Weekend Round Up #11

Does it make me sound old if I say something along the lines of 'gees, this year is going really fast?' I really think it is. The weeks are flying by or that could be a teacher thing...and now I have 'Seasons of Love' from Rent stuck in my head. Feel free to judge...

This week had some exciting (I use this term loosely) and interesting stuff happen in the world of the geeky. (Well, in my own opinion anyway.)

First up is another trip down nostalgia lane with news that there is a Jem and the Holograms live action movie under way. Now, the inner eighties child in me is super excited about this. Seriously, I used to have the dolls and everything. It's more than likely that I still have a copy of the tape (pre CD for those too young) that came with my exclusive Kimber doll.

Check out the announcement. Now, I am so nervous about this because it could go terribly. In fact, I almost don't want to see it because the cartoon is very ... ah... nostalgic to me. Plus, how can they make a reboot when it was so enriched in the eighties... Anyway, I'd love to hear your thoughts on what you think.

Next up we have a random bit of stuff that I stumbled across - Dresser Crabs! These dudes are seriously interesting and just a little bit fancy. They basically have a unique camouflage system where they stick stuff to their shells which are covered in an almost velcro like substance. Then they blend in with the sea floor.

Images from Animal Planet/Discovery Blog

Watch the above clip from BBC Earth on Youtube. They're just so fancy. 

Now for the more fashion conscious amongst us. These brooches from House of Ismay are going onto my want list. They take pages from great works of literature and design appropriate brooches. 

It combines fashion and literature. (I'm not so big on the fashion side of things but these are adorable.)

Then here is our musical interlude:

This is pretty awesome. I hadn't really heard this song before. I seem to be out of the loop when it comes to pop music, unless one of my students mentions something...or begs to show a clip during interval or lunch...

It's the first video on his channel which is called Ten Second Songs. Hopefully there are more to come. 

And, finally, Kevin Bacon...

I didn't watch Footloose until I was in my early teens. (I was born in the eighties but didn't get to watch all the good films until I was older) This segment on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon just makes me smile. Plus, it proves how awesome Kevin Bacon is. 

Also...here's a bonus clip just because:

Thanks to Mashable. Enjoy. 

Have a lovely weekend everyone. 

Peace and pancakes,

Jaime

YA Saves ...

I'm dusting off my soap box again. That is fair warning for any of you who don't want to hear read about the latest attack on YA fiction. (Young adult fiction for those not in the know.)

The world of twitter is a-buzz with the tag #YAsaves which seem to be in response to this article from the Wall Street Journal - Darkness Too Visible.

First, there are so many things wrong with this article that I am not going to go into. I don't have the time nor the patience to address all the flaws in logic that seem to spring from this 'article'. What I will address is the response from YA authors and YA readers a-like. All you need to do is go onto Twitter to see all the positive messages that are coming from from the #YAsaves tag. Everyone seems ready to state how much reading YA literature has saved their life and I can include myself in that. There are some great stories on twitter right now and they are inspiring.

Amy Freeman obviously does not remember reading any of the fairy tales and nursery rhymes so common in childhood and is now shocked by the lack of wholesome books for her thirteen year old. First, to her I would like to say that she needs to understand that reading about the darker side of life does not make one reach toward the nearest gun or dagger to perform ritual sacrifice or call on the dark lord any more than reading about a hungry caterpillar is going to turn people into over eaters.

Then she needs to look over the books that she read to her child when she was younger. I'm talking about books such as Hansel and Gretel, Jack and the Beanstalk and Goldilocks. If we look at these objectively the first one is about child killers, the second is about child thieves and killers and the third is about a girl who breaks into the bears house and steals food, breaks chairs and then sleeps in their beds. Is this the happy go lucky kind of reading she wants her child to have? In my own opinion Humpty Dumpty is a terrifying view of reality - imagine something being so broken that it cannot be fixed? If that doesn't hit home I don't know what will...

This is not meant as an attack on Mrs./Ms. Freeman it's more of a gripe that someone would base an article around such a silly statement that may have been taken out of context. The fact that she complains about vampires in stories rather than bunnies saying good night to things makes no difference to me, except to annoy me somewhat. What really worries me is that people are going to jump on this bandwagon or witch hunt and we are going to lose a freedom that comes with YA books. I can already hear the book banners and burners readying their pitchforks and lighting their fires.

I fear that this kind of attitude to any form of literature is going to result in the dumbing down of our children. Many places in the world already suffer from poor literacy levels and the moment books start getting banned...well we all know where that leads. As a fan of YA fiction and an advocate toward increasing literacy I don't approve of book banning since it could be the first step into a downwards spiral. We have to remember that darkness in books can be safer than darkness in real life - in fact, darkness in books is better able to help us cope with any darkness that we may face.


I can honestly say that if it wasn't for some of the YA books I read when I was younger I wouldn't be the person I am today. In fact, it could be debatable on whether I'd actually be here due to many things that happened in my life. YA fiction truly gives me hope and inspiration. It's why I work so hard on my own writing because I know the power of the written word. I know the feeling of being lost and alone is not just my burden to bare and so on.

So, Dear Wall Street Journal, please think about those lives that will be affected when you produce an article such as the one you did. Are you prepared to be a part of the current trend to dumb down the media available for children and young adults alike (plus the odd adult who really, really loves YA literature)? Are you prepared to aid in the banning of books which will result in their being less literate people around to read your articles?

As you may be able to tell, I am somewhat vexed at the moment so my writing is rather more passionate than I intended. I will leave you with some links to some great YA authors that have changed the way I think and view the world and I'm a 28 year old woman (I want to say girl but that sounds wrong) and sometimes too set in my ways for my own good...except when challenged to think differently by the following writers.

And, to those writers of such great fiction, you are heroes for writing great stories. Thanks to those librarians and book sellers who are not afraid to recommend great fiction to the youth of today. You are all heroes in my mind and in the minds of many others.

Peace and pancakes.
JJ

Linkies
Libba Bray's Tweets in Response to said Article
Holly Black's Twitter
Maureen Johnson's Twitter
Scott Westerfield's Twitter
John Green's Twitter
Cassandra Clare's Twitter
Jackson Pearce's Twitter
Libba Bray's Twitter

I'm going to leave this list as is because I am still reading through many of the wonderful accounts of YA Saves...

Top Five Literary Villains

Hey, look at that, it's a post that I promised a while back. You know...right after I did top five movie villains because there were some of those bad guys that started off in book form first. So, here's that list.

The Joker
He is one of the most insane, sadistic and kooky bad guys that have ever graced the pages of a book. Don't believe me, read Arkham Asylum. Then there are all the people that he inspires to follow him. Just look at Harley Quinn. That girl has some serious issues if she thinks the Joker really loves her. I know that he is better known thanks to the late Heath Ledger but still, he is one bad guy I would never want to meet at any time.

Hannibal Lector
The ultimate gentleman and connoisseur, not to mention, completely insane. His insanity is clouded by his brilliance in most cases and he has bested many foes all while helping said foes capture other bad guys. He is a true anti hero.

Sauron
Do I really need to explain this choice? He wanted to kill or enslave Middle Earth and he would go to any means to do this. Talk about your power hungry bad guys. Thank goodness for Frodo and Samwise...oh and we cannot foget Gollum.

Iago
One of Shakespeare's best villains. He betrayed, schemed and, ultimately, destroyed nearly every character in Othello. What's worse is that there is no real reason for him to do any such thing aside from revenge and, even then, that is just an excuse. Basically he was a real bastard.*

Bill Sikes
Oliver Twist is one of my favourites of Dicken's work and Bill Sikes is a just awful, which makes him a great villain. He kills Nancy, beats his dog and is just  a real bastard. I was always told that you can tell a lot about a person by the way they treat their dogs...

So, this is my list for today. Runner ups include Huck Fin's pa, Steerpike, Mrs Coulter, Captain Hook and many more.
Enjoy your day and hopefully it is not as soggy as mine is turning out to be.

*Yep, I swore. But it is the truth.