Candy from a Foreign Shore

My friend April is living in New Zealand for a few years and she's missing some American delicacies. Okay, not so much delicacies as junk food. So, I just shipped off a box filled with Pop-Tarts, Doritos, Twinkies, Fritos, Smarties and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. In return, she sent me a box of NZ delicacies (again, junk food).

So far, I am quite taken with the Chocolate Fish, which are fish-shaped, chocolate covered marshmallow. I'm also enjoying the Pinky bar, which is the same thing, but with caramel (and not fish shaped). The Crunchie was quite good, but I think I had one of those when I was in London, so it's not really new.

The jury's still out on Pineapple Lumps. Pineapple flavored nougat-y fluff, covered in chocolate. The package says to refrigerate them "to get that really chewy sensation" so I'll give that a try!

Thanks for all the goodies April!

Next Time I'll Listen!

For what seems to have been years now, people have been telling me how great "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me!" is and I haven't listened. Maybe because NPR has never been "appointment" listening for me. I'll turn it on when I'm in the car, but I never seek out shows, and never listen to the radio at home.

In this age of podcasts, that has all changed. Last week, I finally got around to downloading an episode of WWDTM and I'm hooked. I thought about going back and listening to old ones, but that's a bit overwhelming (and the news wouldn't be fresh).

So, now, I eagerly await the new episode!

Addicted to Grammar

I've recently discovered a new podcast: Grammar Girl. (Because I've listened to so many of her episodes recently, I'm second guessing myself on whether I used the colon properly in that first sentence!)



I've learned many useful grammar tips, but my favorite new piece of info is the interrobang.















It is one piece of punctuation that combines the question mark and the exclamation point. Apparently it is not grammatically correct to use two pieces of punctuation at the end of a sentence. I actually think I had heard of the interrobang in the past, but I had forgotten about it.


Now, it's my favorite thing I know!


Check out Grammar Girl. I'm going to investigate some of the other podcasts on QDNow.

A Blast from the Past

or raising the geek flag once more...

When i was in my teens, my favorite comic had to be Batman and the Outsiders. I don't have those comics anymore. I can't even blame my mom; I sold them, and not for much either!

But now, DC Comics has released a Showcase edition which collects the first 19 issues in a black and white graphic novel. I wish they were in color, but it really doesn't matter. I can't wait to lose myself in the nostalgia!

Blogs/Sites about Book Jackets

Here are some sites about book jackets that I check regularly:

...by Henry Sene Yee Design

Book Covers

The Book Design Review

http://readerville.com/WebX?14@@.efcd2bc

Vuja De?

is it just me....?

Letting the Geek Flag fly...

SHOW THE WORLD WHO BELONGS IN THE JLA!

Design for the Next Generation

I just came across these books (one is out now, one is coming soon). I'm going to get them for my son... I figure, why not start teaching him about good design now?

Awe-Inspiring Bookshelves

I read this in the most recent edition of Brookline Booksmith's e-mail newsletter, written by bookseller Paul. It really resonated with me:

I remember my parent's bookshelves when I began to read. They became fascinating, slightly ominous in all their mystery, all their thousands and thousands of pages I felt I could not hope to read in a lifetime. Now I have twice as many bookshelves in my own home, and I hope that in a few years my son feels that same fascination, that challenge to pass through some of the same doors his parents have, in order that he may depart through his own when ready...

Well said!

Currently Reading

I'm reading The Bestiary by Nicholas Christopher. I fell in love with his book Veronica when it was first published. But, oddly, I haven't read any of his books since. I've heard A Trip to the Stars is amazing, and will probably go back to read that soon.

The Bestiary is fantastic thus far. Our protagonist, Xeno Atlas (great name!), is on a quest to find the Caravan Bestiary, an account of all the animals that did not make it onto Noah's Ark. Things like Manticores, Griffins and Chimeras. There's some great family drama at the beginning and a short, but powerful Vietnam War section in the middle.

Plus, what a jacket!

The Bestiary is on sale June 26, 2007

See that thing over there?

The widget?

It's from LibraryThing, one of the coolest sites on the Web. It's essentially a virtual card catalog for your personal library and it's supremely addictive. It is extremely easy to enter books into your catalog. You can tag them, review them, see who has similar books, join groups to discuss just about every topic under the sun.

I love it and you should love it too.

Why I'm Here

Blogs have always scared me.

There, I said it.

What could I possibly have to say, that other folks would find riveting, or even mildly interesting? I marvel at the folks who write the blogs I read regularly. How do they keep me coming back?

Well, a few days ago, a friend showed me a blog she was using as a ‘”virtual filing cabinet” for a research project. It basically consisted of links and images. “I can do that,” I thought.

I’m a voracious consumer of good design and cool things. I’d like this blog to be a Virtual Idea Book. Cool Book Jackets, Innovative Websites, Great Products, Favorite Songs, Books, TV Shows and Movies. I considered titling the blog “Things I Like,” but decided to go for something a little catchier. Consider “Things I Like” to be the subtitle.

For this, the inaugural post, I’d like to start with one of the best book jackets I’ve seen in a long time. It’s for The Yiddish Policemen’s Union by Michael Chabon. I haven’t read the book yet (it’s next on my list), but I can’t stop touching it. It’s very tactile. Go to your local bookstore and pick it up. Feel the embossing and debossing. Check out the very cool “movie poster” style spine. Here’s an image that won’t do the jacket justice at all:
















back to blog soon!