Do all the work, catch none of the Pokémon.

I am the worst blogger. I freely admit it. It's not my fault. I swear. I had just forgotten how much time and effort panicking about work all the time takes. I'm currently lying in wait for the one functioning washing mashing in my near vicinity. It's all fun and games at university!

In all seriousness, I apologise for my shoddiness. I'm still at the point of figuring out how much time there actually is and how to fit everything in - clearly there are not going to be updates twice a week. That's just not happening! But hopefully, I can do once a week.

Anyway, of course the big news is that Black/White 2 have *finally* arrived!

It's finally here!

...And it is currently sitting in my bag, untouched and unplayed. Yes, that's right it's been more than 48 hours since launch and I still haven't played it.

There. Is. No. Time.

I find it amusing that they advertise the ability to make "Pokémon movies" on the box. Because, honestly that's always what I though was missing from Pokémon. A musical wasn't enough for me.

Anyway, I had an appalling fail when it came to acquiring the new game. I thought I would be really organised and preorder it from Amazon. I even paid for postage. I got the email saying it had been dispatched. And then....I got an email from my mum saying a mysterious package had arrived at home. Yes, that's right folks I preorder it to the wrong address. Luckily, I have it now, but I was very jealous of everyone who had it that night.

Finally, a quick drawing for you:

Shocking contrast I know. I'm still trying to figure out the new scanner...

Adios Pokéfans! Don't let that supervision work get you down!

What I'm listening to: Have recently discovered the Night Series of vocaloid songs by samfree. I think my favourite is probably Neko Neko Super Fever Night (she also has a pretty cute character design).

I forgot an important cable...

And it means that I can't make my scanner work :'( However, I found a replacement for 97p so hopefully next post I should be able to scan rather than taking  a crappy photo. Anyway, for now we have to deal with a cruddy photo which is this:

Nurse Joy & Chansey

I figured that Chansey on her (because Chansey is always a she, hence the egg) own would be a bit too easy, so I thought I would do Nurse Joy from the TV series with her. However when I googled Nurse Joy I discovered this:

This is CLEARLY not NURSE JOY

Oh my god Pokémon Best Wishes what have you done?! You can't just go changing the character design willy-nilly all over the place. Even though I know that's exactly what you did with Ash. Anyways, I digress. You can't mess with it! You are ruining my childhood. Change is most definitely not allowed.

I'm planning on colouring this at some point, but it will probably on go on my deviantart (which is mopsy747, if you have any interest at all).

Short but sweet tonight,
Adios Pokéfans!

What I'm Listening to: Assorted Hatsune Miku :)

A letter to America

Dear America,

I have been to visit your country a few times now. It’s amazing but it can be incredibly confusing for a tourist like me. Don’t get me wrong, I love it, but I just have a few questions that I want answering.

1)     Have you guys ever heard of portion control? Every time I’ve ever been to America, l leave feeling like a turkey stuffed for Christmas (or Thanksgiving, depending on your festival of choice). This time is no exception. It may just be that I have a warped sense of your relationship with food, but why such massive plates? When I say I feel like I could eat a cow, it’s not a challenge!

2)     Why do you put up with so many adverts on TV? I managed to channel hop through all sixty-something channels on the hotel TV without *ever* seeing a TV programme. I only ever saw “commercials” as you would say. WHY? When I’m watching Toddlers and Tiaras I want to watch my crap TV with minimal interruption. I just don’t understand how you put up with half an hour of adverts for ever half an hour of actual telly…

3)     Why does Toddler and Tiaras even exist? I’m not going to pretend I haven’t watched this. But I always feel like an awful person when I watch it. But it’s so addictive. Aaaaaah, why have you created this monster?!

4)     If you are going to advertise medication, why spend half the advert telling me all the side effects? I know the answer to this myself – it’s the law; but that doesn’t make it any less weird. When all I can remember of your advert is that possible side effects include diarrhoea, vomiting and even blood clots, but not what the medication you are advertising is for, there is something wrong.

5)     Who designed your motorways freeways? And can we have them in England? I guess this is one of the advantages of living somewhere where the roads were built before the cities. But, honestly, London could do with a few six-lane motorways.

6)     If trousers are called pants, what are pants called? There are some quirks of American English that I find very amusing (like the fact that motor oil is called lube) but this is not one of them. It makes me very confused. Does the word trousers mean something completely different in America?

7)     If crisps are called chips and chips are called French fries, what are French fries called? Along the same line as above. *Insert confusion here*.

8)     What is this witchcraft that allows you to turn right on a red light? I….just…can’t….comprehend. Protip: In England, we stop at red lights. Try to turn a corner and you gonna be in serious shiz. Also, when you have a crossroads with stop signs for cars coming from all directions, who has right of way?

 Yours sincerely,

A confused Brit.

Also, off topic:

On time update, bitches.

Adios Pokéfans!

What I'm listening to: Still the new Script album...

Being on holiday messes with my internal calender...

Take it away Rebecca:

Oh, expletives.

It's FRIDAY?!?!

  All I have to say is thank you to the friend that pointed out to me that it was Friday and I had not updated. Because I was about halfway through a post about how I was so good for updating on time. Yes folks, I have managed to reach 3 in the afternoon believing that it was Thursday, when it is in fact Friday. That is it, I am setting reminders in my phone! Because clearly I can't be trusted to keep track of the days.

Sorry, Pikachu.

I WILL REMEMBER NEXT TIME. I SWEAR. Actually, that's a lie, as I'm not going to be in the country (and therefore lacking Internet access) for my next update day, but I WILL REMEMBER THE TIME AFTER THAT.

In other news, on this day, which is definitely not a Thursday I have finally preordered Black 2. Bring it on - I care not that it will be the new university term. I'll be too busy going on a Pokémon adventure.

Today's post is a quick one just to show you a cool thing I found when I was at Alcon:

Pokémon Lollipop!

It's the coolest Dib Dab ever. And not just with sherbet. It's friking popping candy. I've actually discovered that Japanese popping candy is way way superior to it's abysmal English counterpart. Anyways, this is what the lollipop looks like:

There's something not quite right about this...

 Yeah, not sure it's such a great idea anymore. There's just something a little off about Pikachu being so thrilled at the prospect of imminent consumption. But it did taste delectable anyway.

Ok, so for clarification, no update Monday, BUT DEFINITELY ON THURSDAY.

Adios Pokéfans!

What I'm listening to: The sound of my own stupidity (it sounds a lot like The Script's new album)

It is most definitely still Monday...

....That was a good start. So, I may have forgotten to update yesterday. I had the drawing ready and everything, and then I forgot! D'oh! And then the scanner wouldn't work this morning because it wasn't on the new Wi-Fi network, so this post is just generally a fail.

My bad....

Anyway, I hope you can forgive me Internet. I was having a bad day. My super-special-awesome exam induced RSI is playing up again, and as such I have only a line drawing to offer you this time around.

Everyone's favourite attention seeking brat of a Pokémon.

Yes I am aware that Wigglytuff looks frikin' possessed. Moving right along. I can't be the only one who remembers Jigglypuff's starring role as the standard comedy fall back in the TV show?

This is my mad face.

Ah, Jigglypuff, your artistic skills with a sharpie are without rival. Battle skills? Not so much. Why can't I get rid of you in Pokémon conquest? You are so annoyingly useless. And taking up a slot in my team. I have to drag you everywhere around with me, and frankly, We Are Not Amused.

Short and sweet today chums, but fear not I will remember when Thursday is and be back here. Pinky Swear.

Adios Pokéfans!

What I'm Listening To: A random selection of Nicki Minaj's atrocious music. Before you judge me, I like to listen to this when I'm feeling crap because it reminds me that it could be worse. I can still speak in full sentences that make sense. Someone, please, tell me what the hell a "hoop-de-hoop" is. Actually, on second thoughts, I don't want to know.

I went to a convention!

Like the title says, my recent silence has been because I've just been to a convention. I went to Alcon at De Montfort University in Leicester last weekend. This was my first convention, and it was a good'un. We saw a lot of awesome cosplayers aand lots of panels involving the UK Abridgers. If you haven't seen the work of these guys (Yu-Gi-Oh Abridged, Yu-Gi-Oh GX Abridged, Nullmetal Alchemist to name a few) then go look it up on YouTube. Now.

 Now that's out of the way, here are a couple of the Pokémon cosplays I saw while I was there:

First panel of the weekend, and we spotted Raichu and Pikachu

Zubat, Ho-oh and Butterfree

There were also three people rocking some rather awesome Pansage, Pansear and Panpour outfits, but unfortunately I hadn't mastered the art of asking randoms for photos by that point.

One panel we went to was called How To Start a Webcomic. It was a little surreal being told about internet comics by The Joker but he was quite amusing and had some good tips. One that I think I can apply here is that you should update regularly. And so, I've decided that I'm going to choose my update days as Monday and Thursday, provided that when I go back to university it doesn't all go to pot, which it may well do. But for now that is what we are sticking with. Monday and Thursday, ok?

Finally, a quick art update. This is a card that I made for my friend who I went to Alcon with. It was her birthday the day before:

Cosplaying Pikachu!

Pikachu likes to cosplay too! This con was the first time I cosplayed (as C.C. from Code Geass if anyone is interested), so I decided that Pikachu would want to cosplay as well. But he's a noob like me, so he's forgotten the tail!

Adios Pokéfans! See you Monday!

What I'm listening to: Soundtrack from The Girl Who Leapt Through Time <3

They're Finished!

I have an announcement to make. They are finally finished!

YAAAAAAAAAY!

 
My ridiculous desire to create Hama bead Pokéballs has finally been sated! I'm not gonna lie, these took an awful lot longer than I was expecting. And 26 is an awkward number to arrange into a nice shape.

Ta-dah!

Can you name them all? If not, I'll help. From top left to bottom right we have: Pokéball, Great Ball, Ultra Ball, Master Ball, Safari Ball, Level Ball, Lure Ball, Moon Ball, Friend Ball, Love Ball, Heavy Ball, Fast Ball, Sport Ball, Premier Ball, Repeat Ball, Timer Ball, Nest Ball, Net Ball, Dive Ball, Luxury Ball, Heal Ball, Quick Ball, Dusk Ball, Cherish Ball, Park Ball and Dream Ball. Phew!

In other news, I've discovered that Nintendo are giving away Keldeo in Game in the UK. Just to spice up Pokémon Black & White before they release Black & White 2. I hope a nearby store to me is doing it...I don't have the time to travel halfway across the country!

Pokémon Conquest is going well - I've got some slightly more intimidating warriors now. We are on our way to taking over the world. Well, I'm less dependent on Jigglypuff now. Baby steps, baby steps.

Now that the pokéballs are done, I'll be able to get back to the drawing. I think I may have lost my ability to even hold a pencil. but we'll see.

Adios Pokéfans!

What I'm listening to: I'm currently watching a ninja anime called Nabari No Ou, which has the goddamn catchiest opening song ever called Crawl (link here). It's also very satisfying to shout "Sha La La" at the top of ones lungs while wailing alone. I watched far too many episodes today while I was finishing the Pokéballs. In my defence, I thought they were going to kill my favourite character!

MOAR TOYS!

As the name suggests, I have MOAR TOYS to show you. Well, not really toys. Part of my ever expanding Pokémon team really. And my gosh are they super cute!

New additions are Emolga and Musharna :)

I now nearly have a full team. Not that I have any choice of who is on my team. You see, the person who I am commissioning to fetch these from the shop in NYC has not a clue about Pokémon and so just picks at random from the many on offer. He has, quite amusingly, started being recognised by the shop staff, and last time had to explain that they weren't for him but for his relative's collection. Seeing as how he seems to have friendly banter with the staff now, I'm considering sending him with a bit of paper with the URL of this blog on. Publicity in the Nintendo shop can only be a good thing right?

Anyway, I feel that now is a perfect time to have an Emolga related rant. When you arrive in Nimbasa City, totally pumped to face Elesa, every single person you talk to is like "You know I've heard that ground type Pokémon are good against electric type" which everyone knows anyway. So, you train up your Sandile and are all super ready to go, when you come up against one of these chuffing things. It's flicking Electric/Flying. I was just like:

Screw you.

Seriously. Not impressed.

Anyways, an update on the Pokéballs. They are mostly done, but it has been about 30 degrees C here the past few days and there is no fliking way I am going near an iron in that temperature. I can barely function as a human being, much less have the dexterity to deal with Hama beads or use an iron without melting. However, the weather is forecast to be rubbish for the next few days so they should be done soon :) Hoorah!

I also have recently acquired Pokémon conquest. Which is fliking awesome. Although, at the moment I'm trying to rule the world with an Eevee and a Jigglypuff. Yeah....I'll get back to you on that one.

I should probably go to bed now...I have been forced into signing up for a 7am training session with Craig the Terrifying PT tomorrow morning. If I survive, I will regale you of the hilarious (as in, you can laugh at me) story of how that happened.

Adios Pokéfans!

What I'm listening to: New Owl City album, The Midsummer Station, came out yesterday! EEEEEEEEEE Fangirl everywhere! In all seriousness it is ridiculously catchy and upbeat. I'm especially loving Embers <3

A Fetch Quest Worthy of Skyrim

It has been over a week since I last posted here, and since then, as the title suggests I have been on a fetch quest of epic proportions in search of the mystic black beads of Hamaland. These magical items are, of course, vital in the progress of my Pokémon journey, as without them I will be unable to progress with my manufacturing of Hama bead Pokéballs and that would just be no fun.

As a result of said fetch quest, I can only conclude that members of a certain department store where I live must now think that I am insane, or at the very least have strange ritualistic OCD tendencies. I say this because for the last week, at about 11am every day I have been walking into their store (always adorned in my work garments) and standing in front of their stock of Hama beads before carefully examining it for approximately three minutes in the hope that they will have restocked since I was last there. Unfortunately, a week has passed and they have not, although I am tempted to continue just to see how long it takes for someone to ask me what the hell I'm doing.

Therefore, I turned to the biggest fetch quest aid of all - the mighty Internet. It answered my call almost immediately, and although I was initially reluctant to pay postage that was more than the cost of the beads, I eventually caved and.....*insert LoZ opening chest music here*

Duh Duh Duh DAAAAAAAA!

Yay! Fetch Quest Completed! LEVEL UP! You may now proceed to complete Pokéball Quest! Huzzah! As you can see, I bought colours other than black, in the hope that I will finally get around to making some sprites too.

In other news, I haven't just been freaking out shop staff, but also doing some more drawing. Behold, Magnemite and Magneton:

For me, these Pokémon will be forever associated with the phrase "Dimensional analysis is your friend!" There is a long and complicated story behind this, but the abbreviated version is that I could only communicate with one of my supervisors this year by the medium of Pokémon doodles with speech bubbles, and "Dimensional analysis is your friend!" was Magnemite's protip.

Now, I feel here that I need to bring up an issue about these two Pokémon. First of all we are going to refer to a fact that appears in Magneton's Pokédex entries across the generations.

It (Magneton) is formed by three Magnemite linked together by a strong magnetic force.

Ok...well, that sort of makes sense. Next a couple of stats:

Magnemite's weight: 6.0kg

Magneton's weight: 60.0kg

Wait, WHAT? What is this witchcraft? Magneton is clearly three Magnemite linked together by some magical electric force (which seems to only be attractive from what I can see). Three times six is EIGHTEEN not sixty. Maybe I'm being exceptionally blonde here (and if I am I'm sure people will correct me) but how on earth is that possible? It also bugs me that Magnemite appears to have its magnets on the other way up to Magneton, but that is just me being pedantic I think.

Anyway, I'm gonna go see if I can spot some meteors now - keep your eyes peeled for further progress in my Hama bead quest.

Adios Pokéfans!

What I'm Listening To: Small Bump by Ed Sheeran. The most calming song ever. Even if the ending still sideswips me every time.

Art and craft skillz (z for emphasis)

So, today was my day off and I woke up all like "HAMA BEAD ALL THE POKÉBALLS". Because I like to be productive on my days off. And nothing says productive like spending all day doing the arts and crafts that you used to do when you were six. Except obviously now I'm much more skilled than I was when I was six.

Like I said, the plan was to finish up and make all the 26 pokéballs today, so that I could have a complete collection and calm my OCD tendencies. However, this was not to be because I HAVE RUN OUT OF BLACK BEADS. Please bear in mind that I bought a box of ten thousand Hama beads, so I am not best pleased. Damn you Hama, and your cleverly calculated ratios. Now I'm gonna have to go and spend more money.

Anyway, I have successfully created 9/26 and here they are:

My current collection (from the top, left to right): Poké Ball, Great Ball, Ultra Ball, Master Ball, Safari Ball, Level Ball, Lure Ball, Friend Ball, Premier Ball

In other news, I've spent a lot of time procrastinating on the Internet recently, to the extent that I decided the other day that it would be a good idea to clean out my facebook likes. This was the first time I've looked at all the accumulated crap that I've liked on facebook, and I was quite surprised by the amount of Pokémon related likes I have. A comprehensive list follows:

- Pokémon (obviously)
-"Hey bro wanna come to the gym?" "Dude, I've got all the badges already!"
- Making it through a patch of grass without getting into a Pokémon battle.
- Sometimes, I just wish I could be a Pokémon trainer. It'd be so much cooler.
- Being emotionally attached to your starter Pokémon.
- If this is another Zubat I'm going to throw my gameboy across the room...  
- Dinosaurs were lies, fed to us to cover up the existence of Pokémon.
- When Ash from Pokémon turns his hat around, you know shit's about to go down.
- "Hello, welcome to the Pokémon Centre" - *rapes A button*
- Always be yourself. Unless you can be Pikachu. Always be Pikachu.


And this is why the Internet is a wonderful wonderful thing. Because it allows us to express all those little things we truly appreciate about the greatest video game series ever, with just a click of a button. Genius!


Adios Pokéfans!

What I'm listening to: Big in Japan by Martin Solveig. So. Catchy.

Never Too Old For Cuddly Toys

First of all, I believe I owe you an apology Internet. We haven't talked for a long time. I know, it's practically gross negligence but I plead that following points as reasons for my frankly unacceptable behaviour:
1. Sleep - there has been a sad lack of this recently. What with the Olympic Opening ceremony lasting forever and ever, and the fact that all the kool kidz become nocturnal over the summer holidays, I've been "burning the candle at both ends" as my older relatives would say. Spending hours and hours at the airport is surprisingly exhausting.
2. Illness - Goddammit, international students why do you have to bring your international bacteria with you?! (I would make a witty biology-related comment here, but I like to think that I'm above such things).
3. RSI - yeah, so my exam-induced RSI hasn't gone away properly, which makes drawing for long periods of time a problem. :'(

Anyway, on a much more positive note, I recently received some very exciting new toys! YES! From the best shop in the entire world, which has bags that look like this:

LOOK AT THEM. THEY ARE AWESOME!

It's only Bowser and Yoshi! Yup these toys are from the NintendoWorld Store in NYC, and I would just like to reiterate that it is the best shop. In the entire world. Anywhere. If the whole university thing doesn't work out, I'm getting a job at this shop. I don't care if I have to smuggle myself into America in a suitcase. It will happen.

Anyway, this shop has an entire floor devoted to Pokémon. And so now I have these:

Cute!

I know it's unacceptable that my personal Pokémon collection only consists of Pikachu, Zoroark, Shaymin (Ground Forme (I have always wondered why Nintendo have the unnecessary e (...and nested brackets))). But fear not, I'm planning to expand it. After all, they are the cutest things. Love them!

And no, I'm not too old for cuddly toys.

Adios Pokéfans!

What I'm listening to: + by Ed Sheeran has recently become the soundtrack of my life, in that I've been listening to it nigh on non-stop for the last week. It really is one of those albums you can listen to over and over without getting bored. Also, if you haven't seen the video to Lego House you really should because it's great and very clever!

A Sleep-Deprived Starbucks Adventure

So, as I said in my last post, I spent yesterday evening finishing Fullmetal Alchemist:Brotherhood. I didn't initially plan to watch them all, but then the plot grabbed me by the neck and forced me to watch the 12 or so episodes I had left to finish the show. It. Was. AWESOME.

First I was like:

How could you do that to me, plot?

And then I was like:

Eff you plot! You can't just bloody do that!

But then, finally it was just:

This is me hugging the writer. Because I am clearly best represented by Major Armstrong.

And so, the upshot of this was that I was sitting in my room at 1.30am this morning a little shell shocked and wishing that I could shout:

USE GIFS TO EXPRESS ALL THE EMOTIONS!!!

*ahem* Anyway, unfortunately I had an early shift today so when I woke up I was somewhat sleep deprived and very in need of coffee. Luckily, my old friend Starbucks was on hand in the centre of town to help me out. However, in my sleep deprived state, I thought that it would be amusing to do this:

I should not be allowed out in public. Ever.

Oh gods, I've inadvertently turned into one of those douches that gives a fake name in Starbucks. I walked out of the shop and did a double take when I realised what I had just done. However, now I am immune to Starbucks name-related embarrassment and I'm thinking of starting up a collection of cups with odd names on. Hmmmm....this has potential!

Unfortunately, I have been able to do a drawing for today, but I thought I would upload three paintings I did of the Legendary Dogs ages ago.

And by ages I mean I did these when I finished my A-Levels, so over a year ago now. Haven't had time to do any yet this time around, but I'm hoping that will change. Suicine came out much greener than it is in real life, but I have no idea how to fix that on the scanner.

Adios Pokéfans!

What I'm listening to: Fullmetal Alchemist:Brotherhood soundtrack, clearly. Favourite has to be Again by YUI. 

Pokémon Shock!

I've had *so* much coffee today. Seriously, it's caffeine induced invincibility. I walked into work like:

Buzzing!

Anyway thanks to coffee, I had the energy to do another drawing after I got home from work today rather than just vegging out on the sofa, which one is wont to do after a day of arrivals.  So I decided it was time to draw Porygon, and the result in below.s

Glorious, glorious technicolour!

This got me thinking about the only episode of the anime that featured Porygon - Electric Soldier Porygon (apparently this is a mistranslation, and it should be Computer Soldier Porygon but we're going with the commonly used version here). If you don't know, this triggered seizures in kids who watched it and 685 were taken to hospital with a list of illnesses that were later called "Pokémon Shock" (you gotta love the media). The episode was even included in the Guinness World Records Book Gamers Edition in 2004 and 2008 (which I have because I'm cool like that) as having the record for "Most Photosensitive Epileptic Seizures Caused By a Television Show". Part of me wants to watch the episode just to see what all the fuss is about, but unfortunately I'm not quite brave enough to deal with the possible shame of having to explain in hospital that I have Pokémon Shock, and as such I think I'll sit this one out.

Unfortunately for poor Porygon, given that it was in fact Pikachu who set off the flashing lights that caused the seizures, as a result Porygon has not featured in any more of the anime episodes. Porygon2 and Porygon-Z have not made any appearances either, with Porygon2 being the only Gen II pokémon to have not featured in any episode of the TV series. Frankly, I feel sorry for Porygon - it wasn't even its fault (I use its because the species is genderless).

A quick quote from the red/blue Pokédex now:

A Pokémon that consists entirely of programming code. It can move freely through cyberspace.

Consists entirely of programming code eh? Holy moly that means this is one Pokémon that could actually be a real thing (yes CompScis of this world, I am looking at you)! Seriously, if someone made on of these things, it would actually make my life.


And on that note, I'm off to watch copious episodes of Fullmetal Alchemist:Brotherhood. I've nearly finished the show and it's getting super-special-awesome!

Adios Pokéfans!

What I'm listening to: Currently topping up my Hatsune Miku dosage by listening to songs composed by Tripshots (whose YouTube channel can be found here). Not only are the songs pretty good but the videos are excellent (see Nebula). This channel also introduced me to a Vocaloid I hadn't come across before - Kaai Yuki. The song of hers on Tripshots' channel is beautifully haunting, and a nice change of pace from the Miku tracks - listen to it here.

GIRLS LOVE BEADS

So, yesterday I went to the gym and encountered Craig the Terrifying PT again. Luckily, he was inducting a new minion into the lycra-clad-gym-bunny family, but he did have time to come over and gently mock me as I proved how unable to balance I was. I wanted to grab the new recruit and be like:

Unrelated Panda is unrelated.

 (On a side note, when I googled this quote one of the first pages that came up was a Yahoo answers of someone asking "What did Gandalf mean when he said "fly, you fools"?" God help us all, the Internet really is full of idiots).

Anyway, back on track, unfortunately I was otherwise occupied with quietly expiring.  

I also noticed that my gym is currently advertising "Anti-Gravity Yoga". Someone should tell people at the Cavendish that this is going on - I get the impression it's something they might be interested in.

After promising to post a drawing on my day off I proceeded to spend yesterday doing absolutely nothing. For this I apologise. I shall not be pretending to productive on my day off again. However, today on my way home I was struck by a sudden urge to purchase Hama beads, proving one and for all that all girls love beads - always. I thought this would be an excellent idea because they can be used to make sprites and whatnot; unfortunately I bought ten thousand beads but there are only about ten distinct colours so I'm going to need to expand my Hama bead collection before I can do any Pokémon sprite justice.

However, there were enough colours to have a good bash at making some Pokéballs - I've just made the basic four, but I'm hoping to eventually expand the collection so I can use them as a set of tea coasters (massive nerd alert).

BEADS!

As you can see, I have lost the Hama bead pro skillz I had when I was nine and had some issues with how long they needed ironing for the first couple, which is why the Pokéball and Great Ball are considerably less than perfectly circular. I also have a fairly decent sized burn on my forearm where my Dad distracted me while I was ironing. :'(

In other news, I was Stumbled Upon for the first time a couple of days ago which is a little exciting (yep, my life really is that dull). I've also decided that I'll be taking requests for which Pokémon to draw next - since I've got to do them all it doesn't really matter to me, but you should know that I'm leaving the starters to the end whatever.

That's all for now - it's been a long day, and I'm tired!

*Insert mandatory gif here*

 Adios Pokéfans!


What I'm listening to: Currently listening to the opening and ending themes from Code Geass - a list of which can be found here. This only has the short versions - I've having issues finding the full versions on Youtube so for the whole tunes I recommend Grooveshark (they really are worth listening to). Personal favourites are "Hitomi no Tsubasa" by Access (which deserved more than a two episode outing) and "World End" by Flow.

Not strictly related...

I went to see The Amazing Spider-man today. And I am very happy to report that the film is most excellent. It has confirmed my opinion that Andrew Garfield was unfortunately made to look like a greasy haired git in The Social Network. He actually has a certain hot-cute about him that puts him up there with Benedict Cumberbatch et al (he may even have hot collarbones - more research is needed to confirm this). I believe my response can be summed up by the man himself:

If he's in the next Avengers movie, it will make my life.

Anyway, moving on from hot-cute, I've come to the conclusion that Andrew Garfield makes a brilliant Spider-man. I always thought that in the films with Tobey Maguire the star of the film was the CGI and that Maguire's Spider-man had all the personality of a dish cloth. Garfield is a much more personable and likeable hero, and I think he responds much more believably to the events of the movie apart from *MINOR SPOILERS* the bit where he gives his father's clearly secret research to someone he's known five minutes.

As a scientist, I believe the film is worth it just for this one line:

This is how I feel in an interesting lecture.

If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it! It gets five Pokéballs :P

This film got me thinking about what original super power I would like to have. I've been thinking on it and I've come up with a few (I'm warning you now that some are a little rubbish!):

Logical Argument Girl - Logical Argument Girl has the power to spot a logical fallacy in any argument anywhere. I can't think of any particular use for this, other than being an excellent politician, but I just liked the name.

Sub-atomic Particle Woman - She is basically Heisenberg's worst nightmare. She has the power to know the speed, momentum and place of any one particle exactly at any time.

Elemental Hero - She has control over the elements - no, not as in nature, as in Periodic Table of. Elemental Hero can manipulate and change the elemental composition of her body at no detriment to herself. This is by far the coolest - if you've seen Fullmetal Alchemist think of Greed's body shield and you have an idea where I'm going with this.

I think I'm going to leave the superhero creation to Stan Lee and co. I'm clearly not cut out for this!

If you have been disappointed by the lack of Pokémon in this post, here is a gif of a Happy Haunter to cheer you up, and know that tomorrow is my day off so there will be a drawing I promise!

Adios Pokéfans!

What I'm listening to: Currently listening to Just Say Yes by Snow Patrol on repeat. This is definitely my favourite Snow Patrol song of all time, and possibly my favourite song full stop.

P.S. If you spot the Yu-Gi-Oh reference, Internet cookies for you!

Not feeling the Olympic Spirit here...

So, the Olympic torch was passing through my town yesterday and I finished work just before it was due to arrive. Did I stay around? Of course not! Why? Well:
1. It would have been impossible to get home, since my buses would have stopped running
2. I'm getting a little sick of the Olympics already, and they haven't even started yet.
3. It was basically a giant advert for Coca-Cola and that kind of annoyed me.

Indeed, it seems I am, in fact, a middle aged woman trapped in a teenage body. This won't come as a surprise to many, but I myself was somewhat shocked by my inability to give a flying f**k about a bit of history passing through my town. However, it did get me thinking about what the Olympics would be like if they were held somewhere else. Let's say perhaps (I bet you can see this coming) in the Pokémon world.

I decided that the Olympics would probably be held in Unova since this seems to be the most heavily populated place, in particular Castelia City. In line with the whole Olympic Torch thing, I was thinking how these celebrations would be done in such a place, and I thought that rather than having an inanimate torch it would be much more fun to have one of the cuter Pokémon of the new generation act as the torch. Yes, I'm talking about Litwick! And so these drawings were made:

For those who like monochrome, and those who like technicolour

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I also had a crack at designing a quick logo, because what is an Olympics without a suitable logo? (I'm ignoring the London 2012 monstrosity here) I also thought that as well as being the Olympic flame, Litwick could be the Olympic mascot a la The Beijing Fuwa.

Top is Mandeville and Wenlock. Bottom is The Fuwa. I know which I prefer. It's not the one from my country.

 Anyway, Happy Olympic Madness everyone! I hope you feel the Olympic Spirit more than I do, and if you have tickets for the games, I'm not at all jealous.

Honest.

What I'm listening to: In line with my new image as a middle aged woman, I have rediscovered The Best of Phil Collins. Another Day in Paradise is a most excellent song. I was definitely not singing it on the bus this afternoon.