And like Cindy from Scherenschnitte, I’m now wondering if I can get away with that shade of red hair. :P

(via Scherenschnitte)

Papierkrieg from Makaio Tisu on Vimeo.

(via Paper Forest)

Great Lake Swimmers: official site | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube

(via SF Signal)

Mary’s world is one of rules. Rules based on commitment and faith guided by the hand of the Sisterhood. Their guidelines keep the town in order…safe from the Unconsecrated that linger outside. You are not meant to question any of it, let alone what’s beyond The Forest of Hands and Teeth. Mary wants more. She wants to love…wants to see the ocean…wants freedom. Will any of that be possible?

I’d seen a lot of sf&f blog posts about it back when it came out in hardcover and was curious. Christmas giftcards + paperback release made for a perfect time to finally check it out. I show the paperback cover here since that’s the version I read, but I really like the hardcover’s artwork better.

Anyway, Mary’s story is a haunting one and her pain seeps from the pages. Each grief she feels, the shock, betrayal, and desperation we feel it too. That was eloquently executed.

The setting was also fantastic, with it’s constant moaning of the Unconsecrated. Eek! How they just learn to accept the constant sound of them is freaky. Really…

I did have a few issues with the story though. At times I found it hard to like Mary and her self-absorbed nature. I also thought a few too many questions were left unanswered. But I understand we heard the story through Mary’s perspective alone and she didn’t know the answers. The couple of attempts to have her allude to a few were awkward. For example, trying to show Travis a picture when they are trying to escape was silly in it’s poor timing and only lended more to her being self-absorbed.

I also couldn’t understand why the characters who made it out of the village did…a little too convenient those choices were. But that’s forgivable.

I was surprised by how dark this story was. It was unexpected, yet fitting to the nature of the tale. But if you are looking for escapism and happy endings, this isn’t the story for you. Overall, I enjoyed it and I love all the analysis of character decisions that are stirring inside my head now. It’s great when stories leave that mark behind. And well, zombies! I’m sure I mentioned zombies, right? :P

“What-If?” opening from an alternate history where Lost was created and aired in 1967 as a campy sci-fi action series:

(via Tor.com)

Pretty aren’t they? Mine aren’t as crisp as that. I need to work on steadying my hand more. And I guess she placed the template on the back of the black paper, while I used the front. Makes the design flipped horizontally from mine.

I also have to add that enlarging the templates with a copier is frustrating unless you get the template lined up just so. I suggest just scanning it. Then you can print it out at whatever size you want. Anyway, as I cut them out, I taped them to the wall. And I added a few pics in just to see how they would look:

Here are a few detail shots:

And one I did in blue oragami paper but didn’t tape to the wall yet…

And here’s a owl template that I cut out a while ago but never got around to posting about. The design is from from Cindy Ferguson’s blog and if you look at hers, you may notice that I lopped off one of the fruit on mine. Whoops. :P

That’s that. Off to practice more. :D

What’s a book you most want to read again for the first time?:

Chronicle of a Death Foretold: You can never recapture the emotions of a first time read. And with this one, I initially read it in a weird state of shock/disbelief. I was captivated by the idea that so many would know someone is going to be murdered, yet do nothing about it. The story was beautifully executed. I really should try for a reread soon.

What was one of your favorite childhood books?:

Salem’s Lot: My dad gave me this book when I was about ten…for Easter, which I find funny timing for an rising from the dead story (albeit rising into undead state in the book’s case). I devoured it. Vampires, you know? I still have it and it’s pretty mangled looking now.

Runner up for this might be The Tale of the Dark Crystal, which was something I read through a million times. Tried to draw all the illustrations myself too.

Fantasy. Vampires. My love for both started young.

What’s a book that you were assigned in school that you were expecting to be bad, but that turned out to be really good?:

The Fatal Equilibrium: I was assigned this book in an economics class. I remember thinking, WTF? A fiction book for an economics class. You must be kidding me! And worse? It’s a crime story novel where the murder is solved by economic theory. Gag. Strange thing though, I ended up liking the story. I’m still shocked by that. I ended up keeping this book.

What’s your “guilty pleasure” read?:

Aah, that would have to be shojo manga and for that I’ll pick one of my favorites, From Far Away by Kyoko Hikawa. It’s about a girl who gets sucked into another world where there is the threat of the Sky Demon awakening, and guess who is supposed to be the one to wake it up? And then you have Izark who is fortold to be the one who will become the Sky Demon and he is trying to fight his fate. And then the two kids meet and well, drama! Heh. It’s pretty much a teeny romance at it’s core. Good fun though. :)

What’s a book you feel you should read, but haven’t yet?:

A Game of Thrones: This is the book I get nagged most for not having read. I feel like if I ever got around to reading it, the nagging would go away. Then again, nag me too much and it’ll never get read. :P

Meme by way of The Book Bark.

Emma Hack is an Australian skin illustrator, photographer, and sculptor. I love her camouflage body art. The female models blend perfectly into the backdrops. And of course, I adore that she works with animals—especially owls!! :)

And here’s a video with glimpses of her in action. And if you watch to the end (or fast forward) you’ll see a funny bit where one animal doesn’t really want to sit still. Flee, little one! :P (Oh, and this is skin art so yes, there is some nudity in here. NSFW)

(via My Owl Barn)