tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-49344877734903961032024-03-12T19:04:31.201-06:00cj's notebook"Though this be madness... no wait, this is just madness."chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17574969300905906532noreply@blogger.comBlogger728125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4934487773490396103.post-5775831131119826522019-05-14T00:42:00.001-06:002019-05-14T01:07:28.420-06:00Sticking the Landing - Thoughts on "Avengers: Endgame"<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b>It should go without saying that there will be massive SPOILERS</b> <b>for </b><b><i>Avengers: Endgame </i>in this post. Proceed with caution!</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Yeah, yeah, I know. There was once a time when I would have had this written down mere moments after seeing this movie on opening night. All I can say is that adult life is a bitch and we didn't have the time or the funds to see it until tonight.<br />
<br />
I did manage to stay mostly spoiler-free, however. Even after the embargo was lifted a week ago, I still didn't see too many spoilers, which I didn't expect. So, way to go Internet. You did something right for a change.<br />
<br />
Anyway - my thoughts on this capstone of over ten years of comic book superhero movies -<br />
<br />
It is very rare that a series with huge ambitions in the beginning manages to stick the landing at the end. I mean, just this morning multitude of <i>Game of Thrones</i> fans are complaining that this final season is not living up to expectations (meanwhile, I am vindicated in my choice to <i>not </i>get into it, even though there were times where I felt like I was missing out on something. Turns out, no - I really wasn't). <i>Once Upon a Time</i> fizzled out at the end. The DC movie universe is kind of... not. The less said about Universal's Dark Universe, the better. And, of course, the most infamous example of a series turning out a massive pratfall and pretending that all is well while also insulting the fans who are presenting legitimate criticisms - the less said about <i>Star Wars</i>, the better (never thought I would prefer the prequels, but I'll gladly take another Jar Jar Binks scene if my other choice is some hipster-beard asshole soy-splaining to me how I just don't get the glorious vision of Kathleen Kennedy subverting audience expectations by vacillating between utter laziness and preachy bullshit).<br />
<br />
But, somehow - the Marvel Cinematic Universe pulled off the impossible. It stayed the course for 22 movies, with minimum flaws, sticking to the plan, and not churning out a single sub-par entry. Mediocrity was never an option. Even some of the MCU films that weren't <i>quite</i> up to snuff with their comrades are VASTLY better than anything else the imitators are trying to present. I mean, I would happily watch <i>Thor: The Dark World</i> when compared to some of the offerings of other studios lately.<br />
<br />
I loved <i>Endgame</i>. I don't know if I'll get to see it in theaters again, but I'd love to. This was a love letter to these characters and this entire series. It went against everything I expected to see, but in a way that I enjoyed. Sure, I expected them to go after Thanos in the aftermath of <i>Infinity War</i>, but to have that confrontation happen and be done within the first act, it's like "Okay, what do we do now?"<br />
<br />
We jump ahead five years later and have Scott Lang show up with the <a href="https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AppliedPhlebotinum" target="_blank">Applied Phlebotinum</a> to save the day. That's <i>precisely</i> what we do now.<br />
<br />
Who knew those memes about Ant-Man being the hero, rather than Captain Marvel, were actually pretty accurate?<br />
<br />
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<br />
Did I see the time travel plot coming? Nope. Did I enjoy it? Hell yes, I did! It was even explained fairly well (using pop culture references as well as scientific explanations in a way that the audience could follow. I appreciated that effort).<br />
<br />
Remember what I said about this movie being a love-letter to all the movies that came before? This is how you make that work. The first <i>Avengers </i>movie, <i>Guardians of the Galaxy</i>, every <i>Captain America</i> movie, <i>Doctor Strange</i>, even <i>Thor: The Dark World</i> had a nod within this sequence (Thor reunited with his mom here was great). And in between, there are nods to other moments in the MCU and how it all connects together. This makes me want to re-watch all of the MCU movies in order, and now I'm not under a time-crunch to do it in. I can do it at a leisurely pace and enjoy myself as I do.<br />
<br />
A few things that I <i>did</i> know going in, but I didn't really have context for - I knew about Thor letting himself go, but I didn't know that it was because of his guilt for not "going for the head." But the joy on his face when he finds out he's "still worthy" of Mjolnir - that was worth it. Also, I knew Black Widow died, but the reason for it and how it went down, was absolutely gut-wrenching.<br />
<br />
Nebula was outstanding, even with the problem of her inadvertently alerting Thanos to the Avengers' plans (who knew that future!Nebula would have been on the same outer-space-wifi network as past!Nebula?) I <i>loved</i> that she got the chance to shine in the fight against Thanos. I'm even more excited that she's not only a Guardian of the Galaxy, but also an Avenger (but it's Karen Gillan - I already have a soft spot for her in general).<br />
<br />
Banner-Hulk was adorable, as was Rocket (though I ought not to let him hear me say that). Tony's little family was unexpected, but lovely. I'm glad that he and Pepper finally got to live their lives together - also that Pepper finally gets what makes Tony tick. Seeing her as Rescue in the ending was great.<br />
<br />
The cavalry at the end - everyone coming in through those portals behind Cap when he's facing down Team Thanos, seemingly on his own. If nothing else, THAT is what I mean when I say this movie - this whole <i>series</i> - stuck the landing. Nothing short of everybody showing up was going to be satisfactory enough. And it didn't <i>feel</i> like they were just throwing stuff at the wall to see what stuck. It actually WORKED (with a few minor exceptions that I will mention shortly, but those were hardly enough to be a bother).<br />
<br />
Cap lifting Mjolnir was amazing. But what was even more amazing was Thor shouting "I knew it!" Meaning that he wasn't jealous of Steve's worth - they're a team and they all had common goals. But admit it - seeing Cap control Thor's lightning was pretty kickass.<br />
<br />
Everyone reuniting with their friends - Scott and Hope, Tony and Peter Parker (oh man pull out the tissues for THAT one), Steve and Sam and Bucky, Groot and Rocket, all the Guardians showing up - just <i>everybody</i>. Wanda coming back and being utterly PISSED at Thanos (that was another one that I was cheering to get a good crack at Big Purple Ugly). I admit, I am looking forward to the Wanda/Vision show on Disney Plus.<br />
<br />
One minor quibble of a moment that I thought was <i>too</i> on-the-nose and kind of took me out of the story for a bit - the Girl Power thing when Captain Marvel was trying to get the Infinity Gauntlet to Scott's van... eh, was that <i>entirely </i>necessary? I mean, everyone's already shown up to fight this insane threat. Would it <i>really</i> be so bad if, like, Thor or Black Panther or Doctor Strange or Drax helped too? It's not like Scarlet Witch or Wasp or the Wakanda warrior ladies really know this butch chick from outer space. Did they all have some weird estrogen wavelength moment where they all decided they were going to run block for her because, X-chromosome or something?<br />
<br />
Then again, Girl Power was a huge deal in the '90s. It's kind of passe at this point.<br />
<br />
But that's neither here nor there. It doesn't last that long and soon enough, we're back to everyone fighting toward the same goal - stop Thanos from getting the Infinity Stones again. And, honestly, having Tony be the one to do it was the best way they could have done it. This whole saga started with Iron Man - both in universe and as far as the success of the first <i>Iron Man</i> movie in the real world - he deserved to be the one to finish it. And it made sense - Doctor Strange even said that if he told Tony what he'd seen, it wouldn't happen.<br />
<br />
But just that final "I am Iron Man" - I knew it. I mean, I figured that this was going to be RDJ's last hurrah as Tony Stark. And it wouldn't do for him to go out with anything less than a bang. Didn't make it any less heartbreaking (especially considering little Morgan Stark is now without her dad).<br />
<br />
And then Cap wraps up the rest of the story by putting all the Infinity Stones back where they need to be - and then <i>he</i> gets to choose what he does with the rest of his life. And THIS - this part right here - this is what sealed the deal for me. Because from <i>Captain America: The First Avenger</i>, I have been the biggest hardcore Steve/Peggy shipper. I didn't get too carried away with it, though, because everything I've seen indicated that it was simply never going to happen. But I adore Steve Rogers and I adore Peggy Carter - both in their own rights as individual characters (honestly, I'd trade any future seasons of <i>Agents of SHIELD</i> for just one more round of <i>Agent Carter).</i> And once Banner and co. were all "Where's Steve?", that's when I knew what he'd done. He retired and went back to find Peggy and live out his life with her.<br />
<br />
Funnily enough, I didn't get too weepy at any part of this movie. But at that moment - when Old!Steve came back to bequeath his shield to Sam Wilson and Sam commented on Steve's wedding ring - that's when the waterworks started.<br />
<br />
What's weird is that, out of everything that happened in this movie, <i>that's </i>the thing that pissed some people off. Because their Tumblr slashfic of Cap and Bucky didn't get realized on screen. Honestly, if you have a problem with Captain Steve Rogers getting his happy ending with Agent Peggy Carter, First Lady of SHIELD and all-around classy badass, I really don't want to talk to you.<br />
<br />
So - who's left? Thor's gone off to be an Guardian of the Galaxy (I think). Banner and Falcon and Bucky are still at Avengers HQ (what's left, anyway). Spider-Man's getting another movie in a couple months. After that, who knows?<br />
<br />
And the credits - man, I think anyone who ever had a significant role in this universe got a mention in the credits. Which is more than appropriate. This is the capstone to an insanely ambitious project that started out as a pie-in-the-sky idea and that somehow - through the intervention of Fate, Kevin Feige, and the Disney Company's checkbook - came together and smashed all kinds of preconceptions and traditions in film. It has been imitated from studio boardrooms, but I don't think ANYONE is going to do this again. If the damn Academy could ever get off their high horses and stop huffing their own farts, Team Marvel deserves some kind of special recognition award for pulling this off (they'll never do it, because the Academy is about celebrating their own egos, not anything to do with actual film and culture). This has been a once-in-a-lifetime experience, for which I thank all involved for putting this all together.<br />
<br />
It all worked. Everything just <i>worked</i>. There's nothing left that I have questions about (at least, nothing that I can accept belongs to future stories). I will probably have other thoughts as I have more time to process the movie. But I'm just feeling great about how this ended. Will I go see more Marvel movies? Um... not sure. I kind of want it to go out on a high note. I don't want to risk it hanging on longer than necessary and getting run into the ground (as inevitably happens with a lot of long-running series, see the list of failures mentioned at the beginning of this post).<br />
<br />
But for now - let me enjoy this.</div>
chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17574969300905906532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4934487773490396103.post-8355425931615833222019-03-14T23:45:00.002-06:002019-03-14T23:45:55.937-06:00I Am Not a Scolding Librarian, So Please Don't Ask Me To Be<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I could blame my lack of blogging on the stresses of being a parent and holding down a job and just general life. But if I really had anything to write about - and that I wanted to share publicly - I could find time to blog. It's just that I haven't had anything I wanted to talk about in front of the entire world. Privately, yes. I guess I'm just kind of over having my personal life and philosophy laid out for all to see and critique.<br />
<br />
However, today something happened that's got me connecting a few dots and, yeah, I want to share my conclusions.<br />
<br />
When I'm on the reference desk, I get TONS of questions from people. Some are straightforward: Can I help someone find Book X or Movie Y? Can you help me with the printer? Where's your copy machine? Where's the bathroom? Some are a little more complicated, like how to check out an ebook or use the online Consumer Reports database. All fairly manageable and routine. (Though anything that involves calling the police, I hand over to the Librarian in Charge - thankfully those instances have been few and far between in my experience.)<br />
<br />
And some are simple on the surface, but then they stick with you all day and makes you worry just a bit.<br />
<br />
I had a mother bring her teenage daughter to the library today. Nothing out of the ordinary - lots of parents escort their kids to the reference desk looking for books. But this mom was out to prove a point to her child. The first thing she asked me was if there was anything "like Stephen King in the teen section, but <i>not</i> Stephen King." Meaning something that could be classified as horror, but that wasn't overly graphic in terms of language, sex, and violence. She kept bringing up Stephen King, which clued me into the fact that her daughter liked reading Stephen King, but the mother strenuously objected to it.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maybe this is more like what she expected to get? I dunno...</td></tr>
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Already, I can tell that I am <i>not</i> the librarian this mother wants to take on this task. Sure, Stephen King isn't exactly my cup of tea, but that's not to say he's a horrible writer (just in some cases). He certainly has his fans, nothing wrong with that. But this mother wants me to play the finger-wagging scoldy librarian who will introduce her daughter to the wonders of dusty old "classic" literature that only the high and mighty ever understand (in the service of irony, have a <a href="https://www.chrisbrecheen.com/2015/09/jones-on-pratchett-and-real-literature.html" target="_blank">link to an article</a> on <i>that</i> subject). Or at least squeaky-clean literature where no one ever, ever says a bad word or has dirty thoughts and no one ever dies in terrible, violent ways.<br />
<br />
If I could have shown this mom the contents of my Kindle, she would have passed out on the fainting couch.<br />
<br />
As is my habit in these cases, I turned to talk to the girl. If I had to guess, she's probably 14 or 15. Certainly no younger than 13. I asked her what <i>she</i> liked to read. She didn't want to answer. Okay, maybe a reluctant reader, this is not my first rodeo. What about her favorite TV show? Her answer? <i>Supernatural</i>. Got it - that's something I can work with. What does she like about that show and would she want to read something similar?<br />
<br />
I had to pry these answers out of this girl. She looked like she would rather be anywhere else than in front of me with her overbearing mother. Because at this point, Mom jumps in with "But not Stephen King. None of that - <i>ew</i> - gross horror stuff."<br />
<br />
(Here I started thinking "I didn't bring up Stephen King, lady. You're the only one mentioning the guy.")<br />
<br />
Mom suggests a few titles that I can tell the girl is not going to like. All teen paranormal romance titles, which Mom thinks the girl is going to like because there's vampires and spooky magic stuff in them. The girl is annoyed, but doesn't say anything. Looking back with the benefits of hindsight, it seems this has been a point of some contention and the daughter is tired of trying to make her point.<br />
<br />
In the interests of being the helpful librarian (see also: my day job) - I come up with a few ideas. I first bring up Maura McHugh's <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16193965-twisted-fairy-tales" target="_blank">Twisted Fairy Tales</a> and <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17394974-twisted-myths" target="_blank">Twisted Myths</a>, which are both anthologies of traditional fairy tales and classic myths, respectively, with a horror twist (not a far stretch in most cases) that I read during Halloween and enjoy for their macabre atmosphere. Mom put the kibosh on those on the grounds of "That looks too scary."<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQqy1NF3RaRAnc49QoXy8bB2nqXKsuKFF4jrSraoA4FtI5cm0s4PoSU9Og5u2dH-zTLdyJgsGbMcJUfLvv3W37qL6cENaEQwVnaU62Jgaq-eOy94Gq5_8tzzUt0xGcZiRajlguNxd-FjC7/s1600/Sue.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="491" data-original-width="340" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQqy1NF3RaRAnc49QoXy8bB2nqXKsuKFF4jrSraoA4FtI5cm0s4PoSU9Og5u2dH-zTLdyJgsGbMcJUfLvv3W37qL6cENaEQwVnaU62Jgaq-eOy94Gq5_8tzzUt0xGcZiRajlguNxd-FjC7/s320/Sue.jpg" width="221" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Polka will never die!"<br />(It makes sense in context. Pic from <a href="https://dresdenfiles.fandom.com/wiki/Sue" target="_blank">here</a>)</td></tr>
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Okaaaaay... how about the Dresden Files? The girl says that she likes <i>Supernatural</i> because the guys investigate things like ghosts and otherworldly creatures. (I can honestly say that I couldn't think of a damn thing in the teen area because it's all Twilight and Hunger Games love-triangle knockoffs.) I even describe the scene in <i>Dead Beat</i> where Harry resurrects a T-rex skeleton in the Museum of Natural History and rides it into battle. And I swear, the girl's eye lit up like a frickin' Christmas tree.<br />
<br />
<i>BINGO.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
I pulled up the catalog entry with all of Jim Butcher's stuff and the mom asked "Is there bad language and violence?" At most, the Dresden Files contains a handful of swearwords, and very rarely the most objectionable. But even that explanation didn't fly here. Honestly, I probably should have lied and said that Harry Dresden is a paragon of the moralest of moral virtues and never says anything worse than "shucky-darn" (though his best friend, Michael Carpenter, certainly fits that bill - and he's also an awesome badass bonefide paladin soldier of God who owns a magic sword that contains a nail from the Cross. Oh man - and the relationship between his wife, Charity, and their daughter, Molly, would have probably hit home for this girl. Maybe she'll pick up the series on her own. I sure hope so).<br />
<br />
This whole back and forth was really frustrating for me, and I could tell the girl was getting upset too. I so wanted to tell this girl to come back later without her mother and we'd talk. Or that I could have told Mom to go peruse the parenting aisle for a few minutes while I helped her daughter find something that she'd be interested in reading. As it was, I managed to find a kind of compromise with "The Last Apprentice" by Joseph Delaney. At least it was in the teen area.<br />
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<br />
And here's the deal - I can pretty much guarantee that this girl is going to read and watch what she pleases behind her mother's back. I know because I did that (the statute of limitations has far run out on these "crimes"). I had <i>Sailor Moon</i> on recorded VHS tapes and <i>Animorphs </i>books that I bought with my own money and that I had stashed away in a bottom drawer and in the back of my closet. Now, I wouldn't say my parents were overbearing about my reading habits - but there were a few things they didn't quite approve of at the time. But if I could do that in a time before the internet was ubiquitous and smartphones and ebooks weren't even a thing, what are today's teenagers going to get away with? And spare me the pearl-clutching, panic-inducing, scare-tactic, click-bait, pop-up-ad-riddled articles proclaiming this app or this website is going to eat our children in one painful swallow. While your concern is appreciated, your gullibility is less laudable. Correct it.<br />
<br />
(Apologies to Lois McMaster Bujold with that last sentence.)<br />
<br />
Here I come to where I start to connect the dots - I subscribe to a philosophy that more ideas, not less, is the ideal. Let people - adults, teens, kids - learn about things for themselves. True, you have to take into account maturity levels with certain subjects and materials. You can be a responsible adult and allow kids to experience these ideas and still do it in a safe and controlled (note, not controll<i>ing</i>) environment.<br />
<br />
But this Puritanical moral guardian panic attitude helps precisely no one. It didn't work in the '80s when parents groups were freaking out about D&D and saying that a game of make-believe is going to lead to their kids worshipping Satan. It didn't work in the early 2000s when parents thought Harry Potter was going to lead their kids to worshipping Satan. It's not working now when social justice scolds think a mention of <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2748765568?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1" target="_blank">Native American culture in a kids' book</a> is going to lead kids to turn into bigots and worship... whatever their shitty version of Satan is.<br />
<br />
I don't have to like everything that I put in a patron's hand. There have been times where helping a patron find a particular book has pissed me off so badly because I hated the book that they were looking for and my instinct was to warn them away from it. But by damn, if that's what they're looking for, I will help them find it and let them read it. I will save my internal rants for when I get home. There should be something in every public library that will piss off at least one person. If we tried to keep our libraries free of inoffensive content for everyone, we wouldn't have a damn thing on the shelves.<br />
<br />
People probably associate me with the ultra-conservative religious right as far as politics go. In some ways, that is true. However, there is a lot that has caused me to diverge more into the small-l libertarian ways of thinking (and before some jackass starts, I really have no opinion about legalized pot one way or the other, so don't even ask). Meaning, you leave me alone, I leave you alone, and you can do as you wish as long as you don't steal from, injure, or kill somebody. Pretty straightforward.<br />
<br />
(An acquaintance once characterized it thusly: "I want my gay-married neighbors to be able to protect their pot garden with AR-15s.")<br />
<br />
And yet, there are people who not only want to police what they themselves say, do, and think, but they want to make rules for what we ALL say, do, and think. I used to be a little more secretive about the media I enjoyed, but that made me feel like some kind of criminal (or at least a junkie that had to indulge her bad habits on the sly). But I've come to a point in my life where I don't give a crap if people know that I read trashy romance novels or watch anime or read books with violence and bad language, but have interesting stories and well-written characters. If they want to scold me for my choices, that says a lot more about them than it will ever say about me.<br />
<br />
I've sure come a long way from that scared kid trying to navigate middle school and endure snotty comments and snide looks from her classmates. With any luck, this girl that I tried to help will also learn some valuable lessons along the way.<br />
<br />
Sigh... I can only do so much. Which is why I plan to let my kid's friends come over and read whatever they like, especially if it's something their parents give them crap about. I'll even provide the snacks. Probably won't make me popular with the adults in the neighborhood, but I'm starting to learn that social sphere is kind of overrated.</div>
chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17574969300905906532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4934487773490396103.post-32546818440783631272018-09-03T22:54:00.000-06:002018-09-03T23:27:33.312-06:00Jared Watches Sailor Moon Crystal: Episode 13 - Final Battle, Reincarnation<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<i>***Note: Yep. I'm back. It only took me a year and a half, but I FINALLY got to the next part. Hope people are still around to enjoy this.***</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>***</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Last time...</i><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo2HyrZes7QgsoIGxisEkoIzNbUBKMr9VXLbiaAww2O5xLCz3zTEquIYZJL0SjH5ZxSQRBeiNi0getp0_okDsCEOwA4EOfh2VSr6xFSXo_Xu0BW4Yd-5YjKuMBFqqgwrLF8F9ucEJEU_eJ/s1600/that.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo2HyrZes7QgsoIGxisEkoIzNbUBKMr9VXLbiaAww2O5xLCz3zTEquIYZJL0SjH5ZxSQRBeiNi0getp0_okDsCEOwA4EOfh2VSr6xFSXo_Xu0BW4Yd-5YjKuMBFqqgwrLF8F9ucEJEU_eJ/s320/that.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<i><br /></i>
<i>...oh yeah... that...</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<b>Me:</b> She <i>did</i> get him in the chest.<br />
<br />
<b>Jared:</b> Yeah, but not that deeply.<br />
<br />
<i>Quick montage of the princess and her prince and living new lives, falling in love.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<b>Usagi (inner monologue):</b> I know we will always find one another. And we will fall in love... all over again...<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Jared:</b> But you left the Crystal in the hands of the bad guy!<br />
<br />
<i>Eternal love, be together... blah, blah, blah...</i><br />
<br />
<b>Jared:</b> That's gonna hurt when she lands on it...<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyFPF_S6MUTflS0IMROFi2_xGLlpsrv2uUBf6no9lKPmGVBsUsTvC8dP1CDobGMOFnl1OA-mHDv4poOE4lPdAsd8ETn0yVK8EgFOsHNSiD1XSILoCkamWzleF_lFqueHca0CjcLE_q35Jb/s1600/clatter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyFPF_S6MUTflS0IMROFi2_xGLlpsrv2uUBf6no9lKPmGVBsUsTvC8dP1CDobGMOFnl1OA-mHDv4poOE4lPdAsd8ETn0yVK8EgFOsHNSiD1XSILoCkamWzleF_lFqueHca0CjcLE_q35Jb/s320/clatter.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<i>CLANG!</i><br />
<br />
<b>Jared:</b> What? That shouldn't have happened!<br />
<br />
<i>Anime physics? Meaning, there are none. Physics, I mean.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<b>Me:</b> You're analyzing the trajectory of where she jabbed the sword into her stomach?<br />
<br />
<b>Jared: </b>... yeah...?<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Cue "Moon Pride" - and away we go!</i><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnSuXWZf0LqnLRQcALhD-uxP2RDFU37MzJPSTemdVgQUGBL1oWY6aDrhFa02kqJvV-ie5G0umc4uijIi1jc6OEHzs0KtDrPXfbVn_zxHtPHNU7QYcrjNv86HI0zDynkmx5w1TNTANuzmvw/s1600/ded.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnSuXWZf0LqnLRQcALhD-uxP2RDFU37MzJPSTemdVgQUGBL1oWY6aDrhFa02kqJvV-ie5G0umc4uijIi1jc6OEHzs0KtDrPXfbVn_zxHtPHNU7QYcrjNv86HI0zDynkmx5w1TNTANuzmvw/s320/ded.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<i><br /></i>
<i>The Guardians finally land and lament the pathetic repeat of history. Suddenly, the Silver Crystal appears and starts growing and engulfing Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<b>Sailor Mars:</b> We can't allow it to grow! Not in the Dark Kingdom!<br />
<br />
<b>Jared:</b> Okay... why? That's something new.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP61I21oNRU2mNwAh9BF4xI9o52D86ajQsdq_armE95yAkYz6YUoXbp4j5laNlcpz_pC70E1ksSk_JqqIpxxq0-9Kfi7zwo_JZpKXtUs6P1ilL1YbDCeo40Jy5rJSxBZ1NeMIb7wJmVvQ1/s1600/bad+crystal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP61I21oNRU2mNwAh9BF4xI9o52D86ajQsdq_armE95yAkYz6YUoXbp4j5laNlcpz_pC70E1ksSk_JqqIpxxq0-9Kfi7zwo_JZpKXtUs6P1ilL1YbDCeo40Jy5rJSxBZ1NeMIb7wJmVvQ1/s320/bad+crystal.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<i><br /></i>
<i>The Crystal grows and grows and grows - until it's so big that no one can do anything about it.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<b>Jared:</b> It's the size of a bus now. What are you going to do?<br />
<br />
<i>Queen Metalia begins to feed off the growing Crystal. And she even gloats about it.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<b>Jared:</b> HOOOOOOOOOSED!<br />
<br />
<i>Seriously - this Crystal is like a freaking nuclear bomb. It doesn't care where the power it feeds on is coming from. It's neither good nor evil. It just... is.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Which begs the question: Why is a fourteen-year-old girl its caretaker?</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<b>Queen Metalia:</b> I have all the energy I need! And I shall have the Crystal too!<br />
<b><br /></b>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy_mZQgR-PRtyMB7OFPdWIpRDLKjqWz_6MwjEpOlDXoVItML_brt0f3mMIcjs6P8YEtzt877HKRxOzp444OMJ4yhKQfl7UylySlzuhrauZoNz4Cp8adFsEQAlhmp1n7bMI__gWY-52wsSm/s1600/luna+dark+kingdom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy_mZQgR-PRtyMB7OFPdWIpRDLKjqWz_6MwjEpOlDXoVItML_brt0f3mMIcjs6P8YEtzt877HKRxOzp444OMJ4yhKQfl7UylySlzuhrauZoNz4Cp8adFsEQAlhmp1n7bMI__gWY-52wsSm/s320/luna+dark+kingdom.jpg" width="320" /></a><b>Luna (coming through a portal with Artemis): </b>No you won't!<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Jared:</b> What are the <i>cats</i> going to do??<br />
<br />
<b>Queen Metalia:</b> Foolish cat!<br />
<br />
<b>Jared: </b>I'm going to have to agree with the bad guy here. I mean, <i>you're a cat</i>! Sure you can talk and type on keyboards and stuff. You're still a cat!<br />
<br />
<i>Flashback to Luna talking to Queen Serenity</i>.<br />
<br />
<b>Queen Serenity:</b> Luna, promise me that you'll watch over the Princess.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Rr91Uhb8X-B9YLKW7rreBfip6kPCPFOkmHIsECt75XDhztYTQWrAjX9QmiPOPadWR60VPwIRYn5lueEflVyl60jvQhlfvt39ddfXgqzthC9f9vV400WeNHsl4wgiq-wtwxrKhsr5xCFb/s1600/fairy+queen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="642" data-original-width="1158" height="177" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Rr91Uhb8X-B9YLKW7rreBfip6kPCPFOkmHIsECt75XDhztYTQWrAjX9QmiPOPadWR60VPwIRYn5lueEflVyl60jvQhlfvt39ddfXgqzthC9f9vV400WeNHsl4wgiq-wtwxrKhsr5xCFb/s320/fairy+queen.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<b>Jared:</b> So is she actually a fairy, then?<br />
<br />
<b>Me: </b>I think she just had a really big bow on her back. But maybe.<br />
<br />
<i>Back in Present Day, Queen Metalia disappears and leaves the Sailor Guardians and the cats to figure out what to do next. The girls then teleport away.</i><br />
<br />
<b>Jared:</b> You left the sword! You know, the powerful thing?<br />
<br />
<i>Luna, injured from her fight with Queen Metalia, asks Artemis to take her to the Moon so she can be near the site of the palace ruins. And... they leave without the holy sword too.</i><br />
<br />
<b>Jared: </b>You left the sword too! Honestly, people!<br />
<br />
<i>And cats.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>The girls arrive at their destination. Sailor Venus has some... observations to make.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxUraNteYJpHiVW1Q_KDNbqmOkWxJCQSrxBTBYM_mfpuZtYYvsBFkdkqqulE5R5I5I2kCNWcH-Y1PORcxXUUH-XH6tfTUfvHbrkEOJSa17-Klmv4hvJH86pM9Ow7yfWxQ9t7CFgh8m7UFI/s1600/iceless+circle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="650" data-original-width="1168" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxUraNteYJpHiVW1Q_KDNbqmOkWxJCQSrxBTBYM_mfpuZtYYvsBFkdkqqulE5R5I5I2kCNWcH-Y1PORcxXUUH-XH6tfTUfvHbrkEOJSa17-Klmv4hvJH86pM9Ow7yfWxQ9t7CFgh8m7UFI/s320/iceless+circle.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<b>Sailor Venus:</b> We're in the Arctic Circle. Shouldn't there be ice?<br />
<i><br /></i>
<b>Jared:</b> Wait, THERE'S NO LAND THERE! The Arctic Circle is in the middle of the ocean.<br />
<br />
<i>Queen Metalia shows up and acts evil.</i><br />
<br />
<b>Sailor Guardians:</b> Queen Metalia!<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Jared:</b> Nah, it's the Easter Bunny.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Queen Metalia:</b> Now I have the power of the Legendary Silver Crystal within me!<br />
<b><br /></b>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiUyyvPJB2iGk0vuy5UkaHoY83XCf7r5SwrF7DsoBppxO9FCAKSX6QDULk2fj37ypQJ-zirp9KXqa6X2DB8vBeuJzIUdygtb-6QWmQXi5OByMuv-Ee5QZ2FZTt2-KjWPnQBTHxmDvIQYm6/s1600/queen+haunter+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="657" data-original-width="1171" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiUyyvPJB2iGk0vuy5UkaHoY83XCf7r5SwrF7DsoBppxO9FCAKSX6QDULk2fj37ypQJ-zirp9KXqa6X2DB8vBeuJzIUdygtb-6QWmQXi5OByMuv-Ee5QZ2FZTt2-KjWPnQBTHxmDvIQYm6/s320/queen+haunter+2.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></div>
<b><br /></b>
<b>Jared:</b> Hey look, she turned into a Haunter.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<i><br /></i>
<i>Queen Metalia continues to be menacing and evil. She spreads her evil power all over the earth. People react in various ways - shock, fear, disbelief, becoming Metalia-zombie-clones and attack others.</i><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv5ik0X0OnThiBxJwxfLFFzl2jUHPqKVuomGVcE71ES0b-6Xh_m2AQAkHdFfY5qT5uSHxg0wFDha5sBse3clYG1Zazor_xKmJ4yrEewu1SK7RytbY4IBpmQvQSU7zIV0heuigFfFjekZE4/s1600/creepy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="651" data-original-width="1165" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv5ik0X0OnThiBxJwxfLFFzl2jUHPqKVuomGVcE71ES0b-6Xh_m2AQAkHdFfY5qT5uSHxg0wFDha5sBse3clYG1Zazor_xKmJ4yrEewu1SK7RytbY4IBpmQvQSU7zIV0heuigFfFjekZE4/s320/creepy.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<i><br /></i>
<i>No, seriously. That happens.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<b>Jared:</b> Well, that was creepy.<br />
<br />
<i>Yeah, it's pretty bad all the way around. Even the Sailor Guardians have given up. But then - of course - the girls remember that Usagi is their best friend and she is Happiness and Hope Personified.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<b>Jared: </b>At least they're consistent with the whole "Power of Love" thing.<br />
<br />
<i>The girls decide to give up all their power to help Usagi beat Queen Metalia and it's very awe-inspiring and stuff. Usagi, still trapped inside Queen Metalia's evilness, wakes up and slowly realizes what is going on. More or less.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<b>Sailor Moon:</b><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i>The Legendary Silver Crystal!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
<b>Jared:</b> Got a lot smaller again.<br />
<br />
<i>Just beyond the Crystal, Usagi sees Mamoru who is still unconscious. Also, his pocketwatch is floating in the ether and it's broken.</i><br />
<br />
<b>Sailor Moon: </b>His pocketwatch? It stopped the sword from running me through.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Jared:</b> The sword that breaks diamonds. Uh-huh.<br />
<br />
<i>Queen Metalia starts doing something... really weird and disturbing. Usagi fights her off and a lot of sparkly things and choir music take over and push away Queen Metalia's power. Mamoru wakes up and he's not brainwashed anymore (yaaay). It all happens kind of fast.</i><br />
<br />
<b>Jared:</b> That was fairly anti-climactic.<br />
<br />
<b>Queen Metalia:</b> [growls, starts flying around in all her scary evil gloriousness]<br />
<br />
<b>Jared:</b> There we go!<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNJXLMLTuwSwBl1c2Q8n9bSjnmpqKQy4a9cv1YVZ3U63HKF7wox0J2sg01T8v1_XxdR7_XTd99o0aqrncOD7A2CRPMPxTx81kPytsA3bldpUmv4fapVLo9onFgVnBVrnJUr7Tw16gm0L7w/s1600/yoink.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="656" data-original-width="1166" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNJXLMLTuwSwBl1c2Q8n9bSjnmpqKQy4a9cv1YVZ3U63HKF7wox0J2sg01T8v1_XxdR7_XTd99o0aqrncOD7A2CRPMPxTx81kPytsA3bldpUmv4fapVLo9onFgVnBVrnJUr7Tw16gm0L7w/s320/yoink.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<i>The Silver Crystal floats near Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask. Mamoru, showing a moment of clarity, reaches up and takes it before Metalia can capture it again.</i><br />
<br />
<b>Jared: </b>Glad someone finally grabbed the stupid thing. Letting it hang about like that, <i>pffft.</i><br />
<br />
<i>Then a lot of crazy stuff happens, including the Shitennou coming back to life and giving Mamoru an important info dump that I really wish could have been set up better. Sigh... they really didn't handle this Generals thing very well. I guess new story ideas for </i>Sailor Moon <i>doesn't sell purses or lip gloss or visits to fancy themed cake shops in Japan. Oh well...</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Anyway, turns out the spirits of the guys were actually responsible for keeping the sword from killing Tuxedo Mask when Sailor Moon tried to stab him.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<b>Mamoru:</b> You stopped the sword from piercing my heart!<br />
<br />
<b>Jared:</b> Yeah, from <i>Sailor Moon</i>! Seriously, what was her plan??<br />
<br />
<i>Sailor Moon is not known for her logic and reason.</i><br />
<br />
<i>Meanwhile, Usagi and Mamoru start to get all sweet and lovey all of a sudden. Their royal alter-egos take over for a bit, too. </i><br />
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<i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipCARqH7okG-GIuvGlE9V_0P7PVFXDOpnMZs06glMgm-WeGJE6Y6kV7gLtHtdL_yX4Y2cWVdsxJH03hVDwGD-dTd6uSw6dkf0NBCVdBNcnZh6PUiHgvh1_-BZ8kC77xe4sdtDnTISngd6m/s1600/there%2527s+always+time+for+this.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="652" data-original-width="1166" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipCARqH7okG-GIuvGlE9V_0P7PVFXDOpnMZs06glMgm-WeGJE6Y6kV7gLtHtdL_yX4Y2cWVdsxJH03hVDwGD-dTd6uSw6dkf0NBCVdBNcnZh6PUiHgvh1_-BZ8kC77xe4sdtDnTISngd6m/s320/there%2527s+always+time+for+this.jpg" width="320" /></a></i></div>
<br />
<br />
<b>Jared: </b>... is there really time for this in the middle of a fight?<br />
<br />
<b>Me:</b> There's <i>always time for this, </i>dear. Especially in magical girl anime.<br />
<br />
<b>Mamoru:</b> Remember, aim for the star on Queen Metalia's forehead.<br />
<br />
<b>Jared:</b> What do you mean "remember"? This is the first she's hearing of it!<br />
<br />
<i>Sailor Moon gears up to take out Queen Metalia for good... and then we get left on a cliffhanger. </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<b>Jared:</b> That's an interesting place to end!<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Well... hopefully it doesn't take me another year and a half to get to the next one. #Oops.</i><br />
<i><br /></i><i>***</i><br />
Next Time: Episode 14 - Conclusion and Commencement, Petite Etrangere<br />
<br />
<a href="http://cjsnotebook5.blogspot.com/2017/03/jared-watches-sailor-moon-crystal_19.html" target="_blank">Previously: Episode 12 - Enemy, Queen Metalia</a><br />
<i><br /></i>
<br />
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</div>
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chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17574969300905906532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4934487773490396103.post-59496257311255664022018-06-11T18:14:00.000-06:002018-06-11T18:15:36.438-06:00Seven Day Break From Fake<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifYByRdD7bPbZucerC5HxqJnRFjM4PlHWXbRzFG_l9mMHs4tcG4UCy0OKR_1rhhTU7r2CjKXbdR9Z6jXtLYL4l-hI8QFHrnmZInW3b1KyTDvIYU1HeVqrCp0PW5VLWy0Hle0NC0wXg6tob/s1600/social-media-vacation.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="630" data-original-width="1200" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifYByRdD7bPbZucerC5HxqJnRFjM4PlHWXbRzFG_l9mMHs4tcG4UCy0OKR_1rhhTU7r2CjKXbdR9Z6jXtLYL4l-hI8QFHrnmZInW3b1KyTDvIYU1HeVqrCp0PW5VLWy0Hle0NC0wXg6tob/s320/social-media-vacation.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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Last Sunday, President Russell M. Nelson challenged youth of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to (among several other things) do a week-long "fast" from social media. The devotional where that challenge was issued is summarized in this video -<br />
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Here's President Nelson's full quote from his talk (the entire text of which can be <a href="https://www.lds.org/languages/eng/content/broadcasts/worldwide-devotional-for-young-adults/2018/06/hope-of-israel" target="_blank">read here</a>) -<br />
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<i>So, my first invitation to you today is to disengage from a constant reliance on social media by holding a seven-day fast from social media. I acknowledge that there are positives about social media. But if you are paying more attention to feeds from social media than you are to the whisperings of the Spirit, then you are putting yourself at spiritual risk—as well as the risk of experiencing intense loneliness and depression. You and I both know youth who have been influenced through social media to do and say things that they never would do or say in person. Bullying is one example.<br />Another downside of social media is that it creates a false reality. Everyone posts their most fun, adventurous, and exciting pictures, which create the erroneous impression that everyone except you is leading a fun, adventurous, and exciting life. Much of what appears in your various social media feeds is distorted, if not fake. So give yourself a seven-day break from fake!<br />Choose seven consecutive days and go for it! See if you notice any difference in how you feel and what you think, and even how you think, during those seven days. After seven days, notice if there are some things you want to stop doing and some things you now want to start doing.<br />This social media fast can be just between you and the Lord. It will be your sign to Him that you are willing to step away from the world[...] </i></blockquote>
Now, if hundreds of thousands of 12-18 year olds can be challenged to give up Facebook and Twitter, there's no reason that I - a 30+ adult who did not grow up on the internet - couldn't do it too. When I heard of this challenge from President Nelson, I'd already been thinking of trying to find a way to scale back my social media usage.<br />
<br />
Since Tiny was born 10 months ago (and since I was fired from COTR), I have taken the internet equivalent of a machete to my social media feeds - particularly Facebook and Twitter. But even with the mass unfollowing/unfriending of pages and people that just flat-out pissed me off, irritating crap still managed to get put up on my feeds. Even from people who are usually quite positive. Political talk is the worst offender, but it's also the idiotic click-bait stuff is a huge problem.<br />
<br />
So, seven days. Could I do it?<br />
<br />
One of my techniques was to move my Facebook and Twitter apps on my phone. I didn't delete them, but I just put them somewhere else. Not seeing them in their usual spot reminded me that I was working toward a goal. It was actually quite easy to remember to stay off Facebook and Twitter. Even when I was wondered what someone in my family was doing, I would just call or text them.<br />
<br />
And I read a lot more, too. I'd use Kindle or Libby or Audible to read (or listen to) a book instead of finding the latest outrage hit being pushed by my Facebook feed. It was so much more calming.<br />
<br />
The one night I had a hard time with it was Thursday night. I've also been fighting off a cold this past week and Thursday night is when it hit me the worst. I just wanted something mindless to distract me from being sick. Instead, I turned on <i>Perfect Strangers</i> reruns on Hulu (Tiny likes watching that show. Trust me - I tried to get him interested in a kids' show that night and he was not having it. But watching Larry and Balki's antics? Yep. That did the trick. Sometimes, I can't explain my child at all).<br />
<br />
The best reflection I could come up with happened when I was checking Facebook and Twitter in the wee hours of the morning when I was up with Tiny (around 4:30, I think). I hadn’t been back on five minutes when I saw something that made me want to throttle somebody. That contrast, more than anything else, told me everything I needed to know about my relationship with social media.<br />
<br />
All week, I didn't get mad about anything I couldn't control. I don't have regular TV, so I didn't watch the news. No headlines crafted to incite the anger junkies and keep them addicted to the click-bait sites and their insane pop-up ads. I was more present in my own life. I spent more time focused on my family and their needs. My mental health was <i>so much </i>better. More than anything, that was worth the effort.<br />
<br />
Also - and this may lose me some librarian cred, but I don't care - being informed is hardly the virtue that it's made out to be anymore. Even if I kept up with all the current events in the world - what am I going to be able to do about it? All I'm going to do is sit and stew about it and lose sleep over it. And here's a dirty little secret I've gleaned from working in news (both recently and years ago) - but the news isn't about telling people what's going on. Even professional news outlets try to find the most outrageous and sensational gossip and maddening things they can report on. It gets hits and clicks and eyeballs and makes tons of money. There could be something worthwhile in that pile of garbage, but my motivation to find it has been completely shattered.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sturgeon%27s_law" target="_blank">Sturgeon's Law</a> is a thing for a reason, peeps.<br />
<br />
Anyway, life without social media is lovely. I’m not beholden to some dopey curly-headed robot parading around as a college kid who thinks all his money entitles him to dictate the things I read and see in my feeds. My time is my own again. I’m more present for others. I’m not bound by the shallow scaremonger headlines and clickbait quizzes and inane crap that people think is a matter of Life and Death.<br />
<br />
If I want to know something, I look it up specifically and get what I need. Pinterest - for all it’s froofy weirdness - is actually a handy organizational tool. Saving things on Facebook doesn’t work. But if I find a recipe (for example) that I want to try, I save it to my Pinterest board and I’ve actually tried a bunch of things there. I actually feel more personally enriched when I specifically look for a piece of information, than if I just sit back and let an arbitrary feed dump it into my brain.<br />
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I don't really care what other people decide to do with their social media presence. And I don't intend to completely get off social media - it does serve some positive purpose for me. I keep in touch with my family and friends, I do things <a href="http://thefiveishfangirlspodcast.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">for the podcast</a> on social media, I keep track of events and things like that. But I can do without getting sucked into the pointless drama.</div>
chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17574969300905906532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4934487773490396103.post-78855625012436237152017-12-20T00:27:00.003-07:002017-12-20T11:01:42.816-07:00'Star Wars: The Last Jedi' and the Politics of the Perpetually Aggrieved<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhxnaC97Hk_yfPix2qj7e95ivM4NuOpCSXj8FyQ0TbiOxrdddZf4RCG7XhZ1XHyffREZM9QgnQy0G2ZiyPZ-JLqQwyfjp5TemKlDWgRMa6lO4k-RB3iP2_bMm3qgGhqjkU1aKmKpZTfz-6/s1600/sw-tlj-ed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="859" data-original-width="1367" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhxnaC97Hk_yfPix2qj7e95ivM4NuOpCSXj8FyQ0TbiOxrdddZf4RCG7XhZ1XHyffREZM9QgnQy0G2ZiyPZ-JLqQwyfjp5TemKlDWgRMa6lO4k-RB3iP2_bMm3qgGhqjkU1aKmKpZTfz-6/s320/sw-tlj-ed.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>I have not yet seen <i>Star Wars: The Last Jedi</i>. I have no opinion about it yet. There are people who I respect who love the movie, and there are people who I respect who hate the movie. So far, I've managed to keep my backside firmly planted on that fence in the middle - purely because I haven't seen the film yet. Though I will say that I haven't been quite so religious in avoiding spoilers. Still, without context or seeing it on the big screen, it doesn't really matter that I kinda, sorta know what happens.<br />
<br />
But this post isn't entirely about Star Wars or any fandom in particular. This post is an observation about society in general and how it seems like everybody - and I do mean <i style="font-weight: bold;">everybody</i> - is always spoiling for a fight over the most idiotic stuff. Not only looking to fight, but to make these fights personal. Like, if you don't agree with someone on a particular topic, you are somehow morally obligated to insult them, their mother, their dog, their car, their ancestors all the way back to Adam, and the single-celled organisms from which their lineage spawned.<br />
<br />
Really, people? <i>Really</i>?<br />
<br />
I'm sure you've seen the posts about "How to Handle Your Crazy Uncle Who Voted For [Insert Political Candidate Here] At Thanksgiving." I mean, we're letting politics dictate how we associate with family members. Politics. Something run by people that are complete strangers, but for their presence in the daily news, and that demand our unswerving loyalty because... voting or something. Hell, I don't know. But politics makes people lose their freaking minds and I'm sick of it (I include myself in that assessment. I'm really trying my best to stay out of it these days).<br />
<br />
Here's a newsflash - whether you love the person in charge or hate his stinking guts (and it doesn't matter which "he" I'm referring to - there have been 45 of them. Pick one. The ones from my lifetime have been kind of crappy, truth be told), the president is not God. No politician is. No politician has have the power to completely ruin your life or give you the most perfect existence in this mortal coil. I would appreciate it if people on both sides would stop acting like it.<br />
<br />
I know, I know. I'm asking for waaaaaaay too much. I'd have a better chance of Santa Claus bringing me a sparkly purple unicorn that farts $20 bills and vomits ice cream.<br />
<br />
Somehow, all of these online political fistfights have taken over pop culture as well. Somewhere along the line, it became virtuous for celebrities to voice their political opinions and make their fans feel like crap if they disagreed. Same with directors, writers, etc. Then there were the big-name fans who like to rub it in because it inflates their egos and they're getting paid to props these other egos up as well. And some fans took it to heart. Maybe they boycotted the movies. Maybe they went into the movie expecting it to be horrible and then they'd be justified in their hatred of it. Maybe they went on to create stories that similarly shoved overly-preachy message fic in our faces, just in the other direction.<br />
<br />
Personally, I hate that pop culture has to be saturated with politics. I go to movies and read books to get away from that insanity. Call me a wimp - but maybe I just don't have the mental fortitude for 24/7 outrage (probably why I lost my COTR job - I just couldn't fake being angry at everything in the whole freaking world like my co-workers always seemed to be). I do like to take a break once in a while (or permanently). Turning my brain off to watch two-and-a-half hours of space battles and lightsaber fights is infinitely more preferable to watch two pompous blowhards yell at each other on TV and pretend they're debating anything of value.<br />
<br />
This is what I say to that (and anyone else telling me to pick one side or the other) -<br />
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I have come to hate the phrase "If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention." Like paying attention to every little stupid thing that happens is what I should aspire to. Guess what? I <i>don't</i> want to pay attention. I want to ignore the news. Being "informed" has become a hindrance, rather than something useful. For all of Facebook's insistence on constantly changing their interface because they have nothing better to do, I wish they'd give us the option to turn off that idiotic "Trending News" box. I don't give a crap what news is "trendy." I never cared about trendy stuff when I was a kid, what makes you think I want to know about the trendy news now that I'm an adult?<br />
<br />
Sigh... anyway... where was I with this? Oh yes - <i>Star Wars</i>.<br />
<br />
Look, I know it's become cool to pick apart things that people like. Even "fans" of <i>Star Wars</i> pick it apart. First, it was that the prequel were bad - the original trilogy was the only thing worth watching. Well... except <i>Return of the Jedi</i> had those goofy Ewoks. And in <i>A New Hope</i>, Luke's super-whiny. But <i>Empire</i> - now THAT is <i>Star Wars</i>. That movie is PERFECT.<br />
<br />
Wait... doesn't Leia kiss Luke in that one? They're siblings! HOW COULD THAT BE???<br />
<br />
See? Picky, picky, picky. "Fans" seem to be more about picking things apart and hating on everything, rather than enjoying what you love.<br />
<br />
It's fine to acknowledge flaws and missteps. It's even good to recognize that there's room to improve. But when you do that at that expense of also recognizing the <i>good</i> things they did, then you're just beating the dead horse alive (yes, that's what I meant). It's why I like this Nostalgia Critic video -<br />
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And the YouTube channel CinemaWins is a great one for this as well. Finding the mistakes in anything is easy. Finding things to praise and be complimentary about has become a lost art.<br />
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Which brings me around to that pesky political topic. Leave aside any political parties or even politicians (they're all scum anyway) - think about your friends and family. Are you going to throw away valuable relationships over a political disagreement? Unless your relationship is purely based on political views (and that is a pathetic thing to base any sort of personal relationship on at all), it's not worth alienating people you care about just because they voted for X and you voted for Y and someone else voted for Z.<br />
<br />
For the record - I don't consider that I won or lost in the last election. I knew it was a losing prospect for me to try either way, so I took a third option. Both the main choices sucked and I was doing the best I could with what I was given. In my former day job, I wrote to represent my employers, since speaking my honest opinion wasn't something they seemed to be interested in (to put it mildly). Dishonest? Probably. I didn't enjoy it. The pay was good. There is good money to be made in feeding people's outrage. But clearly, my tactics didn't work. Judge me as you will - everyone else already has. I learned my lesson. I'm staying out of it. I'm just praying it sticks.<br />
<br />
I'm not saying you have to give up your viewpoints if you don't want to. Just because I'm washing my hands of the whole mess doesn't mean you have to. But realize there are other things in life than politics. Same goes for pop culture. Not everything has to be dripping with political campaign messages. Luke Skywalker is not a stand-in for [Insert Favored Politician Here]. He wouldn't even know what Earth politics are like - he's never been to Earth! He's got bigger problems to worry about than who is running Washington DC, anyway (it's rough being the last Jedi in existence, I'm sure).<br />
<br />
This plea is probably falling on deaf ears. Being angry and yelling on Twitter at people that you don't even know can be a lot of fun in the moment. It's even cathartic to vent on social media. You've probably heard some variation of the phrase "Anger is the devil's cocaine." It's addictive and it's easy to be mad all the time, even though it doesn't feel all that great. Being happy and positive feels better, but it's more work. A prominent leader in my church once gave a talk called <a href="https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1989/04/the-canker-of-contention?lang=eng" target="_blank">"The Canker of Contention."</a> I would highly recommend reading his talk, whether you're religious or not.<br />
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What I'm getting at is that I'm sick of all the fighting. Whether it's over politics or <i>Star Wars</i> or anything else. There's enough trouble in the world without going to look for it where there is functionally none. And honestly, whoever you're mad at probably didn't even mean to be insulting. What happened to giving people the benefit of the doubt? I worry that I give that benefit out too much, and when it comes time for me to be granted the same, I'll have to deal with somebody who refuses to cut me any sort of slack. Doesn't mean I won't stop.<br />
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There is contention in this world, true. But we don't have to participate in it. Instead of looking to famous people to be our role models, why not be the role model you'd want to see? That's so much easier to control.<br />
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And now it's late and I have things to do in the morning (and a baby that will probably be awake in a few hours). Sure wish my brain would stop having ideas so late at night...</div>chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17574969300905906532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4934487773490396103.post-69841017639280644092017-12-11T13:38:00.002-07:002017-12-11T16:56:24.850-07:00The Great Review Roundup<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
As is probably very apparent, my blogging time has been next-to-nonexistent lately. Taking care of a new baby, going back to work, and having my husband finishing up his second-to-last semester of grad school has taken up most of my time, energy, and attention. All good things, of course. But I do miss writing (and this time, it's purely for myself. I don't have to pretend what my opinion is in order to make someone else look good. I can be completely honest in my thoughts again. I'd almost forgotten what that felt like).<br />
<br />
What follows is a list of fandom-related things that I've read/seen/listened to/watched and want to comment on. They are in no particular order, just whatever order I remember them.<br />
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<b>Once Upon a Time</b><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i>- Remember how I used to faithfully review each episode every week? Yeah... I've certainly fallen off the wagon there. And I can't fully blame my time constraints for this. There's just nothing about the show lately that makes me <i>want</i> to write about it. It's not fantastic, it's not a trainwreck. It's just kind of... <i>meh</i>. It's a retread of everything they did before - and better. This season has been one giant "We've gotta pull something together because, the network." There are some entertaining moments, but on the whole, it's nothing to write home about.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sigh... so much potential wasted.</td></tr>
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Honestly, this season has been an extended cut of Mean Girls with magic. Victoria Belfrey, Ivy, Mother Gothel - even Tiana and Jacinda to an extent. None of these characters resonate with me. Very few of them are even likable. Lucy's storyline was great, but they keep forgetting that she's around. Now they've knocked her out, as well as destroyed her belief in fairy tales and happy endings.</div>
<br />
What the actual hell??<br />
<br />
Oh, and Cinderella's evil stepmother is actually Rapunzel. Sigh... remember how I was pissed to the <i>nth</i> degree over "Peter Pan is Rumplestiltskin's father"? With this, I can barely muster up enough emotion to raise an eyebrow. I blame ABC for keeping this show running when the creators were happy to bow out gracefully last year.<br />
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<b>Dune (1984)</b> - Jared and I watched this last night. I've read the book, but not recently. And I must have seen the miniseries many years ago, because I did not remember anything from this movie. The movie looks beautiful. The sets, the costuming, the design, the art - even some of the effects look good. The first half of the movie is even plotted pretty well. But then the House of Scabby Gingers attacks and the storytelling kind of falls apart. I can't fault them too much for it, though. Adapting any book for a two-hour movie is a chore, and <i>Dune</i> is a complicated story even in book form. It strikes me as one that would be better served as a TV series. Watching this movie is like watching <i>Harry Potter</i> - you aren't there for the faithful adaptation or even the coherent storytelling. You're there for the pretty sets and costumes - the things you imagined when you were reading the book.<br />
<br />
Still - there are worse ways to spend an evening.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Doctor Who</b><i style="font-weight: bold;"> - </i>I have the most unpopularest opinions of unpopular opinions about the upcoming season: <b>I'm not that excited for it.</b> And it has nothing to do with the gender of the lead character (before any obnoxiously "woke" blowhard dipshit decides that's what my opinion is and rushes to close the clubhouse door on me. Like I need the internet to approve my fandom before I can watch this show. What are you going to do? Sneak into my house and steal my DVDs? Delete my Big Finish collection? Please).<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Christmas special? I'm here for it!</td></tr>
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Chris Chibnall has not engendered much confidence as far as his <i>Doctor Who</i> writing has gone. The only episode of his that I really liked was "The Power of Three." The rest were forgettable. Not bad, necessarily. Just... forgettable. Yes, I liked the first season of <i>Broadchurch</i>, but I'm probably never going to rewatch it. And I couldn't get into the second season, or even <i>Gracepoint</i>, so that was a bust for me.<br />
<br />
Now, that's not to say I'm not going to give him and Jodie Whittaker a chance. I wasn't all that impressed with Moffat's final season - though he did have a strong finish. Peter Capaldi has been a fantastic Doctor, but much of the writing in his era has not served him well. A change-up is what <i>Doctor Who</i> needs right now. I just hope that the changes that Chibnall brings are what's needed to keep the show fresh.<br />
<br />
And I'll explain what I mean by "keeping the show fresh." Just last week, I had occasion to pick up DWM 518 (the December 2017 issue, if I'm remembering correctly) from the library. I kind of just skipped around the magazine, looking for interesting things to read (or passing on the things that didn't hold my attention). I wasn't going to read the comic, having been unimpressed with previous DWM comics. But this time, I read through it. The comic, titled "Matildus," was absolutely brilliant. And I am going to thoroughly spoil it for you, so deal with it -<br />
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The Twelfth Doctor and Bill land on a planet with a giant and ancient library (not <i>that</i> Library, completely different one). The library is kept by an old alien woman named Matildus. She's stern and kind of prickly, but she helps the Doctor with some questions he has. Though her prickly nature does cause Bill to leave the library and go out into the city. Bill is subsequently caught by a gang of street kids who tell her that Matildus used to be a kind (still stern) woman who let them hang out in the library (as long as they read the books she recommended - that made me laugh). But now she's chased them off and become a totally different person. The kids think there's something nefarious going on because nobody's gone in or out of the library in months - Bill's the first person they've seen come or go.<br />
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Meanwhile, Matildus's "granddaughter" who's been helping her maintain the library isn't her granddaughter at all. It's an evil alien entity that's trying to take control of the library with all its information and knowledge. The entity has been trying to convince Matildus that she's too old and senile to be the head librarian, so she should sign control of the library to her granddaughter - except she doesn't have a granddaughter. The Doctor and Bill reveal the entity's evil plan and the entity flees. But Matildus realizes that she's been too absorbed by her work that she doesn't have anyone close to her. No family, friends, or even colleagues. She's pushed everyone away (even before the alien entity was messing with her mind). But then the kids come rushing in and insist that she has them. It's happy endings all around - these street kids have someone who cares about them, and Matildus has an adopted family to share her life with.<br />
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I loved this story - not just because it takes place in a library and that hits all my warm-fuzzies in the right places, but that it's something that everyone can relate to. Wanting a family, wanting to share your life with somebody, not wanting to be alone forever. And it's the Scrooge trope - a mean-spirited and closed-off person learns to love and let people into their life. Maybe it's the Christmas season (though this wasn't a Christmas-themed story), but that made me feel good.<br />
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That's what I've been missing from <i>Doctor Who</i> - stories that make me feel good. I don't need overly-sweet and soppy storytelling, but something wholesome and heartwarming would be nice for once. Lately, <i>Who</i> has felt entirely too preachy and heavy-handed and I'm sick of that. Whatever you may think of the world at large (and there are a lot of crappy things going on in the world, I will not dispute that) - I think we need something positive and uplifting. Besides, if you really believe that world events are too much to overcome and nothing good is ever going to happen (I wouldn't go that far, but some people would), wouldn't you want to try to bring something good to people? Something that we can all agree with? I'm tired of all this divisiveness and arguing. I want something that most of us can agree on. <i>Doctor Who</i> is capable of such storytelling - it's why I fell in love with the show in the first place. More "Vincent and the Doctor" and "Closing Time", less "Oxygen" and... whatever the hell that monk three-parter was. Please and thank you.<br />
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I'll give the show a chance - I hope I will be proven wrong and that my concerns are unfounded. I would love to come out of Series 11 and say that it was the greatest thing since two-slotted toasters. But I'm not terribly confident right now.<br />
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Oh, and the 13th Doctor's costume looks like she's a five-year-old doesn't know how to dress herself. Speaking of unpopular opinions... (good grief, people - you made this big stink about casting a woman to play the Doctor and the first thing you do is dress her so she doesn't even look like a woman?? WTH is wrong with you???)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The coat is neat, though.</td></tr>
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Okay, that's enough of that. On with my list!<br />
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<b>Gate</b> - Jared and I found this anime on Hulu and we enjoyed it immensely (seriously - if you want to find new anime to watch, Hulu is a good place to find it. And, yes, I know about Crunchyroll. They have great stuff too).<br />
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The premise goes thusly: A medieval fantasy empire tries to invade modern-day Japan during a comic convention. Horses, swords, magic, the whole shebang. A guy named Itami on his way to the convention, but he also happens to be a reservist in the Japanese Self-Defense Forces. He helps get people out of harm's way and helps stop the invasion before it starts. It turns out there's a magical gate that's opened between these worlds and both the fantasy empire and modern governments want to establish diplomatic relations. The JSDF does send a team through the gate to establish an outpost in the "Special Region" - and because Itami was there during the initial attack, he get promoted to officer and he's one of the guys in charge (poor guy just wants to stay home and read comics). In the Special Region, Itami meets elves, wizards, princesses, even a demigoddess. Both cultures learn about each other and try to get along - though there are good guys and bad guys in both worlds.<br />
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The first half of this show was hilarious and charming. The second half is where most of the gritty conflict takes place, and it is no less entertaining. Definitely worth checking out.<br />
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<b>The Disappearance of Winter's Daughter</b> - This is the fourth book in the Riyria Chronicles by Michael J. Sullivan (I reviewed/gushed about his first series, the Riyria Revelations, <a href="http://cjsnotebook5.blogspot.com/2012/12/read-this-series-youre-welcome-review.html" target="_blank">here</a>. The Riyria Chronicles is a prequel series dealing with Royce and Hadrian's earlier exploits). I'm currently listening to the audiobook and it is a treat - though I would expect no less from this series. There was a Kickstarter for it that just ended and I have to give the whole team big-time props for the way it was run. I haven't backed a whole lot of Kickstarters, so I don't know how this one compares with others. But every time there was a behind-the-scenes update, they made sure the backers knew what was going on. Even to the point of sending us relevant pieces of correspondence from Audible when it looked like the redeem codes for the audiobooks weren't going to work quite right (though I was able to get my audiobook from Audible without any problems, so I appreciate that even more).<br />
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I haven't gotten my limited edition hardcover copy of the book, but I don't think they've shipped yet. I'm sure once they do ship, I'll get it the way I expect to. This is a quality operation and, when you're running a business like this, a little praise is appreciated greatly. And they deserve it.<br />
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Oh, and the book is fantastic! Don't worry if you haven't read the first three yet, or even the first series - all of these are standalone enough that you can jump in wherever you like. But once you read one, you'll want to read them all. If you don't have time to read, the audiobooks are great too. The narrator does a lovely job.<br />
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<b>Cozy Mysteries</b><i style="font-weight: bold;"> - </i>Now that I'm back working at the library, I've been trying to expand my horizons (as it were) with different genres. Trying out things that I wouldn't normally read. And I think I've found something new that I love - cozy mysteries. I didn't think I would enjoy these, but here we are.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB4l0GBwnSsG8UZgiwJUP0FeGtRvsn317ge3HjLZeRKY6-Z15xxQYLtkZTo18UTmd1hJA7tlKKk4BE-MYTzRFPNJ8lrz8ajCICcOwj0wTsEMp23QLqMt2OfzKetSKhiTxFiCzbpUFjKZfH/s1600/deceive.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="316" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB4l0GBwnSsG8UZgiwJUP0FeGtRvsn317ge3HjLZeRKY6-Z15xxQYLtkZTo18UTmd1hJA7tlKKk4BE-MYTzRFPNJ8lrz8ajCICcOwj0wTsEMp23QLqMt2OfzKetSKhiTxFiCzbpUFjKZfH/s320/deceive.jpg" width="212" /></a>Cozy mysteries are light-hearted mysteries that usually deal with solving a murder, but I've run into a few that deal with theft and fraud. That juxtaposition shouldn't work, but it does. The stories usually revolve around a regular person - usually a woman - who gets thrust into an impossible situation and has to find out what's going on with her neighbor or co-worker or family member. A lot of cozies revolved around things like quilt shops, libraries, food, small boutiques. To start off with, I read <i>Lemon Tart</i> by Josi S. Kilpack - the first of the Sadie Hoffmiller Culinary Mysteries (all of the books in this series have desserts in the titles, plus there are a bunch of recipes in the story). That one was a lot of fun, though her neighborhood is beyond dysfunctional. I also read <i>And Only to Deceive</i>, the first in the Lady Emily Mysteries series by Tasha Alexander. This one's a historical mystery where Lady Emily suspects her late husband was dealing in art fraud and she tries to find out the truth. All the while, her mother badgers her about getting remarried because how could a young, rich widow <i>not</i> get remarried (though I have been spoiled on the fact that she <i>does</i> remarry eventually).<br />
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Cozy mysteries - give 'em a try.<br />
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<b>Music</b> - As I've mentioned on Facebook, Alex loves to listen to Queen. He falls asleep listening to all the Queen music I have on repeat on an iPod playlist I created after we figured this out. Consequently, my knowledge of the band and their music has increased considerably since Alex was born. I think my favorite song of theirs that I've discovered (few things can beat out "Bohemian Rhapsody" or "We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions" overall. Or "The Show Must Go On," for that matter) is "The Invisible Man." I'd never heard this song until I pulled up a YouTube playlist of Queen music and I thought the accompanying video was just a lot of fun -<br />
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<iframe allow="encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" gesture="media" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zKdxd718WXg" width="560"></iframe><br />
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Other notable tunes: Under Pressure, Radio Gaga, Innuendo, Somebody to Love, White Queen<br />
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I've tried slowly introducing Alex to other musical artists and while there are some that he seems to responds positively to (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEKZJp-x-Dc" target="_blank">"Thunder Island" by Jay Ferguson</a> caught his attention this morning), he always goes back to Queen.<br />
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Eh, there are worse things to have to listen to on infinite repeat. Especially where kids are concerned.<br />
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That's what I've got for now. I might think of other things later, but that's a good overview.</div>
chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17574969300905906532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4934487773490396103.post-72991170909242747312017-12-07T14:32:00.003-07:002017-12-07T14:32:47.209-07:00Jared's Book Reviews: Castles Old Stone Poems - Module 14 Poetry<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b>Title:</b> <i>Castles Old Stone Poems</i> Module 14 Poetry<br />
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<b>Genre:</b> <i>Castles Old Stone Poems</i> (Lewis, J. P. and Dotlich, R. K., 2006) i<br />
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<b>Book Summary:</b> <i>Castles Old Stone Poems </i>is a collection of poems about famous towers and castles, including The Castle in the Air from Viking legends, the Tower of London, and other famous castles and palaces.<br />
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<b>Impressions:</b> The poems are all nicely done, but some stand out a lot more than their fellows. The London Tower with its talks of executions, Bunratty Castle’s poem is more vivid in terms of the fights and blood spilt there, Himeji Castle’s walls built of Japanese ghost stories, images like that really set the best poems apart from the others.<br />
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<br /><b>Professional Review:</b> From Booklist (2006)<br />Castles have a perennial allure for young people, and this illustrated poetry collection celebrates some of the most legendary, from England's Bodiam Castle and the Tower of London to Japan's Himeji Castle and California's Hearst Castle. Each spread focuses on a different location, and the words often reflect a contemporary viewer imagining long-ago life: "What splendor did the maid see / from that window long ago?" Lewis and Dotlich are frank about the bloodshed and terror that are part of the history, when "beheadings were as easy as breathing." Children may need help with some of the allusions ("Windows pierce the sky like hushed haiku," for example) and the historical context. Burr's paintings add immediacy and sense to the words in dramatic scenes of medieval courts and castles, and the extensive appended material includes a bibliography, time line, and background about each site. Suggest this for classroom exercises that show how poetry can help bring history into the present. Gillian Engberg</blockquote>
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<b>Library Uses:</b> Some of the poems could be used in storytimes about knights and castles, or in programs to help kids or teens write their own poems. Given the more martial elements of the poems it could be a good way to make poems cool for boys too.<br />
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<b>Readalikes:</b> David Macauly’s <i>Castle</i> would be a great book to pair with this collection of poems, with its detailed and beautiful drawings adding context and life to the poems about castles. On a more poetic note, any of Shel Silverstein’s books of poems would be good books to recommend as well. It wouldn’t work for all readers, and some would need help from parents, but readers who enjoyed these poems could potentially highly enjoy Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s the Lady of Shalott.<br />
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<b>References</b><br />
Engberg, G. (2006). Castles: Old stone poems. The Booklist, 103(3), 51. Retrieved from <a href="https://libproxy.library.unt.edu/login?url=https://libproxy.library.unt.edu:2165/docview/235532088?accountid=7113">https://libproxy.library.unt.edu/login?url=https://libproxy.library.unt.edu:2165/docview/235532088?accountid=7113</a><br />
Lewis, J. P. and Dotlich, R. K. (2006). Castles Old Stone Poems. Honesdale, PA: Wordsong.</div>
chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17574969300905906532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4934487773490396103.post-57882309538495425182017-12-07T14:30:00.001-07:002017-12-07T14:30:21.196-07:00Jared's Book Reviews: "Pink and Say" by Patricia Polacco - Module 10 Historical Fiction<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b>Genre:</b> <i>Pink and Say</i> (Polacco, 1994) is a powerful historical book<br />
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<b>Book Summary:</b> <i>Pink and Say</i> is the story of a very young Union flag bearer, Say, injured and left for dead after battle, who is found and rescued by a Black teen, Pink, who had also been separated from his unit. They recuperate at Pink’s mothers hut, on the partially burned out remains of the plantation where they were held as slaves. Eventually marauders kill Pink’s mother, and the pair is captured trying to get back to the Union army. Say survives the prison camp and lives a long full live, while Pink is executed almost immediately on arrival at the camp because he is Black. The last bit of the book talks about how the story is true, as Say is the authors ancestor.<br />
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<b>Impressions:</b> This is one of the most powerful tales of the Civil War I have read in many a year. As simple and uncomplicated as the language and story are it is very profound and moving. That the protagonists themselves were quite young only adds to the tragedy and heroism of their actions.<br />
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<b>Professional Review:</b> From Kirkus Reviews (2017)<br />A white youth from Ohio, Sheldon Russell Curtis (Say), and a black youth from Georgia, Pinkus Aylee (Pink), meet as young soldiers with the Union army. Pink finds Say wounded in the leg after a battle and brings him home with him. Pink's mother, Moe Moe Bay, cares for the boys while Say recuperates, feeding and comforting them and banishing the war for a time. Whereas Pink is eager to go back and fight against "the sickness" that is slavery, Say is afraid to return to his unit. But when he sees Moe Moe Bay die at the hands of marauders, he understands the need to return. Pink and Say are captured by Confederate soldiers and brought to the notorious Andersonville prison camp. Say is released months later, ill and undernourished, but Pink is never released, and Polacco reports that he was hanged that very first day because he was black. Polacco (Babushka Baba Yaga, 1993, etc; My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother, above) tells this story, which was passed down for generations in her family (Say was her great-great-grandfather), carefully and without melodrama so that it speaks for itself. The stunning illustrations -- reminiscent of the German expressionist Egon Shiele in their use of color and form -- are completely heartbreaking. A spectacular achievement. (Nonfiction/Picture book. 4- 8)</blockquote>
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<b>Library Uses:</b> A older storytime about the civil war would be a good use of this book, or during Black History Month. Honestly, despite being a picture book this book would be just as useful for a teen program, read aloud with the art up on a projector or big screen tv. The simple and direct narrative would make it even more powerful for teens.<br />
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<b>Readalikes:</b> Any number of books on the civil war could be recommended here, along with some other fine picture books about events in roughly the same time period, such Papa’s Mechanical Fish about an attempt at making a submarine in 1851, or Paper Son, Lee’s Journey to America, which talks about a twelve year old orphan emigrating from China to San Francisco.<br />
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<b>References</b><br />
Polacco, P. (1994). Pink and Say. New York, NY: Penguin Young Readers Group.<br />
Kirkus Reviews. (2017). Pink and Say. [Review of the book Pink and Say]. Kirkus Media Reviews, LLC. Retrieved from <a href="https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/patricia-polacco/pink-and-say/">https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/patricia-polacco/pink-and-say/</a></div>
chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17574969300905906532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4934487773490396103.post-91030342998263229042017-12-06T23:20:00.002-07:002017-12-06T23:20:15.701-07:00Jared's Book Reviews: "Odd Boy Out: Young Albert Einstein" by Don Brown - Module 12 Biographies<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b>Genre:</b> <i>Odd Boy Out</i> (Brown, 2004) is a simple biography of Albert Einstein, lingering more on his school years than after, fitting for a book intended for children still in school. It also does not delve deeply into his scientific discoveries, which would be too complicated for the intended reading level, nor does it touch on the issues of WWII and how and why Einstein moved to America nor his involvement in the development of atomic weapons.<br />
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<b>Book Summary:</b> <i>Odd Boy Out: Young Albert Einstein</i> is a picture book biography of Albert, starting with his unusual size at birth, his moody and angry disposition as a child, and a lot on his schooling, including how he ignored his work and areas that he didn’t care about, with a very brief discussion of his work in the patent office, marriage, children, and a bit about his discoveries.<br />
Impressions: I am somewhat dissatisfied with this book’s focus on his schooling and having so little on his scientific career and adult life. I do think the schooling is important for a book targeted as school age children, but leaving off almost entirely his marriage, children, and the things he studied does the reader a disservice.<br />
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<b>Professional Review:</b> From Publishers Weekly (2017)<br />Brown (<i>Mack Made Movies</i>) shapes an impressionistic portrait of Einstein in his early years, opening with comments of family members gazing upon the newborn (his grandmother says he is "much too fat" and "his mother fears his head is too big"). Writing in the present tense, the author shares anecdotes that reveal young Einstein's character: his temper tantrums scare away his tutor; he brings "a single-minded attention" to such pastimes as building elaborate houses of cards; his parents so encourage his independence that they allow him to wander the streets of Munich alone at the age of four; and the boy early on displays an extraordinary skill at and fascination with mathematics (though other schoolwork bores him). True to the book's title, Brown emphasizes ways in which Einstein fails to fit in with his peers. He dislikes sports, is disturbed rather than excited at the sight of soldiers parading in the street and, as the only Jewish student in school, is taunted by his classmates. The writing occasionally becomes muddy when discussing Einstein's scientific thinking and discoveries ("He says that everything is in motion and when something moves very fast, as fast as light, strange things happen, like clocks running slower and objects becoming shorter"), targeting the book more to kids who identify with the hero's personality traits than to those interested in the man's ideas. But Brown's narrative and appealingly quirky pen-and-ink and watercolor art effectively illuminate the eccentricities and intelligence of Einstein the boy and the man. Ages 4-8.</blockquote>
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<b>Library Uses:</b> This book could be useful for any number of STEM programs, inspiration for the kids who might think they aren’t good enough for science fields, or a storytime about famous people.<br />
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<b>Readalikes:</b> Gene Barretta has a series of picture book biographies of other famous scientists, such as <i>Neo Leo</i> on da Vinci, and <i>Now and Ben</i> about Benjamin Franklin. <i>Karl, Get Out of the Garden</i>, about Carl Linnaeus would be another interesting kid appropriate biography, about the father of the modern classification system for plants and animals.<br />
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<b>References</b><br />
Brown, D. (2004). <i>Odd Boy Out Young Albert Einstein</i>. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Company.<br />
Publishers Weekly. (2017). Odd Boy Out. [Review of the book Odd Boy Out]. PWxyz, LLC. Retrieved from <a href="https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-618-49298-5">https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-618-49298-5</a></div>
chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17574969300905906532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4934487773490396103.post-72469107024791046572017-12-06T23:15:00.003-07:002017-12-06T23:15:48.825-07:00Jared's Book Reviews: "Hold Me Closer, Necromancer" by Lish McBride - Module 8 Sci-Fi/Fantasy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5WB_ZqO2aCuhMssSsLwZ5WVjVCVrSoo4Cn98Db1ikybBnD9clKZqRaCCAWpyGHLJBd2rPll4Y5YM6sVIbYWURI8MFPj3-wPsbRBhjEidW77ck4plCFjOSqgoc8fhaf1Lf0fFicSskFwNm/s1600/necro.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1210" data-original-width="935" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5WB_ZqO2aCuhMssSsLwZ5WVjVCVrSoo4Cn98Db1ikybBnD9clKZqRaCCAWpyGHLJBd2rPll4Y5YM6sVIbYWURI8MFPj3-wPsbRBhjEidW77ck4plCFjOSqgoc8fhaf1Lf0fFicSskFwNm/s320/necro.jpg" width="247" /></a></div>
<b>Genre:</b> <i>Hold Me Closer Necromancer</i> (McBride, 2010) is a fine example of urban fantasy, that is, a fantasy book set in modern day, in a city where the city setting is an important part of the book. It follows the more common pattern of having the fantastical elements hidden from the world at large, rather than having some explanation for how the world knows about magic and the resulting ways it is different from the real world.<br />
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<b>Book Summary:</b> <i>Hold Me Closer, Necromancer</i>’s protagonist is something of a loser, a fry cook college dropout. A chance encounter gets him on the hit list of a powerful necromancer, Douglas, one who seeks to subvert or kill any other necromancers in his domain, usually stealing their powers. After having the still talking head of his friend Brooke dropped on his doorstep delivering an ultimatum from the necromancer Sam learns that at birth his mother had his powers hidden to keep him safe from Douglas.<br />
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Kidnapped and caged in the necromancer’s basement, Sam’s only help in trying to escape is Bridin, a lycanthrope teen who is the daughter of the werewolf alpha, and a ghost like Harbinger who looks like a catholic schoolgirl.<br />
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Eventually a full battle breaks out, not surprising given Bridin has some rather angry werewolf brothers, and Sam ends up killing Douglas and inheriting his place and power.<br />
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<b>Impressions:</b> I really liked this one. While it isn’t entirely unknown for a fantasy series to have a protagonist (or love interest) with ‘bad powers’ (see most paranormal romance ever) this book does it with a little more subtlety, and not to give the protagonist the ‘bad boy’ vibe most paranormal romances are going for.<br />
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<b>Professional Review:</b> From Publishers Weekly (2017)<br />A title this good has a lot to live up to, and debut author McBride proves she's largely up to the task in this scary and irreverent romp. College dropout Sam is underwhelmed by his life as a fast food fry cook, when a game of potato hockey behind the restaurant goes awry and throws him into the sights of an evil and powerful necromancer named Douglas Montgomery. Sam turns out to be a necromancer too, making him Douglas's target for either slavery or death. With help from Brid, a teenage werewolf/fey hybrid who is Douglas's prisoner, and a ghost named Ashley, Sam must figure out how to escape Douglas, keep his loved ones alive, and use his power while avoiding its more horrific aspects. McBride pulls no punches and hits where readers will least expect it; the story can be gory and violent, but isn't gratuitously graphic. A solid start that concludes with the promise of Sam's power growing greater and darker, secrets getting deeper, and more fun to follow. Ages 14–up. (Oct.) </blockquote>
<b>Library Uses:</b> There is a lot of modern fantasy that is quite popular, this book would go well with a teen program discussing them, maybe titled “modern fantasy… besides Harry Potter,” or something like that.<br />
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<b>Readalikes:</b> There are a lot of other fantasy novels that could appeal to readers of this one, though urban fantasy doesn’t seem to be quite as common/popular in YA as opposed to adult fiction. Still, <i>Artemis Fowl</i> could be a good go to series, as well as the <i>Alcatraz Vs.</i> series which, while written for a bit younger audience, is enjoyable by reader of any age. Dan Wells's <i>John Cleaver</i> series would be another good one, with a protagonist with even darker tones than the necromancy of Sam.<br />
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<b>References</b><br />
McBride, L. (2010). <i>Hold Me Closer, Necromancer.</i> New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company, LLC.<br />
Publishers Weekly. (2017). Hold Me Closer Necromancer. [Review of the book <i>Hold Me Closer, Necromancer</i>]. PWxyz, LLC. Retrieved from <a href="https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-8050-9098-7">https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-8050-9098-7</a></div>
chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17574969300905906532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4934487773490396103.post-79098037141991998472017-12-05T21:09:00.002-07:002017-12-05T21:09:44.874-07:00Jared's Book Reviews: "The Ruby in the Smoke" by Philip Pullman - Module 9 Mysteries<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilubZZ27-3dbaZxMvt4WZjUg-C303h29geDQgS4yD5yyO0-L-mW12MowqcuTzq33p_-Vi1MMCDZR0GmpZX-V9Oo7B10IKAxG0TUmVVglMl6MFeLKmBqo-YYXe2F8HR0HPkTk9fxuLgsP1E/s1600/ruby.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="223" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilubZZ27-3dbaZxMvt4WZjUg-C303h29geDQgS4yD5yyO0-L-mW12MowqcuTzq33p_-Vi1MMCDZR0GmpZX-V9Oo7B10IKAxG0TUmVVglMl6MFeLKmBqo-YYXe2F8HR0HPkTk9fxuLgsP1E/s320/ruby.jpg" width="206" /></a></div>
<b>Genre:</b> <i>The Ruby in the Smoke</i> (Pullman, 1985) is, strictly speaking, closer to a thriller than a mystery, because while there is a mystery that is central to the plot there is not quite enough details in the clues for the reader to solve the mystery along-side the protagonist, and indeed the reader knows many details of the antagonists and plot that the protagonist does not know.<br />
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<b>Book Summary:</b> Ruby in the Smoke centers around a young lady, Sally Lockhart, whose father has died while on a trip to the East to investigate irregularities in his shipping business. Presented with a mysterious note warning of “the Seven Blessings,” the mere mention of which gives one of the other men involved with her father’s business a fatal heart attack, Sally struggles to fend for herself now that she is without father or mother, while trying to solve the mystery that got her father killed.<br />
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Slowly Sally learns that there are intertwining mysteries at play, one, the opium smuggling that was the cause of her father’s death, and a stolen ruby from India that is somehow hers, hidden by a friend of her father’s and pursued by an old criminal who will stop at nothing to have it.<br />
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<b>Impressions:</b> I really didn’t like this book, but if I am being honest a large part of that is I went in expecting a mystery – one I could solve if I was good enough and paid attention – and instead was handed the answers by a book that is more properly a thriller.<br />
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That aside, however, the book has some anachronisms in its presentation of Victorian England that were jarring, and even as a thriller the plot had some serious issues in places, with some dropped threads, plot holes, and an ending that was far too sudden and abrupt.<br />
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Given the amount of drug use in the book (and in fact instruction on how one smokes opium) I would contest that the reading level for this book is a bit higher than the 12 Publishers Weekly suggests.<br />
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<b>Professional Review:</b> From Publishers Weekly (2017)<br />Pullman's Victorian melodrama boasts a sufficiency of mystery, murder and hairbreadth escapes involving a big cast of honest and ignoble types. ""On a cold, fretful afternoon in early October 1872,'' the story begins, young Sally Lockhart is in London where she tries to find out the meaning of ``the Seven Blessings.'' The phrase appears in a message from her recently deceased father, drowned in the South China Sea. When a colleague of her father hears the words, he dies instantly of a heart attack. That event marks the start of crises that go on with no let-up in the colorful Dickensian tale. Sally's legacy, supposedly a fantastic ruby, is nowhere to be found. A gang of cutthroats pursue the girl and her loyal allies, as the story sweeps on to a resounding close. (12-up)</blockquote>
<b>Library Uses:</b> Anachronisms aside, the book could be useful as a more adventure packed look into Victorian England, as well as the trade with the east, including the unsavory aspects of opium smuggling. It could also be used in a program about drug use, the uncommon nature of the drug of choice (opium) would be unusual enough that it might impact the teens in attendance more than talk about drugs they already know about.<br />
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<b>Readalikes:</b> Given the feel of the book, and the strong female lead, I would lean more towards suggesting Steampunk and action/thriller novels over other historical fiction books, mystery or otherwise. Jon Del Arroz’s recent <i>For Steam and Country</i> is a fun adventure also with a female lead dealing with her father’s death, and <i>The Legacy of Dragons</i> series is another action/Steampunk series with a female lead by Jack Campbell. If it looked like the patron would enjoy it I probably would suggest <i>Penny Dreadful and the Clockwork Copper</i>, in shameless self-promotion, as it has a similar feel to the world and two teen female protagonists. (Well, one teen and one two-year-old robot girl, but mentally she’s young adult, more or less.)<br />
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<b>References</b><br />
Publishers Weekly. (2017). The Ruby in the Smoke. [Review of the book The Ruby in the Smoke]. PWxyz, LLC. Retrieved from <a href="https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-394-88826-2">https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-394-88826-2</a><br />
Pullman, P. (1985). The Ruby in the Smoke. New York, NY: Random House Inc.</div>
chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17574969300905906532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4934487773490396103.post-62402366315998443622017-12-05T12:07:00.000-07:002017-12-05T12:29:04.129-07:00Jared's Book Reviews: "A Bad Boy Can Be Good for a Girl" by Tanya Lee Stone - Module 15 Often Challenged Books<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLG5WHKH5agSYNaSRUxn4c1x33qbWw1vjGJv4jY4V4ty38RMUX-7Q35yey8ugt8UJ-IUyCo3eqCzCJXOgSuNztQHq2PamUHqJX-5kEz5k0v6UcoDCSM_Dmfx9NcqIwPZ2yFxq9Ur9NqZXU/s1600/bad+boy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="452" data-original-width="318" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLG5WHKH5agSYNaSRUxn4c1x33qbWw1vjGJv4jY4V4ty38RMUX-7Q35yey8ugt8UJ-IUyCo3eqCzCJXOgSuNztQHq2PamUHqJX-5kEz5k0v6UcoDCSM_Dmfx9NcqIwPZ2yFxq9Ur9NqZXU/s320/bad+boy.jpg" width="225" /></a></div>
<b>Genre:</b> <i>A Bad Boy Can Be Good for a Girl</i> (Stone, 2006) is a book that is often challenged or banned, because of its nature as a frank and very open depiction of teen sexuality, indeed, that is the entire book, there is no other plot to it. The book gets more flak than it deserves – it does not, as some comments I saw argued – reveling or advocating for teen promiscuity, but is trying to realistically talk about what actually happens, and talk about the risks involved.<br />
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<b>Book Summary:</b> <i>A Bad Boy Can Be Good for a Girl</i> is a simplistic but honest look at three girls experiences dating (though the term is used loosely) the same boy in high school. The first girl is able to resist giving in, the second doesn’t want to resist, but ends up hurt when she falls for the boy, and the third is similarly hurt when she falls in love much more than the boy does with her.<br />
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<b>Impressions:</b> I am obviously not in the target audience for this book. Not even remotely. That said, I think it has some merit as an honest (attempt) at looking at the real issues and risks of teens dating life. I think the book still underplays some of these risks, and the verse style of the book is not particularly well used, lacking in much else in the way of poetic stylings or imagery besides the verse format, but then again, more vivid and detailed imagery would not be a good addition to this book about teens, given the subject matter. I was also quite bored throughout most of the book, as there is no plot beyond the boy in question and his pursuit of the three point of view characters.<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b>Professional Review:</b> From School Library Journal (2006)<br />
STONE, Tanya Lee. A Bad Boy Can Be Good for a Girl. 223p. Random/Wendy Lamb Bks. Jan. 2006. Tr $14.95. ISBN 0-385-74702-0; PLB $16.99. ISBN 0-385-90946-2.1. LC number unavailable.<br />
Gr 9 Up-Three girls succumb to the charms of one sexy high school senior and emerge wiser for the experience in this energetic novel in verse. Josie is a self-assured freshman who values her girlfriends over boys until a hot jock focuses his attention on her and her simmering hormones break into a full boil. Confused by her behavior, yet unable to control her desire, she acts out every romantic cliché she has ever disdained, until the boy drops her and she experiences the chill of rejection. It is Judy Blume's <i>Forever</i> that sparks Josie's fire again, and finding a few blank pages at the back of the library's copy, she sends a warning to the girls of her school. Next readers meet Nicolette, a junior who sees her sexuality as power. A loner, she's caught by surprise at her own reaction when this popular boy takes notice of her. Suddenly she thinks she sees the difference between sex and love, and then, just as suddenly, he's gone. Finally, Aviva, a pretty, smart, artsy, and funny senior, is stunned when the jock seems to want her. She gives up her virginity, only to be disappointed in both the sex and the boy. Furious, Aviva heads to the library to check out Forever, now crammed with the words of girls who suffered the same fate at the hands of the same boy. The free verse gives the stories a breathless, natural flow and changes tone with each narrator. The language is realistic and frank, and, while not graphic, it is filled with descriptions of the teens and their sexuality. This is not a book that will sit quietly on any shelf; it will be passed from girl to girl to girl.-Susan Oliver, Tampa-Hillsborough Public Library System, FL</blockquote>
<b>Library Uses:</b> Aside from potential discussions for banned book week, this could be useful for an older teen program about growing up and/or sexuality. It could also be useful for a teen girl program about some of the risks in dating and boys. Those uses could potentially run into problems of the sort that try to ban the book in the first place.<br />
The best use for this book, I think, would be a program for parents, a discussion about what things are really like for teens and how they can help them navigate the ‘rapids’ of life.<br />
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<b>Readalikes:</b> Given that the book itself references the book many times, <i>Forever</i> by Judy Blume is an obvious suggestion for teens who read this book. Jenny Han’s <i>To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before</i> has a similar theme, and I actually would recommend <i>Twilight</i> as something of a counterpoint to the book, with a bit more old-fashioned idea of dating… sort of.<br />
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<b>References</b><br />
Stone, T. L. (2006). A Bad Boy Can Be Good for a Girl. New York, NY: Random House Inc.<br />
Oliver, S. (2006). A bad boy can be good for a girl. School Library Journal, 52(1), 144. Retrieved from <a href="https://libproxy.library.unt.edu/login?url=https://libproxy.library.unt.edu:2165/docview/211819297?accountid=7113">https://libproxy.library.unt.edu/login?url=https://libproxy.library.unt.edu:2165/docview/211819297?accountid=7113</a></div>
chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17574969300905906532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4934487773490396103.post-47565986554745956672017-12-04T22:02:00.000-07:002017-12-04T22:02:12.811-07:00Jared's Book Reviews: "The Adventures of Captain Underpants" by Dav Pilkey - Module 13 Series Books<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxkAJGAf60Z8MixP-Pkh-qm7pYnZm0lG_gOi16S25qhyphenhyphenXr-_82iUewSwbnatGRo9nzdZ7-hrJOc4g0jvIZ2-FSUsOfyNCFo4PnoRRpFez25p2TKBQdd75k1P_GmD49QUaF-V3Zqt_dWKKb/s1600/captain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1066" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxkAJGAf60Z8MixP-Pkh-qm7pYnZm0lG_gOi16S25qhyphenhyphenXr-_82iUewSwbnatGRo9nzdZ7-hrJOc4g0jvIZ2-FSUsOfyNCFo4PnoRRpFez25p2TKBQdd75k1P_GmD49QUaF-V3Zqt_dWKKb/s320/captain.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<b>Genre:</b> <i>The Adventures of Captain Underpants</i> (Pilkey, 1997) is an illustrated series book, very episodic in nature, with characters and general plots that don’t change much from book to book. Two prank prone boys, a mean principal who is hypnotized to think he is a superhero, and truly outlandish (and silly) plots to take over/destroy the planet by the even sillier super villains. So very predictable and relaxing/comfortable for readers.<br />
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<b>Book Summary:</b> <i>The Adventures of Captain Underpants</i> is a rather silly story of a pair of 4th graders who illustrate/write comics when they aren’t pulling pranks. Their principle hates them, and after recording them pranking almost the whole school at the big football game he blackmails them into being good and doing chores for him.<br />
Their brilliant plan to get out of this is to buy a hypno-ring and get the video away from him. Only, in the process, they make him think he is their superhero creation Captain Underpants. Before they can undo the hypnosis he runs off to foil actual crimes, and the pair follow to try to keep themselves from getting into more trouble.<br />
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<b>Impressions:</b> I honestly don’t get why this book is so often challenged/banned. Sure the humor is juvenile… but it is a juvenile book. The most offensive thing in it is a bit of potty humor. Maybe an argument could be made that the prank prone duo are bad role models, but that is rather weak given it is supposed to be comedy not serious.<br />
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<b>Professional Review:</b> From Publishers Weekly (2017)<br />Few things command disrespect like the sight of a man wearing whitie-tighties. However, the bald and barefoot Captain Underpants happens to be a superhero. As one character notes, ""Most superheroes look like they're flying around in their underwear....Well, this guy actually is flying around in his underwear!"" The Captain, defender of ""Truth, Justice, and all that is Pre-Shrunk and Cottony,"" is the comic-book invention of two troublemaking fourth-graders, George and Harold. He comes to life after the boys use a mail-order device to hypnotize their diabolical school principal, who sheds his outergarments and battles crime in only a cape and Y-fronts. As his creators try to snap him out of the trance, Captain Underpants threatens bank robbers with ""Wedgie Power"" and foils the villainous Dr. Diaper ("" `You know,' said George, `up until now this story was almost believable' ""). Pilkey (Dog Breath) uses a sitcom-like formula to set up the rivalry between the boys and the principal, and to strip the authority figure of dignity. After a tepid exposition, he falls back on the notion that undies and mild bathroom humor are funny in themselves-- and, given his intended audience, he's probably right. Line drawings of the slapstick action appear on every page, and ""Flip-O-Rama"" climactic sequences create an agreeably corny ""motion-picture"" effect. But the lowbrow jokes (the Captain uses an elastic waistband to apprehend an evildoer) chiefly constitute this tale's harmless, non-gross appeal. Ages 8-12. </blockquote>
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<b>Library Uses:</b> The obvious use here would be as part of a discussion about why books get banned, and how we as librarians react to attempts at censorship. It could actually also be used as in a program about bullying, with focus being on the other kids reactions to the string of pranks the kids pull in the first part of the book.<br />
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<b>Readalikes:</b> Some similar books are almost too obvious – <i>the Fantastic Fart Brothers Save the World!</i> Comes to mind, along with other intentionally gross-out funny books. <i>Trapped in a Video Game</i> could be a good choice as well, the humor is different but it fits in that same area of books that specifically appeal to boys. For some kids who like <i>Captain Underpants</i> I might recommend <i>Axe Cop</i>, which is a graphic novel series written by a (then) five-year old and drawn by his older brother. Despite being written by a very young boy the level of violence in the graphic novels could be too much for the youngest readers of Captain Underpants.<br />
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<b>References</b><br />
Pilkey, D. (1997). The Adventures of Captain Underpants. New York, NY: Scholastic Inc.<br />
Publishers Weekly. (2017). The Adventures of Captain Underpants. [Review of the book The Adventures of Captain Underpants]. PWxyz, LLC. Retrieved from <a href="https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-590-84627-1">https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-590-84627-1</a><br />
<br /></div>
chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17574969300905906532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4934487773490396103.post-83318476082438969432017-12-04T21:58:00.000-07:002017-12-04T22:02:49.168-07:00Jared's Book Reviews: "Hip-Pocket Papa" by Sandra Markle - Module 11 Informational Books<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA4RFbXcad6tkBKSLhZhA8xIx8VPZrX2kT-HMrmVbMo2qOdgsX_8haiJPvBrri-P1hl5KwWU8i6fATuk5h3MteR4CPKhnQsckZZRBwnNjDh3I9V5r43Uao8WN1KQekoexLsxGYwohKZkOI/s1600/hip+pocket.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="387" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA4RFbXcad6tkBKSLhZhA8xIx8VPZrX2kT-HMrmVbMo2qOdgsX_8haiJPvBrri-P1hl5KwWU8i6fATuk5h3MteR4CPKhnQsckZZRBwnNjDh3I9V5r43Uao8WN1KQekoexLsxGYwohKZkOI/s320/hip+pocket.jpg" width="247" /></a></div>
<b>Genre:</b> <i>Hip-Pocket Papa</i> (Markle, 2010) is an informational book about the life-cycle of Hip-Pocket Frogs, who life in the rainforests of Australia and have the interesting adaptation that the tadpoles are carried around by the father in the titular hip-pockets. As an informational book it presents information foremost, though the narrative is not that of a single real frog, but a compilation of normal and potential occurrences for an average member of the species.<br />
<br />
<b>Book Summary:</b> <i>Hip-Pocket Papa</i> follows a single male frog from just after he has mated and the eggs are hidden beneath the leaves on the forest floor until the frog deposits the newly transformed froglets onto the damp banks of a stream where they can find prey. Encounters with predators are also included, and some issues with it being a particularly dry season.<br />
<br />
<b>Impressions:</b> While I would have liked to have seen a bit more detail on how the hip-pockets actually work, the narrative is delightful and informative, with a look as a really unusual creature and how it raises offspring.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b>Professional Review:</b> From Kirkus Reviews (2017)<br />
Building on the appealing notion of nurturing fathers, Markle and Marks present this tiny Australian frog in the context of its natural environment. Both male and female hip-pocket frogs guard their developing eggs, but after they’ve hatched, the male keeps his tadpoles safe in hip pockets until they have used up their yolks and developed lungs. The poetic text follows one male journeying to a new and wetter home, describing the creatures he eats and those that want to eat him along the way. Without explicitly using the phrase, she even offers an example of the food chain: A quoll catches the dusky antechinus hunting the frog. These and other Australian animals from the story are further described in an animal glossary at the end. The detailed, realistic watercolor-and-pencil illustrations, mostly double-page spreads, provide a frog’s-eye view of the shadowy forest floor, pulling out to show predators overhead and, once, for a panorama of the temperate rainforest. This intriguing, informative introduction is a worthy successor to the team’s Finding Home (2008). (author’s note, facts, further sources) (Informational picture book. 5-8)</blockquote>
<b>Library Uses:</b> Any unit on frogs could benefit from this book, or a STEM program about unusual animals. (Or Australian animals, which has a lot of overlap) Spring programing could also be the setting for using this book, the circle of life/life-cycles, baby animals, etc.<br />
<br />
<b>Readalikes:</b> For readers interested in informational books about animals, a good place to start is the <i>Zoobooks</i> magazines, while readers more after books about frogs – fictional or not – would appreciate <i>the Frog and Toad</i> series by Arnold Lobel, or even the <i>Commander Toad</i> series by Jane Yolen. <i>Weird Frogs</i> by Chris G. Early could also be a good pick, given that hip-pocket frogs are rather unusual, as frogs go.<br />
<br />
References<br />
Kirkus Reviews. (2017). Hip-Pocket Papa. [Review of the book Hip-Pocket Papa]. Kirkus Media, LLC. Retrieved from <a href="https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/sandra-markle/hip-pocket-papa/">https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/sandra-markle/hip-pocket-papa/</a><br />
Markle, S. (2010). Hip-Pocket Papa. Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge Publishing.<br />
<br /></div>
chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17574969300905906532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4934487773490396103.post-28684935499808345992017-10-15T21:23:00.003-06:002017-10-16T22:46:21.090-06:00Jared's Book Reviews: 'Brian's Winter' by Gary Paulsen<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnIA8LM0UQyLaynwhSl85Bc4phCFIwU-sIQ0kx-cTOe40pmti0EXAIOIc7bKbX7qBswYrKNpzY1u7L6cKTERvTyMAd9A4V0YS1zQpmp2rJ_VuXC4OJCthrH1Q5PzE3_pRjxFn-0p9lh58u/s1600/brians+winter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="260" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnIA8LM0UQyLaynwhSl85Bc4phCFIwU-sIQ0kx-cTOe40pmti0EXAIOIc7bKbX7qBswYrKNpzY1u7L6cKTERvTyMAd9A4V0YS1zQpmp2rJ_VuXC4OJCthrH1Q5PzE3_pRjxFn-0p9lh58u/s320/brians+winter.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Title:</b><i> Brian’s Winter</i>
Realistic Fiction<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Genre:</b> <i>Brian’s Winter</i>
(Paulsen, 1996) is certainly a great example of ‘Realistic Fiction,’ though the
events involved are hardly commonplace events for modern they are painstakingly
kept as real as possible, and the facts and methods of the survival techniques
Brian has to use or reinvent are deeply rooted in real practices. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Book Summary:</b> While I had read Hatchet many times as a child
I wasn’t aware this book even existed until I saw it on the reading list. Now having
read it I think it is actually the better ending to the original book – Brian
is not rescued during the summertime, but has to survive a harsh Canadian
winter with only his new skills and a few tools to survive, including having to
make more powerful weapons to hunt and defend himself with, learn how to make a
better shelter and clothing, and even snowshoes.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Impressions:</b> <i>Brian’s
Winter</i> is of the kind of books I wish we saw more new of in the last decade
or so. High adventure with responsible and independent (if not always by
choice) protagonists, and real problem solving skills highlighted without
sugar-coating the problems involved. It is also important in the level of
detail included about skills and tools that were commonplace among mankind for
centuries, only to be replaced by newer technology, from flint napped
arrowheads to sewing crude clothing from dried animal skins.<o:p></o:p></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<br />
<b>Professional Review:</b> From Publishers Weekly (2017)<br />
<span style="color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">First there was Hatchet, Paulsen's classic tale of a
boy's survival in the north woods after a plane crash. Then came a sequel, The
River, and, last year, Father Water, Mother Woods, a collection of
autobiographical essays introduced as the nonfiction counterpart to Hatchet.
Now Paulsen backs up and asks readers to imagine that Brian, the hero, hadn't
been rescued after all. His many fans will be only too glad to comply,
revisiting Brian at the onset of a punishing Canadian winter. The pace never
relents-the story begins, as it were, in the middle, with Brian already toughened
up and his reflexes primed for crisis. Paulsen serves up one cliffhanger after
another (a marauding bear, a charging elk), and always there are the supreme
challenges of obtaining food and protection against the cold. Authoritative
narration makes it easy for readers to join Brian vicariously as he wields his
hatchet to whittle arrows and arrowheads and a lance, hunts game, and devises
clothes out of animal skins; while teasers at the ends of chapters keep the
tension high (``He would hunt big tomorrow, he thought.... But as it happened
he very nearly never hunted again''). The moral of the story: it pays to write
your favorite author and ask for another helping. Ages 12-up.</span></blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #333333;"><b>Library Uses:</b> </span><i>Brian’s Winter</i><span style="background: white; color: #333333;"> is a short enough novel that it would be perfect for a ‘boys
adventure club’ setting, essentially an older storytime like event, perhaps
read in monthly installments over the course of an actual winter. It would work
better if the boys had read Hatchet first, or at least knew what it was about,
but then, that could just be made part of the program – start with Hatchet in
the Spring/Summer, and read both across the year, along with activities tied
into the events of the book, like crafts to make paper bag ‘leather’ or have
demonstrations of arrowhead making, things of that nature.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Readalikes:</b> <i>Brian’s
Winter</i> is part of a fairly broad category of adventure/survival stories
which seems to have peaked a couple decades ago, though it has roots going back
much farther. Jack London’s <i>The Call of
the Wild</i> or <i>White Fang</i> would be
good companion books, or <i>My Side of the
Mountain</i> by Jean Craighead George. While it is somewhat thematically
different <i>Julie of the Wolves</i> would
also be a good choice, also by Jean Craighead George.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>References</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
Paulsen, G. (1996). <i>Brian’s Winter</i>. New York, NY: Dell
Laurel-Leaf.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
Publishers Weekly. (2017). Brian’s
Winter. [Review of the book <i>Brian’s
Winter</i>]. <i>PWxyz, LLC</i>. Retrieved
from <a href="https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-385-32198-3">https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-385-32198-3</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17574969300905906532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4934487773490396103.post-18838724287736671812017-10-15T21:20:00.000-06:002017-10-15T21:23:54.899-06:00Jared's Book Reviews: 'A Penguin Story' by Antoinette Portis<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizm6knLop7LsftSncUcqSwSaCJAn2JBrUP2URz5jF1SrVfdlDVJ5ChhodvUIgxMMnU_aTvhwxuq2vwY8aolzZZEwp1EKwplUn8Z2OBvyUYJLVi6iYjDUlaF0Ir1f7X8I64Ml3Z0a2voHWq/s1600/a+penguin+story.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1190" data-original-width="1440" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizm6knLop7LsftSncUcqSwSaCJAn2JBrUP2URz5jF1SrVfdlDVJ5ChhodvUIgxMMnU_aTvhwxuq2vwY8aolzZZEwp1EKwplUn8Z2OBvyUYJLVi6iYjDUlaF0Ir1f7X8I64Ml3Z0a2voHWq/s320/a+penguin+story.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Title:</b><i> A Penguin Story</i> Picture
Books<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Genre:</b> <i>A Penguin Story</i> (Portis,
2009) is a very good example of a picture book, one with a story and
interesting characters, but where the illustrations – and here specifically the
colors of the illustrations – take center stage, with a level of detail that is
easy to miss at first glance.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Book Summary:</b> This book is a charming and cute story about a
penguin wondering if there is anything in the world that isn’t white, black, or
blue, and her journey to find out, at last coming across a scientific
expedition filled with orange things, which she shares with her flock.<o:p></o:p><br />
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Impressions:</b> <i>A Penguin Story</i>
is simplistic on the surface – most of the book is done in three colors, white,
black, and blue, with orange (or any other color really) being the quest of the
main character. Despite the limited palate the illustrations are detailed and
pretty, of particular note the page with the few words ‘Blue, blue, blue.
Forever.’ with a vast sea beyond the white cliffs, in a very deep blue speckled
with lighter blue throughout. Aside from the story itself, it is a useful and
thought provoking look into what we see around us, and what other colors there
are out there. Depending on where the reader is, it could start a hunt for what
colors are rare in their surroundings – browns in the city, while (as an
example) out at the family ranch brown is everywhere and more vibrant colors
like orange or purple absent. Whatever the local colors, the book is sure to
make the attentive reader stop and really look at their surroundings again,
rather than just recognizing them.<o:p></o:p></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<br />
<b>Professional Review: </b>From Publishers Weekly (2017)<br />
<span style="color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Edna the penguin yearns for something more
stimulating than a minimalist horizon. The endless white of snow and ice, the
black of the night sky and the “Blue, blue, blue. Forever” of the sky and ocean
only increase her ennui. Readers know alternatives exist because a
sunset-orange seaplane goes by when Edna’s back is turned; brilliant green and
orange endpapers, too, contrast with the limited palette and blocky
compositions. Edna treks over icebergs to a revelatory destination, then brings
her brood to meet a friendly human expedition camping in ambulance-orange domes
and wearing matching jumpsuits; she proudly waddles home with a souvenir orange
rubber glove. Portis (<em><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Not a Box</span></em> )
celebrates those who long for art and, with her own playful rendering, she
inspires readers to celebrate, too. Ages 4–8.</span></blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #333333;"><b>Library Uses:</b> <i>A Penguin Story</i> would be very useful in a storytime setting,
especially ones with themes of color, animals, or winter, and would also be
useful for an art program, specifically one challenging the participants to
make a painting with only a few base colors and shades thereof.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Readalikes:</b> <i>A Book With No
Pictures</i> could be an interesting comparison book, playing off of the mostly
limited palate of <i>A Penguin Book </i>in
an even more severe way. <i>365 Penguins</i>
is another fun book featuring penguins, and even a similar black, white, and
orange color scheme, though is more about math than colors. <i>Penguin and Pumpkin</i> (along with others
of the series) is another fun and pretty book about adventurous penguins seeking
something beyond the ice – in this case, Fall.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>References</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Portis, A. (2009).
<i>A Penguin Story</i>. New York, NY: HarperCollins
Children’s Books.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
Publishers Weekly. (2017). A Penguin
Story. [Review of the book <i>A Penguin
Story</i>]. <i>PWxyz, LLC</i>. Retrieved
from <a href="https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-06-145688-6">https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-06-145688-6</a><o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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</div>
chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17574969300905906532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4934487773490396103.post-75557401922613158912017-10-14T15:06:00.000-06:002017-10-14T15:06:02.237-06:00One Of These Things Is Not Like The Other<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<b>Review/Recap of <i>Once Upon a Time</i> Episode 7.02 "A Pirate's Life" - <i>Spoilers!</i></b><br />
<i><br />
</i> <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCHk_cPQOODnf9g8LiCzKGY6TXIwroKxB8B9FVv3PZJTivuK4DT3_lhFWSyoRnHFze1IeUObYVU5PQpt605Jb-y-4jUaExZTe8Iw_r_Bup3qNwTMGSxJwgW3Cq9Wi62IPBh_keIASnbqSQ/s1600/hook+7.02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="656" data-original-width="1173" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCHk_cPQOODnf9g8LiCzKGY6TXIwroKxB8B9FVv3PZJTivuK4DT3_lhFWSyoRnHFze1IeUObYVU5PQpt605Jb-y-4jUaExZTe8Iw_r_Bup3qNwTMGSxJwgW3Cq9Wi62IPBh_keIASnbqSQ/s320/hook+7.02.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
I will FULLY accept this explanation.<br />
<br />
At the end of last season when most of the main cast took off after their contracts expired, I (and many others, I'm sure) wondered what in the crap was going to happen to Hook and Emma. I mean, they'd just had this big splashy wedding episode and it was their happily ever after and that's what the show had been building up to for six seasons... and suddenly one half of the Captain Swan ship was just... not going to be around?<br />
<br />
Unforgivable!<br />
<br />
But how to make this work?<br />
<br />
I imagine that the OUAT Writers' Room went digging in the obscurest backstory details to figure out how to dig themselves out of this hole that contract negotiations and ABC executives had unceremoniously shoved them into. And found a loophole called the Mirror... sorry, the <i>Wish </i>Universe. Remember the wish that Evil Queen!Regina made in season six that put everyone back into the Enchanted Forest and Emma wasn't the Savior and Hook was an old, fat drunken comic relief character?<br />
<br />
Yep. They brought that back. And even gave old!Hook a backstory and character and a youth lift so we could be graced with Colin O'Donoghue's rugged good looks (*<i>cough*</i> I mean, what?)<br />
<br />
So... the Hyperion Heights Hook is NOT the OG Hook. The Hook we know and love is living happily with Emma and their new pirate baby in Storybrooke awaiting the inevitable crappy direct-to-DVD Disney sequel for their kid. Instead, Officer Rogers is the Mirror... <i>Wish</i> Universe Hook.<br />
<br />
(Oh screw it - he's "Mirror Universe" Hook. I'm not bound by copyright claims for this thing.)<br />
<br />
Basically, they've given themselves a clean slate with an old character and I'm intrigued by this development. I'm also somewhat impressed by it. I thought that they'd have to shoehorn some weird retcon thing that was going to RUIN EVERYTHING... but they didn't. All because they had one seemingly-throwaway joke character that they could retool and make cool again.<br />
<br />
I approve this message.<br />
<br />
Other things I liked:<br />
- Is it just me, or did they tone down Victoria Belfrey's insane liposuction mouth? Too bad, she's still the Evil Lipmother.<br />
- Detective Rumple is the same asshole as ever... but with a heart of gold? Maybe?<br />
- All of Storybrooke's happy endings mean that Archie Hopper's therapist business isn't doing so hot... but his wedding officiating gig is booming. THAT was beautiful. Second only to Mirror Universe Hook, that was probably my favorite twist of this episode.<br />
<br />
Basically, we're back to the old formula of introducing a new character in modern day, flashbacking to their origin story in fairy-tale-world, showing how their cursed self is similar to their fairy tale self, and they're awesome. Plus, some evil queen character is always trying to ruin everyone's life.<br />
<br />
Yep. We've seen this movie before. Certain things in life never change: high school girls grow up into bitchy women, cursed fairy tale characters remember who they are in reality, and pineapple on pizza is the greatest ever.<br />
<br />
(I will fight anyone on that last bit.)<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fOaNKcHvX2A" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br /></div>
chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17574969300905906532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4934487773490396103.post-53159901453440761362017-10-13T08:09:00.000-06:002017-10-13T08:09:38.626-06:00Jared's Book Reviews: 'Los Gatos Black on Halloween' by Marisa Montes<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSvp5eUPtzDdVYSsft9QX4HwZ15Xeyq09hBaEy61tApQ44-43MP-dzkjbYL-NMQoTbh-0wpgj0-4J3lcINaX6olgcbUDLfzb6PS6TMJBNDHwsVv6krc20JVjjbssUU2fUbT15kM-qns8hW/s1600/los+gatos+black.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1247" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSvp5eUPtzDdVYSsft9QX4HwZ15Xeyq09hBaEy61tApQ44-43MP-dzkjbYL-NMQoTbh-0wpgj0-4J3lcINaX6olgcbUDLfzb6PS6TMJBNDHwsVv6krc20JVjjbssUU2fUbT15kM-qns8hW/s320/los+gatos+black.jpg" width="249" /></a></div>
<b>Title:</b> <i>Los Gatos Black on Halloween</i> Other Award Winners<br />
<br />
<b>Genre:</b> <i>Los Gatos Black on Halloween</i> (2006) is a lovely example of the Belpre Award winners, a very good book in its own right with a very strong Hispanic influence, both in the art, the content, and the word choices.<br />
<br />
<b>Book Summary:</b> The book is a very cute rhyming picture book about Halloween and El Día de los Muertos, drawing on imagery from both such as black cats, the dead rising, witches, and other monsters and spooky things, ending humorously with the monsters being scared away by trick-or-treaters.<br />
<br />
<b>Impressions:</b> I am really looking forward to using this one in a couple weeks for my storytime. The art is beautiful, drawing on a variety of styles and influences from Mexico and the US, and very intricate with small details for the children to discover. (My favorite is the vampire trying to fix his hair in a mirror he doesn’t appear in) The rhyming is well done, with Spanish words peppered throughout along with the English equivalent (or near enough) in the same couplet to ease understanding in the readers who aren’t bilingual, and overall it is simply a charming book that will draw the kids in and their parents.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b>Professional Review:</b> From Publishers Weekly (2017)<br />
Halloween and the Day of the Dead overlap in this atmospheric, bilingual romp. Montes (Juan Bobo Goes to Work) composes serviceable stanzas, using English and Spanish words as synonyms: "Los gatos black with eyes of green,/ Cats slink and creep on Halloween." This dual-language approach can be redundant ("At medianoche midnight strikes..."), yet Morales (Harvesting Hope ) holds readers' attention with surreal, faintly macabre spreads in dim turquoise and clay-brown hues, illuminated by fuschia and flame orange. Witches fly broomsticks like skateboard whizzes, a headstone references Mexican comic Cantinflas and sallow-faced muertos dance until children arrive: "The thing that monsters most abhor/ Are human niños at the door!" Ages 4-8. </blockquote>
<br />
<b>Library Uses:</b> <i>Los Gatos Black on Halloween</i> is perfect for the bilingual storytimes I do. It is mostly in English, but with enough Spanish to be educational and interesting, and it even repeats the words used in Spanish in the same couplet in Spanish to help with recognition. <br />
<br />
<b>Readalikes:</b> This book would go well with other spooky picture books, both for Halloween and el Día de los Muertos. Some classics like <i>The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything</i> would be a good choice, or other bilingual books like <i>The Day of the Dead / El Día De Lost Muertos</i>, as well as any number of series books with a book about Halloween, such as Clifford’s Halloween.<br />
<br />
<b>References</b><br />
Montes, M. (2006). Los Gatos Black on Halloween. New York, NY: Square Fish.<br />
Publishers Weekly. (2017). Los Gatos Black on Halloween. [Review of the book Los Gatos Black on Halloween]. PWxyz, LLC. Retrieved from <a href="https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-8050-7429-1">https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-8050-7429-1</a><br />
<br /></div>
chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17574969300905906532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4934487773490396103.post-855022322016510482017-10-10T17:50:00.002-06:002017-10-10T18:04:41.095-06:00Jared's Book Reviews: 'The Whipping Boy' by Sid Fleischman<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b>Title:</b> <i>The Whipping Boy</i> Newbery Winners<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Genre:</b> <i>The Whipping Boy</i> (Fleischman, 1986) is one of the older Newbery books I read, and that my library carries, but still one of the more commonly read. I vaguely recall reading it before, years ago, and, given my strong belief that we as librarians need to do more to encourage boys to read, I thought I’d look again at the Newbery book most likely to be read by boys – what might be the shortest one.<br />
<br />
<b>Book Summary:</b> The prince is a massive brat, but, being a prince, he can’t be punished with even so much as a mild spanking. So, in a bit of logic that escapes the author and readers alike, a commoner boy is chosen to receive them for the prince. When the prince decides to run away he insists the Whipping Boy go with him, and he, for his part, sees it as a chance to escape the constant whippings.<br />
They quickly fall into trouble with a pair of highwayman, a potato seller, and a girl with a dancing bear. Throughout it all is the Whipping Boy, with more knowledge of the outside world and things like reading and writing than the Prince, to try and keep them safe, while the Prince slowly learns a thing or two, and ultimately manages to be of some use.<br />
<br />
<b>Impressions:</b> <i>The Whipping Boy</i> is a very interesting book, in part because I don’t really think it would be published today, much less win the Newbery. That isn’t to say it is a bad book, not at all, I quite liked it and it certainly tells a fine story. But compare it to the honor book from the following year – <i>Hatchet</i> by Gary Paulsen, and, well, the comparison is not favorable.<br />
Then again, I don’t even recognize the honor books from that year, so perhaps it was simply not a particularly good year for children’s literature.<br />
It does manage to do well what I hoped it would – tell a story that boys would enjoy and relate with. Both Jeremy and the Prince have traits and thoughts that would resonate with most boys – the unfairness of life, the feeling that your parents are ignoring you, and the like, simply turned up to eleven and made much more visible, especially the unfairness of life for the poor Whipping Boy.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b>Professional Review:</b> From Publishers Weekly (2017)<br />
With his flair for persuading readers to believe in the ridiculous, Fleischman scores a hit with his new creation. Sis's skillful pictures emphasize events in the adventures of the orphan Jemmy, kept in his king's palace to be thrashed for the offenses committed by the royal heir, known as Prince Brat. It is forbidden to punish Brat, whose tricks multiply until Jemmy is tempted to escape the daily round of flogging. But the prince himself takes off and forces the whipping boy to go with him. As they get into and out of trouble on the outside, Jemmy hears that he has been accused of abducting Brat. When the prince arranges for their return to the palace, poor Jemmy fears the worst, but things turn out for the best at the story's satisfying close. Colorful types like a thief called Hold-Your-Nose Billy, Betsy and her dancing bear Petunia, et al., increase the fun. (7-11)</blockquote>
<b>Library Uses:</b> <i>The Whipping Boy</i> would actually be of use for storytimes, despite the older audience, because it is short enough that it could be read over only a few consecutive storytimes. With something visual added on – felt board, puppets, something like that – it could do a good job of keeping the kids’ attention and serve as an introduction to chapter books.<br />
<br />
<b>Readalikes:</b> Books like <i>Weasel</i> by Cynthia DeFelice is another I would recommend. While the setting is frontier rather than medieval, it has a similar feel of adventure to it. Other possibilities would be Jack London’s books, or perhaps Lloyd Alexander’s <i>Book of the Three</i>, with a protagonist who is quite humble in his origins like Jeremy is.<br />
<br />
<b>References</b><br />
Publishers Weekly. (2017). The Whipping Boy. [Review of the book The Whipping Boy]. PWxyz, LLC. Retrieved from <a href="https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-688-06216-3">https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-688-06216-3</a><br />
Fleischman, S. (1986). The Whipping Boy. New York, NY: Harper Trophy.</div>
chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17574969300905906532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4934487773490396103.post-81058022922276156382017-10-07T12:10:00.000-06:002017-10-07T12:10:49.747-06:00The Highest of Heights<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Review of <i>Once Upon a Time</i> Episode 7.01 "Hyperion Heights" - <i>Spoilers!</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
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<br />
And here we are in the unnecessary extra season of <i>Once Upon a Time, </i>wherein the majority of the main cast has buggered off elsewhere and the ones who have stuck around are going to be glorified supporting characters. Thanks ABC executives... 😒<br />
<br />
<b>However</b> - I had a thought in the off-season. If the Writers' Room is smart about this, they will treat this season precisely like a spin-off. They've had one OUAT spin-off before, so why not call this "The Adventures of Henry Mills" or something like that? If that's how this goes, this may actually work. It's not a reboot or a remake, it's it own thing. Until I'm told otherwise (and you'd <i>better</i> not tell me otherwise), that is how I'm going to enjoy this.<br />
<br />
So, without further ado (and before Tiny gets really mad at me for putting him down mid-nap), here are my thoughts on this premiere episode.<br />
<br />
A city without magic. Seattle. Depressing as hell. This curse does <i>not</i> mess around. As evidenced by grown-up Henry making his living as an off-brand Uber driver in this unwashed hipster paradise. At least Emma had been a bounty hunter when we first met her (yes, I know the show called her a "bail bonds<strike>man</strike>person. I like "bounty hunter" better).<br />
<br />
But the family with the Mickey ears, presumably coming back from a trip to Disneyland. Nice touch.<br />
<br />
I am never going to be able to see Victoria Belfrey as anything more than her lips. It's uncanny valley levels of Just So Wrong. They aren't even like, say, Steven Tyler's lips where it's just a quirky part of his character and appearance. It doesn't even look like they belong on her face. I know I'm spending a lot of time going on about this woman's lips but, <i>dayum lady</i>. Fire your plastic surgeon, like, yesterday.<br />
<br />
Regina/Roni is the Granny of this season. Except instead of serving questionable lasagna, we've upgraded to an establishment with Actual Liquor. Well... call this the "Grown Up" season of OUAT. I'm fine with it. Especially if Roni keeps smacking down the Evil Lipmother like that. The booze must flow.<br />
<br />
Henry lamenting that he's in none of the fairy tale stories - well, duh kid. You're the <i>reader </i>of these tales. You're the person who encounters the stories and gives them life within your imagination (he's also the Author - but readers often become authors later on). Arguably, you're the most important person in these tales.<br />
<br />
Lucy Mills (she's Henry's daughter, so I'm calling her that) is stinking adorable. She could have been reduced to nothing more than a female version of young Henry from season 1, but she has her own character and personality. I'm not entirely sold on Jacinda <i>yet</i> (nor her Cinderella version), but it's only been one episode. I'm willing to give it a try.<br />
<br />
Captain Hook as a police officer. :D :D :D Yes, please! Also - making Rumple his detective partner is going to be FUN. #HereForIt<br />
<br />
The spawn of the Evil Lipmother is going to regret letting "Officer Rogers" (I see what you did there) keep Lucy's <i>Once Upon a Time </i>book. Calling it now. (And a tear for the picture of Emma in the book...)<br />
<br />
Alice getting pissed that people only remember her for her one crazy trip to Wonderland was beautiful. I like this character already.<br />
<br />
One last thing - how does Henry's motorcycle <i>and</i> cell phone still work in the Enchanted Forest? (Or wherever the heck he is.) I'll accept fairy magic as an explanation, but I <i>want</i> an explanation.<br />
<br />
Those are my disjointed thoughts, and just in time too. Tiny is getting <i>really</i> mad at me, so I need to go (blogging with an infant is going to be interesting).</div>
chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17574969300905906532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4934487773490396103.post-13946032753706947312017-10-06T22:26:00.003-06:002017-10-06T22:26:53.508-06:00A Return to Form - Part 2<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
When I said "shortly," I wasn't kidding. This section of my story is less... fluffy. And it is certain to piss everyone off.<br />
<br />
*cracks knuckles* Let's do this thing...<br />
<br />
***<br />
Alex was born early on a Saturday morning. We didn't leave the hospital until Wednesday afternoon-almost-evening. We stayed at the hospital until Alex was discharged. I had already been released, but they let us stay in a room while Alex was monitored. Tuesday is when I got the email that I'd been let go from my job.<br />
<br />
I think I knew it was coming, but I didn't want to believe it when I thought about it. I thought I was just being paranoid or thinking up too many worst-case scenarios. But the fact of the matter is that the website I used to write for was getting hammered over the past few months. Traffic was down a lot and it was a struggle to get readers on the site. My posts in particular were not bringing in the readers like they'd done before. I couldn't begin to tell you why. Of course, my ability to write click-baity titles and attractive Facebook teases was never great to start with. And I'm not particularly good at writing posts revolving around celebrity gossip, which seemed to be the biggest draw on the site. Well, I could <i>write</i> them. Anyone can take to their keyboard and plunk out words in a certain order.<br />
<br />
But here's the dirty secret about writing - if you-the-writer isn't interested in the topic, it's near impossible to make your readers interested in it. I'm sure some writers can BS their way through sincerity, but that was never a talent I cultivated in myself. For me, writing has always been about talking about things I'm interested in. Nobody else could give a flying flea fart about a topic, but I would write the hell out of it. That happened frequently with this job. I would get all worked up over certain posts and spend a lot of time carefully putting together my arguments and researching the information. But it seemed the more work I put into those posts, the fewer people would actually read them - according to Google Analytics, anyway. When a post that I worked hard on fell flatter than a pancake, someone else would have to quickly post something involving boobs to resurrect the numbers for the hour. Such incidents didn't do much for my confidence in myself as a writer.<br />
<br />
The dumb thing is that the people who <i>did</i> read it would leave thoughtful and complimentary feedback about what I'd written. So I knew that what I was putting out was quality stuff. But the audience for quality commentary regarding politics and culture were few and far between. Let's face it - our nation is full of immature frat boys and girls (in fact, I would hazard to say that the female commenters on the website were more vulgar and hateful than the males. That's another subject I'll want to cover later).<br />
<br />
So, yes - there were certain aspects of pop culture that I was good at, but clearly our audience was not interested in the latest swat of censorship on college campuses or stupidity coming from the "political message first, story and characters never" movement in much of entertainment these days. But a story about Kim Kardashian's boobs? Yep. That generated traffic like nobody's business.<br />
<br />
That, and the fact that people are just sick of politics. I can't blame them, either. The utter tantrum that political junkies have been throwing... well, you've probably seen it. It's been ridiculous. It's like, yes my preferred candidate has lost before and I've felt like it was the end of the world. But the current strife been going on for so long and the rest of us are all "Seriously? Get over it. You told us to get over it and shoved your win in our faces. Grow up already."<br />
<br />
The stupid thing is that I don't particularly even like how things turned out. Then again, the candidate(s) I liked lost in the primaries and I was pissed about the choices we had. As much of a political junkie as I can be, 2016 was the year I became disillusioned with it all. And I couldn't even say anything because I had to stick with the image of the site that I was working for. But I actually registered as an independent and voted third party last year. And you all can chew me out for my actions all you like and proclaim that it's my fault that *insert event that you are convinced will utterly destroy the universe, or at least our own galaxy* -<br />
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<br />
Sorry if the bad language offends you. But you can behold my field and see that it is so very barren. And I am <i>waaaaaay</i> past any idiotic guilt trips you want to send me on. Trust me. I've seen EVERYTHING. None of it has convinced me that I should regret my actions. If I have a regret, it's that I may have contributed to the discontent and division in the world today.<br />
<br />
Then again, that was happening just fine with or without my egging it on.<br />
<br />
It's an off-year politically. People who aren't constantly strung out on anger and rage at the "other side" (whatever the hell <i>that's</i> supposed to mean) are working and living their normal lives. They aren't interested in scoring cheap points on Twitter or coming up with pithy retorts to some idiotic argument that no one except some troll holed up in a basement somewhere cares about. You don't win points by winning internet arguments. Maybe there is some value in arguing with strangers online, but I've never found it. I just say what I have to say and leave it at that. Let the lemmings in the comment section duke it out amongst themselves (everyone needs a hobby).<br />
<br />
***<br />
Phew - lemme tell you how I <i>really</i> feel.<br />
<br />
It probably goes without saying that I was very upset about this development (postpartum hormones didn't help matters at the time). And I can say with confidence that I'd never seen Jared that angry about <i>anything </i>(one of the best things about my husband is how rationally he handles crises. He is certainly the level-headed one of our marriage and I adore him for it). At first, he did reach out to some of his writer friends asking if they knew of any political websites hiring or if they could connect us with people willing to at least talk to me about writing for them.<br />
<br />
But here's the thing: I was (and am) burned out on politics. It happens from time to time and I eventually get back into it - but this time feels different. Now that I've had time to think about it, I actually see that getting laid off was a blessing in disguise. I didn't like the person I was becoming while I spent so much time in the political fray. Sure, I still have many of the same opinions that I did before. But I also learned a lot about myself, the people that I <i>thought</i> I agreed with, and the whole messy business of writing polemics. Also, 2016 is the year that I lost respect for people that I used to admire (nobody who has a prayer of reading this post, I'm certain). It's like I realized how I and people like me had been used by The Powers That Be to keep their power and, you know, I really don't like it. That is something I want to cover at a later date. Trust me, I have so many thoughts to write out. And it is likely to make a lot of people mad. Many that I generally agree with, I'm sure.<br />
<br />
One thing's for sure - you don't retire from the political war without someone crying about how you're a traitor and should be drawn and quartered. Again, please see my earlier gif of Obi-Wan talking to Anakin.<br />
<br />
So, that's where I am in life. And where I think my next round of blog posts is going to be about. Because I have had so much to think about and I want to get it written out. Not just written out - because I could keep this private and to myself. But I want it out there. I know that few people of consequence are going ever see this and that's fine. This is purely for my benefit, as well as anyone who may stumble on it.<br />
<br />
I'm not interested in traditional political arguments. I'm actually going back to work for the library system I was working for when Jared and I met. I've only been out of the game for a few years and they were happy to take me back. As crazy as working with the public can be, I'm actually looking forward to it. I'll be a substitute librarian and that will afford me flexible hours and I really only need to work part-time. I will likely meet people of every stripe and creed and that's great. Some of them may be hyped up on politics and that's fine. But I'm leaving it aside for the foreseeable future. Anyone who tries to get me back into that mess will be ignored. I don't think that I'll get a ton of commenters on this blog (I've never had many), but I'm saying this right now. My blog, my house, my rules.<br />
<br />
Take your guilt trips elsewhere. I'm done. I've got an infant child to care for and a life that's far too important to be dealing with petty political squabbles that never, ever change.</div>
chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17574969300905906532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4934487773490396103.post-71563145037525630242017-10-06T22:07:00.004-06:002017-10-09T20:05:24.813-06:00Jared's Book Reviews: 'Golem' by David Wisniewski<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b>Title:</b> <i>Golem</i> Caldecott Winners<br />
<br />
<b>Genre:</b> Golem (Wisniewski, 1996) is probably my favorite Caldecott winner, (of the ones I’ve read, which is most of them at this point) and one of the most beautifully illustrated books I’ve seen period.<br />
<br />
<b>Book Summary:</b> The story itself is a haunting rendition of the <i>Golem</i> of Jewish myth – created to protect the ghetto out of clay and magic, but ultimately discarded when the fear of others for him become too much, a sad an ironic echo of the treatment of the Jews themselves far too often in history.<br />
<br />
<b>Impressions:</b> <i>Golem</i> is everything I expect out of the best Caldecott winners: Amazing art, good story, and yet be more than just a good story. It would have been easy to show Rabbi Loew as a wholly good character, sympathetic in every way, but by facing the destruction of the <i>Golem</i> as more than just putting down a tool, but ending a life, it makes the characters more real for the reader, not perfect, but still sympathetic. It would have been even easier to paint the people of Prague – the enemies of the Jews – as completely evil, but even with them there is nuance, recognition that it was driven by lies and some evil men, rather than the whole. And as for the artwork, the reason it won the Caldecott, I can’t say enough about it. Cut-paper art of this level of detail and size has to be incredibly labor intensive to make, and yet the results are absolutely worth it. If I could find a poster of the first picture of the city I would hang it on my wall.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b>Professional Review:</b> From Publishers Weekly (2017)<br />
Elaborately composed cut-paper spreads give a 3D, puppet-show-like quality to a retelling of a Jewish legend. Rabbi Loew has a prophetic vision in 1580 when the Jews of Prague are accused of mixing the blood of Christian children into matzoh: he must create a Golem, ""a giant of living clay, animated by Cabala, mystical teachings of unknown power."" Brought to life with apocalyptic explosions of steam and rain, the Golem seeks out the perpetrators of the Blood Lie and turns them over to the authorities. Thwarted, the enraged enemies of the Jews storm the gates of the ghetto, but the Golem grows to enormous height and violently defeats them with their own battering ram. Once his work is done, he pitifully (and futilely) begs the Rabbi: ""Please let me live! I did all that you asked of me! Life is so... precious... to me!"" Wisniewski (The Wave of the Sea Wolf) emphasizes the Golem's humanity and the problems with his existence; instead of reducing the legend to a tale of a magical rescuer, the author allows for its historical and emotional complexity. The fiery, crisply layered paper illustrations, portraying with equal drama and precision the ornamental architecture of Prague and the unearthly career of the Golem, match the specificity and splendor of the storytelling. An endnote about the history and influence of the legend is particularly comprehensive. Ages 6-10. (Oct.) </blockquote>
<br />
<b>Library Uses:</b> <i>Golem</i> would be a very useful book to use as part of a series of art programing, each focused on a different style of painting or illustration. Cut-paper art is a very easy style to begin with, and less messy for the library. True, something as complicated as <i>Golem</i>’s illustrations will be beyond the children, but what they can do will still look good, and be a lot of fun for the kids who are used to adding stuff on to make art (painting, coloring, etc.) rather than taking away. Also a bit easier to start with than working in stone carving.<br />
<br />
<b>Readalikes:</b> Even more so than some of the Caldecott winners I read, this book deserves to be read together with other books of immense beauty in the illustrations. David Wiesner’s books, such as <i>Tuesday</i>, make a good counterpoint. With the supernatural element another good book would be <i>Night of the Gargoyles</i>, by Eve Bunting. Finally, Mercer Mayer’s <i>The Sleeping Beauty</i> is another tale expanded from myth or legend, with gorgeous artwork of its own.<br />
<br />
References<br />
Publishers Weekly. (2017). Golem. [Review of the book Golem]. PWxyz, LLC. Retrieved from <a href="https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-395-72618-1">https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-395-72618-1</a><br />
Wisniewksi, D. (1996). Golem. New York, NY: Clarion Books.</div>
chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17574969300905906532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4934487773490396103.post-59542886913897185832017-10-04T21:41:00.001-06:002017-10-04T21:41:42.158-06:00Jared's Book Reviews: 'Frog and Toad Together' by Arnold Lobel<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b>Title:</b> <i>Frog and Toad Together</i> Classic Picture Books<br />
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<b>Genre:</b> <i>Frog and Toad Together </i>(Lobel, 1971) is one of the quintessential classics of children’s picture books for beginning readers. Beautiful artwork, good solid word choices that entertain without overwhelming or confusing new readers, and a timeless message all help give the book staying power decades after it was first published.<br />
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<b>Book Summary:</b> The book is divided into five small stories only connected with each other by setting and characters. "A List" deals with Toad writing a list of everything is his going to do that day, only to lose it in the wind and become paralyzed with indecision – how can he chase his list if chasing his list was not on the list of things to do? Frog is unable to find it and they end up falling asleep outside in the middle of the walk, which is okay with Toad, as he remembers that was the last thing on his list, so he writes that in the dirt and crosses it out. "The Garden" deals with Toad trying to plant a flower garden, and being very impatient with the rate of growth, doing many things to ‘help’ including keeping the garden company in the dark and playing music for it. He finally falls asleep, and the plants push up above the surface of the garden while he is asleep. "Cookies" might be my favorite of all Frog and Toad stories. Toad bakes cookies, and they are so good Frog and Toad cannot stop eating them. Frog puts them away – but they can just get them out again says Toad. They consider more and more elaborate things to stop from eating the cookies, until Frog just feeds them to the birds, at which point Toad goes home… to bake a cake. "Dragons and Giants" deals with Frog and Toad trying to be brave for each other, getting into some dangerous situations, telling each other they are not afraid, until they give up, run home, and hide there for some time assuring each other that they are very brave. In "The Dream," Toad dreams he is on stage, doing amazing things while Frog compliments him. Only, each time he does, Frog shrinks until he disappears, and Toad is afraid he has made Frog disappear and he will be lonely. Frog wakes Toad up and Toad is very relieved to see his friend.<br />
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<b>Impressions:</b> I’ve loved these books since I was a child, and I may even love them more now. One thing I think that we’ve been missing as a society of late is new stories of strong male friendship – the only recent mainstream example I can think of is the Lord of Rings movies with Sam and Frodo, and ultimately that is just a movie version of a much older book. Even including indie releases I can only think of one other example, a fine middle grade series by a guy I know, Gama Ray Martinez, called the Pharim War that is sort of high fantasy Harry Potter but with angels and the school is in an active volcano. It is of course entirely possible that there are many others I haven’t just heard about (I’d prefer that possibility, personally) but either way, I think they are an important type of story that we need to be exposing young boys too. (It’s important for girls too, obviously, but it feels like there are more examples there, My Little Pony being only the first to come to mind.)<br />
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Frog and Toad, I think, will remain popular as long as the medium of books lasts at all. The charm, the friendship, the silly humorous bits, it is pure storytelling that gets to some of the most fundamental aspects of our social existence as human beings.<br />
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<b>Professional Review:</b> From Kirkus Reviews (2017)<br /> <br />Five more wise and wonderful stories to reaffirm the happy truth that Frog and Toad Are Friends. Again the lovely illustrations in soft green and brown depict the pair with affectionate humor as Frog and Toad test their will power on a bowl of cookies or their shaky bravery on a snake, or wait with anxious solicitation for Toad's seeds to grow. The first story, which begins with Toad waking up and making a list of "things to do today," sets a mood of anticipation that is never disappointed; the last adds unpretentious depth with Toad's dream of his own acclaimed theatrical performance while his larger friend, seated in the audience, becomes smaller and smaller and finally vanishes altogether. Toad's alarm at this point and his relief on waking up to find that Frog is still there and "his own right size" ends the beautifully handled episode on a note of enlarged affirmation.</blockquote>
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Nothing here to add, really. Timeless books with universal themes of friendship, love, and even insecurity.<br />
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<b>Library Uses:</b> I think I would like to do a STEM program using the story "Cookies" as the basis – the goal is for the kids to do a Rube Goldberg machine to try and keep the ‘cookies’ from ‘Frog and Toad’ for as long as possible, with a prize of cookies for whoever does the best, and refreshments of cookies for everyone.<br />
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<b>Readalikes:</b> The obvious current example of a similar series is Mo Willem’s <i>Elephant and Piggie</i> books, which are very much cast in the mold of two friends who cherish and love each other… but still get into funny situations. I’d also recommend <i>Amelia Bedelia</i> easy readers because, while lacking the friendship component, has a similar silly style of humor that will appeal to children who like Frog and Toad. The third is another of my favorite series – <i>Commander Toad in Space</i>, which essentially is what would happen if you made fan fiction combining Frog and Toad with <i>Star Trek the Original Series</i>. It’s silly, it’s fun, and the friendship of Commander Toad and his crew is ultimately one of the most important parts of the series of books.<br />
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<b>References</b><br />
Kirkus Reviews. (2017). Frog and Toad Together. [Review of the book <i>Frog and Toad Together</i>]. Kirkus Media LLC. Retrieved from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/arnold-lobel/frog-and-toad-together/<br />
Lobel, A. (1971). Frog and Toad Together. New York, NY: Harper Collins.</div>
chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17574969300905906532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4934487773490396103.post-37254168899961264392017-10-03T23:23:00.001-06:002017-10-03T23:23:35.560-06:00A Return to Form - Part 1<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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"We will live by our own rules, for that is the <i>best</i> form of all!" - Captain Killian Jones, <i>Once Upon a Time</i> episode 3.05 "Good Form"</blockquote>
I think this blog is going to make another transition. Up until now, it's been mostly a review blog - reviews of TV and movies that I want to talk about (Side Note: Jared is also going to be using this for some homework he has this semester, which you might have already seen). But when I started this, the title "cj's notebook" was chosen deliberately. Lowercase initials because I think type in all caps is ugly as crap. But "notebook" because when I write in my hard copy notebooks, anything and everything goes in them. Story ideas, random thoughts, things I want to remember, tirades about things that irritate me, funny things that make me laugh, and more thoughtful moments when something hits me in the squishy, gooey center.<br />
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I've decided I want this blog to have more of that squishy gooey-ness. And maybe some more real-life moments. Good and bad. And what better time than after I officially become a mom.<br />
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Yes, the timing of this is no coincidence. I mentioned some time ago that I was expecting a baby. Well, Tiny made his grand appearance roughly seven weeks ago -<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yes, he has a Baby Groot.</td></tr>
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Needless to say, life has changed dramatically. That's one of the biggest "Well, <i>duh</i>" statements I could make. Even people who don't have kids of their own recognize this. I knew things were going to change. What I didn't expect was <i>how </i>drastically things were going to change. And not all in good ways. But from opposition comes self-reflection, and that's the story I'm going to tell.<br />
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I'm just going to say it: If you don't want to hear my childbirth story, you probably want to turn back right now. I'll try to soften the gory details, but to appreciate this experience I have to share as much as I can. Sorry if that upsets you.<br />
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Tiny's due date was August 3. August 3rd came... and then it went. A week later, my doctor had planned to induce me no later than a week overdue. The night of August 10, I was admitted to the hospital and they induced labor. The plan was to have the baby on the 11th. But - after the <i>gloriousness</i> of Saint Epidural (I'm telling you, epidurals are God's gift to women) - I slept for most of the 11th. They even had to increase the medication because labor wasn't progressing as it should. At one point, having a C-section was seriously discussed and <i>that</i> made me want to crawl into a hole somewhere (well, I would have if I'd had use of my legs).<br />
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By midnight on the 12th, I was ready to push. Which I did for about 3-4 hours. And still nothing. By the time my doctor was called in, I'd been in labor for more than 30 hours. My doctor gave us a few options to try before I would <i>have</i> to be prepped for a C-section. We tried one and at 5:24 am on August 12, Alex was born.<br />
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And the boy was BIG. Ten pounds, fourteen ounces. Which explained why he had such a hard time being born. Also, when he was finally born, his exit from the womb caused me some severe injuries and bleeding. (This is the squicky part, FYI.) I lost a liter of blood, my blood pressure dropped like a rock, I turned pale, and I had to be put on oxygen. The stupid thing about this part? I was still drugged up like crazy, so I couldn't feel anything. I had no clue that I was in so much trouble. All I wanted was to see my baby and make sure he was okay.<br />
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Well, depends on how you define "okay." Because his breathing was really fast and his blood sugar was really low. He needed to eat, but he couldn't take anything by mouth because there was a risk that he would inhale it and choke. I got to hold him for about an hour before they whisked him off to the nursery to be checked out. Which is where he stayed for several days afterwards. He was on oxygen and an IV and a bunch of other sensors the likes of which I'd seen in the NICU after my triplet nieces were born back in May. While Alex was <i>not </i>in the NICU, he did have to be continuously monitored because of the rough delivery. Poor kid's face was swollen, he had bruises from the delivery, and jaundice set in pretty quick.<br />
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But I didn't know that immediately. I was left with an oxygen mask on my face, exhausted, and with nurses scrambling around me back and forth (NOTE: I have to say that all of the nurses that worked with me and Alex while we were in the hospital were amazing. Not only were they professional and caring, but they went out of their way to make sure I felt like a human being. Given how long we ended up staying in the hospital, I can't overstate how much I appreciated everything they did for us.) It was a few hours before I got to see Alex. And I was a wreck. Once they removed the epidural tube-thingy and the drugs started to wear off, I could feel how much pain I was in. I could barely walk the five feet from my bed to the bathroom in the recovery room. Just standing up nearly wiped me out. The first time I went to see Alex in the nursery, I had to be taken in a wheelchair.<br />
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It kind of sucked.<br />
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Also, we couldn't have a lot of visitors. Because Alex was in the nursery, only his parents and grandparents were allowed to see him. Aunts, uncles, cousins, friends - nope. None of them could see him in the hospital. Which stunk because a lot of people (family, mostly) were texting and calling wondering when they could come visit. Keep in mind, *I* still hadn't seen my baby for more than an hour when these texts were coming in. Not that I was mad about people wanting to visit. I was actually happy to hear from family. But it was just frustrating that I didn't know what to tell everybody. Heaven knew I could have used some outside company. But it didn't seem fair to let people come see us when they couldn't see the baby. Let's be real here: That's why they would have wanted to come at all.<br />
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To recap: While none of these problems were life-threatening or even particularly serious, it certainly wasn't what we'd planned on happening. The entire time I was pregnant with Alex, everything went normal. My doctor wasn't worried about anything, every little complaint I had about morning sickness and other discomforts were expected, even going past my due date was anticipated (first time moms often go over). We even had an idea that Alex would be a bigger-than-average baby. Just didn't realize <i>how</i> big he'd be or how hard of a time he'd have being born because of it. He's in the 100th percentile for everything - weight, length, head size. Meaning he's bigger than other babies his age. We joke that he could have walked out of the hospital, that I'd given birth to a toddler. But he's a "toddler" that's still a seven-week-old baby.<br />
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Of course, we love this kid like there is no tomorrow. I wouldn't trade him for anything in the world. You might have heard something along the lines of becoming a mother means letting your heart wander around outside your body. I can attest that is an accurate way of putting things. It's amazing and joyous and nerve-wracking and frightening all at the same time. There are times I hate having to put Alex down in his crib or in his bouncy chair because I don't want him to be too far away from me, even if all I'm doing is cleaning the house or going to the bathroom or something equally mundane and necessary and not that far away. But it feels like I'm taking a trip to the Himalayas. It sounds ridiculous - but maybe it's not so ridiculous to other moms.<br />
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Which is why this next bit is kind of... I don't know how to describe it. Maybe I should just tell the story and let it stand on its own.<br />
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***<br />
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Actually, this is getting pretty long-winded. So, I'm going to post this and do a Part 2 shortly. Look forward to it!<br />
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chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17574969300905906532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4934487773490396103.post-829110699633008522017-10-02T22:12:00.000-06:002017-10-02T22:12:36.194-06:00Jared's Book Reviews: 'It's A Book' by Lane Smith<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<b>Title:</b> <i>It’s a Book</i> about reading a book<br />
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<b>Genre:</b> This book (Smith, 2010) was categorized as a book about reading, and while it certainly is that ultimately the reading is simply a vehicle for the humor of the book, as well as the ending punchline.<br />
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<b>Book Summary:</b> Monkey is reading, Jackass is confused by how books work as opposed to his tablet, there is a big back and forth, and by the end Jackass is reading and Monkey is going back to the library for another book.<br />
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<b>Impressions:</b> The book is fairly simple on the surface, including the plot and dialogue, but is very satisfyingly complex in the artwork, despite the style being, again, simple on the surface. With little more than a couple lines and a black circle for an eye Smith very effectively conveys Monkey’s annoyed and exasperated feelings towards Jackass’ confusion. This is true across the whole book and all of the characters, the expressions really sell the story more than the sparse dialogue does. I also quite fully disagree with the professional review (included below in part) that the book is meant for adults but disguised as a story for children, because of the ‘adult’ humor of Jackass’ name and the reversed unfamiliarity – adults are more likely to have a confusion about how modern tech works than a book, after all – but my impressions of the book make me think that the absurdity of the technologically native Jackass being confounded by a much older technology is intentional. To wit – how many children of the current generation end up having to show their parents or grandparents how some bit of technology works? This isn’t even a new phenomenon, I distinctly remember jokes about the kids of my generation having to show the parents how to program the VCR, and later how to use the first computers. I still remember trying to teach my real estate broker Grandmother how to use a mouse as more and more of that business started going to computers in the late '80s. (I failed, mostly because at 70+ my grandmother did not think it dignified to play a video game as a way to learn how the mouse worked) By reversing it and amplifying the absurdity of the situation it makes it funny for the children reading, and might even help them understand a bit of what their parents are going through when it happens. If I am right the finishing punchline then becomes a parental bonus rather than the whole point of the book – because for the more literal children how is it funny that they say his name again, when it was said at the beginning – and for the children the punchline is simply that he still doesn’t get it.<br />
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<b>Professional Review:</b> The following excerpts (that I disagree with) come from the School Library Journal’s review of the book (Bird, 2010). (One comment, I find it interesting the reviewer gets caught up on the distinction between monkey/ape, but somehow thinks that Monkey’s dress shirt is a muumuu.)<br />Where to begin? Begin at the beguine, I suppose. I’ve had It’s a Book sitting on my shelf for months and now the time is ripe. As you may have heard one place or another, it contains an off-color word at the end (“jackass”, belated spoiler alert) and it makes fun of folks who prefer online zips and whizbangs to good old-fashioned paper books. So what are we to make of it? Well, I hate to lob this designation on any author or illustrator I like, but this is so clearly a picture book for grown-ups that it squeaks. While kids today slip from electronic readers to paper books and back again like svelte otters, it is the grown-ups around them that are heard cooing and purring every time a shiny new electronic toy hits the market. For those who love the printed page, such enthusiasm can be scary. Kids don’t fear for the so-called “death of the book” but some of their caregivers certainly do, and so for them Lane Smith has penned an exchange between a pixel-happy donkey and the monkey (slash ape) who just wants to read his book in peace.<br />Hedging his bets right from the start, Smith begins by pulling his punch as far back as it can reasonably go. Turn to the title page and you read, “It’s a mouse. It’s a jackass. It’s a monkey.” Ignoring the fact that the monkey is actually an ape (though he may be hiding his tail beneath his, uh, muumuu?), the story begins with the donkey asking the primate what he’s got there. “It’s a book.” Not understanding the donkey tries to figure out the use of such an object. “Can it text?” “No.” “Tweet?” “No.” “Wi-Fi?” “No.” Eventually the donkey gets to see what a book really can do and when his companion asks if he can have his book back he gets a pretty straightforward, “No,” echoing his own earlier dismissals. The donkey, to his credit, offers to charge the book up when he’s done, but the mouse perched on the top of the monkey’s (slash ape’s) head clarifies everything, “You don’t have to . . .” Turn the page. “It’s a book, jackass.”<br />can’t help but be amused by the irony that a book that proclaims loud and long the great delights of the printed word verses the electronic one happens to have its own online book trailer (one that judiciously makes sure not to mention the naughty word at the end, by the way). In essence, the book has done precisely what it meant to. It has amused adults to no end. And while it will probably never be read to a class of first or second graders in a true storytime, it will live on in the bookshelves of college students across the country. While it does, I’ll hope for the return of Lane Smith to the world of children’s literature written for kids first and foremost. Writing for adults is all well and good, but anyone can do that. It takes a special knack to write a book that a kid really loves and enjoys. Fingers crossed that it happens for Mr. Smith again sometime real soon.</blockquote>
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<b>Library Uses:</b> I do actually know librarians and teachers who have used the book in storytimes – some modifying the last work to ‘Jack’ and some leaving it the same. I also think the book would be great to use as a way of promoting other books – I would have the library’s marketing department make up a big blowup of Monkey holding the book, and then swap in pictures of different books that are being promoted.<br />
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<b>Readalikes:</b> At its core <i>It’s a Book</i> is a snarky humor book about books, and there are a lot of other similar books, both with or without the more adult humor. The two I would recommend are <i>There’s a Monster at the End of This Book</i> by Jon Stone and <i>We Are in a Book!</i> by Mo Willems. Both play around with the nature of books wonderfully, the first by subverting expectations of what happens in a book (the monster at the end is Grover, who has been panicking the whole book about getting to the end of the book) and the other even has the characters flip ahead to find out when the book is going to end.<br />
The third book I’d recommend as a readalike isn’t quite as close, but the feel of it is similar. <i>Kiss Me! I’m a Prince</i> by Heather McLeod takes the common story of the Frog Prince and then twists it around because the girl, something of a tomboy, would rather have a talking frog than become a princess.<br />
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<b>References</b><br />
Bird, E. (2010). Review of the Day: It’s a Book by Lane Smith. [Review of the book It’s a Book]. School Library Journal. Retrieved from <a href="http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2010/11/24/review-of-the-day-its-a-book-by-lane-smith/#_">http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2010/11/24/review-of-the-day-its-a-book-by-lane-smith/#_</a><br />
Smith, L. (2010). It’s a Book. New York, NY: Roaring Brook Press.</div>
chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17574969300905906532noreply@blogger.com0