Sakura-Con 2010

by Tom Good

This year’s Sakura-Con was the largest ever, with an attendance of just over 18,000 people at the Seattle Convention Center. The convention provides an amazing variety of things to do, combining educational and cultural events with pure fun and entertainment. Fans can learn how to waltz or learn to dance ParaPara, learn to sew costumes or learn to draw comics, go to a martial arts demonstration or a video game tournament. And just walking around between events is enjoyable in itself, because there are so many great costumes to see.

The Seattle Sheraton was filled with anime fans, but also hosted an Air Force ROTC convention going on at the same time as Sakura-Con.

This provided some interesting visuals when men and women in real military uniforms shared hallways and elevators with cosplayers dressed in fantasy costumes (including fictional military uniforms). And speaking of elevators, at least one ride seemed to last about as long as my typical commute to work, with a stop at every floor so that more officers and/or Pikachus could attempt to squeeze onto the already-full elevator.

There are high-energy, loud, active events like the rock concerts and Club Sakura dance parties. But those in a quieter mood can go to mellow panel discussions that feel more like a bunch of people hanging out and talking in a friend’s living room.

One such event was a fan panel about Star Wars, a panel with fabulous prizes that were introduced with the qualification, “I’m not gonna lie, I’m kinda re-gifting some of these.” People tried to answer all kinds of Star Wars questions, including absurdly difficult trivia questions like “how many segments of a bantha’s horn grow each year?” The audience posed other questions that were more open to interpretation, such as “when was the definitive moment when George Lucas went batshit insane?” (The creation of Jar Jar Binks was offered as a possibility, as was the casting of Christopher Lee.)

I learned here that nobody knows what species Yoda belongs to, and that the reason Obi-Wan Kenobi seems to have aged so much between episodes III and IV is because “those twin suns of Tattooine must be hell on your skin.”

When asked to name the best fan-created Star Wars material, the group mentioned Chad Vader and the Red Letter Media reviews of the Star Wars prequels. [Warning: the Red Letter Media reviews are funny and make some good points, but they also contain foul language, pointless violence and disturbing scenes.]

At one point, a man in the crowd asked the panel leader if she was just “some random person,” to which she replied “no . . .” Then another fan piped in with “But I am!” And yet another answered: “Me too! Nice to meet you!” This little exchange captured a lot of the flavor of Sakura-Con: it’s informal, fun, friendly, with lots of audience participation and people who don’t take themselves too seriously.

I also attended a panel called Anime Art Basics: Inking, part of a series of art lessons during the weekend. The panel covered subjects like drawing software, graphics tablets, pens, line and shading techniques. I’d recommend the art panels even to non-artists, because they offer a step-by-step look at how anime art is created.

One of my favorite events of the weekend was a lecture called “Hidden Away by Gods – Folklore in Miyazaki’s Spirited Away.” This was so packed with interesting information that it was like taking a college class in anime. I loved Spirited Away but assumed that a lot of the unusual visuals simply came straight from the artists’ imaginations. This panel explained how most of the imagery comes from specific characters and ideas in Japanese folklore. Not only did the lecture impress me, but I was also struck by how well-informed the audience was. People discussed Buddhist and Shinto imagery and debated the best English translations for various Japanese words.

The presenter, “Lady Librarian” also writes fan fiction based on Spirited Away. Slides and notes from this presentation are available online.

The Folklore lecture also mentioned that Miyazaki had been influenced by Alice in Wonderland. This was fitting, because this year’s Sakura-Con had quite a few cosplayers dressed as characters from Alice.

As Sakura-Con grows, it also keeps getting more technologically sophisticated. This year the video camera work during the cosplay contest was impressive, including some overhead camera shots of the sort sometimes used in professional sports coverage.

Fans carried plenty of digital cameras and more unusual digital devices like pokewalkers, but I was surprised at the relatively small online presence during the convention. A few people posted updates to Twitter and Flickr, but not nearly the number I’d expect in a crowd so large. It seems that most people wait until after they get home from the convention to write about it online.

Sakura-Con is more than a set of organized activities, it is also a meeting place for a great subculture. The formally arranged events are an important aspect to the fun, but the convention also benefits from a self-reinforcing feedback loop, where Sakura-Con is fun because you get to be around the type of person who goes there.

The convention culture changes a little each year. Last year a lot of people high-fived strangers on the escalators, and publicly played The Game. This year during an escalator ride someone commented that those things weren’t happening much any more. But there were other bits of fun going on. A small group of people stood between the sets of escalators, just off to the side of the flow of pedestrian traffic, and announced “We love hugs! Free hugs!” Any passer-by could choose to go over and get a hug from each person.

I thought this was a very sweet thing to do, and it also probably took some courage to offer hugs to strangers. Naturally I wanted free hugs and I went through the line. Though a saw quite a few people stop for hugs, they were a small percentage of the crowd. I expected more people to do it, but on the other hand it probably would have created a horrible traffic jam if everyone had stopped for free hugs. (I told this story to a friend, who said, “Aren’t all hugs free? Do you pay for hugs elsewhere?” Good point. I guess “free” refers not so much to the price, but more to the lack of rules and restrictions.)

After I left the rave on Saturday night, I spotted a guy wearing a black Mad Hatter style outfit who was leading a line of people around and telling everyone to “Join The Line!” I joined, and noticed that some people would immediately join without question. Others asked, “where is it going?” to which he would reply “everywhere!”

The Line paraded around the convention center, and every so often the leader would see people and compliment them with proclamations like, “This guy is awesome, look at his hair, it is great!” Then The Line would cheer. It was like the opposite of a riot — a mob of people going around being nice. I’ve never seen anything quite like it.

The Line high-fived lots of people on the escalators, and got many amused but puzzled looks in return from people who had never done the escalator high-five before. A few smiled in recognition of the tradition. Eventually The Line was asked to disperse, and everyone went their separate ways.

Of course, standing in lines is an unavoidable part of conventions, so The Line also served as a clever parody, where being in the line is the whole activity, not a prerequisite for something else. Being in The Line was kind of like getting caught up in a live Monty Python skit.

Sakura-Con is reliably great. I plan to go again next year, and you should go too.

Tips for next year:

Pre-register. The registration line is huge and the wait can be long.

If possible, plan to stay for all of Sunday. In previous years, Sunday seemed pretty quiet with not a lot going on, especially later in the day. So I planned to leave early in the afternoon, which turned out to be a big mistake. There were plenty of cool things to do on Sunday including the Lolita Fashion Show, and a concert that I couldn’t stay for. I’ll know next year to stay later on Sunday.

Plan out your schedule. Download the event schedule a day or two before the convention and spend some time deciding which things you’ll want to do. The smaller rooms can fill up fast, so it’s good to know ahead of time where you’re going next.

More Sakura-Con photos:

• Sakura-con cosplay photo set
• Sakura-Con cosplay contest photo set
• Friday dance photo set
• Saturday dance photo set
• Lolita Fashion Show photo set

(Please note: all photos in the above photo sets may be freely used by the people depicted and by Sakura-Con.)

Review by Kris

Manhattan Love Story is a collection of related vignettes tied to a midtown flower shop. Dan “Diamond” Loving is the manager of a flower shop in midtown Manhattan that is owned by his lover Rock Melville. Rock is a powerful CEO and is rather busy so the time that the two of these men is few and far between. They love each other but Dan has a hard time dealing with not being able to see his lover as often as he would like.

We also get stories featuring Dan’s employee Kanan who falls in love with a Japanese high school student who is in town visiting family, Kenji’s (the Japanese high school student) nephew falling for his teacher, and Rock’s secretary Jessie is dating an old college friend of Rock’s. Jessie met Louis at a bookstore he was working at. This is the couple that adorns the front cover.

I had high hopes for Manhattan Love Story because Momoko Tenzen-sensei happens to one of my favorite mangaka. I find her stories calming and interesting and her art, though sparse, has a very classy, high art feel to it. With the cover of this manga you definitely get that impression. But once I cracked open the book I found that this is one of sensei’s weaker titles. The main character Dan honestly looks like a flat chested girl (which really comes across on the back cover). He also acts somewhat girly. And the names Diamond and Rock, how cheesy is that. I realize that you can get some pretty bizarre names here in the states but I think sensei’s pushing it a bit. I did like the stories with Kanan and Kenji (the Japanese student) and Jessie and Louis’s story, although I would have used a different spelling of Jessie (the spelling used seems to be the more feminine spelling, I would have used Jesse which is much more masculine looking.) But the story that sinks this volume is The Angel and the Hydrangea, the teacher and student story. Normally I’m not too against this particular plot device because they are usually dealing with high school students. But in this case we are dealing with a teacher and a thirteen-year-old. Not only is he sleeping with several of his students, but seems to be obsessed with the young boy. Creepy! Many of the titles that I’ve read, sensei uses teacher love on a regular basis but this one just crosses the line. I know when I was thirteen I wasn’t looking to hook up with my teachers (most of them were old anyway). I feel that this story drags down the entire volume.

You can tell that this is one of sensei’s older titles because when you look at her newer works (like La Satanica also published by Juné) the art style has changed. The characters have very sharp chins and extremely long faces. She’s definitely improved over time but her art regardless of when it was drawn has always attracted me. I am so glad that Juné has decided to license many of her works. She is definitely one of my favorites and whenever I get my shipment of review books I always save hers for last because I enjoy her work so much (unless I get a Makoto Tateno book in the shipment then that is the last one I read). Sadly with the case of Manhattan Love Story I can’t praise it like I wish I could. I just found The Angel and the Hydrangea so distasteful that it tainted my opinion of the rest of the book.

It is beautifully published and I love the cover (with the exception of the clashing pink bar on the bottom, but it was published before Juné got its new makeover). But a beautiful book doesn’t make it worthy of your time. I can’t really recommend it because of the shota aspects of the third story. The rest of the book is OK but it’s not stellar. I’m leaving the decision up to you!

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
16 CFR Part 255
Guides Concerning the Use of
Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising

This so vague; all I can get out of it is that, after December 1, 2009:

a) we must disclose in every review of anything whether we got it for free or paid for it ourselves

b) no more links, affiliate or otherwise, to where to buy it.

I think there are fines for non-compliance, but I’d have to read it again to be sure. I hate reading this stuff. If anyone wants to take a crack at it and post in the comments what you think is important in this stupid document, be my guest.

I think the new review headers will look like this:

Title
Creator
Publisher
Copy supplied by publisher
or
Copy purchased by reviewer
ISBN

Grrrr.

by Tom Good
Photography by Gregor Torrence and Tom Good

This year Kumoricon moved to a new location in the heart of downtown Portland, at the Hilton hotel on Sixth Avenue. The packed hotel lobby on Saturday convinced me of two things: that Kumoricon’s attendance was way up from last year, and that fans of Japanese animation were going to get a little taste of authentic Tokyo-subway-style crowding. Sometimes even getting from one part of the hotel to another was a challenge, especially when the journey involved elevators, but the fans stayed in good spirits.

Some time on Saturday afternoon the convention reached a limit and stopped taking new registrations. I heard that around 6000 people were there Saturday (unofficially). As “problems” go, an unexpected large rise in popularity is a pretty good sort of problem for a convention to have — certainly it’s much better than the opposite trend.

Kumoricon wasn’t just larger this year, it also had a better cosplay contest. The staging was improved by dramatic lighting and a catwalk added on to the main stage. At times it felt like a professional fashion show.

The stream of cosplay fashion flows ever forward at Kumoricon. Some popular costumes from years past had all but disappeared, while new trends took the spotlight. Hordes of Fullmetal Alchemist characters no longer roamed the halls, but costumes based on video games were everywhere. The cosplay contest included costumes from Final Fantasy VII, Legend of Zelda, and a stunning, award-winning BioShock 2 “Big Sister” costume that had great details, lights and a cooling fan.

A classic game like Final Fantasy VII may never go out of style, but there’s always a way to give it a new twist, like turning bad guy Sephiroth into a woman, in a bikini, at the beach. That wasn’t in the game, but it was on stage as a skit in the cosplay contest.

Final Fantasy fans also got to witness a chocobo race, performed by cosplayers dressed as the giant birds and their riders.

In another skit, Legend of Zelda‘s Link had to teach a reluctant Dark Link how to be evil.

Characters from other video games like Street Fighter and Pokemon also appeared. Some games, like Pokemon, also have an associated animated series, so the worlds of anime and gaming do overlap. But costumes like Bender from Futurama and the Flying Spaghetti Monster proved that no direct anime connection is necessarily required. The cosplay seemed to be more about anime-inspired fashion and originality.

Some people created their own original designs (above). The woman on the right said more people asked for her photo in her own design, compared with the previous day when she dressed as a well-known character.

Costume designers took their craft to new heights, sometimes perilous heights. This costume must have been at least eight feet tall (above). Getting on and off the stage looked tricky.

The concert highlight was a band called Last Stop Tokyo, fronted by Simon Young of The Slants. They say they’re inspired by The Ramones, and they entertained the crowd with a down-to-earth rock style. Before things got started, I talked with some of the other photographers up front, and we were all a bit concerned for the safety of ourselves and our gear if the crowd rushed forward in the open space. I’ve been at other shows where getting knocked over was a real possibility. But the Kumoricon crowd was great about giving us space to shoot photos. (See the full set of Last Stop Tokyo pictures on Flickr.)

The downtown location created some amazing scenes of cosplayers dancing, posing and doing acrobatics in Pioneer Courthouse Square while tourists stared, took pictures, and tried to figure out what was going on. The square seemed like a great place to hang out and escape the crowds inside the hotel, but rain on Saturday kept most people indoors. On Sunday the sun came out, and the square became home to a “glomp circle.”

The new venue resulted in a few rough edges. Fans had difficulty finding their way to event locations in the unfamiliar hotel, and hotel staff seemed unprepared for the huge number of people attending the convention. Because of the crowds, some events filled up quickly and were closed off.

During the most bizarre part of the whole weekend, I witnessed some hotel employees yelling at fans and treating people badly. These employees came across like bullies, barking out orders and getting angry at people who violated odd and seemingly arbitrary rules that hadn’t been explained. I’ve gotten a more polite reaction when I accidentally brought a knife through airport security than when I attempted to walk down the “wrong” corridor at the hotel. This attitude felt especially unsuited to an anime convention where most people are so friendly. It’s too bad that a few people created a hostile atmosphere, because other employees in other parts of the hotel were very nice and professional, and the Kumoricon staff was fantastic.

Luckily, a few jerks won’t ruin something as big and amazing as Kumoricon. No organization can avoid every possible problem — the more important thing is how a group reacts when things don’t go exactly as planned. Kumoricon staff responded quickly and openly to complaints on their online forums, and committed to improving the experience next year. And on Sunday things seemed to go more smoothly than Saturday. So I’m looking forward to Kumoricon 2010, and I think it will be even better now that fans and staff will know what to expect from the hotel layout.

Every time I go to an anime convention, I always seem to stumble across something great and unexpected from the fans. This year I found some cosplayers in the midst of the improvisational acting “freeze tag” game. They were just playing in an open area of the hotel, but they kept me entertained and laughing as I took photos of their scenes.

Another rewarding moment happened when some people waiting in line outside the hotel convinced me to take this picture (above). I initially hesitated to try an outdoor shot on Saturday because of the rain, but with people there willing to hold the umbrella for me this shot soon followed, and it became one of my favorite pictures from the weekend. The spiral-pattern contact lenses are mesmerizing.

Other cosplayers spontaneously struck poses that surprised and amused each other, like this “proposal” (above).

All of these moments proved that at Kumoricon the magic isn’t just on stage, it is everywhere. Though the organized events are great, the fun doesn’t stop between them. And even though the convention is growing and attracting new people, that special quality that makes it feel like a big party remains strong.

See also:

• Gregor’s Kumoricon set on Flickr
• Kumoricon 2009 Sunday on Flickr
• Kumoricon 2009 Saturday on Flickr
• Kumoricon 2008 convention report
• Sakura-Con 2009 convention report

Sorry for the epic delay, folks! Co-contributor Linda will find a way to verbally punish me, rest assured!

It was Friday through Sunday that the Exhibition Hall was open to attendees. Within the Exhibition Hall, attendees were able to see the appearances of authors and celebrities, all the while fighting through crowds of other people to get somewhere.

Weeks before the show, there was an announcement of which authors were set to be making appearances, and for this I was quite excited. There were big names, such as Julie Andrews. Mary Higgins Clark, Meg Cabot, and Nicolas Sparks, which were ticketed events that I didn’t get to see. However, there were about 40+ pages of authors actually appearing, so I was mostly in the Exhibition Room on Friday, waiting. Autographs were separated into “Traditional” and “In Booth” sections. I actually got to see Anthony Zuiker, creator of hit television show CSI. I also waited to see A.J. Jacobs, and let’s just say that I was really pleased to meet him. I also got to meet Marie Etienne, face to face for the first time. She is the author of a previous book I reviewed, Confessions of A Bipolar Mardi Gras Queen.

There were so many bags given for the purpose of holding books, that I was hard pressed to not take a hold of some pre-release galleys. For the purpose of spreading the Journal’s services as a book reviewing site, I was able to make contacts with several publishers, and thank the publishers that had given the Journal galleys in the past. Europa Publications, eat.shop guides were there. One contact that I made was with Campfire Graphic Novels. Be on the look out for a review on a Cupid graphic novel that Campfire was able to provide.

Toward the afternoon, I was able to make it to one panel with Jilly. This was “Book Format Fusion: Why Trade Paperbacks Work in Turbulent Times.” This was a panel where trade paper publishers discussed the benefits of trade paperback in this recessive market.

These were points made.

• There is a belief that the time is ripe, because a trade paperback is cheaper to purchase and the economy emphasizes that.
• Hardcover market is falling in popularity to trade paper.
• Introduction through trade paperback will be beneficial to authors.
• It is a difficult place in mid-career and mid-life, so publishing in trade may lead to inspirations for authors.
• “The Gathering” by Ann Patchett is an example of success in the trade paperback market.
• Some publications, such as Europa Publication, produce only trade paperback format.
• Ballentine Press was the first imprint of Random House to be able to place in book club reading materials.
• $15 is an average fan price for trade paperbacks.
• The trade paperback has more of an opportunity to be in bookstores longer, in less danger of being returned to the publisher.

I forgot to mention in part one about how “twittering” was a definite buzzword during the weekend, working itself into social networking. There were some complaints here and there with the cell phones of attendants twittering, and not putting the phone on silent mode, but with the hash tag #BEA or #BEA09, Twitter was a definite tool.

@JLHLS was the Twitter name that the group was using. Since I have a text plan with my phone, I was able to briefly sync my phone to make posts, so if you saw the content during that period, it was most likely my texts. Social networking is definitely a great tool for professionals and fans alike!

Moving onto Saturday, wow what a day this was. Today was actually more about attending panels for me, although I did head over to the Exhibition Hall for a little bit.

This is a day where there is always a dilemma for convention goers; what would happen if the convention planners plan too many interesting panels at once? Well that was Saturday for me. I was definitely jumping between two different panels, while Jilly attended another one.

The one panel I was really interested in was “Book Bloggers – Today’s Buzz Builders”. This was made to a packed room. Now isn’t that a purpose of Journal of Lincoln Heights? Reviewing books that may seem interesting to other readers out there? Now for any readers who are interested in learning more of this panel, Book Club Girl, who was a panelist in the panel, actually wrote an insightful blog entry, and there is actual audio of the entire panel.

Points made that seemed interesting to this reporter were:

• Communication and mutual respect between the publishers and book reviewers are strongly needed.
• Publishers need to understand that reviewers are taking their time and energy to produce reviews. This is a hobby or interest, which is often outside of the blogger’s own background, but there is a love of books.
• A review policy should be stated on the blogger’s page. These components should include – How long of a time is a book read to then produce a review? Is the blogger open to book interviews? What book genres does the blogger or group review?
  Should bloggers do an in-depth feature of a bookstore?

• Bloggers should be able to tweet or email back to the publishers, so that their reviews won’t go unnoticed by publishing groups.
• If the blogger is a local resident, can cross promote with local bookstores.
• Blogs can conduct author or publishing giveaways.
• Blog reviews as an honest word of mouth and sellers of books.
• Promoting back lists can be helpful

During the midway point of the panel, I jumped over to “From Ref Desk to Desktop: Creating Virtual Reader’s Advisory Services.” This was a librarian-geared panel, where there was a pitch made by the producers of Novelist.

At the “Hot Fall Graphic Novels for Libraries” panel, Eva Volin, Jesse Karp, Barbara Moon, and Christian Zabriskie recommended various graphic novels for all ages, starting with the kids and working their way up to tweens, teens, and adults. Some highlights from the list include:

Binky the Space Cat is a cute story about a cat who thinks he is saving his owners from aliens or bugs, as us humans would call them. It is dry enough for older readers, but still has fart jokes for the young and not-as-curmudgeon. I mentioned it to a cat-loving friend, but she shied away when I talked about the bugs. Probably best to leave that part out when attempting to recommend it until they’ve seen how cute it is.

Little Mouse Gets Ready has large font and white space, making it a good title for emergent readers.

Classic Children’s Comics was described as containing “obscure, weird stuff,” and seeing as how I’m a little weird and obscure myself, sounds appealing to me!

Secret Science Alliance is exactly what the title makes it sound like, following brainy heroes rather than brawny ones.

Fairy Idol Kannon is recommended as a good primer for manga and as a good first chapter book.

Outlaw: The Legend of Robin Hood has a darker feel than the work it’s based on, much like Casino Royale.

Smile is an autobiographical memoir about how the author came to lose a couple of important teeth while running away from a dentist.

Blackjack is “cracktastick” with one librarian lively describing a scene in which Blackjack operates on his own intestines. The thought makes me cringe, but so does a paper cut; still sounds like an awesome scene, even if it’s one I’d pass out from reading.

Charles Darwin: On the Origin of Species talks about the beauty of life and has beautiful art to go with it.

Forget the stigma attached to properties that have a lot of media and star power backing them, Star Trek: Mission’s End is quality work.

The Vietnam War is suitable for teens and adults. It is able to delve into the feelings behind the war now that enough time has passed for it to not be at the forefront of the mainstream public’s minds, showing the war from all different points of views.

Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You presents those unrealistic situations that usually come up in shoujo manga involving the hottest guy in school falling for the plainest girl in school, but it is still a great read for teens because of the social interactions between characters.

Following all the panels, Jilly and I made our way back to the Exhibition Hall, where we caught the appearance of Captain Chesley B. Sullenberger, and that concludes my attendance at BEA09.

One experience is always a fun one, waiting or seeing the lines to Starbucks. Starbucks at the convention center certainly had a robust crowd there for the weekend.

Book Expo intends for the next several years to be also held in the Javitz Center, so book professional and interested book attendees should be aware of these future dates for Book Expo America:

2010: May 25-27
2011: May 24-26
2012: May 30-June 1

This is not going to be a weekend convention, rather BEA is moving to the weekday to better fit the professionals working schedules.

For more pictures and glimpse of what other pictures I took, please take a look at Journal of Lincoln Literary Society’s Flickr Page. I included pictures of author viewings, panel sightings, and location pictures.

Review by Budd

Felix Gomez was just your everyday soldier. Then, while fighting in the Iraq war, he is turned into a vampire. Now his guilt about the war keeps him from drinking human blood. Adapting to his life as a vampire, Felix becomes a private detective. His vampire abilities give him a distinct advantage. Felix’s next job is finding out why the women of Rocky Flatts have become nymphomaniacs. Oddly the Vanatori, a group of vampire hunters, shows up while felix is working this job and starts killing vampires in the Denver area. Felix’s vampire abilities are starting to fail him as he rushes against the clock to stop the Vanatori and solve the mystery.

Mario Acevedo looks to be an up and coming writer. There are moments in this book that the words just blend into a picture and suck you in. These times happen to be when Acevedo is writing about the military. The writing rocks back and forth from the very well done war scene that opens the book to some really campy vampire stuff. There are glimpses of real promise in this book.

Unfortunately this book is only okay. The story is quite predictable and the vampires, although not all powerful, are pretty powerful. Maybe the story just blends too many genres into one. This book is a war, vampire, mystery, science fiction, and conspiracy novel. I mean, I wonder why there were no cowboys. It seems that Mr Acevedo is going to be continuing on with the character of Felix as he takes on more assignments.

The title of this novel is rather misleading as the nymphos only take up a small fraction of the book and although the word sex is used quite a bit, there are no graphic descriptions. This book hits on so many different genres that a very wide range of people could enjoy this book, but will probably only think it is okay. Because of the repeated references to sex, I would recommend this book to those high school and above. Do yourself a favor and read the first chapter of this book as it really is very good writing, you may find yourself sticking around for the end.

I’m putting dates on these so you don’t think I did is all in one sitting.

May 21:
Sweet & Salty Brownie
Deep dark chocolate with homemade caramel & fleur de sel!

Very yummy, moist without being gooey, sweet without being cloying. Could have been saltier for me, but I like salted caramels, salted caramel ice cream, sea salt encrusted dark chocolate covered caramels, and probably there are many other salted sweets out there I don’t know about that I’d like, too.

Maybe it’s my age: I’ve become a salt freak. I have a container of Fleur De Sel de Camargue in my kitchen as well as a container of Fumee De Sel. Prior to last year, plain old sea salt was as exciting as it got, salt-wise, around here. (Well, I do always have a couple of pounds of Himalayan Pink Bath Salts, but I don’t eat it. By the way, Twisty Faster is hooked on Fumee De Sel, too. Although if she buys it at Whole Foods, it might not be the same stuff.)

May 22:
Peanut Butter
Dark chocolate and chunky peanut butter
Nice, mellow, chocolaty, with enough peanut butter that is was there, but didn’t overwhelm the chocolate. I’m not a huge fan of this combination in anything, so I wouldn’t seek it out, but I’d happily eat this brownie again.

May 23:
Brewer’s Bar
Our version of the classic blondie bar. Made with a rich brewer’s malt, milk chocolate and pecans.

Mmmmmm, best bar so far. Subtly sweet and moist without being gooey. This bar also has pecan pieces, and this is always a sign of excellence in baked goods and candy. Too bad for most of America, this bar is not available online. You’ll just have to make a pal in Brooklyn and ask them to send you some.

May 25:
Spicy
Intense chocolate accented with chilies and cinnamon

I suppose I can’t compare this brownie with the tongue-numbing mind-blowing Som Tom I had last night, but this is a spicy brownie. I’ve never been able to get with it on the chili chocolate thing, but I realize this is just a personal failing on my part, and not a verdict on the concept. Probably not a bad thing for those who want a 3-alarm brownie. This one doesn’t go that far, but one is aware of the chili and cinnamon.

May 28:
The Baked Bar
Coconut, chocolate, sweetened condensed milk, pecans, butterscotch and graham. Some say it’s a dangerous addiction.

This is my desert island bar. It’s so rich and yummy, I couldn’t finish it in one sitting. I never realized how much I wanted all those flavors — coconut, chocolate, sweetened condensed milk, pecans, butterscotch and graham — in one chompable format. Aaand…it’s available online! I must be strong. I must be strong. I must be strong.

May 30:

Original Deep Dark
Rich, Dark and Intense

The brownie finale! Really yummy, moist and dark chocolaty almost like a chocolate bar. I liked it, it is intense because it took a long time to eat (but, unlike the Baked Bar, I managed to eat it all in one day). Personally, I prefer walnuts or pecans in my brownies, when I eat brownies, which is seldom. But I’d happily eat more of these Baked brownie products.

Thanks, Rachel!

Animus

Review by Jilly Gee

Labeled as a "moving pictures book" on its cover rather than a "pop-up book" and closer to the size of a paperback than the more common textbook-sized pop-up books for children, Animus appeals to adults just as much as to children, maybe even more so.  Instead of the bright colors or sparkly extras seen in the children’s section of bookstores, the protagonist wears ordinary, easy-on-the eyes outfits and wanders around in a world with realistic, earthy colors.  Though the colors may not be fantastical, this does not make the book feel any less magical than other pop-up books.  As could happen only only in a Disney movie, the adorable little girl that is the main character is inexplicably friends with all the woodland creatures and shops in a quaint town that readers are unlikely to see likes of in this day and age.

Even the lesson Animus teaches is one that everyone could use reminding of, young or old.  Not something obvious and meant just for children alone, such as, "Don’t talk to strangers," but something practical for everyday use, something that could be taken in as many ways as we need, from, "Don’t worry about the things we can’t change," to, "Accept the bad that comes with the good."  No, she does not win the mean dog over in the end, but it’s the fact that the she doesn’t end up friends with the mean dog that makes for the perfect life lessons.

Sugar Princess vol. 1

Review by Kris

Every once in a while you come across a book that really endearing. For me Sugar Princess is one of those stories.

One day Maya Kurinoki decided to take her little brother to the local ice skating rink. Her little brother had never been ice-skating before so to give him a little confidence she decides to try a double axel. To Maya’s surprise she landed the jump, sort of. It so happens that the local ice skating coach witnesses Maya’s miraculous jump and scouts her. She was a bit suspicious but shows up at the rink anyway. The coach was indeed serious about being a coach and wanting her to skate. He is looking for a partner for one of his skaters. Shun Kano was a pairs skater at one time but recently he’s been a soloist. Of course Shun is a very handsome high school student.

Shun is totally against skating pairs again so the coach decides on his own that Shun will be the one who’ll teach Maya the basics. After a few embarrassing moments Maya starts her training, but without a coach because Shun refuses to teach her anything. Luckily some of the other novice skaters at the rink take Maya under their wing and teach her the things that they are also learning. Maya is in for a few surprises. It turns out that Shun attends the high school that is attached to the middle school that Maya goes to. The other surprise is she is able to convince Shun to finally teach her (she wore him down with her enthusiasm and determination). But there are a few storm clouds on the horizon. The owner of the rink falls ill and his son wants to close it because it’s not profitable. The other storm is in the form of Reina. She’s another skater at the rink and she seems to have a thing for Shun and wants to be his partner. What will Maya do about Reina and what will she be able to do to help save the beloved rink?

The reason why I found this manga to be so endearing is because Maya looks like a cousin of mine and I have a niece who is a figure skater. Combine the two into one character and I couldn’t help but fall in love with the story. The characters are well developed and Maya’s enthusiasm and innocence helps draw you in. Shun’s initial coldness begins to thaw and you do learn why he no longer skates pairs. This is a really fun read. The series consists of two volumes, which are both available. When I finished this volume I immediately wanted to read the second one to find out if they were able to save the rink. I had to wait to read the sequel but it was well worth it. The art is beautiful. Each character is rendered beautifully. You can easily tell them apart, the clothing is beautifully detailed and there are various outfits instead of the usual two or three that some artists have the tendency to do, and the skating scenes are detailed and it really feels like you are watching figure skating. Did I mention it’s beautiful?

VIZ made a great choice in bringing a title like Sugar Princess to our shores. It has an all ages rating and I will stand by that. Kids and adults alike can enjoy this title!