Tomorrow is my last full day in the Bay Area. Wednesday, I,  chainscoyote and his husband are moving north.

It has been a ball, San Jose, but god DAMN you pricey!

Wow, 10 months since my last journal.

Anyway, Book 1 of my story is now, more or less, complete. I've passed it off to  graveyardgreg and  chainscoyote for beta reading. Hopefully, I can have it up for sale by the end of the month.

There are image issues that appeared under conversion, so I'll have to address those in due course, but aside from that, I hope the editing process will be relatively painless.

Do you have a book you want to publish? Don't know where to go?

I work for a company called Smashwords, an e-book publisher. All you have to do is submit a polished, complete work that abides by the Style Guide (available on the Smashwords website) in Word format along with a cover that has book title and author name, follow the prompts and leave the rest to us. Cost to you? Nothing. How can we afford that?

We don't get paid until you sell. We have a program that spits out your book in PDF form, Kindle, nook, iPad, Diesel, and other formats. Smashwords itself also sells the book and gives you more money for your sale than you would get through another party like Barnes and Noble or Amazon, but you can set your own price and promote yourself to your heart's content.

More information is available at www.smashwords.com. Tell your writer friends!

OK, I've removed it from the site because where it was when I posted and what it has turned into since are different enough to warrant a new posting. Unfortunately, I am essentially trying to write five different stories at once, so my attention has been spread a little thin.

* Story 1: I Affect the Crimes
* Story 2: The Inimical Inductions
* Story 3: Terror at 22,300 Miles
* Story 4: (as yet unnamed, follows 1-3)
* Story 5: (Dante story)

Also, in the future, all chapters will be Kindle-friendly.

Does anyone here find "Paranormal Activity" frightening or, for that matter, worthy of a sequel?

Think of 30 movies that you love or that really stuck with you
Fill out the meme as fast as you can.
Order doesn't count.

01. Amadeus
02. Ratatouille
03. Up
04. Fantasia
05. The Seventh Seal
06. M
07. MST3K: The Movie
08. Schindler's List
09. Shaun of the Dead
10. Hot Fuzz
11. Flight of the Navigator
12. Waking Ned Devine
13. Stiff Upper Lips
14. The Great Mouse Detective
15. Edward Scissorhands
16. Fermat's Room
17. A Fish Called Wanda
18. Hum Tum
19. Kung Fu Hustle
20. Run Lola Run
21. 301/302
22. Pyrokinesis
23. Pink Floyd's The Wall
24. Life Is Beautiful (subbed, not dubbed)
25. Night Watch
26. The Birds
27. The Blob (1988)
28. Village of the Damned
29. Clerks
30. WALL-E

So that's...
* 2 remakes
* 3 Pixar movies
* 3 Disney movies
* 3 Asian movies
* 4 "bio-pics"
* 7 movies in which English is not spoken
* 7 movies made with/by Brits
* and 1 movie that doesn't fit any of the above categories.

Yes, that's right. I'm now living in sunny Campbell, CA. There are a few more things to get over here, but they're minor and can keep. I've taken today off work because I'm ahead of schedule and today be mah burfday. #26.

I feel old.

Then might I recommend a little program called VisiPics.

This program is available for free from download.com, and is specifically designed to find duplicate pictures with a user-defined strictness of comparison. Simply load the folder or folders, set your slider, and let it go to work. Its speed will depend on what else you have running and your hardware.

On my computer, it scanned nearly 55,000 pictures in 75 minutes. Unlike other programs that look by name or size or hash value, this will make comparisons between different file formats and resolutions. With its help, I cleared out nearly 800 MB of duplicate pictures, and you can too!

For all other files (except music, as I'm sure there are better programs out there), I would suggest using the aptly-named Duplicate Finder, also available on download.com.

http://www.furaffinity.net/view/3209270 -- "Christmas at the Fogsquire Estate"

My brain just does not want to let my hand draw, though, so that will remain undone before midnight.

Wah.

On the way to visit my new grandma, my aunt asked me how my writing is going. I explained, in no uncertain terms, that I was having trouble getting any of the stories finished, even the short character study I'm working on (though that one should be done before the year's end).

She asked if I wanted to get them published, should I ever get them finished. I said that no mainstream publishing house would even consider it unless the characters were made human, which would be easy enough to do to get my foot in the door, but I have never been one to make things easy on myself.

She made the suggestion that, if that was the case, I should start my own publishing house, not just for myself, but also to give other budding writers the opportunity to get their works published.

This is all well and good in theory. The snags are:

1) I have no start-up capital.
2) There is no guarantee of a steady stream of income.
3) I would have to have a savings to eat out of first (for three years or so) before I could expect to turn a profit.

The benefits are:
1) I could develop the business online -- no need to market to big companies and chains who wouldn't know what to do with a well-written macro story.
2) The furry community seems to be gaining ground; larger customer base in years to come.
3) I could be making a decent living doing what I enjoy (reading and nitpicking) rather than throwing time and enjoyment down the drain working a 9-5 (or -6, -7, or -8) doing something that would provide a very nice living, but little satisfaction.

What to do?

Fuck YouTube and Veoh and Viacom, all!

Hellooooooo, 4shared!

http://www.4shared.com/file/1810407.....n_Beavers.html

Enjoy! (Basis is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cz-rHSLv0xk)

I made that video I wanted to, but neither YouTube nor Veoh will let me post it. Fucking Viacom.

* Finish character study of detective as a 10-year-old.
* Finish Angry Beavers video set to "Husvagn (Housevagn Mix)" by DiscoCrew
* Do picture of one-appearance WB character.
* I'm sure there was something else, but it's not coming to mind.

I haven't posted any of my writing for ages and there's a good reason for that. The fantasy story has to undergo a complete overhaul. As much as I wanted the first version (circa 1999) to be about the Wolfox with the purple hair, it's more and more becoming clear that even introducing him into this story is proving to make it too convoluted and verbose. So, I'm tinkering with it to make it more Dante-centric and that will be that.

Now, detective story 1 is not complete. There's a big gap in the middle between losing track of the bad guy and recovering the victim, and I've yet to figure how to get from point A to point B. Also, still trying to pad out the rest of the story, because everything seems like it's moving too fast and coming too easily. There has to be more of a struggle than I've put in there.

Detective story #2 is actually -- strangely -- about as far along as detective story #1. Why? Search me. This one, though, has taken a turn away mystery into the realm of Bildungsroman (look it up, if you don't know). This occurred organically and it actually doesn't feel that bad, however weird it may have seemed at the time.

Now, until I can get one of these posted -- even if only in part -- I'll be posting a little short story about the detective in his younger days, specifically, Christmas at age 10. We'll see a bit more of the family and their dynamics, which shaped Sergei (here known as Deacon) into the man he is at the start of DS1.

Bear with me, please.

Courtesy of  kokuhane

1. You can ONLY answer 'Yes' or 'No'.

2. You are NOT ALLOWED to explain ANYTHING unless someone comments and asks --- the temptation may be hard to resist but these are the rules :p


Kissed any one of your LiveJournal friends? — No
Been arrested? — No
Kissed someone you didn't like? — No
Slept in until 5 PM? — No
Fallen asleep at work/school? — Yes
Held a snake? — Yes
Ran a red light? — No
Been suspended from school? — No
Experienced love at first sight? — Yes
Totaled your car in an accident? — No
Been fired from a job? — No
Fired somebody? — No
Sung karaoke? — Yes
Pointed a gun at someone? — No
Did something you told yourself you wouldn't? — Yes
Laughed until something you were drinking came out your nose? — No
Caught a snowflake on your tongue? — Yes
Kissed in the rain? — No
Had a close brush with death (your own)? — Yes
Saw someone die? — Yes
Played Spin-the-Bottle? — No
Smoked a cigar? — No
Sat on a rooftop? — No
Smuggled something into another country? — No
Been pushed into a pool with all your clothes? — No
Broken a bone? — Yes
Skipped school? — Yes
Eaten a bug? — Yes
Sleepwalked? — Yes
Walked on a moonlit beach? — Yes
Ridden a motorcycle? — Yes
Dumped someone? — Yes
Forgotten your anniversary? — No
Lied to avoid a ticket? — No
Ridden in a helicopter? — No
Shaved your head? — Yes
Blacked out from drinking? — No
Played a prank on someone? — Yes
Hit a home run? — No
Felt like killing someone? — Yes
Cross-dressed? — No
Been falling-down drunk? — No
Made your girlfriend/boyfriend cry? — No
Eaten snake? — No
Marched/Protested? — Yes
Had Mexican jumping beans for pets? — No
Puked on an amusement ride? — No
Seriously & intentionally boycotted something? — Yes
Knitted? — No
Been on TV? — Yes
Shot a gun? — No
Skinny-dipped? — Yes
Given someone stitches? — No
Eaten a whole habanero pepper? — Yes
Ridden a surfboard? — No
Drunk straight from a liquor bottle? — Yes
Had surgery? — Yes
Streaked? — No
Been taken by ambulance to a hospital? — Yes
Tripped on mushrooms? — No
Passed out when NOT drinking? — Yes
Peed on a bush? — Yes
Donated blood? — Yes
Grabbed an electric fence? — No
Eaten alligator meat? — No
Eaten cheesecake? — Yes
Killed an animal when not hunting? — No
Peed your pants in public? — No
Snuck into a movie without paying? — Yes
Written graffiti? — Yes
Still love someone you shouldn't? — No
Think about the future? — Yes
Been in handcuffs? — Yes
Sleep on a certain side of the bed? — No

Many, many thanks to  sepia for this fantastic new avatar. This is an approximation of Bram prior to his transformation.

Pumpkins have been decided -- Doug from issue 3 of Circles and one of Disney Brian's reactions to watching Disney Mort getting beaten to a pulp.

Well, it's that time of year again, which means I'll be going nutty with pumpkin carving. I'll comb through "Circles" again and try to find a different pose; I've done Taye and Marty, Paulie and Arthur. I think I'll try Douglas this year.

I'll do others, but I have yet to decide what they'll be.

Having been out of work for the last two and a half weeks has given me a lot of time to unwind, and I find that, in that unwinding process, the joy or writing has returned once more.

I've been working on both the fantasy and detective stories. While progress has been made, it's not nearly enough for me to be satisfied, so, once again, I'm reviewing what I have written and find it to be not exactly up to snuff. The biggest problem, I find, is consistency. This stems from the fact that the more I write, the more it comes out like I actually talk. It's like leaving the Royal Shakespeare Company for community theater -- the point can still be made, it's just not as credible.

To that end, I've gone through and beefed up the dialogue and prose along the way and find it reads better than it did before, or at the very least is more consistent than it was before. Fantasy I can do, that's never been a problem. Being a nerd, I never had many friends, so imagination isn't an issue.

The detective story, on the other hand -- to my recollection, I've never read a mystery novel. I've seen a movie or two, sure, but I don't want to come off spouting cliches. Before I left balmy Oregon for foggy California, I stopped in at the Waldenbooks at the mall and picked up five books. I would have been content with four, but the fifth was free.

The Persuader, Lee Child
Rules of Deception, Christoper Reich
The Sigma Protocol, Robert Ludlum
Whiteout, Ken Follett
The Vanished Man, Jeffery Deaver

The first is the only one I've read so far. To be honest, I wasn't that taken with it for several reasons.

First, it's told in a first person format. Short of epistolary works, there is little reason to resort to an "I did this, then I said that" format; it comes off as a story being related to you after the fact, rather than the wider perspective a third person, limited omniscient view provides.

Second, the character development is minimal and the characters themselves are very broadly drawn. The first issue is due to the fact that there is a series of stories written around this detective, and this was not the first book, so I can let that slide. The second, however, is more unfortunate than disappointing. The book is 465 pages long; about 200 pages in, I stopped caring about the characters and was only interested in whether or not Detective Reacher would get his vengeance.

Third, and this is partially tied to the second reason, it was difficult to care about any of the characters, most notably the protagonist. The man he was after...Reacher had shot him in the head, twice, and he fell off a cliff into the sea. How he managed to survive is never revealed. Reacher himself is like an unlikable Dr. Gregory House with a more militaristic bent, and I pictured him as resembling the lovechild of James Gandolfini and Quincy, M.E. Oy.

This makes me somewhat hesitant to read the others, but I bought them, so I feel obligated to read them at least once. The Ken Follett book I'll read, just because I loved The Pillars of the Earth. I've started The Vanished Man; it's interesting inasmuch as the detective, Lincoln Rhyme, is a quadriplegic, so he has his minions do the footwork for him.

I'm trying to make Sergei more...I don't know...understandable? I'm trying to sand away the rough edges that I'd originally envisioned and which, I'm sure,  rftigermode's sketch for me would convey. I've whipped in a little more personal history and fallibility, tried to bring him down a peg or two, and provide some insight into his thoughts.

Eventually, the story will be posted here. Here's hoping I'll have readers this time around.

1. When did you start writing?

Apart from class assignments, the first writing I did for fun would probably have been when I was 15. I could probably fill a Mead composition book or two with the half-baked stories I came up with, though none of them ever went anywhere.

2. First drafts: Handwritten, typed, or some combination?

It depends on where I am and what I have at hand.

3. Do you keep any kind of notebook or writer's journal, and if so, what kinds of things go into it?

No. Phrases and scenes will pop into my head now and again, and sometimes they're initiated by things I hear or see and want to incorporate into my work.

4. Do you set any quotas for your work (number of words per day, number of hours per day, etc.)? Why or why not?

No. Setting quotas implies that the writing is something that has to be completed by a specific time. This isn't homework anymore, it's a hobby; placing those constraints on a hobby makes it drudgery.

5. Are you most comfortable writing short stories, novels, or something else?

I used to write poetry, but looking back on it, the whole mess was ego-stroking emo nonsense. What I do write starts as a short story and blows up into a novel because I'm crap at editing.

6. What's your favorite kind of story to write?

The first one I'd written with any success (R.I.P.) was set 300 years in the future, in a mix of technology and magic.
The second (in progress) takes place in an Earthsea sort of vein, set in an era that would be equivalent to the late Renaissance.
The third (in progress) is a detective story that was supposed to be set in the 1930s, but is instead set in the 2030s (well, 2029, but that's just being picky).

If I can get into the environment I'm creating, then the storytelling becomes almost secondary. If I can immerse myself in what's going on in the story world, the story develops organically.

7. Talk about a story of yours that was easy to write and one that was difficult to write, and why.

Easy to write: Whoo...I think the easiest one would have been a short bit of stroke fiction called "Virginity Lost, Virginity Saved", available at the Nifty Archives. Based in fact, up until the "10 years later" segue. It was really an exercise in venting; after it posted, I got feedback...sympathetic feedback...from some of the guys who'd read it.

Difficult to write: Probably the first story that succeeded. The story itself wasn't difficult to write as much as it was difficult to continue, especially with the massive influx of characters and drastic scenery changes I had in mind. What was really creepy was the prophetic tone it happened to take regarding my friends: one dropped out of college, another got knocked up by an ex. I stopped before my parents ended up dead.

8. Which of your characters is closest to your sense of self? In other words, who do you most identify with in your own work to date?

Probably Dante; a stocky red-headed procyonid pyromancer. Body shy, nice guy, easily...excitable, intelligent with a darling streak of naivete. Good to and protective of his friends, the kind of guy about whom every mother says, "Why can't you be more like him?" Sounds like someone who warrants a good kicking? Perhaps, but he doesn't behave as he does to endear himself to others, or others' mothers; he does what he does because he knows no other way to be? He can be tempted to be naughty, so he's not an absolute good, but even with his flaws, he's the sort of guy that can serve as an example, no matter how boring that makes the story.

9. What work are you most proud of right now?

My detective story, because I've made more progress on that in the last three months than I have on the fantasy story in the last year.

10. What do you feel your strengths and weaknesses are as a writer?

Strengths: Character development, spelling and conventions
Weaknesses: Editing my own work

11. Name a few writers who have influenced you or your work in some way.

Ursula LeGuin -- got me interested in fantasy at a very early age
Richard Adams -- got me into the furry thing, really
Stephen Fry -- showed me how wordplay can be woven into a story to great effect
Alexandre Dumas -- showed me that editing is really not that important

12. Talk about something you've written that you later found embarrassing for some reason.

Poetry. My word, it was just awful. Stanzas after stanza of pissing and moaning -- you know how emo goth poetry can be? -- and keep in mind, this was after the Thurston and Columbine massacres, so I was avoided like the plague, as was every other social misfit. Being a pacifist (another trait I share with Dante), the fear-based respect disappeared after it became clear that I wasn't about to go on shooting spree.

13. Talk about the earliest stories you remember writing. What were they about?

Ooh, the earliest one I remember writing for a class (I had to be 7 or so) had something to do with a search for some rare flower that was needed to cure the sick in some island village. For fun, I think the first one I wrote had something to do with a bunch of teenage Druids, but it didn't go anywhere.

14. If you knew you would be successful, what would you most like to write?

Something like The Pillars of the Earth.

15. What inspires you?

Anything but the present.

16. How many projects do you tend to work on at once?

2 at most.

17. Who reads your work before it's released to the public? Do you have beta readers, a critique group, etc.?

I've tried to get some organized, but I'm so bad about getting my work edited and re-edited that there's no point.

18. When you're not writing, what do you do for fun?

Watch movies, read, make drinks, bake.

19. Advice to other writers?

Don't edit as you type. Give it a day or two and come back so you can look at it with fresh eyes. You'll be amazed how many mistakes you'll find that you would have mentally edited out as you typed -- you knew what you meant when you were typing, so your brain fills in the blank if something doesn't make sense.

20. What are you currently working on?

See question 6.

21. Share the first three sentences of a work in progress.

(from a journal)
Happy birthday to me? Would that it were. It's been at least a decade since I've had an enjoyable birthday, and today kept the streak alive.

Ever since I posted all those bits of fanart I received in ages past, there have been three private messages in my inbox that have not only been inaccessible, but, apparently, non-existent.

The little notification thingy at the top says I have them, but I check the inbox and they're not there.

Anyone else ever had this problem before?

[puts on his best David Attenborough voice] Today, on "Life on FurAffinity", we are examining the behavioural traits and interactions of artists and watchers.

Among the artist colony, there are those who post for exposure, those who post for their fans and those who post for want of constructive feedback. Across the divide, in the watcher colony, there are those who watch for quality, those who watch for "release", those who are fanboys, those who are here on the off-chance they can catch a favourite artist giving commissions and those who want to provide meaningful feedback.

There is some overlap between motives or groups, and even varying degrees to which these statements hold true, but for simplicity's sake, let's assume that the groups are distinct.

* For the "Showoffs", the implication of comments will be taken to extremes; they are here for ego-stroking, so even the slightest criticism will be like a dagger to the heart.
* For the "Fan-Pleasers", comments are irrelevant, but they come anyway; they know their audience and don't venture far enough beyond their comfort zones to upset their base or attract newcomers.
* For the "Struggling Artists", a comment, any comment, would be welcome and taken (with a grain of salt, sometimes) as a sign post along the road to improving or broadening their abilities. Whether this is done for the sake of improvement itself or for the sake of eventually becoming a "Showoff" or a "Fan-Pleaser" is another matter.

Now, that having been said, comments have be given.

* "Appreciators" are generally reserved in giving comments unless something really catches their eye. The assumption is: "I'm watching you because I like your work, therefore, I have no reason to comment unless I can find something to nitpick or something to commend." This motive, however, is not usually known to the artist. They will observe all three types of artists, but may migrate to the "Struggling Artists" if their sensibilities are offended by the first two groups.
* "One-Handed Browsers" comment often, but are prone to typos, LOL-speak, overuse of emoticons, improper grammatical conventions, etc. Example: "wow ur pron iz hawt i cummed hard i wish i was that fox in the hanreds rofl" Generally stays with the first two groups unless a newcomer who wants feedback makes toe-curling porn right out of the gate.
* "Fanboys" also comment often, but for a different reason. Similar to the "One-Handed Browsers", their comments are generally better-worded and more glowing, overlooking minor or even distinct flaws in the hope of ingratiating themselves with their artists of choice.
* "Commish Whores" exhibit some of the less admirable traits of the "Fanboys" and "OHBs". They comment as frequently as they can come up with something coherent to say and wait until an artist whose work they enjoy says three magic words: "Now accepting commissions." Often, no attention is paid to the cost. Commissions from well-known artists are Veblen goods; the price is inconsequential next to the ability to say, "I have a commission from so-and-so," particularly if that artist is rarely in the habit of doing them.
* "Critics" may not have artistic skill or training, but nonetheless have some idea of when a work doesn't seem "right". Providing comments, however, can prove tricky; there is no perfect knowledge here, only observation and gossip. Upon a first encounter, a "Critic" will be deliberate and sometimes stilted in his wording, but future exchanges will flow more easily, often leading to the formation of friendships, if they were not friends to start with. </Attenborough>

Last night, I was working on an AMV and I had forgotten just how labor-intensive and time-consuming it is, especially when you want things to look just so.

The music: "Friend or Foe" by t.A.T.u.
The footage: Clips from 27 episodes of "Angry Beavers"

Extremely difficult because of the long instrumental bridge and ABCBAB structure of the song. The outline of this video was developed while writing the follow-up to "A Night of Dagscovery". Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Wn1S2O1tHU

Since I've seen positive feedback about Sergei on  rftigermode's submission, I'm actively considering posting the story here again, low hit count be damned. Maybe I'll post the fantasy story I'm writing here as well.

NON SEQUITUR WARNING!

I'm a member of the MST3K group on LiveJournal. Last night, there was a post about MST3K cocktails. I know some of you watch me for the recipes, and that's fine. Here they are. Ignore the first four; those were done for laughs. When I get to the characters is when I start getting serious about the drinks.

* The Delta Knight: Ouzo, black Sambuca and mead, served in Collins glass over ice.

* Being from Another Planet: Equal parts Midori (or other melon liqueur) and green curaçao in a shot glass.

* Teenagers from Outer Space: Brandy (at least V.S.O.P.) in a Batman glass or similarly inappropriate drinking vessel.

* Alien from L.A.: Crème de fraise, Torani watermelon syrup (sugar-free, if possible) and milk served in a Dixie cup; proportions TBD by experiment. It should come out a hideous shade of pink worthy of the 80's.

* TV's Frank: Equal parts crème de banana, Amaretto, and gold rum served over ice with white chocolate curls on top.

* Dr. Forrester: 2 oz sour apple pucker, 2 oz pear vodka, 1/2 teaspoon sugar. Serve with a slice of kiwi on the glass.

* Pearl: 2 parts cinnamon schnapps, 2 parts apple vodka, 1 part half-and-half, served over ice, topped with Reddi Whip; enjoy with Chicken in a Biskit.

* Bobo: Scoop 1/2 cup of Chunky Monkey into a blender. Add 1/2 cup of banana liqueur, 1/4 cup of milk and a handful or two of ice. Blend until smooth. Top with slice banana, crushed unsalted nuts, or Hershey's chocolate syrup.

* Observer: 3 parts Hpnotiq, 2 parts blue curaçao, 1 part Bailey's Irish Cream, served in a chilled glass.

* Crow: 3 parts butterscotch schnapps to 1 part Goldschläger. Add Torani hazelnut syrup (sugar-free, if possible) to taste.

* Servo: 2 parts DeKuyper Cranberry Crush, 2 parts DeKuyper Razzmatazz, 1 part triple sec, 1 part apple juice; serve over ice. Enjoy in your underwear.

* Gypsy: 4 parts DeKuyper Mixed Berry Medley, 1 part cranberry juice cocktail, 1 part Torani blue raspberry syrup (not available as sugar-free). Top with whipped cream and a maraschino cherry (or a lemon drop, to better suit her eye).

* Joel: 3 parts DeKuyper Peachtree schnapps, 1 part gold rum, served over ice.

* Mike: 4 parts apple cider, 3 parts DeKuyper Peachtree schnapps, 2 parts gold rum, cinnamon sticks to taste. Pour all ingredients in a Mr. Coffee and let it percolate.

Of course, if you've never seen the show, then this means absolutely nothing. I have also never actually made any of these drinks myself.

For whatever reason, I seem to be good at making drinks that creep up on those who partake. In honor of  mhg's character Steve, I whipped up a little something that I call the Smooth Criminal.

1/4 cup (60 ml) crème de banana
1/8 cup (30 ml) amaretto
1 tsp (5 ml) dark crème de cacao
1 tsp (5 ml) hazelnut syrup

Pour over 3 or 4 ice cubes, saving syrup for last; stir. The color should resemble that of amber or ginger (ha). Just look at Steve's fur. That'll be about what you're shooting for. I'd use gold rum if I had it, and that would probably take out the need for the crème de cacao if I did.

Coming up with one for Bob will be tougher...

EDIT: I guess not! Behold, the Neon Nuisance. This is, fittingly, a shot.

1 tbsp (15 ml) blue curaçao
1-1.5 tsp (5-8 ml) milk (I used 1% myself)
1 tbsp (15 ml) whipped cream
1/2 tsp (2-3 ml) grenadine, pomegranate schnapps or crème de fraise (your choice; they're all good.)

Pour the curaçao and milk into a shot glass -- should be about a shade of blue that I can only describe as electric pastel. If the alcohol seems a bit strong, by all means, use a fattier milk or cream, but that will alter the color.

On a separate dish, combine the whipped cream and final ingredient of your choice until the cream turns a shade of pink (for the inside of his ears). Scoop atop the shot glass and enjoy.