My buddy sethimothy posted this, so I though I'd re-post.  I was affected, and you may be, too.

Check your LJ for Internet Transmitted Diseases.

I got some lovely gifts for my brithday.  The most notorious of them - - well, you'll see.

I had this plot, where I would get something dumb and hilarious for my father-in-law for Christmas.  I had thought about it, and decided that a leopard-print Snuggie would fit the bill.

This past week, Matt and I went over to his parents' house, and they had presents for me.  My mother-in-law gave me a wonderful set of dessert teas, yummy.  My father-in-law... ...gave me a Snuggie.

Of course, this was hilarious, and I took it to our gaming session that night, and discovered several things about the Snuggie:

1) It can fit anyone, even 6'6" lanky Mike.
2) Cats like to lay on it.
3) You can turn it into a coat by just wearing it on your shoulders.
4) It is also a very effective Black Mage cosplay without having to sew.
5) (and this is the most surprising) I LIKE IT AND I HATE MYSELF FOR LIKING IT.

The damn thing is useful when I'm trying to do comics, and I find myself curling up into it every now and again.  The bright blue fleecy hospital gown is actually kind of nice to have around, and I shouldn't like it at all.  But I do.  It's a mystery.

Now I need to figure out what to get Bill for Christmas.  I was thinking a ShamWOW or a singing bass.  I haven't decided which would annoy and amuse him more.

YOU BEST BELIEVE IT (there's also a trailer for a hentai game called "My Grilfriend is the President" - probably NSFW)

Thank you all for the birthday wishes.  <3  Matt took me out to the Ruth's Chris Steakhouse and brought me roses.  Lovely~  (Thank you, love.)

Looks like a lot of jackassery has happened in the world recently.  Summary?

- Kanye West is a jackass.
- Obama agrees.
- Leno premiered his new show.  Conan gets screwed once again by NBC.
- Philly is closing its libraries, effective Oct. 2nd.  What the shit.

In sad news, two very important people have passed away recently - Norman Borlaug, who has fed millions of people around the world with agricultural science, and Patrick Swayze, who has made millions of people around the world swoon with his awesome acting abilities.  Take a moment to read about Norman Borlaug - the magnitude of his work in agriculture just boggles my mind.

Guess who I'm not voting for in the Governor race.  HOW IS A SECOND PAYCHECK DETRIMENTAL.  GUESS ME AND MY OVARIES SHOULD JUST QUIT AND STAY HOME WAITING FOR MR. STORK, PASSING THE TIME BY MAKING SAMMICHES.

Also, Marvel being bought by Disney?  True.  Hopefully, this means Marvel won't run out of money.  Not sure how it's going to affect Disney comic properties or future Marvel movies, but who knows. 

Snow Leopard is fantastic.  I declare victory in my battle against Photoshop force-quits.  :D

Quick post: Tim Gunn from Project Runway is donning the Iron Man suit on the 26th.  Also, Hellcat's in it.  <3  I must pick this up.

Sidenote: The new penciller and inker for Deadpool?  TERRIBLE.  The writing is still fun, but UGH, the proportions are so out-of-whack and the inks are so over-hatched that it makes me sad.

Lots of things happening, and I haven't been posting.  Here's a rundown:

Otakon was good all-around - made more money than last year, had fantastic help (thanks Julia and Mike), Mike made a hilarious Barry, I got to see a lot of webcomic folk again, got together with other friends, panel went well (despite the smartass in the Lucario outfit that felt the need to share his "knowledge" every five seconds - I heckled him into submission).  Everything was great.  We also had a bunch of awesome readers come by the table and come to the meet.

Shortly before I took off for Otakon, I got the call I'd been waiting for since... ...wow, since much earlier this year.  It took that long for me to get my clearance.  I can't talk too much about it (still), mainly because I'm not sure of where specifically they'll put me.  Just know that the benefits and the paycheck will help us tremendously.  Unfortunately, it also cuts into my comic-making time, which means I have to get a lead on both the regular comic and the Dungeon Mastering strips.  O_O  Intimidating.

I was preparing to work this morning when the fire alarm went off in the building.  Smelled nothing burning and didn't hear the sound of rushing water, but I figured it would be best to get out.  I called the non-emergency number for the fire department.  They got there within five minutes (they're good).  I stood outside talking with one of my neighbors in the blistering heat for about half an hour - her kitties were definitely not pleased with the situation, and I can't say that I was, either.

Turns out that the fire alarm malfunctioned.  According to one of my other neighbors, this is fairly common.  In the eight years he's lived in the building, the only alarm that was legit was, coincidentally, when our apartment flooded earlier this year.  The hot (I mean really hunky, but they were probably really warm in their gear) firefighters reassured everyone that it was all okay, and that they'd fix the problem.  (Somehow, I don't think they'd piss off a sweaty fat girl who has a mom-purse and is wearing ghetto jammies.)

In a separate incident, my neighbor's water main valve broke (fortunately in the "off" position; he shut off the water while he was on vacation and was turning it back on), but in order to fix it, they have to shut off the water in the building for an hour.  I was able to get a pitcher of water through the Brita filter, but I feel disgusting (and I really really really don't feel like taking a coffee-pot bath).

At least I can settle back in to working (for now).  Seems like I have plenty of comic fodder for the next week or two after Ota, at least.

If you'll excuse me, I'm going to empty the ice maker and bury my head in the ice to cool down.  Hot as balls out.

Also, if you're going to Ota, and you haven't seen the GND plans, take a look at what's going on here.

1. Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me."
2. I will respond by asking you five questions. I get to pick the questions.
3. You will post the answers to the questions (and the questions themselves) on your blog or journal.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

I was interviewed by sethimothy here (thank youuuu) - I'll interview everyone who responds after Ota.

1) General readers of my livejournal recognize you as an artist; would you consider yourself a "professional artist" though? Why or why not?  I'm a professional - I get money to do artwork as my living. It's not a steady monetary source, but getting cash for something that I enjoy doing is always good.

2)What are some of your favorite shows?  I usually watch my shows when I'm doing artwork; it's good white noise, and I can listen to them to get most of the gags or info. I like the Colbert Report, Mythbusters, Penn & Teller's Bullshit (I have to dig around the net for that), MST3K, and Squidbillies. As far as anime goes, my most recent faves are Mushishi, Magical Lyrical Nanoha (definitely a fresh take on the magical girl genre), and Ghost in the Shell (loved the series, just saw the most recent movie).

3)If you could spend a day with my dog Marcus, what would you and him do together?  YAY PUPPY~ We'd definitely go for walks; I would spoil him silly with treats and belly rubs. I'd also see if he'd like to be brushed. We'd probably end up napping in the sun.

4) If you could have a small garden, and you knew anything could grow in it, what would you plant in it?  Herbs. Definitely herbs; probably some veggies. I'm not good with flowers, and there's nothing like fresh, low-maintenance veggies (like potatoes and squash). Plus, it would remind me of my Grandfather's veggie garden - reminds me of where I came from.

5) What are some of your favorite protagonists who, by virtue, are not traditional heroes?  Sam and Max - they have a very twisted buddy-cop relationship, but they're both very madcap, and no matter how absurd things are, they usually do what's best for everyone. What's best is not necessarily what's right, though. The Bride from Kill Bill is out for revenge - she does terrible, horrible, bloody things, but you find yourself rooting for her the whole way because of the pain that she went through.

DO IT

Got the pieces for my Cooking Mama cosplay yesterday.  I'll probably carry around my DS and a cheap spatula with it.  The aprons have nice deep pockets that I can seal with Velcro.  As you can see in the picture below, Mama's hair is pretty short.  Would do the hair, but I'd rather not wear a wig.  Maybe I can curl my hair up a little bit, but my hair is so long that I think it won't stay in. 

It really is an easy closet cosplay to do - not very many parts to it.