Meeting Generation IX ("Icks!")

[The Sinnoh patterns aren't all up yet.]

So anyways, for now just Scarlet/Violet (Paldea) 'mons...and they be: 

Dondozo -Would've sworn he evolved from Whiscash. Big sushi-chef kittyfish, and as all know, kittyfish rock. Wish there were a pleco.
Flamigo -Balloon flamingo with a perfect name, OMG (like Porygon2 x flaming O)
Espathra -Psychic ancient Egyptian ostrich, OMG (obvious name=Cleopatra...like my award-winning costume, tcheehee...) Another fab steed.
Flittle -With the yellow, pink, orange, lavender, white, and seafoam-blue eyes, it's like...a Pokepeep.
Chi-Yu, Chien-Pao, Wo-Chien, & Ting-Lu -Especially like those first 3. May have to just call 'em fancy goldfish, cool snow leopard, Trash Heap Druid snail, and moose for a while. xD
Wugtrio -Yay, pinkish-red and white garden eels!
Wiglett
Tandemaus -These be mad cute yo. The names and all. They're a combo of the Haribo mice and hand-holding sour bears. ;w; Feels as if they too could come in different colors.
Maushold
Nacli -Salty Mario mushroom! Could also be a sugar cube. :3 Expected third stage to be inspired by a third game (assuming it's Mario & two Minecrafts.)  
Naclstack
Garganacl
Veluza -spiky metal-lookin' fishy with sharp-looking triangular magenta fins
Finizen -Flipper! Roxanne! Reminding of all the Lisa Frank, LPS, the emoji...and more generally my clicking Barbie one, Walzy Wubbden, Lassen, the necklace from Faye, Delphina, etc. etc...
Palafin
Glimmora
Glimmet -perty blue crystal/flower thingies (based on a bunch of similar creatures)
Toedscool -Little shroomy forest-dwelling jellies? Aw...
Toedscruel
Dachsbun - <3 Reminding me of the beautiful bread photo from the Family Circle cookbook, & Busy Town's bakery. <3 Thank Bob it wasn't a fuckin' hot dog.
Fidough -also a loverly delicious woofer-doggo :x
Houndstone -to be named Pawla, of course. Pawla Houndstone. x-) Cute tombstone pupper.
Greavard
Maschiff -mafioso molossers :3
Mabosstiff
Smoliv -Only like olives aesthetically (like my favorite old stirrer in the bar collection...)
Dolliv
Arboliva
Orthworm -Adorable Alaskan bull worm :3 Reminding me of James & the Giant Peach, Antoine from Peter Cottontail, Wiggler, etc...
Farigiraf -Chain Chomp moves to your head!
Squawkabilly :D
Bombirdier
Kilowattrel -friggin' frigate birdo
Wattrel
Revavroom
Varoom
Brambleghast
Bramblin -LORD I WAS BORN A BRAMBLIN MAN
Sprigatito
Meowscarada -Um. Should've stayed on four feet, yep. Why must this happen? Humans are proof enough that bipedal ain't better. x-p Idk. One of my earliest crushes--Wordsworth from Heathcliff & the Catillac Cats--kinda came to mind a bit, as did Cats Don't Dance...Cats, but somehow more the nightmare monstrosity movie than the beautiful staged masterpiece...? The green legs & 'romper' effect are good? Overall...the line's a bit reminiscent of Fennekin/Braixen/Delphox. First two are okay. No strong winners among these starters.
Floragato
Quaxly
Quaquaval -Pros: peacock element, flared pantsuit look that'd be a cool actual outfit. Similar to Meows in that way. At least Quaxly started out standing up.
Quaxwell -Good names, indubitably
Fuecoco
Skeledirge
Crocalor
Cyclizar
Koraidon
Miraidon
Charcadet, Armarouge, Ceruledge -All cool...I mean hot, very hot B-}
*Tatsugiri ^^ (should've put above or below Veluza but can't, thanks Blahger ;b)
Klawf
Tarountula
Spidops
Nymble
Lokix -Gonna evolve into Hikix next time
Dudunsparce -STUNNING TRANSFORMATION
Clodsire
Gimmighoul
Gholdengo
Kingambit
Annihilape -It "evolved from Primeape when the rage in its soul became too much for its physical form to contain" and "gained increased power as a result of its spirit no longer being limited by the flesh?" FUCKING RELATABLE AS ALL HELL
Scovillain -Wish were orange+yellow+red+green bell/sweet peps
Capsakid
Oinkologne
Lechonk
Rabsca
Rellor
Pawmi
Pawmo
Pawmot
Tadbulb
Bellibolt
Cetoddle
Cetitan
Arctibax
Baxcalibur
Frigibax
Tinkatink
Tinkatuff
Tinkaton
Shroodle -Massive disappointment when this turned out not to be a Furfrou evolution in the form of a savage "shredder" Poodle.
Grafaiai
[Brute Bonnet, Iron Thorns/Jugulis/Valiant/Moth/Bundle/Hands/Treads, Sandy Shocks, Slither Wing, Roaring Moon, Flutter Mane, Great Tusk, Scream Tail] -Eh, mostly repeats. Best obviously are Amoonguss' & Iron Thorns (aka Tyranitar) because oooh, it looks like my car! 8-D Also Jugulis (Hydreigon) is cool/pretty...

 

 

Random thoughts: Doesn't feel right to call the Tatsugiri dragons. o.O But they've grown on me a lot. At first I'm just like, "Ew sushi." But they're cute colorful fishies...I guess most like a mix of a dottyback and goby. Maybe some anemonefish for the orange stripey one. So that's right up my alley ofc.
Espathra=look at my horse, my horse is amazing.
Smoliv+Dolliv remind me of our olive drink stirrer while Arrokuda reminds me of the wide-mouthed fishy bottle opener. :'3
Imagine if Palossand were the Sandcastle Puppies castle...*mwah*
Can you smell what Barack Obamasnow is cooking? (Well, can you?)

calendarmania v

• SHEDS
• STEWART
• SMALL WORLD
• SEARCHING 4 BIGFOOT
• AGGRETSUKO
• BLUEY
• PRINTHETH
• DAWG GALLERY [maybe next time regular workman], CRAZY, PORTRAIT, AS ANIMALS, IN WIND
• PAWPARAZZI; GOOD BOIZ
  
• POODZ!
• TROPICAL FISH, our oceans
• art grid
• letterpress
• ultimate motorcycle
• pokey mans
• victoriana
• destination rainbow
• mineralogie
• cottage core/love
• ikebana
• keep growing
• shroomage
• napple pie (pie napple)
• tropicale
• seed packets

Other Didnee: Fro-fro (zen), Kinky (kade), Alice & Cindy again; daily, pickthar (pixar)

Villains: Funny but only uses a small handful of them—Evil Queen, Maleficent, Ursula, Cruella, Hades, Scar. Sooo many great male ones, favorite girls are probably Gothel and Yzma. Cruella a bit weirdly prettified sometimes.

• busy town (“big busy family” scarry)
• chocolate
• hocus pocus
• ozard of wiz
• noir, golden age of movie theaters
• futurama
• trek (TOS through Enterprise)
• unsplained mysteries
• sperngeberb
• mars perseverance ^^
• ofa gardening/country
• 90s—they'll never end
• the queen (misread as “the queer” xD)
• dude w/ sign, donny o
• classic cruisin' & chrome; bonsai; in2 das woods; wicca; goddesses; flower fairies; fireweed; enlightenment; horoscope; shakespeare; austen; nuck chorris; unspirational, demotivational, everyday sass, subversive cross-stitch; kawaii or die; ocean unseen--trillions of other repeat goodies
• gennine zlatkis, joan metcalf, bonnie white, william s. rice, kulig (giana lighthouses); kruskamp (home sweet home!); anybody who paints redheads, curlies, beauty...;]
• arts & crafts tiles

Asgard pinball, motels/diners/service stations, etc. 

other shit I done doodled for some reason: ghost, leaf, water, cube, lily pad

 

The next pin after Halloween has tons more images...will see when it's pinnable...ah, now 'tis. (11/26) || Dissun be noice. || And boyyyy howdy, has this blog gotten some excellent good shit this year...

 

Oiram Trak

Finally something for here this year! Well, besides comments, naturally. And by November there'll be a whole new set of Pokemon to rank (plus Original Stitch patterns...) As for calendars, no need to essentially repeat the humongous lists from the past few years. Four "calendarmanias" are plenty; from now on let's just jot down the most unique and new ones--the most likely choices and ones that really need to be saved. Anyhoo. Wave 2 of the new MK courses dropped a few days ago, and one in particular made me think I need a spot to add/rank them as they're released. Four more waves, so 32 more tracks, by the end of next year. Waow.

Wave 1:
*Golden Dash Cup [Coconut Mall, Choco Mountain, Paris Promenade, Toad Circuit]
*Lucky Cat Cup [Sky Garden, Shroom Ridge, Tokyo Blur, Ninja Hideaway]

That one was fairly underwhelming. Golden Dash>Lucky Cat. The mountain, mall, and "garden" were the best.

Wave 2:

Turnip Cup~
*Waluigi Pinball (OoOoOoOoOoOohhhhh...)
*Kalimari Desert (haha, the  good ol' train xD)
*New York Minute (Goombas in Central Park! Cool)
*Mario Circuit (classic bright Lego-block course)

Propeller Cup~
*SKY-HIGH SUNDAE (I imploded, too much to say, gotta put it below)
*Snow Land (So basically like Frappe, a longtime fave of mine...with penguies/pingus and gorgeous giant ice crystals and snowmen, yee-haw. Kind of a pretty, blandly named Frappe/Sherbet combo. Still love the 64 versions of both & wish they'd reproduce all of them exactly, just with updated graphics.)
*Mushroom Gorge (ONE OF MY MOST-HOPED-FORS! And magnificent with its own crystals!! "Thank you! You have correctly counted the crystals!")
*Sydney Sprint (Cool)

I'd been hoping for the Turnip Cup next because it has the coolest (well, funniest) name--but it turns out the Propeller Cup is actually the most godlike cup ever. Even more so than the Piston Cup. Swap Waluigi Pinball and Sydney Sprint and it'd be perfect.

But yeah, I wasn't expecting to see a new all-time-favorite course...boy oh boy though, I think that may be Sky-High Sundae. I had to slow a video to 1/4-speed to drink in all the beauty. It has so much detail and creativity. ;3; The ice-cube diner--mimicking the glass block of a classic one--with the jukebox, counter, and booths. The penguies, Yoshis, Toads. The blocks and trays of cubes (I've always had a thing for ice cubes, miss our old plastic trays now that the freezer makes its own. Also the fruit-shaped water-filled plastic reusable ones. And the plastic trays with other mold designs, like the Halloween Jigglers I just used for cherry Pepsicles.) The transparent roads so you can see everything. The excellent-looking giant popsicles and wafers and street of way too many ice cream parlors+trucks in a row. The metal tubs of ice cream (and sherbet/sorbet/gelato/frozen yogurt/whatever)...the flaaaaavorrrrs...lemon-lime, blue raspberry, rainbow swirl, orange, strawberry, chocolate, etc...it was just kinda designed for me. Was in giddy slack-jawed shock the first time watching since I wasn't expecting anywhere near THAT much. "Oh, another Candyland-style thing like Sweet Sweet Canyon and stuff, should be cute. Looks aiight. Probably nothing too special thou--OH MY GOD." Ya had to go THAT hard? Actually my first thought was the Lisa Frank Saturn Sundae, but still anticipated more of a generic ice cream/dessert theme.
I pick favorites by the beauty of the visuals--the ones that make me just want to drive around for leisurely sightseeing instead of racing. The ones I wanna live in.

...Speaking of which. Lettuce hope for some more fabulous additions from the remaining waves--in particular MY PRECIOUS MAPLE TREEWAY. And any number of others from N64, Double Dash, & Wii. Daisy Cruiser!!!! Banshee Boardwalk!!! Peach Gardens!! Dino Dino Jungle (already got jungles but not with dinos?), Mushroom Bridge, etc...whichever ones don't have a near enough equivalent in Deluxe. I'll eat my hat if Maple Treeway's not in one of the four. It's too unique and perdyful. Totally the most-needed.
Rankings are always approximate and in flux...looking back through last year's Mario comments below the Pokemon Snap entry, I'd kinda wanna maybe put the subway & Ribbon Road a tad higher, idk (just 'cause of the cute mall-like parts of the subway, and how Ribbon Rd reminds me of the I Spy books...) But eh, whatever...can't believe I forgot Deluxe Sherbet Land. The iceberg dudes are cute, though N64's course is more beauteous. All the 64 ones are still amazing, with many better than or on par with later versions and other tracks...

And always remember...last year's revelations. x_x *_*
-Whomps walk. Thwomps, uh, thwover. Both are sacred. (Knew that already, just hadn't consciously separated them or the names. Seeing 'em side by side was an epiphany.)
-You don't need to press forward on the joystick to go forward (*don't* do that in the air/water 'cause it sends you down.)
-The L button doesn't make you drift left, it only does items.

*First comment below (added Sunshine as 10th Mario--and how could I forget Simpsons Road Rage?!) | PC counterpart

calendarmania iv

 

(Lang digital)
SHEDS
FINDING WEEDO
BONSAI
"Can't Kill Me" plants
LAVENDER

DISNEY:
Kinkade (SAVE...L&tT, B&tB, TLM, Peter Pan, AiW, Cindy, Pooh, etc...x0x...and just all Kinkade ofc. Bragg's site is so much better though.)
Frozen (SAVE)
Dowdle (SAVE--cinderella, b&tb, mickey gang, mulan, sleeping beauty, pinocchio, tlm, aladdin, pooh, peter pan, snow white)
Princess (ARIEL-SAVE)
Raya ^v^ (could be so much better though)
Bluey (watermelon rug :3)
Alice in Wonderland
Cinderella (nice collaging, concept art)

*Good Boys (SAVE 3)
*Front Porch (SAVE 2)
*Just Plain Weird (SAVE 3)
*PS Letterpress (SAVE)
*Wall Art (SAVE)
*Pop Art (SAVE)
*Colorcrush (SAVE)
*Mid-Century Modern (CHAIRS)
*Mini Accordion Easel (windmill+flamingo)
*Seed Packets (SAVE)
*Farmers Market/Fresh (SAVE)
*Crystals (SAVE)
*Elements (adding bismuth+astatine to faves i reckon)
*Yoga Puppies, Dogs, Cats, Kittens
*Flower Crown Animals
*Pokemon: Immensely disappointing. They could do two daily calendars in a row before needing to repeat a single one, but the sample pages shown are ones from this year's. Is it just a reprint? Appalling. Same as the Goosebumps--could've done several years before needing to repeat a cover, but they only did one. Seems the second didn't actually get printed, which is just as well because it unfathomably didn't use the original covers. And no third Yearbook Dogs (too much effort to make?), no second weekly ocean...yuck.

ARTISTS: *CHARLES LYNN BRAGG (OMFG SAVE!) John Sloane (4 Seasons.) Abraham Hunter. Julia Rothman. Chad Barrett. Wolf Kahn. Beckman. Billy Hassell. Mike Wilks. Marion Russell. Heath Robinson. Molly Hashimoto. Lawren S. Harris. Charley Harper. CJ Hurley (Lure of the Land.) Sergey Krasovskiy (Dinosaurs.) Paul Bond (Dreamscapes.) Catrin Welz-Stein (Curious World.) Robert Bissell (Spirit.) Gustave Baumann. Emily Carr. Aimee Stewart. Thiebauld. Addams. Engeldark. Bastin. Rob Gonsalves (MoI.) Arcimboldi. Bosch. O'Keefe. Rockwell. Rothko. Kandinsky. Hopper. Chihuly. art galleries, fine artistes.

B-Word (SO TRUE), Daily Bitch, Bitchin' Cross-Stitchin'
Maxine <3
Auntie Acid <3
Garfield+Grumpy Cat=me
Dilbert xD
People of Wal*Mart ;)
Anti-Affirmations--HELL YEAH!
Demotivational--HELL YEAH!
Unspirational
U Don't Got This
U Had 1 Job
Taintor
Paint Chip ^^
Puns
Punctuation Saves Lives
Awkward Family Photos (& other funny ha-has)
Ocean Unseen/Life, Coral Reef
Jellyfish
Whippet, [Just] Poods*, Dog(s): page/dog-a-days, Crazy, in Wind, as Animals, etc. (saved some noice pix of gr8 breeds/doggos)
Friesian, Arabian, Paint, Racing, Hunter & Jumper/Dressage
Prehistoric Predators
Cactus/Succulent, desert blooms/blossoms; Mushrooms
Shoreline
Fractals
Mario Kart
Waldo
Wegman
Retro Vibes
Vintage Toys
Lionel
Roadside Attractions
Roller Coasters
Hot Air Balloons
Cynthia Harts Victoriana (collages)
Illuminated Manuscripts
Tiffany
Kitchen (Spices, etc.), Gooseberry Patch
Symptoms of Gravity (melting flowers+butterflies)
Ur Creative Year (colors; graphics everywhere)
Toucan Do It (doodles of doughnuts, flamingo floatie, gems, veggies, plants)
Tiny Treasures/Totems (cacti & shit I could draw)
Workman/Galleries (page/pic-a-days...dogs/puppers, etc. Doodles=funny faces on thins. Monopoly.)
Mr. potato head, growing together, indoor jungle, kaleidoscope (planners.) lego. netherlands. labyrinth. japanese shit. seahawks. ^^ zombies. cocktails. cakes. "boring"=not so, actually. 80s <3. true crime.
"L.U.C."--WTF WAS THIS??

 ~LANG/LEGACY. Gazillions. Nostalgic Main Street, Folk ART/LIFE/Song, Blessings (OF THE HOME), Land of Blessings, Bountiful Blessings, Everyday Life, Feels Like Home, Joy in Bloom, Simple Treasures, Sampler Stouffer, Robert Duncan Simple Thangs, Peace/Tranquility, Life Itself, Journey Home, Heartland, Heart & Home, Home on the Range, Old Glory, Bygone Days, Bohemian Garden/Designs, Birbhouses, Legends in Gray, etc. Country ROAD[S], LIVING, WELCOME, WALK, Sampler, Path, Music, Gardens, Churches, Chic, Pleasures. Farm(s): & Barns, Quilts, House, Yoga, to Table; (Beckoning) Barns. October+November usually get the best images. All glorious scenes: harvest, rural/countryside, farm, prairie, woods/cabins, backroads, Americana/'murica, cowboys/girls, etc. <333 Precious Moments. Old Farmer's Almanac.
 ~"The Months." Astrology [crab!]/astronomy. Seasons, nature, weather, camping/hiking, lakes/rivers/waves, docks/shore/islands, sunrise/set, seashells, rainbows, outdoors, nat'l parx, mountains, auroras, moon, mars, universe/space. Art Forms of Nature. (House)plants/lady, "Pretty & Poisonous." Trees, palms, woods/(rain)forests, forest critchers. Flowers/blooms, herbs, (illustrated, growing) gardens/botanical(s) [NYBG], printed florals, tulips, orchids, roses, lotus. New Victory Garden. (Tropical/Exotic, Dumb) Birbs (feat. flamingos, crowned pigeons, spoonbills, peacocks, toucans, cardinals, [smol] owls, raptors, tanagers, buntings, orioles, waxwings, loons, crane/heron/egret/storks, schickens/roostors, peckawoods, parrots, penguies [yay rockhopper], humminbirb, bluebirb/jay.) "Feathered Friends"=beauty. Nests. Woodland badger, (secret life of/gettin') squirrel(s/ly.) Greenwitch Botanical=badger, owl, swan, squirrel, hare, etc. "Planet Earth"=frog, parrot, etc. Dragonflies. Rats, chipmunx, rabbits, coons, jyeraifes. "Field Guide," "Flora & Fauna." "Joyful Landscapes" disappeared.
 ~More repeats & similar ones... bungalows, cottages. frogs (poison especially <3.) cruisin' & chrome <33. covered bridges. mermaids. haunts, haunted realm, ghost stories, wicca, (dragon) witches [MEL<3], seasons of the witch, tarot, alchemy, [night] fair[ies/land/houses!], k@td, celestial journey, mystic cats, magickal shit. midnight children. celtic stuff. sea/play w/ ur food. modern art. dance/ballet, figure skating. <3 "eat sleep theatre" (hey i know all those quotes! ;b) musique. movie posters. cult attack/movies/cinema. bob ross. coke, classic shit. elvis. beatles. chuck norris! ;D <3 john wayne. andy griffith. sesame st. popeye. stooges. south park. king of hill. trains. art deco. bauhaus. mackintosh. gr8 smokies/blue ridge pkwy/stonehenge/israel/particular places. blue dog (flying on pop-tart.)
 ~image specifix--Tangs+sea turtles, tropical fish, salmon, poods. acorns, pumpkins, shrooooooms, pretty fruit/produce (sdawburrs), schmackarons, cuppitykekz, icy careams, baked gudz, shoesch, everything prettiful. terrariums, potted plants, cool chairs & cat beds & shite. daisies, poppies, hibiscus, morning glory, etc. sailboats. pentacles.
 *Same breeds noted in the previous years--e.g. greyhound, dox, scottie, gsp, acd, etc. jrts who look a lil' like harryboboyoboy. belton pups & more of different-than-usual colors.

Boi/family-type ones: Tractors. Caterpillar. Trucks/Pickups, Jeeps, fartrux. Cars. Motorcycles. Aircraft, planes, jets, hellyacopters. Boats. (#vehicles) Marines. Pizza. History/wars. "Holy Toledo!" (quoth Pokey.) Foxworthy. Hunt/fish. DT. Beags, Britts, BMDs, etc. (breeds from the pet list.)

...and okay okay okay OMG...whewww...favorite paintings by Bragg:

Water's Edge
California Roll
Rainbow Reef >;3
Tales of Tavarua
Rescue the Reef
Manatee Moments
Beauty and the Reef
Octopus' Garden
Orca Blues
Space Race!!!! #hmmfg #srslymfr
Musical Fish!
Happy Earth Day!!
Water Space!!!
Circle of Life!!!!
Wonders of the Sea stamps
Dolphin Symphony
Dolphins and Baby Turtle
Dolphin Family
Victoria Falls
Six Frogs
Toucan Twins/Lookout
Full Moon Dive
Penguin Paradise
Sunrise
Rainforest Magic
Secrets of the Rainforest
City Limits
Jungle Story
The Skins Game
Animal Magnetism
Bon Voyage
The Little Miracle
The Ark
Stardust
Blaze
Purple Queen
Peruvian Apple Cactus
Aloe
Nasturtiums
Legend of Aurora 8'D
Penguin Light Parade
Humpback Whale Family Gathering
(trees!)
The Little Farm
African Watering Hole
Dolphins Nose to Nose
faces (frog, owl, zebra, hamster, cat, etc.)
kickin' back; corporate takeover; museum of natural history; tourist season; in the water/stream/creek; cats etc.
*just all ocean ones (so much like Lassen and McClure! <3333)

Favorite Disney Kinkades:

Lady and the Tramp Falling in Love
Lady and the Tramp
Beauty and the Beast Winter Enchantment
Beauty and the Beast Dancing in the Moonlight
Beauty and the Beast Falling in Love
Beauty and the Beast II
The Little Mermaid
The Little Mermaid Falling in Love
The Little Mermaid II
Peter Pan's Never Land
Tinker Bell and Peter Pan Fly to Neverland
The Lion King Return to Pride Rock
The Lion King
Tangled Up in Love
Tangled
Alice in Wonderland
Winnie the Pooh II
Winnie the Pooh I
Fantasia
The AristoCats
The AristoCats Love Under the Moon
Sleeping Beauty Dancing in the Enchanted Light
Sleeping Beauty
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Snow White Dancing in the Sunlight
Snow White Discovers the Cottage
Cinderella Wishes Upon a Dream
Cinderella Dancing in the Starlight
Mulan Blossoms of Love
Jasmine Dancing in the Desert Sunset
Aladdin
The Jungle Book
Pinocchio Wishes Upon a Star
101 Dalmatians
101 Dalmatians on the Run
Pocahontas
The Princess and the Frog

All the Mickey & Minnie (Donald & Daisy Duck Day Afternoon, Sweetheart Campfire/Holiday/Cafe, 90 Years, Outback, Alps, Ireland, Paris, et. al.)
Love how they work practically the whole cast of characters into most of them. *w*

Back to the left, to the left! AW MAN, this song perfectly captures the longing to permanently return to any better time... "The past is all I'm after, how I get there I don't care...just take me back, and leave me there..."

Mission Find-the-Cards: Failure is NOT an option.

Would this really be the best first (other) place to put the following? No choice but to scour until these cursed little bitches are back where they belong and the universe is semi-okay again. Dammit all to fuck.

Bumping this thread because it's the only thing I've found so far that's anywhere close to what I'm desperately looking for...and my noble quest shan't end until its mission statement is fulfilled. My family has been keeping a precious cabinet of exchanged greeting cards since my early childhood (born '87.) I've always taken pride in our ability to select the perfect card for each recipient and personalize them to boot. Just recently I was devastated to realize that three of the all-time best ones have somehow simply vanished into thin air. This was never supposed to be possible and cannot happen. Knowing that I absolutely must find them somehow, I immediately contacted Hallmark and American Greetings--praying that there'd be card designers from the 90s/00s who might be able to remember and identify certain ones, or artists with portfolios containing them, or an archive of past years' designs. Willing to pay for the time of the person who can help if it takes a bit to hunt for them. I've never had to put much thought into this before...have I hit on the one thing too weird to actually exist? Are there people who could be considered greeting-card enthusiasts, fans, admirers, collectors, experts? That everybody regards them as purely disposable ephemera when some are true works of art, and that the companies don't keep a database of the past decades' designs, is striking me as tragic.
   Anyway. Best describe the bloody cards if there's to be any chance, eh...and hope I don't think of any more missing ones.

1) Christmas card, multistory Victorian-type house on cover with glittery snowfall. Interior visible through cutout windows. Folds open to reveal full rooms, then again to the greeting page. Could add further detail if that's been done more than once, but it'd be instantly recognizable. Really great artwork that I've always loved a lot. It's one of our unique, special, beautiful, happifying, dearly beloved ones and I *will* find it, or at the very least the exact image. *,-,*
2) Accordion-folding white card addressed to a mom (could be Mother's Day or a mom's birthday.) Poem about animal moms with cartoon illustrations. Innermost spread features pop-up clam (final line is "I'm just as happy as a clam to have a mom like you" or something.) Ex. "penguin mothers always dress their little ones real cool," fish mothers sending theirs to school, a pink+purple Poodle scolding "Who said you were old enough to shave your legs, young lady?" (I doodled that last one once.) And suchlike.
3) Another accordion-style funny poem with cartoons. Periwinkle/powder blue sort of color I think, maybe just light blue. From mom to dad, so probably anniversary. Pair of anthropomorphic white bunnies and their various funny marital escapades and issues and whatnot...ends with them kissing. Best picture is them watching TV in bed. Illustrations are puffy.

   Hope those grandparents' collection got scanned; I'm sure it's lovely. ;; I could never consider getting rid of anything like that without at least taking a picture or recording a flip-through. And I'll never be able to understand people who don't get deeply attached to things. For roughly the past decade I've maintained a "Missing List" of priceless stuff that, despite my extreme sense of organization and neatness, has defied all known laws of physics to disappear on me just like the cards (but it's already a proven fact that the universe exists purely to torture me, as I witness absolutely-impossible-and-impossibly-infuriating occurrences on a regular basis.) The knowledge that absolutely anything at all, and extremely beloved things in particular, can literally dematerialize at any moment tempts me to just give up on everything. What's the point? Fiercely stubborn defiance of the universe's many savagely cruel, deliberate, constant, trolling tactics is what prevents total apathy. I started a couple of infinite documents for writing everything I remember, and as muuuch incredible awesomeness as I've kept since childhood, every day I think about how I'd do anything to have it *all* back, and to loop endlessly from 1987 through some point a while ago. And just have a big she-shed/Sheseum/Fortress of Infinitude/holy sacred blessed pilgrimage site. To go back and ensure that I'm taking clearly necessary photos/video of absolutely everything, including the interiors of all the places that never should've gone out of business or now look totally different...to be able to walk through them only in memory, and to probably inadequately describe them since a picture's worth a thousand words...I find it almost unbearably sad and frustrating. Being unable to find any images of or info about something or someplace--same. It just really gets me; I can't take anything good becoming only a memory.
   In some cases it kinda makes sense if the thing's pretty old and obscure and lacks a specific name or brand or anything to go on, no matter how specific my description/search terms. When it seems as if you ought to have been able to locate it somewhere somehow, that's beyond lousy and baffling. Just utterly unbelievable sometimes. Real wanna-shoot-yourself levels of impossibility. }8~@ (E.g. a recent one--Artgame gonna tell me they can't identify the Royce McClure coral reef image wrapped around a large plastic tumbler cup (c) 2009 Motion Imaging Inc./IGH Solutions 6805/Technimark/anything else written on the other cup I've got here, that I'm describing? Honestly? *rages*) There oughta be a "Anybody out there maybe remember/have an image of these zillion-jillion amazing-yet-unfindable things?" site. Success is naturally joyous, and can also remind you of something else, and something else, and easily lead you down a rabbit hole of overwhelming nostalgia-wallowing. Which tbf has felt like my default state for some time. This has turned into a long diary entry or something, but whatever--the important bit is the card stuff.

Hoenn Pokepatterns [153]

 ho, lee, shit. third year o' doin' this...

 

....12/13: bonus 36 G1 replacements, for some reason:

Monsters at Work has given me some thoughts... #WrenchTheNut

Firstly it plays like a proper sequel, picking up right where the first film left off. It's just not totally Mike-and-Sulley-centric, which honestly is fine. And it actually looks darned good for being done by Disney TV animation. Thank Bob the look of the Pixar movies is retained, rather than employing some other style. And the voice actors! Unlike the series that used to be made as movie follow-ups and were mostly just for fun, this is being treated seriously, aiming for legit canon. The first pair of episodes genuinely made me laugh, like, a lot. Real whole lot. So the comedy's up to snuff.

Since Happy Days Winkler's probably had to fight "coolest dude around" typecasting, and Fritz is basically the antithesis of The Fonz, so. xD Like the colors on Val and some of the others. Her design is reminiscent of Art's, and she's one of those monsters who looks like she belongs at McDonald's. Cutter's great. MIFT team's neat, hilarious. Hooray for more Ms. Flint, finally! And getting to fully appreciate her cool sluggy-snakiness (with a touch of "mermaid" and "dress/maxi skirt" as well), as she sets about retraining everymonster as a comedian.
I've been wanting a sequel...and at some point I need to see my Randy-baby again! :'-x I just know he escaped those hillbillies and made it home.

Fungus is back. I mean, so far the continuity and inclusion of MI+MU characters whilst introducing new ones seems to off to a pretty auspicious start.
Easter egg: The poor traumatized kid has Pooh.
Tylor's mom looks nothing like him and also has my fuzzy dice. Monster genetics must be interesting. He's a lot more physically similar to Sulley. And Pixar gangs sure do like their initiation rituals.
Second episode>first.
Noticed on second viewing: Val is basically a Lisa Frank fanatic comme moi.

What's actually got me most intrigued at the moment is the almost immediate appearance of a (so far) minor character I'd been hoping to see *at some point*...okay, my main hopes for the series were to see lots and lots of MU+MI characters and as much as possible of the monster world. From the first several episodes I convinced myself to expect no more than a good setup. After all, I've lied when I've said that Pixar never disappoints. I mean, they have. And a lot of their more recent films have continued the trend of getting me less hyped/obsessed (or not at all obsessed), which really began during the latter half of the 2000s. Can't keep up the Finding Nemos and Incredibles and Cars levels forever. My other faves would include the toys and bugs and Brave--which I'll admit is among the weakest storywise. The awesome characters, setting, and everything else make that forgivable.

Pixar's worst crime to date has been scrapping the Tank Gang storyline in Finding Dory in favor of an incredibly ill-thought-out, nonsensical post-credit gag, which was just unbefitting. They deserved so much better. And no way did they travel across the Pacific in those algae-choked bags. For one thing they've got Bubbles' scalpel, Jacques' claws, Bloat's quills, Nigel's beak--come on, they did NOT really even need to wonder how they were gonna get out of the baggies. Like fo' real, guys. Gimme a break. Get with the program. Anyhoo. While a story about their traveling adventures WOULD be amazing, um, why wouldn't they just head for Nemo's part of the reef? I always envisioned a sequel set there, with them. And lately we've had the itty-bitty Dory short-short (in Pixar Popcorn) and the reef-cam which...aiight, cute for what they were and I guess better than nothing during the worst of the pandemic. However, the missed opportunities for #TankGangOntheReef, REAL SPECIES even for backgrounders, etc., re-taught me the "don't get your hopes too high" lesson.

So 'twas pleasantly surprising that I was able to start playing "I Spy With My Monstrous Eye" straight away. Right off the bat, boom, there's Carla "Killer Claws!" She was one I noted in MU and said, "Well she's obviously badass, wish there were a figure of her." At last we get to hear her speak and...um, oh my oh dear, I'm afraid there's no way that's her voice. *-* This obviously cool, confident, elegant she-monster speaks like...that? Oy. Well. Uh. We'll see what happens, but if necessary I can easily just headcanonize (which is my case simply means canonize) an identical twin for her without the vocal issue. xD; Also of note: One of my HSS gals, Rosie. Now had it been Susan, I'd know for sure they were stalking me and/or reading my mind. Which naturally they oughta do, but with proper credit and compensation. And hiring. Literally every company in the world needs me as CIP (Chief Idea Person) if it wants to truly thrive and earn not just customer satisfaction, but customer ecstasy.

Bring on all the sorority/fraternity members and whatnot!! Wanna reunite with Hardscrabble, PNK girls, Susan & Nadya & Sonia & Nancy & Rhonda [makes sense that Abby Hardscrabble would've been a HSS, as revealed in the Essential Guide], the Siamese Perry twins, the boys of JOX, Donna & the girls of EEK [interestingly there's another Carla and a Violet in there & plus Rhonda's one of Flo's Motorama girlfriends--along with Laverne and Sheila], and Javier & the rest of ROR (Worthington being the Bradley Uppercrust III of MU. They're the Gamma Moo-Moos.)

 *~*~*

...oh noes...I've been adding comments below but Mike's clown class just forced me to rewatch this...