Alex's Stuff

ellbent:

taokaka:

someone take that picture of Richard Dawkins wearing a shirt that says we are all africans and make it say we are all soldiers now and make him look like soldier 76

(via yarnam)

downwithdignity:

livelyspaghetti:

livelyspaghetti:

Turned on the lights because Toffee was being ridiculously noisy, only to see:

The lid is on and 100% locked via the handles.

How have you done this thing you did, boy.

THE SAGA CONTINUES

I wadded up a bunch of tissue to shove into the gap, until I could get something done about it. This didn’t stop Toffee from trying to escape.

Gorgeous. I stayed up, partly out of paranoia, and he decided to keep trying to noodle his way out until gone 2am. Fun fact: I get up for work at 5am.

But he went back into his cave eventually, and was still there when I woke up. I was fairly certain that he’d manage to get out while I was at work, though, and decided whatever–I can close the door, it’s a tiny room, and there’s no way for him to get under the floorboards or into the walls.

Popped into B&Q on my way back from work to get some wood to plug the gaps with, came home, and yep…

He made short work of that.

I start looking in the obvious places, not super panicked. If you’ve followed me for a while, you may remember the saga of the last time I lost him: he was out, sitting on my lap, and then he wasn’t. Five hours later, after tearing apart the house, I found him inside my bed frame. Anyway: behind and around the rack, behind the 15kg bag of substrate I have that takes up 90% of my floor, under the bed–nothing.

Put my bag down on the bed, glance at the pillow and wait a minute.

Jackpot.

Don’t give me that face. 

The moral of the story: check your rubs regularly! When I first got this one and safety-proofed it, there was no way Toffee even could’ve thought about fitting between the lid and the tub, but through use it’s warped enough to provide a quick exit route.

Oh my god Toffee’s head squished into the tissue, oh god this is the best snake picture ever.

(via queensheela)

kazucrash:

thathomestar:

julialynnrubin:

Is it just me?

When I first bought the game back in 2001, I remember it being addictive, awesome, groundbreaking for its time and wonderfully odd. When compared to the later, sweeter installments, and even its many expansion packs, it feels cold and well…kind of creepy in comparison.

The original How to Play instruction manual for The Sims, which I remember vividly but could never find in my house, was snarky and full of witty commentary. Later on the manual was more straightforward, but still retained some of the self-referential humor that is inherent in the gameplay and is, I think, part of what makes the game kind of unnerving.

(To this day, I wish I could find that damn original manual!)

Just looking at that main screen with that one neighborhood you’re forever attached to as the jaunty background music plays in the ever-sunny world, even that kind of weirds me out. 

Maybe it’s the uncanny valley-ness of the dated graphics, maybe it’s remembering the way the kids never aged, how the adults remained awkward and odd and never got any older, and how if the children failed school, they were just sent off to some horrific place only known as “boot camp”…forever. Yes, remember? They NEVER came back.

And when those burglars came stalking in the night and the Buy and Build modes just shut off as that scary, urgent music played and you were left helpless and asleep…

And when the fires started out of nowhere while your Sims made that same plate of salad-looking food and you forgot to install a smoke alarm and you were forced to watch them hopelessly burn to death and run around screaming for their lives…

And in the first expansion pack, Livin’ Large, when that awful Tragic Clown appeared and made it impossible for your Sim to rest or eat until they fell ill and eventually just died unless you put that eerie clown portrait in front of the fireplace…if you even figured that out…

Sure, things got more mellow and felt less odd with later expansion packs, especially when you were given the ability to visit shopping areas like Old Town and other places outside of the claustrophobic little classic neighborhood.

And OK, I’m not saying The Sims is a scary game or even that it freaked me out as a child, but I will always look back on the original as being, well…kinda creepy.

Bring back creepy Sims

(via leadhoovesies)