December is almost here...

Time sure does fly when you're having fun. Now that winter is fast-approaching, what sort of frosty activities do you have planned for the season?


I always enjoy drinking hot cider this time of year. I like wearing sweaters and long coats too. Maybe it's the latent New Englander in me, but I'm actually looking forward to some snow this year.

On a side note, I am so sad I have to wait until February to see more of my beloved Walking Dead! What shall I do without Glenn or Shane to comfort me during the weekends? Now that I have a serious fangirl crush on the actor Steven Yeun, I will be miserable!

Game of Thrones should also be starting in February too...so at least I have something to look forward to. Don't know what I'll do during the meantime.

Naming your characters (Seventh Sanctum)

I just love using the Seventh Sanctum to help me name my characters! They got everything. From Elves to Vampires, Lovecraftian names to random names from the US census.


Now that I'm writing my epic dragon fantasy story, I've been using this site to help me generate some names for my dragons and elves! But I've used this site before for common names too. Give it a try, some of the names on that site are really silly. 

Smexxxy Friday (I like big butts)

I must confess...I too like big butts. When I first heard this song, I think I was in the seventh grade or something. I once had this entire song memorized, hahaha! Love it. 


Hope you have a fantastic Thanksgiving holiday!
VC

A Vegetarian Thanksgiving

I cannot count how many times I've been asked: "What do vegetarians EAT for Thanksgiving?!" Usually  followed by an aghast or incredulous expression or sometimes a sympathetic shake of the head or a pitying sigh. "Oh your poor, poor thing...vegetarians must starve during the holiday season!" 


Wrong. Vegetarians and vegans alike can and do enjoy the holiday festivities just as much as our omnivore companions. I love love love Thanksgiving! It is one of my favorite holidays because I can pig out on all the tofurky I can shovel into my mouth and not have to worry about fighting over the last few mouthfuls like my meat-eating relatives do when their turkey is nearly gobbled up! 


So what is tofurky? I'm sure many omnivores have pondered on this mystical-sounding food product. Some of the images I've heard described to me are downright hysterical. "Is it a turkey-shaped blob of raw tofu? Does it cook in the oven or is it eaten cold?" 


Hahaha...silly omnivores. This is what tofurky looks like:

Nothing fancy or all that elaborate. It is made out of seitan and filled with a wild rice and mushroom stuffing. You cook it in the oven over a bed of onions, potatoes, carrots, and celery and serve it hot with cranberry sauce or vegan gravy. If you have veg*n relatives to entertain this Thanksgiving, you can look at this site HERE for information relating to where to buy or how to cook it. 


This Thanksgiving, I will be eating green bean casserole, buttery mashed potatoes, vegan stuffing, tofurky, cranberry sauce and "giblet" gravy. I will be sucking all of this all down with a fine Ruffino chianti wine (riserva ducale 2007) and a slice (or two) of pumpkin pie for dessert! Yummy! I hope you enjoy your Thanksgiving feast! 


VC

Elder Scrolls V: SKYRIM

It's not often I blog about video game reviews, but I wanted to share my thoughts about Skyrim with you today. Let me be blunt with you first: I am not (and nor will I ever claim to be) a gamer. In fact, I've never played Skyrim before. But because I only have one television, I've been forced to watch at least 5 hours of gameplay a day for the past two weeks now. 


My boyfriend eats, breathes, and sleeps Skyrim. Every spare moment he has is spent on the PS3. Since he hogs the television, I've spent the past few days ordering his Dunmer character around from the couch: "Do the Thieves Guild Quest! Stop wasting time with the Greybeards! Kill the dragon, already!" and such, haha. Skyrim has taken over our lives and I'm a little ashamed to confess I've become somewhat obsessed with this game as well. 


Inspiration is a funny thing, indeed. Before the Skyrim Invasion, I was suffering from a serious case of writer's block. However, after seeing so many Elves and Dragons dance across my screen, I've decided to try my hand at a fantasy story to pass the time until I can get back on track with my novel. 


I really love Skyrim's storyline. The writing is top notch and I enjoy the dialogue sequences from all of the characters. I've never written a dragon story before. I always thought dragons were corny as hell and an overused crutch for many in "epic fantasy" genre. Skyrim has a unique spin on the dragon cliche. I was inspired the most by the "Shouts" and the whole concept of speech and language being used as weapons. 


I have no idea how long this little dragon story of mine will be. Haven't actually sat down to write it yet. I'm hoping for a quick little novella. Maybe 10 to 30 thousand words. We'll see...

Defining "Sexual Tension"

Ah, sexual tension. What is a decent romantic subplot without it? Initial physical attraction...denial...resistance...and sometimes (but more often than not, a lack of) sweet surrender! All wonderful things to flesh out a romantic relationship in a story. 


I just love watching sexual tension develop between characters--I don't care if it is in a movie, TV series, or novel...hell, even in real life! I just like seeing it! There is definitely an "art" to creating this type of tension. An unskilled writer can make it look cliched and contrived, however when sexual tension is done right--wow! I don't think there is anything more explosively entertaining to draw an audience into a story! When folks are screaming: "GET IT OVER WITH AND BANG THE BITCH ALREADY!" you know you're doing the right thing! Haha! 


They key to creating sexual tension is to first understand what sexual tension is. Are there different types? What sort of scenarios create this tension? I'll write more posts about this topic in the future, but for now let's cover the basics. 


As human beings, we naturally try to alleviate the things that frustrate us. However when we're dealing with sexual tension, the situation or circumstance often prevents us relieving the discomforting feelings. This frustration is what essentially drives the sexual tension forward. This is why sexual tension is inherently more "sexual" than traditional overt sexual displays. Denial and restraint require more mental and physical energy than surrendering to an indulgence. The longer we stay trapped in this unpleasant and frustrated state, the stronger the conflict and tension. 


Just like in real life, sexual tension occurs for a variety of reasons. Perhaps two married co-workers develop an interest in each other at the office, or a high school student harbors a crush on their much older teacher. So long as the EMOTION behind the reason is palpable enough to draw in an audience, you can create sexual frustration between characters. Conflict is always entertaining to watch--and readers loved being teased. 


One way to create sexual tension is to make one character push forward (or initiate a sexual response) while the other character steps back. Using the scenario from above, let's pretend the seventeen-year-old schoolboy accidentally bumps into his teacher in the hallway when they are alone. The unexpected physical contact makes him blush, and instead of immediately moving away, he lets his hand linger on her shoulder. In this scenario, the student is the one who is pushing forward with the initial contact and so the teacher must inevitably pull back. Let's say she does not want to act inappropriately with this young boy or maybe she does not want to lose her job. So she smiles politely at him, steps away from his touch, and quickly excuses herself to the teacher's lounge. 


You can also create sexual tension by making both characters step back or refrain from initiating the sexual response, but this will only work if an external force propels them forward again. Maybe our schoolboy is painfully shy around the women he is attracted to. He knows he could never get away with doing something so bold as the first example, so he keeps to himself and just makes goo-goo eyes at his teacher during class. The teacher is still concerned with upholding professional boundaries and so she does not say or do anything to encourage his behavior. However, now let's imagine the teacher is experiencing financial difficulties due to budget cuts and mass lay-offs at work. Unable to afford her mortgage, she moves across the city into a small apartment--the same apartment our little schoolboy lives. Now that these two are neighbors they are forced to see each other every day in a more "intimate" setting and the sexual tension can move forward again. The external force pushing them together is proximity. They can start carpooling together or maybe the teacher offers to help him with his homework after class. The possibilities are endless.


The thing to remember is that the distance between your two characters must always remain far enough to create frustration while maintaining room for interpersonal interaction. The longer you let this "push-pull" effect control your characters, the better and richer the sexual tension. However, if you let it go for too long, people will lose interest. Finding the right balance is key. 

Smexxxy Friday

What's for dinner tonight? Chicken? 

New Nose Ring

I finally saved up enough money to buy myself something from Venus by Maria Tash! Huzzah! Real diamonds and platinum, baby. Bam!

The picture is kinda small...sorry, took the photo with my phone. But yeah, my nose ring sparkles so much in the light! Overall I'm happy with the product (even though it cost me $195) but I think my next big purchase will be at Alluring Body. I have my eye on the perfect diamond nose stud over there...maybe for Christmas. 


What are you coveting for this holiday season?  

Transphobia in the gay community

This woman has such a beautiful spirit. I really loved this interview and I wanted to share it with you guys today. It is always so refreshing to see people of color speak up about LGBTQIA issues. I feel that in the LGBTQIA community, transexuals and transgenders are often completely left out of the discussion. We need to reach out to ALL of our brothers and sisters, especially to the young people in our community who are trans or intersex. I know that as a bisexual, my needs are often ignored or ridiculed--but no population faces more persecution than trans people! Gays and straights alike share this erroneous view that transexuals are somehow "lower" on the Social Darwinistic Scale than others. Ugh! It makes me so angry to see this sort of disgusting behavior. But I am most angry when I see it from those in the gay community! 


I think a lot of what Tracee had to say is true in this video. There is a hierarchy in the gay community and it sort of goes like this:
1. Gay (white) men
2. Lesbian (white) women
3. And all the rest


If you're lumped in the "All the rest" category, you'll know. Just look at the lack of representation in gay rights groups/media. And even if you are accepted into a group, your presence there is merely "tolerated" and you're expected to shut up and let the "top tier folks" handle everything. I've faced a lot of "holier-than-thou" attitudes from many gays and lesbians for speaking out against them in regards to racism, sexism, religious intolerance, transphobia, and bisexual erasure that exists in our community.  We are in no way a "united"movement. And to pretend otherwise is just stupid. 


There is prejudice on all sides and I feel this needs to stop. If we hope to achieve full civil rights we can't keep marginalizing people. 


Thoughts? 

Smexxxy Friday

This Smexxxy Friday is...kinda depressing, really. I decided to post it because it is somewhat thought-provoking. Is it easier being alone? I think so. Loneliness is less complicated and messy. 


People suck. So do relationships. 


Enjoy your weekend! 
VC

The difference between men and women

My boyfriend emailed this to me last week. I thought it was hysterically funny and I wanted to share it with you guys! 

It's not Christmas!

Why do people do this? I've been seeing advertisements and Christmas decorations before Halloween even! UGH! Wait until December to bombard us with Christmas cheer! Or at least until Thanksgiving! 

Smexxxy Friday (The Walking Dead)

Have you guys been watching this series on the AMC channel? Season 1 is up on Netflix and new episodes of the second season are on Sundays! I love The Walking Dead so much! Finally, a well-written, well-acted zombie story with a character-driven plot! If you like zombies you will LOVE this series! 


Not to mention...Jon Bernthal. Oh yes. He's my Smexxxy Friday today. He plays the character "Shane" and is Rick's best friend. In this scene, he is fucking his best friend's wife! Surprise surprise! (Spoiler alert) I think many people will think Shane is an asshole--but I sort of like him. He's a very honest character and I feel he is trying to do the right thing. Also, he's very hawt. And so very masculine and alpha-male. *cheesy fangirl smile* 





Behind the scenes:



Please give this show a try! The characters/actors are DIVERSE and the black guy doesn't die in the first episode, hahaha! I'll post more on this series as I watch more of season 2! Hopefully you guys will watch it with me!


Tune in this Sunday!
VC

The best part about Halloween...

...is the leftover pumpkin seeds from the jack-o-lantern! Yum! Yum! Take a look at my beautiful culinary creations! Roasted pumpkin seeds are extremely easy to prepare--so easy, in fact, a complete buffoon like ME was able to make them!

I used these ingredients for spices. Chopped garlic, hot sauce, salt, pepper, greek cavender seasoning, chili powder, butter, red chili pepper flakes and cajun seasoning. As you can see, I like my seeds SPICY! You can just use salt and pepper for seasoning if you want--just don't rinse the pumpkin guts off the seeds!


Line your baking sheet with wax paper. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Melt your butter with the chopped garlic and or additional seasonings in the microwave and then pour over the seeds on the baking sheet. Roast the raw seeds and butter mixture for 45 minutes, stirring every 15min or so. Done.

Pumpkin seeds are very nutritious! They make for an excellent seasonal snack. :) 


VC