Made it!

Madeit.com.au

I just discovered a fab website! It’s for all those people (like me) who don’t have an artistic bone in their bodies but love handmade goodies. It’s the handmade market open all day, everyday. Buy & sell handmade goods online!

There is so much cute stuff for sale, like accessories, clothing, homewares & stationery. Oh and the fabrics are gorgeous!

And you can even buy craft supplies to make your own handmade treasures.

Soooo, if you need some inspiration for your Finders Keeper’s Market stall, this is the place. Enjoy!

Kate – THE INTERVIEW!!

 In honour of Kate, our lovely blogger, who we don’t get to see to often now… I bring you her interview!  Thanks Kate for keeping us amused with all your techno anecdotes, and keep blogging with us!! I know we would enjoy it

If you ruled the world for one day what would you do?!!Hmmm. Tricky! There are so many things that need doing. I reckon it would be something around access to the Internet. Give a laptop to every kid in the world, complete with limitless free wifi, maybe?

Favourite jellybean flavour?Lemon.

Favourite book as a child?I have two: one as a smaller child (Boris and Borsch by Anne Klein) and one as an early teen (Rilla of Ingleside, the last book in the Anne of Green Gables series). Oh, oh! And the whole Tomorrow series.

Favourite dance move?The invisibility move – the one that lets me dance, but no one see (because I am baaaad!).

Favourite book as an adult?Two again: The Time Traveller’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger and Rilla of Ingleside by Lucy Maud Montgomery (yep, I still love it, and reread it at least once a year – I even bought my self a second copy cause my old one was falling apart). This is a tricky question though, because as I answer it, I think of all the others I love: Persuasion (Jane Austen), Tirra Lirra by the River (Jessica Anderson), True History of the Kelly Gang (Peter Carey), Breaking Dawn (Stephanie Meyer – for shame!), Drowning Ruth (Christina Schwarz)… and the list goes on (I have a degree in literary studies – I read a LOT at uni!)

Favourite area to browse in the library?The picture book collection – I find stuff to take home and ready to my baby niece and nephew.

List your top 3 hobbies.Urmm. This is going to make me sound really lame! Sleeping in. Shopping. Aimlessly and endlessly trawling the web (especially good if it involves shopping).

Favourite food for the movies?Oooh, I love to go to the Gold Class cinemas and eat potato wedges.

Favourite character in a book or movie? (Why)Henry DeTamble in The Time Traveller’s Wife (the book). He’s a time travelling, super cool librarian. Need I say more?!

Favourite ice-cream flavour (or mix-in)?I’m boring. Vanilla – but preferably mixed up with strawberry topping.

Favourite fizzy drink?Coke. Oh how I love coke. In fact, I think I am somewhat addicted, and have been working very hard to change this.

Favourite tv series?So many! I am a pop culture princess! Right now, I’m watching (or eagerly awaiting the return of) Glee, Private Practice, Grey’s, Love My Way, Criminal Minds, Numbers, The Mentalist. Then there’s the reality tv (you’ve got me started now!): MasterChef, Idol, So You Think You Can Dance, Wife Swap USA (I know, I know). And oh, how I miss Big Brother!

Favourite Aussie landmark/vacation place?Melbourne! Shoe shopping! Weeeee!

Favourite band/group?A solo act for me, and it’s a toss up between Alicia Keys and Sarah McLachlan.

Favourite sports star?Ew. Sport?! I am a very half-hearted Gold Coast United fan – I say half-hearted because I support them in principle, and if I had to watch sport, it would be football, but I’m really not that into it.

What do you like to do on your holidays?Catch up on what I don’t get time to do the rest of the time: read, cook gourmet meals, catch up with friends. I’d love to travel more, but the reality is I usually end up doing these things instead. A trip to Europe would be nice, though…

What is your favourite Christmas memory?My grandfather falling asleep, every year, the moment lunch was over, while the rest of us did the dishes. He ALWAYS woke up and offered to help about five minutes after we finished!

Who is your hero or role model?My sister. She is an amazing person. Plus, we share the same opinion on almost everything, which makes her perfect. 😉

Thanks Kate and visit us soon!!!

Friday Five: My favourite five webcomics for teens!

Some people love to read graphic novels. Some people don’t have the time. And some people, despite telling themselves they don’t have the time, read them online. I guess I fall into the last category, and have decided on this rainy day to share with you some webcomics that I love, and that I also think teens would love, too.

5. Inverloch by Sarah Ellerton

A beautifully illustrated manga-style fantasy comic following the tale of gentle-natured Acheron, a kind of feline-human hybrid. The only downside I can see here is that each single page (rather than double spread) has to be loaded individually, which interrupted things for me a little at first, but I soon overcame my impatience. But I am being picky, and as my only criticism it’s a pretty weak one. A really interesting storyline that will hook you in in no time.

4. Wigu by Jeffrey Rowland

Wigu is a clever little boy who loves video games. This webcomic follows the life of Wigu and his family, the Tinkles. The look of Wigu and his family has changed dramatically over the past 7 years. Not only this, but two of my favourite characters within the story – Topato and Sheriff Pony – have become more regular as the plot develops. Give this one a chance… it’ll grow on you.

3. Beaver and Steve by James Turner

Fall in love with level-headed Beaver and his silly sidekick, Steve as you read about their encounters with Scrablle-playing-ninjas, robots, the Shoe Goblin and more.  These short strips that were originally published on a weekly basis really are an example of quality over quantity: Sadly, new episodes detailing their adventures have recently ceased.

2. Gunnerkrigg Court by Tom Siddell

 I love the dark look of this comic. Read about Antimony “Annie” Carver’s spooky adventures when she starts new at boarding school, Gunnerkirgg Court.

And one of my absolute favourites…

1. Cat and Girl by Dorothy Gambrell

Very dry (and hilarious!) humour shown through very minimalistic artwork. Cat and girl is a webcomic with a pretty devoted following since its inception 10 years ago.

Feel free to recommend me some new titles to follow!

Our pick of 20 cool tools

Last week, we ran a session called 20 cool tools for kids and teens at our Techno Expo. We said we’d post the links here for you – so here they are!

iGoogle
Personalise your Google home page with all the bits of information and gadgets you use regularly.

Teen Health and Wellness (enter your library barcode number to access)
With a focus on health related issues of importance to young adults, this online resource is an essential tool for homework, assignments, and personal development.

Planetark
Your daily guide to helping the planet.

Snopes – Rumour has it
Urban legends and misinformation.

Dinosaur comic
Hilarious daily dinosaur comic.

MS Paint Adventures
Just like a graphic novel but on the computer.

Make Beliefs Comix
Create your own comic strip, it’s easy and fun.

PikiStrips
Take your fave pics, upload them, add speech bubbles and bam! You’ve created your very own comic strip.

DreamWorks
The famous studio that produced Shrek and Kung Fu Panda has its very own animation website. Watch the trailers, play the games and go behind the scenes of the animation studio.

HowStuffWorks
Award-winning source of credible, unbiased, and easy-to-understand explanations of how the world actually works.

DoSomething
DoSomething.org provides the tools and resources for you to convert your ideas and energy into positive action. Be part of a generation of doers.

Inside a dog
The Centre for Youth Literature, State Library Victoria, promotes reading as an active, pleasurable and essential activity for all young people.

ReachOut
Includes fact sheets on teen issues, competitions, forums and other helpful information.

The Source
Lots of info for youth.

Zerofootprints kids calculator
Simply follow the questions to see if you are environmentally friendly.

MoshCam
Good site to watch all ages and aged gigs for free.

Triple J
The radio station and it’s music plus all the visuals, blogs, forums, radio guides and reviews.

SongFacts
Song meanings, lyrics and trivia.

Audacity
The free, cross platform sound editor.

Real Footy
Everything AFL.

The Harry Potter Lexicon
The most complete and amazing reference to the wonderful world of Harry Potter.

Got a cool tool you want to share with us? Post a link in the comments!

20 cool tools and a game or two

On Thursday, we’re holding a one-day Techno Expo at Broadbeach Branch Library. One of the sessions we’re running is called 20 cool tools for kids and teens, and as the name suggests, we’ve designed it with you in mind!

Come along and discover some great websites and online applications to help you get things done, find information, and just have fun.

The session is on from 4.15pm for an hour. After the session, we’ll post all the links here for you.

And from 5pm – 6.30pm, we’ll have the Nintendo Wii out for some gaming challenges. Drop by the teen area and challenge a librarian to a game of Wii bowling or Super Mario Kart. You might be surprised just how good we are! 😉

Check out the full program for Techno Expo. We’ve got a professional photographer coming along to teach customers how to use their digital cameras better, and one of his sessions (Digital photography: get more out of your digital camera) starts at 3.45pm – perfect timing: straight after school and right before 20 cool tools!

Bookings are essential as these sessions are really popular. Phone Broadbeach Branch Library on 5581 1555 to book.

Hope to see you there!

The inner workings of toasters, or, how stuff works

Ever wonder how a toaster knows when something is done? Does it pop it up regardless? Does it really care if you pick “light” or “medium” or “dark”…

Ok! Possibly not the most interesting subject I could have picked! Never the less, How Stuff Works is one of the most interesting and useful sites around for finding out, well, how stuff works.

If you want to know just about anything about machines, computers or technology, the environment, space ships, microwaves, how shoes are made, how dolphins use echo-location, everything about how your body works, colour blindness, toe jam, and yes! even how the humble toaster works, don’t bug Mum or Dad. Give How Stuff Works a go! Try typing a subject or a brief question into the How Stuff Works site, and it will find some info for you, or provide links to the required info.

If you’re like me and love a book instead of sitting in front of a computer. The library has loads of great books to help you figure out how things do what they do, like Marshall Brain’s how stuff works and Marshall Brain’s more how stuff works. Or, try How cool stuff works, Cool stuff 2.0 and how it works or The gadget book: how really cool stuff works, all by Chris Woodford. If you don’t see them on the shelf, jump on the catalogue at www.goldcoastcity.com.au/library and order one in.

If you find any other great sites like this, I would love to know about them so I can tell others!

Triple J online

Have you visited the online home of Triple J?

Check out music, gig guides, forums, reviews, live streaming and more. Keep up with latest music releases and reviews of bands. Check out the all-ages gig guide, listen online to Triple J and find out about events in you area. Enter competitions, watch videos of your favourite artists and find out what’s coming up on Triple J TV. Head to Triple J online and get your fill of local and international music, movie, and multimedia happenings.

Angus, thongs and perfect snogging

If you’re a fan of author Louise Rennison – Luuurve is a many trousered thing, Then he ate my boy entrancers you’ll be pleased to know Georgia Nicolson’s diaries have made it to the silver screen. Angus, thongs and perfect snogging starts showing in cinemas 18 September.  Fans of authors Jacqueline Wilson (Girls in Love), Meg Cabot (Princess Diaries), and Sue Townsend (The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13 3/4) will love these hilarious books.  Follow the escapades of Georgia, her cat Angus and the Ace gang on their journey to becoming v.v. marvy.