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August 27th, 2008
vaslittlecrow
 | 10:04 pm - *SNIFF*
Hmmm... I smell the foul stench of corrupt Chicago politician rat in this election. I wonder how much St. Obama paid Billary for that oral lovefest? I am sure it was more than it cost to foot Hillary's failed candidacy bill. "But Vas, aren't the Democrats the only hope America has to get back on the right track and regain universal prestige?" No.
I say that if Obama wins, we will have a sexier Richard Nixon with even less foreign policy skill, except without the foul-mouthed bigot part. I believe the first lady will play the foul-mouthed bigot role once her handlers let her off the short leash. Also, if you don't have or don't want health insurance, that whole mandate thing will make you really unhappy. And you know all those little happy promises about saving the universe? At least, FDR forced people to dig ditches and grow hemp to fund his multi-level marketing schemes. I am so not looking forward to tax day in 2010.
Did I mention that WWIII McCain makes me want to slit my wrists whenever the thought of voting for him comes up? Ditto for Ron Paul, Bob Barr, and Ralph Nader.
Can I write-in someone decent for President? Please? Could y'all do it too? I really don't want this javla pack of dummkopfen anywhere near the Presidency.
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vaslittlecrow
 | 05:27 pm - The Butler's Pantry - Alexandria, MN
I found this locally owned gourmet deli on my way to the gym. It possesses a calm coffeehouse atmosphere, and a beautiful watercolor art exhibit. An amazing selection of deli foods greeted me as I walked in the door. I needed a snack and a bit of caffeination, so I decided to have chai and torte to eat at their cozy dining area.
To my dissapointment, their chai tasted prepackaged, and much too sweet. The Bailey's Irish Cream torte I ordered was phenomenal. The four chocolate varieties used on the cake layer and decoration were smooth, fresh and decadent. The liquor-infused mousse was fluffy and ethereal. Real whipping cream was used in the creation of this product. At $5.25 for just the torte, this place is not the home of bargain eats. However, this is a gourmet deli and there is nothing cheap about their phenomenal pastries.
Recommended.
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arsenalangel08
 | 10:04 am - Tired.
I'm tired of weird shit happening to me. Last night:
1. Was coming home from dinner, and I see this guy standing in our parking lot. It's hard to see what he's doing, but then as we get closer, I realize he's peeing. Just...standing there, with his dick out, hanging out in my parking lot. No, he's not homeless - he's got a nice white shirt and black pants, and an expensive-looking watch on. So, of course, because I'm incapable of keeping my mouth shut, I scream something to the tune of "put it back in your pants" as we drive by. I'm standing at the door of my building, saying goodbye to my friend, when Pee Guy walks up, past me, and into my building, punches in the code, and continues in. I am not making this up. So not only is Pee Guy into waggling himself all over Nashville, he lives in my building. Great. You know, I can understand if maybe you really, really have to go, and you're not going to make it home, or you're super drunk. I get that. But peeing twenty feet from your front door? Makes no sense unless you're just a perv. Also? It was 9:15. Seriously.
Description: white guy, about 5'9", light brown hair, black glasses, nice silver watch. Super thin - he was wearing one of those braided leather belts and I could tell that it was pulled pretty tightly. White shirt, almost like a tux shirt, black pants (but not tux pants, like black khaki pants), and security guard shoes.
2. Horrible nightmares all night. Kept waking up at 2:20, 3:30, 4:45, etc. Woke up around 5:30 convinced that someone was in my apartment, and had to stumble around in the dark to find my glasses and check it out. Ugh. I'm just done.
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gypsy_kitty
 | 07:08 am
Guess who reinstalled Guild Wars?
Finally got around to picking up Eye of the North ... I'm a little disappointed that I do not have the option to create a shape changing bear. :( I am amused at the large bird-like warriors .. and the little critter is adorable.
I forgot how fun (and beautiful) this game was.
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vaslittlecrow
 | 11:28 pm - Timber Lodge Steakhouse - St Cloud, MN
After leaving the Granite City Brewery in disgust, Loki and I had our anniversary dinner at the Timber Lodge Steakhouse. With it's Minnesota-theme and the taint of being part of a chain, we were half expecting dull food. Au contraire, mon frère! Simplicity sometimes can be exciting. For starters we had the Bear Paws, a $7.49 appetizer that was worth every damn penny. Two giant portabella mushrooms engorged with an amazingly seasoned bread stuffing blended with spinach, parmesan cheese and garlic. Loki is normally a scarfer, but he was savoring. I liked the butter-glazed honey wheat bread, but felt it was more of a large roll than bread. Loki, being an artisan bread snob, thought it was too pedestrian.
Timber Lodge Steakhouse's steaks are not massaged Japanese meat by any stretch of the imagination, but are definitely well-seasoned, insanely juicy and tender. As a plus, Timber Lodge says, "you better go somewhere else don'cha know," to the food Nazis. They actually understand the meaning of rare and medium rare, and are not afraid to serve it. The garlic mashed potatoes were a special favorite of Loki. "Vas, they taste just like yours!" Other than a lack of peel and lumps, their garlic mashed potatoes were a dead-ringer for mine. My creamy wild rice soup was fantastic and loaded with veggies and wild rice. My steak tips with green peppers and onions, tasted like peppers and onions, not salted MSG. The servings weren't as excessive as in other places either. Quality won over quantity for once in the state of MinneSnowta.
The waitress definitely fit the Minnesota theme: tall, low-key and definitely Scandinavian. She wasn't just Minnesota Nice, she was a genuine and attentive sweetheart that went above the call of duty and made our experience memorable. When asked for suggestions, she did not skip a single beat. She even offered us free desert to celebrate our anniversary after sharing our horror story from the other restaurant. She definitely earned her tip.
The Timber Lodge Steakhouse's atmosphere is as utterly un-hip as it gets with it's determination to be the "Paul Bunyan" restaurant. The clientelle mostly consists of older Minnesota folks. That's not a big problem when you want a quiet restaurant when you can actually enjoy gentle conversation. As an added bonus, the host and waitress where extremely accommodating with special seating requests. When we asked for quiet and intimate seating, they delivered.
The cost for our satisfying meal was around $50 for the two of us, which is pretty darn good for an anniversary meal at a steak house.
Recommended.
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August 26th, 2008
vaslittlecrow
 | 10:26 pm - Back to School and Babies
Prayers for a Poor Baby
I am so happy for all of my friends who are expecting babies, and the back to school sales are wonderful. Yet, these two wonderful things came down on me like a ton of bricks while I was waiting at stoplight. I know that I have no legal right to even talk to her until she's an adult as long as Samantha and Grams have any say, but I'll always miss Little Blond like hell. Auntie and Uncle, would probably be anti-W's too, but at least I'd be assured that they'd be good parents to her.
I'm always worried sick, but I usually keep myself too busy to notice. Not today. For too many minutes, I couldn't stop crying for her, even if she is still succeeding in spite of her circumstances I like to imagine her strong little will overcoming her learning and situational difficulties. I have faith that the little squirt mastered her multiplication and division tables, and is now ready for the stuff with double digits. I know that when Samantha is melting down like she usually does, Little Blond is writing some devastatingly heartfelt little essay or journal entry where she expresses the hardships and the compassionate care-taking she gives to her belly mom. I cannot imagine Little Blond not getting top honors at reading. Maybe she's even gotten over all the suicidal thinking, and maybe even softened Samantha's heart enough to let her go to the church of her choice.
This emotion rips my soul the way thinking about my unborn children does. At least, I know she's alive and hopefully thriving. Maybe Samantha grew some sense, fixed her life, and moved onto something better. But, why is it that instead of hope and happiness for such a valiant little one, I feel like a failure? I feel like I abandoned her, and that the only think she'll remember of Nana and Daddy is the poison she gets fed by people who teach her that skipping school is okay? I know I did all I could to help her, but it feels like it wasn't good enough. I guess all there's left for me to do is what I can. Still, it would be nice if the hurting stopped. At least Auntie Vas has a nephew to spoil, and my brother is actually an awesome dad. That little boy makes me so happy. My work and the family I do have makes me happy too, but I wish I didn't feel so lame in the race for a little girl's life. I have no respect for the person who birthed her, but so much Little Blond's lot in life depends on this woman, that I must hope for her rehabilitation with as much fervor as my temporary daughter's bright future.
How can I even describe this without feeling so incomplete in how my words come out?
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://pics.livejournal.com/vaslittlecrow/pic/0005x1px) distressed
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vaslittlecrow
| 08:36 pm - Before I hit the whirlpool...
I'd like to announce that my hair is officially pony tail length. Go Vas hair!
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hazard2dream
 | 07:37 pm - Build the Zombie Apocalypse
I dare you to score Madagascar. Cuz I can't.
Game here
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arsenalangel08
| 09:11 am - Magic Bus
Long time, no post.
So this morning, on my favorite bus (I'm riding the bus to work; long story), this guy - we'll call him "Sam" -- started talking to me. And talking. And talking. Even when I got out my book (The Story of the American Outlaw) he wouldn't stop talking.
So when he finally asked me where I worked, I told him that I worked for the Episcopal Diocese of Tennessee because I was seriously considering becoming a nun and wanted some on-the-job training.
He stopped talking.
Current Location: A conveyance near you
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/classic/angry.gif) cranky
Current Music: The Who
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August 25th, 2008
worldofmin02
 | 01:09 pm - The Drop
I'm home from GLLA.
Coming back to real life sucks. Seriously.
Had a great time. Will write about it a little later.
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August 24th, 2008
gypsy_kitty
 | 08:54 pm
Warhammer online had a preview weekend .. so of course I had to putz around on it for a bit. I made up several races & classes to get a feel of how they were running them - and tho most of the screenshots are of the Dark Elf Witch .. the class I enjoy the most is the Dark Elf Sorceress (tho the Witch is a close second).
It's kinda funny - in WoW, I can't play a mage properly - I die a lot, and it's generally frustrating. However, in Warhammer online, the mechanics are so different, that in every world (group) quest I did, I was pretty consistantly in the top 3 of the group for damage output and kills - even when I joined in during the second of third phases and missed most of it. However, I am still the suck at PvP.
Some general thoughs:
I hate the camera. It's not as "free" as in WoW, so it's more difficult to take screenies of your character. I have also not yet figured out how to turn the UI off to get just the graphics. The scenery is pretty slick, was hoping to have a shot or two to put on my desktop.
Some of the graphics are kinda wonky .. I speak specifically of the way that they programmed the drape of clothing and hair. Instead of going around the body, it clips through it, giving some pretty stupid effects. There were a couple great hairstyles that I will never use because they don't lay nice on the body, it keeps disappearing into it. The clothing looks to be doing the same thing - belts sit in an odd position on the torso, and the armor that I did manage to find looked "painted" onto the character, instead of a part of the character. It's minor, but they went in so much detail with everything else - why cut corners on the most visible parts?
PvP .. or rather RvR as they call it .. Not sure how I think about this. On one hand, it's pretty cool to have "instances" that actually further the story along and happen to be RvR. That part is pretty slick actually ... but for people like me, who are not really into beating up on other players, and who downright suck at it, being forced into it makes for a not-so-fun experience.
I love the world quests! Big quests that anyone can join or leave at any point that you just stumble on every now and then. I had the most fun with these because while I am the suck at PvP - I can rock out PvE. This was the most fun aspect of the game for me - and I totally owned just about every group quest I found.
In general - it looks to be a solid game and I had fun playing around on it this weekend. It was a nice break from the WoW. However, I play MMO's for the social aspect as well - and it just didn't seem like people were really into that part of the game. Very little random chatting, no party chatting in the groups I hooked up with, it was really quiet. Even in PvP there was no smack talking, or people giving out tactics, etc. I guess everyone was so concerned with playing through as far/fast as they could in the limited amount of time there was to play this weekend that those aspects fell by the wayside.
I'm still going to pick up Litch King when it's released .. and I don't know if I'm going to suspend my WoW account just yet. Mostly because , while it was fun to play .. I have an entire community of friends on WoW. This is a nice change, and a slick looking and running game - but unless I can manage to build up the kind of social network I have on WoW, this will be my "thing to do when WoW is annoying me".
In theory, should cut down significantly on my alt-itis. :)
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vaslittlecrow
| 01:37 pm - Uncle Franky's - NE Minneapolis, MN
If you want fattening malts, inexpensive burgers and Vienna Beef® hot dogs, go here. Almost everything served here is pre-packaged and predictable, but who cares! This is a hole-in-the wall diner with cranky help and comfort food. I ordered the chocolate malt. 5 scoops of cheap vanilla ice cream + oodles of chocolate syrup + one scoop of malted milk powder = simple old fashioned bliss.
Not for food snobs. Great for parents in a hurry and people who appreciate good junk food.
728 NE Broadway St
Minneapolis, MN 55413
http://www.unclefrankys.com/
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vaslittlecrow
| 11:55 am - Buffalo Wild Wings, Crystal, MN
I decided to be manly this morning and eat some spicy chicken for Sunday brunch. The restaurant was fairly empty, but judging from it's vibe, I am guessing this place is usually noisy and hopping. If you want a sports bar where you'll be surrounded by big screen TVs, this is the place. Even their outdoor dining area has TVs. Their pop 40 music feed is set just a bit loud, but the music seems to have some cohesion. As I observed the place fill up, people seemed comfortable and were quick to strike conversations. Very casual.
The service seemed rather slow for a Sunday morning, though the waitress was very attentive and asked if I wanted to play trivia while I waited for my food.
The prices were comparable to other sports bar & grill theme restaurants. Their servings actually were not as excessive as other places.
The nacho chips that came with my Naked Tenders Wrap with Mango Habanero sauce were extremely fresh. The waitress confirmed that they were made in-house. The salsa wasn't particularly spicy or intresting, and just a touch salty for my taste, but it wasn't unpleasant. The wrap was surpisingly tasty, hot in every sense and not as salty most chains. I was kind of annoyed, because they seemed to try to send me on my way as lunch rush approached. I realize that table turnover is vital to profits, but this is not the place to linger over food. While it is not extraordinary fine dining, BWW is likeable.
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vaslittlecrow
| 10:07 am - Granite City Food & Brewery - St Cloud, MN
I am sure that food and beer might have been delicious. I am almost positive. The staff was smiley and beautiful. However, the ambiance at this place was so obnoxious, Loki and I walked out before we were asked for our orders. When I go out for a fine dining experience, I expect the whole package. A delicious meal can be completely ruined by a jarring atmosphere, as much as poor cooking can ruin the most beautiful restaurant. When I go to a micro-brewery restaurant, I expect an adult experience with jovial drunks and beer snobs in an intimate setting. What I don't expect is a humongous cattle pen of a restaurant with screaming children RUNNING around, and a seating arrangement dictated by how many seats they can fill efficiently in a space with absolutely no consideration for specific requests. I asked for a quiet and empty area, since Loki and I wanted to enjoy our (early) anniversary dinner without screaming brats or a sports bar vibe.
The window area was completely empty and seemed like a wonderful oasis. I even pointed it out. I would've been perfectly content with being told that it was reserved for VIP visitors or a large party. I understand that restaurants do this all the time, and I would not have been offended. Oh no, that was too much work. I watched the hostess writing out names on a seating chart that seemed designed to maximize restaurant capacity, as the waitress fed me bullshit about how the booth flanked by two table full of obnoxious kids and that had a straight shot view to the door and bar was "quiet" and "intimate."
Loki and I, rather irritated, stared at the menu stupidly. I growled, "We are not paying $9.00 for an appetizer to put up with this crap. This place sucks and it is way too expensive for being so damn loud."
Loki asked me, with an equally irritated expression, "So you want to leave?"
"Damn, right I want to leave. If I'm going to be put in poor people seating, I'm only going to put up with poor people pricing. Let's go somewhere else."
"Where?"
"I don't care, ANYWHERE but this den of hyenas (Cut for extended discussion on where to go.) Let's go to the Timber Lodge Steakhouse. It's a Minnesota theme restaurant so it should be nice and quiet."
"Why would anyone do a Minnesota theme restaurant?"
"Who cares! It has to be better than this over-priced noise."
"All right! All right Sheez, woman!"
As we walked out, a panicked waitress ran after us asking why we were leaving already. "It's a business matter," I told her with a smile. I needed to find a better restaurant to review on my blog that was worth $9 appetizers.
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