Thursday, December 10, 2009

My newest guilty pleasure.

Having paid thousands of dollars studying art, I know a good art when I see it. But you don't have to be a classically trained artist to recognize BAD art. And I mean, BAD!

A friend introduced me to the website Regretsy.com. This blog posts really really awful arts and crafts that can be found on Etsy. They've also added a feature called "View it in a room" where they take said bad art, and place it in an appropriate room, with hilarious results. And yes, this is REAL art for sale on Etsy.com!

Go to the link, then...
Click "VIEW IT IN A ROOM"

Road Kill
Phantom Pains
Attention - Horse
Cracker Jack (not worksafe)
Pez de la Nalgas (not worksafe)
Why? No Nah
Time Flies
Stranger Danger (not worksafe)

And my favorite listing...
You too can star in Twilight: New Moon!!


Happily, the people at Regretsy.com have a book deal with Random House. I can't wait til it comes out! Thanks for all the laughs!

~Allie

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Sunday, November 29, 2009

Back from a LONG vacation!!

OK, I know that we're lame because we haven't posted anything in a LONG time! So, to ease back into the swing of things, here's something cute to entertain you all:



Enjoy!

~Allie

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Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Fun internet memes

Bored of your pictures? Here are a few fun internet sites that will add some interest to your boring pics!

Obamicon
You too can posterize your photo to look like the famous Obama poster.
(I didn't create the Kermit poster pictured here, but isn't it cute??)








Squirrelizer
Have you seen that awesome photo of a squirrel popping up when a couple tried to take a photo of themselves with a timer on National Geographic? Now you can add that squirrel to any photo!







PikiPimp
Pimp out your pics with this fun tool. Just upload your pics and add lots of fun images. Hey, where'd all these birds come from???








~Allie

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Mini Tezuka Osamu collection... a steal for $1,113!!!

Japan Trend Shop is now selling a 200 volume miniature set of Osamu Tezuka, which includes "Black Jack," "Jungle Emperor,", and "Phoenix." This "mini comi" series was produced by Sega Toys, and is an authentic copy of the original manga. Each comic measures approx. 2" x 2.7".

~Allie

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Tuesday, August 4, 2009

What the Frak?

Some sharp-eyed attendee at ComicCon 2009 spotted this oddity. A Hello Kitty Stormtrooper! The gloves have paws, and the helmet has ears. Sooooo strange! What's next... Hello Kitty wookie?? LOL And... someone get the cat some pink shoes!

Photo is from Boing Boing.

~Allie

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Monday, August 3, 2009

Marvel teams up with Madhouse Studios for Wolverine & Iron Man



The new Anime version of Wolverine is up on You Tube...

"Marvel Entertainment Inc., has partnered with renowned Japanese animation studio Madhouse and multiple-Eagle Award winner Warren Ellis to create four all new anime versions of classic Marvel Super Heroes. Here is an exciting first glimpse of WOLVERINE!"

Is it just me, or does Wolverine look like a bishonen? ROFL He's too "pretty"...

Also, here is the teaser for Marvel's Iron Man anime. Much nicer IMO. :D



~Allie

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Thursday, July 30, 2009

Tokidoki... at Target????

Simone Legno at Target

What is this world coming to? You can now buy Tokidoki (or Simone Legno) designs at, of all places, Target! Good thing it's not that other store that starts with a "W", or I'd start crying. Not sure what to make of this, but I'll reserve judgment until I got to Target and check out the goods. In the meantime, you can click here and shop online. :D

The bag to the left is only $20! Very cute, but I'm sure it's not of as good construction as the Le Sportsac bags are. And the price tag is right. It looks like this whole line is for school kids... but... I likey!

~Allie

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Saturday, July 25, 2009

Day 4 of ComicCon, and I'm exhausted!

Comic Con 2009


This year's ComicCon has been a wild rollercoaster ride. I got to meet my girlhood idol, Richard Hatch aka Apollo on the original Battlestar Galactica. (Yes, I'm old!!) And I got to meet the creator of Dr. Who and Torchwood, Russell T. Davies and the cast of the new BBC drama Being Human (cast photo to the left), and get all of their autographs. Yes, I'm a sci-fi nerd. I didn't to upstairs to the panel rooms. There were just WAAAAYY too many people there! This year's attendance topped 125,000 attendees, and I think at least half of them were trying to get into the ballrooms where the panels were being held. 

A lot of the vendors thought that this year's ComicCon was a lot more sedate that last year's convention. I think that due to the economy, people were spending a lot less money. Most of the lines were for the limited edition ComicCon exclusive merchandise. You know all of this stuff is already up on eBay!! One thing I did notice about this year compared to last, is that a lot of vendors set up shop outside of the convention hall. The majority of the freebies were being given out along 5th street, which is right across the street (across the trolley tracks). Heroes set up a mini-carnival, where you could win Heroes keychains and raffle tickets for autographed scripts and t-shirts. SyFy turned a small cafe in the Hard Rock Hotel into "CafĂ© Diem," the cafe on the show Eureka. They had their "Street Team" handing out SyFy bags, t-shirts and buttons all weekend long. EA games set up a Gamers Lounge in the Hilton Gaslamp Hotel right of 5th street. They were previewing 4 unreleased games: Dragon Age, Left 4 Dead 2, and 2 Battlefield games. I also got Mythbuster bags, True Blood t-shirts, Amp drinks, and "9" movie cards just by walking up and down the street. 


ComicCon is a lot less about comics, and more about movies, video games, and tv shows this year. Comic creators are taking a back seat to movie stars like Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart. I heard rumors that the organizers of SDCC want to take the convention to Vegas, but that would make it a bigger circus that it already is. The SD convention center wants to keep the convention in San Diego, and are trying to purchase more land in order to expand the halls. I have mixed feelings about this. I'm finding that the bigger ComicCon gets, the less "fun" it is. You now have to pick and choose what you want to do. It's not longer possible to just walk into a panel. Now, you have to line up at least 4 hours before 
the doors open. SDCC has turned into another Disneyland ride, where you line up with the masses for just one attraction.
(Leonard Nemoy to the left).

The up side to this convention, however, is for me to see all the wonderful friends that I've made over the years. It's amazing that even though there are 125,000 people here, I'm managed to run into just about everyone I know! There's one last day of ComicCon, and I hope to grab a few more freebies before I leave. I'll post more pictures when I get back home. 

~Allie

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Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Bite-me!!

Vampires are all the rage now. They're no longer the worm eaten, decaying, reanimated undead blood-suckers that they once were. Now they're hot, sexy, and well, to die for! Tweens (and some older adults... you know who you are!) drool over Edward Cullen. And really, who would complain if Eric or Bill from True Blood wanted to nibble on their neck. It seems like drool-worthy vampires are coming out of the woodwork lately.

I guess maybe that's why there will be the first ever Vampire-Con on August 14-14, 2009 in Hollywood, California devoted to Vamp-Pop culture. There will be a film festival, panel discussions, and a danse macabre ball. Burlesque and go-go girls and boys. Hmmm... it's sounding to me like... Yaoi-Con! I'd consider going, but to tell the truth, vampire fans scare me! But I think the point of all this is that vampire fans are not just your typical goth wanna-be vampires anymore. Everyone seems to have jumped on the vampire bandwagon.

Vampires have come a long way since the first Dracula movies. Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise were pretty hot in Interview with a Vampire, but I didn't want to jump their bones. Buffy the Vampire Slayer got her share of slayer on vampire action. And if I have to choose between team Edward or team Jacob... I choose team Edward.

Luckily we have Twilight: New Moon, True Blood Season 2, and The Vampire Diaries to look foward to on TV and in the movie theaters, and more of Charlain Harris' Southern Vampire series, and Kresley Cole's Immortal Series in novels. There's even a ton of vampire yaoi out now: Necratoholic, Vampire's Portrait, and Pathos just to name a few.

So, to all the hot and hunky vampires out there, I only have one thing to say. "Bite me."

~Allie

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Sunday, July 19, 2009

More Twilight Manwha


In the Entertainment Weekly I got yesterday, there are more images of the new Twilight manwha. While Edward looks a bit more like a vampire and not a surfer boy in this image, I'm still reserving judgment on this graphic novel until the book is published. I think the wolves on Jacob's shirt is a teeny tiny bit much...

In the EW article, it goes on to say, "The graphic novel is essentially Meyer's brain on paper. 'Stephenie is reviewing every page, every panel,' says Kurt Hassler, publishing director for Yen Press, an imprint of Hachette Book Group. 'People should feel like they are getting a rare glimpse insider her vision of the property.'"

Who knew Bella was so pretty?

~Allie

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Friday, July 17, 2009

Amateur Detective Work

I've been having a lot of bad luck with my banking institutions lately. The free checking account which I've had since 1983 is no longer free. It's now being assessed a $8.95 monthly fee! My ATM card was "compromised" and a replacement sent. And on Monday I got a call from my credit card company, asking me if I had charged an airline ticket for $220. The order was placed in Barcelona, Spain. Unless I magically teleported to Spain, then, that would be a "no"!!

So, being the whiner that I am, I posted about the fraudulent charges on my Facebook status. Tissie and another friend replied that they too had had airline tickets charged on their accounts. Then, yesterday, yet another friend told me that she found a fake airline ticket charge on her account.

What do the four of us have in common? We all used our credit cards to guarantee hotel reservations with Travel Planners for ComicCon. Tissie and another friend used their credit cards last year, and the fake charges to their accounts occurred within the last 2 weeks. The charges on my card and my other friend's card happened this week. And guess what? Next week is ComicCon! I'm betting more people will find charges on their cards while they're away.

My friend alerted Heidi MacDonald, and she's posted the info on her blog: The Beat.
So far, 4 other people have had problems with their credit cards.
Update: Travel Planners has responded to Heidi's blog, saying that there was no breach in their security.

Coincidence? Or fraud? The scary thing is, the credit card companies can't trace the fraud because Travel Planners doesn't always place the charges. They send the information directly to the hotels. And, if someone cancels a reservation, Travel Planners still has their credit card information. I'd totally forgotten that I had used my credit card to guarantee my hotel reservation since I made the reservations back in February.

~Allie

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Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Frustration and Happiness: Twilight becomes a graphic novel

Yen Press is creating the graphic novel version of Twilight. This comes as no surprise since both Little Brown and Yen Press are a subsidiary of Hatchette.

I'm happy but also frustrated. I've been waiting for the graphic novel for almost 3 years now. I won't expand on why I'm frustrated. For those that know why, they will understand. And maybe it will be a story for another time. (Or you can go bug Tissie and Allie and try to force them to tell you.)

~Meg

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Sunday, July 12, 2009

ComicCon is coming!!!

For those of you who have never been to ComicCon in San Diego, CA, you're missing the biggest, busiest, most crowded comic convention in the US!! I've been busy helping my husband and friends make promotional materials. So far, I've made 750 buttons and slapped stickers on 1000 postcards. And I'm not done yet! ComicCon starts on Wednesday, July 23rd, so I have a little bit of time yet to finish everything. But here are a few things that I'm looking forward to:

• Swag!! Yes, I am the Queen of Swag. Put out something free, and I'm there! Last year, my swag haul included about a dozen bags, 10 t-shirts, tons of buttons, postcards, bookmarks, bobble heads, posters and 3 pen drives. (Don't ask me where I store it all).

• Sneak Previews! Warner Bros. is previewing 3 pilot episodes of three new series: Human Target, V, and The Vampire Diaries. I'm especially looking forward to the Vampire Diaries. Vampires are COOL! I *might* fight the crowds for Twilight: New Moon. I'll have to remember to bring my earplugs, because the high pitch shrieks of the fans might render me deaf.


• Chasing Celebs! Last year, I got to squeeze Sci-Fi channel star Colin Ferguson, who plays the sheriff in Eureka. He was hanging out at the Sci-Fi booth, so I snuck in for a quick pic with him. He's so adorable! Hopefully they'll be a lot more celebs running around the convention room floor. I bought a new camera, so I'll be sure to post pics when I get back. :D

• Hot guys in skimpy costumes!! Well, OK, the really hot guys are the ones who get paid to dress up and entertain guests, but who's complaining? Last year, Tissie and I got to get squeezed between two hot firemen. With no shirts. Oooh la la! Drool much?

• Seeing all my industry friends! The best part of conventions is getting together with friends in the biz. It's amazing how many people I've gotten to know over the years. I'm hoping to find time to bake some cookies before I leave so that I can drop off some care packages around the convention hall. :D

• Sleeping in a haunted hotel. Maybe I'm not looking forward to this as much as my husband is, but it should be an adventure. We're staying one night at the Horten Grand Hotel. The hotel is built on the spot where a brothel used to stand. Hopefully the ghosts won't bother me while I'm trying to sleep. Hmmm... I wonder if the Ghost Hunters will be at ComicCon!! LOL

If any of you are going to be at ComicCon, let me know. I'd love to meet up!!

~Allie.

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Saturday, July 11, 2009

Shu Uemura Oils - Tokyo Kamon Girls

Shu Uemura has a regular line of cleansing oils, but they have just released some limited edition ones that are from the manga-ka Moyoco Anno, who's works include Happy Mania and Sugar Sugar Rune. However, she's also the wife of Hideaki Anno, the founder of one of our favorite anime studios, Gainax, of Neon Genesis Evangelion fame.

"in collaboration with renowned manga artist and beauty expert Moyoco Anno, shu uemura introduces playful new packaging. the oils remain the same; the bottles are more beautiful than ever. these new presentations are available for a limited time only, while supplies last."

The limited edition cleansing oils are pricy running from $65 to $75.

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Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Things that make you go *squee* 4

Rolly Polly Kitty Phone Straps
Hmmm... why do I always have dog and cat things in my *squee* posts? I guess you can't go wrong with cuddly critters.
Available at Strapya World.





Snoopy Jewelry!
This one's for Meg. She loves Snoopy stuff! Cell phone straps, bracelets, pendants, and rings are available at Strapya World . Production limited to Japan.







Adorable lazy pandas!
These cute little pandas decorate your cell phone. They're picked for your randomly and there are 18 different poses. Personally, I want them all!

You can purchase these at Strapya World.







Baby Stuff by Aranzi Aronzo.
I don't have any babies, but these critters sure are cute! Step by step instructions on how to make these adorable baby (or adult) toys!
Published by: Vertical (2/17/09)
MSRP: $14.95
Available at: Amazon.com.




Tokidoki does cosmetics!
The beautiful compacts come with four different color eye shadows. The new cosmetics line also includes lip gloss. If I had this compact, I wouldn't want to throw it out once I'd used the eye shadow. I wonder if it's refillable? Purchase these directly through Tokidoki.

OK, that's it for now. More soon!

~Allie

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Monday, July 6, 2009

Anime Catchup Review: Skip Beat


I remember reading Skip Beat several years ago and figured I should finally catch up with my anime - especially shojo anime. I caught up with the 25 episodes on Crunchy Roll.

The Good: Skip Beat is free on Crunchy Roll with limited advertisements and since the series was completely out, I was able to watch the 25 episodes in 2 days. The story follows a normal girl named Kyoko who follows her boyfriend Sho to Tokyo so that he can become a star. Once he becomes a star, he backstabs her and she's all about REVENGE!!! The show is cute, funny, and the revenge plot is very entertaining.

The Bad: There's 3 things that bother me about the show, 2 of them related to Crunchy Roll's presentation. The least annoying thing are the ads. I was surprised they didn't show up every episode and there was no interruption unlike Hulu. The other thing that bugged me about the presentation was that some of the subtitles did not fit so I had to guess what the remainder subtitles were. It wasn't too bad since most of it did show up on screen. Keep in mind, that I only watched the SD version since I didn't want to be heavily streaming and draining bandwidth. Other than that, the only other issue I had was with the end of the series. The end of the series did not resolve the story arc and makes you wanting more episodes. Hopefully, we'll soon be able to see a 2nd series.

Overall, I recommend waiting on seeing Skip Beat. The ending's dissapointment level was equal to that of Kare Kano. With Kare Kano, the studio ran out of money and it was never really finished. Hopefully, that's not the case with Skip Beat. If it is, you might as well just read the manga
from Viz.

~Meg

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Sunday, June 28, 2009

OMG... Pikachu is a girl???

Wow.

~Allie

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Thursday, June 25, 2009

Every day items that can be confused for something else...

The following blog contains images that are not 100% work safe. So, if you have nosy co-workers lurking nearby, you might want to wait until you get to the privacy of your own home to see this entire post. ;)

Banana Bunker
Tired of eating bruised bananas? Then you need a Banana Bunker. Banana Bunkers come in four colors: orange, blue, green and clear. You can purchase them online here.

Guys... now you can put bananas in your pockets!! :D







Mmmmm... Ham anyone???
Photo courtesy of Jezebel.com.










This is a logo for the Brazilian Institute of Asian Studies. Ummm.. errr... am I the only one who thinks that there's a big red butt? LOL
See more er, naughty looking logos at B3TA's Phallic Logo Awards.









Ever wonder why it is your get such good cell phone reception in some areas? Well, the answer is: from cell towers like this!
!! Do you think the designer was, um, compensating for something?











The first 200 covers of the videocassette for Little Mermaid had this image printed on it. Dubbed the Palace with the Phallus by Snopes.com, they dispel the rumor that this cover was created by a disgruntled employee.




This is wooden back massager, people. Get your mind out of the gutter!!
See more fun gadgets at: 15 Phallic Gadges (That Aren't Sex Toys)... but I think this one is the best of the lot!




OK, people, move along. Nothing more to see. Back to work! LOL

~Allie

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Monday, June 22, 2009

Things that make you go *squee* - an addition!!

I found one more item that I just had to post...

Mini Comic Notepads!!
You can write your own story! All of the speech balloons are blank, so you can make up your own dialog. Hmmm.... I can totally see it.. Keroro yaoi!! LOL The pages can be torn out also and used as notepaper. Too cute! I guess Tissie and Meg know what they're getting for Christmas now! Hmmm... which ones to buy... Cromartie High School, Devilman... Cutie Hunney?? Oh, the possibilities!!

Available at Strapya World.
*runs off to break into her piggy bank*

~Allie

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Things that make you go *squee* 3


Are you a dog owner? Then these cute toys are for you!!
These toys are made out of cotton rope and are made in the shape of a bone. More than 100 knots make up this "bone", and your dog will be occupied for hours trying to untie them. They're good for your dog's teeth too. These toys come in other shapes too, including carrots, rabbits, donuts and knots.
Available through the manufacturer, Harry Barker, Inc. and from other pet supply retailers.


For cat lovers, they make mouse rope toys and catnip holders.
Also available through Harry Barker, Inc.
Wow. I really want to go out and find a pet now! :D

Kawaii!!! Tokidoki Frenzies!!
Tokidoki is coming out with a set of zipper pulls/cell phone charms! These adorable charms will be available some time in July. Just in time for ComicCon! There are 22 different "Frenzies", and will come in blind boxes - meaning they're all individually packaged, and you won't know which character you get until you open it. This set includes characters from the Moofia, Cactus Friends, and 'Til Death Do Us Part. You can see more info at Strange Co.

These are in stock now directly through Tokidoki. :D


Comic-Con 2009 Exclusives!
Every year, dozens of limited edition merchandise is sold at San Deigo Comic-Con. Here are two items that caught my eye:
Silver Astronaut Snoopy Figurine
LE 400, Price: TBD
In celebration of Snoopy's 40 years with the US Space Program.
Little Big Planet SackBoy
Price: TBD
Sackboy's wearing a ComicCon Int'l logo shirt!



Mater and friends!

Rescue Squad Mater and Dalmation Tia and Dalmation Tia are dressed and ready to fight some fires! Available at the show and on Mattycollector.com after ComicCon.

USB Owls!
These cute little owls either sit on your laptop screen or sit on a stump next to your computer. Plug 'em into your USB port, and this little critter blinks and moves its head.
Available at Think Geek and Strapya World. There's also a cute video (on both sites) where you can see these little guys in action.

That's it for now. More cute stuff soon!

~Allie

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Friday, June 19, 2009

Tonari no 801-chan Anime is a go!

The inspiration for 801-chan 4-panels in the US is becoming an anime short!

From Anime News Network:

The fourth volume of Ajiko Kojima's Tonari no 801-chan manga will ship in Japan on September 10 with a "Tonari no 801-chan R" anime short on DVD. The manga follows the personal life of a fujoshi (female boys-love Otaku) and her Otaku boyfriend. Yutaka Yamamoto (Kannagi) will direct the production of the 90-second "opening anime" at Aniplex's A-1 Pictures studio (Kannagi, Ookiku Furikabutte). Yamamoto is best known for working at Kyoto Animation on The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya and part of Lucky Star before being forced out of the studio. He has not returned to Kyoto Animation, but has since launched his own studio, Ordet.

For those of you that know Japanese, Amazon has the drama CDs.

Tonari No 801-chan Drama CD: $56.98

Tonari No 801 Chan Drama CD: $64.98

~Meg

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Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Game Review: Final Fantasy IV: The After Years for Wii

Final Fantasy IV: The After Years is one of the newest RPGs released by Square Enix through WiiWare. Originally released in Japan for the cell phone, we finally get to see the Kingdom of Baron once more.

To purchase this game, it is best that you purchase a Wii Points Card. Once you get your points, you can then download the game. Remember, you need to be connected to the internet to do so.

The game follows are main hero, Ceodore, son of Cecil and Rosa. After a period of peace, the second moon has reappeared the skies of the Blue Planet. Ceodore is currently testing to become a knight for the Red Barons. When his quest is completed, they are attacked by a horde of monsters. Meanwhile, a Mysterious Girl has appeared. Controlling Bahamut, she seeks the Crystal and attacks Baron.

Throughout the story you meet old friends like Palom and Porom and new friends like the Hooded Man. The game is old-school Final Fantasy, from the graphics (understandable since it's been ported from a cell phone), to the gameplay. Like previous Final Fantasy games, newcomers may find the game more challenging and that's just the way I like it.

This game brings a ton of potential and I'm looking forward to playing this for a while, not because I'm slow but because I tend to stop playing and then pick it up again later. Yup - I know, I'm weird. As a side note, for FFVII, I got to the last stage before I stopped playing. 2 years later, I then finished the game. >_<

My only question is whether or not the game was released for the right platform. From my experience, the people who have the Wii aren't traditional gamers. I'm not sure how many of them will be purchasing the game, especially since it is a bit more challenging than the new Final Fantasy games, especially the Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicle series. My advice to new gamers, power level. If the story is anything like the original Final Fantasy IV, it will be totally worth it.

Other than that, my only other recommendation is using a Wii Classic Controller. It's hard to utilize the Wii Remote's directional pad since it doesn't give you a 360 degree range of movement. Nevertheless, for those that are cheap like me, the Wii Remote handles the job decently.

I highly recommend this game and hope that we see more traditional OG RPGs from Square Enix in the future.

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Friday, June 12, 2009

June Manga Web-a-thon = Bad Idea

I can't keep my mouth shut anymore. The direction that Digital Manga has taken in the recent months have been odd and nerve-wracking.

Their most recent announcement was the June Web-a-thon. (For info, go to Manga Blog.)The only thing is, the Web-a-thon isn't a pledge, it's a pre-payment system for something you may never see. Pre-payment is fine. However, when going through the site, there's no indication of when you will receive the product. Furthermore, it's going through Pay Pal so you are sending the money directly to them. Is there a hold on the payment? Pay Pal requires you to hold the payment before the product ships. And there's a time limit too.

The whole legality of this is questionable. When you purchase pre-orders, there's usually a hold of some sort. Occasionally, a deposit is required... maybe even re-stocking fees. None of these terms are outlined on their website. Or if it is, it's almost impossible to find.

Not only that, but there is no way to contact them regarding the complexities of this type of program. As the blog, Comics Worth Reading, mentioned, what happens if you change your mind or move? Well, you just need to contact them. But how? Who knows.

Do they even have a page where you can check what book you've ordered through their web-a-thon. I don't remember what I've ordered 2 weeks ago, let alone, remembering something I've bought several months ago. If there's no way to check, the best thing would be to print records yourself, or hope that paypal has detailed records.

The pre-order thing also makes me nervous as it reminds me of Drama Queen's Rush subscription. I can only see the same thing happening for DMI.

DMI needs to re-think how they implement things. The web-a-thon actually is an interesting idea and could be a great strategy for them, but at this point in time, it's being implemented hap-hazardly.

My advice to fans... Buyer Beware. If you can afford to lose $9 + shipping, go ahead.

DMI - please stop doing this! This new strategy sounds great, but I smell disaster coming and we need you to ride out the storm so we can ensure that we'll have great yaoi titles (and other titles) in the future.

~Meg

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Book Review: Dead and Gone by Charlaine Harris

Book Information
Publisher: Penguin
Publication Date: May 2009
ISBN-13: 978-0441017157
MSRP: $25.95
Format: Hardcover
Available from Amazon.com

Sookie Stackhouse is a human (maybe?) with the ability to hear people's thoughts. While that sounds like a nifty trick, in reality picking up stray thoughts from people's heads isn't all that fun and exciting. For Sookie, it is turning out to be hazardous to her health as her abilities take her deeper into the supernatural world around her.

Book #9 of the Southern Vampire sereis opens with the shifters coming out of the closet. Soon after the announcement, Crystal, Jason's wife, is found dead in the parking lot of Merlots. Is this a hate crime since Crystal was a werepanther? Or is Sookie in the middle of yet another war among the supernatural?

The Southern Vampire Series is/was one of my favorite series and I have been reading it since book 1 came out in 2001. So after almost 8 years of following Sookie, I am willing to give the series a little slack. We are old friends and can forgive each other an off day or two. But, the problem with long running series is that eventually the author gets a critical point. She can choose to end the series with a logical and fulfilling conclusion. Or, she can try to squeeze a few more books (and a few more royalty checks) out of it. Option 2 forces the reader to give up on a series completely or fool themselves into thinking that "maybe the next book will be better." Well, when volume #8 came out, I was hoping that volume 9 would be "just a little bit better." But I can see the writing on the wall and I think it is time for me, Sookie and friends to part.

The problem with the book is that nothing happens yet everything happens at the same time. For example, a fairy assassian is gunning for Sookie. Harris spends almost an entire chapter describing how Sookie is going to relieve some stress by gardening. And when the fairy shows up to kill Sookie while she is weeding the plants, Harris is able to kill off the fairy in about 2 paragraphs. I understand the element of surprise was important in Sookie coming out on top. But seriously? All that buildup for a nonexistent scene? No last dying words from the fairy? No "oh shit, I am going to die" inner monologue from Sookie?

The entire book follows the same format. All filler and no resolution or climax. The book ends with a cliffhanger, leaving many dead, countless injured and no real idea if some of the main characters will be around in book 10. But honestly, I closed the book not even caring who makes it and who doesn't. The only thing I could think was that the series used to be soooo good!

For Sookie fans willing to stick it out, at least wait until the paperback comes out. If you are dying to know what happens, check out the hardcover from the library. For readers who were a little skeptical after reading volume 8, I would quit while you are ahead. Stop now while you still have good feelings about the series and the characters. Better yet, just start watching the TV adaptation on HBO, True Blood.

xoxo,
Tissie

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Book Review: In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan

Publisher: Penguin

Publication Date: April 2009

ISBN-13: 978-0143114963

MSRP: $15.00

Format: Mass market paperback

Available from Amazon.com


I enjoy a good conspiracy theory every once in a while. But sometimes you get a book that is disturbing because it isn't a theory, it is actually based in fact. Take everything you have learned about nutrition from the food pyramid to your "recommended daily allowances" and toss it out the window. Because since the 1980's Americans haven't been eating "food." Nope, we have eating "food products" or "food substitutes" and that is an entirely different ballgame.


In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto, is a call to action to defend real food. The book makes a startling point, that as we become increasingly consumed with issues of health, we have become increasingly unhealthy. The problem isn't low-fat, trans-fat, poly-unsaturated fat, or any other evil nutrient, but rather the fact that most of the "food science" that goes into making new food products has no science backing it up. Our great grandparents all lived long and healthy lives with out any of these specially formulated foods. So, it stands to reason that the problem is that Americans have simply stopped eating food.




Pollan systematically goes through the current nutritional advice and pokes holes into each theroy. He also points out numerous food scandals in which we have been told by the FDA or scientist to consume some nutrient over another only to find out that that advice had dire impacts on our health. (Of course, each of these past scandals have been swept under the rug, so this is the first time you will hear about them.) So in the end, what is a girl to do? According to Pollan, we don't need food pyramids, recommended daily allowances or anything else. We just need seven simple words, "Eat Food. Not too much. Mostly plants." Pollan describes these 3 tenants in more detail in the book, but it is basically a lot of common sense. If it has more than 5 ingredients, ingredients you can't pronounce and doesn't resemble the animal or plant is supposed to come from? It probably isn't food. Oh and if someone goes through great pains (a lot of marketing dollars) to convince you that something is health? Chances are it isn't!


This is a good read for anyone and everyone. You see TV ads all the time sponsored by some food lobby and you can't help but believe something is true after it hearing it so many times. And surely, if it wasn't true, they wouldn't let them put false labels on boxes or make false claims, right? Wrong! Most of those claims are considered marketing and don't need to be backed by science or testing. And most of the claims are subjective anyway.


But a really "fun" game to play after reading this book is to go through your home pantry and see how much in it is actually food and how much are engineered food products. It was pretty disturbing and enlightening when I opened up my refrigerator. I would say only about 20% of the "food" in my cabinets could actually be defined as food... Another good book to check out is Skinny Bitch by Roy Freedman and Kim Barnouin. After reading it, you will never want to drink a glass of milk again. I don't care how cool those "got milk" ads are!


xoxo,

Tissie


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Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Things that make you go *squee* 2

Disney Sweets!!!
These little Disney themed cell phone straps are kawaii!!! There are 20 different charms, including cakes, pancakes, ice cream, donuts, lollipops, coffee and fruits. Most are on pre-order, and several are already sold out. I'm not sure if I'm going to order these or not because, they make me hungry!

You can purchase these at Strapya World.


Hello Kitty meets Gloomy Bear! Cell phone straps.
Hmmm... there's something kinda creepy about Hello Kitty in a Gloomy Bear suit, but kinda cute in a weird gothic way. I see blood spatters, but where is Pitty?

You can purchase these at Strapya World.





Warning: Rated "H".
H is for ecchi... :D Need I say more?
Only XS and M are left, so get yours quick!

Purchase this t-shirt at JList.



Cinnamoroll Egg Shaper.
A friend of mine recently told me about egg shapers. I had no idea that you could take a warm egg, lock it into an egg shaper like this one, put it in the fridge, and have the egg come out in the shape of whatever the mold looks like! Sooo cute! They come in various shapes, including Helly Kitty, My Melody, fish, cars, rabbits, bears, and many more.

Just go to JList and search "egg shaper" to see all of the designs that they carry.


IWG 1" Zipper Pulls!
I love really cute zipper pulls, and KidRobot has come out with yet another set of really cute characters! IWG aka Insurgents Wilderness Gruppo has designed a set of 1" zipper pulls that come in blind boxes. There are 17 different designs, including four ?? figures. These cost $3.95 each, and can be purchased at KidRobot.

They also have a really cute Munny set of zipper pulls for $2.95 each. :D



Tokidoki skins for Macbook Pros and iPhones.
Tokidoki meets Apple. *squee* My Macbook Pro needs a new look, and I think I've found it. These protective skins for your laptop come in 4 designs and are $29.95. I can't decide between the Gela-Skin Inferno (pictured) or the Gela-Skin 777. Tissie, some of these are available for the 13" macbooks! These are available through the TokiDoki store.

Hmm... must go shop. :D
~Allie *squeeeeee*

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