Mad's Travel Odyssey {2}

The Mad Scientist's LOVES to TRAVEL as much as I LOVE to READ!

Here is a place where I can add my photos & tell stories of my ADVENTURES!!!!!!

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Mad's Travel Tip
Put a dryer sheet in your suitcase to keep it fresh.
While it is your in storage, two weeks before you leave, & I even tuck a piece of a dryer sheet in a few pairs of shoes when I pack.  That way your clothes will not smell like shoes and your shoes will be smelling nice when you do pull them out to wear.
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Packing can be a task.  Mad Scientist has been packing for Thailand.

Lots of people always ask how do I pack so little for such long periods of travel.
Here are a few different ways to match and mix a few items in your wardrobe.  

Airport to Town

Night Time fun.

Shorts

Skulls and Skinny Jeans

Mini & Skulls For Dinner or Night Time

Jean Love

Make sure You have Comfy Sandals... Mine are brown leather.


If you want more outfit ideas let me know!!!

If any questions occur that you might have about travel...

How do I afford it?

What not to take?

and any other thoughts. Please do ask and I might be able to answer and help.

I also hope to inspire others to travel!

If you have instagram you can add me ;)

@madsteampunkery

Happy Traveling!

MS

In The Moment {10}

My nose is Currently stuck in my copy of North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headly.  I remember finding this at Half Price Books and being so excited.

I'm a bit over half done.  So far it is pretty wonderful. Maps, wanderlust, China, Geocaching, and coffee.  Did the autbor pick through my brain to find all the things that I enjoy? Feels like it. 

If you read North of Beautiful let me know what you thought of it.  Post the link to your review. Or let me know if it is on your TBR list!

Books Are Better.
Happy Reading.

MS

Steampunkery Elements {3}

Steampunkery Around the Web

Finding &

Bringing Steampunkery to you!

Today I have soured the lovely online world for some different Steampunkery Lovelies to share with you.

Source

Source

Source

Source

A bonus for the Geekery inside of us!

(Greek style but the Mad Scientist feels this is a must share!)

Star Wars

is the Force with you?

Source

Have a Beautifully Mad Day!

Mad's Travel Odyssey {1}

The Mad Scientist's LOVES to TRAVEL as much as I LOVE to READ!

Here is a place where I can add my photos & tell stories of my ADVENTURES!!!!!!

************************

Soon my next adventure will start with my oldest son, Hayden.  So soon after six months in China... Oh, yes!  I was almost jumping out of my skin sitting in a classroom once again.  Smart as I think I am, I took 8 week courses instead of 16.  My semester is officially finished.

On the 1st, I will be heading to Madison, Wisconsin to spend time with my best friend and brother before I fly.  Then I will spend a night in Chicago (just for fun).

Mad Scientist will be departing from Chicago, IL to spend the nearly the next 6 months in Thailand.  The Mad Scientist will keep everyone in on the adventures and post pictures on a regular basis.

Packing has been at the top of my list and buying things that I want to take with me.  

Next I will post some of the outfit selections I have picked out for tropical Thailand.  Curiosity might get the blogger!?!

If any questions occur that you might have about travel...

How I pack?

What I pack?

How do I afford it?

What not to take?

and any other thoughts. Please do ask and I might be able to answer and help.

I also hope to inspire others to travel!

Talon, my middle son, in China at Longji, Guangxi.

Dragon Back Rice Terraces.

If you have instagram you can add me ;)

@madsteampunkery

Happy Traveling!

MS

Going Vintage eBook Review

Happy Book Release Day!!!

By: Lindsey Leavitt
Published  By: Bloomsbury
Publish Date: March 26, 2013
Pages: 320 pages
Tags:  Young Adult, Contemporary Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Coming of Age
Source:  NetGalley.com

Concoction of a Review:

Like most of us, Mallory is another young lady in this world who wants to figure out where she belongs and what her “thing” is.  However, the way that Mallory goes about this is a tad unorthodox but amazing in almost every way.

While dusting and cleaning away the basement of her grandmothers home she found a list.  As the Mad Scientist is not a person who lists I did not feel an moment of glorious aha at this but Mallory did!  The list was simple.  5 small tasks that was figured to be written in the very early 1960’s when her grandmother would of also been 16 and a junior in high school.  This is where one smirks at such a lucky connection. *smirk*  

How she decided, but she did, that the 60’s was simpler times and she wanted to revert to the past by completing the list as her grandmother once completed herself.  Or did she not?  *pops parasol so one cannot see a grin*

The jolt to make her jump into such a process of altering her life of technology to lack there of has a lot to do with just being burned by Jeremy, her boyfriend of over a year.  Cyber cheating with BubbleYum... is there such a thing?  Yes, indeed the Mad Scientist begrudgingly avails to today's technology.  (otherwise, one would not see this amazing blog of oddness that needs more steampunkery!)  

Poor dear Mallory is confused as to why she is not enough for the boy she loves or loved.  Not knowing so much any more and feeling a need to connect with her grandma who herself is transitioning into a retirement community she sets out to complete the list to find herself.

Enlisting her sister Ginny they venture into the past to complete the tasks written out over 50 years ago.  Including a soiree that spoke of celery and cream cheese that had this Mad Scientist tummy rumbling until she created the same to try.  Alas, to no avail... I had to settle for peanut butter instead. (If I was a lister I would of then added cream cheese to the list, if there was one.)

What did I LOVE about this book?  Uniting family, Oliver, and fanny packs.

Uniting family - A reader does not often find a book where characters are trying to keeping fighting couples together.  We assume they should be apart.  Nonetheless, Ginny steps in and silently tries to keep her parents together by helping them realize why they do love each other.

Here is how I picture Oliver:

Oliver - WOW, is it appropriate to swoon over a teen. 

 

*shakes head and swoons anyway*  Now there is a boy ladies should dream of.  A boy who is going to be a MAN.  Rare I know.  But I am hardly wrong.  *winks*  

Fanny packs - Now I know what you are thinking... How does the Mad Scientist know of fanny packs?  While this rusty thing was in China we seen so many we could count them!  Although, the goodness here was in family times.  Mallory was down and out.  As she would not tell her mother why (I do not blame her) they ended up going to Disney.  Why how could one be sad at a most magical place?  Disney is a place of princesses, rides and tourist wearing fanny packs.  Mallory is bringing the fanny pack back!

One cannot assume you will read this because the Mad Scientist found fanny packs to be a great part of the story but I can assume you will be interested in grandma’s massive secret.  In Mallory’s vintage clothes selection, as it is to be said... it is brilliant in my mind!  or maybe you will be interested in how the characters are so fleshed out that you care for them.  

A beautifully written story about family and finding oneself!  Plus vintage clothing!  

 

** Thanks to NetGalley for the ability to read & review this book which so ever did not influence or bend my thoughts in any manner.  All Mad thoughts are presented in the right mind of a twisted brain of the Mad Scientist!**

Alternate Book Cover!

4.5 Blasts --->  Most Delightful!

In The Moment {9}

Today there was a surprise in my mailbox!  A late Christmas present.  Indeed how wonderful!

My mother sent a Tibetan silver bracelet. A beautiful Dragon and Phoenix!  Homemade Jewelry is just so amazing.  Deeply touching stories can be had with each piece.

Another addition to my bangle collection makes me a happy lady :)

Blaze (or Love in the Time of Supervillains) Book Review

 

By: Laurie Boyle Crompton

Published  By:  Sourcebooks Fire

Publish Date:  February 1st 2013

Pages: 309 pages

Tags:  Young Adult, Contemporary Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Coming of Age

Source:  NetGalley.com

Concoction of a Review:

The Mad Scientist shouts “Not Your Normal Coming of Age” & “Bad Choices” as well as “Comic Lover Ahead” in a read all about it way the newsies in New York City would of. Let’s just say I really enjoyed Blaze's world... and is not sure anyone would find it lacking!  

Young teenage Blaze gets one of those weird names by way of her fathers love of comics (Johnny Blaze of Ghost Rider), although the Mad Scientist believes it to be just the bees knees!  Did I mention that Blaze is also very much into comics?  So much so that she covets boxes of vintage comics her father left behind as he ran off in hopes of becoming an actor in NYC.  Oh, how I love when she brings about the world of comics in her life with nice like sound effects.  How wonderful is this girl!?!  Now all she needs is pretty parasol.

She drives a brown minivan AKA Superturd usually fully loaded with her little brother, Josh, and some of his friends AKA the cretins.  As the soccer mom step in she takes half the team to games as she sits on the sidelines reading and drawing comics.  Blaze even created her own comic in the course of the book debuting The Blazing Goddess & Mark the Shark.  (Sadly she has to grow up faster then a teen would like.)  Perhaps stealing chaste glances at the well toned soccer coach, who just happens to go to her high school.

Due to previously mentioned cretins at a soccer game the previously mentioned coach asks for a ride home from a game.  

"Dylan tries to claim shotgun as Mark tosses my chair and his giant mesh bag of balls into Superturd’s butt.”  4% via Kindle

From here I Blaze turns to mush, just a wee tiny bit.  First crushes tend to do that to oneself.  (We forgive her.)  However, one can never tell who the bad guy is in real life.  (Microsoft could you include bad guy radar in your new iGlass device?)  We never assume the one person we think to be the good guy is really the BAD GUY.  Oh, I had him pegged.  Perhaps she needs a silver tipped parasol to damage the BAD GUY!

Bad choices of Blaze by way of friends and sweaty soccer guy lead the story down many different paths.  Sexting is discussed, friendships are pushed, bullying gets intense, and a voice is found all through bad choices.  Yes, bad choices had me holding my breathe due to wanting to gently slap her but really there would be no story of life altering change if there were no bad choices to learn from.  Yet, one must admit that painting pink flames onto Superturd is more humorous then not when thinking of bad choices.  Especially when it carts around a group of soccer loving preadolescence boys around.  *snickers*  Although, sadly a young ladies pieces were lost in the battle of crush vs sense.  *sigh*

Now the comic book guy is another story.  So adorable. *mini swoon* The Mad Scientist wanted to climb into the story and browse the comic book store for a looksee!  

"I asked if you like the taste of limes!”

Moving into a corner, I face the wall and jam a finger in my ear so I can hear him better.  “Did you just ask me if I like limes?”

He laughs.  “It’s my nerdy attempt to ask you out. 94% via Kindle

Not the man stud of the romance covers but the awkward cute like dear Sheldon Cooper (of The Big Bang Theory.  Yes, the Mad Scientist has some sort of vice.).

Overall... Laurie Boyle Crompton touched on some serious issues that pertain to today’s Young Adults.  My recommendation is to go out there and read this.  It is not the best book ever but it is one amazing tale of growing up in today’s high school!  Do not take the word of a quirky clockwork Mad Scientist, When you finish let me know how you enjoyed the wrath of Josh!  AKA Blazes little brother .  .  .

** Thanks to NetGalley for the ability to read & review this book which so ever did not influence or bend my thoughts in any manner.  All Mad thoughts are presented in the right mind of a twisted brain of the Mad Scientist!**

 

4.0 Blasts ---> Most Delightful!