Teapots, Cupcakes, and Feelin' Fine

As for all the other kidlit news out there this fine n' frisky Sunday morn, I'm just going to squish them all together into one big mondo posting.

So what do we have on our plate? Well, insofar as they include crowned frogs and doormouse references, you might want to take a gander at the world's loopiest teapots. Twenty points to anyone who can tell me what exactly the characters on the Lion and the Unicorn teapot are doing and dibs on the conker one below.


In other news We Feel Fine. No, really! According to my good buddy old pal old Don, there's a site out there that, "searches blogs for the phrase 'I Feel' and adds the remaining context to a catalogued database. With Harris’s design, the result of We Feel Fine is a trippy visualization of how the world’s bloggers are feeling at any given time. Sub-sort by genre, gender, location, and narrow results to see specific sub-sets of the blogging demographic." We're happiest in Hawaii (no surprises there, earthquake notwithstanding) and saddest in Florida. Don's going to screw with their results by constantly saying things like, "I feel impressed." I'm going to personally muck with them by saying, "I feel a brief spate of ennui."

Contest-wise, here's an interesting one. Wonderful Portland, Oregon based Powell's Bookstore is offering you a chance to Win Our New Staff Picks For Kids!. 24 in all from the year 2006 and all you have to do is plug in your e-mail address before Halloween. It's a good idea for the most part, though some of those titles err on the goofy side ("Yoga For Kids"? Really?).

In the bloggorial part of the world we turn out attention now to another contest involving free cuppy cakes and how you, the viewer, can get your hands on some. Yes, the fine as fishhair Blue Rose Girls are having a cupcake contest so as to assess viewer feedback to their blog. The voting closes at 11/5/06, so get your comments in now. A randomly selected personage will then receive delicious, moist cuppy cakes for the chewing.

My personal vote on the best piece they've ever run? Megan McCarthy's recent article on How Much Does Our Appearance Matter? I mean, how much does it? A taste of her opinion:

Example: Ever noticed how certain children’s authors use THE SAME PHOTO on the back of their jacket FOR YEARS? I always think “Hey, who are you fooling? That hat is straight out of the 80s. Update it! Proudly display your aged face!”

Just as amusing was a recent statement on the Misrule blog:

The two most evil characters in 20th century literature are Mrs Danvers and the fish from The Cat in the Hat.

I wonder, then, what it means that I was the child who thought that fish and Bert from Sesame Street had the right idea all along. Should anyone ask, I was a uniquely lame child. The kind who would create an inventory for the shelving and cataloging of the family VCR tapes.

It occurs to me that by giving you all these links today, I've left nothing for Monday morning. Let the scrounging begin then!