Venomous Fish

Today I learned that there are venomous fish in existence. And I’m not talking poisonous like the pufferfish, I’m talking have venom sacks and can inject you with some deadly toxins venomous. Properly venomous like a snake.

Of these fish the most toxic of them belong to the genus “Synanceia”, commonly called “Stonefish”. They’re honestly ugly as sin, and have spines along the back that are hooked right up to some glands full of a nasty bunch of neurotoxin that can make your leg hurt so bad you want it cut off.

That’s right, this little fish can make you want to hack your foot off with a rusty ax if you step on it. If the victim does not receive treatment in a reasonable amount of time, it can even prove fatal, making this one of the planets most deadly animals. This means that an ugly fish that looks like a stone could kill you. Which would be revenge for all the slights against the fish’s perceived lack of attractiveness, I guess.

Candlelight Service

I will admit that I don’t remember a ton of the sermon from last night’s Candlelight Service. mainly because I was distracted by Linnea’s adorableness the whole time. Right before the service started my Father-in-law, Norm, came over to where we were all sitting because she was fussing. Matt, Linnea’s father, said the following:

She’s just crying because she found out her Grandpa wears a dress.

Note of the uninitiated, but Lutheran Pastors still wear the fancy flowing vestments.

Douglas the Fir Tree…

My mother has in her possession a foot tall, holiday themed singing fir tree named Douglas. I hate Douglas and have since he was originally acquired. This year I even attempted to throw him down a flight of stairs. Alas, my little brother saved the fir tree and he lived to sing this year…

Maybe next year I’ll be as lucky as Garfield…

Baby Blues

In light of the season, I’ve decided that I’m going to be lazy and no write a proper blog entry for today. Instead, you’re getting a collection of Baby Blues comics that I’ve found entertaining of late. It’s a cute series from awhile back that I really connected with.

Granted… I was the kid who responded to the phrase “You’re going to have a baby brother or sister” with “Couldn’t we just get a puppy?”…

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Young Adult Lit

I read a lot of young adult literature even though I’m an adult. Keep in Mind that I also read a lot of adult books and the odd volume strait out of a section far “too young” for me.

I am not ashamed of this!

I never will be, either. Good stuff lies in those sections, some that connects with my youth and some of it that just gives me hope because kids read this stuff.

Tamara Peirce, for example, is amazing. I love tortall and have no plans to leave it anytime soon. I don’t understand why she hasn’t gotten the attention that J. K. Rowlings got for Harry Potter. She has good plots and rounder characters than jk does.

Meg Cabot is another good example. I had a rough time in middle and high school. The kind of time that makes me act crazy during movies like the Breakfast Club that make believe that cliques are good for us even when we’re “all the same”. I felt like Mia a lot back then. Sometimes even in my day to day life. I think it’s healthy for me to find a character that helps me work through all of those negative emotions and find a positive spin for that part of my life.

And finally, a nostalgia author for me. Everyone should read Erickson’s Hank the Cowdog books when they’re 10 or younger, and then revisit them at 30. I want a kid to read these to. They’re incredible fun and beg to be read aloud.

In short: Don’t let a shelf classification keep you from reading anything, ever. Sometimes you don’t want 1000 pages of dancing dragons. Sometimes you only want 100 pages where the dragon dosent turn anybody into a cinder (calling on dragons, perhaps, when you need a break from Martin’s epic A Dance of Dragons). They say don’t judge a book by its cover, but don’t judge it by its page count, either!

Another Visual Change

I figure now that the “Brand New Day” is done dawning, it was time to swap to a more serious skin to reflect the “more serious” approach I’m trying to take to this blog. Go me, right?

Yes, it is a monster change, but I felt like a layout that reflected my current goals was in order, and seemed prudent. There are still going to be silly things, but I really want to up the amount of serious content, and maybe end up driving a little bit of real traffic through this website. Maybe try and make something of it…