Always a Lost Cause

I'm drawing something and can't pick what type of duck and I thought why not ask you

I have several favorites. Here's one off the top of my head...

Torrent Duck (Merganetta armata), L - female and R - male, family Anatidae, order Anseriformes, Chile

As the name suggests, these ducks live in fast flowing rivers, in western South America, from Colombia to Tierra del Fuego.

photograph by Eduardo Minte Hess (eMinte | Flickr)

Torrent Duck (Merganetta armata), male, L - and R - female, family Anatidae, along the edge of a river in Peru

photograph by Lev Frid

Torrent Duck (Merganetta armata), female, family Anatidae, order Anseriformes, Colombia

L'Hoest's Monkey (Cercopithecus lhoesti), B - adult, T - juvenile, family Cercopithecidae, Uganda

Vulnerable.

Gellert Thermals - Budapest, Hungary

Beast

2022.33

Poor Idris Elba. He's such a fantastic actor, way above this script. Just poorly executed from start to finish. A father brings his daughters to Africa to bring them closer to their deceased Mother's roots. Out exploring with an old friend who lives there and knows how to handle the terrain and wildlife, the group finds themselves in the path of a rogue lion who's pride was slaughtered by poachers, and he wants revenge. Bad. Of course, a stupid lion doesn't know which human is which so he just wants to kill them all.

Kickstarter has crossed 600,000 DOLLARS - thank you all! All my TUTORIALS BOOKS will COMPLETELY SELL OUT in the next few days! NOT available ANYWHERE in shops or online, ONLY on KICKSTARTER and ONLY NOW! By the end of the Kickstarter EVERY BOOK will be GONE! Get yours, before they all go, only HERE: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1378058646/how-to-think-when-you-draw-book-6-reprinting-sold-out-books

cheap paper towels + hydrogen peroxide = acne treatment (just be careful not to bleach your eyebrows unless you’re into that idk)

use the acne face soap on your chest, upper back, and shoulders instead, since it doesn’t do shit for your face (or at least not mine)

no one is stopping you from bushing your teeth in the shower except yourself (just eliminating that extra step of going to the sink makes it so much easier for me)

did you know you’re actually supposed to put on stick deodorant at night??? It has time to absorb while u sleep or stare at the ceiling in dispair whichever works best for u

carrots and/or apples dipped in peanut butter = dinner (or just plain peanut butter but it helps to get a lil something extra if you can manage it)

if you give yourself an allowance of skip days (i’m talking like 3 or 4 max) then it can be easier to go to class if you remind yourself “i only have 2 skip days left, I’m gonna save them until I REALLY need them” (think of skip days like non-essential items in a video game - you could use them now, but what if you really need them during the final boss battle later on??)

the velveeta microwave dinners aren’t great but they’re cheap and better than some other options out there. the mac n cheese w/ meat ones can smell a bit like dog food but they still taste pretty good

if you like peppermint hot chocolate - save the after dinner mints you get at places like Chik Fil A and italian restaurants and such and then drop a couple in your mug before you put it in the microwave. boom. 

if you’ve got a sore throat, just take a spoonful of honey (or squirt it directly from the bottle to your mouth if you’re a heathen like me) and go find a hot drink

for essays - highlight/number/circle/whatever you want to do to make ‘em stand out the quotes you want to use in your paper, then go take a shower or get something to eat or just watch like a 15-20 minute video on YouTube and then come back to your paper, pop those fuckin’ quotes in the right order, and write in the smart bullshit around them

okay actually the one thing that I will spend a little extra money on is cough drops bc i get a sore throat all the damn time and the only kind i will buy anymore is Halls Breezers they taste like candy instead of koala shit my personal favorite is cool berry but the orange creme ones are good too honestly these cough drops have saved my life at least six times now

St. Ive’s apricot facial scrub (or the cheaper CVS brand) is super effective. I have super oily skin and it is the only product I use on a regular basis. One squirt bottles lasts FOREVER and is so worth the one trip out to buy it.

Okuri Inu

Ever get the feeling of being watched? It’s not very pleasant, especially when hiking alone through the deep woods in the evening. The forest would suddenly fall silent if there is imminent danger, yet birds can still be heard. Their calls are ghastly, echoing and trailing through the tangle of branches. However, something else can be heard amongst the waning chirps. Footfalls? Could it be an animal? Why it’s a dog! Maybe just a stray, it’s best to ignore it and move along. Yet the atmosphere remains tense. The dog is still there, walk further, turn around and it’s there, do it again, and it’s still there. Take a break, it sits down as well. What does it want? Upon further observation, the dog is all black with barely visible eyes, almost like shadow save for its mouth and red tongue. This may not be a stray after all, it’s best to hurry back. The trail ahead gets rougher, showing any signs of loosing balance, will excite the strange animal. It makes sharp yelps while flailing its head wildly with tongue flopping. It’s would be comical if it isn’t what it is, an Okuri Inu.

The presence of an Okuri Inu is forewarned by another Yokai called Yosuzume which are the birds that make those haunting calls. Okuri Inu look like ordinary dogs or wolves, at least has a silhouette of one with just their mouths and sharp teeth visible. These Yokai stalk travellers on forest trails, close enough to be seen. Their unsettling movement and appearance can make lone travellers panic. And that’s what they’re waiting for. Once the victim stumbles or trips, they immediately jump in and tear their victims to shreds! Here’s a twist though, their presence can sometimes be beneficial. They tend to scare away potential stalkers that would likely follow travelers to their homes. As these spirits would leave travellers alone once the trail ends.

A List of Beautiful Words used by Louisa May Alcott in "Little Women"

Beautifier - something or someone that beautifies (i.e., make beautiful, or generally pleasing)

Countenance - look, expression; mental composure

Crosspatch - grouch (i.e., a fit of bad temper)

Elfin - of, relating to, or produced by an elf; having an otherworldly or magical quality or charm

Equipage - material or articles used in equipment; outfit

Exultation - the act of exulting (i.e., to be extremely joyful; rejoice)

Gull - any of numerous long-winged web-footed aquatic birds (subfamily Larinae)

Inkstand - inkwell, also: a stand with fittings for holding ink and pens

Lovelocks - a long lock of hair variously worn (as over the front of the shoulder) especially by men in the 17th and 18th centuries

Mortification - a sense of humiliation and shame caused by something that wounds one's pride or self-respect

Neuralgia - acute paroxysmal pain radiating along the course of one or more nerves usually without demonstrable changes in the nerve structure

Operatic - grand, dramatic, or romantic in style or effect

Personage - a person of rank, note, or distinction; an individual

Refractory - resisting control or authority; stubborn, unmanageable

Solitary - being, living, or going alone or without companions

Tranquility - the quality or state of being tranquil (i.e., free from agitation of mind or spirit)

Turquoise - a light greenish blue

Turtledove - any of several small, wild, African and Eurasian pigeons (genus Streptopelia) noted for plaintive cooing

Vittles - supplies of food; victuals—now chiefly used playfully to evoke the supposed language of cowboys

Warbled - to sing in a trilling manner or with many turns and variations

[Image ID: A doodle of Henry Wong and Terriermon from Digimon Tamers. Henry is shown bust up with Terriermon on his shoulder, waving to the viewer while saying “moumantai” in hiragana. Henry is looking at the viewer, smiling while holding up his digivice. The both of them are in front of a grey background. / .END ID]

“Moumantai!”

The Crimson Dynamo armor was originally created by Russian scientist Anton Vanko to attack Iron Man, who was viewed as an enemy of the Soviet Union. Vanko later changed sides and fled Russia, taking a job with Tony Stark. He died saving Iron Man’s life. Since then, many others have taken on the role of Crimson Dynamo. One of the most recent was teenager Gennady Gavrilov, who gained control of a Mark II version of the Crimson Dynamo armor.

A bit of August 17th history…

1590 - Governor of Roanoke Island colony, John White, returns from England to find no trace of the colonists he left there 3 years earlier

1903 - Joe Pulitzer donates $1 million to Columbia University and begins the Pulitzer prizes in America

1979 - Monty Python’s “Life of Brian” premiers

1982 - 1st compact discs (CDs) released to public in Germany

1998 - Monica Lewinsky Scandal: US President Bill Clinton admits in taped testimony he had an “improper physical relationship” with the intern, and on the same day admits before the nation he “misled people” about the relationship

2012 - Gay pride events are banned for a century in Moscow

August 17th 1987: Rudolf Hess dies