Pack Rat is one angry dwarf…and don’t forget our black t-shirt.

Imagine if you still lived life like you were in the second grade. Your boss denies your vacation request? Demolish him on the 4-square court. Know your multiplication tables up to 10? You’re a freaking genius! Have a blue foil star. And you glued a stack of popsicle sticks together in one fire-hazard sized pile? Instead of sad and slightly disturbing, it’s artistic. Looking at the stash of reclaimed art supplies at the Materials for the Arts warehouse in Long Island City, NY brings back those grammar school feelings of standing in front of the open art closet–big possibilities. MFTA opens their art and crafts treasure chest to artists and groups who need cheap or free swag in order to make their creative vision a reality. For 31 years, MFTA volunteers and staffers have been saving perfectly good arts supplies from the landfills and playing matchmaker, pairing them with the appropriate causes. Their warehouse is a veritable candy land of paint, glitter, yarn… So, actually, maybe not so much like a land made of candy, but definitely as good. Just seeing it will make you feel like a kid all over again. And knowing that a bunch of schools benefit from the MFTA resources, means that they’re helping today’s kids have that same kind of excitement. So support them how you can. Live near by? Volunteer: volunteer@mfta.org

However,  unlike second grade, if you eat the paste there will be repercussions. You know who you are. Actually, depending on the kind of paste you ate, maybe you don’t.

photo copyright by MFTA/Susan Springer

photo copyright by MFTA

Pack Rat magazine has the strength of 10 men!

Even if you aren’t the super dork I am (the kind who still reads comic books even though she’s almost 30, and whose favorite cable channel is Cartoon Network), I bet you have some fond childhood memories of those larger than life cartoons most of us grew up on. The magazine, Mental Floss, reveals this month that a handful of those classic characters have had some real life impact. Superman, for one, doesn’t just stop locamotives and jump over buildings. He also helped take down the Klu Klux Klan after World War II. Captain Marvel Jr. was the inspiration behind Elvis Prestley’s famous hair-do. And a story arch in the Spiderman comics in the 70s led to the invention of wrist and ankle monitors for home-held prisoners. Fascinating stuff, no? Imagine what kind of societal implications Aqua Teen Hunger Force will have?

Captain Marvel Jr. image property of Marvel Comics

Pack Rat takes a look at cake in a cup, and reminds you that the deadline for our Birthday Scavanger Hunt contest is December 1st!

Oh man. Here we go people. I just came across what could potentially be a life changing blog post. Dizzy Dee has posted a blog detailing how to make chocolate cake in five minutes. In a microwave. In a mug. CHOCOLATE CAKE. I am so screwed. Can you imagine, in the time it normally takes to nuke two mugs of tea you can instead have one of nature’s best desserts? The only thing that’s stopping me from leaping over to the kitchen and trying it immediately is my lack of cake flour in the house. And don’t sweat the eggs and milk in the recipe, vegan friends. Dizzy Dee has some helpful readers indeed; one reader named João Taborda modified the recipe for vegans, so that everyone can benefit/suffer from the world’s most easily assembled guilty pleasure. It’s a weird to be excited about, and dreading something at the same time. All I can hope for is that it doesn’t taste as good as the real thing. Fingers crossed.

photo copyright Dizzy Dee

Pack Rat believes in the power of the stars

Good thing I checked my Facebook email today, or else I might have missed this awesome opportunity to tell anyone who’s in the Toronto area this weekend to look for the Toronto Church of Craft at the annual Trekzac Festicon, a.k.a. the Toronto Star Trek convention. These crafters are boldly going where no crafters have gone before. They will be using their prowess to construct Tribbles! Shatner toupees! And plush Borg cubes! Oh the humanity! Not Borg cubes! Don’t they know about the collective? Other then helping an alien entity steal our very souls out from under us, the C.O.C. booth should be a good time.

photo copyright: Toronto Church of Craft

Pack Rat used to wear two different shoes, just like Punky Brewster

    This one goes out to all the indie moms out there (and dad’s too). I came across Cool Mom Picks blog today, and I have to say that these moms are pretty darn cool. The one of a kind toys, plates, boxes, and whatnot that they dig up on a daily basis are so well designed, that I found myself writing down a few of the websites for, uh, a friend. Yeah that’s it. I’m not going to buy myself toys, shut up. Any way, they have a great eye for what’s new and cool and not the same old boring Babys/Toy ‘R Us crap. A great resource for those of us too, who may be looking for good gift ideas.