First Dog Bo Obama, a Portuguese Water Dog

The White House finally has a first dog again.
Bo, a Portuguese Water Dog has arrived at the White House!

The 6-month-old dog, a gift from Sen. Ted Kennedy, was "re-homed" after another family gave the dog up. No reason given.

"Porties," as they're called, are high-energy dogs, a breed of Water Spaniel.

No problem there. I'm sure with two young girls as owners - and with the excitement of the Obamas' all getting their first dog - Bo will get plenty of exercise and attention.

Miniature Rooms in Unusual Containers

Rhode Islander Fern Rouleau is an avid miniaturist who never runs out of ideas - especially when it comes to constructing miniature rooms. (Pictured: KFC Picnic)

While she's built her share of roomboxes, she's not afraid to go "outside the box." She prefers using boxes and containers that some of us might throw away or usually have entirely different uses in the beginning.

That's the fun of miniatures, says Fern: "I like to put my minis in roomboxes that are unique, like ice cream shops in sundae cups, etc. I love working on miniatures. I love creating new things and new scenes."

And yes, she did use an ice cream tub to make an ice cream scene. (Pictured: Ice cream shop in Baskin Robbins container.)



Or how about that miniature picnic - set in a KFC bucket? Of course, the miniature version has its own bucket of KFC chicken, too. (Pictured: KFC bucket interior.)



The amusing thing is that Fern's "taste" for unusual miniature settings does have its advantages. (Pictured: Sweet Shop in cookie container.)

"I made the chocolate scene because I am a chocoholic and it was an excuse to eat chocolate," she says and laughs.



"The same for the KFC... I was really in the mood for chicken that day. I made the Baskin Robbins scene and didn't have the top of the sundae cup so I went to Baskin Robbins with the scene to show them so I could get a top. This was right after the CSI show about the miniature killer and the people working at Baskin Robbins really looked at me weirdly!"

** See more of Fern's miniatures at her website.

** See photos of the CSI miniature killer rooms.

Happy Easter!

A Happy, Blessed Easter to all!

Free Miniatures Stuff!

I bet that got your attention. ha!

Well my friend Katie at Katie's Clay Corner is giving away a ton of cool stuff for her birthday! (Happy Birthday too!)

She's got miniatures, clay bowls and other items, her great art, fabric and more. All you need to do is comment at her blog message here. Have fun and wish her Happy Birthday!

Starry Night, Michelle Obama and Sam's Fashion

With all the talk about Michelle Obama's fashion style, Sam from Searching For A Starry Night, A Miniature Art Mystery, and her friend, Lita, wanted to share their views on fashion.

"Sam, here. Me and my bff Lita, sorry, I mean my bff Lita and I, wanted to talk about clothes and stuff.

"Gee, I don't know much about fashion. Lita's the one who knows what looks good. I think that's because she likes to look nice for our friend JJ. (He likes her!)"

"He does not," Lita insisted. "I just like to look nice."

Sam shrugged and continued. "I don't have time for dressing up. Most of our time's been taken up trying to find that miniature Starry Night painting, (the one the book's named for), before my Mom really flips out.

"I'm not into that fashion stuff. Jeans, shorts, that's 'fashiony' enough for going fishing. Not that we had the chance to do much of that! Not with Lita being so chicken and all. She's still spooked after touching that creepy old folder that Petey dug up. (It's all in the book.) She sure won't touch some slimy old worm!

"Okay, I admit Lita scared me. She's so dramatic... I felt terrible about her being so upset about finding that folder. We've been friends since we were little and we both hoped we'd always be bff's, you know?"

"Maybe," Lita said. "But I keep tellin' you to ditch the T-shirts."

"Why? They're comfortable. I like this shirt. The dog's cute, don't you think?"

"Yeah, looks like Petey. But you said my new shirt was cute. I told you to try it on in blue. It'd look good with your red hair."

"Auburn," Sam said and smirked, "not red, never red. I said I'd think about it but... it's too girly for me. That kind of stuff looks good on you. Not me."

"You too scared to try it on?" Lita asked. "Admit it."

"Scared? Look who's talking. She-who-won't-go-fishing."

"Aww, c'mon, Sam. I told ya, I didn't want to ruin my new shirt. My mom would kill me."

"See? Who needs fashion?" Sam said. "You won't do anything cuz you're afraid of messing up your clothes!"

Lita sighed. "Okay, you win. Now, can we go get some ice cream?"

Sam smiled. "You bet. Hey, you sure you want to? Last time you dripped ice cream all over the front of your shirt!"

"You ever goin' to let me forget that?"

Sam smiled. "Never. Isn't that what friends are for?"

** Read more about Sam and Lita (and Petey, too!) in Searching For A Starry Night, A Miniature Art Mystery from QUAKE. Get it on Kindle, too.

Crime TV, Is it Too Real?

A recent post about Law & Order, writers and reality at Poe's Deadly Daughters got me thinking about the continuing fascination with "reality TV."

I don't mean fun "reality" shows like "Dancing With the Stars." (Love it!) I mean shows like Law & Order," "NCIS" and other cop/crime shows where the realistic or "reality based" stories seem to be getting, well, too real.

I can't remember who it was, but I thought I'd heard that one star had quit Law & Order because the crimes were getting "too" real. I was a L&O fan, watching most of the spin-off's until the five-day-a-week shows got to be too much. And the one thing that I've noticed from not watching it regularly now is the increasing amount of gore.

The old TV news adage, "if it bleeds, it leads," seems to have become the byword for all the crime shows. L&O has its bloody closeups, or worse, it seems to have crossed into an almost perverse delight in re-enacting a crime. One show I watched had me thinking how attractive the killers could look to someone who was off-balanced or mentally unstable. Not a good thing. It creeped me out.

That show, of course, isn't the only one guilty of overdoing the blood. Other shows I liked like "Criminal Minds" or NCIS with its gruesome autopsies (and never mind CSI's scenes as well) have me cringing, looking away, closing my eyes, or sometimes just switching channels. Not what the stations wanted, is it? And I admit being a horror and Stephen King fan.

As I enjoy writing mysteries, I like crime shows. I like the twists and turns as the case is solved. But I guess I'd prefer a little more Agatha Christie instead of "Nightmare on Elm Street."

The other side effect, I fear, is that all that blood day and night, has desensitized a lot of people to the true horrors of crime, or made it seem "not real." (Like kids who think they can fly because they saw Superman or whoever do it?) Or is that the intention?

** Your Turn: Is TV becoming too gory? Is the constant stream of crime and murder on TV shows and the news desensitizing?

Eye Candy: Pretty Little Lady Miniatures

Today, I thought I'd share a few of the little "lady" items I finished in the "Shop 'Til You Drop" class Thursday at the Tom Bishop International Dollhouse Show in Chicago.

There were so many items to finish that I am still working on the trim on the chaise and decorating the clothing boxes. There's also a bra and panties set to make, a lace-front shirt and a pillow. I have a couple things to do to the folding screen also. I will post more photos when I finish.

(The shoes were fun and easy to do, made with suede paper. The shoe base is a "sandwich" of a leather bottom, index card and a suede inside. The bows are teensy fingernail decorations. The shoes even had little Fimo clay heels! Neat, huh?)

I love the tower of boxes! And the suitcase was easy but effective - simply gluing straw over a wood block, then add a suede strip handle and tiny gold sticker pieces for hardware. (The stickers look like tiny rectangles and come in strips.) The bag is vellum with the teacher Cindy Crane's own art reduced and printed on it. I'm gong to try that with the vellum I had (and didn't know why I bought!)

Unfortunately, I didn't get back to the show itself, but I am going to contact a couple vendors to buy some things since I've now got a bug about making some more items like the mini purses and shoes!

I will say one thing - recession? You wouldn't know it!

Though I know a few people who are holding their wallets a little tighter (myself included), you would think that nothing had changed judging from the number of people who were taking classes. There were at least 10 small workrooms (maybe more as I didn't count them all) filled with at least 10 students each on Thursday, though the more expensive house/roombox classes did have fewer students.

But still - even the pricier classes had at least six students. And there were more people coming in for the Thursday evening classes. Given that most classes were more than $100 (with the house/room classes in the $400-$800 range) - plus many of those people and teachers were staying at the hotel, a good deal of money was being spent. It will be interesting to hear from the dealers if they saw any difference in spending and if the crowds seemed to be smaller compared to previous years or the same. Anyone want to share their views?

Meet Author Rachel Allen Dillon, Endangered Animal Artist

Welcome to Rachel Allen Dillon, author of the fascinating new children's book, THROUGH ENDANGERED EYES - A POETIC JOURNEY INTO THE WILD.

(Be sure to read to the end to see her amazing excerpts and get some neat great suggestions for activities to do with the kids. Don't forget to check out the other stops on the rest of her blog tour! )

Talk about a cool book! The pages of THROUGH ENDANGERED EYES (Windward Press, Finney Co.) take readers, both young and young-at-heart, on a fascinating journey into the animal world via Rachel's original art and poetry.

But instead of the typical real-life portraiture or photos featured in most animal-related books, Rachel's animal art has a mosaic-like quality. She paints in dots, reminiscent of the Pointillist style of classic artists like Georges Seurat, and Henri-Edmond Cross.

While artists doing Pointillism mostly worked in primary colors, Rachel's paintings have a modern twist - her dots are bolder and mimic the colors of the represented animals. No "dainty" dots here. Rachel's paintings are bold and invite you to come closer, get to know the animals.

She also invites readers to learn more. Most of the 21 species featured in the book are endangered or threatened due to situations including, loss of habitat; poaching; hunting; accidental deaths while hunting for other species; poison; problems in producing more young; or pollution. All of these animals are in need of help in order to survive.

She says, "I believe all creatures in the animal kingdom serve a purpose and play a role that keeps the planet balanced. Although extinction is a natural process, the current rate of species going extinct is unnatural. Our children need to understand the importance each species plays to the survival of all things. They will inherit an earth that needs habitat rebuilding and scientific intervention to maintain biodiversity. Your job not only is to make your own changes to help the planet, but more importantly, to guide your children and cherish their natural desire to make the world a better place."

** See information on some of the featured animals, plus sample art and poems, below.


Meet Rachel!

Rachel developed her love of animals as a young artist, her favorite being horses. "As I got into middle school and high school, I drew quietly in my room at night trying to perfect the horse," she says.

Her love of art continued to grow well into high school. After recovering from a bout of pneumonia, Rachel began taking art classes in college and knew that she'd found her life's work. "I was hooked," she says.

She graduated from the University of Wisconsin, Madison in 1994 with a bachelor's degree in art, with an emphasis on graphic design ("I already had in mind about the starving artist thing," she jokes.)


Inspiration

While she was drawn to mosaics, especially those found in the ruins of Pompeii, Rachel discovered a new world of creativity following a trip to Australia in 1992.

There, she discovered Aboriginal Acrylic Dot painting, a style used by native Aborigines.

"The colors, patterns and textures inspired me," Rachel says. "When I returned home and started one of my art classes, I just had to try out the dot painting method."

Unfortunately, Rachel soon learned that there wasn't much information on the technique available. "I couldn't figure out how they made dots so perfectly round, until I saw a picture of an Aboriginal man sitting under a tree, dipping a stick into paint," she explains. "I flipped my paintbrush around and used the other end to create the dots I was looking for. The dots are raised and create a braille-like texture to the paintings."

How It's Done:

Rachel uses acrylics in her art, with the paintings for the book done on 9" x 12"
canvas board. The paintings took from 8 to 12 hours to complete. An exception was the Mexican Spotted Oil, which took about 20 hours. "I used very small dots in the face to get additional texture and detail," she says.

If she had to choose one, Rachel's favorite has to be the Chinese Alligator: "I had never painted a reptile before. Their skin is perfect for dots. The book doesn't do that painting justice, there is almost a leather quality to the skin in the actual painting."


ANIMALS IN ART AND POETRY:

Excerpts from THROUGH ENDANGERED EYES - A POETIC JOURNEY INTO THE WILD by Rachel Allen Dillon


Species: AFRICAN ELEPHANT

My ears are shaped like Africa,
my trunk is very strong,
my key to life is family,
that is where I belong.

The African elephant is the world's largest land animal. A male elephant could weigh as much as 16,500 pounds.

Where they live: Africa - Status: Threatened

Resources:
• World Wildlife Foundation, http://www.wwf.org/
• http://www.elephantvoices.org/
• Google: African Elephant Specialist Group


Species: CHINESE ALLIGATOR

I am small but
my teeth are strong,
I dig dark tunnels
deep and long.

Chinese Alligators are smaller then their American cousins. Young Chinese alligators are black and bright yellow.

Where they live: Lower Yangtze River Valley, China - Status: Endangered

Resources:
• http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/
• http://savingwildplaces.com/
• www.calacademy.org/science_now/archive/headline_science/alligatorchina.html
•
www.kidcyber.com.au/topics/Chinaaligator.htm


Species: CORROBOREE FROG

The Corroboree Frog lives in one of the coldest parts of the Australian mainland. It does not have webbed feet and is about the size of an adult pinkie finger.

Where they live: Fiery and Brindabella and the Snowy Mountains region of New South Wales and Victoria, Australia - Status: Critically Endangered

Resources:
• www.arkive.org/
• www.kidcyber.com.au/
• www.abc.net.au/science/scribblygum/june2004


HELPING MAKE A DIFFERENCE

While Rachel has a soft heart for animals, she also believes in helping children develop a concern for animals and their environment. Poetry and art became the perfect vehicle to do that.

"I decided to write a book on endangered animals for kids because I wanted to highlight the importance of vanishing animals to kids," she says. "I didn't see any great kids' books devoted to endangered animals, so I decided to write one.

"...For the younger ones the rhyming is fun to listen to," she continues. "For the seven to nine-year-old kids, poetry becomes a puzzle, a way to communicate something they have to look harder to figure out. That is where the factual information in the back of the book comes in handy. The facts really tell the kids the answers to the questions the poems cause. The four to six-year-olds, whose parents are still reading with them, ask the questions and the parents need to look at the facts to decipher an answer - so the parents are learning too."

CLASS AND HOME ACTIVITIES for Kids:

Following are some things that teachers and parents can do to help children develop an appreciation for animals and their preservation.

1) MAKE A LIST

Look at the animal information plaques at the zoo or aquarium for a Vanishing Wildlife Symbol or statement about the status of the species. Create a list and photos, if possible, of endangered and threatened species.

2) DONATE A DOLLAR

Teaching children at a young age about giving and sharing is a lesson that will stay with them for a lifetime. Choose a foundation or cause to donate a dollar. A dollar may seem small, but to a child it can feel like they are really making a difference.

3) ADOPT AN ANIMAL

Most zoos, aquariums, and wildlife conservation groups have an Adopt, Sponsor or Befriend an Animal program. Most adoptions include a photo, certificate and information about the animal being adopted. Frame the photo and certificate, encourage your child to celebrate their animal's birthday each year by sending a donation. Give animal adoptions as gifts to family and friends.

4) SCRAPBOOK IT!

Children of all ages may enjoy creating a scrapbook about vanishing and threatened creatures.

You don't have to take the pictures, although it adds a personal element if the youngsters are able to take their own photos at the zoo, game park or aquarium. center piece of the book. Information about the animals can be found online or at the library. Check the status of an animal at Earth's Endangered.com to see if they are threatened or endangered.


FOLLOW THE REST OF THE BLOG TOUR:

April 1 - The Muffin, Women on Writing

April 2 - Candid Canine

April 3 - Fatal Foodies

April 7 - My Readable Feast

April 9 - Sharing with Writers

April 10 - Day by Day Writer

April 14 - Whole Latte Life, Joanne Demaio

April 17 - Book Talk Corner Today

April 20 - Margo Dill

* Want to win a copy of THROUGH ENDANGERED EYES? Leave a comment about your favorite endangered or threatened animal. Share any conservation activities that you have done. Leave an email or blog address to be contacted.

New Stories: Mystery and Dragons, Oh My!

No April Fooling! My latest story, "The Dream Child" appears in the new Kerlak Publishing anthology, DRAGONS COMPOSED, set for release this month.

The story, set in medieval Belgium, focuses on a mother's struggles with her too imaginative son. Or is he?

* See book details

** Buy at Amazon.com

** Also: My spring Author Snapshot column at MYSTERICAL-E focuses on mystery and suspense authors sharing the first lines of their books and the stories behind them. Click Author Snapshot under columns on table of contents page.

Words and Definitions

A couple recent news stories I read offered some food for thought, or at least a good laugh.

One story talked about a British official's recent brush with the law in mistakenly writing off some personal video rentals and x-rated movie rentals from her husband. The spokesperson in trying to explain it says, "x-rated videos are not porn."

Oh?

And on this side of the pond, a Wisconsin school was having another brush with political correctness. In a recent incident, it supposedly corrected the symbol for the school's logo - W - for Warriors - by substituting what they termed a more gender-friendly symbol and word - knight.

I'll let you think on that one.