Randomness: Beer Flowchart

I've been wandering around blogspot and ran into a few different and interesting beer blogs (with writers that are much more knowledgeable than myself).  On one of those blogs, this silly flowchart was linked.  Now I've tried a lot of these, but haven't even heard of others!  Especially that $500 dollar one!  Just thought I would share this with you guys, because I don't know about you, but I find pointless flowcharts to be crazy awesome for some reason

Go to the Source to see it bigger!

Drinks for the Drinking Nonthusiast: Magic Hat's Circus Boy

The Contestant:
Magic Hat Brewing Company's Circus Boy

Once again, I had to get the label from their website

The Review:
Here is a little known fact about myself:  my favorite color is yellow.  And the sunshiny label, combined with the fun name, of this hefeweizen, sold me.  I had no choice but to purchase it.  Oh well, on with the review!

What are you're initial thoughts?
I had no idea what to expect from this beer because the label didn't give me any hints as to what the flavor would be beyond the usual wheat beer taste.  It was surprised when it had a rather nutty flavor!  I had never had a nutty tasting wheat before, but this was delicious!  The flavor is rather light in general, but not too incredibly light that it has no flavor.  To compare, Blue Moon is around the same flavor intensity, although Circus Boy is more smooth in my opinion.

How's the price?
I paid about $8.99 US for a six-pack, so it's on the upper end of average price for a wheat.

Would you ever buy this again?
Most definitely!  I enjoyed it, especially for the change from a citrus-y wheat or the powerful UFO.  Plus, looking at the bright label makes me happy when I drink this beer!

On the Subject of my Crazy Life: Learning Digital

So those of you who know me, know I draw a lot.  And pretty much solely in traditional mediums.  (Copic markers and micron pens are my weapons of choice!)  But recently I have been delving into digital art.  It has been a difficult battle, and I'm not too sure about it so far, but have a work in progress picture of a self-portrait I'm working on!

Look Ma!  I'm a cartoon!

Yep, that is what I have so far!  I don't normally draw humans, so the both the face structure and the flesh color were rather obnoxious to work on (still need to finish the skin coloring too!)  If any of you are artists, critiques are always welcome!

Adventures in Homebrewing: Episode I

First off, sorry for the long silence.  School started back up and I haven't had time to keep up with this on top of my classwork!  Hopefully, I will do better now *crosses fingers*

So I am planning on doing some homebrewing in the next few months.  I bought a book, How to Brew by John Palmer, that will hopefully fill in the holes where a brewing kit instruction might lack.  I actually found the entire book online for free, but I am a traditionalist when it comes to reading so I chose to buy it.  Also I figured it would be handy to have in the kitchen with me when I actually start brewing!

Now then, I have only read the quickstart chapters, but I don't feel prepared to lay down the money on a kit yet (probably around $60-$80 US), so I'm going to read the rest of the book (or just most of it) before I spend any more money!  (Also I hope my parents buy me a kit for my birthday in a month!)

If any of you are homebrewers, any tips would be appreciated!

The Battle of the Black Eyeliner: Milani Infinite Liquid Eye Liner

The Epic Battle:
It's probably no surprise that I love black eyeliner.  What "alternative" girl doesn't?  So I have started on a quest to find the best black eyeliner for the price.  I want something long lasting, inexpensive, and easy to find in the local store (as much as I support independent makeup companies, I like to be able to easily pick up the basics when I run out).

The Contestant:
Milani Infinite Liquid Eye Liner in Everlast (black)

Yep, my hand.  

The Review:
A few months back I bought and reviewed this same eyeliner in blue and was incredibly impressed with the length of wear.  I finally managed to track down the same eyeliner in black, hoping for similar results.

Is it long lasting?

Please ignore how gross I look! 

YES.  I cannot express how impressed I am with this eyeliner.  I don't know if anyone who reads my blog lives in a hot and humid climate, but I certainly do.  Usually I have to either reapply my makeup multiple times a day (which I feel like my makeup should never make me do), or just wipe off the smudges and end up with no makeup.  Well I had been wearing my Maybelline Gel Eyeliner, because that was the best eyeliner I had.  But after a long day having to walk some distance between my classes on campus the eyeliner was incredibly smudged, to the point it appeared I had a black eye.  I've never had my makeup do something like that before.  So anyway, I saw some of the Milani eyeliner in black, so I picked it up and tried it out the very next day.  It didn't budge one bit.  That picture of myself was taken after 7 hours on campus and sweating while I walked between my various classes.  I never touched up my eyeliner.

How does it feel?
It is thicker than other liquid eyeliners I have used, but it is still very much a liquid.  It is sort of sticky before it dries, and but once it does I forget it is even there.  The only downfall is that it has a tendency to get into my eyelashes (the brush is really unwieldy) and make them all clumpy, but putting on mascara fixes that easily.

How about the price and where to buy?
I've only seen Milani makeup products at the local grocery store, but I'm sure you can find them elsewhere.  I know the nail polish is also sold at various chain drug stores, but I haven't seen the makeup there yet.  As far as price goes, I paid around $4 US for the tube.  Much less expensive than other eyeliners!

Would you buy again?
YES.  I have never had makeup that I could actually forget about before, but this eyeliner changes that!

So does this mean the battle is won?
You know, it just might.  I don't really know what other eyeliner could top this one.  The durability and length of wear are phenomenal, and the price is very reasonable for a college student like myself.  So unless there is an eyeliner out there for a lower price, I think the battle is won!

Drinks for the Drinking Nonthusiast: Boulder Beer's Sweaty Betty

The Contestant:
Boulder Beer Company's Sweaty Betty Blonde

Picture from their website because my camera is being derp.

The Review:
Once again, I fell victim to good marketing, and bought this beer because of the bright label and catchy name!  I was also curious as to how banana would taste in a beer.

What are you're initial thoughts?
When I first took a sip, I thought this was pretty disgusting.  I think, much like with any wheat beer that isn't a citrus flavor, I wasn't expecting the lack of citrus flavor.  The clove flavor (the beer advertises as having a banana and clove flavor), was much stronger than I had anticipated, and I honestly couldn't taste any banana. After a few days though, I tried this beer again and it tasted better than I had originally thought.  I still didn't notice the banana flavor until the very end of a glass though.  I'm a bit disappointed that the banana flavor isn't stronger because I'm rather fond of bananas.

How's the price?
I paid about $8.50 US for a six-pack, so it's pretty average when it comes to cost of wheat beer.

Would you ever buy this again?
Probably not.  While I wouldn't out and out say that this is a bad beer, I didn't enjoy every bottle of it.  I wish the banana was stronger, but even then I don't know how I would feel about it.

On the Subject of my Crazy Life: Furries, Furries Everywhere!

My friend and I at the convention!  Isn't he cute?

So where were you all weekend?
As I let you all know in my last post, I had been gone all last weekend at a convention.  Specifically, I was at Megaplex, a furry convention in Orlando, FL.  It's a rather small convention, but it was still awesome!  I went there mainly to sell my soul art, but I wasn't expecting to sell very much so I guess the convention was mainly an excuse to go on vacation for the weekend.  I was pleasantly surprised though when people seemed incredibly interested in commissioning me for on-the-spot badges or take-home art.  I was pretty excited to have gotten enough commissions to pay for my entire trip and then some, so I actually came out ahead for this vacation!  The convention was "retro arcade" theme, so they had pinball machines and other "retro" arcade games throughout the halls for people to play for free!  I didn't get a chance to play one unfortunately, but watching a bunch of people in furry costumes play pinball is a sight!  I spent most of my time in  the Artist Alley, which at this con was basically a hallway with tables set up along one side.  Unfortunately the con staff thought it was a good idea to use round tables for the artist alley, so it was a bit unorganized for us artists, but luckily I only had my art portfolio and sketchbook, so I managed to snag a decent spot every day.

Badges? Fursonas? What is this madness?

For those of you who are a bit confused with my terminology, basically people will commission someone to draw their character (sometimes known as a "fursona," or a person's furry persona, although I don't personally like the term) as a small laminated piece of art that they can wear around.  In the furry online community, people are mostly known as their character, so a badge helps people recognize each other in real life when they only know each other from an online community.  I personally like to buy badges of my character because it is art that is specifically of my character, and is usually a reasonable price and size.  Most badges are between three to six inches and laminated so they are easy to wear and protected from the hazards of a convention.

So tell me about the fandom?

Well, in case you hadn't noticed, I really like the furry fandom.  People in it are super nice and open minded, which is refreshing concept after attending anime conventions.  Unlike previous conventions I've been to, people at furry conventions don't really close off into little cliques.  I met probably a dozen or so people that I could hang out with without feeling like I am forcing myself into their friend group.  I feel like I actually made real friends at the convention, despite only meeting these people for the first time at the convention.  It's one of those things where everyone knows they share the same interest in anthropomorphic characters and fantasy-type settings, so everyone has at least one thing to talk about.  Most people there are huge nerds, so video games, books, and general geekery are all topics most furries enjoy talking about.  I honestly could have gone up to anyone, started up a conversation with them, and come out of it with a pretty good friend.  Unlike was a lot of social media says, furries are a pretty normal group, even if some of them do wear animal costumes. But hey, I've always loved costuming, so who says animal costumes are any weirder than any other costume I've worn!

But isn't furry about-?

Guess who else showed up? That's right! 

No, no, just no.  I don't even want to go into it here because it is such a stupid idea to begin with.  The furry fandom is a collection of people who appreciate art and costuming within a fantasy setting.  Just like Star Trek or anime, only with anthropomorphic characters.

Also, My Little Pony is there.







All in all the convention was awesome, and did a lot to re-spark my desire to become a professional artist!

Oh so professional!