Djinni

I must have started reading the Bartimaeus trilogy around the age of seventeen. I was in the middle of my moody hormonal teenage years and fled to the fantasy genre for comfort. And found Bartimaeus. Equal parts sarcasm and vindictiveness*, Bartimaeus really spoke to me**. So much so I have all four books written*** about this little djinn****. They are described as children's books but I still think they have elements even adults can enjoy*****.

Obviously, I had to grab the opportunity to meet Jonathan Stroud as he visited Gothenburg last week and so I did. Such a wonderful man.

*both Bartimaeus and I

**well, not me personally

***Amulet of Samarkand, Golem's Eye, Ptolemy's Gate, Ring of Solomon

****Bartimaeus wouldn't agree on the "little"
*****and bring your enjoyment of footnotes to a whole new level

Happy Hobbit Day!

Today is September 22nd and that's the birthday of both Frodo and Bilbo Baggins!
So happy birthday to two of the most important hobbitses that ever walked outside of the Shire and a Happy Hobbit Day to all of you followers.

Credit to Kiptay.

A short word on running

See this happy jogger?

That is some pure bullshit right there. No one looks like that while running. OK, that might be an exaggeration for a bit of the good old comical effect but very few looks like that while running. It's a huge lie. If I see someone running for exercise they always have the same focused expression; a lot of concentration, a little bit of pain. 

I look more like this:

And then add a whole lot of anger. I also sound and feel like that. Every damned time. Yes, I've just started and yes, I know it'll get easier but no, I don't think I'll ever enjoy it. I just want to be able to sleep.

Bonus mantra on repeat in brain: "I fucking hate running. Endorphins are my friend. Why do I do this. I want to murder every motherfucker telling me how good this is for me. My lungs are on fire. Endorphins are my friend. Rage will get me up this hill. Fuck running. Can I die now. Just a little more. Endorphins are my friend.  I fucking hate this. How can people enjoy this. Everything hurts."

Happy B-Day to Me

I live alone so it's on me to make me those special meals that I know I enjoy. Like birthday  breakfast. This year I presented a tableau of freshly baked walnut scones with butter, silver shred and cheese. Some veggies with that. Big glass of orange juice. Big mug of coffee. Small bowl of muesli with soy yogurt, and blueberries I picked during my summer vacation up north. All the good stuff for this lil' ol' hobbit (though by hobbit standards I have a few years left until I come of age and officially become an adult). And the balloons of course. I need those balloons to wade through as I zombie-walk to the kitchen for my coffee. Balloons make everything nicer. Especially since I didn't get that much sleep last night because of nightmares. Nightmares really suck.

There be bugs on DA

Omigod, I sure am happy I don't use DeviantArt much these days because without their, now rather expensive, Core membership the whole site is so buggy it's basically inoperable.

EDIT:
And that's another thing! If you're a young struggling artist wanting to get your art out there and maybe even make some money off of it, how the hell are you expected to afford this Core membership? Are you to rely on the generosity of others to get Core? If so I'd recommend Patreon instead.

EDIT 2:
You don't even have to be a young struggling artist to not afford Core. And I'm still fuming about how they never announced the change in DeviantArt's membership protocols, while every other teeny-tiny update to the site is announced immediately. I'm not a struggling artist but before ($)Core I chose to be a paying member because it wasn't that much of an effort to support DeviantArt and its more active members.
Now, not so much.

Bye bye summer

Hello autumn.