An Overview of The Candy Shop War by Brandon Mull

 

This book is a lot of fun, it's exciting, it's not overly scary, and the ending is set up very nicely well in advance (although I must say I didn't see it coming). It's well-written, and if the ethical dilemmas the kids find themselves in aren't very novel, well, at least they make a clear moral message. (Remember, kids, robbing graves is wrong!)

So why only three stars? Well, because even though the writing would normally cause me to give this book four stars, I yanked a star off for the race issues.

Yes, it's gonna be one of those reviews. Deal with it.

There are a lot of, uh, issues in this book, and they're all woven in a messy little package of ick that really mars this otherwise great book.

Let's start with the demographics of the main characters. We've got four kids (and their families, but for the sake of convenience I'll count each family as one unit), three bullies, two magicians, and a mysterious guy whose job I can't divulge for spoiler reasons. And a teacher, and a janitor.

All these people are white and non-Hispanic, in a state where non-Hispanic whites actually make up less than 50% of the population. That's just unrealistic. I should be suspending my disbelief to deal with magic, not messed-up racial demographics.

And I *know* these people are right because of the OTHER big problem in this book: How non-whites are described.

Hoo-boy. The white people are described with a variety of adjectives - "honey-blond hair", "portly", "bleary-eyed in a stained corduroy jacket", "short, pudgy with thick black hair", "blond with curly hair", and on one memorable instant "plump, balding, with a goatee". (The last is not an exact quote.)

The non-whites (all minor characters, I can't think of any that persist for more than a page or two) are described... with their race. They're black, Asian, "Asian with sliver eyes" (wtf?), or Indian. Compare "a black female police officer" with "the police officer, a muscular man with short hair and chiseled cheekbones" and something starts to seem... wrong. It's like the author thinks that simply giving somebody's race is sufficient to describe them. Unless they're white, of course, because the hidden message here (although I'm sure it was unintentional) is that white people a. are normal and b. all look different from each other. The few times another adjective is used, it's something that's stereotypically of that race - a woman is Vietnamese, "small and slight". A crying kid is Asian and also "tiny".

Likewise, when the children change appearance, the book makes a point of mentioning that what changes (and the ONLY thing that changes) is their race. They look like them, but Asian or black or Hawaiian or "full-blooded Native American". The comments they make ("I kinda was hoping for black" or "Now would be a great time for a victory hula") smack of exoticism, and why? Because white people are normal.

I know, I know, he didn't mean anything by it! I'm sure he didn't. I'm sure the author is not really a bigot, and is probably quite a nice person who believes in equal rights for everybody, etc. etc. etc. This does not mean that the underlying message in these lopsided descriptions isn't there.

There's also the thing with the candystore wooden Indian, an "ancient chief" with feathers and buckskin and a tomahawk, who looks "weary but courageous". He also - SPOILER ALERT! - comes alive midway through the book and violently steals an important object. I'm actually gonna give this one a pass on the (admittedly dubious) grounds that the owner of the wooden Indian presumably got/carved it way way way back in the day when this sort of casual racism was widely considered to be okay, and anyway, by that point in the book we know she's evil.

I took away one star, and I suggest that you read this book before you buy it, especially if you plan to use it in a classroom. It's not really the lack of non-white characters (if that's your criteria, the unfortunate reality is you'll find yourself with very few books indeed that you can read with your kids, and most of the ones you have will be depressingly "uplifting" instead of fun), but more, as I said, how they're described. The cumulative effect of all this left me feeling exhausted, and I'm not sure I want to read this with my young nieces.

BMW 5 Series Full Hybrid to Be Available Next Year; Hybridization of Further Series to Come

It hardly seems worthy of BMW's distinctively swirly camouflage – after all, we pretty much know exactly what it will look like after seeing the latest 5 Series sedan a number of times and even gazing at the ActiveHybrid Concept from the Geneva Motor Show – but here we are with an image gallery of Bay Em Vay's 5 Series Hybrid under its own power anyway.

Assuming that the production car will get a similar drivetrain to what was shown off in the aforementioned concept, we can expect to see a turbocharged inline six-cylinder engine mated up to an eight-speed automatic transmission with a 40-kilowatt electric motor sandwiched between.

We can't say for certain what kind of fuel mileage this combination would provide (best guess would be about a 20 percent improvement), but we do know that a lithium ion battery pack should be nestled right near the rear axle for optimum weight distribution. That pack not only allows the car to operate on electric power, it also provides short bursts of added performance when called upon.

Them ****heads say "Earth will Expire by 2050"

Earth's population will be forced to colonize two planets within 50 years if natural resources continue to be exploited at the current rate, according to a report out this week.

A study by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), to be released on Tuesday, warns that the human race is plundering the planet at a pace that outstrips its capacity to support life.

In a damning condemnation of Western society's high consumption levels, it adds that the extra planets (the equivalent size of Earth) will be required by the year 2050 as existing resources are exhausted.

The report, based on scientific data from across the world, reveals that more than a third of the natural world has been destroyed by humans over the past three decades.

Using the image of the need for mankind to colonize space as a stark illustration of the problems facing Earth, the report warns that either consumption rates are dramatically and rapidly lowered or the planet will no longer be able to sustain its growing population.

Experts say that seas will become emptied of fish while forests - which absorb carbon dioxide emissions - are completely destroyed and freshwater supplies become scarce and polluted.

The report offers a vivid warning that either people curb their extravagant lifestyles or risk leaving the onus on scientists to locate another planet that can sustain human life. Since this is unlikely to happen, the only option is to cut consumption now.

Systematic overexploitation of the planet's oceans has meant the North Atlantic's cod stocks have collapsed from an estimated spawning stock of 264,000 tonnes in 1970 to under 60,000 in 1995.

The study will also reveal a sharp fall in the planet's ecosystems between 1970 and 2002 with the Earth's forest cover shrinking by about 12 per cent, the ocean's biodiversity by a third and freshwater ecosystems in the region of 55 per cent.

The Living Planet report uses an index to illustrate the shocking level of deterioration in the world's forests as well as marine and freshwater ecosystems. Using 1970 as a baseline year and giving it a value of 100, the index has dropped to a new low of around 65 in the space of a single generation.

It is not just humans who are at risk. Scientists, who examined data for 350 kinds of mammals, birds, reptiles and fish, also found the numbers of many species have more than halved.

Martin Jenkins, senior adviser for the World Conservation Monitoring Center in Cambridge, which helped compile the report, said: 'It seems things are getting worse faster than possibly ever before. Never has one single species had such an overwhelming influence. We are entering uncharted territory.'

Figures from the Center reveal that black rhino numbers have fallen from 65,000 in 1970 to around 3,100 now. Numbers of African elephants have fallen from around 1.2 million in 1980 to just over half a million while the population of tigers has fallen by 95 per cent during the past century.

The UK's birdsong population has also seen a drastic fall with the corn bunting population declining by 92 per cent between 1970 and 2000, the tree sparrow by 90 per cent and the spotted flycatcher by 70 per cent.

Experts, however, say it is difficult to ascertain how many species have vanished for ever because a species has to disappear for 50 years before it can be declared extinct.

Attention is now focused on next month's Earth Summit in Johannesburg, the most important environmental negotiations for a decade.

However, the talks remain bedeviled with claims that no agreements will be reached and that US President George W. Bush will fail to attend.

Matthew Spencer, a spokesman for Greenpeace, said: 'There will have to be concessions from the richer nations to the poorer ones or there will be fireworks.'

The preparatory conference for the summit, held in Bali last month, was marred by disputes between developed nations and poorer states and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), despite efforts by British politicians to broker compromises on key issues.

America, which sent 300 delegates to the conference, is accused of blocking many of the key initiatives on energy use, biodiversity and corporate responsibility.

The WWF report shames the US for placing the greatest pressure on the environment. It found the average US resident consumes almost double the resources as that of a UK citizen and more than 24 times that of some Africans.

Based on factors such as a nation's consumption of grain, fish, wood and fresh water along with its emissions of carbon dioxide from industry and cars, the report provides an ecological 'footprint' for each country by showing how much land is required to support each resident.

America's consumption 'footprint' is 12.2 hectares per head of population compared to the UK's 6.29ha while Western Europe as a whole stands at 6.28ha. In Ethiopia the figure is 2ha, falling to just half a hectare for Burundi, the country that consumes least resources.

The report, which will be unveiled in Geneva, warns that the wasteful lifestyles of the rich nations are mainly responsible for the exploitation and depletion of natural wealth. Human consumption has doubled over the last 30 years and continues to accelerate by 1.5 per cent a year.

Now WWF wants world leaders to use its findings to agree on specific actions to curb the population's impact on the planet.

A spokesman for WWF UK, said: 'If all the people consumed natural resources at the same rate as the average US and UK citizen we would require at least two extra planets like Earth.'

The world's ticking timebomb

Marine crisis:
North Atlantic cod stocks have collapsed from an estimated 264,000 tonnes in 1970 to under 60,000 in 1995.

Pollution:
The United States places the greatest pressure on the environment, with its carbon dioxide emissions and over-consumption. It takes 12.2 hectares of land to support each American citizen and 6.29 for each Briton, while the figure for Burundi is just half a hectare.

Shrinking Forests:
Between 1970 and 2002 forest cover has dwindled by 12 per cent.

Endangered wildlife:
African elephant numbers have fallen from 1.2 million in 1980 to half a million now. In the UK the songbird population has fallen dramatically, with the corn bunting declining by 92 per cent in the past 30 years.

A Very Rude 10 Year Old Child hits his mother on Dr. Phil

Religious Killings in Indonesia claim 12

Attackers raided a Christian neighbourhood in Indonesia's ravaged city of Ambon yesterday, killing at least 12 people and raising new doubts about the chances for peace in the troubled Moluccas region.

A local journalist at the scene said: "The attack broke out early on Sunday in Soya village of Ambon city. They attacked the village by using home-made bombs, and set fire to some of the houses".

The reporter cited residents as saying the pre-dawn attackers were Muslims, and there were dozens of them.

Over the past three years, at least 5,000 people have been killed in religious violence in Ambon, 1,400 miles east of Jakarta, and in the Moluccas islands of which it is the hub.

Sunday's incident is the latest in several days of renewed trouble, undermining hopes for a peace deal brokered between Muslims and Christians in February.

The reporter said he counted 11 dead from Sunday's attack, but a second witness said that he saw at least 12 bodies. Indonesia's official news agency Antara gave the same figure and said six people were hurt.

The attack occurred when people were still asleep, at around at 4am. Antara said the casualty figures could grow as residents searched for victims under the debris of destroyed houses.

The second witness said residents reported that some of the attackers were armed with military weapons and wearing camouflage-style uniforms. The military denied any involvement.

Man killed himself and his two children left 'Bitch' Note rigged up to homemade bomb for his wife

A father killed his two young children and then committed suicide after a bitter marriage breakdown, an inquest heard yesterday.
Brian Philcox, 53, even left a boobytrap bomb in his home, designed to explode as his wife opened a note he had left, addressed to the 'Bitch'. But it failed to detonate.
The horror happened on Father's Day weekend in June last year.

Evelyn McAuliffe is helped into the inquest into the deaths of her two children and ex-husband

Philcox's children Amy, seven and Owen, three, had been spending a day with him as one of their regular contact visits.
They were excitedly clutching home-made Father's Day cards as he picked them up from the home of his estranged wife Lyn McAuliffe on Friday.
Security guard Philcox, from Runcorn, Cheshire, had been supposed to return them on Saturday evening.
Instead, he drove his Land Rover to a remote beauty spot in the heart of Snowdonia in North Wales.
Philcox had sedated the children with drugs and makeshift chloroform masks.
He climbed into the back seat with them as exhaust fumes filled the car, killing all three. Police found their bodies the following day.
The Llandudno inquest heard that Philcox, a karate expert, had married Miss McAuliffe in 2000. But they split over his violent and controlling personality and were involved in an acrimonious divorce.

Amy Philcox, seven, and her three-year-old brother Owen were found dead in a Land Rover on Father's Day last year. Their father had poisoned them with carbon monoxide fumes

Miss McAuliffe was claiming possession of the family home, but Philcox had a friend: 'That woman wants everything - my house and my money and my kids.
'She's trying to take me to the cleaners and leave me with nothing - well I'm not going to let her.'
Miss McAuliffe told the inquest that Philcox had sent a text message on the evening he was supposed to return the children, saying he was having trouble with the car.

 

He later phoned and repeatedly apologised to her.
She said: ' He kept saying: "There's nothing I can do, it is out of my control, I am sorry".
'He threw me because I didn't know then what he was talking about. I thought he was talking about the car.'
At 10.45pm he sent another text telling her to get his spare key and enter his house.

Brian Philcox murdered his two children and killed himself

Miss McAuliffe called police and her sister Geraldine Craven went round to the property. Inside, she found an envelope with the word 'Bitch' written on it. It had been glued to a kitchen work top.
Police later realised that the act of ripping it off was supposed to spark an explosion from elaborate devices Philcox had hidden in his walls, skirting boards and under the kitchen table. But they failed to go off.
Police launched a major hunt for Philcox and the children. They were finally found dead on the afternoon of Father's Day.
Home Office pathologist Brian Rodgers told the inquest the children's bodies showed no signs of injury or struggle. They would have been deeply asleep before the carbon monoxide fumes killed them.
Acting coroner John Gittins, sitting at Llandudno Magistrates' Court, recorded a verdict of suicide on Philcox, who was chairman of the Federation of English Karate Organisations, and verdicts of unlawful killing for his daughter Amy and son Owen.
Mr Gittins told Miss McAuliffe: 'When Brian Philcox took Amy and Owen from you, he thought they would be lost to you forever - but he failed.
'The short lives they had were imprinted on your heart and they will endure with you.
'They will be part of you every single moment of every single day.'
Miss McAuliffe, of Runcorn, sat in tears through the hearing.
Afterwards, in a statement read out by her sister, Miss McAuliffe said: 'Since Amy and Owen died, my life has been a constant nightmare. I don't feel as if I have been coping - just existing. No day is easy without them.
'Some people have mentioned that maybe some day, I or we as a family, will forgive Brian. I will never forgive him for taking our beautiful Amy and Owen.
'He had no right to take their lives. He was an evil man whose attempts to use homemade bombs clearly show that all his acts were that of a cold-blooded, premeditated killer.'
Philcox had contacted the pressure group Fathers 4 Justice to tell them of his desperation over the divorce. After the tragedy, the group was disbanded by founder Matt O'Connor, who said: 'People intimated we were somehow responsible for his actions.
'I had a two-minute conversation with him, I had no idea that was what he was going to do. I felt I had become responsible for the behaviour of every father.'

Why do girls hide their boobies? - By Aakash Bedi

Every guy in the world must have thought at once that "why do girls hide their boobs?" Most of the guys are okay to bare their chests even if they have male breasts but the girls who have flat chest are not.

Many of the girls reading this post will find this question 'rude'. But the question is not rude at all in-fact. Some of the girls here will say that their pair of natural breasts is made for feeding babies, but men have made them objects of sexual desire. And that's the reason why we have to cover it up. Let me tell you girls here, that it is completely natural for a man to get turned on after looking at a nice pair of breasts. Its because nature has provided all animals with the requisite attributes to encourage procreation. All the girls like their boobs to looked at, but they just don't want to be seen letting it happen.

It is a general fact that if ladies will start showing up their upper assets, guys will stop looking at their faces. Girls love it when a good-looking or a cute guy stares into their eyes.

Well the correct answer is it completely depends upon the regional culture and religion.

In some cultures, nudity is more accepted - like in some parts of Europe. Women are happier with their bodies and to them, the idea of boobs are just boobs, i.e., just a body part. It is not as erotic as how it is in America.

In New York anywhere, that it is legal for a man to be topless it is also lawful for a woman to be topless. American society is very uncomfortable with showing skin period whether it be on a man or a woman. In America, you are a 'slut' or a 'whore' if you wanna show your boobs. Or worse 'trashy'. Parents don't even want their children seeing that. America is a very prude country, but at the same time, Americans are highly sexualized. Isn't it weird?

In some tribal areas of Africa, women walk around without shirts on.

It is only in areas with puritanical Muslims and Christians that female skin, especially breasts are considered a bad thing.

During the 1600's it was common for women to expose their breasts, she was displaying her virtue, beauty, and youth.