As nonchalant as our hand-drawn fonts

This is clever and it makes me laugh:




Also found this morning, someone (named Alex Cornell) has put together promotional material for a fictional Wes Anderson Film Festival as a grad school project. It is lovely. See the project here. Watch the trailer here.

Reading rainbow

Don't you love that feeling you get when you begin to trust a book?

I just started reading Ms. Hempel Chronicles by Sarah Shun-lien Bynum on my lunch break today. I chose it, as I often do (tsk tsk), for the cover. And because I just finished a longish book, which took me quite a while to get through, and this one is slim so will take much less time. I am a slow, but greedy reader. I like long books, when they are good, because you get to feel as if the story will never end. As if you can stay with that world for a very long time. This is a big advantage with a good series also. However, I like short books because they let me get on to the next thing, and the next, much sooner.

Anytime I delve into a new author I start off feeling a little trepidacious, a little skeptical. I have fallen for lovely covers before, only to be sorely disappointed in the actual book. It takes more than a few pages for a stranger to transform into a new best-loved author (ahem, Lori Lansens) but what does happen in just a few pages (or in some rare cases just a few words) is that you begin to trust the author. You begin to accept that, yes, this is a story that you want to hear. You ask, what comes next?

Which doesn't sound like much, but actually, is everything.

So far, so good.

Season of the Snail

I don't know anything about this book, but what an intriguing title!

Soft Snail Sculpture. I like Etsy.

Um... who doesn't want a Cranky Snail Skirt?

Season of the Friendly Snail, here. (Google image search).

Hedgehog riding a snail... from my favourite, the Black Apple.

Snail tape dispenser Made By Humans.

I have this in yellow/orange... but dang, the green/blue is cute too!

This is called "Diver Sprout", by Scott Campbell, the same talented guy who did those extra neat cut-away illustrations from a few posts ago.

A snail-ish mascot, found here.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar: (almost) too pretty to eat! Look at those littly feet! The green swirly icing! The fur on the caterpillar's back! Quite sweet.

Found at Cake Wrecks (this was obviously not considered a "wreck"), originated at CocoCakeCupcakes. Check out her other work too, there is a Where the Wild Things Are cake, and some crazy cute Miyazaki-themed cupcakes!

Ickle and Lardee's grand adventure (meeting with a snail).

Get to know me

One of the few forwards I actually participated in : ) I thought I would post it here too.

Welcome to the new 2009 edition of getting to know your family and friends. Here is what you are supposed to do, and try not to be lame and spoil the fun.

[edit: I don't really like the word "lame" in there... if you don't feel like replying it doesn't make you lame! : ) ]

Change all the answers so that they apply to you.. Then send this to a bunch of people you know, INCLUDING the person who sent it to you. Some of you may get this several times; that means you have lots of friends. The easiest way to do it is to hit 'forward' so you can change the answers or copy and paste. Have fun and be truthful!

I want to see your answers!!

1. What is your occupation right now?
Part time at a desk, doing office-y things (ok) and part time in a little library doing bookish things (very nice!)

2. What color are your socks right now?
Grey

3. What are you listening to right now?
Nothing (I'm at the desk job right now)... but I have my ipod and am debating between Harry Potter on audiobook and the soundtrack to Amelie

4. What was the last thing that you ate?
Breakfast of toast with almond butter & blueberry jam, and a bowl of yogurt, muesli, fresh strawberries and cinnamon. Right now I am drinking a soy mocha.

5. Can you drive a stick shift?
Yes!

6. Last person you spoke to on the phone
My brother Terry

7. Do you like the person who sent this to you?
Very much : )

8. How old are you today?
32

9. What is your favorite sport to watch on TV?
Sport? TV?

10. What is your favorite drink?
Um... totally depends. Fresh juice from my juicer (apple, carrot, beet, ginger) or a latte/mocha.... sometimes tea... somtimes a mojito... I like variety!

11. Have you ever dyed your hair?
Yes but.... too much work to maintain so not for a long time.

12. Favorite food?
Kind of seasonal... right now I love strawberries, and salads full of fresh stuff, maybe with some kind of fish on top... I eat a lot of avocados all year though... and everything is better with cheese. In the fall/winter butternut squash soup becomes a staple. I love custard tarts, pumpkin pie, mincemeat tarts... gingerbread. I would not kick an almond croissant out of bed. Hard to choose one favorite. I do enjoy eating though, that's for sure.

13. What is the last movie you watched?
"Up" on Friday, "The Wrestler" on Saturday.

14. Favorite day of the year?
Unpredictable.
(I'm stealing Elizabeth's answer. Who can know that ahead of time?)

15. How do you vent anger?
With tears, usually.
(again, stealing Elizabeth's answer)

16. What was your favorite toy as a child?
Um.... nothing stands out.. I always loved to read and draw. I did play with dolls, but mostly I liked designing houses and towns for them to live in. Oh! Lego.

17. What is your favorite season?
Autumn

18. Cherries or Blueberries?
Do I have to choose? Whichever one is in season.

19. Do you want your friends to e-mail you back/respond with their own answers?
Yes please!!!

20. Who is the most likely to respond?
Andie... or Jackie...

21. Who is least likely to respond?
Cindy :)

(Ok, so now Elizabeth and I are ganging up on Cindy. But then maybe she will reply just to teach us a lesson!)

22. Living arrangements?
Lower-floor apartment (small, but cozy) with Adrien (the boy) and Griffin (the cat)

23. When was the last time you cried?
Friday ("Up" is SAD)

24. What is on the floor of your closet?
Shoes. Dust. Spiders, probably. Cat hair, definitely.

25. Who is the friend you have had the longest that you are sending to?
Well, Leanne has been my cousin/friend since I was two weeks old, so probably her. Although Jackie (and my mom, for that matter) knew me BEFORE I was born. But if we aren't counting family, then Megan and Alissa.

26. What did you do last night?
Talked to my brother, cleaned out my fridge then put away the groceries, made a little supper and did laundry while watching Carnivale (we are in Season One).

27. What are you most afraid of?
Loss of independence (ex paralysis)

28. Plain, cheese, or spicy hamburgers?
Cindy's mustard-bean burgers (with cheese) (and avocado) (yum)

29. What is your favorite kind of dog?
big, friendly ones

30. Favorite day of the week?
Saturday.... sometimes Sunday... and the days I work at the library are pretty good too

31. How many Provinces have you lived in?
3

32. Diamonds or pearls?

Moonstones

33. What is your favorite flower?
Sweet Peas... but I also like tulips, chocolate cosmos (actually smells like chocoalte), lilacs, hydrengias, lavender, any little wildflowers, especially purple or blue ones

34. Favourite holiday destination?
A seaside (or lakeside, in a pinch) cottage, with a pile of books. Or else a new and interesting city, like Paris, New York, Lima, Venice or Tokyo.

*Photos from Google searches found here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.