Selfish, but Cute, Hedgehog

As a fan of wordplay, I had to share this tee design:

"Hedgehogs Can't Share" tee for $19.95

Cute little guy with a small speech bubble.

Cowabunga!

Along with Halloween, October is National Pizza Month.  So how about looking at some big fans of pizza, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT).

"Vote Pizza Party" classic 80s tee for $20

Hello, Raphael.

Nickelodeon promoted the more recent series with this chalk illusion in London. I am sure that everyone wishes the drawing was a permanent mural.

"Ancient Ninja Xenomorphs"

More and more TMNT printed tees are coming out probably because of Micheal Bay's TMNT film reboot.

However, On the UK website The Guardian, I read that the 2013 film pushed back to 2014 because of the fans' voiced disapproval of the mutant turtles portrayed as aliens. The Guardian believes the production may be dropped altogether.

An artist, Billy Allison, did a great depiction of the ninjas like Ridley Scott's Alien.  I linked the tee's title to prints and device covers, but he has the design available as a tee too.




Here's two tees that take after the turtles' names: Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo, and Donatello.

"Renaissance Ninjas" tee for $22.50

"Heroes in an Art Shell" tee currently sold out.

"Ninja Rhapsody" print for $15

Did you know that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was a comic before a TV show? How about that all four wore red?

Artist Hillary White knew. Her design on the right is no longer available at RiptApparel, but you can still get a $15 print. It is a mash-up of one of Queen's album covers.

Even when dressed the same, Raphael stands out.

Original TV show in the 80s

There are more TMNT tees, but don't forget to celebrate National Pizza Month.

I have always wondered if banana toppings tasted good.  Do you remember what other toppings these turtles tried?

I did not find a tee or print of this one,
but it is still worth sharing.

Half-way Through Insignia

I have been picky on sci-fi books this summer. Currently, I am half-way through Insignia by S. J. Kincaid, and I am already more trilled and satisfied than from I, Robot: To Protect and The Maze Runner. If you were in the same room as me as I read Insignia, then you would become intrigued and jealous from how much I laugh and gasp.

Insignia is a new Young Adult (YA) Sci-Fi book published this past July. I found about it from the Dark Days of Summer promotional event for YA dystopias such as Insurgent by Veronica Ruth. I did not attend the event, but it was successful if non-attendees read the books because of the promotion. The first half of Insignia has more military and cyber themes than a dystopic theme.

Reviewers on GoodReads.com described Insignia as "Ender's Game and Harry Potter." Kid recruits are divided into divisions according to talents, but the half point of the book is when it feels more like Hogwarts. The hacker attacks and divisions points reminded me of wizard duels and the houses. By the way, a hacker's target is more personal than your computer. I leave that aspect for you to find out because it is part of the main story for the series.

Still need to look good for the camera.

If those two book comparisons are not enough for you, then how about the need for a sponsor like in The Hunger Games? A sponsorship in Insignia involves more politics and businesses like the fictional war does. Teen soldiers are recruited to fight by controlling robots. The book has an interesting mix.

I recommend Insignia. The beginning may feel too young for older audiences, but hang in there until Tom Raines, the main character, is recruited. It has numerous fun moments and conflicts. The characters have more depth than in The Maze Runner.

Insignia is a series like all the other books I listed. I am not going to read the next installment of I, Robot: To Protect or The Maze Runner, but I am eager for Kincaid's book after Insignia.

Let me know if you read Insignia. =)

Using the Little Details

Click for a closer view of listed areas and details.

Johnny Cupcakes did a great job on the ice cream packages such as the sense of volume. Also, look at the suggested pressed lines in the ends. You get a sense of texture, making the image seem more tangible.

I appreciate that little detail because I do not enjoy reading descriptions that stray from the story too much and disrupt the flow.

For example, in I Robot: To Protect, the amount of detail given to food annoyed me most during a conversation. The narrator stated delight in the person on this date, but her attention was more on the food. Each described bite felt like a tree in my way as I tried to follow the conversation's direction.

Therefore, I try to describe to illustrate a character's feelings or to set the tone. If I describe to help the reader imagine an object, then giving tangible details like Johnny's pressed lines help the reader remember having felt the object before. Kudos to you if your readers feel as if they have held that object without having touched or seen it before.

The only thing I would change in Johnny's image is to make an edge of the package bend. This detail makes the representation less perfect, but more familiar. He wanted perfect symmetry though. Plus the package bend can draw your eye away from the main content.

Thank you to my sister for the Snickers ice cream bar at this moment. Now for ice cream that I can actually experience.

Cancer Walk

My sister is on the left.

My younger sister, Therese, is participating in the Susan G. Komen breast cancer walk in November. She is participating because family members have had cancer--for two of them it was breast cancer.

If you'd like to donate, then Therese's page is HERE. Donations can be made online or by phone.

Donations are tax-deductible, but you have to put your name instead of 'Anonymous." Double check with you tax adviser though. You will receive an email receipt.

No cash donations. International donations are accepted only by credit card.

Thank you for donating or sharing Therese's page. =)

Love Me, Stalk Me

When I read The Merchant's Daughter (2011), I told my sister, "I like that this book shows stalkers as bad." She replied, "Stalkers are bad." I clarified that my point was that the book portrays them that way.

Why do some love stories (even in genres other than Romance) depict stalking as flattering and romantic? A 1st person perspective narrator can show other characters to the reader by stalking them, but even detectives face trouble for doing so. Stalking is a wrong kind of attention. A pet peeve of mine is when the fictional love interest has no social life, job, or actitivies so he can attend to the main character 24/7 and rescue if necessary. That love interest usually stalks.

By the way, The Merchant's Daughter is a spiritual retelling of Beauty and the Beast. The author Melanie Dickerson explored appearances as well as love vs. lust (with stalking). Some lines were repetitive and some problems disappeared at the end, but I still liked the book. The setup is more like Jane Eyre in terms of servant and Lord.

A common conflict or climax for heroines is kidnappings. I do not mean just for romances. Heroines tend to be threatened personally more often than male heros, who have battles, obstacles, time-limits, or his beloved is threatened. My concern is for readers getting the wrong idea of romance and for more developed storylines for heroines.

Let's look through classic film monsters for women stalked or kidnapped (spoilers):

Frankenstein's Monster: He observes humanity. He stalks the Frankensteins and kills a woman, but for revenge against Dr. Frankenstein.
Dracula: Stalks, kills, and tried/succeeded in kidnapping depending on version.
The Mummy: Stalks and kidnaps.
Swamp Thing: Stalks and kidnaps.
Phantom of the Opera: Stalks and then later kidnaps.
King Kong: She's kidnapped by a tribe as sacrifice. Later Kong kidnaps her.

King Kong 1933

Sidenote: I roll my eyes at the King Kong line, "It was Beauty that killed the Beast." Let's not blame the ones who brought him to the city. That she-devil. Looking sexy in a torn-up dress and screaming to show off those pearly-white teeth. 

Some viewers find the stalking monsters as exciting in the romantic sense. Yes, the monster is drawn strongly to the girl, but no matter the degree of passion it is the antagonist. Yes, the woman is desired, but why must her life be threatened for attraction? Not all passions are romantic.


Those were old examples, but these type of stories still exist. Look at contemporary books of urban fantasy, dark romance, and supernatural romance. How many of them have the heroine stalked, kidnapped, in danger of rape, and/or forced to date/marry?

Another book I read for my Beauty & the Beast research was The Hollow Kingdom (2006) (some spoilers). It is divided into 3 sections. The first section has stalking and kidnapping.

Me: I like that this book shows kidnapping as bad.
Sis: Kidnapping is bad.
Me: I know kidnapping is bad.
Sis: I'm glaad you do.
Me: I mean they don't make it romantic. Like some books do. It justifies the kidnapping, but it's still bad.
Sis: They justify it?!
Me: Yeeeah.. but it's shown still as bad. The goblins don't care--which is bad--because they do it to survive. Instead of the author turning the kidnapping around as romantic. It's still bad.

Stalked girl does not look happy.
Does stalking make her more
desirable or pretty?

The heroine sort of changed her situation from being kidnapped by agreeing to it, but she did not want that living arrangement. Her reluctance is still prominent in the story. The kidnapping is showed still as bad by learning how terrifying the situation would have been if she was still a reluctant bride. Her situation is still awkward and sad though.


Eventually, the girl fell for the goblin kidnapper (kind of just happened), , Some reveiwers called it Stockholm Syndrom.


Fortunately, kidnapping is not the only exciting event in the book. The heroine got a chance to prove herself in the third section. I liked the protective charm. In addition, the author turns the arrangement around through changed perspective, which I will cover in another post.


The Hollow Kingdom was still a good example of a new bride's fears in my Beauty & the Beauty research. I recommend having that thought in mind while reading the book. The Merchant's Daughter is the healthier love story.

What do you think of this topic or The Hollow Kingdom?

I saw this image on Facebook just as I finished writing:

Rape Myths & Stats

3 of the last 4 movies for my family's movie night had a rape--Woody Allen's movie was the exception. Most of the rapists were not a stranger to the girl. Stats show that this is often the case, but it is still surprising.

Some years ago, I spoke to two high school reluctant readers for my English Education class. Once again to my surprise, most of the books on their recommended reading list had racism, violence, and rape. 

A friend recently shared an article that proved rape advice in "Through a Rapist's Eyes" as wrong information that leads a girl's suspicion away from the most common locations and perpetrators of rape. The fact is, "70-80% of rapists are well known to their victim." The article is worth sharing. Thank you to my friend for sharing it.

The article also argues that victims of rape are usually blamed and have the hardest time proving the crime than with other crimes.

Published in 1975.

And finally, I researched some fairy tales this last semester. For "Little Red Hiding Hood," I came across Against Our Will: Men, Women and Rape. The author, Susan Brownmiller, helped organized conferences on rape in the 1970's. As a journalist, she investigated rape in newspapers, media, and crime stats. On her book, Newsweek stated:

The most comprehensive study of rape ever offered to the public...It forces readers to take a fresh look at their own attitudes toward this devastating crime.

One aspect Brownmiller brought to light was that rape is an act of power that "[keeps] all women in a state of fear." One argument against the book is that men can fight in the cause too.

I will share other aspects of my fairy tale research as well. Thanks for reading this blog post.