A Place for Pet Society Addicts
I recently found this neat application on Facebook. Eyesores offers pictures of funny looking creatures that manage to be cute and ugly at the same time. You can send these little monsters to a friend with a message, or post them to your Facebook wall. The pictures were created by Xavier Gallego, a Barcelona artist living in New York. Most images are free, but some cost a number of “Poops,” which are reasonably priced. (I wonder if Gallego knows about Pet Society poo.)
Can you believe how big this guy is? He’s a Park Mascot who comes in the Fun Park Mystery Eggs for 600 coins. My pet Sushi and I like the balloons he’s holding–they bob up and down–but we’re daunted by his size.
This led me to do a little research on park mascots. Turns out some people have a real fear of them. On unusualphobias.com, I found several interesting comments:
“…People dressed as big characters or animals are just really freaky. I have thought that they were since I was little, and I’m not really sure why. If I see one I get all scared and just try not to look at them, but I still know they’re there and it’s horrible. I’m 15 now and it was so embarrasing on the school trip to Disneyland, because I couldn’t tell anybody and I insisted that we took the longer routes around to avoid those creepy things! It’s their faces, they’re so scary! And they don’t speak either, that’s creepy too.”
Here’s another comment on the same forum:
“I have many phobias, but the most prevalent is my fear of costumed characters. You know, like Chuck E. Cheese. To me, going to Disney World is like going to hell.”
All of this makes me wonder if something that’s bigger than yourself goes against the essence of being cute. Check out this article on Ars Technica about scientists studying why some things are considered cute. Basically, it boils down to our evolutionary love of babies. If something resembles a baby in any way, we are programmed to think of it as cute:
“Scientists who study the evolution of visual signaling have identified a wide and still expanding assortment of features and behaviors that make something look cute: bright forward-facing eyes set low on a big round face, a pair of big round ears, floppy limbs and a side-to-side, teeter-totter gait, among many others.
Cute cues are those that indicate extreme youth, vulnerability, harmlessness and need.”
The Park Mascot in Pet Society has a friendly face, but it’s too large and imposing. It doesn’t fit these definitions of cute. I think if it were smaller than my pet, it would have a much better chance at being cute. What do you think?
Paul the Octopus was right again. Congratulations to Spain on winning the World Cup! It was a long, intense match, with only one goal scored by Andres Iniesta at the 116th minute. As for the Dutch, we love your tulips, bicycles and live-and-let-live culture, but it’s adiós, amigos.
After four grueling weeks, it’s come down to the Netherlands and Spain in the FIFA World Cup. We know that Pet Society has a huge international audience, and we’re curious to know who you are rooting for this Sunday.
As for myself, I like both teams, but this was how I felt a couple weeks ago when South Korea was knocked out:
This pet is ready to score! Woot! Woot!
Despite my aversion to sodas in real life, I have to say that these bottles are delightfully shaped and colored! Several players have been lucky to collect all ten of the new cold drinks from the Pet Society vending machines.
From left to right, the drinks are:
Remember singing “99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall” as a kid? This pet has 105 bottles, to be exact!
Thanks for all your feedback on the book covers. The first poll was nearly tied, so it didn’t really help us choose, but we got a lot of constructive criticism which made us rethink our designs. The title is now more readable on the first cover. The pink has been replaced with orange in the second cover, because as you know, I’m not a big fan of pink. The third design is brand new.
We know these icons are small, but we showed them this way, because this is most likely how they will appear on sites like Amazon, iTunes and Smashwords. What is the book about? Love, passion, infidelity, heartache…in short, the things that keep life exciting. The book will be published later this summer; you’ll be able to read sample pages here so you can get an idea of my non-Pet-Society writing style. 
For now, we’d love it if you can tell us which cover you like best. Muchos gracias!
Dear Readers:
I am soon going to publish a book of stories with another writer, David Massengill. What is the book about? Love, passion, infidelity, heartache…in short, the things that make life exciting. We need your help right now in choosing a cover. Here are the options.
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We know they’re small, but we showed them this way, because this is most likely how they will appear on sites like Amazon, iTunes and Smashwords.
Perhaps the most overused word to describe Pet Society is “cute.” Aww, your pet is so cute! Wow, I love your cute room! OMG, the new fish is so cute! We don’t get tired of these compliments, and our appetite for cuteness seems insatiable, as the game comes out with dozens of new products each week.
Ever since I started blogging, I’ve become more aware of the power of cute objects. Some people will say that looks don’t matter, but cuteness matters. How many times did you buy something simply because it was cute? How many times were you just a little bit nicer to someone because he/she was cute? And how many times did you get what you wanted by being cute?
I saw the chocolate shoes at Harrod’s in London. As a friend said, they combine two fetishes: Shoes + Sugar. You can get these designer edibles from Gayle’s Chocolates.
This bunny cookie was at Whole Foods in Seattle. I thought the broken piece made it even cuter because it was a little bit sad-looking. It was in a basket of other bunny cookies and I imagined that this one would be the last one picked.
This painting hangs in the Hummingbird Bakery in the Notting Hill neighborhood of London. Notting Hill is a very cute neighborhood, with houses painted pink and yellow and outdoor markets selling collectible art. I was mesmerized by this painting. In some ways, it’s very simple. It takes one image—a hummingbird in flight—and repeats it in a stamp-like fashion. But color-wise, it’s pretty complex. Normally, I prefer just a few colors in one setting, and many graphic artists will tell you that it’s difficult to achieve a sense of harmony when you use too many colors. But somehow, this painting manages to use a dozen different colors and make it work.
The bakery had some very appealing cupcakes too. These, of course, reminded me of Pet Society.
“Hey, look! It’s Michael Jackson! No, wait, it’s my pet, Richard Jackson!” writes Anza. This is such a great picture and a nice way to commemorate Michael Jackson, who died a year ago today. I wish Playfish had released a sparkly white glove for this week!
If you’re a fan of Michael, CNN.com has a great site about him. Netflix also released the movie, “This is It.” It’s available on Instant Play.
I admit, I wasn’t a big fan of Michael when he was alive. His various scandals and weird facial transformations made it embarrassing to admit that you were a fan. But after he died, and radio stations played his music over and over, I found myself singing along. It made me realize how important his work had been.
When you had something to celebrate, Michael Jackson was most likely there. He was there with you during birthday parties, wedding receptions, and those nights at a club when you were trying to meet someone cute. Whether you realized it or not, he was there for so many moments of your life. And even if you didn’t meet anyone cute at the club, you still had a pretty good time dancing to “Thriller.”
Back in April, when the Pet Society diaries became open for all to see, I imagined Sushi’s mama as a grouchy pet with frumpy, old-lady hair.
But Sushi’s mama wasn’t always this unpleasant. Back in her youth, before she was Sushi’s mama, or anyone’s mama, she was fun and carefree.
She was into punk rock and New Wave music and she went to many concerts and nightclubs.
She was popular with the boys, and one summer, she dated four guys. Some time later, Sushi was born, and life changed forever. Mama loved her little Sushi, but over the years, she started getting the look of suspicion in her eyes, and her posture became slumped with hard work and worry.
She still isn’t certain which one of the guys is Sushi’s dad. But with Father’s Day approaching, she would like Sushi and dad to reunite. Which one is your favorite?
Wine-O-Cards
AAPrincess.com
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