Tea Time & New Blog Friends

The Weekend is Upon Us!

This has been a most wonderful first week of blogging.

Now its time for some delectable tea.  

Please do take a seat for a moment and relax.

I'm taking a break from brain splitting science.

*Sigh*

It is such hard work  being fashionable and evil!

Do you take sugar or cream for your tea?

The Blogger Hop is hosted by Crazy-for-Books and Follow Friday is hosted by Parajunkee's View. 

A Question?  Sure you may ask, I have a few minutes.

"How do you spread the word about your blog?

I am Very New to the blog world.  I started this week!
*Swoon*
It has been so much fun so far!
Really I have just been hopping around to blogs I find interesting.
I hit blogs that they have on their side bars 
& 
Well, now I'm doing the Blog Hop and Follow Friday!

Thanks for such a great networking opportunity!
I am pleased to have meet so many new people!

What Books Have You Bitten?
I only have one book review :( 
Fear not it is only the first of many!

Check out my FIRST review!
(Yes, it truly is exciting!)

Speak

I love so many books!
 I would say a few books that have bitten me would be the 
Dark Hunter Series by Sherrilyn Kenyon 
&
Anita Blake Series by Laurell Hamilton

Stop by again, it is delightful chatting.
(I will stop by your blog as well and bring by some Steampunkery while I'm at it!)

I do enjoy a great discussion on books!

Review. Loudly. SPEAK!

Speak

By Laurie Halse Anderson
Publisher:  Puffin
Read E-Book on the Nook
Book Art:  Is Amazing, a most proper cover that contains the major elements!  Props for the cover artist!!!
Genre:  Young Adult, Realistic Fiction, Sexual Violence 

Reason Why the Mad Scientist picked up this book:  

Mainly it is due to the fact that a man by the name of Wesley Scroggins said I should not read it.  At that moment I knew I had to find out why.  I am so happy to find out that he is a pompous nub who should of read the book before he placed quotes way out of context.

First Line: It is my first morning of high school.

Concoction of a Review:

The voice of the story, is the main character.  Melinda enter the book going into high school as a 9th grader. She has no friends because she called the cops, who break up a huge party.  She has mash potatoes thrown at her, and she is wearing a skirt she hates, and her family is dysfunctional.   HS is supposed to be full of memories, however, this does not seem to be the case.  She draws into herself, retreating from family, school, and people trying to be friends.  She tries to forget.

She stops talking, mostly.  Melinda also has scabs on her lips and she no longer fits her clothes.  What happened to her?  Anderson does not come out right away in the book and say but she does leave hints throughout the book.  Normally, when you think of such as rape, it becomes a taboo area.  Something that is not discussed often but I just love how Anderson has Melinda struggle through the book. 

The writing on a subject such as rape is hard to touch because of society expectations.  My favorite parts of the book were when we got to watch her grow and develop her tree art projects.  I just wanted her to spill everything into one of her trees.  Melinda had to be filled with hate, fear, and hurt.  Although, I really did love the turkey carcass art.  It was so gloomy and weird but the wonderfully odd part is when others also expressed how they liked it.  

Then there was the bathroom wall.  Wow, I want to say this was the turning point for me but I can just feel that it was for Melinda too.  She wrote on the bathroom wall about her attacker.  Not only was it courageous of her to finally speak up in at least this way but it was courageous of the other girls who replied back adding their thoughts.  Melinda was not the only one who was living with this secret!  A bathroom wall, a marker, a rape, the final minutes to complete her art project.  It all leads to Melinda Speaking Up!  Superb ending!  

What a profound book.  It was a beautiful read!


Quotes:

"I think it's some kind of psychiatric disorder when you have more than one personality in your head.  If I kick both of them out of my head who would be left?"

"I need a new friend.  I need a friend period.  Not a true friend nothing close,or share clothes or sleep over giggle giggle yak yak.  Just a pseudo-friend." 

5 Blasts

A properly profound book that the
Mad Scientist Recommends!



A Letter:

My Dear Mr Scroggins,

You wrote a nasty article about a few books.  I jumped up and said to self, "This Scientist does not like a fascist guy to be broaching on my rights.  Self, let us see what all this hub bub is about.  While we are out shopping for a silver tipped parasol and new beakers we shall run to the bookstore!"

Mr Scroggins, you made a particular claim that had me shifting around in my knickers and squirming with unsettling feelings.  You said in your article that you thought Speak as required reading material was softly pornographic for the kids in the district who would be reading it.  Let me ask you a question?  When was the last time you talked to your shrink?  What kind of man of intellectual status consider rape to be soft porn?  As I ponder on this, you may understand why there is a huge outcry over your article.

1. You think rape is pornographic
2. You think it is OK to take away another's right

My Dear Mr Scroggins, however, ashamed I am for you I am please to say that without your article this brain would of been short one beautiful story about a girl working through such a taboo issue, like sexual violence.  Without your article, I would have no one to thank for my minding grabbing a hold of a book with a voice.

Now, Mr Scroggins I do believe it is time for you to dig a hole... what you do with it will be for you to know.

Adoring my malicious ways, 

Knicker Teaser... Speak

I ran across a fun little MeMe as I was scouring the book blog-o-sphere, which you know is huge!  Lady MizB @ Should Be Reading is the vamp-it mind behind this overtake.

ETSY

As a Mad Scientist... it is in the job description to light up some beakers with mysterious glowing liquid and create.  

Create I will!!!

Knicker Teaser is the twisted creation.  I will provide you with Steampunkery Knicker Teasers and Literary Samplings as well.

Speak by Laurie Hale Anderson

Page 144 

"Ivy is sitting on the edge of the fountain, a giant sketchbook balanced on her knees.  She nods toward the line of whiners and the face painters furiously coloring stripes, spots, and whiskers."

I'm currently reading Speak in support of the Speak Loudly movement & it will be my first book review.  The community is loud and strong which is just amazing.  

I'm stocking up on ray guns and mechanical bugs that will creep out the people encroaching on our Freedoms!

Background is Warrented

 

Steampunk broke off from cyberpunk in the 1980's.  Steampunk touches many areas including but not limited too science fiction, alternate history, speculative fiction, Victorian era, steam power, anachronistic technology, gaslight romance, and Mad Scientists!

The genre and culture is due to its involvement within a world where steam power is the primary source of energy, hence, Steampunk.  Although, the steam power ear is usually in the 19th century it does more often then not have futuristic technology.  *Rubs hands together evilly*  This is were you can picture the Mad Scientist in her laboratory creating dirigibles, parasols that spray poisonous gas, and corsets that don't pinch.

Cyberpunk and Steampunk are closely related and influence each other a great deal.  Lets just say that the biggest difference that distinguishes the two would be that Steampunk tends to have less dystopian settings.

Steampunk is truly a growing movement as the concept develops.  The fashion is just so becoming.  It tends to take the height of Victorian fashion mixed and fused with various looks of today.  Incorporate a few gears and cogs, military garb, ray guns and technology pieces.   Look forward to petticoats, corsets, parasols, & goggles!

(Image from http://brassgoggles.co.uk/blog/)

A Sample of Steampunkery Links:

Steampunk Fashion

Brass Goggles: The Lighter Side of Steampunk 

The Clockworkers Guild's Journal 

The Steampunk Home

Steampunk Fashion - A Facebook Page

A Most Pleasing Welcome

I am most delighted that you found yourself roaming my blog!

With this blog I intend to post the most pleasing of photos within the steampunkery realm.  However, I may toss in a few off genre photos that ruffle my knickers.

Yes, that is right!  We DO NOT discriminate against objects of desire that are not of the Steampunkery liking.  It is possible you will see a wide range of of desirable posts here!

I also feel that any person, mad scientist or otherwise, should be overly indulgent in books.

With that being said I hope that the cogs in my brain will allow me to share the books that please the this particular mad scientist.  As well as, possible books that will be read during future tea time.

Warning to the well groomed : This Mad Scientist is pleased by a huge variety of books!

I most humbly admit that as a mad scientist of the time I am currently under no impression of being a Steampunkery expert, let alone in anything else as well.

The world can be a dashing place.  

Join me on my journey through time and word.