Quite Contrary
bad girls
Virtuous Circe
Some say she’s an evil enchantress. Others think those sailors maybe turned into pigs on their own.
Arch Nemesis
“It is the unemotional, reserved, calm, detached warrior who wins, not the hothead seeking vengeance and not the ambitious seeker of fortune.” –Sun Tzu
“Elementary.” –Sherlock Holmes
“There’s just one more thing.” –Lt. Columbo
“Jinkies.” –Velma Dinkley
“My goodness.” –Mr. Chapel
“One of my names is Nemesis.” –Miss Marple
Phantom Queen
In Your Dreams
Out of the Box
The Fairy Queen
Some time ago I got into drawing fairies for a while. All kinds, but mainly the small sparkly ones with wings. Now, I read a lot of fantasy (though not quite as much as back in the day), but I never particularly cared for fairies or even elves particularly. They seem to be really hard to write well as major characters. The only memorable one of the small, sparkly variety I can think of is Tinkerbell, and I never liked that vapid little sociopath all that much…
But I did eventuelly rememember one book that I got several times from the library as a kid and loved and of which I now, thanks to the Internet, own a copy myself: “Field Guide to the little People” by Nancy Arrowsmith, illustrated by the late Heinz Edelmann, of Yellow Submarine fame. It holds up.
Pining for Pinyin
When I started out learning Mandarin I was always annoyed by pinyin, but it turns out the real problem is that it so poorly supported. Sure, there are some issues with it, Bopomofo certainly looks more elegant, but pinyin is the standard and if just learning the (relatively) few rules and irregularities by rote is too much for you–frankly, maybe Mandarin isn’t for you.
Okay, this is a bit of a case of do as I say, not as I do, but it’s still true. Continue reading
Magnificient Bastet
SinisterKey.com 