Category Archives: Uncategorized
Movies in Bed: I AM ZIM!!!!!!
Post by Mark T. Locker.
Invader Zim has been around for a long time. Zim-related products have overwhelmed the Hot Topic employees for years. Everyone who has watched the show knows it’s because GIR is amazing. Zim is pretty great, but GIR is where it’s at.
This Nickelodeon cartoon was created by Jhonen Vasquez, which seemed highly unlikely seeing as he was previously known for his very good, but very disturbing comic Johnny the Homicidal Maniac. Zim is a horse of a different feather. He is a very egotistical but highly inept alien from the planet Irk. Their purpose is to dominate other planets. Eager to get rid of Zim for good, this leaders, the Tallest, send him on a wild goose chase to the far end of the universe. Each invader is armed with a robot warrior servant but in Zim’s case they filled its head with garbage. And so is born GIR, the dopiest, funniest, cupcake-loving robot companion you ever will see.
When they arrive on Earth, Zim disguises himself as a human child “I am normal! Nothing to see here! I am a normal human doing human things!” and GIR as a dog, zipper visible in the front plain as day. The only thing stopping him from taking over is Dib, the one person who sees through Zim’s disguise.
This is a super fun cartoon for grown-ups and adults alike. Word of warning though: if you are squeamish, there are a few episodes with a very high “ick” factor, so beware. My son loves this show but to be honest, I was watching it years before he was born. Available streaming on Amazon and surely for sale as well. Enjoy!
Bedroom Design: Should You Have a TV in Your Bedroom?
Post by Tracy Kaler.
Do you watch television in your bedroom? Many sleep experts recommend watching TV in another room and leaving your bedroom for snoozing only. But it’s not uncommon to find televisions in many bedrooms today, especially due to the sleeker wall-mounted flat screen models, which are far less intrusive than the clunky designs from days gone by. Still, there’s more than one reason watching television in your bedroom might not be such a hot idea.
• Stimulation from television keeps your mind active, so you might not be able to fall asleep as easily. That stimulation can also awaken you during the night even if you do get to sleep.
• Blue light emitted from TV suppresses melatonin, which is a necessary hormone so you can fall asleep fast and stay asleep through the night, waking up rested. What’s more, it’s recommended to stop watching television about two hours before bedtime.
• Associating other activities with your bed can make sleep seem less attractive and exclusive to your bedroom. You want to feel that the space is your sanctuary and where you go to turn things off, relax, and rest.
• If watching television does indeed contribute to getting less sleep and fewer hours of deep sleep, chances are you’ll be less productive at work, and your job will suffer.
• Watching television from bed could interfere with your relationship. Couples often use time in bed to catch up with each other and spend some quality time together. If the TV is on, they’re less likely to communicate and fall asleep together.
Bedtime Stories: Eleanor & Park
Post by Mark T. Locker.
Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell.
Happy Monday! Some people are all a-twitter about the upcoming Superbowl game; others are talking about the Grammys. And then there are those who have been awaiting the REAL big news. I’m talking (as if you don’t know) about the ALA Midwinter Conference, at which all the literary awards are announced: Newbery, Printz, Coretta Scott King, Caldecott, and many others. Nothing quite as vindicating as having read a book just before it is awarded a medal. That proves real youth librarian stuff. Well, I’m not really a youth librarian and the book I just read didn’t win, HOWEVER I have just learned that Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell just won a Printz Honor! Yayyyy!
The place: Omaha, Nebraska. The time: 1986. Eleanor is the new kids. She’s fat, poor, has vibrant red hair and pale skin. She would love to be invisible but instead she is highly visible. Park is the only Asian kid in school, half Korean. He’s just cool enough to be left alone. And despite whatever damage may be done to his standing, he is the only one who makes space for Eleanor to sit down on the bus. So it begins.
Told in alternating voices of the two main characters, we watch the awkward, emotional and painful blossoming of a relationship. Built initially on interest in comics and all the alt bands of the 80s, Joy Division, The Smiths, U2, it’s a sweet and upsetting and funny novel for teens. The audio version is fun as it has two narrators, one for each point of view. Definitely worth a read/listen.
Bedtime Stories for the Brave: Lockwood & Co.
Post by Mark T. Locker.
Lockwood & Co., book one: The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud.
Happy Christmas Eve, Everyone! I know that maybe I should be reading heartwarming books of sharing, caring, and snow. But I ain’t. I’m afraid that the last book I read was NOT about Holiday warmth, or family, or gift-giving. It was a young adult novel about scary ghosts and the children who fight them.
London, some time in the future. The Problem first arose a few decades ago. Ghosts began appearing in huge numbers. And unlike the wispy specters of days gone by, these ghosts are dangerous; just a little ectoplasmic caress and you’ve been “ghost touched” which can be fatal. Interestingly, children are more sensitive to these spectral forces; adults cannot see or hear them. So it is children who work as ghost hunters.
The story surrounds Lucy Carlyle, who has joined the team of Anthony Lockwood and George Cubbins. Unlike most teams, they have no adult supervisor which makes them sometimes a little careless but always exciting. When a wealthy iron worker hires them to rid the most haunted house in England of spirits, they are in way over their heads but eager to prove their worth.
Totally scary and very engaging, this is a great read for older kids or childish adult who enjoy a good shiver. It just occurred to me: A Christmas Carol is totally a ghost story and it’s seasonally appropriate, so maybe I’m not totally off-base on this! Merry Christmas!
Movies in Bed: Real Housewives of Beverly Hills
Post by Josh Zinn.
Hello, dear readers! While being under the weather and incapacitated this past week has taught me an enormous amount about life, the immune system, and my undying love of apple crisp, perhaps nothing has resonated more with me than this revelation:
Though I am by all means a homebody, I am by no means a housewife.
I realized this specific distinction whilst watching an 8-hour marathon of Bravo TV’s “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” this past weekend. There, in that gilded cage known as reality television, Botoxed women with breasts, Birkin bags, and bucks a’plenty show little regard for sanity, sobriety, or civility as they compete amongst themselves for the adoration of a tweeting fan base. As I unceasingly observed them from the comfort of my bed/infirmary, their tantrums over issues such as petty gossip, suicide, book deals, and the loss of one’s husband to Leann Rimes began to really hit home with me, disrobing me of the veil of judgment I was all too happy to wear in their honor.
Now, mind you, I have never lost a lover to a country chanteuse. For that matter, I’ve never been to rehab, had a former career as a dancer on Club MTV, nor have I willingly injected anything into my face—unless you count that time in 1988 when I made my Mom take me to Claire’s Boutique to get my ears pierced because I wanted to look like George Michael. What I do know all too well, however, is the unyielding pressure of scandal, sass, and scintillation that accompanies a personality too big—too glamorous, really—for everyday life to contain on its own.
Instead, it must be documented for the world to see!!
Therefore, I decided to attempt to become a housewife for a day. Here’s how it went:
7:30AM – Wake up. No one is waiting for me with a bathrobe. I have to make my own coffee. It’s too cold. Have to microwave it. Now it tastes like the Tikka Masala leftovers we had a couple of days ago.
9:00AM – Thought about exercising. That was fun. Watched a cooking show instead.
10:00AM – Gonna get into the shower now. Oh, wait… The View is on.
11:00AM – I still haven’t talked to anyone today. My better half is STILL asleep. I’m still thinking about exercising, but now it seems like a chore and I’ve already unloaded the dishwasher, so that’s more than enough for the day.
1:00PM – I ate an apple. Because I was feeling naughty, I had it with peanut butter. Thank goodness all my blinds are closed or the paparazzi might see me awkwardly slumping here on my couch.
2:00PM – Finally left the house to buy toilet paper, deodorant, and groceries and noticed that there are an inordinate amount of children out on the streets. Oh god, it’s a holiday. That’s it. I’m going back home. The hummus can wait.
4:30PM – Wish I had bought that hummus.
6:00PM – Just watched a documentary on North Korea and followed that with one on Bigfoot. Two mysterious entities no one knows much about. I’m already in my pajamas.
8:00PM – Maybe I’ll call my editor. He’s not answering. I leave a message that makes me sound morose when, in fact, I’m really just bored.
9:00PM – I love my DVR, but I’ve seen all of these episodes of Four Weddings already. I have a moment of hating myself for allowing this to actually be a problem, but the angst is extinguished by my decision to watch that DVD of My Super Sweet 16 I procured from my parents’ house.
11:00PM – I can’t believe how stuck up and lazy all those girls are! Maybe I’ll not move for another half hour and watch another episode…
11:30PM – I just opened a bag of chocolate chips and ate a handful because we have nothing sweet in the house.
11:35PM – I eat another handful, but try to put too many in my mouth at once and a bunch of chocolate chips fall onto the floor. I’ll sweep them up tomorrow.
12:00AM – I guess I should go to bed. All this glamour has tuckered me out. Dangit, I forgot to make the bed and the sheet is somehow twisted in a knot and on the floor. Life is so hard!
12:15AM – The walls of my apartment are thin and the reclusive neighbor next to me snores really loudly. It’s like he’s reaching out for a friend, but deep down I know he isn’t.
12:30AM – Maybe my coffee will taste like coffee tomorrow. Good night.
As you can see, dear readers, while this day was action-packed, it nonetheless lacks that certain “something” that makes a housewife a HOUSEWIFE. Thank goodness, then, for Bravo’s bevy of beauties and their critical role as spokeswomen for the secret stars in all of us. In-between all those times I was vomiting into a paper bag, they made this weekend a real winner.
