Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in Minoukatze's LiveJournal:

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Friday, September 3rd, 2004
10:10 pm	Another T-Shirt Design I'd had this face done for a while, but didn't know what to do with her. I think she has my favorite face that I've done. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
1:04 am	Baaahhh.... Swiped from awelkin... Leave a comment with your name if you want to know what I really think of you, and I’ll reply and tell you. No lies, all honesty. Post it in your journal after I do yours so I can see the reverse (9 Comments |Comment on this)
12:58 am	Cheesy T-shirt Design.... But I'm okay with it. I've had such a dry spell lately with artwork. I've started and stopped several pictures, without any real inspiration. Ever since I've returned it's been really difficult to get back into the swing of things. So many things to take care of here... And we've got my Li'l Brudder Finnbar here, who is possibly the most neurotic dog in the world. We're looking after him while my Mom's in Santa Fe (hopefully having a wonderful, stress-free time). Finn's very sweet, but refuses to eat anything but cooked ground turkey and the occasional dog bone. He flips out when we leave the house (and sometimes the room), screaming and yelping like someone's taking an axe to him. And we have to carry him up and down stairs due to his weak back. But.... he ain't heavy....:P Pete and I have realized something this year, after looking after two other dogs: we're not dog people. I like dogs (especially pugs), and will stop and coo over any friendly canine to cross my path, but we'll always prefer the independance of kitties. We like sleeping in. We prefer not to have a set schedule for walkies and such. Nothing against dogs or anything, but we're too laid-back for the critters (though we'll dog-sit when necessary). I need to get out of this funk and get inspired again... Current Mood: cranky (6 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, August 21st, 2004
1:54 pm	Ponderous, Miserable, Terrifying News From Which You Should Run and Hide Lemony Snicket's coming to town!!!!!! I'm so excited (and so there). Current Mood: melancholy (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, August 16th, 2004
9:41 pm	Like the Odyssey, but in America and with less sailors (but more cows) This was the best vacation ever. Number of states visited: 14- West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Utah (briefly, at Four Corners), Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Kentucky (Well, 15 if you count Maryland:) We stumbled upon a John Kerry rally in Zanesville, Ohio- very cool. It turned out that his route pretty much followed all of the places we went. He was following us, man... Kerry's speech was very good, but I was a little disappointed with Edwards'- it was more or less just a rehash of his speech at the Democratic convention. However, it was my first political rally and the energy in the air was exhilarating. We hung out with a friend in Lawrence, KS, a super-cool little artsy town not too far from Kansas City. Then we went to visit the Cathedral on the Plains. Here we are with the world's largest prairie dog (and friend) at Prairie Dog Town in Oakley, KS! And this little guy came up and posed for Pete. Barraged by rainbows in Colorado Springs! We were generally stunned by the Rockies, though driving through Wolf Pass proved a bit unnerving:) Standing on four states! It was so windy there- my skirt kept blowing up. I fell thoroughly in love with Arizona, especially Sedona. Odd, considering I hate hot weather, but I really didn't mind it there. Oh yeah, saw the Grand Canyon too. New Mexico was nice, but had a rather unnerving experience in Albuquerque. We were going into the city at night to check out a club, and all of the roads downtown were blocked off by police cars. When I asked why, the police officer informed me that 10-14 year olds were 'cruising' around, shooting at each other there (my non-plussed response- "With guns??"). It is a lovely city during the day, though. We very much enjoyed Santa Fe. Santa Fe's filled with art galleries and cool little shops, and has a very bohemian air to it. One of my favorite spots. We kind of breezed through Texas and Oklahoma (sorry, guys:) and headed to Springfield, MO, home of the Exotic Animal Sanctuary. Where we were accosted by all sorts of crazy critters. And... BABY TIGERS! OMG! OMG! OMG! Cutest thing ever. Then we stumbled upon Metropolis! It's actually a pretty small town, but has a really cool Superman museum and a huge statue of the Man of Steel in front of the town hall. There's more, but those were the highlights. I'd do it again in a second, but it is good to be home:) Oh- gross things we found in various h/motel sheets: a toenail, fresh stains that looked suspiciously like earwax (won't go into the headboard there...*shudder*, fortunately there was a second relatively clean bed in that room), a silverfish, and a slice of old pepperoni. (13 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, August 15th, 2004
3:32 am	Be It Ever So Humble.... We're back from our American odyssey! We had a wonderful time for the most part, and took loads of pictures. It's good to be home, though. We missed the kitties, and it's always best to be sleeping in your own room. I'll post more about it (as well as pictures) later, but now I'm sleepy and need to go to bed:) So, after weeks of stopping and starting, scrapping quite a few studies and color schemes, faces and poses, I've finished my portrait of the goddess Athena. I've always been fond of her, and wanted to get this right. Any suggestions? Catch you later! Current Mood: sleepy (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, August 2nd, 2004
11:27 am	Woot! We're in Hannibal, and I'm reporting from a lovely internet cafe. I'm going to be even more sporadic than usual in my postings, so I'm sorry if I miss any messages from you guys. Hannibal's a sweet little town, and the Mississippi is very impressive. I've never been this far west before, so it's very exciting. Will post more later. Hope all is well in cyberland:) (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, July 26th, 2004
9:53 am	D'oheth! Happy Belated Birthday, fernwithy! Sorry I missed it the first time around:) (Comment on this)
Wednesday, July 21st, 2004
11:42 pm	Creative Spam Sometimes I get spam that has insane random paragraphs. Here are two I got today: Most tenors believe that buzzard of mourn avocado pit from.And tr to seduce the dark side of her turkey.particle accelerator behind globule sanitize around cab driver, because beyond necromancer give lectures on morality to about rattlesnake.Most ribbons believe that over skyscraper make a truce with plaintiff near rattlesnake.steam engine toward somnambulist strokes, or support group behind fruit cake tr to seduce dahlia from.But they need to remember how non-chalantly bubble living with bubble bath ceases to exist. tabular canfield indecisive waylay meteor judge living with, tabloid behind grain of sand, and particle accelerator inside grizzly bear are what made America great!When about paper napkin is Alaskan, skyscraper around teach hole puncher behind.Indeed, mortician defined by bartender make love to living with cup. significant squatter image propulsion bavaria magnet pocketbook I find this sort of thing oddly compelling. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
4:39 pm	Camaraderie With Strangers Having had to spend about four hours at a car dealership, waiting for my Eloise to be worked on in preparation for our big trip, I made the kind of profound ephemeral acquaintance one can only make when trapped in these situations. I had brought some magazines to read (myself being a very insular sort), and was trying not to be annoyed when this older lady insisted on striking up a conversation with me. Soon enough, I found myself drawn in and we discussed everything from cabbages to kings (well, not really, but you get the idea). I do not know this woman's name, but I know that she was a self-sufficient child in post-war Berlin who looked forward to the Americans dropping food from their planes. Her mother was a bon-vivant who traveled the world and drove dangerously fast up skinny Alpine roads. I know that she lived in England before she moved to Maine with her husband, and then moved to Maryland because there were no jobs in Maine. She has grandchildren who look much older than they are, and are constantly bored. She does not know my name, but she knows my husband's, and that he is English. She knows where I've been in Europe, and that I want to see Prague and go to the Mucha museum. She knows that my husband and I are taking a road trip west, because I need to see more of America, and that (sadly enough), Pete's seen more of it than I have. She knows that I was on It's Academic (a Maryland high school quiz bowl TV show, yes, I'm a big ol' geek) twice, and choked both times due to nerves. We talked and talked like old friends, and then, as soon as her mechanic came out, it was over. She stopped, mid-sentence, and said "It was nice talking to you.", waved goodbye with a smile, and off she went. A relationship ended as quickly as it was started. Current Mood: pensive (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, July 17th, 2004
6:47 pm	Pointless Post We saw Anchorman. It's stupid and funny and has TEH MOST AWESOME BATTLE EVAIR. And lots of cameos. Go for the polyester suits, stay for Will Farrell's hair. God help me, I've started playing Everquest again. I couldn't wait until the sequel comes out and kills my computer. And still, I get bored after 15 minutes. Ah well. Hey you! You guys out in the Midwest! In a few weeks we're road-tripping, and need to know what landmarks we need to see (or avoid, whichever). Am working on several pictures right now and seem to be unable to finish any. Argh. Current Mood: blah (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, June 28th, 2004
12:54 pm	Fahrenheit 9/11 We went to see this movie late Friday night, at a theater which, even on opening nights, is usually pretty dead. The place was packed, and we had to see it on Saturday afternoon. I was heartened to see such a response. I wept several times during the course of the movie, and, considering the various sniffles I heard, I was far from the only one. One woman broke down in sobs. Whether you agree with Michael Moore's politics or no, I believe that it's important for people to see this movie. It's infuriating and heartbreaking (and hilarious at some points), but also galvanizing. You realize that you aren't alone in thinking that the politics of this administration are absurd. You realize that you can do something. You see the plight of our soldiers and the plight of the Iraqis, as well as the effects on the people back home, the high cost you don't see on the news because there is a ban on it. You see how the administration is "supporting our troops" by cutting their pay. There's more, but I think you should see it for yourself. At any rate, I just want people to take charge and inform themselves about what's going on. Disagree with the movie? Fine, as long as you educate yourself on why you disagree with it (that goes if you agree as well). THINK. VOTE. DO SOMETHING. Because I'm not much of a writer, I'd recommend justkellie's and awelkin's takes on the movie, as both are thoughtful and thorough reviews. Current Mood: contemplative (5 Comments |Comment on this)
12:06 pm	Silly post First of all, I wanted to thank all of you for spreading my quiz far and wide:) It's so cool sseing all the places my pictures were popping up. You guys rule. It's weird- I've been finding my pictures popping up on very odd sites. My Bellatrix picture has shown up on a Mexican HP forum, a German one, and a Polish one (the most interesting since its description translated to "Ach, This look (regard). I thought, that I will smash head about keyboard." according to an online translator. I'm not sure what to think about that...the Polish line is "Ach, to spojrzenie... Myślałam, że rozbiję głowę o klawiaturę.", so if there are any Polish speakers out there, I'm curious;). I'm very sporadic when it comes to posting, and it's something I want to change. So I'm going to try to post once a day, especially for fanweight. I get so behind on things. Anyway, big doings going on here- will update when I know more. Suffice to say, this Grumpy Kitty may show up at a Hot Topic near you (but I will say no more, as I don't want to jinx myself). Swiped from katinka31: Go to http://images.google.com and type in your username. Pick an image from the first 2 pages that come up. It can't be an image that you have made or are using on your own site/journal. Current Mood: tired Current Music: Nellie McKay- Waiter (Comment on this)
Sunday, June 20th, 2004
10:44 pm	Shameless Self Promotion I apologize for neglecting you all in my replies:( However, this is what has been taking up my time (as well as small vacations and other diversions). You're a Ielle! Ielles are extremely powerful fae, forever capricious in their dealings with humans. They can be very generous but tend to reward avarice with cruel pranks. They can influence the weather and turn invisible at will. To take this test yourself go here. More artwork here. I made a quiz! I found the power of the online quiz recently, when I found one of my old pictures being downloaded often enough to be placed high on the google images page. Upon further inspection, it showed that someone swiped the picture (which was, frankly, kind of crappy and not even finished) and used it as a final result in a quiz. I should be peeved about this, as they're taking bandwidth and I wasn't credited, but as Dr. Zoidberg said when the Professor complained of a terrible stench, I'm just glad to be noticed. And it also gave me an epiphany- online quizzes spread like wildfire. So I made one myself (and replaced the swiped picture with a much better one that credits me as the artist;). So- go find out what kind of fae creature you are, and post it so the world knows! MWAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!! (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, June 10th, 2004
1:33 am	Yet Another Picture Call me salami, because I'm on a roll! *ducks tomatoes* This is a Blue Lady. They live atop mountains and help travelers find their way through treacherous terrain, so they're nice. Hope I'm not bugging y'all with all these piccies... Current Mood: productive (11 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, June 8th, 2004
6:58 pm	Yippee! It's been a great birthday so far. Thanks to all who have wished me well:) I figured that if there were any day to indulge in artistic vanity, today's it;) So here's my self portrait as a Ielle. Ielles are fae type beings who influence the weather and are capricious critters, cruel and generous whenever they feel like it. I was reading about them and noticed that one of the "most powerful" was named Catrina. Cool. I'm pretty chuffed with this picture:) (16 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, June 7th, 2004
2:28 am	A-HA! minoukatze's LJ stalker is mkholmquist! mkholmquist is stalking you because you got better results for the 'acronym' thing than them. They are also mentally deranged! LiveJournal Username: LJ Stalker Finder From Go-Quiz.com Axelle, how could you??!!? And you seemed so sane...;) Current Mood: shocked (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, June 2nd, 2004
12:07 am	On Chocobos. Before my rant, I'd like to wish hellcatjelybean a happy belated birthday! Okay, I know you out there in cyberland are asking "Hey Catrina! What up with all the chocobo hate?" What up indeed. Here is a little information concerning the digital avian plague known as "Chocobos". Most Final Fantasy games have these three aspects: 1. Effete super-villain hell-bent on bringing about the apocalypse 2. An airship piloted or built by a guy named "Cid" 3. Chocobos Chocobos result from the unholy union of chickens and ostriches. At first they seem cute, what with their 'wark-ing' and such. They're even useful, as they carry you from place to place without the constant annoyance of being attacked. Then, you've worked your way to the end of the game, where the world seems doomed due to the machinations of the effete super-villain. The time has come to gather your strength, rally your men, and find the best equipment. Unfortunately, that equipment (or the items needed to get it) is being held by a sadistic chocobo racer/trainer/breeder (depending on which game you play). Their philosophy is as such: "I realize that you and your ragtag group of heroes are the only ones who can prevent the destruction of myself and everything I hold dear. However, instead of helping you out and giving you the thing that will make the difference between life and death, you're going to have to earn it from me by playing a tedious side-quest involving my idiot birds. It'll, uh, build character or something." Some even make you pay for the privilege of participating in the tedious side-quests, like Mene the Moogle in Final Fantasy IX (the one I'm presently playing). He was even limiting my progress in the game, saying something along the lines of: "Wow! You'll put me out of business if you keep going! Will you let me stop you now, and give you a (useless) point bonus?" "No, Mene. I'd rather you languish here, ultimately being pecked to death and eaten by your own birds." My response, alas, is only imagined. Mene, greedy capitalist pig that he is, doesn't give you a choice. So thus, I am stranded on Disc Four of Final Fantasy IX, which I use for my step workouts. (Thus far I've lost 35 lbs due to my geeky regimen!) I just want to get this game over with so I can get started on X-2, despite the fact that it will undoubtedly involve Chocobo-related madness. So there you go. Some of you may be wondering why I blame the chocobos and not the trainers. It's because all that chocobo exposure made them into passive aggressive jerks. That's why. It's still the chocobos' fault. Current Mood: predatory Current Music: Pete playing Unreal Tournament (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, June 1st, 2004
12:44 am	New Art Thing So I kept my promise to Pete at the last minute and finished a traditional media painting by the end of May. It's a watercolor, and I guess it didn't turn out too badly considering that I'm crap with watercolor. It made me miss layers. I wanted to do an oil/acrylic mix, but my acrylics have scampered off to places unknown and oil takes too damn long to dry. Ah well, next time. I'd write more, but it's late and I'm sleepy. I will inform you about the chocobos and other things later. Current Mood: calm (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, May 27th, 2004
10:37 pm	Yeah, Baby! I was able to see the Prisoner of Azkaban movie on Sunday. I keep putting off a review, as there is much I want to write about the movie. It's gorgeous, there are so many little touches that give it a personality apart from the previous two. Highly recommended. However... ( Spoilers Ahoy! ) On a random note- I freaking hate chocobos. (2 Comments |Comment on this)