HOW KIDS' BOOKS FILMS AND BOOKS HAVE CHANGED

I remember this from childhood. They must have replayed it in the 80s. It's so odd and obviously drug inspired.



It burned into my memory I guess because it was so odd.

I remember the below movie that my dad rented for us kids when we were little. REALLY weird. A boy loses his hair after a great fright (first it turns white) and ghosts come to visit him to give him "the peanut butter solution" so that he can grow it back... only he makes the solution wrong and his hair grows like crazy. A painter guy kidnaps the boy to make paintbrushes out of his hair because his hair is magical. You can walk right into the painter's paintings. You can't make this stuff up!



This is the crazy part: It says a movie for the whole family. I DISTINCTLY remember one part of the movie. The boy's friend puts "the peanut butter" solution down his pants and grows pubic hair out his pant legs. Um.... This would never fly today!

Despite the insanity and the pubic hair incident, there's something missing in today's movies for kids and dear I say even books. They're too sterile and SAFE. You can't do this and you can't do that and a parent might complain about this or that and what you end up with and not much of anything! This is why I do nonfiction. There's something in telling a real story that is unusual that still excites me. People ask me constantly why I stopped writing fiction and this is why. Everything in fiction has been done and I'd just be repeating things. I want to do something new!

But this post isn't about me. I want to talk about kids' movies and books in general. I just think thinks have changed. They're very different. For better? For worse? What do you think?

MY CREATIVITY GONE WILD

As a person with attention problems and some hyperactivity issues... I find myself sometimes having trouble harnessing my creativity. This is especially true when I need to start something NEW. Once I get into the routine of painting or writing then I'm okay - I can ignore my other impulses somewhat - but in the beginning I'm ALL OVER THE PLACE.

Therefore, I have made a little film. Actually, I've been doing a lot of this. I made one on "the birds." This is my latest on the snow storm. I really need to get a real video camera and stop using my iPod but for now it seems to do the trick. I can make something out of nothing it seems. In other words, I can find many ways to waste time/procrastinate no matter what.



(And yes, these folks were walking in the middle of the street at 2 am. Very odd indeed)

ORGANIZATION

Yeah, so why not put products on here too...

Whenever I finish a book (just did! - I think?) I need to CLEAN. I think a lot of authors and illustrators do this. Perhaps it's a way of moving on? De-cluttering the mind? I don't know.

Anyway, I just saw this on the Container Store website. They are power-strip boxes. Hide all of your cords in there and you're good to go. I can't wait to hide all of my computer cords in there. And the colors are really lovely. Love it!





So cute!

(and yeah, I can't believe I'm calling boxes that hold cords "cute.")

PERHAPS YOU'RE WONDERING...

Why I talk about e-books so much if I don't like them. Well... yes, they worry me. A lot. But also, at my job, they are in my face PLENTY. There is a "community" space for us employees to read and ALL it has been about e-readers. We are pretty much being brainwashed! Well... that's the goal anyway. So I really can't escape it. But I want this blog to be varied. So...

What I have coming up:
I have sent my author friend interview questions but she's gotten quite ill so that is on hold.

I have sent my mom (yes, my mom!) interview questions about reading and literacy. I had extreme attention problems as a youngster so I asked her how she handled that. She is also a social worker in a school system and works with disabled children and has seen teachers badly handle reading to groups. So I've asked her about that. I think it'll be a great interview! I just have to hope for another snow day so that she can get it done!

I will pester my editors to see if I can suck an interview out of them.

I have also asked my aunt, who is a librarian in D.C, if I can interview her.

To my readers: If you think you have something interesting to say and are a librarian or teacher or editor or designer or author then speak up!

B&N NOOK UNDER FIRE

B&N is being sued by Spring Design for "stealing" design features now existing in the Nook. I'd known about this for a while and had read the actual court documents via Wikileaks. But apparently the lawsuit is going forward. The judge this month said there is enough evidence to go to trial. I don't like this!!! (I have my reasons).

FROM PC WORLD NOV 2009:
"According to court documents, Spring Design first presented their design for Alex to a Barnes & Noble consultant on February 17, 2009 – five days after both sides signed a non-disclosure agreement. On March 20, Spring Design met with Ravi Gopalakrishnan, head of B&N software development, who allegedly told Spring executives that B&N wanted a product that would compete with the Kindle.

"In April and May, Spring Design met with other B&N executives, including William Lynch, president of B&N.com and Kevin Frain, B&N's CFO. Lynch and Frain were given a product demo and shown a PowerPoint presentation for an Android-based e-reader known as Alex.

"Lynch warned Spring's Albert Teng that he should not consider Amazon as a content partner, because Amazon was likely to steal Spring's unique idea without ever buying anything from Spring," according to court documents.

"Thanks for coming and showing us your innovative work," Lynch wrote in an e-mail after the meeting. "Kevin [Frain] owns these partnerships and I know he's excited to work with you. Looking forward."

In July, B&N requested a summary of Spring's product development and on October 1, B&N had a meeting with Spring's CEO to discuss possible revenue sharing for Spring's Alex device in the university textbook market."

LAW 360 SAYS:
In his Dec. 27 opinion Judge Ware said the evidence B&N and Spring submitted showed "extensive dispute" over whether prior e-reader devices had "disclosed all aspects of plaintiff's trade secrets" and that the evidence was divided on whether B&N had developed the Nook independently.

"Comparing the specific features of the Nook with [Spring's] alleged trade secrets is a fact-intensive task best left to a jury," the judge said.

In December 2009, Judge Ware denied Spring's motion for a preliminary injunction in the suit, allowing B&N to market the Nook while the lawsuit continued. At the time, the judge found that Spring had not shown sufficient likelihood of success on its merits or that an injunction would be in the public interest."

What will become of all of this? What if B&N couldn't make the Nook anymore? Would they go back to focusing on what they did prior? PRINTED BOOKS? What if what they owed was too great? Can the industry survive without this giant? I know on a personal level I cannot. Hmmm.

My own vote is that the Nook looks far better than Alex design wise. So whether features were taken or not, they definitely improved upon things. And as you know, I'm not a fan of e-readers - but if I HAD to pick one, I would pick the Nook. It looks better. I always go by looks. I would pick the iPad but it's too big/heavy to carry around and therefore doesn't work for reading purposes. It works more as a laptop without the keyboard.

What would you pick?

OH MY GOD...YES, IT'S THE DEWEY DECIMAL RAP.

You know you've "made it" when kids are making their own mocking versions....



I like this LIBRARY RAP:



I'm going to tell every fool who comes into the bookstore wanting to use it like a library - by purchasing stuff (books - or worse, DVDs that they've WATCHED - yes, opened the shrinkwrap) and then returning it - over and over again - to WATCH THESE VIDEOS! UGH... I've asked customers: "Why don't you just go to the library?" "The what?" they ask. "The Library." "What is a library?" S-C-A-R-Y.

OR what's really funny/scary is what happened once: I guy came up to me and said
"Where can I rent this?"
"Rent this?" inquired
"Yeah. Rent this," he said, as he held up a book.
"I said, "You mean check it out, like you do in a library."
He said "Yeah."
I repeated "Check this OUT?"
He nodded.
"I said "Like a LIBRARY?"
He said "Yeah."
I said "This isn't a library. It's a bookstore."
He just stared.
"Um...You have to buy the book," I added.
"I can't rent it?" he asked.
"No," I said.
Mind you, he WAS NOT foreign. He did not have an accent.
"I have to buy it?"
"Yes."
"Then I don't want it," he said.
"Well why don't you go to the library," I suggested.
"What's a library," he said.
"You know, you can check out books and stuff," I said.
"Oh," he said. "Well where is one?" he asked.
I explained where to go.
"It's too far away," he said, and walked away.

I told my sister, who works at the Columbia University Library, to check out these raps and she said, "I'm not that kind of librarian. I'm not a library dork." Oh, dear sister, we all are. YOU ESPECIALLY.

MY BOOKSHELVES

One of many....



I started to arrange my books by subject: photography, graffiti, children's books, paintings, pop surrealism, and so on. It's a big project! I also have my can collection of OK Soda. Anyone remember OK soda? I think the soda was only released in certain states but the graphic design was AMAZING!







Then there is my Gary Baseman lunch box



And my giant pencil (out of frame) that I carved out of a tree that I cut down freshman year of college. I'm too lazy to look for a photo of it so you'll just have to imagine it.

So yeah, there are lots of other things on this mammoth bookshelf. Up top are really cute and amazing aliens people had sewn for me. I'll show those at some point perhaps, as well, but that also involves taking more photos.

I have four bookshelves so I'll post more photos at other times.

THESE BOOKS MOVE!