@pamelahartbooks is the Solution to All Your Princess Problems #AWW2015

I know many of my friends with little girls have long been lamenting the stereotypical nature of the Disney Princess byproducts. Books about pretty gems, activities about missing your long hair, long dresses that are unsuitable for play and a fire hazard. My own daughter has even coped flack at preschool for not wearing enough branded Princess paraphernalia from two other little girls.

I have to admit my daughter loves her Disney Princesses and I love watching the movies with her. They’re fun, they’re bright, they’re colourful and they’ve got catchy tunes. What’s not to like? Well some of the messages for our little ones are questionable, particularly in the spin off products. They focus on vanity and materialism in a far greater way than the movies do. So what is a parent to do that doesn’t want their kids inundated with that kind of message at such an impressionable age?

In steps Australian writing superhero Pamela Freeman with her Princess Betony books. These books are gorgeous. They’re the perfect size for tiny hands, have beautiful covers and even have a satin ribbon sewn in for a bookmark. They have all the elements any Disney Princess fan could possibly want but they’re so much more. These books takes the princess mythos and subvert it. Yes, there is a princess, yes there are beautiful dresses, yes there is a castle BUT then when the day needs to be saved Princess Betony puts on her adventure clothes and gets down to business. She’s tough, she’s smart and she knows that there is more to life than finery and materialism. My daughter is four and loves Princess Betony. Her five year old cousin similarly loves her as does her twelve year old cousin.

So for those of you having a Disney induced meltdown and contemplating a wholesale Princess ban, I’d like suggest trying the Princess Betony books by Pamela Freeman first. It’ll give some balance to those movies that we all love.

Why All Allergy Sufferers Should Boycott KFC

Hello,

My name is Robin and I am allergic to chili. In my younger years my allergic reaction was so mild that it went unnoticed and was simply passed off as a dislike for chili. In my 30s it has progressed to the point where even mild seasoning that contains chili immediately results in me becoming covered in sweat, followed soon after by vomiting and migraines. The after effects can last days and I have been hospitalized with severe gastritis as a result of the acidic build up. As such, whenever I eat out I always, ALWAYS, ask if the food has chili. If it does I either order something else or the restaurant / café generally want to help out and modify to remove the chili. Because they are devent human beings that want to treat their customers with dignity and respect. This is not the case at KFC. At KFC the store staff refuse to answer me. I have contacted them via email, this was there response :

Unfortunately I am unable to answer your question with specific information given the formulation is proprietary.

So there you have it. They don’t actually care if you eat food that you’re allergic too. They couldn’t give a shit. Now obviously I am not going to eat there. They were good enough to let me know that their chip seasoning has chili. I am aware that often things get cooked in the same oil and therefore everything would be contaminated. Gluten intolerant people understand this concept all too well.

KFC have an allergy fact sheet, it applies to gluten, seafood, peanuts, and dairy. The well known allergies. Apparently if you have a high profile allergy they’re willing to put on a display that they care but if it is uncommon they won’t budge. Evidently it is a publicity stunt not because they don’t want someone to eat something that they are allergic too.

So I would urge all allergy sufferers to rethink eating any KFC products as quite frankly they don’t care if you get sick or not, they won’t let you know not to eat their products unless you have a well publicized allergy. Rewind twenty years before peanut allergy information was well known, this is what they would have done to you. Rewind fifteen years before gluten intolerance was well known,  this is what they would have done to you.

Please take a stand with your fellow allergy sufferers and say no. No KFC. And if you’re a friend of an allergy sufferer stand with them and say “the formulation is proprietary” is not an okay answer to give to someone. It might be legal for KFC to withhold information from people that can make them seriously ill but it is utterly ammoral. Not only that, it should be damn well illegal. It should be illegal to refuse to let someone know if you’re going to poison them. People have a right to know if you’re playing Russian Roulette with their life or not. Take a stand, freedom for allergy sufferers.

Thank you for your time.

How to Stop Domestic Violence

1. Don’t hit your spouse, significant other, children, stepchildren, foster children, or anyone under your care.

2. Don’t make excuses for people perpetrating abuse. It isn’t just a robust relationship, it isn’t tough love
It is a crime, it isn’t the victims fault. Report it as the crime that it is.

3. Persecute these crimes as you would any other. DV is no less of a crime than a “Cowards Punch.”

4. Take care of our vulnerable instead of taking advantage of them.

5. If you think you’re going to hurt someone then report yourself to a GP for a mental health check and get therapy immediately.

6. If you abuse someone take yourself to the police immediately.

7. If you become violent when you drink then don’t drink.

Period Strike

According to science I’ve already bled enough for my period so if it’s all the same can it be over now? I know I only woke up with them this morning but fair is fair and my diva measuring goblet never lies. I’ve had my 60-80ml that textbooks claim is normal so I’m out now. I’ve been really patient about getting three periods worth in my first two days and then still continuing on fo a few more days before my period actually ends but I’ve had enough. I’m 36, I’m too old for this shit.

Science, I give you this ultimatum, either you stop my period once your specified amount of blood loss is over OR you modify your clearly ridiculous figures that you pulled out of your obviale arse that didn’t want to be bothered actually researching such a ooooickyladpartsnooooo issue. Robin out.

6 Reasons Why You Should Find Out the Sex of Your Baby

1. You want to find out.

Oh, will you look at that, you only need one reason. Turns out you don’t need six reasons. Exact same can be applied for not finding out. One reason and one reason alone applies to you finding out or not finding out the gender of your own baby, because that’s what you want. Please don’t mistake what you want with what is right for others. Simple.

RIP Jackie Collins

I love pictures of authors with their type writers.

In honour of the fabulous Jackie Collins, who lost her battle with breast cancer and was taken from us all too soon at the age of 77, I thought I’d share a few of my favourite quotes. She was a gutsy woman who acknowledged female passion and sexuality and wasn’t afraid to write about it. Love or hate her novels, she should be an inspiration to all aspiring authors. Jackie Collins was a passionate author who said she loved her work so much that she would still be writing at 106. She had her fair share of critics who accused her of peddling smut but she kept on writing about strong women, finding their own identity, and exploring a sensual and romantic world. She started writing in a time when the idea that women could have urges was considered abhorrent yet she preserved and is one of the top selling authors of all time. So please enjoy these quotes from this courageous woman, and I hope they inspire you as they have me.

Flawless powerhouse.

If you want to be a writer-stop talking about it and sit down and write!

The biggest critics of my books are people who never read them.

I am still shocking people today, and I don’t know why. Is it because I’m a woman talking about sex and men?

If you want to achieve your dreams, you must follow them, and the best way to follow them is not to think about wanting to be very rich, but to think about doing something that you really want to do.

Whatever you have a passion for, then you must do. If you want to write, write about something you know about.

I don’t believe in writing anything that I don’t know about or haven’t researched about personally. I like to transport the reader to places, and in order to do that I have to do the research.

I have written 20 books, and each one is like having a baby. Writing is not easy; some people want to write books but just can’t put a story together. I can put together a story that interests both me and my readers.

My weakness is wearing too much leopard print.

Shit happens. You need to move on.

Stop the atrocities not the boats #AylanKurdi

I really don’t have much more to say than that. Get in, help. Donate,petition. Looking at that beautiful, well dressed, much loved, little boy – lifeless and all alone is more than any civilised human being should be able to bare. How scared must you be to risk the life of your family to flee? Very. So scared that you risk possible death because you know if you remain there is certain torture and certain death. These people love their families, their toddlers, their babies, so much that this fleeing by rickety boat over rough seas is their safest chance. And how does Australia react to people in this exact same circumstance? We try to scare themby letting them know if they make it here that we will ensure they will likewise be tortured and abused in our processing centres. Reporting of abuse on Naru isn’t just not Mandatory but not allowed at all. How can we reconcile ourselves with this fact?

Stop the atrocities not the boats. Start with stopping our own disgusting treatment of asylum seekers and then move on to providing aid in those countries so that things aren’t so horrific that they must scoop up their little ones and flee. Being a more compassionate country won’t mean that ourown citizens will be  worse off because we will be a better country for it.