The Lost Ann-Mi

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a romanticized harpy...

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:55:12 +0100

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a romanticized harpy before. And I like it.

Cthulhu introduced in the form of a childrens’ cartoon....

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:46:40 +0100

Cthulhu introduced in the form of a childrens’ cartoon. It’s awesome… and slightly scary how much imaginative the whole Lovecraftian lore is than the average childrens’ cartoon.

Whether you know Cthulhu or not, this is a great video.

via Boing Boing

These “paintings” are actually tea towels tightened...

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:26:00 +0100

These “paintings” are actually tea towels tightened around a frame. This is a nice idea - I saw some beautiful tea towels but decided not to buy them because I don’t actually need any more towels… But here is a great solution! I have lots of blank walls!

I just need a staple gun now.. :)

Via Marimekko Blog » Marimekko Tea Towel Art

vriad_lee: needlefelted this slightly bewildered-looking but...

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:14:49 +0100

vriad_lee: needlefelted this slightly bewildered-looking but extremely charming bear.

Via CRAFT Magazine

Illustration by Holly Maguire on yay!everyday

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 23:03:29 +0100

Illustration by Holly Maguire on yay!everyday

Children’s / Fantasy Illustrations: Arthur Rackham - Cat...

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 10:18:00 +0100

Children’s / Fantasy Illustrations: Arthur Rackham - Cat sketch

Here is an exhibition I would LOVE to see.. Shame it’s so...

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 10:14:34 +0100

Here is an exhibition I would LOVE to see.. Shame it’s so damn far away. Oh well. I will have to make do with his photostream on flickr instead! Mm.. Gorgeous.

The World Unseen and Those In Between (via andy kehoe)

I love these! But then I would feel compelled to get something...

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:42:25 +0100

I love these! But then I would feel compelled to get something saying

Via Unearthed Caravan

Sometimes you just want to… via The Unearthed Caravan

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:38:00 +0100

Sometimes you just want to…

via The Unearthed Caravan

Abuse?

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:06:44 +0100

This is the last post on the matter I’ll make for a while, unless something extremely dramatic happens. I’ve been trying to make sense of the behavior of the person I mentioned in my previous post, and this is the only thing I could make of it: Abuse.

I found a website about Women Abusing Men. No, it’s not kinky shit, it’s serious. l know, the title isn’t too imaginative and neither is the layout of the website, but what the text says seems to be exactly relevant to the ongoing situation.

Here is an abridged version. Please visit the site for the complete version.

What is Abuse?
“To hurt or injure by maltreatment; To assail with contemptuous, coarse or insulting language; an unjust, wrongful practice.”
…

Women Abusers often fall into two categories:

1. Abusive Controllers: Women who want to control you so they can own you mind, body and soul. You are … to be arranged and managed. She is not interested in who you are, but only in whom she requires you to be. To her, compliance is love. Meeting her rigid expectations and giving her complete access to you, 24/7, is what she wants from you.

2. Abusive Consumers: Women who want to control you so they can have access to everything you’ve got. You are a tool … She is more interested in than the relationship she has with you. To her, giving to her is love. …

**Important to Note: Some women take on aspects of both these postures… it’s all about her, all the time. Your role is limited to what you’re doing for her, or failing to do for her.

The site goes on to detail methods of manipulation and abuse. And it is all so flabbergastingly familiar. Why did I never see what was going on before? And how do you get someone out of a harmful relationship like this when they don’t want to? So many times, my friend has said that this is it, this is the last straw, but he always always goes crawling back. And now, when the girl has crossed the line and managed to earn the alienation of so many other people, he does the same. What’s going on here? Why can the abused partner never leave?

I understand this is very difficult for him. This is after all, his greatest love of his life so far. But he must realize that this is bad for him, that this is hurting him, and that while it may so far be limited to mostly verbal abuse and scratches, it could easily escalate into much more dangerous ground. He doesn’t deserve any of this! He deserves so much better. He’s a great guy and it pains me to see this going on for so long now.

The problem is, I don’t know how to tell him any of this! All I can say is that I know that the rest of us, we who genuinely care about him are all behind him and are willing to help him no matter what it takes.

The relief of unveiling

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:41:00 +0100

Note: If you’re one of the few people who might be insulted by reading this post, then don’t read it. You know who you are. And it’s not aimed at you, it’s just an airing of old laundry. Don’t worry, I don’t name you in person.

As for the rest of you who accidentally read this but are in no way involved, there is no need to leave a comment. I haven’t left you enough details for you to be able to make a fair judgement. This post is an entirely non-objective, biased rant. The only reason I’ve written this post is to get it off my chest.

Have you ever felt relieved that you no longer have to behave in a civil manner towards someone and pretend to like them when in fact you have a very deep, strong dislike for them and a theory that they are completely insane?

I haven’t until now! And it is quite relaxing. It’s nice to no longer have to bother with a fake smile, a hello, and asking politely if they would like to join me in whatever activity I am currently indulging in.

The only thing I will miss is watching them cringe in horror when I give them a big bear-hug. (Oh no! Human contact! Aiiii!)

Well, this particular person went quite insane, took her gloves off, and began a tantrum the size of a small hurricane. I’m relieved that I wasn’t there to witness it. Even when you have suspected that someone is not quite right in the head for quite a while now, it’s never nice to see such a depressing theory confirmed so violently.

The second thing she did was updating her Facebook profile. Hilarious! What topsy-turvy priorities this person has. And I’ve never to someone’s credit when they use an involuntary, nearly invisible disease as a “deep insult”. What I mean is, choosing a status that in no way makes a person a lesser person and then using that as an insult. It’s like shouting at someone because they have blue eyes, or wear shoes, except that this is something that can actually be alleviated or cured with medication! What a sad, pathetic attempt at an insult. (Not to mention the self-censoring that occurred after this word.) Please see the following example for what I mean! “I no longer have to pretend to like this glasses-wearing (censored censored censored)!!”
My deepest regret is that first she went off and removed all the people she insulted on that day from her friends list. (This includes me), so I wasn’t able to give her status change a thumbs up.
The MOST amusing thing out of this whole thing is that after she went on her crazy crazy rampage involving scratching, shouting, non-stop-cursing, and throwing things around, she actually deleted this status message from her page. Maybe she was hoping that the other person involved wouldn’t see it? Or maybe she changed her mind and wants to be friends with him again?

Well, I can only hope that he will come to his senses and see that “his treasure” is not a treasure. It’s an insane, sick little girl who needs psychological help and should certainly get it. I can’t help feeling sorry for her.

But not sorry enough. I will be quite happy to never again see her in my entire life, and judging by the things she said, the feeling is quite mutual.

There are plenty of other fish in the sea. I remember you mentioning this to me once as well. “Well, now that I have found her, a lot of other girls have suddenly started showing their interest in me too!” See? That only goes to prove it.

And if the only reason he’s staying together with her is because she’s threatening suicide or to kill small fuzzy things, that is a great big neon warning sign! In this situation, get the hell out of there!!! This person is NOT suicidal, it is a controlling, manipulative crazy person who is willing to seriously hurt you just to get her own way. Don’t confuse it with love! It’s manipulation and she’s not interested in love either - she wants a captive.

Of course, this last point is merely speculation on my part. It might be that she is apologizing without threats, but seriously if this is the case, it’s more than any one normal person can handle. That violent little lunatic should definitely get some professional help. (And maybe she should change her Facebook settings so that not everyone can see it if she’s trying to hide it from the people she insulted the most?)

I will now go back to breathing deep sighs of relief and smiling to myself.

I must be homesick...

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:08:21 +0100

Because I just dreamt of such banal things as shopping in Stockmann and Anttila while it’s pitchblack outside and the ground is covered with slush.

I went to Anttila with my brother and bought all kinds of junk that I can’t afford, then Stockmann with my mother and father and looked at all kinds of very Finnish things, like a leather-covered taskumatti (pocket flask) and certain Finnish magazines that I don’t even read.

There were Finnish candies along the aisle before the cashier, and my grandmother was around too, wearing her long grey coat, and being considerably more healthy than she is in real life.

My mother struck up a conversation with the cashier about the music that was playing in the shop, comparing it to last month’s compilation.

It was a very dark, grey, dull dream but somehow I enjoyed it nevertheless.

This is so terrifying that I couldn’t make it all the way...

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 22:36:47 +0100

This is so terrifying that I couldn’t make it all the way through the video… *shudder* A ventriloquism choir (on Hungarian tv)!

via: never slap the gift donkey

Rain at last

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 22:05:07 +0100

It’s raining at last.

Or rather, it’s pouring. The skies have opened up and the rain is tearing across the country with colossal power. Many cities are flooded.

I like the rain. Finally nothing looks a dusty orangey-brown anymore and when the clouds are gone, I can see across the bay further than ever.

Unfortunately, our apartment has sprung several leaks, almost all of them caused by old roof tiles. We live on the top floor and there is a small attic above us. We phoned our landlord about it during the weekend, and a nice repairman showed up today to take a look. Unfortunately, while it rains, he can’t do anything about it, so until then our pans, pots, and bowls will be employed as raincatchers, along with their buddies, the towels.

My office seems to have it worst. There is an ugly stain, like diluted tea, spreading across the wall behind me. It also comes through the window because someone forgot to finish the wall there. There is a crack above the balcony window in the livingroom where more rain slips in, and a proper stream runs in from under another window.

Until today, the bedroom was the only room that was spared from this spreading ugly brown patch, but today there is a tiny patch growing there as well. Luckily, it’s as far away from the bed as it can get. I can tolerate the rain seeping in elsewhere, but a wet, dripping bed would not be acceptable!

I’ve started doodling again. It’s so much easier to focus in class when the other half of my brain is busy doing something and leaves the rest of me alone to focus on the words coming out of the teacher’s mouth.

I’ll try to scan some tomorrow to show you. I seem to be developing an obsession with the letter “a” and owls.

Also, I finally finished both Neverwinter Nights 2 and Mask of the Betrayer. MotB was really good, and I feel like replaying it, this time as an eeeeebil bastard. (I find it too hard to play bad guys - I’m much too nice a person.)
Meanwhile, I’ve discovered that there are a lot of really good-quality player-made campaigns and modules to explore. Currently, I’m enjoying a very well-made story called “Harp & Chrysanthemum”. If you own NWN2 and are looking for a quality module to try out, go check it out. I especially enjoy the hand-drawn map for when you travel to one place to another. I’ll try to grab a screenshot to show next time I play it! It’s like a Tolkien map, except made with colored pencils instead of professional-quality ink. Very cute.

Back to the rain: I hope the smell in my room isn’t permanent or harmful… and that those cracks I see in the corner aren’t getting bigger. These plaster-made walls are really not very rain-proof! Give me proper bricks or insulated wood! Stupid plaster…

The repairman will hopefully come rescue us on next Sunday or Monday, when it will supposedly not rain. *fingers crossed!*

Via: drawgabbydraw: from GEMMA!

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 21:51:52 +0100

Via: drawgabbydraw: from GEMMA!

Gorgeous. Visit Emmanuel’s page for the full resolution....

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 18:13:47 +0100

Gorgeous. Visit Emmanuel’s page for the full resolution. I’ve never seen such an interesting painting of electrical wires.

I wish real life looked like this…

EmmanuelMalin-Following

Matchboxes altered in a rather cool retro style by Katey...

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 18:08:35 +0100

Matchboxes altered in a rather cool retro style by Katey Nicosia. Visit her flickr gallery here for more tasty artwork.

Via: Absinthe and Orange: Featured Artist: Katey Nicosia

CraftyPod - How to Make a Button-and-Wire Brooch

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 15:45:14 +0100

CraftyPod - How to Make a Button-and-Wire Brooch:

A cute tutorial on a simple-to-make brooch. This would match my button-embroidered knitted/felted bag!

Yesterday, after dining at the best fish restaurant I’ve...

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 15:26:59 +0100

An old building under restoration

All the paints needed for restoration

Restored antique ceiling

View from building of Akko

Akko from above

Yesterday, after dining at the best fish restaurant I’ve ever been to, we got a guided tour of an ancient building under restoration in the city of Akko (Acre). Parts of the building were from Turkish times, and there was even a real turkish bath. The ceilings featured grand, detailed paintings with exquisite 3-d details. All of the windows were arched, the small ones had details on them and the large ones offered a marvelous view of Akko.

Please excuse the strange, bleak, brown weather, the sand-mist was just picking up properly.

We went to a botanical garden yesterday. There were storks,...

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 15:06:52 +0100

Meerkat cuteness!

Pelican

We went to a botanical garden yesterday.

There were storks, pelicans, snakes, adorable little mice, goats, lemurs, and some absolutely adorable meerkats, and more! Never before did I realize what an absolute dinosaur the ostriches are. Their feet are amazing! I want to go back and draw them when it’s not “sanding”.

The meerkats chattered, preened, dug, and stood guard, looking exactly like their wild counterparts on tv do. So cute.

I also discovered there were mosquitos, as I took these photos. The sand-mist was still blowing in my eyes and it wasn’t nice to spend much time outdoors, but this visit was fun anyway!