Sunbird

@StrikerEZ Does SYLO stand for something?

I went birding this morning and I have photos! Pied-billed Grebe fighting to swallow a fish bigger than his head: Yellow-headed Blackbird making an unholy racket: Better (but not as funny) photo of Yellow-headed Blackbirds looking for dropped seeds beneath a feeder: Chubby cute Eurasian Collared Dove: Killdeer hunkered down in the gravel, showing me its butt: Same Killdeer no longer mooning me: Eared Grebe:

You are an evil genius.

@Riversong you might be surprised how much time most American teenagers spend inside. XD

O_o The Darkhold is invading your dreams!!

This conversation reminds me of this meme:

I just found the cutest video of a mariachi band playing for a beluga whale:

Edit: re-reading HoA and it occurred to me that Vin and Elend are the most epic party crashers. (Yomen's ball in Fadrex)

@Flynn Thank you for such a thoughtful post. I can tell you really want to make the world a better place, and I learned something new about brain chemistry! =)

@Tristan @Kaymyth @TwiLyghtSansSparkles I guess that makes me a soul triplet then! I too want to murder people when I have to listen to them cow-chewing. The bus ride this afternoon was actually really horrible for that exact reason: some girl was chomping on gum and cracking bubbles so loudly that I literally could not drown her out even with the music in my headphones turned up to full volume. I broke down in tears once I got off, and that was only after about 8 minutes of having to listen to her.

Re: music in schools, I was in marching band 3 out of 4 years in high school and by Harmony, after that experience I will fight anyone who says marching band isn't a sport! I have never gotten as much exercise in my life as I did the 2 years I was on the drumline. Also I find it very sad that the arts are so often discounted as not valuable and are usually the first thing to go during budget cuts.

@A Budgie ALCATRAZ!!!

I can make it through some of the simpler and more familiar hymns playing the alto and soprano parts with just my right hand, but only if the key signature isn't too difficult. Like, I can do that with "We Thank The, O God, for a Prophet" or "Sweet Hour of Prayer" since those don't involve too many black keys, but if you try to give me "How Firm a Foundation" (key of A-flat with 4 flats) I will flounder terribly. Sometimes I just transpose into the key of C on the fly to avoid needing flats and sharps if I know the hymn well enough.

Unfortunately, there's not a "one size fits all" solution to make everyone happy. Different people often find joy in different things, but here are a few general tips for having positive relationships (not just romantic ones) from my own experience: 1) Perform random acts of kindness and service: holding a door for someone, helping your family/roommates wash the dishes, giving directions to someone looking lost, and so on. Helping others can make their day brighter, and it can also make your day brighter because helping feels good. 2) Give sincere compliments. See someone wearing a T-shirt from one of your fandoms? Tell them their shirt is cool. Have a friend with a skill or talent you admire? Let them know that you admire it, maybe ask them to teach you a bit about it if you're interested in learning. 3) If someone comes to you looking for a shoulder to cry on or somewhere to vent about their problems, it doesn't necessarily mean they want you to offer advice or try to solve their problems. Sometimes just listening and nodding and showing sympathy is all the emotional support they want. 4) If you and a friend or boyfriend/girlfriend have different interests or hobbies, spend time together on each of your and your friend's interests in turns. Show them that even if their favorite activity isn't also your favorite, it matters to you because it matters to them. (If they're a good friend, they'll do the same in return.) 5) If someone's talking to you, give them your attention; don't divide it between the person and, for example, your phone. Most people hate being ignored, and they'll appreciate it if you show that you find them interesting by not acting distracted. I hope you find my comments helpful.

Hmm. Seems I've been burning my tin too long and pulled a Spook.

Hey, if you can play any hymn both hands at once, you're doing better than me. I can play 2 Primary songs ("Follow the Prophet" and "Book of Mormon Stories") and one random song called "Slumgullion (Pirate Stew)" that has somehow stayed in my muscle memory long after I learned it in, like, elementary school.

I'm baaaaaack! I started reading Dragonwatch yesterday, finished it tonight, and have had a stupid happy grin on my face all day because it feels so good to be reading about Kendra and Seth again after so long since Keys to the Demon Prison. I gotta say, I absolutely looooved the Tiny Hero, especially knowing what I do after I heard Brandon explain the origin of the character idea at Fan-X back around the time this thread was originally posted. I don't really have time for a long, in-depth post about it right now, but basically Calvin is named after one of Brandon's kids and the scene in the labyrinth is based on a game he likes to play with them.

I can think of one right off the top of my head: In Scott Westerfeld's Midnighters trilogy, 13 is a magical defense against supernatural monsters that only appear for one hour each night exactly at midnight. There's more to it than that, but I don't really know how to explain it coherently, so I'll just link you to the GoodReads page for the first book.

I decided on Dragonwatch and finished it this evening. I have been indescribably happy today to be reading about Fablehaven again. =) Next up: Demon Road.

@Slowswift I have the same problem with lizard hands and have found a few lotions and creams that help. The most effective is called Pomada de la Campana (originated in Mexico, I believe) and you can buy multipacks of little 2.6-oz jars of it for pretty cheap on Amazon. I put it on my hands right before bed and sleep with cotton gloves on to keep the cream off my blankets. Less effective but also less messy is pink Johnson's brand baby lotion. You can find it at Smith's or Wal-Mart or pretty much anywhere. There's this other hand lotion I've found that kinda strikes a balance between the Pomada de la Campana and the Johnson's in terms of effectiveness and tidiness. It's called Renew, but I'm not sure where to buy it since I was given my two bottles. Plain old Vaseline or petroleum jelly is pretty effective too, but it tends to get everywhere unless you do the glove thing like I mentioned with the Pomada de la Campana.

I'm going on a 3-day birdwatching field trip with my ornithology class a week from today! We're going to southwestern Utah where it's way more desert habitat, so we should see a lot of very different birds than the ones in Utah County.

I've seen some pretty cute ones on one of those signs with the moveable letters in my area. The first time I noticed it, it just said "Washy washy washy!"

Seems like a good time to repost this meme of mine: EDIT: Wanted to add that this does not mean I advocate actually slapping people who misspell the names of Cosmere planets. This is meant as friendly teasing about one of my pet peeves.

Found this old ad from the 1930s and of course it immediately reminded me of a certain hat-obsessed Twinborn...