Loki Wednesday

Happy Wednesday, peeps!  I was going to post about what glorious unicorn-related magnificence I made for my Well-Since-I-Didn't-Go-to-Comic-Con-I-Might-As-Well-Make-Something-Since-I-Can't-Bother-Krispy Project, but my internet is being wonky so that will have to wait for another day.  In the meantime, the most I managed was this picture of Loki:

Hi.

Krispy must upload all her pictures and then!  Then there will be a most glorious Comic Con update!  I've heard the tales but have yet to see most of the photographic evidence, so I'll be waiting in anticipation with the rest of you.  HURRY UP, KRISPY!  HURRY!

World Cup Wednesday!

Welcome to World Cup Wednesday, AKA Alz is Jon Snow and Knows Nothing!

For 'tis true, I know very little of soccer (or sports in general) except that the World Cup is some kind of international soccer (or football as the rest of the world calls it) shindig and a bunch of teams kick a ball around.  Exposure to Krispy and her Sister as well as some general tutoring from the latter has enabled me to grasp that there's some kind of point system and elimination that goes on based on it.  Other than that, the only other thing I know is that Uruguay's team has a member who is overly fond of biting people, which doesn't seem like either a good idea or good sportsmanship to me.

So in celebration of things that I don't really understand beyond "Alz, USA is still in the World Cup and so is Germany and they're going to fight it out on Thursday", have more World Cup Pup Loki!

It's about a cup?  And a world?  Does the cup hold the world?  Can I drink from it?

I've got German Shepherd genes so that means my ancestry is German, right?

I can totally kick this ball and catch it in my mouth!  Can I play in the World Cup?

What about you?  Are you following the World Cup or are you as lost as I am?  Regardless, I'll be cheering for Team USA 'cause, you know, USA USA USA!

Randomosity on Fridays: Then & Now Version: Loki

Once upon a time, there was an ungodly cute pupster who loved to chew on sticks:

I don't know what a stick is. Is this a stick? I will chew upon it.

Two years later, he grew up into this crazyface who still loves to chew on sticks:

I LOVE STICKS I WILL CHEW THEM ALL.

Ah, what a difference two years makes.  And yet the more things change, the more they stay the same.  We have wondered if Loki will mellow out as he grows older but I doubt it.  If anything, age will only put him further into his prime and in no time at all he will be conquering the world and making us all kneel before him.

This has been your weekly dose of the Loki.  Stay cool, chew on a stick, and have a great weekend!

It's a Loki!

Happy Friday, folks!  Have a Loki or even two:

What? What are you looking at?

I didn't do anything. I've done nothing! I'm a dog.

It's been mega-hot out here, so eat some frozen yogurt, drink some boba, and stay chill this weekend.

What's Up Wednesday (34)

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly meme geared toward readers and writers, so we can check in with each other. To join, just check out Jaime Morrow or Erin Funk's blogs for the link widget and sign up!


WHAT I'M READING

SEA OF SHADOWS by Kelley Armstrong, but I'm not very far in. Haven't had much reading time this week. I'm also reading SCARLET by A.C. Gaughen, which is written in dialect. Pretty interesting so far but again, I'm not very far in.

I'm probably going to have to switch to reading THE FAULT IN OUR STARS at some point though because I, um, still haven't read it and that movie is coming out. So I would like to be prepared.


WHAT I'M WRITING

A few lines of poetry here and there. The thing I'm dabbling with is supposed to be told through 2-3 POVs. So right now, I'm mostly trying to figure out the voice of each character.


WHAT INSPIRES ME RIGHT NOW

As part of the WE NEED DIVERSE BOOKS campaign, May 3 (Saturday) was a call-to-action day. The campaign encouraged people to buy and/or request diverse books and use the hashtag #DiversifyYourShelves to talk about it. I made a few recommendations and then did some book-shopping of my own.

My Diverse TBR pile. Bought POINTE & OSCAR WAO on May 3, bought THE NIGHT ITSELF in 

the UK in Feb (it'll be out in US in the fall but titled THE NAME OF THE BLADE). KILLER OF 

ENEMIES and NIGHTINGALE'S NEST were won from giveaways.

It was also California Book Store Day, which I found out about literally on Friday afternoon. CA Book Store Day was a state-wide celebration of independent book stores with participating book stores carrying exclusive (that day only) books and art and holding their own events/activities!

So I took care of 2 birds with 1 stone: went to my local indie, bought a CA Bookstore Tote (I love the design!) and some diverse reads.

(It was Free Comic Book Day too but I am not a comics reader and the line by the comic bookstore we passed was super long and it was super hot this weekend - like in the 90Fs.)


WHAT ELSE I'VE BEEN UP TO

Thursday, the Sis, our friends, and I went to the Wiltern to get our teenybopper on at The Wanted concert. We didn't know many of the songs, but it was still fun! Oh boy bands.

[Photo: Gennia]

I also FINALLY got my long-awaited Sherlock-inspired BORED leggings from Gold Bubble Clothing! Long-awaited because 1) I've been coveting these since I saw them last November (during Nerdvember, saw someone's pic of them) but they were part of a limited line and 2) I ordered these babies in February when the line was made available again, but thanks to new company growing pains + flaky fabric suppliers, the collection's creation kept getting delayed.

But it's all good now because I have them and the leggings are great! For those of you have seen BBC's SHERLOCK, you'll recognize the print as the wallpaper from inside 221B.

On Saturday, other than all the book buying, the Sis and I also saw The Amazing Spider-Man 2. It was fun and we enjoyed it, but it definitely had way too much going on. Surprisingly, it wasn't the number of villains that made it bloated (unlike say Spiderman 3 from the older trilogy). There was just too much going on - too many character arcs and plot points, which made the transitions between the arcs jarring.

But like I said, I enjoyed it. It's a fun summer movie and I liked it about as much as I liked the first. It's very funny and Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone are just too adorable.

Sunday was May the 4th aka Star Wars Day! We love us some Star Wars up in here, so of course, we had to show our pride! [Photos from me, the Sis, and Gennia]


We also built one of the Sister's remaining Lego sets: Anakin's Jedi Interceptor!

[Photo: Gennia]

Here's the finished product, complete with spring-loaded missiles:

Even Loki got in on it with a lightsaber and a PetCo Star Wars line bow tie!


And it was so sweet that a couple of you expressed that you missed seeing Loki around the blog. Well, you're in luck! On top of his Tumblr (Dog Days of Loki), Loki now has his own Instagram account as well! So if you only want to see all pup all the time, go join his army! He's @dogdaysofloki.

LASTLY, the Sis and I finished ARROW Season 1 Monday night. So good! Must start Season 2 immediately! We actually bought the first season because it was super cheap at Target ($15!!). It was also the season finale of BATES MOTEL Monday night, so it was just a night of OH MY GOD for us, haha.

I read books slow, but I watch TV fast. Bring on the next season! ;)

What's up with you? Got any good diverse reads to recommend?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LOKI!

Today is Loki's birthday!  He's two years old!  TWO YEARS.

Two years ago, he was born into this world and made it his place, his space to rule!

And rule he has.  Loki is a king!

He's so handsome.  Look at that noble visage.

He can let loose and relax though, everybody needs a good scratch now and then.  Having a rawhide helps too.

Sometimes Loki isn't impressed.

But he still has the best smile.

Accompanied by huge teeth.

Happy birthday, Loki!  You're fourteen now in dog years and you're also two--so you're a tween in the terrible twos.  May the powers that be have mercy upon us as you certainly won't.

Pet Day!

So apparently yesterday was National Love Your Pet Day but as Krispy's Sister says, "National Love Your Pet Day is everyday."

So have a blinky Loki!

"What's going on?"

As well as two smooshy ratties:

"FREEDOM!"

"Must you invade my privacy?"

Have a great weekend!  Glomp your beloved pets!  Or, you know, gently pet and moosh them if they happen to be smaller than standard glomping size.  What pets do you have or have you had in the past?

Shady Loki and the Mouse

Loki has many friends and some respected alpha dogs and a few punching bags.  But like any true villain hero, he has a nemesis.  Specifically, there is a mouse that lives in the tree in his yard that is the bane of his existence.

It's a little mouse.  We've seen it, Krispy and I, a little scurrying blob cloaked in the darkness of the night, seen the tiny glint of its eyes when a timely flashlight spots it.  Sometimes it hops onto the roof of the house to do who knows what, though Loki is convinced it is up to mischief and there's only room for one God of Mischief in his territory.

The second Loki hears anything treeward, he goes tearing off rawring and snarling and growling and barking and bristling.  He rises up and balances on his hind legs, and will try to climb up the tree or the wall or anything nearby the better to get at that villainous little mouse.  Then he'll go charging back and forth along the wall, barking and growling and browling and garking, and charge around all the rest of the yard to make sure that the rest of the yard knows he's not slacking on guard-duty, and then return to glower up at the mouse hidden among the branches, frustratingly far out of reach.  He'll also sniff around the base of the tree and investigate the area between trashcans.

If I sniff around here often enough, the mouse might magically appear!

I'm just like, "Loki, if you bark at the mouse, it's not going to come down.  What has the mouse ever done to you?"

And Loki, he whirls around with his hackles raised and he says to me, he says, "That mouse is a little bastard!  It's ruining my life, and yours, and everyone's!  It's a demon from hell hell-bent on destroying everything in this world that's good!  You couldn't possibly understand or else you'd help me catch that evil awful horrible terrible thing!"

All this week, Loki has been barking at the mouse.  We can hear it nibbling away on something.  It's quite a familiar tune to my ears since it's the same sound as when my rats are eating something, a sort of quiet studious gnawing.  It drives Loki insane.

Damn you, mouse! Damn you to wherever mice are damned!
Even my demoneyes aren't powerful enough to
laser you into submission!

I gave him a bone the other day that was stuffed with some kind of disgustingly gelatinous pale chicken mass.  It looked blech and it smelled gross and Loki loved it.  For the rest of the night, he was content to chew upon his new bone.

Mouse? What mouse?

And the next night, it was back to barking at the mouse in the tree.  I give him points for persistence.

He's gonna be a happy boy pretty soon because his favorite people are coming back and he won't be stuck with me anymore.  Krispy and her Sister have been having a blast abroad.  I've no doubt there will be picture-laden posts coming in the near future!  In the meantime, WELCOME BACK, KRISPY~!

What's Up Wednesday (24)

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly meme geared toward readers and writers, so we can check in with each other. To join, just check out Jaime Morrow or Erin Funk's blogs for the link widget and sign up!


WHAT I'M READING
I'm hoping to start reading Coriolanus soon since, you know, I'll be seeing it in like two weeks. Reading slump, GO AWAY.


WHAT I'M WRITING
Sort of working on a new project. It's not a long project, but I think it will prove to be quite interesting. I don't mean to be mysterious, but it's in the very early stages of planning and am not sure where it will go yet. Needless to say though, I am excited!


WHAT INSPIRES ME RIGHT NOW

Friends, fandom, collaboration. Lots of bits and bobs have reminded me to be grateful for what I have and to enjoy myself more often.


WHAT ELSE I'VE BEEN UP TO

Being weirded out by the strange warm weather we're having, but enjoying the opportunity to wear skirts and dresses. Finalizing travel plans. Washing Loki. His scab came off and it looks like fur is growing back! Yay!

And in case you missed it, check out Loki's tumblr! Dog Days of Loki.

Scratching an itch with a bone in his mouth. [Photo: Sister]

Met up with Corrie again and tried out the new Urth Cafe around here. Of course, we chose to meet up at a book store that Cameron Diaz was having a book event at, so it was ridiculously hard to find parking.

And the Sister and I finally met up with our friend Nicole for "taco bell Sherlock," which is a weird inside joke we have about hanging out and squeeing about fandom.

What's up with you?

Happy Loki Friday

I was going to blog constructively about things like writing (hit that 50,000 wordgoal a few days back and have been nagging Krispy to keep on nanoing, and she has been, I'm so proud of her I could burst into a cloud of glitter and unicorns) or TV (been watching a lot of shows lately like Almost Human, Elementary, Dracula, Sleepy Hollow, Supernatural, and Legend of Korra) or reading (except I've been stuck on Crown of Midnight for weeks because urrrrrrgh the fanfic and the clichees are keelhauling me) but then it got to be late and hey Loki is adorbs so whee!  Have video of the Lokster.

Here he is approximately five days ago with a new rope toy.  Note the stylish Star Wars collar:

As you can see, Loki was having a grand old time with his new toy.  Observe his red toy as well there, that weird wishbone-shaped nubby thing that is made of rocklike plastic and is all munched up from his gnawing.  Loki is what they term an "aggressive chewer".  What this means is that if you were stuck in prison, you'd want Loki with you because he could chew through the bars and you'd be free.  Loki laughs in the face of toys that claim they are "virtually indestructible" because Virtual is his middle name and Obliterator is his last.

Here he is approximately 20 minutes later:


Loki is not only the God of Mischief, he's also the God of Destruction and the God of Really Huge White Sharp Teeth.

Happy Friday, folks!  Do you often destroy what you love?  This includes things like eating dessert.  What's your favorite dessert?  'Cause clearly as I'm typing this right now, I'm suddenly really hungry.  I will not, however, be chewing on or eating a rope.  Have a good weekend!

Lokiday!

By the time you read this, Krispy and the Sister and our friend and I will have seen Thor: The Dark World.  We are excited.  We love the Loki.  Everybody loves Loki.

Speaking of which, Krispy told me how she read that dogs basically stop paying as much attention to you if you talk to them too much, i.e. they might ignore you when you call them because they're too used to the sound of your voice and tune you out.  Possibly this is why our Loki goes charging off willy-nilly into the forbidden recesses of the back yard to scarf down fallen avocados regardless of how we yell, "LOKI NO LOKI GET BACK HERE LOKI OUT LOKI!!!"

Doubtless what he hears is, "LOKI EAT MOAR AVOCADOS 4EVR LOKI!!1"

Perhaps if Thor had spoken to Loki more nicely and specifically instead of interrupting him half the time and ignoring him the other half, Loki wouldn't have metaphorically run into the backyard toward that avocado tree.

Anyway, let's celebrate Thor 2 and the various Lokis in our lives with gratuitous dog!Loki picspam!  Hooray!

"HEY YOU GUYS HI"

"I don't know if I like this. Mommy, what are we doing?"

An elusive horned-and caped Loki captured by the equally elusive Finn-the-Human-hoodied Alz.

We were all sad that this Star Wars dog sweater was too small for
Loki's massive and muscular masculine chest.

"I know you see this thing over my eye. It will bother you
forever because its position has now been photographically immortalized."

Look at them pearly chompers.

Lifeguard Loki on duty!

They are the best of friends, Loki and Sadie. Srsly.
They only look like they're trying to kill each other,
but it's all in good fun.

When we went out to eat in a big group with friends
at a place that had butcher paper covering the tables,
I drew all our canine companions.

Also, Krispy's Sister thoughtfully points out that 99% of Thor 2's promotion seems to revolve around someone other than the titular character here: 10 Reasons Why 'Thor: The Dark World' is Really the Loki Show.

Here's to having an awesome weekend!  November's a good month cinematically speaking, what with The Return of Loki Thor: The Dark World, Ender's Game, The Book Thief, Catching Fire, and no doubt more titles that I'm forgetting.  Got any movies you're excited about?

VERSUS: Who would win?

Howdy, folks!  Happy Friday!  To celebrate the incoming weekend, join Alz in her existential literary and media pondering, which this week consisted of her wondering who would win in a no-holds-barred fight-to-the-bitter-end winner-takes-all kicking-ass-and-taking-names battle between random characters from different worlds!

You see, I was just thinking about Moby-Dick and how he is a huge white killer whale, only not that kind of killer whale since he's actually a sperm whale.  And how he's giant and mysterious and vicious and apparently out to get Ahab not only because Ahab is out to get him, but because it's just what giant white mysterious metaphorical killer sperm whales do.

And then I thought about other giant killer sealife--you know, Jaws.

And I thought, Who would win?

Moby-Dick VS Jaws
RAWR^2

JAWS

Strengths: Huge killer great white shark. Can eat his way through boats and ships and people.  Impervious to small firearms and probably harpoons (been a long time since I've seen the movie).  Has cool theme music.

Weaknesses: Exploding things jammed into his mouth.  Ultimately mortal.

MOBY-DICK

Strengths: Huge killer sperm whale.  Can smash the hell out of boats and ships and people.  Has a taste for human flesh or at least the legs of captains named Ahab.  Impervious to harpoons and spears and other sharp objects.  Is a consummate metaphor for all that is unknown and unknowable to mankind.

Weaknesses: Captains named Ahab.  Probably immortal since he's a metaphor.

Who would win?  Personally, I think Jaws would rip a few decent chunks out of Moby-Dick, but good ol' Moby would make seafood mincemeat out of Jaws pretty soon after.  To quote V from V for Vendetta, "Ideas are bulletproof."  In this instance, I daresay "metaphors are sharkproof" is a fitting translation.

~*~*~*~

Next up is two gargantuan reptilian beasties: one comes from a lonely mountain and the other comes from the oceanic depths of Japan.

Smaug VS Godzilla
Dude, not gonna exaggerate: In the book, Smaug's underparts are literally encrusted with diamonds.

SMAUG

Strengths: "'My armor is like tenfold shields, my teeth are swords, my claws spears, the shock of my tail a thunderbolt, my wings a hurricane, and my breath death!' (207)" and "'I am armoured above and below with iron scales and hard gems.' (208) Smaug, The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien.

Weaknesses: Chinks in his armor.  Or rather, a chink (singular) in his armor.

GODZILLA

Strengths: Gigantic amphibious reptile with atomic breath. Can swim, sometimes fly, and also level metropolitan cities in a matter of minutes.  Generally impervious to man-made weaponry.  Can regenerate.  Pretty frequently rebooted too.

Weaknesses: Doesn't stick around for too long before going back to sleep, returning to the ocean, apparently being killed, and/or otherwise disappearing from the world indefinitely.  Also, the reboots occasionally suck.

Who would win?  Assuming these two behemoths are approximately the same size, I'd say it's a pretty even match, even allowing for a ground-bound version of Godzilla.  Smaug seems more intelligent than Godzilla and more complex in his goals and greeds, but all it'd take is one lucky (or well-aimed) punch or atomic fireball from everybody's favorite original kaijuu and Smaug would be nothing more than a smoldering smear on Godzilla's claws.

~*~*~*~

Last but not least, especially since Krispy's Sister and I have been engaged in nefariously nebulous Loki-related plotting, I of course thought of our favorite Marvel villain ever...and his namesake.

Loki VS Loki
The Ultimate Showdown

LOKI (dog)

Strengths: Cuteness and fluffiness.  Can run at 200 mph for short but intense bursts.  Sometimes has nuclear poo.  Special attack: uterus-punch.

Weaknesses: Doesn't swallow that last gulp of water before dashing off, so often chokes.  Can be lazy.  Easily distracted by flying bugs.

LOKI (Marvel)

Strengths: Magic and the ability to duplicate himself.  Throws butterknives with deadly accuracy.  Exceedingly charming and obsessively vengeful in turn.  Glowstick of Doom.

Weaknesses: Daddy issues, brother issues, xenophobia, and hubris.

Who would win? Loki would win of course.  Which one?  LOKI, OF COURSE.  Ahem.

~*~*~*~

Well, that was interesting.  I was trying to pair like with like so things wouldn't get too unfair or be unbalanced, though of course in Loki VS Loki, we all know who has the real advantage...

Who do you think would win in each scenario and why?

Happy Friday!  Have a fantastic weekend and go see Gravity!  Krispy says it's amazing and I can't wait to see it.