Period Panties

Is it Shark Week?

The Witching Moon?

Has Aunt Flo come for her monthly visit?

Catching the Crimson Wave?

Whatever you call it, I'm talking about periods.
So if you're squeamish about a ladies monthly bleeding, turn back now. Also, GROW UP. Periods are a fact of life.

Now, for those of you willing to continue,  I've got some good news

It's not going to stop you from having your period or getting cramps or all of the other crappy side effects, but it will make having your period a little more snarky and stylish

"Period Panties are fun underwear that high-five you for having ovaries and serve as a friendly reminder to others! These underwear are a boy brief style, featuring dementedly cute designs and a black inner front panel to help hide stains."

It's really hard for me to decide which ones are my favorite. Maybe Cunthulhu or Bleeder of the Pack. All I know is that I'm going to feel crampy, yet still kick-ass in these.

You can buy them here for $12 a pop or buy 4 get 1 free. There is also a mystery 3 pack that you can buy if you're indecisive and love them all.

Now before I scream Bloody Murder, I'm off to take some Midol.

Geeky Temporary Tattoos

This is my 400th post!!! Woo Hoo! Go me!
and to celebrate. I'm going to talk about something I love!
Tattoos!

I love tattoos, but damn do they hurt. 

I have 4 as it is already. 

My 2 bees that make up my chest piece, my star on the small of my back and my rebel alliance tattoo on my left hip.

beeeeeeees.....

But I want more.... oh so many more..... 

I'm always trying to decide what I want next and its hard to choose. 

Do I get my half-sleeve done or do I go the Sailor Jupiter Wand on my thigh?

or

Do I go for the Chakras down my spine or Princess Peach on my other thigh?

or 

It would be nice to try them out for awhile and see how I feel before committing them to my body forever.

For others who are undecicive like me, or just don't want to commit to forever, these totally geeky, totally temportary tattoos from Seventh Skin are for you.

Lord Of The Rings

Harry Potter

A Song Of Ice And Fire (Game of Thrones)

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass

The Little Mermaid

Aladdin

Beauty and the Beast

Corpse Bride

The Addams Family

Assassin's Creed

Oh now I want soooo many more tattoos... 

Maybe the White Queen chest piece or The Little Mermaid chest piece. I do like the elvish script too.... so hard to choose.

At least if I try these out, it won't hurt my pocket book as much as a real tattoo. These babies run from $3-20 which is super reasonable if you ask me.

So which ones do you want?

Crazy Lightsaber Addiction

What is it about lightsabers that make us want bigger and better ones all the time?

We started off single bladed, then 2 and now The Force Awakens trailer brings us 3.

Well, as usual, the internet can't stop at just 3. They want more and more and more! 

So many more, that it has become a meme.

These are my two favorite videos  that have come out of this. 

I totally want Barriss Offee's curlicue lightsaber! That thing is awesome!

 

I also love the lightsaber corgi, but I don't think I would want one for obvious reasons. The lightsaber nun-chucks are pretty awesome though, or maybe the flail... so many choices

How would you choose?

The New 52 - Trends While Reading

I've read a lot in the past few years, especially last year and I am planning on reading even more this year with the New 52 Challenge. With reading as much as I do, I'm surprised by the trends that I keep coming across.I thought it would be interesting to keep tally of these trends as the year progresses.

Each trend will have its own symbol. It will look something like this @ - 0/52

The symbol will appear in my blog reviews with every book that it applies to. That symbol will link back to this page, so you can see what trend it is. The number is to keep track of how many books this year have fallen into this trend. At the end of the year I will review my findings.

Let's start with the most obvious...

Rape

This is by far the most disturbing of trends that I have encountered lately. I really hate this trope. Within it are 72 different rape tropes that are often used in stories, whether they be books, movies or on TV. 72! I hate reading these scenes! HATE! There is no reason for this.

90% of these cases will be against women, in an attempt to brake her down or show that she is tough. Sometimes there is no reason at all.

The fact that this is an easy plot tool really angers me. Writers, please find another way to give your characters interesting stories without the sexual abuse.

% - 40/52

Touch of Power

Enclave

Green Rider

A Feast of Crows
Banewreaker
Blue Diablo
A Dance with Dragons
Perdition
Outpost
Written In Red
Shadow's Edge

Divergent

Monstrous Regiment 

Moon Called

Murder of Crows

Havoc

Phoenix Rising

The Story Sisters

Winter Moon

The Way of Kings
A Dirty Job
Blood Bound
Blood Red
Horde

Witches With the Enemy
The Cake Therapist
The Birth House
Magic Bites
Breakout
Daughter of the Blood
Black Blade Blues
Poison Sleep 
Endsinger
A Crown of Swords
The Bloodforged
Besieged
Poison Fruit
Shady Lady
Dragon Thief 
Diamonds Are Forever

Friendship Romance

This is another trend that I come across all the time. I love a good story where a male and female main characters are just friends; nothing more. But more often than not, the writer will push these 2 characters into a romance that was never needed.  I really feel that we need more stories that tell young women that they can just be friends with a man, that sometimes friendship can be even better (eg. Jax & Vel from the Sirantha Jax series)*
Now don't get me wrong, I love a good romance, but I'm talking about when it doesn't add anything to the story by adding the romantic option.

& - 13/52

Touch of Power
Enclave
White Heart of Justice
Outpost
Moon Called
Murder of Crows
Winter Moon
Blood Bound
Blood Red
Witches With the Enemy
Magic Bites
Breakout*
Shady Lady


Failed  Bechdel-Wallace Test

Yes, we all know the Bechdel-Wallace Test. Well, we should all know it.
The Bechdel test asks if a work of fiction features at least two women who talk to each other about something other than a man. The requirement that the two women must be named is sometimes added.
I'm glad to say that most of the books I read pass this test. Perhaps it's because I tend to read books that have a female protaginist and it makes it very easy for it to pass. Sadly, not all books do.

# - 14/52

The Bloodbound
Black Powder War 
A Dirty Job
Blood Bound
The Call of Cthulhu
Specter of the Past 
The Bloodforged
Professional Integrity
The Jester
The Jewel of Dantenos
Gabriel: Zero Point
Kiss & Hell
Dragon Thief 
Diamonds Are Forever


Microwave Tea

Call me old fashioned, I like to boil my water for tea in a kettle. Okay, so I'm not so old fashioned that I do it on the stove (although I have), but still there are limits to civility. Under no circumstances am I going to make tea in the microwave. I would rather not drink tea at all. At first I just thought this was something weird that an author came up with, but then it happened again in another book and it weirds me out enough that I'm going to be on the look out for it from now on.

@ - 2/52

I Want It That Way
Charms and Chocolate Chips



Magical Heritage

Are you able to see ghosts? Turn into a Panther? Read inanimate objects? Make magical scones? Is this sudden and confusing? Don't worry, it's probably some unexplained mystical power that's been past down through your half "insert ethnic group" heritage. This trope is quite popular in Urban Fantasy as a go-to explanation about how magic can work in the real world. It can be done really well or really terribly.

¥ - 21/52

White Heart of Justice
Blue Diablo
Charms and Chocolate Chips
Moon Called
Winter Moon
Hell Fire
Some Enchanted Éclair
Blood Bound
Blood Red
Witches With the Enemy
The Court of the Air
Magic Bites
Wish Bound
Endsinger
The Call of Cthulhu
Specter of the Past
Besieged
The Dragon Revenant
The Jewel of Dantenos
Poison Fruit
Shady Lady


Love Triangle

We see it over and over again in books. Girl can't choose between two guys, girl competes with other girl for guy. There are all sorts of ways that this trope can play out, with many genders, sexuality, mistaken identity.

▲ - 25/52

Touch of Power
Enclave
Green Rider
Blue Diablo
Outpost
The Bloodbound
Moon Called
Hell Fire
The Great Hunt
The Dragon Reborn
Blood Bound
The Shadow Rising
Envy
Blood Red
Horde
The Fires of Heaven
Magic Bites
Lord of Chaos
A Crown of Swords
The Bloodforged
Splendor
The Path of Daggers
Poison Fruit
Shady Lady
Winter's Heart

The New 52 Book Challenge

It's a brand new year with brand new books to read! I enjoyed the Challenge from last year so much, I'm planning on doing it again! Can I beat my 58 from last year or will I even make it to 52? Only time will tell!

Will you be joining me on this year of adventure, romance, conflict and magic? If so, you can sign up here. Or if you're more interested in just following what I read, I will continue to update every month on what I've read and you can look to the bottom right of my blog (you may have to scroll down) where I will be keeping a list of what books I've finished, links to Goodreads and a bar of my challenge progress.

Also, since I enjoyed most of the books in my TBR pile last year, I'm going to do it again.

My TBR (to be read) Pile Challenge List

1. The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories - H.P. Lovecraft

2. The Dragon Revenant (Deverry #4) - Katharine Kerr 

3. The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive #1) - Brandon Sanderson 

4. Banewreaker (The Sundering #1) - Jacqueline Carey 

5. A Feast for Crows (A Song of Ice and Fire #4) - George R.R. Martin

6. Specter of the Past (Star Wars: The Hand of Thrawn #1) - Timothy Zahn 

7. Diamonds Are Forever (James Bond #4) - Ian Fleming

8. The Birth House - Ami McKay

9. Eat, Pray, Love - Elizabeth Gilbert 

10. Winter Moon - Mercedes Lackey, Tanith Lee & C.E. Murphy 

11. Envy (Luxe #3) -  Anna Godbersen

12. Mercury in Retrograde - Paula Froelich



Added Challenge:

The Wheel of Time - Robert Jordan/Brandon Sanderson

Yes, that's right. I'm rereading/listening to my favorite book series, all 14 of them! I doubt I'll be able to get through all of them this year, but I'm going to give it my best go.

1. The Eye of the World

2. The Great Hunt

3. The Dragon Reborn

4. The Shadow Rising

5. The Fires of Heaven

6. Lord of Chaos

7. A Crown of Swords

8. The Path of Daggers

9. Winter's Heart

10. Crossroads of Twilight

11. Knife of Dreams

12. The Gathering Storm

13. Towers of Midnight

14. A Memory of Light

Happy reading all! May all your books be awesome!

Happy New Years!

Wait... Who me?

Although I am close to perfect, I will try and update more often. I promise!

Hope this new year brings you lots of amazing fandoms, parodies and ships.

What can I say? I know what you want ;)

Happy New Years from Talk Star Wars To Me