Splurge Purchase

After a long day I dragged myself into Starbucks to catch up on my daily caffeine. After I ordered my drink I saw on the counter these little shot mugs with matching saucers. The Barista heard my gasp and said he had to buy one the night before because they were just too cute to pass up. I tried to be strong, but it was taking awhile to pull the shots for my drink and one never thinks clearly on a de-caffeinated brain. The Barista went on to tell me they were on sale for $4.99 and as a Gold Card member I got an additional 10% off that, really, it was practically destiny that it would come home with me:


Oh, do I drink shots? Nope, not at all, the latte is my drink and requires this size of cup:


Yes, that's right, I have absolutely no use for it at all. But isn't it just so adorable?

Getting Blue in Sedalia

Here are a few pics I took at the awesome Roadhouse Joe blues gig in Sedalia this past Saturday. You can check them out this Thursday at Hiccups Sports Bar in Thorton. They have several shows on the horizon, you can get their detailed schedule on their Roadhouse Joe website.

Feeling the Blues at the Sedalia Grill

Stu keeping the beat

Scott rippin' those riffs

The incredibly cutie bass player Robbie

Rick getting gritty with the harp

Hunt growling out some sweet blues

Roadhouse Joe at the Sedalia Grill Tonight

If you just happened to stumble upon this blog on Saturday March 21, and you just happen to be from the Denver area and just happen to groove to the blues, head on out tonight and catch the hottest new blues band in Denver, Roadhouse Joe, at the Sedalia Grill. Show starts at 8pm, no cover, the grill is located at 5607 N US Hwy 85, Sedalia CO. You can find out more details on the Roadhouse Joe site as well as other upcoming shows (next gig is at Hiccups, Thursday March 26th, 9pm). Plus you can get a sampling of their full tilt boogie blues.

Tales from Outer Suburbia by Shaun Tan

It was the layout, design, and surreal imagery that attracted me to the Tales from Outer Suburbia by Shaun Tan. What a bonus that the 15 short illustrated stories also created a unique and pleasing journey through the extremely cool eye candy. I thought Mr. Tan did an excellent job capturing the voice and imagination of seeing suburbia through a young kid’s eye. As stated in the description the stories are “...about a strange situation or event that occurs in an otherwise familiar suburban world.” My favorites were Eric and Alert but not Alarmed. Eric is about a foreign exchanged student and I just loved the last illustration of that story. In Alert but not Alarmed, I would also be painting my backyard missile, stringing lights on it and turning it into a pizza oven. In addition, I quite enjoyed the water buffalo and the two brothers with the map. That one could so have been a story about my sister and me (especially the part on the older sibling always being right....I am the youngest).

Library Eye Candy

For all you librophiliacs, feast your eyes on these:

http://curiousexpeditions.org/2007/09/a_librophiliacs_love_letter_1.html

Top Shelf (i.e., my favorites):

• Klementium Library, Prague, Czech Republic
• Biblioteca do Palacio e Convento de Mafra I, Lisbon Coast, Portugal (I bet this one was fun to fit on a library card)
• Austrian National Library, Vienna Austria
• Library of the National Palace of Mafra, Portugal
• Real Gabinete Portugues De Leitura Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
• Biblioteca Geral University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
• George Peabody Library, Baltimore, Maryland

Also loving because of the staircase:

• Handelingenkamer Tweede Kamer Der Staten-Generaal Den Haag, the Hague, Netherlands (another one that would take both sides of the card)
• Real Gabinete Portugues De Leitura Rio De Janeiro, Brazil

An accident waiting to happen:

• Joanina LIbrary University of Coimbra, Portugal

How am I getting the books on the upper levels?

• Biblioteca Angelica, Rome, Italy

Hmmm...

• Riksdagen Library, Swedish Parliament Library, Stockholm, Sweden

Book dress code?

• Bad Schussenried Bibliothekssaal, Baden-Württemberg, Germany

Appropriately named:

• Trinity College LIbrary, AKA, The Long Room, Dublin, Ireland

Libraries that would make me dizzy:

• Abbey Library St. Gallen, Switzerland
• Library of the Benedictine Monastery of Admont, Austria
• Melk Monastery Library, Melk, Austria
• Sansovino Library, Rome, Italy
• Vatican Library, Vatican City, Rome
• Waldsassen Abbey Library, Bavaria, Germany
• Wiblingen Monestary Library, Ulm, Germany

Friday the 13th

Yes I know, a day late and a dollar short, story of my life. However, if you were plagued with a bit of bad luck yesterday and wanting to know why, here is a new blog, the Edible Raven, with a bit of history behind the superstition of Friday the 13th.

Fables Volume 2: Animal Farm by Bill Willingham

After they were driven from their homelands by the Adversary, the non-human Fables, 3 little pigs, the 3 bears, Reynard the fox and many other folklore and mystical creatures, were forced to live on a large secluded farm in upstate NY to keep them hidden from the mundanes (humans). In Fables Volume 2: Animal Farm, Snow White heads upstate to visit the farm with her sister Rose Red. Snow is not only wanting to check to make sure things are running smoothly on the farm but also to mend her relationship with her sister. However, she soon finds out that things are not well on the farm as the animals are staging a revolution against the human Fables lead by the 3 little pigs spear headed by a gun-toting non-human Fables activist Goldilocks. Things do not improve when her sister Rose Red takes up arms with rebellions.

I have to admit; I did not enjoy this one as much as I did Volume 1 or the 1001 Nights of Snowfall. I guess where I can handle the slaughtering of 2-legged Fables it was a little harsh with the 4-legged ones. But the main reason was I just didn’t care for the ending as much, so far I am not a big fan of the Rose Red character. However, I would still recommend this read, the graphics are incredible, and I already have Volume 3 in hand.

Afterwatchmen.com

DC Comics has launched a new website, AfterWatchmen.com. On this site you can find out more about the graphic novel Watchmen including chapter teasers, original character sketches, and desktop wallpaper. The site also includes movie trailers and a Watchmen discussion forum. My favorite part is the After Watchmen section where they list more books by Alan Moore, books that redefine modern super heroes, books that push the boundaries of science fiction (will definitely have to be looking into a few of these), books for mature readers, and best-selling books from best-selling authors, including Neil Gaiman’s Sandman (awesome series) and Bill Willingham’s Fables. I have only read 3 of the Fables books so far but totally hooked. Fables is a modern day account of those fairytale characters we grew up with like Snow White, Prince Charming, the Big Bad Wolf and so on. These immortals have been chased out of their magical realm by an evil warlord known as The Adversary and forced to live in our world in a secret underground colony known as Fabletown, bidding their time until they are strong enough to over throw The Adversary and reclaim their homelands. This is no Disneyland. If you like happily ever after these books probably are not for you. But if you like intriguing story telling reminiscent to that of Neil Gaiman’s Sandman entwined with intense imagery, then I highly recommend them.

If you are a graphic novel fan or would like to get your feet a little wet in this genre, check out AfterWatchmen.com.

Share a Story Week

Share a story is a week-long event where the online community of children's book bloggers are promoting reading. From March 9 to 13, 2009, blogging librarians, teachers, parents, authors, illustrators, and other people passionate about literacy will be writing about different aspects of reading. Each day has its own theme, with a host blogger and several guests. The organizers also have several giveaways planned, including a number of books related to reading. There will also be lots of free, downloadable content that includes ideas for making bookmarks and templates; links to book lists, children's book reviewers, and resources for selecting material; and tips for reading with kids and getting involved with your community. Please visit their blog, Share a Story - Shape a Future for more details on the week's events.

Our Weekend in the Mountains Gone to the Dogs

We hadn’t seen the folks since Christmas so we were long past due a trip up. Thus we headed off to the mountains this past weekend for a double birthday and late Valentines celebration. All week we had unseasonable highs in the 70’s and 80’s and then here came Saturday:


Despite the cold, snow and gale like winds we still had a great time. Celebrated Mom and me staying forever young with cake and homemade ice cream, then those who could, partook in a little Valentine Day chocolate (okay, I am the one who is allergic to chocolate...they tell me I am adopted and not from this world). Then our evening entertainment was Hellboy 2, which I can only speak for my sister and myself, but we quite enjoyed it. We could barely contain ourselves during Hellboy’s and Abe Sapien’s rendition of Barry Manilow’s I Can’t Smile Without You. The only downside of the weekend is we lost an hour and really could have used it for a little extra shut eye or rubbing puppies' bellies.

Here are a few (okay several) photo snaps of Saturday’s walking of the dogs and then Sunday’s puppy park visit:

Walking puppies on a cold blustery day:

Did I hear we were going to the puppy park?!?!

YES!! WE GET TO GO TO THE PUPPY PARK!!!

My Ball!

Obstacle Course

Hellboy Volume 2: Wake the Devil by Mike Mignola

Hellboy Volume 2: Wake The Devil is a combination of European folklore and mythology coupled with Nazi sub-plots and of course Hellboy taking some huge beatings. In this volume the team is sent to Romania to investigate the rumor that a nobleman vampire is about to be reawakened. Meanwhile the Nazi scientists continue their quest to end the world. Great graphics and a bonus gallery at the end where we get to see our red hero sporting a smoking jacket as well as some nifty boxers.

Pink Dolphins

Yesterday my sister sent me this link about a pink dolphin being spotted in Lake Calcasieu in Louisiana. No spoof, it is actually a rare albino dolphin. If you would like to read more, here is the link to the article.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/4927224/Pink-dolphin-appears-in-US-lake.html

March is Small Press Month

Small Press Month is where small presses are celebrated nation wide highlighting the valuable and creative work produced by independent publishers. All month literary events are taking place coast-to-coast, visit Small Press Month to get a listing of all the events that might be taking place in your area as well as things you can do to help celebrate the month and small independent publishers. You can even get your own Small Press Month posters.

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss