DC Ducks

We Should Hang Out Sometime!

'We Should Hang Out Sometime' (Josh Sundquist) is one of the Advance Reader Copies I was given at BookCon, and won't actually come out for a few more months: until December, in fact! Until then, get ready for me to increase your anticipation, because trust me, the wait until December will be long and hard, but it's going to be worth it.

The book itself is a memoir of the author's experiences as a teenager, chronicling his attempts (and failures) at finding a girlfriend. According to the author himself, it is a 'semiscientific, wholly hilarious investigation' into what went wrong in his pursuits of love. And by semiscientific, he means he forms hypotheses, investigates, tracks those women down, and asks them point blank why it never worked out between them.

I love the scientific approach to understanding where the relationships went wrong, as it ads to the charm of the book.
And there are charts. Very funny, very accurate charts, drawn in sharpie, placed here and there all throughout the novel, giving you insight into the author's mind and a good laugh (or a sincere awww) in most cases.

The story itself is so brutally honest that I can't help but feel connected to the life of young Josh, and the challenges he faces trying to find a girlfriend. It's incredibly engaging. The reader finds themself relating to his thoughts and feeling as he comes up against the challenges of finding love. The fear of rejection is a poignant reoccurring theme throughout the entire novel, which both holds him back from asking out the women he crushes on and taints his memory of the relationship, which we can se through the hypotheses he forms about why it never worked out between them. "She may have liked me, but..." is a repeated consideration of the author with almost each of the potentials. And it doesn't help that he does get rejected right off the bat one of the only times he does go for it.

However, with almost every woman, the results of the investigation surprise Josh, and the reader - except in the few cases where the reader can see what young Josh couldn't, and wants to scream at the page "She's obviously into you! Go for it!"

The book is an incredibly quick read, both because the author manages to convey some of the key concepts through well thought out charts, and also because the reader just simply wants to know what's coming next. I sat down and read the book in less three hours, on the bus on the way from BookCon to Philly. It reads like you're sitting with a friend and he's telling you his worst dating experiences. It's engrossing, captivating, grabbing the reader and making them a participant in the investigation. It has some real laugh out loud moments, and I found myself laughing not only because of the absurdity of his predicament, but also because of how much I related to what he was feeling.

But the truth is, the book isn't just about finding a girlfriend, finding love; it's about our own insecurities, fears, our self esteem. It's about you. It's about all of us, because we can all relate to these, even if we aren't missing a leg. This book isn't just about finding love in others, but learning to love yourself.

"We Should Hang Out Sometime is for every person who has ever wondered, "Is there something wrong with me?" 

Josh begins the book by stating that the reason behind his investigation, other than curiosity, is to find out what was wrong with him, if it was something like annoying habit,  that he could change,  or something permanent, that he would just have to live with. Each time, he asks what was wrong with him. And, SPOILER ALERT! Nothing is.  The problem is that he believes there is.

Which is why I'd recommend this book to anyone and everyone who's ever felt that deep set feeling that they're just not good enough. Everyone can relate to Josh's struggles. Everyone has felt insecure, for different reasons: maybe we didn't even realize it at the time.

I'd give this book 5/5 stars. It's a fantastically fun read that I'd happily recommend to others, and offers a fantastic lesson - a truth - without being preachy. It's one of those books that makes you wish you were friends with the author, so you could call them up and talk to them about their book.

Check out the website here if you'd like to pre-order a copy!

Random thoughts about the book:

• Have any of you read An Abundance of Katherines (John Green)? Parts of the book felt a lot like that. Maybe it was the format of "This woman - this experience - This ending". Maybe it was the theme of teenage love. Or coming of age. So if you like reading John Green, you'll probably enjoy this novel.
• After reading the book, I checked out Josh's youtube channel and realized I recognized him from his "Doctor Who for Math Nerds" video. I watched a few vlogs and was shocked out how his voice is so recognizable from the book. it really is an honest novel, and he's not trying to be anybody but himself.
• I'm not a man or an amputee, but I really related to this book. Wowza.
• We should hang out sometime! is quite accurately the best pickup line. Full disclosure, I'm probably going to use it in my future.

It's been a while (an apology post)

Hi everyone,

I'm sorry I've been gone so long.Life tends to get in the way of my creative pursuits, and this was no different. So many crazy things have happened in the past six week. Not that I think anyone is reading this blog, but I'll tell you all about it.

First off, the big downer - the french rejected my application for citizenship. Supposedly, 'I don't have the funds to exist'. I'm not allowed to re-apply for another two years, so there goes my chance at a free university education.

But that's a rant for another day.

Good things have been happening too. I went to DC's Supernatural con, which was wonderful. Me some incredible people, and it turns out the cast of the show are all incredible nice people. I didn't expect that.
I also learned that I'm terrible at taking selfies. Every one I got turned out blurry.
But it was an amazing weekend.

The museum also held a party to celebrate Boeing's huge financial donation. I got to meet not only the CEO of Boeing, but the president of Rolls Royce, some speakers of the house, and apollo 13 astronaut Jim Lovell. It was out of this world.

We filmed a music video at NASM, which will never leave the confines of the staff room. But it's amazing and I really wish communications would let us post it. But it can't, so we won't post it.

And finally, I went to Bookcon. Part of the event was a lot of free books, advance reader copies that were handed out on the exhibitions floor. I've been slowly making my way through them, and I think I'm going to start reviewing them. I feel like getting a free book is some kind of pact with the author to tell him - and everyone! - what we think about it, and encourage others to get it too, if we feel so inclined.
I do feel so inclined.

So I'm going to review books.

So this blog had gone from DIY to Piss poor photography to a book review blog. Ouch.

Keeping that in mind, I shall attempt (attempt!) to write on a biweekly basis. We'll have poor photography monday and book review thursday, starting today.  Monday will be interchangeable. Over the summer as I get my hands on art supplies, I may post more DIY.

I'm also very active on tumblr. Come find me here.

Live long and prosper, folks,

Sarah

6 Quick and Easy Ways to Create a Cross Stitch Pattern (for free!)

A lot of people are surprised at the fact that I've never bought a cross stitch pattern to make my designs. And, the truth is, I've never struggled with a design, because there's actually a lot of ways to proceed in which your initial pattern never had to cost you a dime. Here are my handful of tips to help you create your own pattern without having to use expensive software.

1. Winging it

If you have an image in your head, you can just go for it. I mean, why not? So long as you know where you're going with your design, you can sit and stitch and finish your project without even drawing a single image. And while throwing caution to the wind may seem like a risk, I promise you that you'll be happy with the result.

When I've used this method: Welcome to Night Vale book marks

2. Gridded Paper

An easy thing to get your hands on, gridded paper is fantastic for creating larger designs that you've got in your head. It also helps keep track of what you've done and have yet to do. It helps you figure out how much space your design will take, too!
I like to grid the gridded paper into inches. If your canvas is 18 stitches to an inch, count 18 squares on the grid and draw a line. This will help you predict how big your design actually is.

When I've used this method: any time I wanted to write anything

3. Transparent grid

My mother bought a pack of these in England, and they have been fantastic. It takes a bit of guesswork on your part, figuring out which color dominates a block and using the right one, but the result is fantastic. This can be used over photos and book covers and drawings, whatever you'd like.

But I promised nothing on this post would cost you anything. Grab a grid online and print it on transparent paper. Yup, it works!

When I've used this method: Zoidberg cushion and Zelda Pillow

4. Pixelating

Grab any picture you want to cross stitch and stretch it until it is pixelated... then cross stitch, pixel by pixel. This works perfectly on simple, one or two color designs, but I would not recommend on anything more complicated than that. Photographs, for example, would be a nightmare, unless you owned every color DMC has to offer.

When I've used this method: TARDIS pillow

5. Excel

Ah, excel, how you're useful in every way. It's got all the colors you need, and it's easy to use. I love working with it. The above picture is a pattern I made because people were requesting a chart for the bookmark that I had 'winged', so I used Excel to share the design with them.

When I've used this method: Pixel people

6. Free online software

You can find some seriously great software online. My absolute favorite is Pic2pat, a website that lets you upload a picture, select your size and canvas, chose how many colors you're going to be using, then send you a FREE pdf with every single detail for you. I love it.

When I've used this method: My current project - the Carina Nebula

I hope this had been helpful! Please don't hesitate to send me any of your questions. You can find me on Tumblr at nosynonymforsynonym, where I have been uploading my projects and some patterns.

Solomon's Castle

This may well be the strangest place in Florida. Hold on to your horses.

The first thing you see walking up is this huge tinfoil castle. Yes, an actual castle, made out of aluminum sheeting. No lie. It's huge, with stained glass windows, and the light bounces off the sides in amazing colors of blues and pinks. 

So you go inside and purchase a ticket for the tour. You then get led through this strange building, which turns out to be an art gallery for Mr. Solomon himself, who makes anything out of anything. Everything inside the entire building, except three pieces, were made by him.

Freedom of women, made out of an oil drum and chains...

Unicorn made out of a coat hanger - which is why Mr. Solomon has his clothes on the floor in his closet.

Our tour guide repeated joke after joke to the point where my grandmother was red int he face with laughter. Everything in the castle was a pun. Everything. 

And they have a boat?

And a lighthouse? (only lighthouse int he world to never have lost a ship)

The Shalamo? (it's his garage...)

In any case, visiting this place was an experience, and one of the strangest experiences of my life so far. You should check it out.

Fifteen Minute Circle Skirt

Easiest skirt in history!

1. CUT

Fold the fabric in four and cut a curve along the outside edge. The inside curve will follow these measurements.

2. HEM

Roll the bottom edge of the skirt up, and stitch along the line.

3. CUT

Cut the elastic to the size of your waist and finish off the edges. It will end up being a loop.

4. ASSEMBLE

Use pins to help line up your fabric with your elastic. Stretch and stitch. And you're done!

A Little Slice of Paradise

I've returned to Florida for a short week, and it's incredible here.
The sun is recharging my batteries - over charging, in fact, to the point where i cannot sit still. I need to work, to create.
My grandmother's garden is blooming and it's paradise outside. Time sits still outside, leaving nothing but color and smells to overwhelms your senses.
Photos don't seem to cover it. But they try.