What one person might consider "odd" could easily be another's cup of tea. It's important, then, to clarify that I don't see "odd" as a bad thing at all. It's healthy for a kid to see a book written for their age level that's outside the norm and dares to get a little bit freaky.Here then, are the 2018 titles that dared to be strange in some way. May they inspire others in the future!

Poems used to be the sole property of April a.k.a. Poetry Month. Now that's changing. Publishers are rapidly putting more faith into the poetry books they produce. So let's take a look at what we saw this year, and the wide range of topics that were touched.

I think you've heard me say before that in many ways easy books are the most difficult titles to write. They are most perfect when they are most simple. And they are most simple, when they limit their text complexity. Can you make complex characters and plots with such small words? You can. These did.

Older than easy but not yet novels. The fact of the matter is that while Easy Books are hard to write, Early Chapter Books are hard to categorize. They're also ideal bedtime books for older children, which means that with the European imports you get a lot of experimentation. American early chapter books are pretty much just written to please. Here then are the books written with 6-9 year olds in mind.

This year, ALA established the first Graphic Novels & Comics Round Table (GNCRT). Long gone are the days when we would pooh-pooh anything with a panel or a little sequential art. And so, in celebration of their status, I cast aside the "graphic novel" moniker. Long live, comics! Long live, panels! And long live speech balloons!

Discover how to effectively clean and disinfect cutting boards at home. This article provides step-by-step instructions, recommending safe and natural cleaning agents to ensure a germ-free kitchen. Explore our best tips for extending your cutting board’s lifespan today!

The post The Best Way to Clean and Disinfect Cutting Boards: Your Ultimate Guide appeared first on Unclutterer.

Explore tips and techniques for deep-cleaning your kitchen tools and gadgets. Learn how to sanitize your everyday cooking utensils effectively, ensuring a healthier cooking environment and longer-lasting kitchenware. Perfect for home cooks and hygiene enthusiasts.

The post How to Clean and Sanitize Kitchen Gadgets and Tools: Your Ultimate Guide appeared first on Unclutterer.

Discover simple yet effective methods to remove coffee and tea stains from mugs, maintaining their shine and cleanliness. Our article offers practical steps and household products you can use, helping you enjoy your beverages stain-free. Goodbye, stubborn stains!

The post The Best Way to Remove Coffee and Tea Stains from Mugs: Foolproof Methods Revealed appeared first on Unclutterer.

Making use of the Hashtag for Twitter You probably already have a twitter account up and running for your business. If not, you may want to consider one now. Twitter is a great platform for sharing links to your site and it’s also a great way to connect with your customers on a more personal […]

Special relativity does not deal with acceleration, general relativity does not deal with non gravitational acceleration, which leave the theory of relativity imperfect. We will demonstrate some relativistic dynamical laws that specify relativistic acceleration, force and kinetic energy. Also, based on equivalence principle does gravitational mass vary with inertial mass? Newtonian kinematics defines motions of...

Spoilers, obv. Let’s just dive in, eh? Jamie’s Cover One of the interesting things about comics is the solicitation process. As such, a sub-section of the fandom will be aware of a cover before it comes out (or the month before it comes out if it’s a comic which puts a NEXT MONTH cover in […]

Spoilers, obv. This felt like a big issue to us. I mean, in a literal sense it was a big issue. We normally are 20 pages of art (plus cheats). This is 23 pages of art, due to me completely fucking up and writing a 22 page script extremely early, thinking I’d go back to […]

Spoilers, obv. The specials have been quite the time, having several ways to stress everyone the hell out. The amount of work that goes into a special is far more than any single script can justify in cold commercial terms. It’s lucky that I’m only choosing periods that I’m interested in researching to death. I […]

Chelse­a looks to add promising young talent to their team with new transfer targets emerging this summer. The­ club hopes..

The post Latest Transfer Targets: Two Palace Stars appeared first on Chelsea FC Blog.

As the 2024 summer transfer window closes, Chelsea has made several key signings that could significantly impact the upcoming season...

The post Chelsea’s Summer 2024 Transfers: Key Signings and How They’ll Impact the New Season appeared first on Chelsea FC Blog.

During Tuesday night’s Save Your Vote Special Broadcast Event, attorney Gerald Griggs, who serves as the President of the NAACP of Georgia, called for action to counter the increasing threats to voters of color from white supremacist groups. It’s a threat that the Palast Investigations team knows is... READ MORE

Frosty Entertainment via Eneba has 50-Day of Game Pass Ultimate via Xbox Live Gold Conversion for ~$7.75 when you follow the instructions below.

Note, this offer is for Current/Existing Game Pass Ultimate Members only. Expired/New users can redeem up to 3-Years worth of Xbox Live Gold codes and convert their Xbox Live Gold membership to 2-Years of Game Pass Ultimate by joining Ultimate Membership. (3:2 Ratio)
 
Deal Instructions:

• Click here to visit the product page
• Click Buy Now and go to cart
• Click on "Got discount code?" and apply code GoldUS
• Proceed to checkout
• Select payment method PayPal/Credit Card (service fees will be applied here)
• End-price should be ~$7.75
  • Note, price is subject to change by a few cents due to currency exchange rate volatility.
• Redeem code on Microsoft Store or on your Xbox Console/App
• Your Game Pass Ultimate membership will be extended for 50 days per each code.

About Game Pass Ultimate

• Includes Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass with over 100 high-quality games to play with friends on console, PC, phones, and tablets, plus an EA Play membership, all in one membership. (see the current list here)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09KRKD3P2?tag=cheapassgam08-20&th=1

This is more like one of those hack and slash Musou type games for anyone that isn't usually interested in Fire Emblem. Metacritic 80 with an 89 user score.

Eneba offers 50-Day of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate via Xbox Game Pass Core Conversion for around $11.05 when you follow the instructions below.

• Note, this offer is for Current/Existing Game Pass Ultimate Members only.

• Click here to visit the product page.
• Click Buy Now and go to cart.
• Apply discount code XGPC
• Select payment method PayPal/Credit Card (service fees will be applied here)
• Proceed to checkout with end-price of ~ $11.05
• Click here to redeem your 3-Month Xbox Live Gold Membership code(s).
• You will be prompted to extend your Game Pass Ultimate by 50 days. The renewal date should be the same as your Xbox Game Pass Ultimate plus 50 days (Maximum 36 months).

• Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Membership includes Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass with over 100 high-quality games to play with friends on console, PC, phones, and tablets, plus an EA Play membership, all for one low price.

Osedax worms, or the ‘bone eating’ worms are little soft sacks resembling snotty little flowers. The “bone devourer” is not quite accurate as the worms…

The post Introducing a New Species: My Namesake, a New Bone-Eating Worm first appeared on Deep Sea News.

Have you ever felt like you’re drifting through life, unsure of where you’re headed or what you’re working towards? If so, you’re not alone. Many of us find ourselves caught up in the day-to-day hustle, losing sight of our bigger aspirations and dreams. But what if there was a way to change that? What if ... Read more

The post Setting Life Goals: The Path to Fulfillment and Success appeared first on LifeHack.

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This is a paper produced as part of the PROP2 (Practitioner Research: Outcomes and Partnership) programme, a partnership between the Centre for Research on Families and Relationships (CRFR) at the University of Edinburgh and IRISS that was about health and social care in Scotland. This paper was written by Raymond Brennan from ENABLE Scotland who participated in the PROP2 programme. This research is an attempt to understand the difficulties people with learning disabilities face around friendships and relationships. Recent evidence produced in the ‘Keys to Life’ highlights the impact social isolation has on people with learning disabilities. This research is concerned with the experiences parents and children have when choosing their options of schooling, and if the ‘Circle of Friends’ approach would make the option of mainstream school less daunting.

This evaluation report is based on feedback from people living with dementia and carers who received an Individual Award from the Life Changes Trust. The Individual Awards Pilot Scheme was run in Argyll & Bute and Edinburgh in 2014-15 and aimed to provide a small amount of additional financial empowerment to a number of individuals whose lives have been affected by dementia, to help improve their well-being and quality of life. A secondary aim of the pilot scheme was to find out what people would spend the Award on when given relatively broad choice, and what benefit that might bring in the short and medium terms.

Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) Report 73 from SCIE roundtable discussion held on 26 March 2015. This report considers the potential of technology to transform how health and social care services are delivered.

In 2006 Mencap produced a comprehensive review of short break provision. Now, 10 years on, they are revisiting the support available for family carers to see whether recent policy initiatives and investment have delivered the much-needed change. A total of 264 family carers responded to their survey on short breaks provision and experiences of caring. They also sent Freedom of Information requests to all 152 local authorities in England that provide social care services. This report looks at short breaks provision in a climate of cuts to central and local government budgets. It examines the extent to which these cuts have impacted on the lives of people with a learning disability and their family carers. It also looks at the state of affairs for family carers of children and young people across the full spectrum of learning disability; from people with mild and moderate learning disabilities, to people with severe and profound disabilities.

See the full video at ChaosMen

The post QuickClips: ChaosMen – Scott DeMarco Fucks Brody Meyer appeared first on QueerClick.

Twofold the enjoyment with twice as many Brazilians on Tim Tales! Bottom hottie Igor Lucios is ecstatic over Deminho‘s enormously thick dick; he simply enjoys worshiping that large cock. It’s perfectly curved and really thick. And it feels like nirvana within his avaricious culo. Don’t Brazilians just know when they should crank up the temperature?... View Article

The post Tim Tales: Deminho and Igor Lucios appeared first on QueerClick.

We’ve already taken a dive into the pool of desire that is Jakub Stefano, and well, we enjoyed it so much we decided to dip our toes in again. Whether cuddly or lifting metal, in the bedroom, the kitchen or the boardroom, Jakub and his OnlyFans space is the place to have F.U.N! If you... View Article

The post OnlyFans: Jakub Stefano – ‘Full on’ Erotic appeared first on QueerClick.

New on NextDoorStudios, an ASGMax site: Colt Spence would do anything to just relax today. He’s been beyond stressed out from work and his wife won’t stop calling him incessantly just to check in and see how he’s doing. Finally thinking he has some alone time, he ends up getting a surprise visitor when Andrew... View Article

The post ASGMax | NextDoorStudios: Andrew Delta and Colt Spence – “No Time to Relax” appeared first on QueerClick.

Rachel Maddow reminds Americans how Trump told his followers, "You don’t need to vote. I have so many votes." The Republican candidate said multiple times that he had the votes he needed to become president, implicating something other than votes would give him power.

Votes are still being counted in many states, almost one week after the election. Republicans are close to getting control of the U.S. House but Newsweek reports many races are too close to call. I'm not ready to put on a foil hat but isn't it worth looking into some of the odd things surrounding the 2024 election?

I'm not saying the election was "rigged" or unfair. All I am suggesting is that there are strange things about the 2024 election that merit a second look. Since democracy of the free world is at stake, it's worth the trouble.

Trump Doesn't Need Votes and Secret With Moses Mike

As Maddow noted, Trump telling voters he doesn't need their vote is a red flag. The GOP candidate said it multiple times. Trump also made several comments about the "secret" he and Speaker Mike Moses Johnson had about the election.

read more

One of the oldest conspiracy and 'black helicopter' frauds is now facing the hand of the law. Alex Jones is reaping what he sowed.

During a portion of his Info Wars program, Alex Jones lamented over how his show is being stripped and sold off after a just verdict against him for his lies about Sandy Hook victims and their families.

A verdict he described as a "Nazi show trial."

Sucks to be you, Alex. And it couldn't happen to a more deserving guy.

JONES: InfoWars, the equipment, InfoWars.com, InfoWarsStore.com, and a whole bunch of other stuff is at a federal bankruptcy auction from the fake judgments and the rigged trials where I was found guilty beforehand and they had literal show trials out of the Soviet Union or Nazi Germany.

Robin, I walked in here during the break after getting a glass of water, saw the auctioneers inside the building, going around surveying from the last time they were here to make sure all the stuff's here. Everything tagged, everything marked, this death.

Good riddance, you motherfrakker.

Rudy Giuliani is trying to avoid the same fate.

We need more of these creeps to face the same punishment.

read more

Despite, well, everything, we are trying to get back into the classroom as much as we can at the start of a new academic year. I am scheduled to teach Introduction to Sociology for the first time this coming spring and planning the course this fall. Whether in person or remote, I will be ecstatic […]

Over the course of the past year, M&M’s have been plastered all over the news, social media, and even Super Bowl commercials. In January 2022, Mars Wrigley gave the brown M&M shorter heels and replaced the green M&M’s boots with sneakers in a push toward more inclusive marketing.  What resulted was outrage. Tucker Carlson became […]

Photo by Reed Naliboff  In a pivotal moment for reproductive rights in America, the Supreme Court has declined to intervene in the clash between federal emergency care law and Texas’ near-total abortion ban. This decision marks a significant setback for advocates of reproductive rights and has far-reaching implications, particularly for women of color in Texas. The […]

The post The Deepening Crisis: The Texas Abortion Ban and Its Far-Reaching Implications appeared first on Feminist Majority Foundation.

This is the Call for Nominations for the 2020 Theszie Awards (the rec.sport.pro-wrestling Awards). To nominate candidates for all categories, you may use this form. Nominations are due by January 3, 2021. Finally, to see previous years’ results, click here for 2019, here for 2018, here for 2017, here for 2016, here for 2015, here […]

(Sorry for the delay: we had a record number of nominations to plow through – over 250 in most categories!) This is the Call for Votes for the 2020 RSPW (Theszie) Awards. You can vote here. The Theszies are the oldest fan awards in pro wrestling history, going back to 1990 (when Mr. Perfect quite […]

This is the Call for Nominations for the 2021 Theszie Awards (the rec.sport.pro-wrestling Awards). (Look, I started a new job late last year and my December was slammed. Sorry for the delay.) To nominate candidates for all categories, you may use this form. Nominations are due by January 28, 2021. Finally, to see previous years’ […]

This is the Call for Votes for Wait wait wait wait wait. It’s May. You see, May first is International Workers’ Day, and wrestlers are workers, as we all know, so – Not buying that. Well, we were trying to build this new site, and then decided not to do it, and then someone’s work […]

The post How to Use a Graphics Tablet to Edit Photos: 10 Powerful Tips appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by John McIntire.

Photo editing is simpler than ever thanks to the power of a graphics tablet! Explore our top 10 tips to level up your skills. If you’re just getting started with post-processing and retouching, you’re probably using a mouse and keyboard combo. You can get by with this setup, sure. But when the tasks become more […]

The post How to Use a Graphics Tablet to Edit Photos: 10 Powerful Tips appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by John McIntire.

By Sara Truuvert

Sweaty palms, shaking limbs, and the distinct possibility of puking. Am I describing riding a rollercoaster or having a crush in middle school? These two thrill rides collide in Jake Maia Arlow's MG debut Almost Flying.

The novel follows thirteen-year-old Dalia, who has planned the perfect summer: finally ride a rollercoaster and make a new best friend. But when Dalia's dad announces he is engaged and expects Dalia to bond with her soon-to-be stepsister, Alexa, Dalia thinks her summer plans are shot. Luckily, Alexa agrees to take Dalia and Rani, a new girl from Dalia's swim team, on an amusement park road trip. What should be a smooth week takes a turn when Dalia realizes she might have more-than-friend feelings for Rani. Almost Flying launched on June 8th, 2021 with Dial Books and is widely available to order.

Jake Maia Arlow is a writer, podcast producer (listen to her work on shows like NPR's Invisibilia), bagel connoisseur, and co-writer of a musical about a gay demon competing in a reality TV show. You can find out more about Jake on her website, Twitter, and YouTube channel. Watch for her YA debut, How To Excavate A Heart launching from HarperTeen in 2022.

Q. A huge congratulations on your MG debut! Your protagonist Dalia is thirteen, which is such a weird, wild, sometimes(?) wonderful age. Did that time in your own life influence this story?

A. Thank you so much! That time in my own life absolutely influenced this story—mostly in that I was a complete weirdo in middle school. And while I wasn’t brave enough or self-aware enough to understand my own early queer feelings, I was so deeply idiosyncratic that I could write 1,000 middle grade novels and never touch on all of my bizarre behavior. For example: I wore mismatched toe socks to school every. Single. Day. 

Q. I love how unique Dalia is—for starters, she absolutely loves watching rollercoaster POVs (but would rather keep this hobby to herself!). Would you speak a bit about developing Dalia’s character?

A. Developing her character was one of the most exciting parts of the writing process, because it involved watching a ton of rollercoaster POV videos! Part of my process included taking notes on different POV videos in Dalia’s voice—some of those early free-writes even made it into the novel in various forms. It’s hard for me to start writing before I know a character’s voice, but Dalia’s came very naturally to me. She’s an anxious queer Jew from Long Island … just like me haha!

Q. Dalia has to navigate some complicated feelings she develops for her friend Rani. Did you map out the trajectory of their relationship before you began writing? Or was it more a matter of seeing where your writing took you?

A. I knew that Dalia had a crush on Rani from the very beginning, but it took me a few rounds of edits to realize that Rani also had a crush on Dalia from the start. Dalia overthinks everything, and even though Rani gives her some pretty clear signals, she doesn’t pick up on them. It was really more of a discovery writing process than I thought it would be!

Q. Do you have any writing routines or rituals that help you get into a good workflow?

A. Oooh, I love this question! I always have rain sounds playing in the background, regardless of whether or not it’s actually raining outside. Other than that, I do the pomodoro method (25 minutes of writing with a five minute break) and I try to have a friend around so I can bounce ideas off of them! 

Q. You have a helpful (and funny) post on your website about the process of getting your agent, which, understandably, involved a fair amount of nerves and panic. What would you say to an author who feels daunted by the idea of starting this process?

A. I’m thrilled that someone has read that! My advice is always to be over prepared. I am almost chronically over prepared because of my anxiety, but in this case it served me well. Listen to podcasts, read sample query letters, read the acknowledgements of your favorite books. There are so many incredible resources that you never have to go through this alone. 

Q. Do you have any advice for young writers?

A. YES! So many people like to say “read,” which is awesome advice, and you should absolutely do that, but my other piece of advice is to WRITE! Write in a journal, write your earth-shattering novel idea on a Google Doc and share it with friends, write recipes, write spells. Write anything and everything. At the very least, you’ll have something to look back on. 

Q. Finally, I understand that both you and Dalia are bagel connoisseurs. I must know, what separates a great bagel from a good bagel?

A. This is the greatest question I’ve ever been asked. First of all, if a bagel isn’t boiled, it’s not a real bagel— it’s just a piece of bread with a hole in the center. But other than that, a great bagel is freshly made, a little warm on the inside; it’s chewy on the outside and soft on the inside. And, most importantly, a great bagel is one that you eat with friends and family. 

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Sara Truuvert completed her MLitt in Creative Writing at the University of St Andrews. She also holds a Certificate in Creative Writing from the Humber School for Writers and a BA in English, Drama, and the History and Philosophy of Science from the University of Toronto. Her work has appeared in the Literary Review of Canada among other publications.

For more interviews, see the Inkygirl Interview Archive. Also see Advice For Young Writers and Illustrators, a compilation of tips generously offered by children's book creators Inkygirl.com has interviewed over the years.

Brian McLachlan is a cartoonist who's worked for Nickelodeon, The Nib and the New Yorker. He writes the monthly comic Spruce Street Squad for Owl Magazine. His book, Draw Out The Story: 10 Secrets to Creating Your Own Comics is an ILA-nonfiction award winner. Each Tuesday he hosts a group of artists in a PG-13 game of Dungeons & Dragons where they live draw what happens in game on Twitch, called Magical Marker ( MM ). You can find Brian at his website, on Twitter, and Instagram.

Synopsis of COMPLETE THE QUEST: THE POISONOUS LIBRARY (Imprint/Macmillan):

Save your kingdom in this interactive role-playing adventure, which reads like a graphic novel but also plays like a game! It’s perfect for fans of all ages who are interested in the exciting world of fantasy gaming.

Q. How did you come up with the idea for Complete The Quest?

Complete the Quest in a brand new mix of role playing game (RPG) and comic. It started as an experiment to see what would happen if I took a Dungeons & Dragons or Chose Your Own Adventure multi-path story and made it into a comic. How would the gameplay change by putting it into a visual space? For me, it was a literal game changer, turning the CYOA anxiety of multiple choices, into a laid-out, laid-back invitation to check all paths for your favourite way forward. It also encourages people to come up with their own, better solution if they want. While I always give the reader a clear path forward, I invite them to forge their own. It's a great introduction to co-operative storytelling.

Q. What was your writing/illustration process?

I draw a scene much faster than I can write about it. A picture's worth a thousand words and all that. So I draw my scripts in rough, laying out out the word balloons, figuring out how much space I need, how the page turns feel, etc. This was especially important for this comic gamebook which also filled with maps for the reader to navigate. We needed to see if the pathing was clear. Creating the tutorial was the most time intensive part, trying to make the most elegant, clear way to ease the reader into how the game part functions. I think we nailed it. I hear from parents who don't play RPGs that they were worried about the reading a gamebook, but they quickly "got it".

Q. What advice do you have for young writers and illustrators?

Advice is hard to give because everyone's different. Some people need to hear "finish what you start" and some need to hear "stop working on that thing, it's good enough". So my advice is to train your inner advice-giver and follow it. What is it about the way you work that you've been putting off improving, but could do right now? Because you know what type of story or art you're making, and if you're trying to make an apple, the best advice in making a banana isn't going to help. And the best advice in making an apple right-handed isn't going to help you if you're left-handed. Not all advice is for you, it's a skill to figure out what part is for you to take right now, later, or never.

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Also see my other Inkygirl interviews with book creators and advice for young writers and illustrators from book creators.

As the year draws to a close, the holiday season is upon us once again. Although we still have two months until Christmas, studies have shown decorating early is actually good for your mood. The vibrant colors and twinkling lights simply trigger the release feel-good dopamine, which in turn, boosts happiness and energy. I must admit, Christmas decor makes me grin like a kid with ice-cream, until I look at the price tag of tinsel and garlands and baubles. Yikes! […]

The post Deck Your Halls for Less: 14 Christmas Decor Ideas Using IKEA Finds appeared first on IKEA Hackers.

ZombieGeisha says: "My guinea pig, Spooky, making a mess of his orange snack."

Now Spooky, who is going to take you seriously when you can't even bother to wipe your chin?

Do you have a squee pet that you want to share with the world? Send us your pet pictures and stories, and they could end up on Daily Squee!