Dryad Tea

So, the first of many wonderful artisans/vendors I met at the Symposium:

Dryad Tea

Why are they so incredibly awesome? Well, because their tea looks like this

And this

And they have names like Come to the Labyrinth, Firebird’s Child Chai, Cheshire, Ravens in the Library, and Loki’s Kiss (no, seriously, they named a tea that. And is smells AWESOME). And, of course, they carry all the little things that make a cup of tea truly artful, like measuring spoons and incredible cups.

They describe their shop as carrying “Loose leaf teas for the casual drinker and tea aficionado. Wonder in every cup.” Needless to say, they have met their goals. I’ve seen a lot of tea folks at various festivals and cons, but this shop is by far my favorite. They are clever, inventive, and actually make a really good product. I’m sad to say that’s a rare thing.

Oh, right, and they know how to have fun with it all.

Last but not least, I love their business cards. At their booth, they have a display containing jars of nearly all their teas, and you can smell them ALL. Of course, you probably won’t have cash to buy everything that smells good. So what is a poor tea-junkie to do? Well, the back of Dryad’s business cards are like little blank index cards. That way, you can write down everything that appeals to you, so when you  have money later, you can go online and buy more. Savvy business sense, and downright convenient, I have to say.

Black Teas — Dryad Tea.

Tom Hiddleston as LOKI at Comic-Con 2013 (Official-HD) – YouTube

Sorry for my absence – I’ve been partying hard the past few days (nerd style) to distract myself from the fact that I am NOT at Comic-Con seeing awesome crap like this:

You are now free to laugh, cry, or swoon: your choice.

Tom Hiddleston as LOKI at Comic-Con 2013 (Official-HD) – YouTube.

Thor: The Dark World — Teaser – YouTube

So, if you’re a geek like me, you might know about a spiffy new trailer that came out yesterday. It’s for this little indy movie you’ve probably never heard of: Thor: The Dark World.

I maybe screamed like a deranged fangirl for all of five minutes. Hand flapping and everything.

Even though I just recently posted a video, I had to share this. So without further ado, the teaser, ladies and gentlemen!

Anyone screaming with me now?

Here’s why I’m so excited for this movie: Despite the tremendous levels of whining I heard about Thor (which, I’m sorry, I thought was a pretty good flick), most of which seemed to “There wasn’t enough killing!”, and people obviously still liked it. If you’ve been to a con during the past few years, I’m sure you’ve seen living replicas of Thor and Loki a-plenty. But I’m even more excited for this film, because first off, Christopher Eccleston is in it. He’s a phenomenal actor with a phenomenal voice, and it looks like he has a fantastic character design as well (“Fantastic!”). Then there’s Loki. Ever since he came forward to publicly defend the validity of superhero films, Tom Hiddleston has become one of my all-time favorite actors. And, no, I’m not just saying this because he makes a wickedly hot Loki. My favorite role of his is probably Prince Hal (royalty again… hmmm…). So there. Anyway, there’s a lot of debate over where his character will go in this film, and the trailer encourages some serious discussion. My personal bet is that he will die – good or bad, he’s gonna get snuffed. But the story is what happens between here and there, and THAT’S what I’m interested in. This film has a lot of good actors, and I’m hoping to see more Darcy, because I love her, and I think her snark is worth as much or more screen time than the doe-eyed damsel that is Jane. Doesn’t look like I’ll get my wish, but I can keep my fingers crossed.

Random fangirl dump ended. Now we must wait about half a year before the film is actually released. Please excuse me while I go in search of chocolate.

Thor: The Dark World — Teaser – YouTube.

Under Utilized Resources

Every few months, another ego-maniac tries to conquer the world and/or galaxy – Emperor Palpetine, Loki Laufeyson, Sauron, Bane, Cybermen, Daleks, etc., etc., etc… What do they all have in common? An army, or at least the ambition of attaining one. Nearly all scifi/fantasy stories either assume the villain already has an army, or revolves around preventing him/her from getting one. True, there are always lone entrepreneurs of crime (Lex Luthor, Siler, or Doctor Horrible, for example) but this rarely ends well, because if the hero(es) is/are willing to go toe to toe with an entire army in addition to the head villain, you can bet they’ll be willing to go up against just little old you.

So, if you want to be successful, you need an army. But the sorts of things you can grow on trees make for pretty shoddy warfare (“Fear the pears!” – “Nom, nom, nom…”). And, let’s face it, most of us don’t have the kind of income necessary to pay real mercenaries. What about robots, then? Maybe, but if you can make awesome tech, it’s likely there’s a hero out there who can make a really awesome virus/gun/bomb/EMP. Aliens? Loki tried that. You can ask how it went when he gets out of physical therapy. Flying monkeys? Went out of style about the same time witches stopped being green. And I’m pretty sure PETA would disapprove.

I would like to present the would-be world conqueror’s most underrated resource: dust bunnies. They are legion, and they are everywhere. Their only natural predator is the vacuum sweeper, and you can take those out with a few hairy pieces of canon fodder. And you don’t need to worry about losing a few of your troops, because they really do breed like rabbits.

To prove my point, I’ve started training my own dusty army in basic maneuvers. Their stealth and camouflage techniques are superb. Still working on an effect attack order. I will keep you appraised of the army’s progress. Or maybe the next thing you’ll hear about them is the whisper of dust as they invade your house and home.