This story is brought to you by #CookieSaturday. Part of my family comes from southern Italy, specifically, Sicily. While I never had any plans to go there, when the opportunity presented itself, I jumped at the chance. My first sophomore semester of college I spent in Vienna. A friend and I planned a trip for our two-week fall break. We included Sicily in those plans. When we got to Palermo, we ended up in a street market where they were selling different kinds of cookies by the kilo. I found some that looked like the cookies my grandma made, and I had to have them just too see how close they were to my grandma’s recipe.
Continue readingMonthly Archives: June 2020
‘Invasion’: Societal Issues Easy to Digest in Young Love Story
If you want to read a book and be surprised, pick up Russell Nohelty’s “Invasion” without reading any of the summaries or the rest of this review. Until June 25, 2020, you can get “Invasion” as part of the Wannabe Press Summer Fantasy/Science Fiction Novel Slate Kickstarter. The project is already funded, so you can rest assured that you will get your copy of this great book. If you read any further, there will be mild spoilers ahead.
Continue readingDisney’s Olaf the Snowman: Collectors’ Corner
(This article contains affiliate links. When you purchase something from an affiliate link, you support our website without incurring additional costs. Thank you.) When “Frozen” came out in 2013, I was hooked. It became my favorite movie of all time, possibly only matched by the original “Mary Poppins.” It was a fresh story about the love between sisters that turned Disney’s normal true love stories on its head. Like many children, I could be caught singing “Let It Go.” When I made it to Disneyland in the summer after “Frozen’s” release, I stood in line to meet the Anna and Elsa. However, it was the connection with Olaf the Snowman that really permeated my life and led to memorable friendships and interactions.
Mr. Rogers: The Outside Around the Child Changes, but the Inside Stays the Same
On his show, Mr. Rogers addressed the assassination, using that word, of Bobby Kennedy; he also addressed race, specifically through the use of pools by black and white people at the same time. He knew that children saw what was going on in the world and heard what their parents were talking about, and he knew it was scary for them not to know anything about what was going on. Rather than hide those events and ignore discrimination, he met the subjects on a level that children could understand. When Mr. Rogers ended his first run of “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood,” it was because he thought he had taught everything he could to children about different subjects.
Continue readingExplore the Boundaries: Tip Tuesday
Have you ever noticed where toddlers go on the playground when the adults aren’t engaged? They could go to the slide, or they could go to the swing. Some might go to the merry-go-round, but many times, they will go to the boundary and see what’s there. They will look at the way the grass interacts with the cement border. They’ll check the way the bark dust sits against the same border and what happens when it gets in the grass. They might even lift up the grass tufts to see what bugs they can find. When children explore the boundaries between places, they are learning about how the physical world behaves. You can put this same principle to work for you in your creative endeavors.
Continue reading‘So, You Think You Can’t Draw’ Series Going Live
Today, “So, You Think You Can’t Draw” will go live at our Patreon page. This series is designed to remind you that you can draw and that you are creative. There are seven short videos that will show the six shapes you need to draw anything. They will be released on a weekly basis and only available at Patreon.
Continue readingFor Your Own Creative Journey, Follow ‘Why Bowie Matters’
In his book “Why Bowie Matters” (affiliate link), Will Brooker writes about his own creative journey in the context of exploring David Bowie’s life. He decided to walk in Bowie’s footsteps and to explore Bowie’s life in a physical manner. He distilled Bowie’s life down to a year’s worth of experiences, dressed like Bowie, traveled to the places that were important to Bowie’s development as an artist and icon, and experimented with the same talents that Bowie did. His experience can help you in your own creative journey.
Continue readingGrandma’s Secret Cookie Recipe (Won’t Be Found Here)
When I was young, I would go to visit my grandma, and she would make two things for me: lasagna and biscotti. Both were amazing, but at some point, she stopped making the lasagna. Maybe around the time I became vegetarian, but I feel like It was even before then. The biscotti, she just kept making. She would have a bowl full of these beautiful, two-bite, sugar-glazed, anise-kissed cookies that melted in my mouth on every visit. When I got older, I noticed the cookies were missing. Both my grandma and uncle had to go on diets that restricted their sugar intake. That’s when I decided I needed to get grandma’s secret cookie recipe.
Continue readingRussell Nohelty Kickstarts the Summer with Four Fantasy/Sci-Fi Books
USA Today Best-selling Author Russell Nohelty is in the midst of his latest Kickstarter: the “Wannabe Press Summer Fantasy/Science Fiction Novel Slate.” He took some time out of his schedule to answer some of our questions about reading, creativity and how he kickstarts the summer successfully with his latest Kickstarter campaign.
Continue readingKinder Egg Toys and Their Joys: Collectors’ Corner
Kinder Eggs have been around since 1974, but because of an archaic law Congress passed in 1938 regarding inedible substances inside edible substances, Americans have largely missed out on Kinder Egg Toys and their joys. I didn’t learn about Kinder Eggs until a trip to Vienna in 1991, where I instantly fell in love with and acquired dozens of them. Once I knew what I was looking for, there were places in the U.S. they could be found, but these places were selling them illegally and intermittently. Now, with Kinder Joy, American children can experience the joy of the toys. However, the chocolate part and the experience of cracking the egg open are missing.
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Penguinate! Positive Creativity 