*Crystalline* Is Completely Vulnerable To Attack.
I saw this balloon and thought, I deserve that balloon.
So perfectly round and red, utterly perpendicular to the meatscape beneath...makes one want to stuff it inside one's shirt and attempt the 'hoo boy, I'm sooo pregnant' escape-theft method.
Futhermore, I understand the marketability of the generic "Buy One, Get One Free" advertisement, but I still think it should be more specific. Such as, "Buy One Meat, Get Second Meat Free." Or "Buy One Cook's Spiral Sliced Hams Halves or Cook's Smoked Half Rump Hams, Buy Second Cook's Spiral Sliced Hams Halves or Cook's Smoked Half Rump Hams Free." Just saying.
I was at Borders last Monday and while, frustratingly, I found myself practically in a desert of new manga releases, their Paperchase section had some new stuff out. Of which I want one of everything.
You know how they have little table displays of themed items? Recently they came out with a line of owl print stuff: bags, stationary, erasers, coin purses, etc. I was into it--although the folksy-indie-vintage owl thing seems to be getting around-- but I'm glad I held off becaaaaause most recently they've put out a line of SERIOUSLY SERIALLY CUTE food prints. Like, mushrooms with little smiling faces cute. Happy popsicles. Delighted strawberry cream cakes. OMG. >.< ♥
Honestly, unadulterated cuteness doesn't come as easy to the U.S. as it does for Japan or South Korea. Sometimes I just want to take America into my arms and say, 'It's okay, America. Let go. Just...let it go.'
And then maybe I can build up a consumer immunity to such things as this.
*points* Right? Right?!
I also bought a set of two tea towels with this print, a metallic tin with this print, and this SUPER-CRAZY AWESOME 4-in-1 plastic container set, each container having a giant cute food on its lid. I'm going to post pictures of it all.
And I'm so not even done yet.
There's an umbrella, an apron, magnets, a silverware set, and quite possibly more that I'm sure I'll die without. I KNOW IT.
*has a cuteness breakdown*
My favorites are the mushroom, the cake, the popsicle thing, the bread slice, and the hot chocolate. XD
And then yummy, yummy COOPcakes.
Some of them are sparkly.
EDIT: As much as I loved ending this entry with the above, I now feel like doing this book meme instead of sleeping!
Commence book meme!
1. What author do you own the most books by?
Tanith Lee, with some close runner-ups.
Mangaka? Um, let's see, what's my longest series. LOL. I haven't bought all of Inuyasha, so it's definitely Yoko Kamio's Boys Over Flowers, which is at 35 volumes presently.
2. What book do you own the most copies of?
I have two copies of William Goldman's The Princess Bride; one's an original printing. I also have an original release of a Piers Anthony book. I put it away somewhere and I can't remember which title it was...anyway, I think I have two copies of that story. Otherwise I'm not much for doubling up, unless the jackets for a hardcover and softcover of a book are hella gorgeous.
3. Did it bother you that both those questions ended with prepositions?
Well, if you're going to bring it up. O.< ~*
4. What fictional character are you secretly in love with?
Nwah-ha-ha-ha. Shall I cheat and count the post-movie book adaptation of The Labyrinth? Yes. Therefore, I am "secretly" in love with Jareth, King of The Goblins. ♥
I have a lot of other page-trapped crushes, ranging in depth. XD (Otani from Love*Com, Sandman from Absolute Sandman, Howl from Howl's Moving Castle, Captain Wentworth of Persuasion (most romantic story ever!), Raven from The Raging Quiet, major ETC.♥)
5. What book have you read the most times in your life?
Oh maaaan. I remember when I was younger I read Kristen D. Randle's The Only Alien On The Planet over and over.
Lifetime though,...maybe Tanith Lee's Tales From The Flat Earth series, specifically The Lords of Darkness omnibus.
I read the majority of the Harry Potter books many times--but I've read the seventh book only once. LMAO. I needed some time to "deal" after the finale. I think I'm about due for its second go...I'd still almost rather pretend that certain things never happened. ToT
Jane Austen, Charlaine Harris, Diana Wynne Jones, Francesca Lia Block, Laurell K. Hamilton, Piers Anthony, Terry Pratchett, and Tamora Pierce get frequent rereads because of their unending awesomeness.
And you know I reread my manga like mad. :D
6. What was your favorite book when you were ten years old?
The Only Alien On The Planet. I was eleven then, though, when it came out.
Runaway Robot by Lester Del Rey was another favorite.
Generally, I was into a lot of mysterious, spooky stuff--or sometimes outright horror, like R.L. Stine and Christopher Pike. I was into the Sweet Valley Twins too, which at times could be horrifying, given perspective. n.n
7. What is the worst book you've read in the past year?
Not exactly the worst, but I was disappointed by Christopher Moore's latest book, Fool. I get what he was trying to do, but it was too cutesy and just overshot itself into the unfunny.
Also, I have to give a shoutout to the Twilight series for being the most unspeakably terrible books to receive mainstream attention. Seriously, I...touched that when it first came out years ago and I couldn't get past the initial pages. Aside from its vast technical faults, I'm really disturbed by the idolization of the Bella/Edward relationship.
I mean, otherwise I just have to be amused by the Mary Sue-ness of it all. And Robert Pattinson has given me so many LOLgasms these past few months that it's not a total fail.
(Tangent: I WILL NEVER FORGIVE Kristen Stewart for being in the movie Speak. EVER.)
8. What is the best book you've read in the past year?
Just one? Forget that.
♥ Harry, A History: The True Story of a Boy Wizard, His Fans, and Life Inside the Harry Potter Phenomenom . Melissa Anelli
♥ Comic Book Tattoo . Various Contributors
♥ Blood Roses . Francesca Lia Block
♥ House of Many Ways . Diana Wynne Jones
♥ Angel . Cliff McNish
♥ Hatter M . Frank Beddor, Ben Templesmith, Liz Cavalier
♥ the Style School and American Gothic & Lolita Bible releases
♥ topping the manga list would be High School Debut, Red River, Boys Over Flowers, Parasyte, Love*Com, and Ouran High School Host Club
There's more, really. XP
9. If you could force everyone to read one book, what would it be?
Kittenwar: May The Cutest Kitten Win!. Then the world would be like "Awwww." And then we'd all get a full-body massage from the resounding vibrations of the simultaneous "Awwww."
10. Who deserves to win the next Nobel Prize for literature?
Can it be awarded posthumorously? I would like to see another woman win the next Nobel Prize and there are several who would qualify. Some of them do happen to be dead, but that shouldn't matter.
11. What book would you most like to see made into a movie?
Oooh. Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr, I think. That would be fun. As long as they didn't fuck it up.
Or Keturah and Lord Death by Martine Leavitt. Juliet Marillier's Wildwood Dancing.
I would die if any of Tanith Lee's works went big screen. >.< ♥
12. What book would you least like to see made into a movie?
Seriously? That's the list that never ends. Yes, it goes on and on, my friend.
If you could perchance see to the unmaking of Twilight, that would be fucking awesome. Totally bomb, thanks.
14. What is the most lowbrow book you've read as an adult?
:D *cough* The Lords of the Underworld series by Gena Showalter. They amuse me, okay?!
15. What is the most difficult book you've ever read?
Ugh. Difficult as in intellectually convoluted? Well, there was this one book on Ancient Celtic tribes and their lore that I had to read for a class. It was exasperating. The translation didn't help much, either. Can't remember the title! \(>.<)/
16. Do you prefer the French or the Russians?
...I have no such preference. n.n
17. Umberto Eco?
Yes, please. I like his works on art. And I'm certain I read an article of his on the internet.
18. Roth or Updike?
I refuse to choose!
19. David Sedaris or Dave Eggers?
Both! >:D I defy you, book meme!
20. Shakespeare, Milton, or Chaucer?
Shakespeare, straight up.
21. Austen or Eliot?
Gnurghh. I love Austen and am only semi-proficient with Eliot, so Austen for the win, I guess!
22. What is the biggest or most embarrassing gap in your reading?
Nothing I'm ashamed of, really. I read a lot, so anything I want to read I'll get around to. Hopefully. And I'm not one to think that the simple act of opening a book deifies a person.
23. What is your favourite novel?
See question five. The books I read the most will always be my favorite novels. My professors could make me read a "classic" only so many times. LOL.
24. Play?
The Importance of Being Ernest . Oscar Wilde
Comedy of Errors . William Shakespeare
There's more, but...I think I'm finally getting sleepy. XD
25. Short story?
I love all of Tanith Lee's shorts. Francesca Lia Block's too. I love collections of fantasy/science fiction shorts. Neil Gaiman is awesome! Edgar Allan Poe, of course. David Sedaris. Anais Nin, :D :D :D! Margaret Atwood.
26. Work of non-fiction?
So much! When I was kid, I was hardcore into fiction at the expense of nonfiction. It didn't bother me then and it doesn't now, but I do appreciate their intermingling. I love books about history, crafts, writing, art, books about books, music, and so on. I strongly believe in self-education.
27. Who is your favorite writer?
Tanith Lee, LOL. Followed by a plethora. (Diana Wynne Jones, Francesca Lia Block, Garth Nix, Piers Anthony, Terry Pratchett, Laurell K. Hamilton, Charlaine Harris, J.K. Rowling, Neil Gaiman, Tamora Pierce, Margaret Weis, Mercedes Lackey, Ruth Chew, Jane Austen, Patricia A. McKillip, Melissa Marr, Martine Leavitt, Juliet Marillier, Charles De Lint, Jim Butcher, Charlotte Bronte, Virginia Woolf--and I'm not even going to list mangaka, many of whom have superb writing skills.)
28. Who is the most overrated writer alive today?
I think even mentioning their names gives them more acclaim then they're due, but: Nora Roberts, Danielle Steele, James Patterson, and their ilk. Templates much?
29. What is your desert island book?
How To Get Off This Desert Island Right Frickin' Now So That You Don't Have Only One Book To Read For A Torturously Indefinite Period Of Time by Whoever.
30. And ... what are you reading right now?
Made From Scratch: Discovering the Pleasures of a Handmade Life . Jenna Woginrich
&
Courtney Crumrin And The Night Things, Volume 1 . Ted Naifeh
THE END
And I have succeeded in my quest to pass out. Good night!