Bart King's Blog, page 274

Bad Ideas: Probably NOT the Best Way to Celebrate Women's Day

International Women's Day has been around since 1911, and it will be celebrated on March 8. The holiday's official Website explains: "A global web of rich and diverse local activity connects women...ranging from political rallies [and:] business conferences...to local women's craft markets, theatric performances, fashion parades and more."



Sounds good! To help women celebrate their day, a Chinese military base in Hong Kong set up this photo opportunity for women like this one who might want...

IHOP Invented Techno

My Many Moods

I appeared on AM Northwest today to talk about The Big Book of Gross Stuff. 

Watching the video, I was amazed at how many different moods I can create with just an expression and a gesture. Observe!

"I'm just a starry-eyed optimist."



"I'm a duck. Listen! 'Quack, quack.'"

"What do you mean when you say I look 'sinister'?"

"Hang on, I just coughed up my gall bladder."

"For this interview, I wore a SHIRT!"

"Remember when I said I was a duck? I lied! I'm a TURTLE!! (I like...

Would You Like a Side-Order of Slime?

Over at ParentMap.com's "Raves" column, The Big Book of Gross Stuff just picked up a nice notice that goes a little something like this:
The Portland who really "gets" kids brings it again, this time with a side of slime. The book is full of tween-boy appeal, with info like "World's Most Disgusting Jobs" (whale feces researcher?), a gross quiz and loads more. Even if you don't buy the book, visit King's Web site (ultragross.blogspot.com); it's a treasure trove o' grossness...

You Have the Right to Have Fun

I'm working on a book about fun. It's titled Bart's King-Sized Book of Fun, which we can agree is the best book title of all time. So I've been thinking about fun, and I thought I'd share some thoughts I've been having about fun.

QUESTION: Is it fun to run away and join the circus? Let's find out!

Scenario 1:

Animal Trainer: Hey new kid, take this food over to the big cats' cage.

You: How do I feed it to them?

Animal Trainer: Just stick the meat through the bars.

You: Like this? Uh-oh...

Static Outdoor Information Technician

Forget the Wallpaper...

...Just make your whole dwelling out of books!
That's what artist Martej Kran did with this room. It's made out of works of literature. I wonder if it's sort of like Jenga: You can pull a book out and read it, but as you continue pulling and reading, the whole structure eventually falls down!Story here.

The Perfect Gift for the Book Lover Who Doesn't Want Books

Now that you have an e-reader, you're thinking about removing your book shelves. But there's a problem: Sure, this will free up some space...but without books, things just won't look as cool!
Never fear; Anthropologie is selling book wallpaper! Now you can have all the culture of books without the actual...books.

Lyrics Available on Request

If you've ever wondered what kind of TV programming the Soviet Union offered in the 1970s, here you go! (BTW, based on my understanding of Russian, this is a funeral dirge.)

"Try Signing an E-Book"

The "Books" section in the Oregonian features my "humorous" essay about the challenges 21st century authors face.
Take a peek through the link above!