Dan, Phil and Cowplant

If you want something to get noticed, you post it on every social media platform you exist on, right? I think I'm supposed to do that.

This picture was inspired by a series of references to how Phil buys houseplants for their apartment without Dan's permission and Dan doesn't approve. I found it oddly amusing and this picture was born from that amusement.

NaNoWriMo

National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is the month of intense, crazy, fun creative writing. Participants kick off on the 1st of November and write their little hearts out until they've written a novel of 50,000 words. The deadline is 11:59 PM on November 30 and I think I might just participate this year.

My chances of actually finishing are pretty slim, simply because I start writing exams on the 1st and don't finish until the 19th. But I have a story; I'm working on an outline, filling in pre-made character sheets and just planning everything out as best as I can. I want to do this.

To make it, I'm going to have to write a minimum of 1,667 words a day, but just because I'm working on building a writing routine, I'm going to aim for 2,000. This is the number I aim for when I'm writing a chapter of a story I post on Wattpad and if I aim just a little bit higher than suggested, I'll be safe. 

Here's to hoping that my meagre little YA story will come to exist because of NaNoWriMo. Good luck everyone! May the pen actually be mightier than the sword!

For more info on this event, check out nanowrimo.org.

Webcomics Worth Getting Addicted To

Letting yourself get lost in a good story is always a great way to relax, but sometimes there just isn’t time to get through a long book or even to go watch the latest blockbuster. The solution? Webcomics.

They’re prettier to look at than any page in a book (unless of course it’s a graphic novel  or something with lots of illustrations), some of them update daily and the character are  so interesting, why would you want to hang out with real people when you have them?

Here’s a list of the top 5 Webcomics I’ve fallen in love with over the years:

      5. Monster Soup

This comic tells the tale of five monsters sent to a remote castle as punishment for the crimes they’ve committed. A zombie, a witch, a ghost, a vampire and a werewolf all have no choice but to spend some time in each other’s company, learning a lot about each other, themselves, and at the same time uncovering some of the secrets their new home holds.

The creator of the comic is self-taught artist, Julie Devin, who updates the comic whenever she can. The readers don’t mind this up in the air scheduling though, because each page is just too beautifully illustrated for us to care.

It’s dark and a little graphic at times, but it’s a compelling story and something you can get lost in.

       4. Questionable Content

Questionable content is, according to its creator Jeph Jacques, a comic about romance, indie rock, little robots, and the problems people have.

The comic updates daily from Monday to Friday and follows the lives of several characters, including Marten Reed, who was introduced back in 2003 when the comic first began and is the closest thing to a protagonist the comic has.

It may take a while to get through everything if you want to start reading it from the start, but it will be a fun trip and even more fun to see how Jeph’s art style has improved over the years.

   

        3. Girls With Slingshots

Girls With Slingshots follows its two main characters, Hazel and Jamie, through all their crazy misadventures and the struggles they face in their adult life. The comic also dives into the lives of Hazel and Jamie’s close friends and their own experiences.

Artist and creator, Danielle Corsetto, debuted the comic in 2004. It started out as a black-and-white comic, but eventually grew into the colourful quirkiness the readers know and love today.

This comic features quite a few adult themes, but isn’t graphic in any way. The characters are not only likeable, but also really relatable at the best of times.

         2. Nimona

We start off in the lair of the evil Lord Ballister Blackheart, a man with a head full of not-so-evil schemes. Enter Nimona, the second main character and also the comics namesake. Calamity, heartache and hilarity ensue.

Noelle Stevenson is the creator of this delightful piece of art that updates every Tuesday and Thursday. Noelle, also known as Gingerhaze, also happens to be the illustrator of one of my favourite books, Fangirl.

This is a story that needs to be read from the beginning to understand what’s going on, so chronological order is the best way to go. If you’re in the mood for great characters, fantasy and sci-fi all mixed together, Nimona might be the comic for you.

               1.    Scandinavia and the World

Scandinavia and the World follow Sweden, Denmark and Norway, personified as their most common stereotypes, as they interact with (or more often than not, offend) other countries.

The creator of this comic works under an alias, known as ‘Humon’. The comic was first seen back in 2009 and has branched out considerably over the years to include many other countries. It is now also being turned into an animated series.

What makes this comic a fantastic read, is the fact that it is often inspired by current events that are illustrated satirically. It also delves back into the history of these countries, telling the story of conflicts or relationships between countries by making it ridiculously funny.

Useful Tumblr Keyboard Shortcuts

Tumblr, a microblogging website owned by Yahoo, might be one of the most addictive websites on the internet. It's easy to get lost in a dashboard full of funny, relatable content. Also, Gifs. Well made Gifs are what make the world go round. But that's only my opinion.

If you're going to be spending a lot of time on the website, it only make sense that you'd want to be a pro at navigating your way around it. Here are a few shortcuts to make your time on Tumblr easier.

Press J to move forward through posts, K to go in backwards, L to like the current post, and N to see the current post's notes.

Press Option/Alt + R to reblog a post instantly, without adding tags.

Press Option/Alt + E to add a post to your Queue. Keep you queue settings in mind for this one.

Press the Spacebar to view photosets in a lightbox (photos separate from the rest of the dashboard) or start playing a video.

Press Option/Alt + C to make a new post.

Press Option/Alt + Tab to quickly and easily switch between your Dashboard and your blog(s).

Huzzah! There you have the tips to help make your Tumblr experience more streamline. 

How To Fold A Paper Plane

Imagine sitting alone in an office. You have ten minutes left before you can leave work, but nothing to occupy that time. There are papers strewn across your desk, all destined for the shredder. What better way to use them than to make them fly? It may not be the most professional use of your time, but it will make you, and probably a few of your coworkers, very happy for a few minutes.

In this post, you will learn how to fold a basic paper aeroplane, the thing of childhood wonder.

Step 1:
Take an A4 piece of paper and fold it in half length-wise.

Step 2:
Open up the paper. Now take the top two corners and fold them into the centre.

Step 3:
Fold the paper in half again, with the smaller corner fold tucked inside.

Step 4:
Take the shorter side  of the paper (As illustrated above in Step 3) and fold it down on top of the longer side.

Step 5 (Optional):
To make the plane a little more child friendly, fold the tip into itself. This way, if it does end up in someone's eye, it will cause less damage and be significantly less painful.




Now you have a basic paper aeroplane!

What's great about this design is that it's easy, you can make it more kid-friendly, and it stays in the air for quite a while.

This won't only ease your own boredom. It's also the perfect activity to do on a babysitting job or if you are helping small(ish) children develop their motor-skills.

For more aerodynamic paper structures, check out Fold N Fly.

How To Organize Your Life With The Clear App

Life can get pretty hectic. When this happens and everything piles up, it's hard to figure out where to grab and where to drop things, but some things are more important than others. Because everyone lives on their mobile phones anyway, why not use an app to to help you get your life in order? The Clear app is a to-do list style app that helps you get - and stay - organised.

The Breakdown

Smaller Chunks
Make a list of your daily tasks in order of what needs to get done first.

The colour scheme of the heat map theme's lists makes this more appealing. The things that need to get done first should be at the top and in red. The lower down the list you get, the lighter the colours are.

This order in which you put your tasks is called prioritising.

See? You did it!

As soon as you've completed a task, just swipe it left and let the delightful ding make you feel good about how productive you've been.

You can also turn this list into a weekly one. Whatever works for you.

Bigger Picture
Here is where your monthly goals go.

It is exactly the same concept as the daily tasks list, only the goals are bigger and for the most part, the order in which you complete them is not as priority centred.

Why This Works

This mechanic really helps you prioritise. It works. As someone who has little to no knowledge on how to prioritise to begin with, this pretty much saved my academic career.

What also makes this system fantastic, are the quotes you get when you create a new list. They boost your motivation and inspire you to actually complete the things on your list.

Bucket lists, to-do lists, lists of ideas... If you need an app to make a list of things, Clear is the app for you.

I Am An Adult

On Sunday I will be 20-years-old. I will have been alive for two decades. That's 7305 days, 175320 hours, 10519200 minutes and 631152000 seconds. I can’t even really wrap my head around those numbers, but I do know that it is a pretty long time.

Here’s the thing though. I don't want to pass 19 years. Not that I want to end it there, I just don't want to have any of the responsibilities that come with going into the second decade. I want to stay around 166550 hours or so. 

It's such a great age, because according to law and, like, social norms, I'm an adult. I can swear, I can drink alcoholic beverages, I can drive, I can vote, I can have sex (Not that that makes it more likely to happen). But according to life and numbers and general societal perceptions of maturity, I'm still a teen, so I can blame my mistakes on my lack of life experience and raging adolescent hormones. But when I turn twenty, the game changes completely.

Apparently, being twenty means being an adult and being an adult means I’m not allowed to do certain things anymore because of age. 

Suddenly...

I’m too old for video games. 
I’m too old for cartoons. 
I’m too old for toys. 
I’m too old to eat irresponsibly. 
I’m too old to like things that were intended for children. 
I’m too old to like superheroes this much. 
And also, I can't like superheroes this much because I’m a girl. (Insert middle finger here). 

Well, you know what I say? I say fuck that. Age has nothing to do with it. (Or gender). It’s about what I enjoy; it’s about what makes me happy when I’m feeling down. It’s about what makes me feel like I’m on top of the world. 

So, screw it. As long as I’m happy, 20 won’t be so bad.