Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Halloween videos

I was suprised that no one took me up on my offer and guessed correctly that my Poetry Friday post last week came from Disney's Haunted Mansion. Since many of you need a refresher on this source, here is a sing-along version of the song with scenes from the inside of the Mansion at Disneyland. There's quite a few good pictures in here, so you'll want to check this out, especially if you've never been!





And for your continued Halloween pleasure, a take on medieval witch hunts... Monty Python style:

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Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Cybils nominations and surprise

You know you want to. Head over and nominate your favorite 2007 books for the Cybils.

So most of my regular readers know that I have been chosen to participate on the 2007 Cybils nominating committee for graphic novels. (If this is news to you, you can click here to read my previous post on the subject…)

Nominations are rolling in for all the categories, but I must say I’m surprised at some of the Graphic Novel nominations. Or I should say, lack of nominations. I really thought more would be on there. There are a lot of books that are eligible that I thought for sure would make the nominations, based mostly on reviews my friends have been giving these books. I’m ashamed to say I haven’t read any of them myself yet, but they’re supposed to be really good anyway… Most of these have other volumes that came out this year and are eligible, but these are just the ones I found first.

Avalon High: Coronation, The Merlin Prophecy by Meg Cabot and Jinky Coronado (published by TokyoPop)
Emma: Volume 3 by Kaoru Mori (published by CMX Manga)
The Good Witch of the West Volume 2 by Haruhiko Momokawa and Noriko Ogiwara(published by TokyoPop)
Hatter M: The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor; Liz Cavalier; Illustrator B published by Desperado Publishing)
Kilala Princess Volume 3 by Nao Kodaka and Rika Tanaka (published by TokyoPop)- Several of this series came out this year, but I hear this is the best of the series so far
Kingdom Hearts II Volume 1 by Shiro Amano (published by TokyoPop)
Miki Falls: Spring by Mark Crilley (published by HarperTeen)
Pichi Pichi Pitch 5: Mermaid Melody by Pink Hanamori and Michiko Yokote (published by Del Rey Manga)
Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle, Volume 13 by Clamp (published by Del Rey Manga)
Warriors: The Lost Warrior by Erin Hunter, Dan Jolley, and James Barry (published by TokyoPop)

So if you haven’t nominated something for the Graphic Novels category yet (or any category really), now is a good time to head over to the site and take care of that. And if you haven’t used your nomination/aren’t planning to use it for Graphic Novels, you might want to get ideas from looking at the below titles. Maybe you think they should be considered too?

Keep in mind only one nomination per person per category is allowed, so don’t waste your nomination on something that’s already been nominated! Multiple nominations make absolutely no differece. Check the list of already nominated titles before you make your decisions!

Titles shown in this post include:


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Review: Wicked Dead: Lurker

Wicked Dead: Lurker by Stefan Petrucha and Thomas Pendleton

Every night, four ghostly girls gather in an abandoned orphanage to tell their ghostly stories. With each roll of their magic bones, a new story is revealed, with the hope the each one will eventually find their own story.

Tonight’s story is about Mandy, a normal high school with a perfect little town life. But Mandy’s world is completely shattered when popular Nicki Bennington is found murdered (with her insides hacked to pieces) behind the town library. Everyone is shocked by this turn of events. After all, how could such a grisly murder happen in their safe little hometown?

After a few weeks of mourning, the town is ready to move on. Mandy wants to get on with her life, but Nikki’s fate has shocked her to the core. So when she gets an instant message from a boy named Kyle Nevers, Mandy decides it’s time to branch out. Partly out of friendliness, and partly out to make her recently ex-boyfriend Dale jealous, Mandy begins to chat with Kyle.

It isn’t long before Mandy is fully involved with Kyle’s life. She’s never seen him in person because he’s home schooled, but Mandy can’t help but be drawn to this boy that she has so much in common with. Despite her friends’ warnings, Mandy gets in deeper and deeper with Kyle. But then she starts getting mysterious phone and text messages. Could Kyle not be all he seems?

Anyone who knows my reading tastes well will know that horror is not one of my big things. I don’t like being scared out of my wits. That being said, I’m not really sure where to place Lurker genre-wise. Except for the last few chapters, it really reads more like regular teen fiction than horror. But the end definitely creeped me out enough (bad idea for me to read it moments before falling asleep…).

Mandy’s story was truly that of a teen girl trying to find herself in an uprooted world, and readers who’ve experienced similar situations will probably relate to her feelings. Despite my horror misgivings, the book is interesting enough. The premise of the whole Wicked Dead series is to hear a new story each book (each “night” if you will), and I was engaged enough in Mandy’s story to pick up the next book in the series. Horror fans may find this one a little light, but it makes a great read for Halloween.

Shady Glade Rating: 7/10

If anyone would like a free copy of this book, I have one I am willing to trade. Email me at shadyglade@mail.com if you are interested. Or, if you are a member of Bookmooch.com, you can simply go and order it there (see below for an example of some of the books I have). If you have questions, just let me know!



Trade your books at BookMooch.com
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Monday, October 29, 2007

Robert's Snow Week 3


Hey everyone! I'm heading into midterms, so I won't be able to keep up with my daily Robert's Snow postings. Instead, I'm posting the whole week's schedule here, and you can refer back to it. If you'd still like daily posts, check out the event coordinator at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast. See you here on Thursday for an author feature!

As you know if you've been visiting any children's book blogs for the past few weeks, Robert's Snow is an online auction that benefits Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Over 200 children's book illustrators have created art on individual snowflake-shaped wooden templates. The snowflakes will be auctioned off, with proceeds going to cancer research. You can view all of the 2007 snowflakes here. Jules and Eisha from Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast have found a way for bloggers to help with this effort, by blogging about individual illustrators and their snowflakes. The idea is to drive traffic to the Robert's Snow site so that many snowflakes will be sold, and much money raised to fight cancer. The illustrator profiles have been wonderful so far - diverse and creative and colorful. And there are lots more to go.

Here's the schedule for Week 3, which starts today. As previously, this early schedule links to the participating blogs, instead of to the individual posts. You can find links to the posts themselves, and any last-minute updates, each morning at 7-Imp. Jules and Eisha have also set up a special page at 7-Imp containing a comprehensive list of links to the profiles posted so far. Also not to be missed is Kris Bordessa's post summarizing snowflake-related contests to date over at Paradise Found.



Monday, October 29





Tuesday, October 30





Wednesday, October 31





Thursday, November 1





Friday, November 2





Saturday, November 3





Sunday, November 4





Please take time out to visit all of these blogs, and read about these fabulous illustrators. And, if you're so inclined, think about bidding for a snowflake in the Robert's Snow auction. Each snowflake makes a unique gift (for yourself or for someone else), and supports an important cause.

See also the following note from Elaine Magliaro of Wild Rose Reader:

Note to Blog Readers about Blogging for a Cure: When Jules of 7-Imp put out her call in September for bloggers to interview/feature artists who had created snowflakes for Robert’s Snow 2007 at their blogs, a number of artists had not yet sent in their snowflakes to Dana-Farber. As time was of the essence to get Blogging for a Cure underway, we worked with the list of artists whose snowflakes were already in possession of Dana-Farber. Therefore, not all the participating artists will be featured. This in no way diminishes our appreciation for their contributions to this worthy cause. We hope everyone will understand that once the list of artists was emailed to bloggers and it was determined which bloggers would feature which artists at their blogs, a schedule was organized and sent out so we could get to work on Blogging for a Cure ASAP. Our aim is to raise people’s awareness about Robert’s Snow and to promote the three auctions. We hope our efforts will help to make Robert’s Snow 2007 a resounding success.

Previous weeks:
Week 1: October 15-October 21
Week 2: October 22-28, 2007
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Sunday, October 28, 2007

Robert's Snow Day 14


Here's the schedule for today's Robert's Snow features.
Sunday, October 28, 2007: (clicking on the author's name will link you to their work at amazon.com, clicking on the blog name will take you to the individual snowflakes)

If you'd like to see other features, please visit the links below.
Saturday, October 27, 2007

Note to Blog Readers about Blogging for a Cure: When Jules of 7-Imp put out her call in September for bloggers to interview/feature artists who had created snowflakes for Robert’s Snow 2007 at their blogs, a number of artists had not yet sent in their snowflakes to Dana-Farber. As time was of the essence to get Blogging for a Cure underway, we worked with the list of artists whose snowflakes were already in possession of Dana-Farber. Therefore, not all the participating artists will be featured. This in no way diminishes our appreciation for their contributions to this worthy cause. We hope everyone will understand that once the list of artists was emailed to bloggers and it was determined which bloggers would feature which artists at their blogs, a schedule was organized and sent out so we could get to work on Blogging for a Cure ASAP. Our aim is to raise people’s awareness about Robert’s Snow and to promote the three auctions. We hope our efforts will help to make Robert’s Snow 2007 a resounding success. (Used with permission from Wild Rose Reader)
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Saturday, October 27, 2007

Robert's Snow Day 13


Here's the schedule for today's Robert's Snow features.
Saturday, October 27, 2007: (clicking on the author's name will link you to their work at amazon.com, clicking on the blog name will take you to the individual snowflakes)

If you'd like to see other features, please visit the links below.
Friday, October 26, 2007

Note to Blog Readers about Blogging for a Cure: When Jules of 7-Imp put out her call in September for bloggers to interview/feature artists who had created snowflakes for Robert’s Snow 2007 at their blogs, a number of artists had not yet sent in their snowflakes to Dana-Farber. As time was of the essence to get Blogging for a Cure underway, we worked with the list of artists whose snowflakes were already in possession of Dana-Farber. Therefore, not all the participating artists will be featured. This in no way diminishes our appreciation for their contributions to this worthy cause. We hope everyone will understand that once the list of artists was emailed to bloggers and it was determined which bloggers would feature which artists at their blogs, a schedule was organized and sent out so we could get to work on Blogging for a Cure ASAP. Our aim is to raise people’s awareness about Robert’s Snow and to promote the three auctions. We hope our efforts will help to make Robert’s Snow 2007 a resounding success. (Used with permission from Wild Rose Reader)
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Friday, October 26, 2007

Poetry Friday: Grim, Grinning, Ghosts


So, I normally don't participate in Poetry Friday, but I had the perfect one for Halloween so I decided to get in on the spirit (pun not intended....).

These are actually song lyrics, but I think that should count as poetry too. Bonus points if you can leave me a comment and tell me where this song is from! :-)

Grimm, Grinning, Ghosts
When the crypt doors creak,
And the tombstones quake.
Spooks come out for a swinging wake.
Happy haunts materialize,
And begin to vocalize.
Grim grinning ghosts come out to socialize.

Now don't close your eyes,
And don't try to hide.
Or a silly spook may sit by your side.
Shrouded in a daft disguise,
They pretend to terrorize.
Grim grinning ghosts come out to socialize.

As the moon climbs high o'er the dead oak tree,
Spooks arrive for the midnight spree.
Creepy creeps with eerie eyes,
Start to shriek and harmonize.
Grim grinning ghosts come out to socialize.

When you hear the knell of a requiem bell,
Weird glows gleam where spirits dwell.
Restless bones etherialize,
Rise as spooks of every size.
(Maniacal laughter)

If you would like to join our jamboree,
There's a simple rule that's compulsory.
Mortals pay a token fee.
Rest in peace, the haunting's free.
So hurry back, we would like your company.
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Robert's Snow Day 12


Here's the schedule for today's Robert's Snow features.
Friday, October 26, 2007: (clicking on the author's name will link you to their work at amazon.com, clicking on the blog name will take you to the individual snowflakes)

If you'd like to see other features, please visit the links below.
Thursday, October 25, 2007

Note to Blog Readers about Blogging for a Cure: When Jules of 7-Imp put out her call in September for bloggers to interview/feature artists who had created snowflakes for Robert’s Snow 2007 at their blogs, a number of artists had not yet sent in their snowflakes to Dana-Farber. As time was of the essence to get Blogging for a Cure underway, we worked with the list of artists whose snowflakes were already in possession of Dana-Farber. Therefore, not all the participating artists will be featured. This in no way diminishes our appreciation for their contributions to this worthy cause. We hope everyone will understand that once the list of artists was emailed to bloggers and it was determined which bloggers would feature which artists at their blogs, a schedule was organized and sent out so we could get to work on Blogging for a Cure ASAP. Our aim is to raise people’s awareness about Robert’s Snow and to promote the three auctions. We hope our efforts will help to make Robert’s Snow 2007 a resounding success. (Used with permission from Wild Rose Reader)
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Thursday, October 25, 2007

Robert's Snow Day 11


Here's the schedule for today's Robert's Snow features.
Thursday, October 25, 2007: (clicking on the author's name will link you to their work at amazon.com, clicking on the blog name will take you to the individual snowflakes)

If you'd like to see other features, please visit the links below.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Note to Blog Readers about Blogging for a Cure: When Jules of 7-Imp put out her call in September for bloggers to interview/feature artists who had created snowflakes for Robert’s Snow 2007 at their blogs, a number of artists had not yet sent in their snowflakes to Dana-Farber. As time was of the essence to get Blogging for a Cure underway, we worked with the list of artists whose snowflakes were already in possession of Dana-Farber. Therefore, not all the participating artists will be featured. This in no way diminishes our appreciation for their contributions to this worthy cause. We hope everyone will understand that once the list of artists was emailed to bloggers and it was determined which bloggers would feature which artists at their blogs, a schedule was organized and sent out so we could get to work on Blogging for a Cure ASAP. Our aim is to raise people’s awareness about Robert’s Snow and to promote the three auctions. We hope our efforts will help to make Robert’s Snow 2007 a resounding success. (Used with permission from Wild Rose Reader)
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Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Robert's Snow Day 10


Here's the schedule for today's Robert's Snow features.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007: (clicking on the author's name will link you to their work at amazon.com, clicking on the blog name will take you to the individual snowflakes)

If you'd like to see other features, please visit the links below.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Note to Blog Readers about Blogging for a Cure: When Jules of 7-Imp put out her call in September for bloggers to interview/feature artists who had created snowflakes for Robert’s Snow 2007 at their blogs, a number of artists had not yet sent in their snowflakes to Dana-Farber. As time was of the essence to get Blogging for a Cure underway, we worked with the list of artists whose snowflakes were already in possession of Dana-Farber. Therefore, not all the participating artists will be featured. This in no way diminishes our appreciation for their contributions to this worthy cause. We hope everyone will understand that once the list of artists was emailed to bloggers and it was determined which bloggers would feature which artists at their blogs, a schedule was organized and sent out so we could get to work on Blogging for a Cure ASAP. Our aim is to raise people’s awareness about Robert’s Snow and to promote the three auctions. We hope our efforts will help to make Robert’s Snow 2007 a resounding success. (Used with permission from Wild Rose Reader)
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Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Robert's Snow Day 9


Here's the schedule for today's Robert's Snow features.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007: (clicking on the author's name will link you to their work at amazon.com, clicking on the blog name will take you to the individual snowflakes)

If you'd like to see other features, please visit the links below.
Monday, October 22, 2007

Note to Blog Readers about Blogging for a Cure: When Jules of 7-Imp put out her call in September for bloggers to interview/feature artists who had created snowflakes for Robert’s Snow 2007 at their blogs, a number of artists had not yet sent in their snowflakes to Dana-Farber. As time was of the essence to get Blogging for a Cure underway, we worked with the list of artists whose snowflakes were already in possession of Dana-Farber. Therefore, not all the participating artists will be featured. This in no way diminishes our appreciation for their contributions to this worthy cause. We hope everyone will understand that once the list of artists was emailed to bloggers and it was determined which bloggers would feature which artists at their blogs, a schedule was organized and sent out so we could get to work on Blogging for a Cure ASAP. Our aim is to raise people’s awareness about Robert’s Snow and to promote the three auctions. We hope our efforts will help to make Robert’s Snow 2007 a resounding success. (Used with permission from Wild Rose Reader)
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Monday, October 22, 2007

Why I use Amazon.com Associates

I’ve seen similar posts around the kidlitosphere in the past few months, and I decided that you might just want to know why I use the Amazon Associates program. If not, then feel free to disregard this message.

First of all, I really like Amazon.com. It’s probably my favorite book website in terms of price, shipping speed, customer service, and overall usefulness. Also, Amazon offers so much more than books, including beauty, toys, and computer items. It’s very easy to find what you’re looking for at great prices.

Secondly, I think it’s interesting to look up reviews, information, etc. about a book, even if you’re not planning on buying it.

Thirdly (and maybe most importantly), I’m a poor college student. I get a summer job from May until August every year and work my behind off, in the hopes I’ll make enough money to sustain me during the school months (jobs on and around campus are quite scarce). It’s rather hard to do this, and I often have to skimp on things like groceries by the end of the school year in favor of, oh, textbooks usually.

So Amazon.com Associates helps cover my grocery expenses. It’s not like I even make a huge profit; I’ve been doing this for almost a year and I’ve made just barely under $10. But when you’re starving, even a few bucks can help.

So that’s the reason you’ll see Amazon links all over this blog. If you’re planning on buying something from Amazon anyway, consider buying it from links by someone in the Associates program (I’m definitely not the only blog/website that does this). You can use a search widget, or just use the links to click over to the site, and then go to what you’re looking for from there.

Remember, you don’t have use my links. But, hey, if you do, maybe I’ll be able to afford a sandwich. :-)

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Robert's Snow Day 8


Here's the schedule for today's Robert's Snow features.
Monday, October 22, 2007: (clicking on the author's name will link you to their work at amazon.com, clicking on the blog name will take you to the individual snowflakes)

If you'd like to see other features, please visit the links below.
Week 1: October15-October 21, 2007

Note to Blog Readers about Blogging for a Cure: When Jules of 7-Imp put out her call in September for bloggers to interview/feature artists who had created snowflakes for Robert’s Snow 2007 at their blogs, a number of artists had not yet sent in their snowflakes to Dana-Farber. As time was of the essence to get Blogging for a Cure underway, we worked with the list of artists whose snowflakes were already in possession of Dana-Farber. Therefore, not all the participating artists will be featured. This in no way diminishes our appreciation for their contributions to this worthy cause. We hope everyone will understand that once the list of artists was emailed to bloggers and it was determined which bloggers would feature which artists at their blogs, a schedule was organized and sent out so we could get to work on Blogging for a Cure ASAP. Our aim is to raise people’s awareness about Robert’s Snow and to promote the three auctions. We hope our efforts will help to make Robert’s Snow 2007 a resounding success. (Used with permission from Wild Rose Reader)
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