines flight attendant


She realized her mistake quickly enough, sputtering, "I mean, your personal belongings!" but it was too late: the damage was done. The entire plane laughed. 

Ra-ra ra-ah-ah, roma, roma-ma

Katie thinks Lady Gaga sounds like a ghost in her song "Bad Romance." Somehow, I don't get the impression that Lady Gaga would mind the comparison.

If you haven't seen it, I would really consider watching the video. It's pretty ridiculous........ly awesome! She wears razor blade glasses (pictured above)! And there's a hairless cat! And a metal beard!

Gaga, oh la-la.

Ominous

Donne

Donne

DONNE!

I'm studying for a Renaissance poetry midterm, if you couldn't tell. For some reason this really cracks me up. This, or saying John Donne's name to the "Dragnet" theme song. Or the music from "Jaws."

That's what she said (Part II)

A continuation of the "Manta will you feel my...?" series started all the way back in September.

As a side note, there's actually a lot of food-throwing that goes on in our kitchen. On numerous occasions we've had rotten clementine-tossing contests; another time it was stale muffins. I know I'm forgetting something...Katie, help me out here.

Two professors don't make a right

"You can't have the cake . . . and the money."

- Professor Mazancourt

"I think it's, 'You can't have the butter and the money?' "

- Professor Loreau

Good try, but no.

Super Bowl Sunday

Yeah...yeah...I'm aware Super Bowl Sunday was over a week ago. It just took me a while to get around to drawing these.

So yeah, we had a Super Bowl Party ("we" meaning I had nothing to do with it). We cheered for the Saints ("we" meaning everyone else cheered and I joined in from time to time--no booing though; I don't do booing). I was, for once, not responsible for one of the sillier things said about the game (thanks for that, Kate, as well as your comment about "giant flesh-piles of men").

All in all, it was a fun time, though it began somewhat less-than-auspiciously:

Remember that time I told you how I'm notorious for burning things in the kitchen? Well, it seems I was up to my old tricks again. Also note that in the comic, as it was in life, I'm wearing Katie's Liverpool jersey. There's a first for everything.

***

In case you were wondering, the Spinach and Artichoke 3-Cheese Dip turned out super tasty. You can find the recipe here. I highly recommend it. I went a little wild, though, and added a 4th cheese.

That is the question.

For some reason, when I was writing this English paper tonight, every time I tried to type "Shakespeare" it would come out "Sharkspeare." Which naturally resulted in this. Ladies and gents, I present to you...

....The Bard.

Holycrapspiders

So, I'm on a jumping spider kick right now:

Watch as Scientist Fred Armisen (much like Astronaut Barbie) explains the courtship behaviour of jumping spiders (who, he says, are "more than just a pretty face"). You guys, they dance AND sing. It is both horrifying and FASCINATING.

If you liked this, I'd highly recommend these videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxbuysNGLOM

and 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D92AUXhYZ0M

(Note: the sounds in the second video will probably haunt you in your DREAMS)

The Cutest Thing Ever

I'm sorry but is this not the cutest thing ever?

And I'm not especially fond of spiders, jumping or otherwise. But, I mean, come on.

10 Faces by Felix Morelo

A movie my dad uploaded to youtube of these 10 chalk face drawings we found on the sidewalk in New York, which he photographed and then animated and set to music.

The Birds and the Bees

The birds:

The bees:

And the bears. Or, well, bear:

And that's how you create an outfit, fit for a Valentine's Day lecture on animal courtship and sexual selection, which, btw, I'm going to this afternoon at 4 at the Redpath Museum, if anyone's interested.

Ta-da!

I wish.

My Valentine's card from Katie--the joke being that in the show "Chuck" (which, incidentally, is the most delightful geeky spy dramedy) Zachary Levi (pictured above), a.k.a. Chuck Bartowski, has a super-computer in his head called the Intersect.

Happy Valentine's Day!

This is my response to crap like this:

Bears hate crap like this. They like snacks though. 

The Best Thing

The best thing happened at Starbucks yesterday!

I dashed this off in between paragraphs of an essay. It can't fully capture the amazingness of this moment, but it's the best I could do.

Come to think of it, this actually reminds me of that one time I was sitting in the Redpath Caf and Alex walked up to me and literally dumped an entire cup of coffee on my backpack. Still not entirely sure how that happened....

This

Reason #1-9 I want to get SCUBA certified:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthpicturegalleries/7137251/Pictures-Manta-rays-swim-with-divers-off-the-coast-of-Mexico.html

Reason #10 is so that I can act out that scene in "The Little Mermaid" where Ariel is exploring the shipwreck. Minus the shark attack of course. But definitely with a big fat cowardly fish.

The Eighth Deadly Sin

For the record, I was Sloth. Or rather, a sloth. This sloth:

Not this:

Nor this:

And definitely NOT this:

Come on, people. Not that hard.

Bonus features

During a recent (and by recent, I mean like 5 minutes ago) photo swap, my roommate Katie threw in these um...bonus pictures on my flash drive in addition to the ones I'd requested:

And to think, she had all these already just sitting on her hard drive. 

Bradypus variegatus

Tonight, I attended a Seven Deadly Sins party. Can you guess which sin I was? Hint: 'Panda' is not a sin...yet.

(Hey, that's my room in the background, btw)

I wish.

Hey, remember how I told you I rediscovered old drawings in a long-forgotten notebook? Here's one. However, just because it's old doesn't mean it's not still true.

Vagina Monologues

Tomorrow (or more, accurately tonight, since it's nearing 1:30 in the morning) is jam-packed with fun. Nige and I (and anyone else who cares to join us) are going to a screening of "Children of Men" (and if "Children of Men" isn't jam-packed with fun, I don't know what is) for the Sci-Fi class we're not officially taking, and then a group of us is going to see a production of "The Vagina Monologues" (which I've read but never seen; if you don't know what I'm talking about you should look it up--it's super-empowering if you're a lady). 

I'm kinda afraid I embarrassed Nige yesterday (or uh, two days ago, since it's now technically Friday) when we were walking back from the Sci-Fi class we're not officially taking. I feel like I exclaimed this especially loudly, and I'm pretty sure there were some bemused looks shot in our general direction. Oh well. Supposedly there's been enough talk of "What would your vagina say? Where would your vagina go on vacation? etc. etc." lately amongst us ladies that Nigel says he has, and I quote, "become totally inured to that word."

Horoscope

TAURUS MONSTER

From Cosmo via Monstrous Mash:

Healthy Saturn says that it’s a good day to pump up your diet with lots of fruits and veggies to boost your immune system. Beauty benefit: They help to keep your skin soft too

While I am a Taurus, and yesterday I totally (and unknowingly) fulfilled my horoscope by making a delicious asparagus soup (no really--I HIGHLY recommend it; you can find the recipe here) I am mostly just using this as an excuse to promote my BFF Tessa's little sister Anna's new monsterrific blog, Monstrous Mash. Seriously, go check it out. I am such a fan of her monster art. You should be too.  

Nerds Anonymous

Many of my readers may already be aware of this fact, but I'm currently auditing a Sci-Fi in Film and Literature course, which is awesome. So far we've watched "Blade Runner" and "Brazil," read Frankenstein (widely acknowledged as the first science fiction novel), and this week we're discussing the graphic novel "V for Vendetta." Yeah, I know.

Anyways, the first conference felt like an AA meeting. Or, what I imagine an AA meeting to feel like...not that I have any personal experience with such things...oh you get the picture.

*Names have been changed to protect the privacy of those involved

February 1

A new month, a new seasonally-appropriate nickname.

ROMANTA

She may not have found her perfect man(ta) yet, but hey, there's plenty of fish in the sea.

Rabbit Rabbit

So, I was actually going to draw two rabbits, but when I was looking for reference photos, I found this picture of two rabbits high-fiving and decided to post it instead.

TWO RABBITS HIGH-FIVING

So, according to my friend Ania, on the first day of every month, the first two words out of your mouth absolutely have to be "Rabbit Rabbit" or else, no good luck for you. I didn't really believe that this was anything more than some weird family tradition of hers for the longest time, but hey, it has a wikipedia page so it must be true.

That being said, this morning I woke up and whispered "Rabbit rabbit" so...this month better be frakkin' lucky. 

Happy February 1, all!