Happy Monday- Youtube

Happy Monday

Genre: Websites
Topic: Youtube.

I love Youtube.  I think its an amazing community of talented people.  I think it lets us be voyeuristic and ego driven at the same time.  Sure most of youtube is makeup tutorials and cute animals but every once in a while you encounter genius.

I've talked A LOT about the Vlog Brothers.  So I'm not going to do that now.

Here's a channel that shows viral videos to kids and teens and you hear their reactions.  From a teacher point of you, it's amazing to see the mental development of these kids.  I really enjoy the teen video too I LOVE their reactions when watching the Perry Stronger video. I've talked about Elmfy and I've talked about Charlie is so cool like. But here's Crash Course, John Green's new channel about history: Here's Hank Green's New channel Sci-show. Youtube is smart, funny and gives me hope. It's also a great distraction from writing.

Stupid STUPID TOYS

This week was Zoey’s birthday.  Overall the gifts have been fine. She got a 4 foot tall dinosaur she needs to color.  Her heart was a little broken when she saw how much she need to color and that it was two sided.

Two Barbie’s, two stamp sets and lots of odds and ends.  

But she got this:



Yep, its a game.  You feed a dog.  Each player takes hold of the leash, rolls the dice and squeezes the leash.  If the dog poops when your holding the leash, you pick up the poop.

The winner needs to have three pieces of poop on their shovel.

WHAT!

Who came up with this idea?

Who approved it?

What do the factory workers who MAKE the game feel about it?

Why do store owners stock their shelves with this?

Most importantly, WHAT PARENT APPROVED THIS PURCHASE?!?!

Here’s the thing, there’s NO CARD on the gift.  If you’re going to give such a stupid gift be proud and sign your name to it. 

Book review Tuesday: Daughter of Smoke and Bone

From Goodreads:

Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil's supply of human teeth grown dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she's prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands"; she speaks many languages--not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she's about to find out.

When one of the strangers--beautiful, haunted Akiva--fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?


My reaction:
I have to say it was a slow start for me.  Maybe because I was at my daughter's dance class when I started reading it.  But the only reason I stuck it out was because it was one EVERYONE's BEST OF 2011 list. 

SO GLAD I DID!


WOW.  The language was stunning.  The story was perfectly crafted.  I did figure out the the plot twist pretty early on, but I didn't mind at ALL.   It didn't take away from the story or the reading experience.   


Karou was a fully formed and fascinating character.   Akiva was yummy with the emo angst that makes him so appealing.  


There were a few minor plot points that weren't fully fleshed out, but the book was the first in a series and maybe those ideas will appear later on. 


I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK. 
9.5 out of 10. 


Have you read Daughter of Smoke and Bone?  What did you think of it?



On a personal note: today is my daughter's 4 birthday.  Happy Birthday kiddo.