Self-rescuing princess from ThinkGeek.
Obama shirt from Chris Bishop.
They don’t go together so well, but every so often even the most competent princess needs a little bit of help, right?
January, 2009:
T-shirty goodness
Cars
Is it just too geeky to want to get a new Toyota Matrix so I can name it Eigen?
My little old Geo Prizm is going to need to be replaced by something NOT old enough to vote, and with a bit more room for 2 people and dog. It’s been a remarkable car, but all good things must come to an end. And… Matrix. I mean really.
Congratulations
Neil Gaiman wins Newbery Medal for The Graveyard Book. Hooray! (And a Medal, how cool is that?)
You can listen to Neil reading the book chapter by chapter during the book tour. (Neil is one of the few authors who SHOULD read his own works.)
Edit: I just looked through the winner’s lists for the Hugo for Best Novel and the Newbery Medal. Neil Gaiman is the only author to win both, though not for the same book. No other author has even both been nominated for a Hugo and made the honors list for the Newbery. I was rather surprised, as some excellent fantasy novels have appeared on the Newbery list over the years (though not much SF). Madeleine L’Engle was my first guess for possible other dual winners, but she is not. The Newbery is for American authors (citizen or resident), while the Hugo has no such restriction, so that may account for some of the lack of overlap.
Later edit: I double-checked the Hugo/Newbury listings. I wasn’t sure my cursory sort really was correct. Neil Gaiman is the only author to win both, but Ursula Le Guin was on the Newbery Honors list in 1972, and won the Hugo in 1970 and 1975.
Inauguration
With the Inauguration of a new US president, we get many new things: a new Cabinet, new inspiration, new hope. And also, new toys.
Edit: The original site seems to have gone away (maybe they weren’t tested for lead?), but others were smart enough to grab the images.
The President gets a cool new toy too. (Cadillac One – Suitable for action heros!) Photos of the finished car are here.
Think of the children
Poorly-thought out legislation could lead to unforeseen consequences. The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act is intended to protect children by mandating the testing of toys and other children’s products for lead. Good idea, right? But the law is vaguely-worded, and as written requires the testing of books for lead as well. This expensive and destructive testing could have serious implications for bookstores and libraries. Alternatives to testing include banning children under 12 from libraries to keep them safe.
A statement from the Consumer Product Safety Commission is available here (PDF), and states: “However, a book intended or designed primarily for children would need to meet the new lead content limit of 600 ppm and subsequently 300 ppm established by the CPSIA.” and “The analysis above is equally applicable to educational magazines, posters, bookmarks and other such products that are printed on cardboard or paper and have no play value.”
This site has more information and a contact number at the CPSC.
Edit: But wait… it gets worse.
Edit 2: Statement from the American Library Association.
