Today, the fifth installment of Frank McDonough Jr.’s Odometer has posted on Steampunk Stories.

• Frank McDonough Jr.’s Odometer Part 1 of 6 – Steampunk Stories: In which the current location of Frank McDonough Jr.’s Odometer is revealed, despite its dangerous history.

• Frank McDonough Jr.’s Odometer Part 2 of 6 – Steampunk Stories: Frank McDonough Jr.’s Personal Journal dated May 10, 1869: In which Frank admits the jealous nature he feels toward the northern line and its supposed transcontinental status despite the gap at the Missouri River.

• Frank McDonough Jr.’s Odometer Part 3 of 6 – Steampunk Stories: Frank McDonough Jr.’s Personal Journal dated May 17, 1869: In which Frank describes his new odometer and its jealous nature.

• Frank McDonough Jr.’s Odometer Part 4 of 6 – Steampunk Stories: Frank McDonough Jr.’s Personal Journal dated May 24, 1869: In which a threat from Fig Andrews and the bridge builders on the northern line has Frank unsettled.

• Frank McDonough Jr.’s Odometer Part 5 of 6 – Steampunk Stories: Frank McDonough Jr.’s Personal Journal dated May 31, 1869: In which Frank reveals the amazing abilities the odometer has given him.

I hope you enjoy this story. It’s different than The Dowager Moncur’s Spectacles and I love how it turned out.

• RT @SeagullFountain: Why is it so much easier/more appealing to make a To Do list than to do anything on it? #
• Dear El Pollo Loco: I'm sick of driving to Orem for my food. Please build one in SLC. (@ El Pollo Loco – Lehi in Lehi) http://bit.ly/735pyO #

Powered by Twitter Tools

• LOL at Ernie's birthday card! Happy birthday, buddy! http://tinyurl.com/yjx2j7c #
• Van Candy! It will be our delicious secret. LOL! http://www.flickr.com/photos/wilwheaton/4134028237/ #
• Thinking of spending too much money this weekend? Here's a great article about simplicity. http://tinyurl.com/ylyg7ug #

Powered by Twitter Tools

Today, the fourth installment of Frank McDonough Jr.’s Odometer has posted on Steampunk Stories.

• Frank McDonough Jr.’s Odometer Part 1 of 6 – Steampunk Stories: In which the current location of Frank McDonough Jr.’s Odometer is revealed, despite its dangerous history.

• Frank McDonough Jr.’s Odometer Part 2 of 6 – Steampunk Stories: Frank McDonough Jr.’s Personal Journal dated May 10, 1869: In which Frank admits the jealous nature he feels toward the northern line and its supposed transcontinental status despite the gap at the Missouri River.

• Frank McDonough Jr.’s Odometer Part 3 of 6 – Steampunk Stories: Frank McDonough Jr.’s Personal Journal dated May 17, 1869: In which Frank describes his new odometer and its jealous nature.

• Frank McDonough Jr.’s Odometer Part 4 of 6 – Steampunk Stories: Frank McDonough Jr.’s Personal Journal dated May 24, 1869: In which a threat from Fig Andrews and the bridge builders on the northern line has Frank unsettled.

I hope you enjoy this story. It’s different than The Dowager Moncur’s Spectacles and I love how it turned out.

For the first time in a decade, I’m riding the bus. It costs only fifty cents more than it did ten years ago. I was so surprised when I realized that the bus that goes right past my house could take me to BetaLoft. Instead of fighting traffic, I could read on the bus, or even write a blog entry.

Of course, in exchange for that convenience, I have to worry about missing my bus and stand out in the cold. I have to wonder where I will be allowed to get off. I have to figure out where to catch it to get back home. I guess it’s worth it.

What surprises me the most is how many people from my neighborhood got on the bus. Honestly, UTA has made it so easy for us that it feels crazy NOT to use it.

It snowed last night. It wasn’t a huge storm, just enough of the fluffy white stuff to cover the grass. By this afternoon, almost all of it has melted from the sidewalk. The mountains are pale blue in the distance, leaving behind their oranges and reds of the autumn.

Winter’s finally here and I don’t want to leave the house.

Some people get cabin fever in the winter. When it snows, they feel trapped and want to leave the house just to prove that they can. I’m the opposite. Snow makes me want to hide indoors like a caterpillar in her cocoon. I have plenty of food, entertainment and Internet to keep me busy for months on end.

I feel like cocooning.

This commercial from The Gap for Christmas makes me want to jam knitting needles in my ears.

The choreography is awesome, but the cheerleading chanting is HORRID! Gwen Stefani, Tony Basil and the Black Eyed Peas are going to hunt down the director of this commercial and beat him/her to a bloody pulp.

It really makes me miss the adorable commercials that they did last year, especially this one:

I checked The Gap’s website and last year’s commercials are LONG gone, but you should be able to find them on YouTube: The Gap Merry MixIt.

I found this full sized magazine ad from last year, so I scanned it in at the best resolution my little scanner could take. It was a HUGE file, so I had to reduce it so Flickr would accept it. You can download it here: Rainn Wilson Gap Ad 2008: Full Size.

I just loved this photo. I even wrote about it last year.

• Pick Me! » Found: Rainn Wilson

Too bad they laid such a bad egg this year. I guess I’ll just reminisce about last year instead.

Here’s my second favorite Gap commercial from last Christmas.

“I want this, too.”

Mike and I were in an antique store in Galveston, Texas. The pin read, ” For Progress in Writing.”

“Since I don’t win awards, I’ll just give myself one.”

“Oh, are you a writer?”

“Yes.”

“Are you published?”

“Every day on the Internet.”

Her face turned and her husband went on to talk about a local author who was REALLY published. Her books were even translated into German. I held my tongue, knowing that I have more readers in Germany every month than I ever thought possible.

I wonder if Benjamin Franklin had to deal with that attitude.

Franklin apprenticed at a printing press, so he had access to his own publishing method. Just like me, he was able to print up his own thoughts. When Poor Richard’s Almanack was a hit, I wonder if people said, “Well, you printed it up yourself, so it’s not really a book.”

I used to think that making my living writing was validation enough. I do this full-time and survive on it. That should be enough, right? I guess not. Apparently it has to be on paper to count.

But then again, Mike has published nearly 100 books on real, live paper, and that’s still not enough for people. They say, “Those are computer books.” As if all the work Mike put into them wasn’t as valuable as writing yet ANOTHER vampire novel.

I wonder if Issac Asimov had to deal with that attitude.

Asimove wrote over five HUNDRED books, most of them technical. I wonder if people said, “No, how many REAL books have you written?” Did they discount all of his technical writing the same way they do Mike’s?

If someone paid me to drive a bus, then I would be a bus driver. No one would question it. No one’s face would turn when I told them it was a school bus, not a municipal bus. Even if I drove a bus for a charity and didn’t get paid for it, they would still consider me a bus driver. That’s not how it works for writers.

No wonder Emily Dickinson hid away in her home…

Update 05-24-2015

It is nearly six years later and I feel no more like a “real” writer than I did when I wrote this entry. I have published two books and I still feel like a fake writer. I get a minuscule paycheck from Amazon every month PROVING that I’m a “real” writer and I still feel like I’m faking it. My books have sold in countries all over the world, and I don’t feel like I have earned this pin.

It’s never enough.

Best seller’s lists, Pulitzer prizes, huge paychecks, movie rights… I don’t think any of these would be enough to prove to myself that I’m a real writer. And I know why.

It’s because I still have to prove myself. I still have to earn it. Every day, I sit in front of the computer and write. I MUST do it every day to be a writer. A pin doesn’t exempt me. A paycheck from Amazon doesn’t exempt me. A book sold in Japan or Great Britain doesn’t exempt me. In order to be a writer, I need to WRITE every single day.

It doesn’t matter what other people think. It doesn’t matter how that lady’s face in an antique store in Galveston, Texas turned sour. It doesn’t matter how proud my friends and family are of me. The ONLY thing that matters is if I get my body in front of the computer and put words on the screen.

I only earn that pin when I have done some writing today and every day until I die.

Today, the third installment of Frank McDonough Jr.’s Odometer has posted on Steampunk Stories.

• Frank McDonough Jr.’s Odometer Part 1 of 6 – Steampunk Stories: In which the current location of Frank McDonough Jr.’s Odometer is revealed, despite its dangerous history.

• Frank McDonough Jr.’s Odometer Part 2 of 6 – Steampunk Stories: Frank McDonough Jr.’s Personal Journal dated May 10, 1869: In which Frank admits the jealous nature he feels toward the northern line and its supposed transcontinental status despite the gap at the Missouri River.

• Frank McDonough Jr.’s Odometer Part 3 of 6 – Steampunk Stories: Frank McDonough Jr.’s Personal Journal dated May 17, 1869: In which Frank describes his new odometer and its jealous nature.

I hope you enjoy this story. It’s different than The Dowager Moncur’s Spectacles and I love how it turned out.

Today, the second installment of Frank McDonough Jr.’s Odometer has posted on Steampunk Stories.

• Frank McDonough Jr.’s Odometer Part 1 of 6 – Steampunk Stories: In which the current location of Frank McDonough Jr.’s Odometer is revealed, despite its dangerous history.

• Frank McDonough Jr.’s Odometer Part 2 of 6 – Steampunk Stories: Frank McDonough Jr.’s Personal Journal dated May 10, 1869: In which Frank admits the jealous nature he feels toward the northern line and its supposed transcontinental status despite the gap at the Missouri River.

I hope you enjoy this story. It’s different than The Dowager Moncur’s Spectacles and I love how it turned out.

Ring! Ring!

“Hello?”

“Hi. Want to go get a massage tomorrow morning?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

27 Minutes Later…

Ring! Ring!

“I changed my mind. I’ll go get a massage with you.”

“Are you sure? You’re not being guilted into going are you?”

“No. Dan said that it would be a reason to get out of bed.”

“That’s true.”

• Today's xkcd is absolutely beautiful. http://xkcd.com/659/ #

Powered by Twitter Tools

The other night, I dreamt that Sugar was on my chest, purring. I was petting her and I was so happy to see her. I held her face in my hands and lovingly noticed that funny mark on her cheek.

I knew in the dream that she had been dead for over twenty years and that knowledge woke me up. When I looked around the dark bedroom, there was no cat on my chest and I was alone in the bed.

I closed my eyes and tried to re-enter the dreaming world, but she was gone.

I wrote a new story for Steampunk Stories called Frank McDonough Jr.’s Odometer. You can read the first installment here:

• Frank McDonough Jr.’s Odometer Part 1 of 6 – Steampunk Stories: In which the current location of Frank McDonough Jr.’s Odometer is revealed, despite its dangerous history.

It has been a lot of fun writing small and complete stories for Steampunk Stories. A very different experience than writing on Merriton. Both types of writing have their merit, it’s just fun to switch from long form to short form every now and again.

Yesterday, Mike and I finished getting the rest of the furniture out of storage. We have been at the Daybreak house for four months now and it has taken us that long to finally get everything here. The two of us carefully lifted the fainting couch up the sixteen winding stairs to my office. I promptly locked the door to keep out the animals.

I inherited this couch from my grandpa. My grandma had found the couch and lovingly reupholstered it. It desperately needs new springs and reupholstering, but I refuse to undo my grandma’s work. It will have to stay soggy and dusty.

This morning, when I opened the door to my office, both Maggie and Elvis rushed in to smell the funk of forty years. I watched them, waiting to reprimand them the second they put claws to fabric, but they were surprisingly respectful. Elvis curled up in a ball and took a nap.

My home is one step closer to complete.

If you think advertisement has changed over the last forty years, you would be mistaken. Take this ad for Hai Karate cologne.

Axe Body Spray uses the exact same advertising with the idea that women will attack you if you use it. Just like this Axe Effect commercial:

I prefer this commercial because the guy looks like a Mormon missionary.

Ad via: vintage_ads: Оригинал   712×1024

This is the cigarette ad that made me start smoking.

I SO wanted to be that girl. I had a sweater just like that. I wore big earrings just like that. I even had that haircut. In fact, I STILL have that haircut after twenty years and a multitude of hair fashions. I prefer my hair cut into a bob better than anything else.

I learned very quickly that Capri Super Slims didn’t fly off the shelves quickly enough. I bought a few incredibly stale packs that made my stomach turn with nausea and I switched to Benson and Hedges Deluxe Ultra-Light Menthols. I said that phrase so many times back them to 7-11 clerks that I can still recite it without fail.

I still haven’t found the ad that made me switch to those…

Fortunately, I caught such a bad case of bronchitis that it bordered on pneumonia. As I labored for breath, I realized that when I got older, it would ALWAYS be like that for me if I didn’t stop smoking. Since I couldn’t smoke when I was sick, I never started again.

The Halloween Party was a blast! Everyone did such a good job on their costumes. Mike and I were totally blown away. This year’s theme was steampunk and more people followed the theme than ever before! Stacey did an excellent job and this photo of her was the best!

I’m always panicked before the Halloween party, worried that no one will show up. Every guest that arrives makes me happier and happier until I get to a strangely giddy state of intoxication that has NOTHING to do with alcohol. It was a great party this year and I’m so glad we were all able to enjoy it together.

Here are the winners:

Funniest Costume: Jason Alderman as War of the Worlds Alien

Scariest Costume: Charlie as a vampire

Sexiest Costume: Lisa as a steampunk show girl

Best Potluck: Stacey and Dan’s Pumpkin Sloppy Joes (they also made four different kinds of homemade ice cream, but nothing beats sloppy joes in a pumpkin!)

Beast of Show: Jennifer and Clint for the best steampunk couple

You can see all the Halloween Party photos here:

A special thank you to collector, Steve Martin, for uploading his vintage Halloween photo collection. One old and creepy photograph each day in the month of October. This one is my favorite:

Such a diabolical look for a child. You can see a slideshow of the photos here:

Via: Go Retro!: Ghosts of Halloween Past

When Mike and I were putting up the decorations for the Halloween party, Elvis became obsessed with the Flying Bat:

In the end, we had to hide the bat in the pantry until the night of the party because Elvis spent all his time meowing at it.

I absolutely love the steampunk stilts made by Improbcat from the Pi Convention last August. It almost makes me want to take a trip to Pioneer Valley, Massachusetts just to see all the costumes!

The benefit of being so much taller than everyone else is really appealing to me because I’m pretty short, even for a girl, but the thought of balancing on stilts for an entire convention or even the Halloween party sounds like a nightmare.

Look how much taller he is than his friends:

Honestly, the entire group looks awesome!

Great work on costuming, people! Keep it up!

I can’t believe how much I love this Recyclobot Costume from Mother Rising.

• Mother Rising: Recyclobot

He took his Recyclobot for a spin at a Halloween party at our local community center and he made quite a scene. Children circled around him trying to get a closer look, and parents were taking photos. I could hear him inside saying, “I’m not a real robot…I’m just pretending”.

Not pictured, she also had dryer tubing for his arms. It was even better in real life because she used some LEDs under the bottle cap eyes to make them glow.

The tiny LED lights can be found in the wedding section at Michaels and are often used to illuminate balloons.

If you can’t find them at Michael’s, then you can buy them here for 18 bucks a bag.

• White LED Dec-O-Lite Decoration and Economy Balloon Light from Windy City Novelties

They have three settings: constant on, slow blink and fast blink. They last for approximately 8 hours on a button battery, so that’s plenty of time to last for a Halloween party.

I had never heard of balloon lights before I read this entry, so I’m excited about all the things you could do with them. High tech costuming just got a WHOLE lot easier! Imagine being able to make yourself a positronic brain just like Data in Star Trek.

When I first looked at this costume, it just looked like a normal kid’s robot costume, but when I heard about those balloon lights, my whole life shifted just a little.

Via: ikea hacker: Kiddy hacks

The truly excellent ‍Meggrs created this awesome steampunk iPhone case for her steampunk costume.

You can see it in action here:

Here is her description of how she made it:

It’s basically a balsa wood keepsake box from a craft store which I then cut a hole in the front (with a Dremel) for the screen, sanded, stained with oil-based stain, varnished and attached brass hinges and corners from the craft store with screws and glue. The buttons and speaker cover are brass washers from Home Depot.

I’m tempted to try this hack for my own costume because it’s THAT awesome! I especially love the loop for hanging on a belt clip.

We have the incredible Boxborough bakers, Babycakes, to thank for the inspiration for this beautiful Steampunk Cake.

Every year, I obsess about the potluck competition of the Halloween party, but this cake is FAR out of my league. I might be able to hire a bakery to replicate this for me, but there is no way I could achieve this on my own.

Via: Steampunk Cake! | The Steampunk Workshop

Update 10-27-09: Here is a link to another steampunk cake, which is even better than this one: Steampunk Cakes! « westerblog

More photos after the break: (Continue Reading…)

Margaret Oomen over at resurrection fern visited the Musee des Miniatures in December last year and took photos of these creepy papercuts.

You can see the rest of her photos here:

• resurrection fern: For Elsita ( and anyone else who loves papercuts)

Apparently, they are VERY small works of art:

You have to see them in person to believe just how tiny they are. Some are no larger than postage stamps or small coins.

Via: Craftzine.com blog: Paper Cuts from Musee des Miniatures

I love this video for a spider walker:

When I think of steampunk and the marriage of machines and Victorian sensibilities, this steampunk spider walker fits right in!

Today, the final installment of The Dowager Moncur’s Spectacles has posted on Steampunk Stories.

• The Dowager Moncur’s Spectacles: Beyond Gretna Green (Part 1 of 5) – Steampunk Stories: In which Miss Isabella Davenforth travels to Moncur Castle and remembers the chiding of the current Lord Moncur about her situation.

• The Dowager Moncur’s Spectacles: Berenice and Mystery (Part 2 of 5) – Steampunk Stories: In which our heroine, Isabella Davenforth, is introduced to the Dowager Moncur and is asked to pass a test of fortitude.

• The Dowager Moncur’s Spectacles: A Hard Day in America (Part 3 of 5) – Steampunk Stories: In which the Dowager Moncur reveals her true madness to Miss Isabella Davenforth.

• The Dowager Moncur’s Spectacles: American Notes (Part 4 of 5) – Steampunk Stories: In which Isabella Davenforth brings forth two volumes of stories to the Dowager Moncur.

• The Dowager Moncur’s Spectacles: What the Dowager Moncur Told Isabella (Part 5 of 5) – Steampunk Stories: In which the Dowager Moncur finally reveals to our brave heroine about her curious spectacles.

Since I wrote an entire story about my Halloween costume, you can imagine how excited I am for the party this Saturday! I hope it goes well!

I saw this old advertisement and I became SO jealous of kids from the fifties.

Can you imagine getting an ENTIRE box of Crackerjack at a house for Halloween?! That seems like WAY more than my fantasies of what Halloween was like.

Ad via: vintage_ads: 1955 Cracker Jack

If you are looking for something to make for a costume, you can’t beat this cool helmet. You can download the .rar file here:

• Kaizo Papercraft: Magus Keffiyeh

I like to do papercraft and if there is a cool way to easily add to your costume without using a lot of money, papercraft is the way to go. You don’t have to be into Final Fantasy to enjoy the cool awesomeness of this, so here is a great way to do a costume on the cheap.

Via: Final Fantasy Papercraft: Magus Keffiyeh | Papercraft Paradise | PaperCrafts | Paper Models | Card Models

Every year, San Diego’s Comic-Con has a huge costume and presentation contest. Here is a video of some of the best and what the judges look for:

Video via: Watch Singing Skeletor, Jawa Pimp, and Disney Cheerleaders – Cosplay – io9

Here is a playlist showing Disney’s Halloween Treat. It was a TV special that first aired in 1982.

I love to watch things like this during the Halloween season. I don’t know if television still makes specials like this for the holidays. Maybe I should check the TV listings to see if there is anything like this for the kids of today.

Via: Halloween video | EQComics

Since this year’s Halloween party theme is Steam Punk, I thought this photo was appropriate:

Photo via: Silhouette Masterpiece Theatre

I’ve been reading Edmund Finney’s Quest to Find the Meaning of Life for a while now. When the comic first started, however, Edmund found himself in a place called Fearville, where every day is Halloween.

• Edmund Finney’s Quest to Find the Meaning of Life » Archive » Meeting Edmund

The thought of Halloween every day is so tiring to me. I do so much for Halloween that celebrating it every day would be impossible. I would have to tone things down and do a little costuming each day. It would be exhausting and I would soon be VERY sick of it. It reminds me of a quote from Shakespeare.

If all the year were playing holidays; To sport would be as tedious as to work.
– William Shakespeare (1564 – 1616), ‘The First Part of King Henry the IV’

I think I’m happy to live in a world where Halloween only comes one day a year. It would be nice if I could somehow find a society where Christmas is only one day a year instead of THREE months.

Today, the fourth installment of The Dowager Moncur’s Spectacles has posted on Steampunk Stories.

• The Dowager Moncur’s Spectacles: Beyond Gretna Green (Part 1 of 5) – Steampunk Stories: In which Miss Isabella Davenforth travels to Moncur Castle and remembers the chiding of the current Lord Moncur about her situation.

• The Dowager Moncur’s Spectacles: Berenice and Mystery (Part 2 of 5) – Steampunk Stories: In which our heroine, Isabella Davenforth, is introduced to the Dowager Moncur and is asked to pass a test of fortitude.

• The Dowager Moncur’s Spectacles: A Hard Day in America (Part 3 of 5) – Steampunk Stories: In which the Dowager Moncur reveals her true madness to Miss Isabella Davenforth.

• The Dowager Moncur’s Spectacles: American Notes (Part 4 of 5) – Steampunk Stories: In which Isabella Davenforth brings forth two volumes of stories to the Dowager Moncur.

This story will continue to post every Wednesday until right before the Halloween Party.

I love this filler art done by Randy K. Milholland based on Edgar Allen Poe’s The Raven.

• something positive: Nevermurr!

Back in April, he had attended RavenCon, so he did some art in honor of that, but it’s a great picture for Halloween as well!

I’ve talked about The Raven before here:

• Pick Me! » Nevermore

Back then, I said that I had never seen a raven. Since then, I have and I was right. They just look like HUGE crows. I kind of expected them to be smarter than crows, but the ones I saw acted just like them.

Randy also drew this art for other Poe stories:

• something positive: The Tell-Tale Jerk

• something positive: Hello New Victim!

• RT @makeandtakes: Five Halloween Craft Ideas on Local TV http://bit.ly/39WAI8 #

Powered by Twitter Tools

I love this LOLCat from I Can Has Cheezburger?:

I’ve never seen a cat get caught in Halloween cobwebs, so this made me laugh!

• Too funny!! RT @mapgoblin: noticing a lack of bird feeder consumption after installing a seasonal decorative scare crow next to it. #
• RT @reddit: I work near a call centre. They have been asked to dress their pods up for Halloween. Photos here: http://reddit.com/9sxhl #
• Please bring Paranormal Activity to SLC, UT before Halloween! I want to be scared! #

Powered by Twitter Tools

These makeup kits from the company called Imagineering, were really popular when I was a kid. They were first released in 1979, but they were in stores for a LONG time. I remember something very similar just last Halloween, actually. It’s surprising to remember that at one time, these things were NEW. They were makeup kits that came with a thin plastic face that glued on and then you put makeup on it and your real face to blend it in.

When it comes to a Halloween party, it’s best to go rather simply with the makeup and special effects. Eating food and drinking drinks can make the best makeup jobs looks silly. Whenever I choose a costume, I always make sure that I don’t have too much on my face. I want to be able to see, talk and eat.

You’d think that it would limit my costume choices, but it hasn’t yet.

Photo via: Plaid Stallions : Rambling and Reflections on 70’s pop culture: Imagineering Introduces the Face

Jeff Scott filmed himself while he applied his makeup for his character, Skitzo, and then sped it up to make the two hour process last five minutes.

If you watch this video closely, you can see Jeff scrunch up his face into a scowl. He does that to find the natural wrinkle lines and draw them in. Then he doesn’t have to scowl all night. His makeup does it for him.

If you are thinking of being some sort of scary creature or vampire this Halloween, this video will help you learn how to do your makeup.