How to find your whimsy is a zine I created with my sister. It includes a variety of ideas and photos for adding everyday joy to your life. (Along the lines of, joy is resistance.) I designed a couple new stickers to go along with the zine. Just sent the order for printing today.
Today I submitted a page for a friend’s sci-fi and fantasy zine.
I got accepted to the local zine fest, which is in April, so I’m planning for that.
TV shows
Wonder Man (Disney Plus). More of a character-driven show than a superhero show, but I liked it.
Veronica Mars (Netflix). I didn’t watch Veronica Mars when it was originally on TV. Several friends have told me I would probably like it, so I started watching this week. Too early to tell if I like it.
Teen Wolf (the MTV show, on Netflix). Teen Wolf is one of my favorite shows. I am due for a re-watch, but I’ll probably stop after season 3. I didn’t like the later seasons as much.
Movies
I watched the live action version of How to Train Your Dragon. Unfortunately, I thought it was boring since it’s essentially a copy of the original animated one. But I thought the cast was all good in their roles. I would have liked to see a new story instead.
Reading
I started reading two books this week.
The Ministry of Time by Kailane Bradley
Acts of Resistance: The Power of Art to Create a Better World by Amber Massie-Blomfield
Miscellaneous
I’ve been trying different kinds of tinned fish (before I knew it was trending online). So far I have had tuna (plain and with lemon), sardines (in olive oil and in water), salmon (smoked and not smoked), and smoked rainbow trout.
Today for lunch, I warmed up a tin of sardines in a frying pan with olive oil from the tin (and I added a little more olive oil). I put the sardines over leftover rice, and I had leftover steamed veggies, too. Delicious.
I’m getting an itch to change up my blog again. Even move to a new platform. BUT, I do not want to take on that project between now and zine fest, so I am just thinking about it for now. Most likely, I would move to Pika. I have heard all good things about Pika, and I’ve been following their updates and announcements. If you use Pika, I’d love to hear about your experience! Send me a message.
If you’re being affected by a winter storm this weekend, stay safe!
Gentleness is power that chooses to restrain itself. That is under control. Gentleness is someone strong who makes the choice to be careful with that strength.
–pg. 335
Happiness is peace in action.
And peace is happiness at rest.
And neither one has to be perfect to be real.
Percy Jackson (Disney Plus). The final episode was just meh, unfortunately.
Orphan Black (Netflix). I’m in season 2.
Reading
Effortless by Greg McKeown
Spider-Gwen #1: Gwen Stacy with Chris Visions (Illustrator) and Robbi Rodriguez (Illustrator)
Twelve Months by Jim Butcher. Dresden Files fans are being spoiled this year. In addition to Twelve Months, there’s a short story and a novella coming out in the spring.
Miscellaneous
I tried onigiri (Japanese rice balls) for the first time this week. I got a couple for lunch at a boba tea shop. And later in the week, I tried making my own at home. Definitely a good lunch option!
I’m trying to balance staying informed with the news without getting too overwhelmed.
If you’re being affected by a winter storm this weekend, stay safe!
I applied to the local zine fest, which is in April.
Miscellaneous
Letterbird 2.0 is now available. This is a simple contact form that you can use as a standalone page or embed on your website. The free version is great, and there are some nice additional features in the paid version. (This isn’t an ad. I’ve been using Letterbird for over a year, and I love how easy it is.)
I haven’t done weeknotes on my blog in about ten years. I want to give it another go, but I don’t see myself doing these every single week. So, I’m going to number them (like Robb).
Side note: I’m continuing my monthly newsletter, which will overlap some notes from weeknotes. And that’s okay. Everything builds.
Percy Jackson (Disney Plus) . It’s fun to watch, even though the show suffers from the same thing as many other streaming shows. Instead of episodes that build the story over the season, it feels like one giant movie. So it goes.
Orphan Black (Netflix). This show has been on my list to watch for a longgggggg time. Apparently all 5 seasons were added to Netflix last September, but I didn’t know. I saw the show while I was browsing today, by chance, and immediately hit the play button.
Movies
Tron: Ares (Disney Plus). Tron: Legacy is a great movie, and I really wanted to like Ares. But this is just okay. Characters are thin. The story is a bit too simple. The special effects are the best part, but that’s pretty much a given for a Tron movie.
Reading
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin. I finished reading this, and I wish I could recommend it. The book explores a lot of emotional themes, and it has received a lot of praise. But I struggle with novels where the main characters are not likeable.
Arts & crafts
I feel like I’ve been spending more time organizing than making things the last couple weeks. But some art projects are in progress.
The current zine I’m working on is Planetesimal Issue 2. I have one page to finish writing, and then it’s time for test prints.
I submitted a page to a contributor zine that’s coming out in February. More to come on that.
I got a new bead board with different diameters for bracelet sizes. It should make measuring easier and faster.
I got a new watercolor sketchbook to use with a watercolor set I got at Christmas. Watercolor kind of intimidates me. It feels like a process I can’t wrap my head around. I’d like to take some time just practicing, rather than trying to paint something right away.
I joined The Story Graph a few weeks ago, and I’ll be tracking my 2026 reading there. If you want to be book friends, I’m @kalikambo. I’ll still post about books I’m reading here on this blog, too.
This last one is not a zine, but a full-blown comic book!
Cakeknife Chapter 2: Remnants Part Two by Lucas Keener
🎵 Solstice Baby by Xmas Movie Soundtrack - One of my former co-workers used to write music (I had no idea!), and he released a new track earlier this month. He’s not making Christmas music but rather music about Christmas.
The first half is especially slow-paced, and it feels like the book is much longer than it needs to be. Many of the chapters could have been cut without missing anything important.
