3D glasses

I've never watched many 3D movies. As a lifetime glasses wearer, adding a pair of cardboard glasses is challenging. They never seem to line up correctly with my frames. When I decided I wanted to try drawing red-blue 3D images, I knew I needed a better way to do the glasses. So I made my own clip-on glasses out of some plastic packaging and sharpie.

I consider these 3D glasses Mark 1. Proof of concept though there's room for improvement. 

Book review - Junk Magic and Guitar Dreams

Title: Junk Magic and Guitar Dreams
Author: T. James Logan
Genre: magical realism
Similar books: Mr. 60%  by Clete Barrett Smith
                      The Bad Decisions Playlist by Michael Rubins
Rating:

decent, not great

Summary (provided by publisher): A guitar, a box of junk, and a pile of trouble...
Fifteen-year-old Otter is in a dark place. When he loses his mom to cancer, Child Services wants to put him in foster care, or even a home for troubled youth.
Living on his own, he’s one bad decision away from the street. His band’s first gig is only two weeks away, but his crush on their new lead singer has him tied in knots.
Then he inherits a box of random junk from a dead grandfather he barely knew. Can his grandfather’s memories help Otter win the girl of his dreams, reconnect with his family, and keep him out of juvenile detention...maybe even become a rock star?

My opinion: I struggle somewhat with this book. I think it's well intentioned. It highlights the struggles of kids in poverty, of marginalized communities. We see how stress and grief break a person down, make them fail to use logic, makes them make bad choices. We see how families and friendships fall apart is stages, seldom all at once. How each choice, each moment, builds on the ones that came before. I also think that the major plot points are obvious, the resolutions over simplified. I understand wanting to show how a vulnerable teen, especially a young man caught up in grief and feeling lost, can be radicalized. This is a very real problem in our society and worth discussing. BUt this particular presentation struggles with some logic issues.
More information: Junk Magic and Guitar Dreams releases March 1.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Graphic novel spotlight - Green Lantern Legacy

Green Lantern Legacy by Minh Le

DC Comics is doing some great things these days in the realm of superhero comics for kids. Green Lantern Legacy both acknowledges the vast history of the Green Lantern and allows for a future of all new directions. It carefully balances heroism and kid concerns. Tai has school obligations. He has troubles with friends and the looming potential loss of his family's business. At the same time he's learning how to be a hero and faces off against a real villain. Many comics featuring kid heroes look only at friendship or minor villains. This book doesn't hold back on any front, making it reminiscent of various iterations of Spider-man. While it's largely introductory, setting up new readers with the idea of the Green Lantern Corp and threat of Sinestro, the potential is there to take this series to some very cool places.  

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley 

Non-fiction book review - What's the Point of Math?

What's the Point of Math?

Finally, a book that answers the question that most kids ask. And it isn't cagey about it. Starting with basic counting and going all the way up to theoretical mathematics, the authors explore the purpose of math. We get the history of math - different systems of counting and measurement, the role of zero, that sort of thing. Then, starting with arithmetic we walk through the practical uses of math. What is geometry for? Why might we need to use variables in every day life? If I'd had this book in middle and high school I might have taken my math studies more seriously. This one is a must have for every collection - personal and professional. Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Book review - Subject A36

Title: Subject A36
Author: Teri Polen
Genre: dystopia
Similar books: Taken by Edward Bloor
                      The Seclusion by Jacqui Castle
Rating:

rather disappointing

Summary (provided by publisher): If genetic engineering could guarantee you and your family perfect health and unparalleled beauty, would you pay top dollar for it? Would you kill for it?
Residents of the Colony would. And do.
Only the Insurgents can stop them.
Seventeen-year-old Asher Solomon is a premier operative with the Insurgents. He and his team have rescued countless hostages, saving them from painful deaths in Colony labs as desirable genetic traits are stripped from their bodies.
He’s also suffered more losses than anyone should have to.
Then Asher gets intel that might give his people the upper hand. The Colony is searching for Subject A36. If the Insurgents determine the subject’s identity first, they might be able to turn the tide of the war.
Asher and his team embark on their riskiest mission ever, and the stakes have never been higher. But even if he survives the physical dangers, the devastating secrets he uncovers might destroy him.

My opinion: The overarching thrust of this plot is entirely predictable. This is not unheard of - there are only so many plots in the world, after all. Predictability is acceptable if the characters are complex or if there are interesting elements along the way. Polen is going for some interesting elements but it falls short. The science, in particular, doesn't make any sense. The premise works - the inherent dangers of genetic engineering as it intersects with the class divide. But there is only the thinnest explanation for the genetic harvesting. That motivation feels tacked on, a way to explain the revolution rather than focusing on the hunt for Subject A36. Asher is not a fully developed character either. Had Asher and the super-soldier plot been fully developed this would be a much stronger experience.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Blazer

A while back I bought some trousers on sale. They came with a blazer. It was a bit boxy and plain but comfortable when I put it on. I figured it was worth keeping if I was willing to do a little customization.

I cut some shapes out of fabric with some iron-on fusing.

Nothing punches up a blazer like elbow patches. Especially planet patches.

Book review - This Train is Being Held

Title: This Train is Being Held
Author: Ismee Williams
Genre: realistic fiction
Similar books: Field Notes On Love by Jennifer E Smith
                      You Before Anyone Else by Julie Cross and Mark Perini
Rating:

deeper than I was expecting

Summary (provided by publisher): Alex is a baseball player. A great one. His papi is pushing him to go pro, but Alex maybe wants to be a poet. Not that Papi would understand or allow that.
Isa is a dancer. She'd love to go pro, if only her Havana-born mom weren't dead set against it...just like she's dead set against her daughter falling for a Latino. And Isa's privileged private-school life—with her dad losing his job and her older brother struggling with mental illness—is falling apart. Not that she'd ever tell that to Alex.
Fate—and the New York City subway—bring Alex and Isa together. Is it enough to keep them together when they need each other most?

My opinion: In many ways, this book is like a more complex version of movies like  Save the Last Dance. It has the elements standard to a lot of teen fiction: privileged girl meets underprivileged streetwise boy; privileged teen adjusting to a change in circumstance; initial romance complicated by a series of misunderstandings; even the parent pressured athlete with the soul of a poet. That's a lot o cliche in one book. I have to wonder, though, if Williams is doing this intentionally. Because a lot of these cliches are just masking deeper issues. Isa is seen as a rich white girl, but has Cuban roots and family secrets. Alex is Dominican, his background obvious to even casual observers and the source of constant judgement. They are both somewhat hindered by other peoples perceptions and judgements. We're dealing with a lot of carefully orchestrated masks, hiding issues that feel too big to explain or even deal with. Williams has taken a shallow notion and granted it a surprising amount of depth. As a teen romance it's end result is fairly predictable but the journey is far more engaging than I had expected.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.