Coffee and Comics

My sister and I sort of made a New Year resolution that on our sister weekends we would try at least one new experience. Of course once we made that resolution because of this, that and other things I will remain in denial about, our first weekend did not take place until April. Since it had been over 5 months since our last sister weekend and our first one for 2009, we probably over did the "new things" as we jammed packed as much in two days as one possibly could which then kind of ended up reminiscent to a family vacation to Disneyland we took as kids (well I think we were in our 20’s and 30’s, but hey, we are still kids at heart even now in our, er, never mind). I remember the family loaded up in the suburban and drove from Colorado to California and back with stops at the Santa Fe, Albuquerque, Grand Canyon, Phoenix, Disneyland, Long Beach, Newport Beach, Hoover Dam, Las Vegas, and every single “The World’s Biggest X” tourist trap imaginable in a week's time. It was basically get out of the car girls, take a picture, okay back in the car, on to the next stop. If you have watched Lampoon's European Vacation where the daughter collapse on the Louvre stairs and the son goes “...look you have killed her.” Yeah, the vacation and the weekend were a little like that. We will probably need to pace ourselves a little better for the next sister outings which hopefully will be in a couple of weeks versus 5 months.

Gees, that was a bit of a long-winded digression to make my way to comics and coffee. Sorry about that, I will not dally any longer. One of the sisters’ new experiences was the Enchanted Grounds. We went there because it had been voted best coffeehouse. What an awesome surprise to find out that they were also a comic book shop. The only thing better than browsing comics is browsing comics with a latte in hand. The staff was super friendly and very knowledgeable, we had a great in depth discussions on Umbrella Academy and Mouse Guard as well as art versus writing in comics. Besides my latte, I left with a handful of Fables and Invincible comics and my sister came home with a few Umbrella Academy, B.P.R.D., and the Wonderful Wizard of Oz comics. They also sale games, and my sister could not pass up the Gloom Playing Cards, where the object is to kill off your family. Can’t wait to play.

Spring Time in the Rockies

Was suppose to be spending this weekend up at the folks perhaps getting to play a little golf, definitely getting the pleasure of walking two exuberant puppies, and I believe getting to munch on home-made oatmeal bread. But we ended up having to postpone until next weekend so I am staying home looking out our windows and enjoying the wonderful Colorado landscape here in mid-April:







Yeah, pretty much over this white stuff.

American Gods by Neil Gaiman

I have never been physically exhausted after reading a book until American Gods by Neil Gaiman. A one-word description: INTENSE. I was never sure what to expect on the next page, heck, not even in the next paragraph and there was a lot of “oh, that can’t be good.” I will also confess I am not up on my gods and goddesses like I should be thus there were several wikapedia breaks during reading this book.

American Gods begins with Shadow getting out of prison a day early because his wife has been killed in a terrible accident. On the plane ride home to the funeral, he meets a mysterious stranger that wants Shadow to come work for him. Let’s just say the position has a somewhat vague job description. Meanwhile there is a storm brewing in American where past and present beliefs are about to clash and Shadow finds himself right in the middle of the storm’s path. As I said, it is an intense ride, but if you can weather the storm, totally worth it.

Roadhouse Joe at the Little Bear Saloon

Since the Nuggets are off tonight why not head up to the Little Bear Saloon in Evergreen for some hard blues and full tilt boogie with Roadhouse Joe. The blues start at 8pm, for more information and directions visit Roadhouse Joe's website, roadhousejoe.com.

They had the house rockin' at The Barking Goat last Friday night.

National Library Week April 12 - 18

Just an FYI that this week is National Library Week. This year's theme is "Worlds connect @ your library." If you don't have a library card, this is a perfect week to get one and explore your local library. And during this time when we are all trying to pinch some pennies, you can't beat the price. For more information you can visit the American Library Association's website as well as your local library's to see what festivities they have planned to celebrate National Library Week.

Sister Weekend - Indulge

It was a cold and rainy Easter here in Denver. Last Sunday it was a cold and snowy, but instead of watching Cold Case on the couch in my sweats, I was indulging with my sister. It was our first true sister weekend in over 5 months!! And it almost did not happen, in fact it was postponed by a day due to the weather. Who would have thought we needed to worry about getting snowed out in April.

On her first night we treated ourselves to a new restaurant that recently opened in my neighborhood, Indulge Wine, Tapas, & Desserts Bar. They have a wonderful patio area with a scenic view of the mountains; however, with those annoying white flakes flying around in the air we chose to dine inside, which was just as nice with live jazz music smoothly playing in the background. We did the Tour de France and actually found a French wine we liked. I in no way can remember what the name was, just that it was white, but I believe my sister wrote it down (if she just remembers in what sketch pad, we will be all set). For our tapas we had warm roasted red pepper and feta hummus topped with Kalamata olives served with flat bread, roasted tomato and herb soup drizzled with basil pesto and gourmet Gouda and cheddar grilled cheese, and grilled flat bread pizza with caramelized acorn squash, Gorgonzola, arugula and red pepper flakes. Any one else hungry now? Next we splurged on a French press along with ginger cream ice cream. Now I am really hungry.

I am going to have a hard time topping that meal on her next visit (which hopefully will be a lot sooner than 5 months). Any way, if you are in the Denver area and deserve some indulgence, I highly recommend Indulge Wine Bar.

Blueberry Girl by Neil Gaiman

I first heard of the Blueberry Girl when attending Neil Gaiman’s book tour of The Graveyard Book (Newbery Winner) in Boulder. At the end of the program he treated us to a reading of the Blueberry Girl. He said that when Tori Amos was expecting her little girl she called him up and asked if he would write a prayer for her. Tori would call her baby bump a blueberry and from that Neil wrote this beautiful poem for girls (actually for women of all ages). Later he paired with illustrator Charles Vess to create this delightful and inspirational picture book.

This is a prayer for a blueberry girl...

Words can be worrisome, people complex, motives and manners unclear,
Grant her the wisdom to choose her path right, free from unkindness and fear.

Not only does this book make a wonderful present for an expecting mother of a little girl or the newborn herself, but I think it would also make a great gift to girls graduating from high school or college or even for a new bride.

Here is a video from Neil Gaiman reading Blueberry Girl, you can also visit his web site, Mouse Circus, where he explains what type of book this is.

Roadhouse Joe Buffalo Rose Snapshots

A few "blue" snapshots of the blues band Roadhouse Joe at the Buffalo Rose in Golden CO, last Thursday night. Great music, crowd and spirits. If you are going to be in the Denver area this Friday, come check out Roadhouse Joe for some hard blues and full tilt boogie at The Barking Goat Tavern, 363 Village Square Lance, Castle Rock, no cover.

Fables Volume 3: Storybook Love by Bill Willingham

To recap for those not familiar with the Fables series, fairytale characters such as Snow White, Prince Charming, Briar Rose, Big Bad Wolf, The Three Little Pigs, Jack Horner, Goldilocks, and the like, are driven from their magical worlds and kingdoms by the Adversary. Those immortal fables that can pass as humans live in a secret community in New York City and those fables that cannot are forced to live on a large secluded farm in upstate NY to keep them hidden from the mundane (humans).

In Fables Volume 3: Storybook Love, we begin the main story with a reporter who threatens to expose the Fable community. With their leader Snow White still recovering from the failed assignation attempt against her life by Goldilocks, it is up to the other Fables to come up with a plan to stop this story from hitting the presses. Then when Snow is well enough to return to work, she and Bigby Wolf, find themselves once again being hunted down by the vicious killer Goldilocks. Will having to rely on each other for survival bring them closer together or drive them apart for good?

There are also two bonus stories in this volume. It starts out with a tale with Jack Horner trying to hustle the Devil playing cards in the swamp and ends with a story about the tiny folk and their quest for the jar of magic barleycorn.

Needless to say I am hooked on this series, already have book 4 in hand.

April is National Poetry Month

April is National Poetry Month and I have stumbled upon several resources that I thought I would pass along for those who might like to celebrate this poetic month.

• The blog, Poetic Asides by Robert Lee Brewer, is having a Poem a Day Challenge (PAD). Each day he will provide a poem prompt to get your poetic juices flowing.
• For poetic inspiration, you can visit on Gregory K.’s blog, GottaBook. Every day this month he will be posting a previously unpublished poem by a different poet. A complete listing of the poets can be found in his 3/23 post, Announcing 30 Poets/30 Days. Yesterday he posted an amusing one from Jack Prelutsky, A Little Poem For Poetry Month, and today Midnight Stray by Rebecca Kai Dotlich. It is about a little stray cat, a subject very near and dear to my heart.
• If you need more poetry prompts for the month, Poet & Writers is also having a Poetry Challenge with a new writing prompt or poetry-related assignment everyday during April.
• Poet & Writers also has an article on their site on what the Academy of American Poets has planned for the month, including Poem in Your Pocket day on April 30th.
• You can also sign up at Dailylit to receive though out the month 30 poems from late, great poets for free for those who would like a little poetry in their inboxes.
• For the young poetry lovers in the Denver area, they can visit the children’s section in the Tattered Cover Book Store and write a poem or copy a favorite poetry verse onto a raindrop which then will be hung from the ceiling under a cloud for readers to enjoy spring poetry showers all during April.
• If you belong to Facebook there are several poetry groups you can join such as, Facebook’s Poets & Writers Registry or World Salad Poetry Magazine.

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