Don't Forget the Wrapping Paper!

I am sure that you are all done buying gift for Christmas...I know I am (just kidding), but did you remember to get enough wrapping paper? Did you know that people like their gifts better if they are thoughtfully wrapped in beautiful paper? Its been scientifically proven!
We have a boat-load of holiday wrap, ribbon, tissue, bows, bags, and gift tags! Plus I know that you aren't even close to being done with your Christmas shopping....no one is....so come in and ask one of our resident gift genuises (genuii?) to set you up with something great for the "person who has everything" (except a Harry Potter scarf).
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL, AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT
-SANTA

Biff! Ka-pow! Comics!

KU comic section in all it's glory!

I've loved comics since I was a kid, I remember every second Thursday as being comic book day. I would eagerly listen for the mailman, and then sprint to the mailbox to collect my treasure. My parents always told me I would out grow comics, that I would somehow mature into loving classic literature, and seeing comics as something without weight or depth. Maybe that's why I call them comics, instead of "Graphic Novels" like the cool kids do. Because, to me, they're comics, they don't need to be legitimized, and they aren't just novels with graphics added, they're something different, and they are legitimate. Kids back in the forties knew this, and that's why they were so popular when they were first created, they weren't just picture books, they were something never seen before, a new way of telling stories. Well, fast forward to now, where every comic book is optioned to become a blockbuster movie, (or a trilogy of movies) comics are alongside books on the Amazon bestsellers list, (which has just about replaced the NYTimes bestsellers list) and more people know who Superman is than know who Pip is (Dickens published his stories in archs, just like comics do now!) Comics have come a long way, and only now are they starting to be recognized as legitimate literature (well, literature might be a stretch, but they definitely have artistic value). Well, the KU staff all got together and chose our favorite comics to share with you! We polled our facebook fans, got some opinions from customers, and now we've got our comic section up and running! During the process, we started to realize just how weird (in the best possible way) our tastes are! Check out the full list of comics, plus descriptions and details, after the jump!

HOLIDAY GIFT LIST!!

We're SO excited about our stash this year, the amount of awesome product is mind-blowing. Here's the link to the HOLIDAY COLLECTION. So here's how it's going down: we've got a Star Wars collection, Alice in Wonderland, Wizard of Oz, Simpsons & Family Guy, Old Skool, Twihards, Hard to Buy for Angsty Teens, Book Picks and Gift Books, Classy Man Gifts, Best Jewelry Ever, Harry Potter, and Elvis & Marilyn. The Star Wars collection features "Obsessed with Star Wars", an interactive quiz book! (Omg) We have a beautiful Alice in Wonderland collection featuring unique jewelry (that we're obsessed with)and a wooden standing clock that I want to buy for everyone I know so you should probably hurry up. A Wizard of Oz collection featuring musical snow globes (minus the snow and plus a tornado, ruby slippers galore, and the whole series of books that every true fan should own for their amazing color illustrations by John R. Neill. The Old Skool collection is my personal favorite because it involves Nintendo and Conan the Barbarian. You heard me. Twihards has our Twilight stuff PLUS other books you, I mean "they" wink wink, would like. Hard to Buy for Angsty Teens has all the hipness you don't have so your tweens and teens will think you're cool. You know how to tweet, and you use the word douchebag. You know what's up.
This is how the Book pics are gonna work: I feature a favorite and then we follow it up with "if you like this you'll also like this". Get it? Now START SHOPPING!

Karl Mullen: Songs on Paper

*One night only* show of Karl’s paintings in Pittsburgh on Saturday, Nov. 28, 6pm.

Can we talk about how %*&ing beautiful these are? No but really. We usually like to talk about ourselves, but we're taking a detour to promote nepotism I MEAN a friend of ours, Karl Mullen. He's in our homes-not Karl, we kicked him out-but his paintings are, and we think they should be in yours too. Karl is a self-taught painter and musician who emigrated from Dublin to Pittsburgh in 1976 and became one of the Post Gazette’s Top 50 Cultural Forces. Karl’s color-saturated, luminous images – painted largely with his hands -- are exhibited widely and reside in private collections and museums in the U.S. and Europe. I personally love his work because it reminds me of dreams I had when I was a child; strange echoes of images suspended in a playful world coupled with an air of eeriness that always left me wondering...
He also has street cred in the music business, having recorded nine cds with various bands AND he was nominated for a Grammy in 97 for his song "Whiskey from the Fields". These people and their damn multi-talentedness.
Karl lives in Philadelphia now but will be in Pittsburgh Saturday, November 28th and it will be a rare oppurtunity to see his new work and buy directly from him. There will be Barry’s Irish Tea, wine, snacks and excellent company. Karl and his daughter Maura will play guitar with the bass and fiddle players from The Ploughman’s Lunch. Here are the details and a link to Karls' website:

http://www.karlmullen.com/

Mindful Yoga
Hartwood Town Center
3394 Saxonburg Blvd. Suite 540
Between Fox Chapel & Hampton

Full disclosure: Mindful Yoga is owned by a good friend and customer! We heart her.

Our Father, Who Art... a Piggy Bank?!?

Halloween has past, Thanksgiving is fast approaching, and Christmas is just around the corner. Ah, Christmas. I remember as a young kid having to put down all the the new toys I had just received, get into a frilly and itchy dress, and head off to church. While the adults were rejoicing in the birth of baby Jesus, us kids would pretend to listen to the priest, all the time plotting exactly in what order we would play with our new toys when we got home. Baby Jesus probably didn't like it that i wasn't thinking about him... but come on, Jesus, cut me some slack. A big man dressed in a bright red suit somehow crawled down our chimney and gave me toys for YOUR birthday. We didn't even have a chimney, mom said they gave him a key to our house. This worried me because that meant that he could come back and take back my toys at any time during the year... or our TV... or our dog. Blame Santa, not me, Baby Jesus.

Read the entire post after the jump!

Remember the 90's?

A typical group of youths from the 90's.

Just got back from the mall, I'm sporting my new pair of Reebok Pumps! Even though I wanted some BK Ratch Tech's, but they were sold out (Famous Footwear can eat it!). I guess you can only get those if you win a Nickelodeon game show. But, I did get a Charlotte Hornets starter jacket. They're my favorite team! Go Hornets!!! I'm about gettin ready to chug a Surge (the fully-loaded citrus soda with carbos!) and clean up my Tomagotchi's poop so it doesn't get sad and commit suicide, so annoying! So, omg, when I woke up this morning, I poured myself a BIG bowl of Ghostbuster's cereal, sat down and prepped myself to watch some Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Then, right, I start getting yelled at for breaking my Stretch Armstrong, like it was even my fault! All I did was stretch it really far, Mom! Geez! She threatened to gound me but, whatever, she can't stop me from going to see Batman & Robin tonight, it's gunna be da bomb! Hopefully I'll be back in time to catch the new Sienfeld episode. I wonder, will Elaine ever find someone who is spongeworthy!? (Bum-da-dum-bum-bwaaa!) I have to get off the computer now because my stupid sister wants to go on the pound puppies website. Ok, ttyl!

We are getting a pokeball-load of new 90s tshirts up in here, and they are all totally lame...NOT! check them out after the jump!

What's your favorite thing about the 90's? Post your comments to let us know!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Zombies

Wait… What?!?!?

Wasn’t Halloween this past Saturday? Aren’t we done with the mayhem, the horror, the undead? O contraire, mon frère! It seems that zombies are pretty hot right now-a-days, any time of year, holidays not withstanding.

This weekend seemed to be a full zombie media blitz. There were a few rare juxtapositions of snob culture meeting pop culture. Kards Unlimited's own Fearless Leader happened to be watching CBS Sunday morning and they interviewed Max Brooks, who has written the Zombie Survival Guide, World War Z, and has a new zombie book coming out, The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks. (BTW: We carry his books… the new book should be in any day now… I cannot express how excited I am by this!) Interesting fact: Max Brooks is Mel Brooks’ son! Why we didn’t figure this out earlier is beyond me. FYI: He has his fathers sense of humor.

Then, our Rogue Leader happened to be listening to NPR studio 360, and it was a zombie-fest as well. With George Romero (of Night of Living Dead fame) debating Ruben Fleischer (director of Zombieland) about slow vs. fast zombies. Studio 360 also interviewed Tom Savini, whose special effects makeup school is located near Pittsburgh. To round things out, Jack Handy (of Deep Thoughts fame) shares a few ideas on how to make your skeleton ‘stand out’ after you’ve passed away. Awesome. You can listen to all these interviews at Studio 360

Since zombies are now no longer contained to Halloween, they are spreading out to infect other holidays as well. Even Christmas cannot escape the zombies. That’s why KU is proud to say that we will be stocking the shelves with a new book, It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Zombies, a collection of over 2 dozen zombie Christmas carols! How awesome is that?!? Pretty awesome!

Incidentally I just found out that my 16 yr old brother has a zombie obsession. Need Christmas gift ideas for the zombie lover in your life? KU has you covered. In addition to Max Brooks’ books, we also carry Zombies: A Record of The Year of Infection, Breathers, and Pride and Predjudice and Zombies to name a few. We’re even getting a Pride and Prejudice and Zombies t-shirt as well! We also have zombie action figures, zombie pet shop, and a What Would a Zombie do Spinner… in case you ever feel the need to act like a zombie.

Zombies. Zombies! ZOMBIES! We love Zombies!