Kevin vs. the Poachers

Last month my youngest cousin, Kevin Langergraber, found himself forced to protect the chimpanzees he was studying from poachers and their dogs. The story was covered by The Atlantic, and it's harrowing reading. I'm glad Kevin is okay and that he managed to save most of the chimps, but I know he's agonizing over the ones killed. A senseless tragedy. 

Works in Progress

These three metal miniatures came from the special edition of Civilization V. I decided to paint them for use in roleplaying games. For these figures, I abandoned my usual technique and decided to paint the most difficult (to me) sections first, the small bits like flesh, boots, and weapons. It's really an exercise in colouring between the lines at a very small scale. I'm reasonably happy with how these are going so far, but will I ruin them in my attempt to complete them? 

The Cage

A couple of weeks ago I painted this 28mm scale cage.

Here's the floor section without the cage.

I figure this cage will come in handy for a number of roleplaying games: Fallout, Dungeons & Dragons, Villains & Vigilantes...any game where a hero or villain or innocent might find themselves captured and in need of rescue. 

Guarana Antactica

Guarana, the Brazilian soft drink from...Antarctica..?

It's not bad. Sort of like a Cherry 7-Up. 

Earl of Green Gables, Day Five: Atlantic Sunset and the Cabot Trail

I crept from our cabin before six in the morning, hoping for clear skies. My wish was granted, and I captured some shots of the sunrise that I'm pretty happy with. A sampling:

After debarking Atlantic Vision in North Sydney, Nova Scotia, we immediately set out to drive the famous Cabot Trail:

Earl of Green Gables, Day Four: St. John's and an Atlantic Vision

It turns out that St. John's' Jellybean Row is not so much an address as an attitude. We spent some time fruitlessly searching for "the" Jellybean Row, only to discover that it's really all over St. John's.

I really wish the rest of Canada would adopt this approach to housing. We desperately need colour, especially during the long, drab days of winter. Instead, we have flavours of beige, row on row.

We also visited Signal Hill and its famous Cabot Tower.

After one last drive around St. John's, we drove to Argentia to catch our ferry to the Maritimes, the Atlantic Vision: 

Atlantic Vision was a pleasant surprise; we enjoyed a large, well-appointed cabin and truly superb dining options. 

In fact, the cod trio I had for dinner may have been my favourite seafood dish of the entire trip.