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ScythicKitty In reply to ??? [2016-03-16 06:31:32 +0000 UTC]

Haha thanks! Poor Navi, but her incessant ramblings definitely become very irritating after awhile. XD (That said, when the wiimote is running low on batteries, I find Fi quite annoying and could give Navi a run for her money during those moments! Especially since usually the wiimote is good for another day or two!)

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HeartlessKitty247 In reply to ScythicKitty [2016-03-16 18:33:28 +0000 UTC]

I know what you mean, it's like: "Fi. Um... I don't think It's a good idea for you to be breaking the forth wall right now."

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ScythicKitty In reply to HeartlessKitty247 [2016-03-23 02:34:28 +0000 UTC]

Haha exactly! It rather broke the feeling of immersion in the world. Plus the frequency at which she did it was just too often, so she was more annoying than helpful ultimately. Oh well, from Navi to Fi, they all have had their good points and helped as one of the defining parts of their game.

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ScythicKitty In reply to LuciaPilou [2014-12-13 01:52:46 +0000 UTC]

Thank you! I was experimenting with coloring, so I'm glad you like it!

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LuciaPilou In reply to ScythicKitty [2014-12-13 15:50:25 +0000 UTC]

They look great!
You should do this "experimentation" more often!!

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ScythicKitty In reply to LuciaPilou [2014-12-17 04:21:57 +0000 UTC]

Haha thanks! I definitely plan to!

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ScythicKitty In reply to Halowing [2014-11-10 09:31:07 +0000 UTC]

Thank you so much! It was an experiment with the coloring so I'm glad they came out alright.

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Halowing In reply to ScythicKitty [2014-11-10 11:07:36 +0000 UTC]

You're very welcome
Sweet ^^

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ScythicKitty In reply to soyeonchunsa [2014-11-07 00:31:48 +0000 UTC]

Thanks darling! Originally I was going for a comic book style, but this resulted instead... kinda mixing the black block shading and solid lineart from 90's western comics and a semi-abstract-surreal-pop-watercolor look with the neon blue for regular shading and yellow for highlights. I also wanted to practice with different flower types, though they all kinda ended jumped up after it was colored and shaded in. One day we should have an art day and just sit and draw together!

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ScythicKitty In reply to SolKeldeo99 [2014-11-08 21:58:47 +0000 UTC]

I actually was planning to preorder it, but since there weren't any preorder bonuses, I figured I'd wait till Black Friday to get it. Might as well save some money before the holidays! I'm really excited for it though.

Even though Bayonetta looks like a male fantasy fanservice kind of game, and the initial part of the game is pretty risque, Bayonetta (Cereza) is actually a very well developed character and admirable (just from the trailers though, she looks like your typical fanservicy kind of person you see in games and wouldn't know it). I think a couple sites voted her as one of the best developed characters in the recent years. Of course having fun gameplay is a must too. I agree, I don't think fanservice makes a game mature, or sexual themes and gore for that matter. In a lot of ways, that actually makes the game and audience more immature and they cater to people who wish to be seen as adults, rather than being a game for adults. In some ways even a Kirby game is more mature than say, CoD or GTA. One of my friends told me that one time, his friend was playing CoD, and his mom came in and got mad that he was playing something so violent. Then he popped in Wind Waker, and then she got even more angry that he was playing such a "kiddy" game and rather had him stick with the violent one with all the cursing and such. It's funny how society view games and maturity huh? 

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SolKeldeo99 In reply to ScythicKitty [2014-11-09 01:22:03 +0000 UTC]

LOL Yeah. I know Bayonetta is a very well developed character. I don't hate her but I just find that her fanservice makes no sense and the gore and blood given in the game is completely unreasonable. Cursing doesn't really make the game bad unless it's overused. That's why I mostly stick to Nintendo games since I find M or T-rated games to be really stupid. However my boundary has grown to games like Final Fantasy Xiii and Monster Hunter so maybe I can withstand all the flashing and cussing.

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ScythicKitty In reply to SolKeldeo99 [2014-11-09 03:16:59 +0000 UTC]

I agree, some of the fanservice is way over the top and detracts from the game (I understand and appreciate that she is comfortable with her sexuality, but sometimes they just take it too far and I honestly would prefer the game with less of it). The blood I'm fine with, though I think in some scenes there's so much of it you can't actually tell what you're hitting. It could also be my TV though because we're using a rather small screen at the moment so the blood becomes even more pronounced...

And yeah, cursing in reasonable amounts is fine, and most games do an alright job with it. Some characters swear too much though and I feel it detracts from their character, even if it is understandable in their situation (that one girl from The Last of Us really bothered me after awhile). It's also the audience that makes the games immature with their constant swearing, when you hop online with a lot of the FPS games, a lot of players themselves suddenly have sailors' mouths and they can't go a sentence without dropping a few words to make great grannie roll in her grave in shame. Raging and questionable comments ensue left and right. Even if the game itself isn't immature, the players make it so and give it a bad name. Thanks to them, the stereotype of the online gamer leans towards uncivilized, sexist, racist male teenager. I stopped playing CoD years ago and have no regrets!

I love Nintendo games as well. They're fun and don't require copious amounts of blood and fanservice to do so. They have great artistic styles and I never feel bad playing them if we have little kids or adults over. Everyone can watch or join in. They're not particularly easy either. Plus their DLC is actually reasonably priced! I wish that the press wasn't so harsh on Nintendo. Until the past month, media hasn't been kind to them even though they're great. Are you planning to get any games this holiday season aside from Bayonetta? What are your favorite series to play?

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SolKeldeo99 In reply to ScythicKitty [2014-11-09 05:35:14 +0000 UTC]

I have to say Super Mario, Pokemon, Kid Icarus, Monster Hunter if it wasn't obvious, Final Fantasy, and Kingdom Hearts. I'm planning on getting the predecessors of Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy Xiii since people are saying that compared to the other two Lightning Returns is a downgrade and I want to know if it's true. I'm planning on getting Pokemon ORAS and LoZ: Hyrule Warriors to check out the series(don't know why it's rated T it looks like it's for everybody). I'm also getting SSB Wii U since the 3DS version is really a letdown. But aside from nintendo not alot of other gaming series. Though I am interested in Bayonetta and Xenoblade.

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ScythicKitty In reply to SolKeldeo99 [2014-11-18 23:12:33 +0000 UTC]

Nice choices! I've never played any games with Lightning in them (I think my last non-spinoff FF game was X-2), but I have heard good things about them. 

Hyrule Warriors is a lot of fun! The A-rank to unlock some things is near impossible for only one player though, unless you grind a lot to overlevel. If you have someone else to play with though, I do recommend it. It's fun mindless button mashing and the combos and moves are pleasing to the eye. The DLC is also well priced! 

I enjoyed the original Xenoblade quite a bit, especially the music. The characters and story were more enjoyable than I thought they would be. I definitely wasn't a big fan of the battle system though, and while I appreciate the big, vast world, it really took way too long to get from one point to another for my liking! It is a well made game though. The next one on the Wii U looks great too. I don't know if I'll get it, if only because it looks like the same battle system, but most people enjoyed it. I wish you all the best with your future gaming endeavors.

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ScythicKitty In reply to blue-ann [2014-11-04 23:33:51 +0000 UTC]

Thank you so much! I'm glad that you think that the colors match each other, it was an experiment with the coloring style! I really like these costumes they have in the game, though personally I actually haven't played the game yet. I plan to get it soon though! We have a day called Black Friday near the end of November where you can get a lot of products for super cheap! I'm going to get my fill of holiday games then hehe.

Sorry that Halloween is not popular in Poland. It seems like only a few countries really celebrate it, let along actually have the trick or treating portion. It really is a lot of fun! I really like seeing all the costumes people put together, plus the treats are always nice haha! On the west coast here though, Halloween is slowly becoming less and less popular. There are still a lot of parties, but other traditions aren't as popular with the younger generation, like carving pumpkins. I know it's still really big on the east coast though, sometimes even more popular than Christmas!

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ScythicKitty In reply to marmiz [2014-11-04 22:40:49 +0000 UTC]

Boo for sloooooow internetu, but at least there be not the sheer curtains! Or are there? Dun dun duuun! But it went through, I'm glad! Thankies for your kind words and looking through it. Yay for big size and small edits! My sister helped a lot with the anatomy and switching it from a semi-top view to a mostly-forward-and-only-a-little-top view. So many changes had to be implemented! I really like this coloring style. It's fun and despite the bright colors and partial black-block shading, I think I'm slowly getting closer to the soft moe moe coloring I hope to figure out how to do one day. I miss the original rainbow road too, especially since it loses out on a reference, but I think it's for the better. There's still a bit of a space theme in the road, though it's not very noticeable and easily passes for some generic road texture instead of space bits leaking through.

I had noed idea that you buyed Bayonetti! Wow what a surprise! Surprise like the trail from the pantsu, so filled with wonderful surprises! Some soft, some hard, and so many bears! And I haven't the slightest what you did for Halloweenies! Certainly it didn't involve fake cabin houses and fabulous chest hair, no siree! And the weather forecast said that there was a low chance of children that day, so there won't be many children following the secret trail. Or perhaps the forecast lies? It always lies! Why? We must scream our frustrations into the sky! It hasn't even dropped any palliums lately! Hurry, hammer off the sky tail with load up!

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marmiz In reply to ScythicKitty [2014-11-06 02:35:17 +0000 UTC]

The curtains were sheer, but they stuck me on third floor.  What point are sheer curtains if I'm not on ground level!?!?  The audacity!  Anywho, kind words come easily with your arts.  And it's changed quite a bit as we've discussed since it's inception (with the word and not the movie).  And I see the space theme in the road.  Be they stars or are our heroines walking home?  And I agree that losing the reference was for the better.  Sniff.  Alas, we cannot have both.  But again it turned out splendid!!

O yah.  I buyed the Bayoneettu!  And no one knows my Halluweenu adventures...u.  And don't scream your frustrations unto the skies.  Doing so you may make the sky have to walk home and piddle in your mouthu.  We can't have none of that lest you want your face to melts like mine!!

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ScythicKitty In reply to marmiz [2014-11-11 02:02:08 +0000 UTC]

My, such a vulgar hotel! Sheer curtains on the third floor? How crude! And this is art within an art, so totes artception! One day that comic style shading and or hashmark shading will come to light! As the Ohohoho Crazy Lady says, "All shadows must meet the light!" Well, except when I make them meet the light they turn into something else completely! It's like fusion of miasma or something going on! And then they move on beyond the veil, never to return. Le sigh. Also I wonder for when Ohohoho shoots people with those arrows, if it's like instant skin cancer or burns there, or is it more like instant LASIK if it hits the eyes? Light magic is so deadly! What kind of radiation comes with it too I wonder?

But if I scream my frustrations unto the skies, then the farmerus and Linkus will be so pleased that there is finally rain...u! A melting face is a risk I am willing to take if it will save Lon Lon Ranch and all the cows from being turned into bears for YOU! And how goeth Bayonetti now? Have you gotten through the first game? 

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ScythicKitty In reply to supersonic318 [2014-10-31 08:01:21 +0000 UTC]

Thank you! I was trying out some new coloring styles and I'm glad they turned out alright!

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ScythicKitty In reply to Ringing-Belle [2014-10-31 08:02:53 +0000 UTC]

Thank you! I tried working with some contrasting colors and different shading techniques to make things stand out. 

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ScythicKitty In reply to ValePeach [2014-10-31 07:59:30 +0000 UTC]

Thanks! I enjoyed seeing their take on Peach's costume, and it's interesting to see Cereza, with her long legs and Amazonian figure, in a tutu beating up bad guys left and right! XD

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ScythicKitty In reply to herofan135 [2014-11-02 04:03:28 +0000 UTC]

Thank you so much! I had a lot of fun with this. I really liked doing the flowers, though after I colored and shaded them in, a lot of details were lost and it became messier than I would have liked. I plan to use this coloring style again in the future!

This actually didn't take as much time as I thought it would to finish the piece, but it was editing and fixing little things that took longer than anticipated! My sister helped me out with that aspect since anatomy and clothing are my weak points (amongst many others haha).

On the west coast, Halloween is slowly dying out (East coast though, I think in a lot of areas it's bigger than Christmas!). The parties and dressing up is still there, but trick or treating has definitely taken a hit. Fewer and fewer houses participate, which is a shame. A lot of it is because all the kids are growing up and the birth rate is declining, so it's not worth it to buy a whole sack of candy when only two kids arrive at your house. And in turn, when the kids see there's only three houses in the neighborhood with candy, they stop going there and the whole neighborhood just becomes dark after a few years. It doesn't help that media spreads all these horror stories of trick or treating, even though the US is much safer than it was 20 years ago. I'm not very familiar with Swedish holidays (or Sweden in general, though my mom wants to visit there one day and it's one of her dream destinations)- what holidays do you guys have that are specific to Sweden? 

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herofan135 In reply to ScythicKitty [2014-11-02 21:50:36 +0000 UTC]

Well, we all have our weak points in art (faces and hands are mine, ouch!), so I'm glad that you managed to find some help to overcome the issues. ^^
I think the coloring looks really good here actually! I have this problem that my scanner tends to kill my colors, they're so much more vibrant and clear in person. Alot of the shading is lost aswell.

Oh, I didn't know it was disappearing from the west coast. It's really sad, to me Halloween is a big tradition in the US. Yeah, if not many kids arrive then not alot of people buy candy, and if only a few people buy candy kids will stop trick or treating, it's an negative spiral. Here in Sweden Halloween is mostly for small kids, and it has never been a big deal. It sounds quite cool that Halloween is even bigger than Christmas in some areas, would love to see the decorations on the houses, haha

How nice that your mother wants to visit Sweden one day, there's alot to see and quite a variety of landscapes. From temperate forests here in Skåne where I live, to alpine tundra in the far north.

Oh, here in Sweden we have many shared holidays with other countries such as Christmas, halloween, new year's eve, easter and so on. But we celebrate midsummer here in Sweden, midusmmer festivals are celebrated at the summer solstice and is a tradition that has its roots in the viking society but was more elaborated during the middle ages. You often put up a maypole and dance around it, but many people skip the dancing nowadays. And according to an old tale, if you pick seven different types of flowers and put them under your pillow when you go to sleep at the end of the midsummer celebration, you will dream and see your true love.

We also celebrate walpurgis night, or valborg in Swedish. it's celebrated on the 30th of April and is centered around lightning bonfires in many places and gathering around these to spend time with your friends and family around the fire. It's originally to celebrate spring and to keep wild animals away from the livestock, who were let out to graze after the long winter.

We also celebrate St Lucy's day, or Lucia in Swedish. I didn't know how to properly explain it, since I don't know the exact origins, so I found this on wikipedia:
Saint Lucia's Day is on 13 December, in Advent . Her feast once coincided with the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year before calendar reforms, so her feastday has become a festival of light. [1] [2] [3] St. Lucia’s Day is celebrated most commonly in Scandinavia , where it is a major feast day, and even in Italy with each emphasizing a different aspect of the story. This feast is particularly seen the in Scandinavian countries, with their long dark winters. There, a young girl dressed in a white dress and a red sash (as the symbol of martyrdom) carries palms and wears a crown or wreath of candles on her head. In both Norway and Sweden, girls dressed as Lucy carry rolls and cookies in procession as songs are sung. It is said that to vividly celebrate St. Lucy's Day will help one live the long winter days with enough light. Here in Sweden Lucia is just a tradition passed on since generations.
You also eat lucia buns, a saffron flavoured bun, they're so yummy and I love to bake them. Well, I love to bake many things, haha. ^^

We also have something called Crayfish parties at the end of summer, you eat boiled crayfish seasoned with dill, garlic bread and drinks. The tradition stems from that here in Sweden, you were only allowed to fish for crayfish at the end of summer, which made it a seasonal treat that people celebrated.

Wow, I hope I didn't kill you with all that text!
I'm sorry if I dragged on for too long, but these are the traditons and holidays that came to my mind.
You guys have anything specific in the US that don't have a Swedish counterpart? I know you celebrate the fourth of July, which is a really big thing.

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ScythicKitty In reply to herofan135 [2014-11-18 23:03:43 +0000 UTC]

I agree, hands are really hard to draw! I'm very fortunate to have the people to help me out. And thanks again for your kind compliments! And boo for scanners messing with colors. I've seen people use scanners vs their original work, and it can look so different, unfortunately usually for the worse! It's also too bad when people upload art that they take a picture of (no scanner) and I can tell it probably was amazing in person, but thanks to the low quality and poor lighting, a lot of details are lost.

Yeah, some of the Halloween decorations are really nice and people are very thorough! Typical suburban homes turn into awesome haunted houses, and there's lots of inflatables, projectors, and animated objects all around! I'd imagine that houses on the east coast are even greater, and it would look great with the change of seasons and all the different colors of the trees. (Unlike here, where I'm sure our "cold" weather was a joke to our friends in Alaska and Canada XD, and you'll still see lots of flowers in bloom everywhere. Even our tomatoes still produce a few in the winter!).

Wow awesome! I have heard of St. Lucia's day, but I never knew what it was about. I haven't heard of the other holidays, thanks for sharing! Valborg sounds interesting! Does it still occur if it rains that day? We definitely don't have that here! If we ever have bonfires, usually it takes place on the beach (at least for our state) in the summer, though we once had one on campus and it was cool to see how high the fire gets! And we definitely don't have crayfish parties (though I do keep crayfish for pets, and they are very popular in Southern gumbo restaurants). That's cool that it originally was from that you could only fish for crayfish at a certain time! I am not aware of any specific celebrations we have that are for seasonal harvests. We do have things like "national pineapple upsidedown cake day" or "national pistachio day" or even "national apple month" but most people don't know about them or celebrate them. They're more like fun little trivia days that happen to exist.

Yum, those lucia buns sounds good! Especially home baked, it sounds like you're quite the accomplished baker! What are your favorite things to bake? Aside from baking the lucia buns, how do you personally celebrate it? Do you go watch the processions?

I recall in elementary school, we'd read about maypoles and dancing around them with ribbons, but I don't think people do that any more. (It is sad, since due to the budget cuts, many schools don't even have recess, much less little celebrations like that about international or historical holidays). Have you ever tried putting those flowers underneath your pillow?

For our holidays, in the US, the 4th of July/Independence Day is a big deal, and is typically celebrated with BBQs, parades, picnics, and lots of fireworks! People like to illegally set them off from their backyards. We used to celebrate it with friends and have backyard BBQs, but we haven't done much in the past decade, especially since it's in the summer and we're usually traveling. I've had summer school too so instead of celebrating, I'd be studying that day if we were in the country! I know for Disneyland, that is one of their most crowded days. 

We also have Martin Luther King Jr.'s Day, where most schools get the day off. It celebrates the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr., who advocated for civil rights and racial equality. Then we have President's Day, which I believe celebrates previous presidents we have, but as far as I'm concerned it's one less day off from work or school, and then people go out to eat. Memorial Day and Veteran's Day celebrate our soldiers overseas (or mourn those who have died in the line of battle. For Memorial Day, it could be for police, firefighters, etc too). I don't think there are any specific traditions, aside for some people heading to the cemetery and others going on shopping sprees and sales that occur those weekends. 

Thanksgiving is another huge one, which I think US and Canada both celebrate. Wikipedia says it celebrates the fall harvest (maybe that is true for Canada?), but from what I was taught, it celebrated how thankful the Pilgrims were to the Native Americans for sharing their food and teaching them how to survive, in addition to having a good harvest. They were to give thanks to God for what they were given that year, and to be thankful to one another. We get an extended weekend off (3-7 days) to celebrate with family and friends. Often we'll have a gigantic meal, centered around turkey, ham, and other holiday foods at home. Thanksgiving in the US is immediately followed by Black Friday, a day of a lot of huge sales (and unfortunately or fortunately starting earlier and earlier each year, causing people to cut their Thanksgiving short to get early goods) and potentially getting trampled in stores due to the crowds. The origin is mixed. Some say it originally refers to a day of financial woes in the US, another says it refers to how most stores operate "in the red" (at a loss) until the holiday season, when they are "in the black" (profiting). 

I'm not sure if this is a holiday outside of the US, but we have April Fool's Day on the 1st of April. It's a day when you tell lies and jokes to make a fool of someone, in a friendly way of course. It's a lot of fun for kids. Whew this is quite a text block haha! I hope it wasn't too much!

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herofan135 In reply to ScythicKitty [2014-11-21 19:23:20 +0000 UTC]

You're most welcome, it's always a help to have other people that can give you tips and tricks! I don't have alot of artists in my family, even if my mom and grandma did use to draw alot when they were younger.
I've drawn for as long as I can remember though. ^^

Wow, haha! Here in Sweden it's usually really cold and dark around halloween aswell.

Yeah, the bonfires on valborg are huge, so even if it rains it can still burn very brightly. You can even see the bonfire from your own home sometimes!
Haha, we do have national waffle day and novel things like that, haha. But it's mostly for fun and most people don't care too much for it. I love crayfish though, so I really look forward to thse crayfish parties!

Well, I think it's quite fun to bake. I prefer to bake bread or different types of cookies, but I like to try a new recipe from time to time. I've kinda liked it ever since I was little, but I've gotten more fond of it as I've grown up. I have more patience now I guess, haha!
Well, we usually don't go and watch the processions, sometimes we watch it on TV. But when I was in school we always had a day of celebration where the procession would visit our school. The procession often visit various schools, homes for the elderly and such and sings for the children and the elderly to give them some holiday cheer.

Haha, I've never tried that actually, perhaps I should, lol!

I'm sorry to hear you often miss out on the 4th of July or are on the road, but it sounds like quite an amazing day.
I know about thanksgiving aswell, but it's always nice to learn more about it, it sounds like a great holiday to spend time with your family and be greatful for all the little things in life. But black friday sounds quite crazy, I don't get how people can trample other people like that, seems to go straight against the meaning of the holiday in the first place. How could you not notice that you're standing ontop of someone? :/

We also have april fool's day, but it's called 1st of April here, but the purpose is identical.

Thank you so much for all the info, I had lots of fun reading it! Didn't know about Memorial day or Martin Luther King Jr. day, really cool to learn more!
Don't worry about the text block, I tend to write quite long replies aswell.

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ScythicKitty In reply to herofan135 [2014-12-17 03:54:20 +0000 UTC]

Wow, it must be quite an impressive sight during valborg, where even the rain can't dampen the bonfires! I would love to see that some time. I'm going to guess though, nobody ever tries using those bonfires to cook things? XD

Definitely, now as adults I find I have more patience to appreciate some things better! Of course with better technology, I've found that I've also had less patience for some things. I remember it was completely normal to have a page take over a minute to load and we were ok with it, but nowadays, if a non-video-embedded page takes more than two seconds to load, it's slow and lagging! Customer service in stores overall have also improved greatly, so I find that I feel like I'm less patient when people are sluggish and they're not busy. But when it comes to things like cooking and baking, I also enjoy them more now.

The 4th of July can be a lot of fun! I suppose anything can be fun around the right people though haha. BBQs and fireworks all around! In southern California though, BBQs are really popular in the summer so it feels slightly less special. Actually our neighbors seem to have them every few days from April till September. We can smell it really well! (And their BBQ stove is just on the other side of the fence from our chicken coop) And when you live so close to Disneyland, seeing fireworks doesn't quite have the pizzaz that it normally would this special day. Still, it's a day to celebrate! I've always wondered though, how do British classes teach about the American Revolution and their independence from England. Here it's always taught that the colonists were "right" to go against England and France was awesome for helping, but I've heard that supposedly in England, they teach it like the Americans are a bunch of ungrateful revolutionists and the French took advantage of that to push against England. I'm not familiar with Swedish history at all... do you guys have any sort of independence day? 

During Black Friday, it can be so crowded that you definitely won't notice that you're standing on someone. And if you do, people might not care because they just want that deal and have been impatiently standing in line for several hours. When I went to Toys R Us (I am not sure if you have this store in Sweden), the line wrapped all the way around the store and parking lot and was easily at least quarter of a mile long from where we stood, with more people behind us! We were able to get everything we needed though, and spent a nice time with my mom for dinner. People were surprisingly cordial and the employees very patient and kind. It wasn't anything like what the media makes it out to be. Yes there are crowds, but people weren't that crazy, at least not in the two years I've participated in Black Friday. (But I believe people were still injured this year during Black Friday in other cities. It's crazy! People are in such a rush and just stampede the place!) It's been a fun experience so I hope to do it again next year, assuming that they don't start it any earlier and eat into Thanksgiving time!

Hehe you're welcome! And thanks a bunch for your information too! It really is quite interesting, since I know so little about Sweden! I would say a fair amount of what I know actually came from a series called "American Girl" which talks about fictional girls from various historical periods in American history, and one of them was a daughter of a Swedish immigrant from the 1840's. I googled St. Lucia images after you told me about it, and realized I actually had seen that before (from the book)! I can't believe I had forgotten about that, because I remember when I read it back in elementary school, I thought it was really cool.

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herofan135 In reply to ScythicKitty [2015-01-04 17:27:43 +0000 UTC]

Indeed, it's quite impressive! And no, if you care about your life you don't go anywhere near the fire, the heat is so intense.

Wow, the 4th of July sounds so cool, BBQ and fireworks, haha! I've seen some pictures, it looks quite fun. ^^
Well, we have a national day on the 6th of June, but it's only been around for about 30 years and hardly no one celebrates it here.

Woah, that sounds crazy! Talk about a long line to get what you want, you're lucky that you managed to get all the things you were after, I reckon the shops run out quite quickly.
Some shops here in Sweden had balck friday aswell, but it's not well known. I don't think that we would have that much people shopping, haha.

Hey, you're welcome! Sweden probably isn't the best known country, haha.
Haha, cool that you remembered st. Lucia from that book.

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ScythicKitty In reply to herofan135 [2015-01-07 10:50:22 +0000 UTC]

Haha I don't know why, but your sentence about caring for your life and not going near bonfires got a laugh out of me! I guess that's true, I forget how hot they can be and keep thinking of just a nice toasty (but large) campfire. XD

That is a pretty young holiday, 30 years only for something like a national day! That's a shame that not many people celebrate it. It sounds like a great day to put a lot of older, less remembered traditions into. 

People love shopping here, especially when they can find a good sale! I think the fair weather also contributes to it. I know on the east coast, people say if you want to go pick up some groceries, you really have to give it good thought. First you'd have to shovel your sidewalk, warm up your car, and drive super carefully because of all the ice and snow. It could be half an hour before you actually get into your car. Don't forget to dress in layers upon layers! (I'd imagine it would be simlar for Sweden for several months of the year). On the other hand, over here, you can just slap on some flip flops and drive down the street whenever you want. It makes shopping much easier! And thanks again for your information on Sweden, it's really cool to learn so much about a country I don't know much about, and never really learned much in school. 

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herofan135 In reply to ScythicKitty [2015-02-23 18:19:58 +0000 UTC]

Haha, well they are HUGE here, so you can't get close without catching fire.

Yeah, so not many celebrate or care for it alot. Well, that's always an opportunity to do so, haha.

Haha, I love how you compared the east coast to the west coast! That's so true here aswell, during the winter months you usually only drive for as much as you must, considering the frigid temperatures.
You guys have a warm climate year round, so I guess that makes it alot easier! Must be really great to be able to go for a stroll or just enjoy the sunshine in the middle of the "winter", haha! Do you guys have alot of daylight shifts over the year? Here in Sweden the sun may stay up almost all night during the summer, but we only have about six hours of sunlight in the dead of winter. It's even more extreme in the north, since I live in the most southern part.

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ScythicKitty In reply to herofan135 [2015-03-25 04:46:47 +0000 UTC]

With bonfires that big, I'd imagine so now that I think about it! On just our stove, when the fire is on high I already feel like my hand is going to burn off it it inches any closer to stirring the pot!

It definitely is nice being able to go out almost whenever we want in the winter! You'll see a lot of people, even the elderly, take walks and hikes in the areas. You can just kick on a pair of sandals and sunglasses and out you go, and you usually don't even have to worry about rain! Here we don't have huge daylight shifts, but I believe in Alaska there are. We do have daylight savings, where you turn back the clock one hour in the fall and turn it forward in the spring. Historically, it was meant so that farmers could take advantage of farming outdoors more with the shift in the sun, but that's obviously not needed any more now that we have electricity! The rest of the world doesn't do it either, and it becomes more confusing because one of our neighboring states doesn't have daylight savings. It's bad when you go to work the day of the time shift if you forgot it. XD I'm sure in the next 50 years they'll get rid of it, if not 20 years. It's really not necessary, though I guess it is kind of nice in theory.

Wow, 6 hours of sunlight in the winter! That is so little, it's hard for me to imagine waking up and a little past lunch, it's all dark! It's always very steady here, almost 12-13 hours of sunlight every day regardless of the season. What are days like that for you? Or is it generally not that big of a deal? 

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herofan135 In reply to ScythicKitty [2015-04-04 09:04:43 +0000 UTC]

Yeah, the heat is really intense, and you should always avoid to stand in the direction of the wind since the heat blows right in your face. It isn't that intense from a distance but it's still quite uncomfortable.

That must be pretty neat to be able to be outside so much during the year, and no rain either, haha. Well, you live in a desert after all, but still! I can actually enjoy a soft rainshower, it's quite calming when it smatters against the windows. It also smells so fresh outside after the rain has stopped. ^^
Well, Sweden and most European countries have daylight savings, but that's because we have much less light in winter, so we turn the clock back one hour in order to get more sunlight during the day. But it must be pretty hard if a neighbouring state don't have daylight savings, I guess that can lead to quite a bit of confusion if you forget about it, haha. But it seems to me like most of the US have daylight savings anyways?

Well, in winter it's dark when you leave for work and it's dark when you come home. But it's not as intense as far up north, there the sun don't show up at all during the winter, so you live in complete darkness, and during the summers, the sun never sets, so you have 24 hours of sunlight. It is a short but intense summer, haha. Well, I'm used to it and do just fine, but I know that people that have immigrated from countries further south often dislike the dark winters and cold (ok, some swedes do aswell, not gonna lie there, lol). Some swedes get seasonal depressions during the winter due to lack of natural sunlight, and there's even a market for artificial lights that mimic sunlight in order to help people that suffer from this. It's because many people spend so much time working indoors that we actually miss the few daylight hours that are available during the winter months. But most people are doing fine and adjust, it's something you're used to. But you will often notice that you need more sleep during winter, but this is because the darkness causes the brain to produce larger quantities of sleep hormones than what it does during the bright summer.

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ScythicKitty In reply to herofan135 [2015-04-29 20:34:15 +0000 UTC]

I thought for sure I had responded to this awhile back as I recall typing to it, but I guess I must not have as it is still here in my inbox haha! I must have gotten distracted towards the end, and my computer restarted!

I was not aware of that, I feel so ignorant now haha! I thought only most of North America had daylight savings, and the rest of the world did not, since I knew Asia, Africa, and the bottom half of the Caribbean didn't have daylight savings. I just then assumed it as an international no-daylight-savings thing then. It doesn't help that even with the US, not all states use it either, which can be quite inconvenient for flight scheduling sometimes. It really didn't occur to me haha! Countries far more north or south really don't get as much light and turning the clock would help a lot, compared to where I live where it does very little. I'm so used to it here (or in Hong Kong) that I often forget that the day cycle in even just a few states farther north is very different! XD

I've heard about those artificial lights! We had a friend who moved to New York and it was so dark and cold compared to California, that they spent most of their winter huddled in their room, and ended up with depression. They bought the lights later which helped for a bit, but then they moved back to California the year after since it wasn't the same as the year-round sunshine here! For some people then, is it difficult to adjust to having so much sunlight? Would there ever be a sort of reverse-seasonal depression? 

Also just a fun note, our tour guide in Honduras told us that when the temperature drops to 18C, it is already far too cold, and people all wear sweaters, some wearing double pants, and don't leave the house because for them, it might as well be freezing!

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herofan135 In reply to ScythicKitty [2015-05-07 17:55:08 +0000 UTC]

Haha, no worries, you got to it now, and that's what matters!

Take it easy, you're not ignorant. It's easy to get a bit home-blinded sometimes. Yeah, the hours of daylight are very short during the winter, so getting an extra hour of daylight is really great!

Ouch, I'm sorry to hear that your friend had to go through that! Byt yeah, here in Sweden alot of time is spent indoors during the winter, it's really dark and cold. I try to make the most of the daylight by walking our dog, it really is refreshing!
We had a family friend who suffered from depression aswell, he also got better and recovered by the use of those lights.
No, I don't think there is! The reason that people get depressed when there's alot of darkness is because darkness stimulates the brain to produce sleep hormones, which make you feel tired and uninterested, which many people from sunnier countries aren't used too. When sunlight hits the eyes the brain actually releases hormones that make you happy, so the more sunlight, the happier a person is. That's why it's important to make the most of the sunlight available during the winter, and to keep the indoors well-lit. Humans are originally from Africa, so genetically were used to alot of sunlight. The issue is that people used to spend much more time outdoors just 50 years ago, which meant they recieved the natural light needed to keep the mood up.

Haha, that's crazy! XD We have 18C in our house, haha. But I guess if you're used to heat it must be hard to deal with lower temperatures.

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ScythicKitty In reply to herofan135 [2015-06-16 03:09:26 +0000 UTC]

Ok that makes sense, I don't know why I didn't think of that, and that's after having studied endocrinology haha! Go sleep hormones and sun! And after visiting Europe, I was pretty surprised at how late the sun sets in the summer, even though I knew about it ahead of time. It's one thing to read about something, and another to actually experience it! I could easily still read a book outdoors past 10pm without any extra lights, and that would be unheard of around here, even in the summer! So I can only imagine what winter would be like for you guys, with so little light hours. 

I was really shocked to hear that as well, since it's not uncommon to have 18C our the house as well, especially during the cooler months! But I guess when you're used to such constant high heat day and night and don't have access to air conditioning, 18C is going to feel abnormally cold. Similar to how whenever we get visitors from Alaska, they always laugh at how all the local Californians are bundled up in multiple layers and huge jackets at the beach for the Christmas boat parade, but they're all actually wearing t-shirts and doing just fine. Our winter weather might as well be their late spring/early summer season! XD (Which actually was the case when I was in Copenhagen earlier, where the afternoon was easily far, far colder than the typical winter night in Los Angeles!).

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herofan135 In reply to ScythicKitty [2015-07-29 12:35:58 +0000 UTC]

Haha! It's very different to experience if in person right? During the midsumer we will have almost constant sunlight. ^^
Yeah, it gets quite dark here but I'm used to it, alot of people that come from countries further south often have a very strong dislike for the darkness and the cold during the winters, and some Swedes aswell, haha.

Indeed! Here in Sweden our summer temperatures during the day are often between 15-25 C, which would be winter temperatures for you, haha.

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ScythicKitty In reply to herofan135 [2015-08-05 09:34:43 +0000 UTC]

Definitely! Seeing that the sun was still out so late at "night" was almost a rather surreal feeling, since it wasn't something I had experienced before! And I'd imagine the same thing at winter, where it's almost night the whole day. If someone's not used to it, then living like that for several months could potentially be a bit unpleasant, just like for the people who get the seasonal depression. And yes! Your summer temperatures are basically our winter temperatures haha! Or sometimes even colder! When I was in Sweden in May, I was dressed far warmer than I ever dress in January here! XD

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herofan135 In reply to ScythicKitty [2015-10-24 12:26:53 +0000 UTC]

Haha, I'm glad you got to experience that, it's quite amazing isn't it?
That's crazy! It must have felt very weird for you to wear so much clothes.

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ScythicKitty In reply to herofan135 [2015-10-28 20:23:34 +0000 UTC]

It was! Some people here wear scarves, but only for fashion or when they're at the beach in the winter. But I never do, let alone ever had to wear that many layers at the start of summer! I guess in a way it did make me appreciate the relatively mild and sunny Californian weather more, even though we have fires, earthquakes, Santa Ana winds (the ones that knock over trees and power lines), flash floods, and mudslides...hm...maybe I need to rethink that. XD

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herofan135 In reply to ScythicKitty [2015-11-08 14:29:46 +0000 UTC]

Hahahaha, sorry but the way you phrased your comment just made me laugh so much! XD XD
You really made my day!
But yeah, you do have lots of sunny and mild weather over there, here it gets dark by 4pm by now.

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ScythicKitty In reply to herofan135 [2015-12-28 01:26:40 +0000 UTC]

Haha I'm glad it did! 

Completely dark by 4pm! Wow! Here there's still light out, and I think it only gets completely dark at 6:40pm, I guess not entirely unlike the summer (~7:30pm) anyways! XD

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