I am so not ticklish!

I dare ya...I am so not ticklish. Go ahead, tickle my foot. I can take it, you'll see, not ticklish a biiiiiii....STOP IT! I can't take it - stop the tickling!!! PLEEEEEASE, I'll give you my high waisted jordaches andandand my boyfriend's shirt andandandand my curling iron andmycool huarache sandals....JUST STOP TICKLING MEEEEEEEE FER CHRISSSAKES!!!

Lotsa Clues!

Clue #1: Are they brother and sister? I'm gonna say yes - they sure look alike. And I bet that's his hoodie she's wearing. Love the overalls - so forgiving for the stockier gal.

Clue #2: The buildings in the background are distinctly of another land - Europe? Russia?

Clue #3: The boy apparently is a fan of Ang Lee's Brokeback Mountain. He likes Ennis!!

How'd I do?

 

Turns out they are brother and sister (twins) and they are in Russia!! Yay, I was right! But since this book predates Brokeback, I am embarrassingly wrong on the last clue. Does he like Dennis? Dennis who? It can't possibly say I LIKE TENNIS, can it? That would be such a lame statement, to merely like tennis. Who has such a lukewarm feeling about tennis? I, for one, loathe it.

Beyond Another Magic Mushroom

If this image isn't trippy enough, what with the blue floating  grandma head with plastic butter knives coming out of it to the bizarre clip art angels floating around a girl (who has extremely dilated pupils, I might add and a seemingly separated shoulder from the rest of her body), this description of the book is beyond another door, indeed:

"It began with a visit to the carnival, where Daria won a dish. That dish became more than a dish. It sometimes dissolved into a face that spoke."

Uh, Sonia Levitin, I'll have whatever drugs you're having.

The Year of Perfecting "The Pose"

I know you've all been waiting for the book written by that luscious piece of man candy, Terry Kay. On first glimpse I was struck by the boy's jeans. Are they the same jeans worn by my crush? Notice the left hand gripping the back pocket - the same pose, is it not? On reading the synopsis, we're told that the novel is inspired by his hotness' own boyhood in Georgia. So it is him, in the sweet years of youth before his eyes went bad and he discovered the joys of blowdrying! Is the naked lightbulb a symbol of the brilliance yet to come? But more importantly, what would possess his mother to sew him a shirt made out of a tablecloth? Did she despise our young hero? Did she endlessly badger him about how that hole in the porch ain't gonna be fixing itself, young man?

A Hunkahunka Burnin' Manliness!

I'll be going away for the next 5 days to the Land That Time Forgot, so I thought I'd leave you with this sexy pic of YA author Terry Kay. Feel free to make it your wallpaper - I know I will. I was going to post the cover of one of his novels, but that will have to wait - his picture is far more provocative....you know he used Formula 405's Dry Look Hairspray to achieve that windswept look. He's all seriousness here, isn't he - clenched jaw, rigid pose - my god, he's ready to break those eyeglasses in two and tear the pocket off his jeans with his rugged hands! Let's talk about those jeans for a moment, shall we? The little coin pocket is a nice touch, as well as the center seams. A bit feminine, but this is a man fully comfortable with his sexuality. You can bet he's wearing Frye boots, not those hippie earth shoes. Looks like he's packin' a pistol in there too, if ya know what I mean. 

Face it...it sucks.

So it appears that our little Shroom Girl got her emancipation status, along with a very becoming shag cut. Nice to see she chose to keep her kicky bangs but mixed it up with a different side part. Putting her crayons and mushrooms behind her, she's gone on tour with John Fogerty and some banjo-strumming redneck where they'll be headlining at the HoJo's in Piscataway, NJ...nice having some freedom, huh? She sure looks happy.

Shrooms!

You know, like when your family traps you into collecting mushrooms when you'd rather be drawing portraits with your new box of crayolas? Actually this is another book full of DEATH! Dad dies, mom has a nervous breakdown, and shroom girl decides to split and become an emancipated minor. 

A note to the Out of Control girl: This is how you rock long hair - feathered bangs swept to the side. Take note of the confidence on her face while sporting such a commanding do. A dead dad and a psycho mother won't cramp her style!