this much is true

Moving on out

2009-03-05T10:45:00.002-03:30

Hi all. I have loved using blogger but have decided to transfer my blog to a self-hosted wordpress blog at tinachaulk.com. All my old posts are over there and new ones too so if you have this one in your links or bookmarks, please change it. New posts will only be on tinachaulk.com. Hope to see you over there and, while you're at it, please check out my other blog techreluctant.com, to help make the technological life a little easier.

All I Want for Christmas

2008-12-12T11:55:00.003-03:30

Is not my two front teeth, although I wouldn't complain if the four top ones that Ben has coming down would come all the way out so we can all sleep again. No, this year I have something I really, really want for Christmas. Of course, I want the health and safety and happiness of family and friends (and the rest of the world, for that matter) but this year I want a toy. I want an iPod Touch. I don't know if I've ever wanted anything quite so much since I wanted an organ (you know, with a keyboard) when I was five or six years old. Back then I had a two-pronged approach to getting what I wanted and both of them meant driving my parents nuts. One was to constantly pretend to be playing a keyboard on the arm of a chair. The other was to stare at the circled organ in the Christmas catalogue. I'm not sure why I wanted an organ. Maybe because my aunt had one she played. Maybe it was that I knew there was no way we could get a piano. Regardless, that's what I wanted and I got it.

My desire for the iPod Touch is not a secret to my husband. In fact, I think my son, Sam, wants me to get an iPod Touch almost as much as he wants to get the presents he requested from Santa. If he sees one of those text to win commercials where you can win an iPod Touch for free, he runs to me saying he knows the answer to the "skill-testing question" and all I need is to phone and I will win it. He does this despite how many times I tell him this is just a ploy from junk text companies trying to trick me into giving my number. I have said, at every opportunity, that I want this device. I have also said I don't think I should get it since we can't afford it. And that's true. But, really, deep down inside, I want it. I want it so bad. It's pretty and small and cool and has wifi and can do everything I could want a device to do. And I am not an iPod fan. Don't have one. Never wanted one. I have a Sansa e260 which I really like and think may indeed be better than a regular iPod.

But now I hope Santa brings me the iPod Touch for Christmas. I have iTunes downloaded to my laptop and have my songs ready for synch. I have tons of free applications I can use for my writing and organizing my life (games) ready to transfer to the Touch. So, the question is not so much will I get the Touch as, what will I do if I don't get it? I'll find out soon enough and one way or another I will be wishing you and yours a wonderful, safe, healthy, happy holiday season.

Procrastination

2008-12-09T08:51:00.004-03:30

Perhaps it is ironic that my first real blog post in months is about procrastination. Obviously I have been putting off this post. A number of times I wanted to come rant about the American election or our election or the recent coalition or some story in the news but I just never got around to it. I mean, first I was too busy to post but there comes the time when you must ask how long can I use a new baby as an excuse? Yesterday, for instance, I got around to getting a portrait done of the boys and there was a woman there with a tiny infant. The child could not have been more than two weeks old. And the woman was dressed in nice clothes and had her hair done! I thought it was pretty good I got out of my pyjamas and was wearing something that wasn't stained (although there was drool on my shirt but at least it wasn't mine). In my mind I blame that on having a fairly recent baby or, if that doesn't work, that I have two children. Then along comes someone like the mother of a child in Sam's class who, with her third child at 10 weeks old, not only managed to bring loot bags to school for all Sam's class on Halloween (I did not) but also had printed off personalized tags for each of the bags. So, I try to use the fact that I am trying to finish a novel amongst all this as my excuse. But mostly it is all about procrastination.

It really doesn't get you ahead, this putting things off. Take said portrait taking. I have procrastinated doing this for five years. There are no professional portraits of Sam but many, many pictures of him. We have, just as cliche dictates, way less of Ben so I decided to get a portrait. Also, they are so sweet together, the way they make each other laugh and how Ben lights up whenever he sees Sam. I wanted to get it on film. But, once again, I waited too long. Ben crawls like a madman now and has boundless curiosity. He also studies things. This is not Sam who would smile at the drop of a hat at strangers in the mall as they told me I should sign him up to be a model. This is the boy who stares at such people then looks to me to see if they're okay. He does not share his beautiful smiles unless he knows and likes you. Even Elmo Live gets a furrowed brow and a (not entirely unwarranted) look to me that says what the hell is that? A portrait studio filled with new things meant to excite and distract children is not good for such a child. When he wasn't staring sternly at the giant stuffed horsey or the photographer saying his name over and over, he was crawling off to check out something new. All while Sam kept trying to make Ben smile as we encouraged Sam to keep his smile on. Poor Sam eventually said "my smile is getting tired". We managed to get some fairly good shots, I think, but if I hadn't put this off, I could have gotten Ben as baby with Sam pics. A nice, placid baby who would mimic your smile because he didn't know any better. Procrastinating just made it worse (although such days are part of the joys of having kids, I know).

I won't learn. The truth is I am procrastinating right now. Sam is in school and Ben is napping. I should be editing my book to get it into the publisher next week. I should be taking the comments made by my trusted readers and making some changes to the manuscript. And I will. Maybe later today. Or tomorrow. Yes, tomorrow sounds good.

Get out and vote

2008-10-14T08:24:00.002-02:30

I know, long time no post. For now, I'll just say all is well with Ben (that's the baby boy's name) and me. Also, big brother Sam (who loves his brother and dotes on him like crazy) and hubby are great too. Almost exactly one year ago, I posted this. I won't change anything so things are not exactly up to date but you should get the point. And I promise I will resume blogging really soon.

Get out and vote

It's election day here in Newfoundland and Labrador. I've heard people say that they aren't going to bother to vote. If you tell me that you're not going to take the time to vote, expect a lecture. I'll tell you my old line--that people fought and died for our right to vote. Oh, I know the guy in the foxhole in WWII might not have been thinking of whether or not we could mark a X in 2007 but still.

It wasn't just back then either. People are fighting and dying now for the right that you may take for granted, the simple ability to be able to voice your opinion about who runs our government, or to have the right to voice any opinion at all. In Afghanistan our soldiers are dying so the Afghan people can have it. And what about Burma? People have been standing up and demonstrating, knowing that they may get beaten to death or mowed down in the street just for that right that you don't want to take the trouble to exercise because maybe you feel that all the politicians are the same or because you think your vote won't make much of a difference. They die or are beaten and/or jailed just for the hope that one day they could do what you don't want to bother doing.

It takes guts to do that, to stand firm in front of an army of soldiers who will kill you for expressing your opinions, to stand in front of a tank in Tienanmen Square just so you could one day have a voice about who is in power. It takes maybe a half an hour of your time to get out and vote. Now go do it.

End of lecture

Last pre-baby post

2008-03-11T14:24:00.002-02:30

Probably the last blog post for a while. Two days from now I'll be having child #2 and, if the past is any indication, will be unable to string together complete sentences due to lack of sleep. "Me, Tina" will probably be the extent of my writing skills. But you never know, it could be just like my happily in denial hubby says and the baby might sleep through the night (depsite having to nurse every two hours), and might not cry all the time like Sam did. In such a case I may be like the women I marvel at. The ones that have a baby, put on makeup, do their hair, and await visitors, making conversation, and even smiling. They even go outside. With the baby. And they don't cry all the time or anything. They don't have that wonderful postpartum depression that makes everything so cloudy and I may be one of them this time. Well, I may skip all the crying but I don't think I'll ever be one of them. I see them, these women. I ask them how old their babies are as they walk along picking up organic bananas while singing to their children who reside in Snugli slings on their chests. "Ten days old"; "five days old" they say, and I wonder what part of the universe they come from. I cannot comprehend managing that with a newborn. I was pretty proud of myself when I took my first post-baby shower. But some women do it. Of course, it's different when you have a c-section but I still think some of them manage being normal fairly soon after the baby.

I remember seeing a mother of an eleven-day-old at a breastfeeding clinic when I had passed the worst of my PPD and Sam was sleeping for most of the night. I saw her and this tiny creature and thought I would give her some encouraging words. "It will get easier," I said. "He'll sleep through the night eventually and everything." She just looked at me calmly and said, "oh, he's been sleeping through the night ever since we brought him home." I walked away, resisting the temptation to smack her, and sat down. I watched a mother who was more like me. I could tell. Her eyes were blank and bleary and she looked at her child like one would look at a 5000 piece jigsaw puzzle, as if she didn't know what to do with it and what her next move should be. I knew her by her hair too. It was messy but you could see she had tried to make it look okay. Had probably sprayed it with a little hair spray and ran a brush through it, then gave up, either too tired to know it still didn't look right or, more likely, too tired to care. Funny, that I didn't feel the urge to tell her it would be okay. Because I knew that if someone had told me that (and they did) when I was still feeling like her, I wouldn't have believed them (and I didn't). They would have been empty words to her and she may very well have wanted to smack me. That's the difference with this time. I know. That even if I feel that way again, even if I think I will actually die if I don't get more sleep, even if I sometimes cry more than the baby, I'll know that it will be okay and that I will one day sleep again. And if I somehow forget that, I'll know to ask for help.

Or maybe I'll be out at the store next week buying groceries in full makeup and combed hair. Maybe I'll post on this blog and it will be coherent. But let's not hold our breath.

The Oprah Effect

2008-03-04T10:20:00.002-03:30

I have been keeping up with American politics, at least until it gets boring. I've even watched parts of a couple of debates. It's the democratic ones I've watched just because they are the only ones where things still seem up in the air. I watch CNN sometimes and listen to the pundits. They give lots of reasons for Obama's recent winning streak in the primaries and caucuses but I have yet to hear anyone, at least on the tube, talk about the one that I think is one of the biggest reasons: the Oprah Factor.

Surely, other people must think this. Others must have thought, when they first heard that Oprah Winfrey was endorsing Obama, that it could mean he would win. Oprah is the person who was sued by the beef industry because she had aired a show about mad cow diseases which she said "just stopped me cold from eating another burger." The industry thought that Oprah's opinions would be so detrimental that they sued her. This is the woman who, with one utterance can send a book to the top of the bestsellers' list. Everything, from books to jeans to bras to pizza to robes to apple pies can go from obscurity to super stardom in a day, based on an Oprah endorsement. Yet, whenever I hear the commentators on TV trying to assess why Obama is doing so well, I never hear Oprah's name.

Oprah said it herself, in her usually modest way, when she told Larry King that "My support of him is probably worth more than any check that I could write.". And people know it. Rachel Ray, Dr. Phil, interior designer Nate Berkus, James Frey, and, most recently Eckhart Tolle, can attest to the influence of Oprah. Tolle's book A New Earth was anointed by Oprah last month for her book club. Originally published in 2005, 3.5 million copies of the book have been shipped in the last four weeks since Oprah announced her new book club selection. That's people who are willing to fork out money to follow her lead and to read a book on spirituality. Then there are the estimated 46 million viewers a week of her television show, the more than 16 million who read her O Magazine every month. Read about the Oprah Effect on businesses here, here, and here, and you'll see people are willing to part with their money and even have cosmetic treatments based on what Oprah says. Surely in something free like casting a vote, her influence can be even more profound.

Now, I'm not saying there's anything wrong with Obama enjoying Oprah's influence. Sad, yes, if people can decide on who should run the country based on one person's opinions, but it's certainly her right to say who she supports and he'd be crazy not to suck it up with a straw. I just wonder why there's not more talk about it on TV when the only person to ever get on Time Magazine's "100 Most Influential People in the World " list five times, picks a president.

Writing "The End"

2008-02-22T10:31:00.002-03:30

Writing "The End" at the end of a novel is a pretty good feeling but it can also feel overwhelming. The thing is that the real work begins now. Taking everything you've written and trying to edit it so it can go out in the world. This is especially true of A Few Kinds of Wrong (AFKOW) for me. I've never had so many starts and stops with any piece of writing, never gone down so many paths only to completely go back and cut them out. It is mostly because it is a very different book for me, more character driven than plot driven and more melancholy than light-hearted. I kept falling back into using plot devices to move things along. Even the one that I did use (because, no matter what, things must move along with something), I had to have a talk and encouragement from my friend Trudy and my husband (always my first reader) to know it was okay to do it.

And, as anyone who has ever written "The End" knows, by the time you get there, you have spent so much time inside these people's heads and inside their lives, that you lose all sense of perspective. By the time you reach the last part of the book, you feel like this is the worst thing ever written and that you've just wasted all this time and energy on it. All the words seem stale and it feels like you've said them a hundred times already and you wonder who in the world will care about these dreadfully boring people and what is happening to them. Thankfully, I have a group of writers around me who I can say that to and they'll remind me that it's normal. And thankfully, I have a dog-eared copy of Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird I can turn to as well because no one can remind you of the insecurities and fears that live inside a writer's head like Anne Lamott.

For those of you who haven't read it (and you really should, whether you're a writer or not I think there are lots of life lessons in there), the title comes from a time when Lamott's ten-year-old brother had a school assignment about birds due the next day. Overwhelmed, with books about birds all around him, the boy was close to tears. His father sat down, put his arm around the boy's shoulder and said "Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird." And as I look at my notebooks full of all those stops and starts, the completed sections of AFKOW with "[insert such and such a section here]", the unnamed text files on my computer typed on the Neo that I am not sure belong in the book or not, the whole vast, overpowering lot of it, I have to tell myself to "take it bird by bird, Tina. Bird by bird" and then it feels okay (well, kind of--the whole having a baby in less than three weeks makes it feel a lot more overwhelming too, but Lamott has a great book for that too).

Online product reviews

2008-02-20T10:07:00.002-03:30

I've come to understand that one must take any online product reviews with a grain of salt. Most people are reasonable but some people have very high expectations going in. Like the speakers I recently bought for my MP3 player. They are small, portable, can use AC power but can also be powered by 4 AA batteries. This must tell you not to expect any mind blowing sound, the kind that can be heard in the midst of a great party. But I didn't want that. I wanted some subtle background noise while I write, I wanted to be able to carry them to different rooms and I wanted to be able to take them outside on the patio or to the beach, in the summer. I could also pop them in a suitcase for when I'm in the hospital after having baby next month. And these fit the bill perfectly. So perfectly that when my sister-in-law saw and heard them she immediately got the same ones. They were on sale at Princess Auto of all places and very reasonably priced for what I got. But I've been looking for the right MP3 speakers for a while now and have been researching them a lot. Mostly I check out Amazon for such reviews. I'm doing the same now for booster seats, travel stroller systems, and baby slings. But, like I said, I take them with a grain of salt.

These are supposed to be reviews about the product. They get a rating out of five stars and a written review. Some are quite comprehensive, some are short and sweet, and some are inane. The inane ones tend to give a one star rating and say things like "this is the best [insert product category here] I have ever used and I think everyone should buy it but I bought it from Online Selling Company and they just put it in an envelope. I'm amazed it arrived in one piece. Their shipping sucks". Well, go rate the company somewhere and give the product you love the five stars it deserves, please. Other inane reviewers just expect too much. Like with the various minispeakers I've been researching. Someone might review a small set of speakers, running on four AA batteries like this: "I wish I could give negative stars because these are the worst speakers ever. I had a party of 350 people the other night in a rented nightclub and no one could hear the music. I paid $29.99 for these and all they did was ruin my party. Stay away!"

While booking a cruise for our honeymoon, hubby and I checked out reviews of cruises and found the same thing. People would give awful ratings and warn you to not travel certain cruise lines and when you read the details it was because "my whole vacation was ruined because of the food. Not one morning did I get crispy bacon. Never travel with these people" or other minuscule things like that. You also have to remember that people don't go out of their way to praise things as often as they'll go the extra mile to criticize and complain.

If you take the time to read the reviews you will be able to exclude the reviews which don't add much to the debate. You will also be able to quickly identify patterns in reviews. Like if a lot of people seem to have the same problem with a product while others don't. Sometimes those who don't have the problem might suggest why other people are having this recurring problem. Mostly this involves not reading the instructions. Like some silicone baby bottle nipples I bought a few years ago. I checked them out online and it was pretty split between the people who thought they were fantastic and the the people who said they were complete garbage and didn't work. But if you read carefully, you could see that the people who liked it kept reminding people that they had to boil the nipples for a certain period of time in order for them to open up or they wouldn't work, as explained on the package contents. So I bought them, boiled them and they worked great, And that's the point. Online reviews can be great but you have to be careful and thorough when reading or you might miss out on a great product.

And as incredibly funny examples of all of the above, see the reviews on Amazon for the Bic Crystal Ballpoint Pen and Milk. With review titles like "not a crystal ball", "Not as flavorful as a good ham" and "doesn't teach alphabet" for the pen, and "Doesn't Work with Macs" and "WARNING: Causes Mustache!" for the milk, these people really get the truth about online product reviews.

Facebook status updates

2008-02-12T09:19:00.001-03:30

I was chatting with my friend the other day about a particularly incredible facebook status update. Status updates are places on facebook where people can update you, in a sentence or two, about what's going on with them. It's very like Twitter which I ranted about before. I think such updates can be put into several categories. Feel free to add some categories if you think I've forgotten any. And for you people who refuse to get on facebook--yes, I am talking to you, dear sister-in-law--well, this is just one more thing to prove you right. Here are the categories and some (purely made up) examples:

The really what I am doing category. This is the most boring but yet the most reasonable of them all. Examples are:

Tina is frying some eggs and then will be doing the dishes.

Tina just talked on the phone and is now watching TV.

Tina is typing in facebook (which is what all these should be).

The vague feeling category. Almost as boring. Examples are:

Tina is tired.

Tina is happy.

Tina is having a great day.

The mysterious category. These tell you nothing but drive you nuts with curiosity. Examples are:

Tina is thinking about it.

Tina is making the big move.

Tina cannot believe it.

The even more mysterious category. These don't tell you much more but make you even more curious or, more likely, worried. Examples are:

Tina is debating making the single biggest move in her life.

Tina is waiting for the tests to come back and praying that they're negative.

Tina is just back from the lawyer's office.

The mysterious mourning/illness category. This is the worst mystery one and usually sends me off on a mad hunt to track down who is sick/dead and more info on the circumstances. Examples are:

Tina hopes that Pedro recovers soon and that any brain damage is not permanent.

Tina is hoping that Dora rests in peace.

Tina is saddened by the loss of her best friend. Rest in peace, dear friend.

Tina is sending her love to the Smith family on their loss.

The complaining category. I think everyone does this one from time to time but it is a slippery slope and can be done too much. Examples are:

Tina has not slept in 47 nights. Please someone kill me now.

Tina is tired of throwing up.

Tina has a painful boil on her leg. Going to get it lanced this afternoon.

The passive-aggressive category. Getting it off your chest can be helpful, I guess. Examples are:

Tina wishes her husband was not such an asshole (just to emphasize, totally fictional, hubby is great).

Tina wonders why people say hurtful things then expect you to be their friend. (Cross-referenced with the mysterious category)

Tina wishes people would mind their own bloody business. (Cross-referenced with the mysterious category)

The airing your dirty laundry category. Really, people, we can know too much. Examples are:

Tina wants everyone to know that she was right. Carl is the father, just like I said!

Tina knew that sleeping with that guy last night was a bad idea (but call me, I can't remember your name).

Tina hates you Erica because you are a whore and I know what you did with my boyfriend last night, you slut!

Some people manage to make their updates funny too but I don't have any examples I can use without stealing so I won't. Ideally, one should mix it up a bit, changing categories from time to time and not sticking too much with one or the other. I would advise staying away from the airing your dirty laundry altogether, but that's just me.

Tina is finishing this blog post.

Voice recognition software (or The old do to move the man's)

2008-02-08T15:21:00.000-03:30

The problem with writing longhand is that eventually you have to type all the stuff you've written. This is where I am now. Since I find this typing such a waste of time and since I don't like it much, and since no other human being could ever read my scrawl (I spend long minutes staring at paper trying to figure out what in the world a certain squiggly line I made means), I decided to try out some voice recognition software. I've never believed in it very much, having tried it years ago but I read some online reviews and it seemed that it had come a long way. Some people said it actually worked quite well. These people must be trained, professional actors with years of training in voice and enunciation. I, quite simply, am not. I've been known to mumble when I talk and I have a pretty thick bay accent. But when I concentrate, I can speak more clearly and slow down my normal rate of speaking. Plus, the software allows you to train it to your own voice so one would expect it could figure it out. Problem solved. No more typing for Tina.

Here are the first few lines of my test as the computer recognized it when I transcribed it (after I thoroughly trained the software to recognize my voice):

"'s absence has order for a couple of weeks my life changed. I came home from work with day before five every day and we are sad at the table together to eat. They had picked up his dishes from the table and insisted I do the same. There didn't see it in his recliner chair in the corner and read the paper. He set next ma'am the coach watch TV with her calmer his looking strange around her shoulders as he fidgeted.
When I went to bed on him typing, listening to them as they both went to bed at the same time calmer mount hacking caring for their bedroom and sales I didn't understand then came from them."

So, now you think that English is not my first language or that I am writing a sordid novel about a new fetish where people mount and type on top of each other in bed, but I'm not. The word 'calmer' that keeps coming up is actually the word 'comma' as in I am asking the software to put punctuation in the paragraph for me. Later I tried using the actual word 'calmer' and it typed it as 'karma'. It quickly became apparent that it would take more time correcting the mistakes in my work transcribed by the voice-rec software than it would to type the stuff on my lovely Alphasmart Neo, or, as the voice-rec software calls it "my Neill".

And now, as another test, the beginning of the Ode to Newfoundland:

"The old do to move the man's

when Sunday is crowned iced pine clad hills"

Makes you teary-eyed and patriotic, doesn't it? And it leaves me wondering just what the old do to move the man's. And the man's what? The possibilities are endless.

Sigh. Ah well, it's back to pounding on the keyboard for me. Just me and my good friend, Neill.

Warning, warning

2008-02-07T14:46:00.000-03:30

It seems that every day there's a new warning out. Whether it's baby bottles leeching BPA into little systems; or the phthalates we are told are contained in baby lotions, shampoos, and baby powders (but we're not told which ones exactly so I guess when my baby comes next month, it will have to remain dirty and stinky or full of phthalates); or lead-tainted paint in toys from China, the list keeps getting longer and it makes me wonder do we know too much? I mean I'm sure that keeping these things from babies is a good thing and now that we know, let's fix it, but have they been there all along and we've been okay with it or are we (and by "we" I mean the scientists looking for research dollars which certainly does not actually include "me") just stretching around trying to find something to look for and scare us? If they continue to study every possible problem with this kind of intensity and keep finding stuff to scare the beejeezus out of me, I'm going to have to hide out somewhere safe like....hmmm, are there phthalates on the moon?

When I did a parenting class before my son was born, the nurse teaching it said something like everything I am going to tell you means that my children should be dead. Meaning that all the stuff she told us we should not do, were the very things she did with her children. Babies slept happily on their bellies, drank Carnation milk, ate solid food earlier, and had decorative bumper pads around their cribs. Yet, we didn't seem to have the all the allergies and asthma that are around now. In the six years between the birth of my nephew and the birth of my son, the authorities changed things like the way the baby should sleep. My nephew was supposed to sleep on his side to prevent SIDS. My son had to sleep on his back. In the four years between babies even, I am now told to forgo using alcohol to clean the remnants of the umbilical cord on the newborn and that I should only use water. I forget the reasoning behind that but I have heard word of mouth reports of increased infections in said umbilical cords since this new policy came into being. Stay tuned. Any of these things may change before baby comes.

And if those warnings are not enough, there's the ones that people want in place because other people can't be trusted to use things safely. Like the latest push to have special warnings on cotton swabs. A man recently died after perforating his eardrum with a cotton swab then an infection he already had in his ear spread and caused meningitis. Suggestions for warnings include a small ear with a red x over it on cotton swab packaging. I thought everyone knew that you're not supposed to put anything smaller than your elbow inside your ear. Admittedly, I didn't know that you could die from such a thing but I did know it could pierce your eardrum and I figure I'd go see the doctor if I did such a thing. Then there's the even more infuriating situation where cough and cold medicines for very young children were completely pulled from the shelves because people had been making mistakes and doing things like giving too much to their children or mixing more than one dose of differing cold medications together. Do we have to pull things away from people who are quite capable of reading instructions and administering medicine to their children safely because other people cannot? Where do we draw the line? No more toasters because people may stick forks in them to remove their toast, no more sharp knives for fear parents will give them to children as playthings? Warnings have to be uber-stupid sometimes because companies can and will be sued if something happens and they did not warn you (like that if you eat too much junk food, you could get fat or if you go to a haunted house you'll be scared). But when they take things away from people who use these things responsibly, what is next?

Anyone know where I can buy a phthalate-free, BPA-free gigantic protective plastic bubble my family and I can live in?

The Writers' Strike

2008-01-09T09:52:00.000-03:30

Okay, so I'm upset about the writers' strike, you know the Hollywood one? The one no one is talking about even though it means that we will be exposed to more shows like American Gladiator and Celebrity Rehab. I love TV so no new episodes of House M.D. or CSI irks me. This is especially so since Santa, battered by constant nagging and passive-aggressive comments, gave me a PVR for Christmas. A PVR! I can tape things while I am watching other recorded things, recording involves a process that my four-year-old can grasp, and I can pause live TV. But what is the point when all that is on the tube is garbage and repeats.

Of course, this is not all about me. The writers have the right to strike and they deserve a piece of the Internet pie they are looking for. All writers have to stand up and protect our right in the new digital age. But that doesn't make it any easier. And I'm confused about the side deals the Writers Guild of America is making. The union has made deals and have gone back to work at the David Letterman Show and just completed another side deal with Tom Cruise's production company. I find this odd because it means that certain companies or subsections of them can now make money without the whole strike being settled and certain union members can go back to work while the rest stay out on the lines. It's like if NAPE went on strike but certain hospitals and government departments made deals with their employees while the others had to stay on strike. Aren't unions about solidarity?

Then yesterday I hear what I feared most. The Golden Globes have been cancelled. I like awards shows but I love the Golden Globes. They are what all award shows should be. Celebs sit at tables and eat and, most importantly to the atmosphere of the ceremony, drink. They lubricate their voices and their demeanours so by the time they get up to accept their awards you don't know what will come out of their mouths. When Christine Lahti was in the bathroom while her name was called and Robin Williams filled the time as only he can until she came out, that was the Golden Globes. When Jack Nicholson bent over and talked out of his ass, that was the Golden Globes. They are fun and relaxed and the unboring alternative to award shows like The Academy Awards. But this year, because of the proposed picket line outside the awards, The Golden Globes will consist of a news conference where the winners are announced. This makes me sad. Not as sad as the people nominated for awards that won't get their thirty seconds in the sun, but sad nonetheless.

And speaking of sad, last night CBS aired The People Choice Awards. This is the worst award show anyway because winners are notified ahead of time so you can tell in the opening credits, when they announce who will be there, who has won and who has lost (the losers never go). But last night Queen Latifah "hosted". This meant her standing in a room that was empty except for her and some video screens where she announced winners and showed either taped acceptance speeches from them (such as Joaqin Phoenix) or showed old acceptance speeches from years gone by. I know this because, out of curiosity, I turned it on for a couple of minutes then chose watching my fingernails grow instead. I can only hope that the Golden Globes News Conference will not be quite as boring as that, although all hope is fading.

Anniversary

2007-11-16T16:16:00.000-03:30

My husband and I have been married five years today. Seems like a small number when you consider the fact that we have been together 26 years (yes, I was a mere fetus). On that first wedding night we went to a nice bed and breakfast with a jacuzzi in it and swore we would do it every year on our anniversary. Ha. On our first anniversary our son was eight days old. I was in the midst of postpartum depression. Hubby and I went out for a drive while I dreaded the thought of having to go back to the screaming baby at home. We went shopping for a breast pump. I remember the person who sold/rented them at Parkdale Pharmacy wasn't in yet and we had to kill twenty minutes. We walked around in the cold, rainy parking lot, holding hands while I tried not to cry and turned my mouth into a smile-like shape when I looked at my husband. I wanted him to think that I was okay. That I was still the sane person he had married the year before. I don't think it worked and I know for sure that the trying not to cry didn't work.

The next year we had a one year old and really had no one to look after him for a whole night so no B&B. The following year, on our anniversary, I found out I was pregnant. I slipped a homemade card announcing the news (the same one I'd used in telling him of our impending first child only with AGAIN on it) into his anniversary card. We went to supper and celebrated and were excited at the thought of another one. But that child was not meant to be and our anniversary last year only managed to remind me of the sadness of our loss and how happy we had mistakenly been the previous year. We took the boy out with us for a quiet supper last year and I vowed never to connect two things like that together again for fear one would always stand as a reminder of the other. And it does. No doubt about it. I'll never have another anniversary without remembering what we lost, without thinking about hubby and I at the Bagel Cafe, he drinking his beer, me happy that I was stuck with water, or the anniversary card with the insert inside.

This year we're pregnant again and past that scary first trimester. It makes the tinged day a little easier to know we have this baby on the way now. As for today, I mentioned to my son that Daddy and I might be going out for supper for our anniversary and maybe he could stay with one of his aunts while we did. He said "why can't we have our anniversary right here, all together". Hubby and I agreed with him and so it's takeout tonight. I figure one day we'll get back to that B&B and the jacuzzi though.

Four years ago

2007-11-08T15:07:00.000-03:30

Four years ago today everything changed. Oh, maybe not for you but it did for me. Four years ago my son made his grand entrance to the world. I had spent the previous months terrified that I couldn't do the huge job ahead. I, who had never changed a diaper, barely had held a baby, and didn't really like kids, figured that mothering was not going to be my best ability. And for the first few weeks I think I lived up to that self-fulfilling prophecy, looking at the infant who kept me awake at nights, never seemed to sleep, and cried most of the time, with something less than love. Mostly I looked at him with fear but eventually that changed and I fell head over heels for the boy. These past four years have been the best of my life, truly, and, as cliche as it sounds, I really can't remember life without him. What hubby and I did without his silliness making us laugh or his insight into something amazing us, I don't know. Before four years ago I just went to bed, I guess, never stopping to stand over a bed or a crib, whispering a prayer of gratitude for the occupant inside as I do now every night. Before four years ago, I slept more but the waking hours weren't nearly as fun or interesting (or stressful and frustrating at times). Four years ago I didn't know what a Backyardigan was and I couldn't tell you the name of Clifford the Big Red Dog's owner or how to make homemade plasticine or how to swaddle a baby with my eyes closed. I never thought I would enjoy a children's birthday party just because of how it makes my son happy to go to one or how rewarding and peaceful (and stressful and frustrating at times) breastfeeding could be.

And now I'm going to do it all again with child number two due in March. This time I go into it with much less apprehension and much more appreciation of the task at hand. I've heard people say that going from one child to two is the hardest but obviously they forgot about going from zero to one when your life was changed completely and things went from being about you to about someone else. When your sleeping was suddenly at the mercy of another person who didn't always cooperate. When you learned that a little toothless smile at 4:00 in the morning after you haven't slept all night can fill your eyes with joyful tears and can make you know that if you could just have that smile forever, Sunday morning lie-ins, and watching TV without any disturbances, and going out to supper all the time without crayon placemats at your table could be things you can do without. Just like I found out four years ago.

Get out and vote

2007-10-09T09:53:00.000-02:30

It's election day here in Newfoundland and Labrador. I've heard people say that they aren't going to bother to vote. If you tell me that you're not going to take the time to vote, expect a lecture. I'll tell you my old line--that people fought and died for our right to vote. Oh, I know the guy in the foxhole in WWII might not have been thinking of whether or not we could mark a X in 2007 but still.

It wasn't just back then either. People are fighting and dying now for the right that you may take for granted, the simple ability to be able to voice your opinion about who runs our government, or to have the right to voice any opinion at all. In Afghanistan our soldiers are dying so the Afghan people can have it. And what about Burma? People have been standing up and demonstrating, knowing that they may get beaten to death or mowed down in the street just for that right that you don't want to take the trouble to exercise because maybe you feel that all the politicians are the same or because you think your vote won't make much of a difference. They die or are beaten and/or jailed just for the hope that one day they could do what you don't want to bother doing.

It takes guts to do that, to stand firm in front of an army of soldiers who will kill you for expressing your opinions, to stand in front of a tank in Tienanmen Square just so you could one day have a voice about who is in power. It takes maybe a half an hour of your time to get out and vote. Now go do it.

End of lecture.

The Fall Season (or I watch way too much TV)

2007-10-02T09:36:00.000-02:30

I'm trying to be very picky with new shows on TV this year, especially with the hour long dramas since they take up the most time. So a show has to really grab me to get added to the list of things I already watch. The list, excluding new fall shows is:

Heroes
House
Survivor (on the bubble)
Ugly Betty
CSI
Grey's Anatomy
Desperate Housewives
Scrubs
The Simpsons
The Family Guy
Lost
Boston Legal
(I may have forgotten a couple of others too but this is most of them. Oh, and Coronation Street, of course)

New shows off the list:

Big Shots
This is supposed to be Desperate Housewives for men and I heard the actors say in the promos that it's for men who want to see themselves on screen, to see what it's really like to be a man. So to be a man you have to be a skank, a cheater, a devoted husband who feels that because he is married the good life is over or a less rich guy whose wife has an affair with his boss. Oh and you have to belong to a fancy country club too and sit around and talk about your feelings. I've never seen men talk like these but, then again, I'm not in with the country club crowd. See, here's the problem with a show that men can really see themselves in. Real men either don't want to watch it because they don't want to see shows where men talk about the feelings and their penises all the time (my God, was this written by a three-year-old who just discovered the word?) or, if they do relate and want to watch it, they're going to spend their time saying to their wives, "no, I don't think like that; no I love being married and I think it's fulfilling"; etc. Basically it just doesn't click and I'm not sure where the show's audience will be. It probably won't be men and I think it won't be women either so what's left? Oh, that's another word they liked to throw around a lot: "tranny". How many times was that in the episode? And if that's the audience you're going for, try the word "transgendered" because "tranny" is so not politically correct.

Journeyman
This one is not off the list entirely as in I won't watch it anymore, just not on the must-see list. I think you can skip some of the episodes and be fine. I love time travel stories but this one seems a bit moralistic. The only redeeming feature is the mystery of the dead girlfriend that seems to be guiding the Joruneyman through time. Other than that, not anything that really grabs me.

Moonlight
Not fair really to say it's not on the list because I didn't watch it. Just not interesting to me at all.

The Big Bang Theory
Again, didn't even bother to try.

Cane
I was going to watch it but when it premiered I decided not to bother. Maybe in reruns I'll get into it.

On the bubble (I am intrigued enough to give it another week or two but am not certain about them)

Private Practice
Things didn't look good for this one when a kind of prelude to it was shown on Grey's Anatomy last year. Addison was never my favourite character on Grey's but just when I started to like her, they whipped her off to LA to hang out with a bunch of doctors with issues. But I gave it a chance in premiere week, mostly because Amy Brennan who plays a psychiatrist with mega issues herself is on it. I love Brennan and wanted Judging Amy to stay on forever so when I saw her return to TV I was happy. The premiere gave some depth to some otherwise shallow characters (but there is plenty of shallow to go around) and one part had me bawling but that isn't saying much since I have been known to bawl at a Canadian Tire commercial. I will give it another try this week.

Bionic Woman
I don't know but it grabbed my interest. There were lots of questions left unanswered in the premiere. That and the reluctance of the bionic woman will bring me back another week. Oh, but I miss those tacky sound effects from the 70s version when the bionics kick in.

Chuck
This is a lot of show in an hour but, as much as I had looked forward to seeing it, I kind of meandered around the house and puttered on the computer while it was on so it didn't really hold my interest the way it should have.

Dirty Sexy Money
I didn't have much interest in this one but it pulled me in. Peter Krause is, well, the wonderful Peter Krause. He can make funeral homes interesting, surely he can do the same with dirty, sexy money. The characters are quite cliche but done right, with the just enough tongue in cheek, I can like that. One exception is Tripp Darling, played by Donald Sutherland. He is brilliant and understated and so not like I expected the patriarch to be. Plus he is Donald Sutherland so that's a good thing.

Back to You
I thought I would like this too. How could it miss with Patricia Heaton and Kelsey Grammer? I don't think it has missed but it's not Grammer or Heaton drawing me in. Nope, it's the secondary players in the cast. It's the sexy weatherwoman trading barbs with the poor put-upon field reporter and sportscaster. I find myself wanting to get away from the stars and back to the other cast members. That can't be good. It reminds me of WKRP, in a way. Andy Travis wasn't what I watched for. It was Les Nessman and Johnny Fever.

Still up to try:

Cavemen
Doubt I'll even try.

Carpoolers
Ditto

Pushing Daisies
Looks interesting. I think I'll give it a shot.

New shows for sure on the list

Oh my, that doesn't bode well, does it? But think of the writing I will get done (or, realistically, the Scrabulous I will play on facebook).

Getting Screwgled

2007-09-28T13:44:00.000-02:30

So Google, which I looovvve as a search engine, has gone one step further in its Google Maps and now has Google Street View. A company called Immersive Media uses "a patented 11 lens camera system that simultaneously takes photos in 11 directions based on a dodecahedron geometry" so now you can see pictures of people or billboards or traffic or whatever at the street level. And boy can you see things. Of course three things happen when a new technology manages to catch people in everything from scratching their butts to scooping dog poop to committing crimes. First, bored people spend way too much time trying to find weird things in Street View. Second, people develop websites to tell the rest of us about what those bored people have found. Examples are The Google Street View Gallery and Streetviewr.com. And third, new words must be developed from this technology. Hence the new word screwgled, a term referring to what happens to the poor people who get caught doing something embarrassing or even illegal on Google Street View.

And what of we Canadians? Will we see our own faces on a close-up level? Well, not really. Seems Canada has these pesky laws about privacy so, although Immersive Media is snapping pics in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec City for Google Street View, if the images ever go out there, Google is agreeing to respect Canada's privacy laws and blur out faces and license plate numbers. More boring though the Canadian version will be, much less likely to get screwgled here.

A.C. Hunter Library Reading

2007-09-19T11:43:00.000-02:30

I will be the featured reader at the A.C. Hunter Library's Monthly Reading Series on Wednesday, September 19th at 7:00 p.m. (that's tonight). I will read from my first novel, this much is true, and from my novel in progress, A Few Kinds of Wrong. This is a series of monthly readings held at the library at the Arts and Culture Centre, St. John's. Hope to see you there.

The Emmys in the Round

2007-09-17T12:31:00.000-02:30

Well, there is no doubt that watching the Emmys last night could have been worse. I could have been in the audience and been one of the ones seated behind the stage, forced to watch all the boring stuff AND people's asses and the backs of their heads. Really, who came up with this award show in the round idea. The cameras and microphones were one way so half the audience only got to see the back end of what was going on.

I was disappointed in the Emmys last night. Mostly I think the hosting was the pits. I never have seen what the big deal is with Ryan Seacrest and why he's suddenly hosting everything from American Idol to the New Years Eve countdown to radio shows to guest-hosting Larry King Live and now the Emmys. Award shows needs someone with a sense of humour and spontaneity, not a talking head that read off the prompter and whose idea of a humourous segment is him showing up in a historical costume. Ellen Degeneres spent all of two minutes presenting a ridiculous montage of one-liners from the late shows with a tribute to the late Tom Snyder tacked on but all it did was make me realize that she was more entertaining in those two minutes than Seacrest was all night. Barring Ellen as host, I don't think the Emmys would have done to bad to have Elaine Stritch do the job. She definitely was one of the night's highlights when she said, while having trouble reading the teleprompter, "I'm not faking this, I really don't know what the hell I'm doing." I'm pretty sure there was a loud, collective "awww" from the audience when she left the stage. Other highlights included Lewis Black's spot-on rant about television programming (odd though it may have been in a night meant to celebrate the medium), The Roots Tribute, and Jon Stewart giving his friend Steve Carell the award for Best Actor in a Comedy Series when the real winner, Ricky Gervais, wasn't there to accept it (Carell was nominated in the same category).

Fox really went overboard promoting their own shows with an opening song and dance number from The Family Guy which was funny but just didn't seem right there. I LOVE The Family Guy but not necessarily as an opening number. But at least it was entertaining. The same cannot be said for the ridiculous segment where Wayne Brady plugged his new show on Fox, Don't Forget the Lyrics, while having a Kanye West lyric contest with Kanye himself and The Office's Rainn Wilson. What a waste of time.

As for the awards themselves, there were a few surprises. A lot of people seem upset at the James Spader win for Best Actor in a Dramatic Series against James Gandolfini and Hugh Laurie, among others. Well (please don't hurt me for saying this Trudy), I think James Spader is brilliant in Boston Legal and although I would have been very happy with a Hugh Laurie win, I was also pleased with a Spader win. I was very happy for Tina Fey when 30 Rock won for best comedy. I had other favourites there I wanted to win but you have to appreciate it when an underdog gets a nod like that and Fey's thanking the "dozens of viewers" of the show was fun.

I cannot end this post without mentioning the silly bleeping methods of Fox. When something "offensive" was uttered, they did not bleep, they inserted a shot of a big disco ball and complete silence that seemed to go on forever, leaving me to wonder if there had been some major technical difficulty the first couple of times it happened. Where, oh where, was the disco ball when Ryan was standing there in that absurd costume?

We now resume our regularly scheduled blog, already in progess

2007-09-11T12:04:00.000-02:30

Okay, so the nagging comments about my lack of blogging updates are starting to get ugly so I am giving in. This first post back after a while away is always easier to put off since it seems a looming, large task just to catch up. I could flippantly say "I was busy" and that would be true--out of town, working on a huge freelance project, enjoying the dwindling days of summer with family--but I won't just say that. I'll catch you up on a few things instead (but reserve the right to save some stuff for later on). Just random thoughts as they come out of my brain. So, let's begin:

The Winterset in Summer Literary Festival was a blast. I enjoyed the panels and managed to get through my own without a nervous breakdown. I was terribly nervous up until our panel but got a crazy sense of calm right before going on stage. I think this was, in part, due to Christine's relaxation exercises and visualization exercises and to the announcement, while we were being introduced, of the New Voices fund and the generous cheque which would be coming the way of each of the writers on the New Voices panel (me, Michelle Butler Hallett and Shannon Patrick Sullivan). Being told you will get an unexpected cheque right before going on stage is a great antidote to stage-fright and I highly recommended it. Once I got onstage I was okay. Everyone said that I didn't seem nervous. I must have done alright because [WARNING: shameless self-promotion alert] Ashley Vardy said in the Gander Beacon that I "kept listeners in stitches" as I "told the hilarious yet heartbreakingly realistic story of a young Newfoundland girl living in Toronto in This Much is True". She went on to call the three of us on the New Voices panel "festival favourites" [End of alert]. So Ashley Vardy, if you ever read this blog, thank you so much for your kind words. Other highlights for me included meeting Michael Enright; the fabulous and tension-filled Winterset Panel; the BBQ at Jennifer's cabin; Helen Fogwill Porter's launch of her book Finishing School which was combined with a tribute the to Newfoundland Writers' Guild; and the writers and publisher breakfast where I sat and ate and chatted with my fellow panelists Michelle and Shannon along with Russell Wangersky and Joan Clark.

The boy stayed with Mom and Dad for the Winterset weekend and after it was all over my friend Kathy and I went to Gander to pick up him up. It was his first time going to his grandparents on his own and he had a great time while I didn't have to give a second thought about how he was and hubby got the new roof on our house (along with Jason, Mike and Steve).

The boy started preschool yesterday. I've been a stay-at-home-Mom since he was born so I think he needs to practice being without me in a structured environment for a bit and two mornings a week should fit the bill. It will be good for me too to have time without him although you couldn't have persuaded me of that yesterday morning when I was having a bit of an emotional breakdown in the car after dropping him off. The boy loved it at preschool but the delighted look on his face when he saw me when I picked him up told me he's still very much my little boy. Wait until Kindergarten next year, I'll be basket case.

Two wonderful people received writing awards recently and I want to shout out a big congratulations to them. Scott Bartlett, a brilliant new writer and a sweet guy, won the The H.R. (Bill) Percy Prize for unpublished novel. Congratulations Scott. You deserve it. And my dear friend and Strident Women creator Trudy Morgan-Cole won third prize in The Antigonish Review’s Sheldon Currie Fiction Contest. Way to go, Trudy! (And happy birthday today!)

I saw the Simpsons Movie last week. It was hilarious and had me laughing from the very beginning to the very end (and I stayed for every one of those credits to make sure I didn't miss a thing). I will definitely be buying the movie when it comes out in DVD. I can't get Spiderpig out of my head! Why oh why isn't it a single on the radio?

I watched a couple of things on TV Sunday night that I want to mention. One was the new Shaye reality show which I really enjoyed. It all looks so glamorous when you see Kim Stockwood, Damhnait Doyle and Tara MacLean on stage but it really looks like a lot of hard work behind the scenes. They're regular people slogging away at it all. They just sound and look fantastic while they're doing it. On the other hand, the other thing from Sunday night was not so enjoyable. I couldn't help it. I was curious. So I turned on the first part of the MTV VMA Awards to see Britney Spears "perform". I use quotes because I think to say someone performed would mean that she would have had to dance or sing and she really did neither. She lip-synced (at least until she gave up and even stopped pretending she was singing) and sauntered around the stage looking uncomfortable. More like the first rehearsal of Dancing with the Stars than anything you'd expect at a music video awards show. You could almost hear her thinking "okay, twirl now then grind, now move your feet this way, shoot, I forgot to move my lips again." I'm sorry for being hard on her. She obviously has huge issues and I hope she gets help. She really needs some people around her who will tell her when something is not a good idea. And Sunday night at the VMAs was not a good idea.

So, that's a little taste of what I've been up to and some thoughts I've had on stuff. Tune back in. More to come.

Getting ready for the Winterset Festival

2007-08-08T16:54:00.000-02:30

So this upcoming weekend is the Winterset in Summer Literary Festival in beautiful Eastport. I will be on the New Voices panel, a group of three writers who recently had their first books published. Our panel will be hosted by Noreen Golfman. I will be there with Michelle Butler Hallett and Shannon Patrick Sullivan (I need to add another name to mine or I'll be left out). I know them both so that will make it easier. I've discussed my nervousness about public speaking here before so it will come as no surprise that the idea of reading and answering questions on a stage in front of a theatre of people has caused me quite a bit of anxiety. "You should be used to it by now", I am told. Nope. The funny thing is that I'm not nervous about answering the questions. It's the reading that gets me. And I'm only reading from a book, not like I'm reinventing the wheel here or anything. It should be easy. And it usually is once I get going. It's the anticipation about the event that is worse. I wind myself with negative thoughts and end up getting all nervous. If I change my attitude I will be fine.

My friend Christine has helped me a lot with this anxiety. She taught me some relaxation techniques, gave me a positive scenario to meditate on, and an affirmation to repeat to myself. This has helped quite a lot. It is difficult to practice these techniques around here though. I had myself wound up in another tizzy of anxiety a couple of mornings ago so I decided to do the relaxation exercises. I went in on my bed, lay down and started to do my deep breathing. Before I got through deep breath number one, one dog (mine) was licking my left hand and the other dog (my SIL's--we are dog sitting) was licking my right. So I put them out and shut the door. Then my SIL's dog started whining to get in. So I opened the door, lay down and put my hands behind my head. Then I felt my dog lie across my face. He is very sensitive to anything being wrong with someone and appeared concerned about my deep breathing (so he decided to smother me). I spent most of the exercise laughing at how impossible it is to do any kind of relaxation at my house but I did complete it and felt relaxed after, either from the relaxation exercise or the laughter.

I really am looking forward to this weekend. It is a great festival in a beautiful place full of friendly people interested in writing and reading. That doesn't mean that I won't be a relieved and happy camper when our panel is over on Saturday afternoon. If you're around the area please take in as much of the festival as you can. And don't forget to say hi.

Pictures of the flooding

2007-08-01T16:56:00.000-02:30

If you want to see some pictures of the terrible flooding in Dunville, check out these incredible pictures provided by Wayne R Walsh. I hope everyone in all the affected areas can get cleared up and their lives back to normal as quickly as possible.

All Things Harry Potter

2007-07-20T12:04:00.000-02:30

I am almost finished rereading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince in anticipation of the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows at midnight tonight (although I won't be getting it until tomorrow). I also recently saw the movie The Order of the Phoenix. I thought it was okay but there were things I didn't like about it. A lot was cut from the book, not necessarily a bad thing as the book was quite long with a lot of things I could have missed. But this felt like a CliffsNotes version of the book with all the important stuff touched on but not really delved into. There were some great new characters but there wasn't enough of the supporting cast for my liking (oh, how I wanted more Tonks). The movie is called the Order of the Phoenix but we saw precious little of the Order themselves.

I loved Imelda Staunton as Dolores Umbridge. She played this wonderfully awful character so perfectly. The way she dressed, her hair, her speech, the way she sipped her tea, those mewing cats on her office walls, all were brilliant. I've been a fan of Staunton for years. You may remember her from the movie Vera Drake or maybe from the series Little Britain but I remember her most from a British series I really enjoyed called "Is It Legal?" where she played Stella Phelps. I found it a bit hard to see Staunton as Umbridge first because I kept seeing her as Stella, but that went away and I soon came to dislike her as much as one should dislike the horrid Delores Umbridge. I also thought Luna Lovegood was well cast and well played by Evanna Lynch.

There were some slow parts in the movie and I felt it depended a lot on headlines from the Daily Prophet to explain things that they didn't have room for. This is the shortest HP movie but made from the longest book. The climactic scene was very good, if a little hard to follow at times with all the swirling going on. I'm glad I saw it but I'll say this. I have rented every other HP movie to watch again after I saw them in the theatre. I don't have any intention to do that with this one, at least not right now.

So, I'm all geared up for the final installment of Harry Potter, but I feel I must hide away from the world until I read it to the end. See, there are unscruplous people out there who put things in online forums like the name of some important character that has died (in the subject line, no less, so you just can't avoid it), even wear t-shirts with the important information on it: "Insert character name here dies". And the news will be filled with reports of reactions from readers. Someone on facebook will undoubtedly have their feelings about the book in their status section so I am staying away from the news and the Internet for the next little bit. I'll come back when I've finished reading. But don't worry, I won't tell you a thing. Well maybe I'll tell you if I liked it or not, but I've liked every HP book so I'm pretty sure that's a given.

Poe and Lovecraft at the Newman Wine Vaults

2007-07-13T09:49:00.000-02:30

A few years ago hubby and I went out on Halloween to see "The Cask of Amontillado" at the Newman Wine Vaults. I was just reading the wonderful WANL Weekly email newsletter (it's worth the price of your membership fee just to get this in your inbox every week), and saw that “The Cask of Amontillado” is going to be at the Newman Wine Vaults again throughout much of the summer. I can't recomend it enough. The place is the perfect setting and I remember the audible gasp and then complete silence at the end of the performance when we saw it. “The Cask of Amontillado” is, of course, Edgar Allan Poe’s story, "set in 19th century Italy; Montressor feels he has been insulted by his friend Fortunato and, during the madness of Carnival season, decides to take his revenge." Adapted by and directed by Dale Jarvis, it features Peter Ayers as Montressor and Chris Hibbs as Fortunato.

And as if that wasn't enough, this is a double performance with Dave Walsh performing “The Rats in the Walls" (by H.P. Lovecraft, I believe). "Tormented by the sounds of rats scurrying behind the walls of his ancestral estate of Exham Priory, the owner investigates and discovers a horrible secret deep in the crypt under the ancient castle." Isn't the Newman Wine Vaults the perfect place for such a performance? I can't wait to see this one and to take in “The Cask of Amontillado” again. They run every Sunday and Monday night at 8:30pm until August 20. Admission is $10 at the door. Arrive early, limited seating.

And while I'm on Poe and the Newman Wine Vaults, "Nevermore: The Life and Stories of Edgar Allan Poe" with storyteller Terry Rollins of North Carolina, will be performed by candlelight in the Newman Wine Vaults. This one is hosted by Dale Jarvis as well. "Since 1991, Terry has perpetuated his Southern family’s tradition of storytelling, performing from the Southern states to the Great Lakes to Ontario and Atlantic Canada. For the past two years, he’s spent part of the summer in Newfoundland." He will perform some of Poe's stories and recite tales from the life of Edgar Allan Poe. One night only! July 20. Show starts at 8pm; door opens at 7:30pm. As always, the seating is limited so better get your tickets early. They're $10. Advance tickets are available at Britannia Teas and Gifts, 199 Water Street, St. John’s, (709) 579-9288.

Serena Ryder

2007-07-06T10:55:00.000-02:30

I don't review too much here. I have many reasons for that but I'll keep them to myself. I have on a couple of occasions, mentioned certain music I love and oh do I love music. I have told you how much I enjoyed Leanne Kean, mentioned my love of Oddly Enough, and for the song "I Wish I was a Punk Rocker" by Sandi Thom. Now, I need to talk about Serena Ryder because I love her music and her voice. What fantastic power and tone she has. She combines pop, blues, and folk music and blows me away. Critics compare her to Janis Joplin and Aretha Franklin. Big shoes but, in my opinion, she's slipping into them like a comfy pair of slippers. You can find out much more about her here and here and you have probably heard her singles "Good Morning Starshine" and "Weak in the Knees". "Weak in the Knees" makes me feel exactly that. Just go out and get her album If Your Memory Serves you Well or her newly released EP Told You in a Whispered Song. If Your Memory Serves You Well is made up mostly of her doing covers of Canadian songs along with some of her own stuff as well. It's a treasure chest of music. If you don't know her, trust me you will. She's going to be huge.

Back to blogging

2007-07-04T10:29:00.000-02:30

Well, who would know that a brief break away from my blog would cause me to hear complaints from people via email, telephone, and even my mother with her pronouncement on the back steps of their house this weekend: "you have not updated your blog since Wednesday, June 13, 2007". It's not like nothing's been happening. It has. I've been living life so much there's no time to blog about it. Of course, there's always time but blogging, like so many things in life, is easier to do the more you do it, and easier not to do the longer you're away from it. And it's not like I haven't had stuff to rant about. I mean there's Paris getting out of jail and her sudden finding of God in there, there's the fact that Michael Moore got bumped from Larry King Live so they could have the first post-jail Paris interview., there's Bush's commutation of Scooter Libby's sentence for perjury and much, much more. As for what I've been up to , nothing as exciting as being in jail but I have been busy. My Mom and Dad and Aunt Jackie were here for a few days, I was in Eastport for the Writers Guild writers retreat, and then last weekend we went home for the weekend.

Eastport was wonderful. It is such a relaxing place and we had a lovely house rented there. By "we" I mean five of the six of the Strident Women. We loaded up a van and all five of us drove out there together, stayed together all weekend (from Friday noontime to Monday evening when we got back). We talked about everything-- including stuff like religion, sexuality, gender-issues, abortion, politics--we played Trivial Pursuit, stayed up until at least 2:30 every night and got up again pretty early each morning, wrote, walked, read, laughed--oh my did we laugh, forced each other to listen to the music we loved and felt everyone else should love too, went to the pot luck and evening workshops of the Guild, ate, drank, and slept. We didn't argue about one thing. Even who got what room was a shrug and "okay" kind of thing where no one cared as long as they were there at Eastport. I still think that the fact that I got out of Lori's van on Monday evening, still as interested in being in the presence of these women as I was when we left on Friday, is quite an extraordinary thing. Any close quarters with people for such a period of time would usually cause some animosity, someone is anal about something or wants to be in control of the group or is horrified about someone's opinion about those controversial issues we discussed, or someone has an annoying habit that drives you nuts. But that didn't happen and we still all got along fine. I don't think I could be with my husband and son that long with no TV and not be annoyed with them for something. It was odd how we could all get up, arrange some kind of breakfast, gab for a while and then just, as a group but completely separate, sit down and write. Everyone quiet and then, after a time, we'd all gather together again and gab a while more and maybe go to Tellum & Things Café for a coffee, and then all just quiet down again and write. Someone would go for a walk or I would listen to my MP3 player but it was all so seamless. Never a hiccup (unless I caused the hiccup and didn't know it). I think it was, in part, the writing. The fact that you could say, while everyone else was waiting to go somewhere, "I just need to finish this section" and it was accepted. If you were staring off in space, it was understood that you were mulling a story or character or maybe just off somewhere else in your head and that was fine. No explanation was even necessary. Plus, the ladies are an accepting, understanding, open-minded bunch with nary a control freak amongst us, at least not that weekend. So I hope to do this again with these ladies. I look forward to it.

The next time I go to Eastport will be a more stressful time, I know. I'll be on the New Voices panel at the Winterset in Summer Literary Festival and will be frightened to death, at least until my panel is over. Then I can relax. But I still look forward to going. Besides the huge honour of being part of the festival, I get to go to Eastport again, a truly beautiful and relaxing spot I could totally see myself living much of the year.

And this past weekend we went out home, also a truly beautiful and relaxing spot. We had a gorgeous day at the cabin down on White Point on Saturday afternoon and the skies lit up with lightning that night for a little pre-Canada Day fireworks. As usual, Mom and Dad let Vince and I sleep in and they looked after Sam. He has such fun out there.

And then last night we went out to supper to celebrate my sister-in-law's birthday (Happy Birthday, Janice). Lot of stuff in between these main events, of course, but I think you're caught up on the big stuff now, at least the stuff I'm willing to share. I'll resume regular blogging soon enough. But it is summer and one has to enjoy summer, even if the weather makes it feel more like fall.

The use of seat belts

2007-06-13T10:48:00.000-02:30

The use of seat belts has been in the news lately. Apparently, people in this province have slacked off on using them. I am pretty passionate about this subject. It seems like such a simple thing to do and such a waste when people die because they didn't wear one. I know people have their reasons. The belts chafe their necks, they're too restrictive and, the number one reason I hear for not wearing seat belts: that a person could get trapped inside a burning vehicle or a vehicle submerged in water. Now, let's just consider the odds of that shall we? I'm no statistician but I'm pretty sure you're a lot more likely to be saved by a seat belt in a collision or rollover accident than you are to be trapped in a burning or submerged car. And, even if you are trapped in a car, at least you have a chance someone can cut you out. No such chance when your skull has exploded against a tree or the vehicle you were riding in has landed on top of you after you've been ejected. And if you really think that this is a high probability, you can buy seat belt cutters to attach to your dash.

I have two main reasons I believe in the use of seat belts. The first is because my life was saved when I used mine. It was a few years back. The accident involved a moose and the truck I was in ended up flying through the air for a bit. I was slightly injured in the accident. The cause of my injuries, badly bruised ribs and a cut on my neck, was my seat belt. But when a seat belt causes your injuries, it's because it stopped you while you were moving forward with such force that bringing up on the seat belt damaged your body. And if the seat belt didn't stop me from moving forward with such force, the police didn't think the windshield would have either. They told me that I would have died without the seat belt, not "probably" or "most likely" but "would have", and I believed them. I don't go two feet without wearing my seat belt now. When I ride on the passenger side, where I was that night, I often feel like the seat belt is lying right where my neck was cut and I try to find ways for it not to touch the skin on my neck (by putting it under my collar or by using one of those seat belt pads), but I would never think of not wearing the seat belt.

The other main reason I believe in seat belts comes from a story I saw on the news years ago. A state trooper who worked on a very busy highway and had been at the scene of hundreds of accidents was being interviewed about seat belt use. It was on in the background while I was doing something else but what he said stopped me cold. His simple words were as profound as anything I'd ever heard: "I've never unbuckled a dead man". According to the Internet, this phrase seems to be a fairly common thing for cops to say. But there's a reason for that.

My three-year-old, while playing the other day, heard a news report that said someone had not been wearing a seat belt. "Mommy, why would someone not wear a seat belt?" he asked me. "I don't know," I answered. "That's silly," he said. I couldn't have said it better.

Hollywood and DUI

2007-06-07T15:52:00.000-02:30

Okay, I've stayed away from the Paris Hilton Jail Thing but now that a mystery "medical condition" (her hair extensions not holding up so well?) has permitted her to change from jail to house arrest, I am, to put it simply, pissed. It's not just that she got off lightly, even more lightly than she had already gotten off, but that she got off lightly for a very serious offence. One that is beginning to seem banal. I used to be surprised when someone in Hollywood got a DUI because it seemed like something horrible, something that would damage a person's reputation. It was always sad because a DUI is often a signal of a serious problem with alcohol, but it was also jolting. I'm not sure when it stopped being something terrible but I know that when Mel Gibson got arrested for DUI last year, the big brouhaha was not about the drunk driving but the anti-Semitic things he said while drunk. The DUI was a side note, a footmark in the history of Mel Gibson. The year before that two actresses from the television show Lost who were both arrested for DUI, had their characters killed off soon after and I thought bravo, someone is taking this seriously (or maybe it was merely a plot point, but I was still hopeful).

Now, getting a DUI is more like keeping up with the Jones's. There's even a website to keep track of celebrity DUIs. Haley Joel Osment got one. Paris got a DUI so her buddy Nicole Ritchie did the same and Lindsay Lohan couldn't continue her downward spiral without adding one too. And the hoopla is not about that. Oh, everyone on TV has an opinion and the photogs love the pics of the celebs passed out or falling over drunk, never mind the media's glee over a new mugshot made public, but no one is saying anything about the DUIs. No one is saying that these people could have killed someone while driving drunk. And it's not like that idea is not dramatic enough. The headlines LINDSAY LOHAN DRIVES DEATH MACHINE or PARIS LUCKY NOT TO BE A KILLER have bite, don't they?

I know, I know, silly me for thinking the media cares enough to do something responsible like that. Why expect so much from the same group that brought us nightly pictures and discussions about Britney's underwear status? But it's not that hard to make this a big deal again, to make driving while impaired something bad and embarrassing. Young kids who admire these celebrities and keep track of their every move are in danger of growing up with the attitude that it's okay. You can switch jail for house arrest if things get tough.

The truth is that, from my experience working in addictions, you don't even have to worry about house arrest around here. Chances are the penitentiary is too crowded for anyone serving for DUI and you'll likely be told to go home when you show up to serve your weekend sentence. I remember one guy who complained that he was inconvenienced by having to physically go to the jail before he was told to go back home and wondered why he couldn't just call in and see if he had to serve his time or not. So, jail doesn't seem to be a big deterrent. The fear of killing someone doesn't seem to be deterrent enough. All we had was shame and we seem to be losing that. I wonder, and fear, what it will take to get that back again and which celebrity will be the one to do it.

French Immersion Recap

2007-05-30T13:49:00.000-02:30

Oh yeah, that was me lined up outside my son's school last week at ten after seven, so I could sign him up for French Immersion. It was snowing for God's sake. But I did it and I'm glad I did. As you may recall, I was on the fence about the thing (leaning heavily toward no to FI) and asked for help. And people offered their opinions for which I am thankful. The comments really just kept me on the fence, leaning this way or that depending on what the most recent commenter had said. But then I went to the information session the school board provides for parents considering FI. When my husband and I returned from the session, we picked up Sam from MJ's and she was shocked at how sure I was about signing Sam up for FI after being fairly firmly against it when I left for the session.

The speaker at the information session addressed my concerns and, based on the parents I met in line at the school the morning we registered, she did it for others too. It was still hard to look at factors like "cognitive development" in order to tell if my child was ready for FI, when, as I pointed out to the FI presenter, he is three. But this is the time we have to register him so we had to decide. It helped to know that the FI program was developed by anglophone parents in Quebec who wanted a way for their children to learn French. I can really see how it works because my son has been immersed in English and is learning without me stopping to explain every word to him. He just listens and figures out what it all means and then, say when his aunt is babysitting and can't figure out the DVD player, he can say "Aunt Kem, I don't really think you know much about this, do you?" And that, apparently, is how FI works. You just listen and see and learn and before you know it you're saying something insensitive to your aunt in another language.

I am confident that he will be fine with FI and I know things I should not do now, such as compare him to other kids not in FI (I shouldn't be comparing him to other kids, period--everyone is different and I hope no one is comparing me to others my age). Having said all that, if I see him uncomfortable with it in Kinderstart, I am more than willing to let someone else have his spot in the French Immersion stream. It's about him, after all.

The Newfoundland Herald

2007-05-30T13:44:00.000-02:30

Warning, shameless self-promotion (SSP) alert:

In case you're interested, Valerie Kent was kind enough to interview me about my Arts and Letters win and you can read about it in this week's Newfoundland Herald (the Summer Fun issue). I was taken off guard by Valerie's phone call interview because I had been told not to tell anyone except family about my win. Then, days before the announcement, Valerie calls and says she wants to talk to me about it for the Herald. I didn't think I made any sense at all in the interview but she put it together so well you couldn't tell. Thanks, Valerie.

2007 Arts and Letters Awards recap and more

2007-05-28T11:00:00.000-02:30

Phew. What a busy time it has been but now it is time to catch up and let you know some things that have been going on with me. I've been kind of saving things up.

Let's start on the writing front. This weekend I had the great honour to receive a 2007 Provincial Arts and Letters Award for Short Fiction. This was for my short story "Divided by Three" (thank you, Lori, for the perfect title). The event was held at The Rooms and 70 artists, in both junior and senior divisions, received awards in various categories. Minister Tom Hedderson was there and presented the awards in the senior division. The ceremony was wonderful with readings and musical performances. It was my first time in The Rooms and I loved it. What a gorgeous place.

My parents drove all the way in from Aspen Cove on Saturday so they could attend the A&L Awards ceremony and went home again yesterday (not even 24 hours). They had major car issues last week and the fates seemed to be conspiring to prevent them from getting here. By Friday, we had given up on having them at the awards. However, my brother and sister-in-law stepped in and insisted my parents take their car (thanks Derrick and Tammy). Mom and Dad loved the whole event, despite the trouble getting there, and I was delighted they were there, along with my wonderful husband Vince. It was a very memorable evening and, as always, our pathetic camera means that we have no decent (or even half-decent) pictures. But that's cool because I have the award (oh, and the thousand dollar cheque--maybe I should get a camera).

The Arts and Letter Awards are important because they encourage so many young artists with the junior division awards. Of course, they encourage the senior ones too but I couldn't help paying special attention to the younger award winners on Saturday night, knowing that they have such promising futures and thinking how exciting it must be to have their talents recognized at such a young age. The awards are blind judged so no one who is judging knows who has written the poem or painted the picture, or composed the music. It is based purely on merit. Also, even if you don't win, if you request it you will get an adjudication back which provides valuable (blind) feedback on your work. And there is no entry fee. It is truly a terrific thing for anyone who is interested in submitting his/her writing, visual art, or music.

Also, this month the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council were kind enough to give me a grant to continue working on my current novel, A Few Kinds of Wrong (or,as my friend Natalie calls it, AFKOW). This is the second grant I received for AFKOW and I am so grateful to the NLAC for their support of this project.

And, as long as I'm on the subject, I'll tell you about something you'll be hearing much more about later this summer and that is that I have been invited to be on the New Voices panel at the Winterset in Summer Literary Festival in Eastport. I am a big fan of the festival so it is a huge honour to be part of it.

I celebrated my birthday on Friday and, although I was disappointed that Mom and Dad were not here because of that cursed car trouble, it was a great one. My friends, the Strident Women, had a virtual birthday party for me on Facebook and I went out to supper with hubby (thanks to MJ for babysitting). Hubby gave me a great mp3 player that I had researched and asked for. No, it is not an iPod; it is better and I'll tell you all about that at a later date.

After the awards ceremony Saturday night, my sisters-in-law were here (thanks to Sam's Aunt Kem for babysitting while we went to the awards) celebrating with me until the wee hours. My son, who has a hangover detector, decided to get up the next morning, extra-early and extra-loudly. Not good. Then later in the day, to celebrate the great month I have been having, along with my birthday, the Strident Women went out to a long brunch. Lori gave us all Strident Women t-shirts which was a huge surprise and so much fun.

Now though, it is back to reality and back to dealing with my ever-increasing to-do list. Much going on, much to be thankful for, and still much to do. No rest for the wicked.

Rabbittown Theatre needs your help

2007-05-26T14:48:00.000-02:30

Over the past three years the Rabbitown Theatre has become a major part of the arts community. They have hosted fantastic events from both established and emerging artists. But running the theatre costs money and Aiden Flynn and his group of partners need your help with it. Although the theatre company has received some project funding, the building does not receive any operational support. This past week, the city issued a letter threatening to shut off their water due to back taxes owed. This at a time when the busy season is just starting.

Aiden says:
We are currently in arrears to the City of St. John’s for approximately $5500 and are scheduled to have our water services cut off in the next three weeks. Our current financial condition and ongoing maintenance costs will make it to impossible to meet this deadline without some quick help.

Today staff are at the Rabbittown Theatre to accept donations (suggesting $10). If you cannot make it today and would like to support this important part of our community, please send a donation along to:

The Rabbittown Theatre
106 Freshwater Rd.
St. John’s, NL
A1C 2N8

I can't make it there today but Aiden, the cheque is in the mail.

Book signing today

2007-05-24T10:39:00.000-02:30

Crazy busy lately with no time to post. Will try to catch up soon. Just dropping in to say that I will be signing copies of this much is true at Mile One Stadium today from 2:30 to 3:30pm as part of the CLA/APLA/NLLA National Conference and Trade Show.

Alphasmart Neo batteries replaced

2007-05-18T13:19:00.000-02:30

I've told you before about my love of the Neo. My friend Trudy tried it out and she has a major crush *. Well, I just replaced the 3 AA batteries in it. The first batteries I had to put in it since I bought it in January, 2006! Now, I don't use it every day but I sure put it through its paces.

So bravo to the Neo. You've made me love you even more.

*(I had to take this post from Trudy's old blog because I couldn't find a direct link to it on Trudy's new one.)

Late Mother's Day post

2007-05-14T13:00:00.000-02:30

The thing about Mother's Day is that you're so busy enjoying getting spoiled that you don't get a chance for blogging and stuff. So here is my late Mother's Day post. Really, really late, in fact, since I wrote this as a column for the Independent last year but they went a different way and it never ended up being published. Keep in mind that it was written last year when he was still in a crib and now he's in a bed so mornings start differently now. But last year, for Mother's Day, I was thinking something like this:

My Day

Today is Mother’s Day so it is my day. Up until a couple of years ago, it was my mom’s day. It still is, of course. I still send a card and call her and am more appreciative than ever of her since I know what she had to put up with (although she had two children to my one, so I probably still don’t quite grasp what her reality was). But, today is my day and I get to have breakfast in bed. This is to make up for being a mom the rest of the year. For doing what is frequently called the “toughest job in the world”: being a parent (I am pretty sure there are some soldiers serving over in Iraq and Afghanistan who might argue with that one).

But here’s the truth. Here’s my little secret. I love this job and every day feels like my day. I love being with my son: the way he smiles, the opportunity to watch him become a little person, the ability to see him soak up new ideas, words and experiences like a sponge. I love how much he lights up my life. He is everything I ever wanted and didn’t know I did. Every day since my son was born has been made better because he is in my life. Well, okay, not every day. Those first few weeks of colic, postpartum depression, uncooperative breasts, and sleepless nights were rough but from then on, I’ve really enjoyed motherhood.

Every night I stand over my son’s crib and watch him sleep. It’s a Zen-like activity. His quiet breathing and peaceful slumber put me at ease. Watching him lying there so silently makes me happy to be his mom. I am thankful every single day.

Alright, not every single day, but I always enjoy him at night when he’s asleep. Most days, the vast majority, in fact, he is a joy. Most days he smiles a lot, loves being tickled, tells me about dinosaurs he has dreamt about, says things to surprise and amaze me, and generally makes being around him a wonderful experience.

Then there are the other days, the ones that make me believe that the movie Invasion of the Body Snatchers is based on a true story. Those days usually start right away, as soon as the first flutters of his eyelashes signal his awakening. On those mornings, I hear a wail coming from his room, possibly accompanied with “Mommy, I want to get up now”, screamed at a decibel level I fear could cause permanent hearing damage to both of us. It is like an “uh oh” alarm, to let me know how bad my day is going to be.

From this point on during “special days”, everything I do or say will cause him to cry and say “no” loudly and fold his arms across his chest in a classic move of stubbornness (I can’t imagine where he’s gotten that from).

A typical conversation on “special days” goes:

Me: “Would you like some cereal for breakfast?”

Son: “No,” (arms folded) “I don’t want cereal.” Eyes fill with tears while lower lip extends. “No, Mommy, no cereal”.

Me: “Okay, no cereal.”
Son (wailing loudly now with huge tears dropping onto the floor. “No cereal? I want cereal. Please, Mommy, please. I want cereal”

Me (rolling eyes): “Alright, you can have cereal.”

Son: “Okay, Mommy. It’s okay. I’ll have cereal” (like he’s doing me some huge favour).

This same conversation is repeated throughout the day about any number of issues. “no clothes, mommy”, “no potty, Mommy”, “no diapers, Mommy” “no nap, Mommy”, “no crying, Mommy,” “why are you crying, Mommy?” stop crying now, Mommy” (arms folded).

But see, even on those days, there are occasional hugs, a scattered smile, a surprise “I love you, Mommy”, that sweet look he gives me that I know is only for me, and it is still a good day. Barring all that, I can go into his room at night and see his unconscious form sleeping serenely, filling me with happiness, peace and gratitude. I whisper a prayer of thanks to God each night as I stand next to my son’s crib, that this child is in my heart and in my life. I would not trade one noisy, messy, hectic, crazy moment for the childless life I had only a couple of years ago. For me, every day is my day and I am more grateful for it than I can express in mere words.

But don’t tell my husband because today is my day and I’m getting breakfast in bed. Happy Mother’s Day.

Geekster moleskine

2007-05-10T14:24:00.000-02:30

Anyone who reads this blog knows that I am a geek and a pen/paper fanatic. In my role as stationary fanatic, I have mentioned the moleskine here a few times. And I have freely admitted my love of most things technical. So, is it any wonder that I felt a bit weak with excitement and envy when I saw this?

A hard drive disguised as a moleskine. A thing of beauty. I am much too lazy to do such a thing myself (and really, who would see a thing as cute as that underneath all the clutter on my desk anyway). But I sure admire the creativity behind it.

(From the moleskinerie)

Scheduling the kid

2007-05-08T14:30:00.000-02:30

The strident women, were having a big email exchange about the over-scheduling of young kids and the expectations to sign the little ones up for everything. As a joke, I made up a little mock schedule for my child. Trudy suggested it should be a blog post and, ever ready to slack off and not have to write a new blog post, I agree. Here it is:

My son goes to Komputers for Kids on Mondays, his favourite part of it being the Klicking Your Way to Kindergarten where he learns all the mouse skills he needs. We leave there to go to his Darling Debaters class. I am very proud that he is particularly adept with a debating move involving folding his arms, sighing loudly, screaming NO and then stomping his foot. On Tuesdays he goes to his Chess for Toddlers session then later attends his Cooking with Preschoolers. He made a lovely quiche last week. Wednesdays, of course, is for his Pre-K Latin then his Ballroom Dancing. Thursdays we take it easy and he only attends a special group, in the morning, that tests his skills by watching him play with others. The instructors then give me customized lessons I can do to help increase his language/numerical skills. We spend the afternoon working on those skills. Fridays include another computer class, called Keyboarding for Pre-Writing Children, where he can practice many of his other lessons. It appears he can type many Latin phrases, but, since I don't know Latin, they just seem like random poundings on the keyboard to me. But the instructor says he's brilliant and that I should sign up for an Advanced Keyboarding class for only another $250. I am so very proud.

T.A. Loeffler is ascending downwards

2007-05-07T10:27:00.000-02:30

T.A. Loeffler, has brought many of us along in her efforts to climb Mount Everest, through columns about her training, visits to schools to give inspiration to young people to climb their own Everests, and through posts about the climb on her website. Unfortunately, due to illness, she has made the difficult decision to stop the climb and begin her descent. That word, "descent" seems wrong to use about such a noble person forced to make a difficult decision due to no fault of her own. Maybe we'll say that she is ascending downwards.

Loeffler's goal has been to "inspire the young people of Newfoundland and Labrador". She wrote a letter to the youth of the province after she decided to stop and posted it on her website. In her decision to stop the climb she remains an inspiration, teaching all of us that the important thing is to try, to dream, and to give it our very best, whether we're learning how to read at 63 or taking off the training wheels at 5 or attempting to climb the world's highest mountain. You can, and should, read her updates about her journey. They are inspiring and moving and will make you want to try something new, exciting, and challenging.

Congratulations to T.A. Loeffler for making us proud, encouraging us to do our best, reminding us that sometimes we have to embrace the tough decisions we make, and for teaching us to dream big.

Seven Wonders of Newfoundland

2007-05-02T14:55:00.000-02:30

Product of Newfoundland is looking for your nomination for the Seven Wonders of Newfoundland. I don't envy anyone having to narrow it down to seven. The whole place is a wonder to me. As always, Robert keeps the rules simple. You have fourteen days left to "nominate the special places you think every Newfoundlander should visit" then, once nominations have closed, the voting will begin. The places don't have to be natural wonders, they can be man-made as well. Check it all out at Seven Wonders of Newfoundland and submit your nomination today (or at least in the next fourteen).

I caved and joined facebook

2007-05-01T14:05:00.000-02:30

I caved. I was determined not to sign up for facebook, an online community where you can connect with friends and acquaintances, both old and new. The ingenious thing about facebook is that you can't do anything with facebook until you've registered. You can't go in and see who's there that you know. And it lets people invite you to facebook. So I would get an invite from someone, click on the link and be told I have to sign up first. So finally, after enough invitations, I signed up this past weekend and I haven't left the computer since. No, I am kidding. In fact I've been extremely busy with non-computer things since I signed up but have managed to spend an hour or so there. I can see how people get addicted though. When you find a friend you can click to see his list of friends and if you find someone you know in that list then you can click to see her list of friends and maybe there is someone you know there so you click... you can see where I am going here.

To start, you have to set up your own profile. You can put as much or as little as you like in your profile and then you can start looking for friends to invite to be your friend or hope that people will invite you to be their friend. Sort of like grade 8. Then there are networks you can belong to and groups you can join or set up yourself. There is also something called a poke which I am apparently too old to understand. I read somewhere that you can poke people and they can poke back if they want. What the poke means is up to you. So I poked a couple of friends, they poked me back and now this is listed on my facebook front page, asking me if want to poke them back. Since I can't write anything to them while I'm poking, I don't see the point of any more poking. Then they'd poke me back and I'd poke them back and... you can see where I am going here.

Everyone has different compartments of friends in their lives--people from work or school or from your hometown or whatever and facebook knows this so it asks you how you know each of your friends. You can find extra contacts that way. It's about finding connections and you do. The most extraordinary thing about facebook, for me, has been looking through the list of my friends' friends and finding that they know someone I didn't realize they knew. So, an old high school friend you haven't seen in years, might know someone you worked with last year. Facebook is interesting and I'll definitely drop in at least every day, but I hope I won't get addicted to it. There's enough to take up my time now. But in the time I have been writing this blog, I had a new friend request (they like me, they really like me) and someone wrote on my wall. Oh yeah, there's a "wall" on your profile page and people can write on it. So someone can write something to you and you can either write back on your wall or click on "wall-to-wall" and then your reply will go on her wall and then she could click on wall-to-wall and her response could go on your wall and then...you can see where I am going here.

Addictive? How could that be addictive?

You are 22% Addicted to Facebook.

You are not addicted to facebook.

For you it's just another fad that you won't subscribe to.

'How Addicted to Facebook are you?' at QuizGalaxy.com

French Immersion

2007-04-26T16:12:00.000-02:30

So, as unbelievable as this is to me and as hard as it is to think about it, next month I have register my son for school. If you know me IRL then you probably know that I tend to get all misty at the thought (no, I would not say "weep uncontrollably" but I am a weeper and since I have been known to bawl at Canadian Tire and coffee commercials, it shouldn't be surprising that my baby going off into the world would do it). My friend Pam and I, whose children have known each other since before they were born, already have our first day of kindergarten plan solidified. It involves dropping the kiddies off then getting quite drunk (ensuring that hubbies will care for the children once they leave school, of course) There may also be a tattoo involved in there somewhere. We say this somewhat facetiously (but ya never know). The point is that I really hate to think about it. I mean, this is sending him out into the big, cruel world. People can be mean to him and bully him. Teachers will start to judge him and it won't be all about "as long as you try your best, sweetie, that's what's important". And as if the thought of all that is not enough, our house is now embroiled in a big French immersion debate. Maybe you can help.

Hubby is of the belief that my son should start French immersion in Kindergarten. He really wants him to be bilingual and I'm cool with that. The problem is that most everyone I know who has done FI or whose children have done it, all say that when you start them in Kindergarten, they never quite learn English as well as if they hadn't done FI from the get-go (although statscan says differently). Husband's response to this problem was "well, will he really need English that much?" My response to that involved more exasperated sounds than words and possibly some repeated smacks to hubby's arm. The other thing you can do with FI is have them start later (junior high, I believe) but I know of children who have really struggled trying to catch up in school when they chose this option. There is an information session we'll be attending next month in order to find out more. Apparently, from what I read online, the personality of the kid, rather than his capacity for language, is the key indicator of if FI is right for him. In the meantime the debate rages on. Any advice or personal stories relating to French Immersion would be greatly appreciated.

Writing longhand

2007-04-24T10:51:00.000-02:30

My friend Lori recently said that, after a conversation we had about writing longhand, she started writing in longhand and found it reignited her writing. I usually write longhand anyway but if I was writing historical fiction, as Lori is, I would definitely need to write longhand. The language and temperament of times past would need to go from pen to paper. A keyboard just wouldn't do. I think it would jolt me out of the past every time.

But, like I said, I usually write longhand anyway. The words flow better if they go down my arm, into a pen and out on paper. As a pen fanatic, and a fickle Gemini, I tend to change pens a lot. Sometimes it can be one of my expensive (well, expensive for me, I don't go into the over $100 variety) collectibles like a Parker 51 fountain pen, or a Waterman Expert ballpoint, or the Cross Morph engraved with "this much is true" that some friends gave me for my 40th birthday or, as I've been using of late, a cheap, Bic Wide Body.

The pens change but the notepads pretty much stay the same. Oh I love my moleskines for jotting notes and things but the actual writing goes in a cheaper notepad. The name brands might change but I always write in 24.1x15.2 cm (9.5x6") side coil note books. I have stacks of them filled with bits and pieces of everything from short stories to new ideas to essays to chunks of novels. I never write just one story or novel in a notebook, as Neil Gaiman recently said he does. I have no order to them and when I've filled up another one, I go through the book and write a list of the contents (without page numbers) on the inside cover. Sometimes there are only five or six things on the inside cover. Sometimes I have to make two columns to fit it all the contents on one page. The first several of these notebooks I filled often had stories written backwards in them, in that I would start a story on one page then continue it on the previous page, working backwards in the notebook until I was finished. I think I did this with the hope that I would stop if I met another story but I didn't and some stories overlapped, one going forwards in the book and one going backwards.

I've tried writing in pretty notebooks but they stifle me, on yellow legal pads, composition books, loose leaf pages, and larger side coil notebooks, but I always return to the smaller ones. A couple of years ago I just gave up trying different things and decided I'd stick with what works for me.

I transcribe the writing I think I will use but there is plenty of stuff left in the notebooks that may, or may not ever get into a word processor. And I do write using a keyboard sometimes, either my computer or my wonderful Alphasmart Neo. Usually, the keyboard is for when I have a deadline and don't have time to write longhand and transcribe, for writing nonfiction, or when I'm writing more lighthearted things. I write humour better on the computer for some reason.

Oh and blogs. I always write blog posts on a keyboard (how else would you be able to read them, silly).

Can you say "petty"?

2007-04-22T14:33:00.000-02:30

Seriously? British Airways cut out a cameo appearance by Richard Branson, of Virgin Atlantic, in the movie Casino Royale. They also blurred the tailfin of a Virgin Atlantic plane in the same movie. Come off it. "We have full control over what is shown," a company spokesman said.

And it's not the first time. Seems that BA also cut scenes that appeared in the movie The Wedding Date before that movie was shown on BA planes. Those scenes showed Virgin Atlantic's premium cabin. How silly. Virgin Atlantic did not do the same when a BA plane was shown in Die Another Day a while ago. British Airways' move sure seems like a petty waste of time and energy to me. I'm sure if I was flying with them, I'd be really happy that they're spending their money on important things like looking for rivals in movies instead of oh, you know, making flights cheaper or spending more on security. And the truly ironic thing is that if they wanted to ensure that Branson and Virgin got less publicity, boy did they screw that up. It's in the news and I'm sure I'm not the only blogger talking about it.

Rose-coloured glasses

2007-04-18T13:13:00.000-02:30

Sometimes the world is so full of sad things, on the news or a bit closer in old friends who have lost a beloved family member in the war, and you're just not sure about the world anymore. Last night, as I lay on my couch, trying to find a new way to swallow that didn't include using my infected tonsils, my son was lying on my chest. We were snuggling and watching a cartoon, something light to stay away from all the darkness on the TV. I saw him, out of the corner of my eye, lift up his head and stare at me. When I looked at him, he looked away and I said "why are you looking at Mommy like that?" He answered, without a pause, "because you're so wonderful" and didn't even smile afterward and ask for chocolate, just put his head down on me again. And I knew, even though there is much sadness, the world can be a pretty good place all the same and sometimes it just takes a three year old with rose-coloured glasses to remind you.

Shut Up and Sing

2007-04-16T15:04:00.000-02:30

You know a movie is good when the audience claps at the end, even when there is no one in the theatre remotely related to the making of the movie. Well, that happened when I watched Shut Up and Sing last evening. Having just done a long post about freedom of speech, here I am at it again, although to a lesser extent. But make no mistake, this movie is about freedom of speech. It is also very much about creativity, family, friendship, and great music.

The movie is already out in DVD and I highly recommend you buy it (at the very least rent it, but buy it if you can). The screening of the movie at Empire Theatres yesterday was a fundraiser for The Independent Artists Cooperative and Rock Can Roll Records. The fundraiser was titled "Freedom of Speech is fine - so long you don't do it in public." That reminds me of one of the many funny parts of the movie where a man is talking about the Dixie Chicks and says something like Freedom of speech is good, as long as you don't do it outside the country. Brilliant statement, man.

This movie is funny, real, moving, and scary in so many ways. How so few words can be used against you, how speaking them can completely turn your life upside down.

FUTK

In defense of freedom of speech

2007-04-13T10:54:00.000-02:30

So, Don Imus has been fired from CBS radio now. This after his dismissal from NBC TV a couple of days ago. You know the story and if you don't here is one of a million versions of it going around. I don't know what upsets me more--the thing Imus said, the fact that he got fired, what Al Sharpton said after Imus' firing, or the fact that the 24 hour newschannels in the states were showing live feed of the outside of the NJ Governor's house where Imus was meeting with the Rutger's Team last night. Live shots of the manion's exterior. I couldn't belive it. Why was I watching CNN in the first place? I foolishly wanted to see what the Americans were making of the fact that a bomber had managed to get inside the inner sanctum in Iraq, past bomb-sniffing dogs and several levels of security into the Green Zone and then blew himself up in the Iraqi Parliament building. I thought this might be a newsworthy event in the States (it was one of the top stories here in Canada) but silly me. Anna Nicole's baby got an official daddy this week and a guy on the radio said something offensive. How could I think that an unbelievable security breach in the country where they're at war would make the news.

Sarcasm aside, I have very mixed feelings about this Imus thing. The man said something terrible and hurtful and I would never listen to him, but he has said stuff like that and worse before and no one seemed to care. When the NY Times hired African-American reporter Gwen Ifill to cover the white house, Imus said "Isn't the Times wonderful. It lets the cleaning lady cover the White House." Glenn Beck says deplorable things, so does Ann Coulter (who regularly stretches my defense of free speech to the limits), and shock jock Stern is the king of degrading women.

As you see, people regularly say hateful things, especially on talk radio and they don't get in trouble. So, what was the big deal this time? I don't know. It was just one of those weird things where the media latches onto a small story and makes it a media sensation. Maybe it's been a slow news week in the States (except for the Iraqi parliament bombing and the extension of the tours of duty of 100,000 US troops in Iraq). The point is that it did make a stink and Imus got fired and I think it was wrong.

I do not agree with what the man said. I agree it was awful but I believe in free speech and, as much as it bothers me to say it, Don Imus has the right to say what he wants to say. I wish he wasn't there, I wish a bunch of other people didn't have the public airwaves either but they do and, if I stand up for the right of one person to say "Just so you know, we're ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas", then I have to stand up for everyone else's right to speak too. That has always been my problem with free speech. If I say that we have the right to say something bad about our government or to question policies or politicians, then I have to say that the person spewing hatred in the streets has his right to do that too. For every peaceful protester talking about peace versus war, there's an Ernst Zündel (for those of you who don't know he is a holocaust denier). And as much as it makes my stomach turn, Zündel has his right to speak too.

See, when someone gets the power to say who speaks or who doesn't, based purely on one thing that person said, then that is not freedom of speech. If people turn off their radios, ratings go down and then the guy is let go because of low ratings, which were caused by what he said--that is free speech.

And then after Imus was fired Reverend Al Sharpton said that this was just the first round and that others would have to be accountable. That scares me. That makes me think that the already ludicrous levels of political correctness on TV and radio (but especially TV) are going to become even more inane. I mean if a smidgen of butt crack shows on someone in Survivor, they blur it out. This after the infamous wardrobe malfunction of Janet Jackson at the Superbowl a few years ago when the world was exosed to [gasp!] a breast. The TV went into censorship overdrive. Live TV was put on seven second delay in case someone said something offensive, as decided by the censor on the bleep button (I have seen the word Jesus bleeped when used in a discussion about God). Any possibly offensive body parts had to be blurred. But there were no restrictions about violence. I remember watching a dramatic show one night where an 80 year old woman was getting paddles put to her chest to revive her and, in the midst of it all, a small part of her breast was shown. They blurred it. The next night another drama gave us a long and graphic scene where a small child hid in a closet and watched as his father first beat then shot his mother. That we got the full brunt of, but the elderly boob, shown in a completely nonsexual manner, was censored. I remember ranting to my husband about it (his life is so much easier now that I have my blog).

My point is that someone somewhere decided that the word Jesus and a butt crack are more offensive than people getting their heads blown off or nearly naked women grinding up against a rapper while he throws money at them and calls them hoes in his latest release, or any episode of Jerry Springer.

My question is: who should decide what is okay for us to hear, see, and read? Al Sharpton? Don Imus? A network censor? Me? You? Well, actually I think it should be me and you and you and you and you, etc. I think we can decide not to watch it or listen to it or read it if we don't like it. That's our right. Just like our right to free speech. People have fought and died for our right to say what we want.

They're fighting and dying right now so that others can have that right too.

Percy Janes Boarding the Bus

2007-04-10T13:26:00.000-02:30

One of my favourite Agnes Walsh poems, "Percy Janes Boarding the Bus", is up on the Rattling Books blog. For those of you who may not know, Percy Janes was a wonderful Newfoundland writer who penned House of Hate, one of the finest novels ever to come out of the province.

Monday Mashup

2007-04-09T09:34:00.000-02:30

After nearly a week out home in Aspen Cove, I am back and ready to blog. Lots of things swirling around in my head so I'll make a Monday Mashup of them all.

Attended a wedding out home this weekend. Everyone looked very beautiful and handsome and the day turned out to be great, weather wise as well, after foreboding forecasts of rain and wind. I was so happy the sun came out for them. It was lots of fun seeing people I haven't seen in a long time and it turned out to be a fun, late night.
While it was a happy occasion in the church in Aspen Cove, the church in (practically adjoining) Ladle Cove was a very different scene with an old friend of mine who had lost her battle with cancer being waked. I guess that's what I should call it. We never call it that out home. There is no funeral home there so the deceased are always laid out in church where people can visit and pay their respects. There are no visiting hours. The doors are open all the time and I know of at least a couple of people who visited my friend at 2 in the morning this weekend. I didn't. I hadn't seen her since she got sick and I decided I would prefer to remember her as the life of the party, dancing, or the two of us playing Joan Jett and the Blackhearts' I Love Rock n Roll on our pool stick guitars at the hangout. She is being laid to rest today and, even though I can't be there, I will be thinking about her, as I have been a lot these past few days. She was 41 years old. Much too young, with children left behind without their mom. It is so very sad.
And speaking of sad, on the day we're remembering those who fought and died at Vimy Ridge, we are also thinking about the six soldiers who died in Afghanistan yesterday, including two Newfoundlanders. My thoughts and prayers are with their families.
And speaking of war, last night I watched the first part of CBC's The Great War, a mashup itself: part documentary, part reality TV show, part docudrama. I enjoyed it (if by enjoying you mean crying for great portions of it--war does that to me). The show includes descendants of participants in the war experiencing, in a very limited way, what their ancestors did through reenactments of the war. One of the highlights for me (if by highlight, you mean crying extra hard) was when Newfoundlander Sandy Gow told the story of Beaumont Hamel while standing on the field there next to the Danger Tree. The story of that day was reenacted in between her descriptions of the events at Beaumont Hamel. The segment ended with Gow's emotional singing of the Ode to Newfoundland. Part Two of the show airs tonight and, I think, will focus mostly on Vimy Ridge.
And speaking of what I watched last night, I also viewed Huff. I haven't yet mentioned how much I am loving this show. It is brilliant. It is so realistic, deals with things the way people really would a lot of the time (often uncomfortably so) and the performances are fantastic. Blythe Danner steals the show and Paget Brewster does some of the best acting I have ever seen anywhere (she's on Criminal Minds now since Huff was unfortunately cancelled after two seasons--why do they always cancel the good stuff and keep the crap on TV).
And speaking of crap on TV, I haven't been into it as much this season as in the past, but I have been occasionally watching American Idol. (After Chris Daughtry lost and Taylor Hicks won, I lost any shred of faith I had in the process --but with Daughtry selling three times the CDs that Hicks did, can you say "the best revenge"?) Of course, the news this year is all about Sanjaya Malakar, the seventeen year old who is somehow holding up against constant discussions of how terrible he is. I think he is in denial. I mean, last week when Simon sarcastically called him "incredible", Sanjaya seemed really happy and moved by it. Or maybe Sanjaya was being sarcastic too. I wonder if Sanjaya can win. With Howard Stern and the website votefortheworst.com egging on voters to vote for the kid, it could happen.
And speaking of kids, mine has been ignored long enough while I wrote this post. Back to him and thanks Mom and Dad for getting up early with Sam most of the week so I could sleep in (and for everything else).

Oh, and after posting this, I remembered to tell you that the March Hare in Ireland is going to be on CBC Radio this afternoon at 1:30 NL time. If you are out of province or even out of country, you can catch it live here by clicking on Listen live to CBC Radio on the right sidebar. Participants in the March Hare include Ron Hynes, Joel Hynes, Michael Crummey, Lisa Moore, Pamela Morgan, Des Walsh, Daniel Payne and Kyran Pittman (I love her regular blog and she also has another blog where you can check out her writing and a diary of her March Hare in Ireland experience).

Alanis Morissette croons My Humps

2007-04-03T09:49:00.000-02:30

Ever wondered what "My Humps" by the Black-Eyed Peas would sound like as a mournful ballad? Well, wonder no more. Alanis Morissette has answered your question and did a great job in pointing out the lyrics that, like the work of Dylan and Cohen, will no doubt be taught in schools as an example of the poetry of the decade. Oh, I know, "My Humps" is not about the lyrics, it's about the beat and the music, but still this is funny.

Dirty Artwork

2007-04-02T10:21:00.000-02:30

My husband, as I've said here before, is a big fan of StumbleUpon. He does it all the time and I hear, at least once or twice a week, "I left something up on the computer I thought you might be interested in". And yesterday, I was actually interested in something he found. He found some pictures on Static of art drawn in the dirt on car windows. At first I thought they might be photshopped pictures (photo skeptic that I am) but then I did a little googling and found a news article about it and the web site of the artist, Scott Wade with explanations of how they were done. Now, I'm no art critic but these are pretty amazing. Who knew?

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Cover(s) Revealed

2007-03-30T10:21:00.000-02:30

So the new book cover has been revealed for the final Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. At least, it's the cover we'll be getting in Canada. It is designed by British artist Jason Cockcroft. However, south of the border, Americans will get a different cover, designed by Mary GrandPre. This one shows Harry with his hand reaching upward and a wraparound featuring "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named". I like the U.S. cover better. There is also an adult edition cover (for those adults who are embarrassed to buy a kids' book (I am not--all mine have the original covers and I love them all)).

And if that is not enough variety in covers for you, Unconfirmed Sources has one that plays off on Daniel Radcliffe's recent, well-publicized, nude scenes in EQUUS

Do Women writers lack imagination?

2007-03-29T10:21:00.000-02:30

Well, well, well, some recent news out of the UK has set about a bit of a controversy. The UK has a special literary prize just for women called Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction and it seem that the person in charge of choosing this year's winner, Muriel Gray, was a bit miffed with many of the submissions this year. Referring to the majority of entrants, she said "There were lots of books we rejected - about personal female issues, the loss of a child, the break-up of a marriage, thinly veiled autobiographical things of no consequence - because they weren't expansive enough,". She went on to say "They are writing small personal takes on what it's like to be a woman. They don't seem to be dreaming big dreams." and "We found too many lazy writers who think that it's enough just to chronicle something going on in their lives. It is mildly depressing".

I don't know the specifics of the books she is speaking about, and she has the right to her opinion. It must have been frustrating if she found this to be true time and time again. But I have to question what she is saying on a couple of levels. First of all, I think men are probably guilty of this too. I think writers write what they want to, what moves them. Lawyers write about stories concerning the law and cops about crime. If you think closer to home rather than expansive, then that is what you are going to write about. Sometimes stories that are precise and close and relatable can be the most powerful. And sometimes you'd like to get away from that. Either way, if an idea calls to you and wants to be written, if it grabs your interest and makes you want to know more, then you're going to write it. You write what intrigues you and makes you want to uncover the story inside. In these cases it is often the characters that make the story and not necessarily the plot.

Maybe it is the fact that women tend to be the domestic ones in the house. No matter how much a man takes part in the lives of his children, no matter how many soccer games he attends or times he helps get them to bed, it is often the mother who takes time off work to attend to a sick child, who takes them to birthday parties, who wrestles with guilt when she is at work and not with her children, and is the person a child runs to when he/she scrapes a knee. Not always true, I know, and I don't mean to say it is always true, just that in my experience and the experiences of my friends, this tends to be true (just as all books written by women do not focus on domestic issues). Is it any wonder then, that we turn to such themes to express ourselves?

I wonder how many genre novels the Orange Prize jury considered? Female writers of fantasy, science fiction, and mysteries or thrillers, certainly don't focus on domestic issues. Their canvasses, especially those of sci-fi and fantasy are often alternate worlds with great sweeping vistas. Gray herself is a horror writer.

And what books did make the longlist? Well, congratulations to Lisa Moore whose book Alligator is there. Definitely expansive and a prime example of how women don't always restrict themselves to "smaller" issues.

If nothing else, Gray's statements are creating discussion. My favourite is from 50 Books (scroll down to "Women's Books Are Too Trivial" to read it).

Movie theatre closing in Gander

2007-03-27T13:55:00.000-02:30

The only movie theatre in Gander is closing. This makes me sad. I have little in the way of the buildings of my youth to hold onto. My elementary school is gone, my high school in Carmanville burned down a couple of years ago, my parents no longer live in the home I grew up in. Now the place we saw movies when I was a kid will be no more. And it's not like these days when a movie at a theatre is just one of the choices. No, when I was a kid, oh God, did I just do that? I just said when I was a kid. Imagine a weak voice saying "when I was your age, sonny..."

Anyway, back in the day, the movie theatre was the only visible source of entertainment other than the two channels we received on the TV (one in my case because the reception from the gigantic antenna on our roof could still only pick up one channel—CBC—think about it). No DVDs or VHS or cable TV or Internet or video-enabled iPods or text messaging or videogames (and you could buy a sodey pop, a bag of chips, a bar, and a small car for a penny and we washed our clothes on rocks in a river).

My most vivid memory of that movie theatre is when a bunch of us piled into Robert Goodyear's van and went to Gander to see E.T. the Extra Terrestrial. I was a mere infant, of course. I'll never forget the looks on the faces of the people in the mall parking lot as we piled out. If I recall correctly, there were 13 of us in that van, all smushed in for the hour it took to get from Aspen Cove/Ladle Cove to Gander.

Poltergeist made me scream in that theatre, but more so made my friend scream which caused us to jump every time she did. That girl could holler. So many nights we made the long drive so I could visit my boyfriend, now hubby, Vince, while he attended trade school in Gander. Me, my brother, and Vince's sister Kem. We lost the heater in the car one night and nearly froze getting back home, my brother all bundled up in the back of the car in a blanket while Kem and I kept putting our hands over the heater, hoping that we could make it work on will alone and saying "I think there's a bit of heat there now" until we finally admitted that wouldn't happen.

The time we went to see some other movie, I don't remember, that night Christina, Vince's niece, was born in the hospital in Gander. We squeezed Christina's dad Rick into an already overcrowded car so he could see his baby girl (is it any wonder I don't remember the movie with a night as special as that?). The time Vince and I went to a movie with Mom and Dad—Risky Business with Tom Cruise. Anyone remember the sex scene on the train with Rebecca De Mornay and Tom Cruise? Vince and I looking at each other out of the corners of our eyes, afraid to make direct eye contact, afraid to look at the screen, wanting the uncomfortable moment of watching this with my parents to be over.

I could go on and on. Yeah, it makes me really sorry to see that old theatre close.

I'll just let them stay a little while

2007-03-26T10:13:00.000-02:30

Remember how I decided I would let the characters in my novel in progress, tentatively titled A Few Kinds of Wrong, come visit for a literary booty call while I worked on Unnamed Fun Novel? Well yesterday I was having coffee with Trudy who unintentionally gave me permission to continue with something in Wrongs that I was unsure about and the characters started screaming for me to get back at it. They were relentless and I was not great to be around yesterday evening. My mind kept wanting to be there with them and not in the "real world". Finally I sat down with pen and paper and whispered that they could stay for a few minutes only and that once I wrote a bit of a scene and knew where it was going, then that would be it and they would have to go away again. But they stayed for hours and now this morning they are still there.

I explained to them that I cannot have a committed relationship at this time. I need to see other stories right now and have some fun. I know that the main character in Unnamed Fun Novel is not happy. I can picture her tapping her fingers on a table and rolling her eyes, saying "You cannot be serious. I'm here with all these exciting people and really interesting things going on. I mean I got shot, for God's sake. And you want to hang out with misery guts there and her crying and her 'poor me, poor me'." And I want to say "But BJ and Jennifer are having a really big fight now and I'm finding out a lot more about both of them so I just have to see it through and then I'll go back to you."

And I think I have figured out why the transitioning between novels has been so hard. Like I said before, I have never had this problem. I can, and have, worked on three different projects in one day, slipping in and out of each one with very little effort. But I think the problem here is one of tense. Wrongs is in the present tense and Unnamed Fun Novel is in the past tense. The characters, as this post proves, are alive and well and living inside my head. It's getting them down on paper in their respective tenses that is the problem. Part of me is tempted to see if Wrongs would be better in the past tense just to make the process easier and because the present tense is harder for me in general. But I know the present is the right one and that is not the answer, at least not right now, at least not at this point in the process. I'll just have to keep trying and let the work guide me.

Truly recycled paper

2007-03-23T13:55:00.000-02:30

If you've been here before, you know how I love my pens and paper. I am obsessed with pens and paper brings me joy. A blank page is full of possibility (sometimes too much possibility and can be overwhelming). But I am not sure how I feel about Elephant Poo Poo Paper. No, this is not some clever name, this is a literal title because the paper is made of actual elephant poo. Rather, I should say, the paper is made of stuff they take out of elephant poo.

The makers of Elephant Poo Poo Paper gather up dried elephant dung from elephant conservation parks then bring it back to a factory where they rinse the poo off and keep the fibrous materials from the grasses, bamboo & fruits the elephants eat. The next step (and, in my opinion, the most important) is putting it in what they call "a giant pot of boiling water to ensure the fibers are super clean". If you're interested in the rest of the process you can find it in the section of their website called "Turning Poo Poo Into Paper". For me, the only relevant parts of the process are how they clean it up so I would want to touch it.

I don't know if I would want to touch. I'm sure it must be clean and I'm not saying that I won't perhaps purchase this sometime as a novelty item (my nephew would love it if I gave him paper made from elephant poo), but I don't know if I could ever write on it without thinking that it had been through the digestive system of an elephant. It is a true form of recycling and the makers tell us that a portion of their profits go to "meaningful elephant welfare and conservation efforts to assist the Asian elephant" so it seems to be a positive thing.

If you can get past the poo.

If you would like to purchase some of the products you can visit their Poo-tique On-Line Shop.

A Thousand and One Words

2007-03-22T12:54:00.000-02:30

As if his Product of Newfoundland (including Postcards from Newfoundland) and Walking on the Littoral Edge are not enough enjoyment to blog readers out there, Robert has created A Thousand and One Words.

People are encouraged to submit photos and to make comments on the submitted photos. The NL blogging community is no stranger to great photo blogs. NL photogs give us riches where this is concerned and I, for one, can't get enough of it. I love the photos. The thing about Robert's idea is that we get to see photos from a variety of people in one place, and we get to make comments of a word or two. He says it is not "a photo critique. It's an opportunity for fun and self expression." and encourages people to submit "a single word, sentence, poem, essay or, should you be so moved, even a novel inspired by the visual presented". So check it out.

There comes a time I can know too much

2007-03-21T13:27:00.000-02:30

I like blogs. I like finding out what certain people think about politics or music or writing, what kinds of new things they find on the Internet that I may love or hate, something interesting in the news, or just something in a blogger's life. But I expect them to generally give me something at least conceivably interesting, or a post that I can appreciate how a family member might enjoy catching up on.

But there comes a time I can know too much and there comes a time one should ask the question: why would anyone else care? Some may disagree with me and for them, I will tell you about twitter.com, the answer to the burning questions on everyone's mind: What am I eating for lunch? How many people are ahead of me in line at Starbucks? and how big was the pimple I just squeezed?

Twitter.com is "A global community of friends and strangers answering one simple question: What are you doing?" Literally, what are you doing at this moment? Like I would twitter that I am drinking a Tim Hortons medium with two cream while typing this blog post as my son naps and my dog licks himself. There, aren't you enlightened? Aren't you pleased that I told you that? Later, I could tell you what I am making for supper or that I have vacuumed the floor (if the day goes well, both of these chores will be done, if not, I'll have a dirty floor and a hungry kid). I mean I know blogs have made us fascinated with what goes on in the lives and minds of others but they are usually censored for some modicum of something interesting.

Now this scintillating info is not just available on the web. No, you can get and send your twitters via text messaging and instant messaging, although the twitterblog tells us that the IM is having troubles since it is so overloaded with twitterers. So, now instead of just having to send and receive text messages and phone calls, 24 hours a day, while in restaurants, classes, movie theatres, or just hanging around the coffee shop, cell phone addicts can now get dozens of twitters as well. So, if I am a twitterer (this is the correct term according to a list of twitter terms) and if we're having a coffee sometime, you'd have to excuse me for a moment so I could tell others that I am having a coffee with you. Arrrgh! My mind is going to explode. I weep for us all.

I am a geek. I love technology. I blog, have a web page, can text message when need be, drool over PDAs, take apart computers, beta test software, and have even written a couple of programs for PDAs. I went back to school so I could make technology my living. Maybe I am too old to appreciate it but dear God, isn't this twittering getting too much?

What am I doing now? I am banging my head on my desk and getting a headache.

They keep calling me

2007-03-20T13:16:00.000-02:30

I've said before that I keep a variety of writing projects on the go. It allows me to write me when the mood strikes, no matter what the mood. Because I received a project grant to write A Few Kinds of Wrong, I spent a winter of working on restricting myself to working on that one novel (interrupted only by editing another novel and writing a short story). So, I was looking forward to getting back to my other work, in particular, a fun book to write with a character who is so rich and fun and unpredictable that it's just a joy to spend time with her (and all the other characters in the book). This is quite a contrast from Wrongs which is darker and is about death and grieving, pain and healing. So after hanging out mired in the grief of one character for so long, it's no wonder that I wanted to get back to some fun stuff. I printed out the 120 pages I have already written in Unnamed Fun Novel (so much for the paperless society), enjoyed rereading it, know right where I want to go next, don't have a clue where to go after that but know, without a doubt, that I'll figure it out. I should be face and eyes back into this book by now.

But every time I start to write, the other characters from Wrongs call me. I've finished the first draft of Wrongs but there is much to be filled in, things to research, things to move around, and they want me to work at it. They come to me in dreams and most of all songs. I've switched the songs on my MP3 player from the soundtrack of Wrongs to that of Unnamed Fun Novel. I had to. The kind of slow, sticky, sad, music from the Wrongs soundtrack makes the character in Unnamed Fun Novel roll her eyes and huff off somewhere far away. But songs keep coming on the radio and television and movies that make me think of Wrongs. Scenes and conversations continue from characters I wish to let go of for a while, just to let them sit in a drawer so I can get distance before starting on the next draft. They should sit there quietly and wait for me. They're not and I don't know why.

Part of me wonders if it is because I have been exclusive with this novel. We have had a committed relationship instead of me just bouncing back and forth between books. And while I have liked and loved characters from my other books, I think the subject matter and tone of Wrongs, along with this commitment, have made me feel connected to it more than any other.

I know the solution to my problem. As always I have to write through it. I have to put my pen on the paper and find my way back to the characters in Unnamed Fun Novel. But I think I have to tell myself that when that other crowd calls out to me, I'll allow myself to visit them, to jot notes about them, hang out a little and say hello without getting too immersed. Like a literary booty call. At least until I find my way back to the other novel, at which time, I will be able to work on them both again.

Auctions to boggle your mind (and maybe turn your stomach)

2007-03-19T13:10:00.000-02:30

It's hard to visit ebay or other auction sites, and not find something that makes you shake your head, either at how much money someone will spend for inane things or how many inane things are out there to sell. If you're not an ebayer, you can check out what I'm talking about at a bunch of websites including, but not limited to, Weird Auction and Disturbing Auctions.

A fine example that people will pay money for anything is this week's bid for one packet of Sweet and Sour Sauce. As of this writing, the bids are at $21.25 US. At the nineteenth bid the seller threw in "2 ketchup packets, and 1 straw, the winning bidder will now get 5 salt packets, 5 napkins, and 2 brand new Happy Meal Toys". How can one resist? Now, this kind of auction is obviously about the fun, but what of a handbag fashioned from an actual bull scrotum or this horrific clown lamp (well, any clown anywhere, anyhow is pretty horrific to me--there, you know of my fear of clowns--and there is plenty to be scared of here, here, here, and here). Maybe clowns don't do it for you, then you can have some revolting "wedding trolls" the perfect gift for that newly married couple you just have to send a passive-aggressive message to. Or, let's say you once had a premature baby, how could you pass up a memento preemie doll (awww, Mom and Dad you could have paid the reserve price of $239 US for this fun souvenir of those first terrifying moments of my life when you were waiting to see if your 3lb, 14 oz newborn would live or die).

As for me, I'm going to go to my fridge and get that baggie full of ketchup and sweet and sour packets and make some extra cash, maybe take a nice vacation. Aruba, here I come.

The Vagina Monologues

2007-03-16T15:17:00.000-02:30

No, it was not the hoohoo monologues, last night I saw The Vagina Monologues for the first time. It was spectacular. I was a bit iffy about going. I didn't know if a couple of hours of talking about vaginas would be entertaining. Boy, was it ever. I laughed and was moved and was very impressed with the four actresses who performed the show. Sheilagh Guy Murphy, Terri Andrews, Tessa Hutton Crosbie and Amy House seemed perfect for the task. They performed with zest and even though it was the Arts and Culture Centre with a big stage and large theatre, it seemed very cozy and like we were all part of this. Winks and nods and pointing and sometimes someone would break down laughing on stage or act particularly pleased with a reaction from the crowd and it was actually a very intimate evening.

This was an estrogen laden event. My friends and I suggested a little game where you get points for spotting a man in the theatre. They were a scarcity, but they were also helpful. At one point in the show, the audience was encouraged to shout out a synonym for the vagina (my least favourite word in the english language) and while the women weren't getting the volume up, one man yelled it out strong and long, leading to claps and laughs. There were a lot of those impromptu claps, where people were so impressed by a certain line we couldn't help showing some spontaneous appreciation.

There was only one drawback to the night. I am not sure if the warm, moist air in the theatre was supposed to be a symbolic representation of the vagina or not, but the theatre was stifling. Not much call for air conditioning in March in Newfoundland, I know, but it would have been welcome there last night.

The Vagina Monologues is funny, touching, uncomfortable at times, but most of all I think it was empowering in a lot of ways. I left feeling a greater appreciation for a body part that, as the performers pointed out, we rarely get to see ourselves and for a part that I don't think about too often to tell you the truth. I saw The Vagina Monologues last night for the first time, and I have a feeling it won't be the last.

The napkin fiction project

2007-03-15T14:11:00.000-02:30

We've all heard the stories of writers scribbling on a napkin. I recall a bar in Churchill Square where I jotted down a couple of things about a novel in progress on a napkin once. But for some reason, I tend to turn to ATM receipts to note something important, if i don't have one of my trusty moleskines. I also try to have 3x5 index cards (or a hipster PDA) in all the backpacks, purses, and other bags I switch back and forth between. But anyone can find themselves with a thought they need to record and nothing to write on. In a pinch, I once wrote on a diaper. And I'm not someone who writes a lot of notes while I'm working on projects. Grocery lists, to do lists, and dates for birthdays I do try to record but not so much notes about the fiction I am writing.

Esquire magazine took this idea and decided to see what someone would write if given a napkin for the task. They sent 250 napkins in the mail to writers from all over the US and received nearly a hundred stories back. They are interesting (though sometimes not) because of what people decided to do with them. The work on the napkins range from minimalist to crammed with stuff; some were quite organized with beautiful handwriting and illustrations, and some were not. There was even a napkin novel.

So what do you write on and what exactly is it you write? I know something that writer Kenneth J. Harvey has written notes on.

Stand Up in Kandahar

2007-03-14T09:47:00.000-02:30

Check out CBC television tonight at 8:30 (NST) to see Mark Critch, Shaun Majumder, Irwin Barker, Tim Nutt, and Erica Sigurdson in Stand Up in Kandahar, a one-hour CBC TV comedy special shot on location at Kandahar Air Field in Afghanistan. Yes, this was show where there were rocket attacks before and even during the show. Mark Critch was in the middle of his act when the missile warning went off. I heard tape of it on the radio this weekend and Critch was in fine form, continuing to be funny as the audience and performers headed to bunkers for safety.

Sounds like a great hour of TV.

Make Sure You Proofreed, Proofrade, Proofread

2007-03-12T21:35:00.000-02:30

*So when a publishing company in Alberta decided to print a TV guide and business directory pamphlet about Sioux Lookout to be distributed to hotels and other local businesses in the town, it probably seemed like a good idea. After the directory was out there though, it was realized that something was amiss. The booklet said that the town was "full of drunks", "a dirty little town," and that people living there should move. Seems that the publishing company who made the brochure took the info from Wikipedia and didn't "fact check" it. I'm thinking fact checking wasn't the problem. You'd figure that a simple perusal of the text would have raised some red flags had anyone bothered ("hey, Charlie, isn't this supposed to say good stuff about the town?").

There are a couple of lessons to be learned here, both very simple: proofread and don't take online encyclopdias that can be edited by anyone as your main resource for information.

Of course, after this came out, wikipedia is now seeing more additions to its entry about Sioux Lookout. A blogger from Sioux Lookout is keeping track of these on his blog.

*Edited according to comments made by Mac about my original post where I mistakenly said that the town of Sioux Lookout actually had the publication printed. They did not. (Only I could screw up a post about how not to screw up.)

Daylight Savings Springs Ahead

2007-03-10T10:27:00.000-03:30

I know you're sick of every person on tv, radio and the Internet telling you to move your clocks ahead an hour tonight, like you're not smart enough to grasp it the first few hundred times they tell you. But you may not have heard that you'll need to do it for your computers, VCRs and other electronic devices which automatically change you over to Daylight Savings Time. See, they're not programmed for this new change. They're programmed to change three weeks from now. And if you don't turn off the automatic DST settings on such equipment, you'll have to change it again in three weeks when the devices will move your clocks ahead an hour.

And what's all this for again? To conserve energy, right? Well, that might not really be the case. An Austrailian study into this says that it doesn't and, in fact, may increase energy consumption. In 2000, Australia extended DST by two months and Ryan Kellogg and Hendrik Wolff of UC Berkeley's Department of Agricultural & Resource Economics found that "the decrease in evening electricity demand and the increase in morning demand almost perfectly balanced each other out".

So who benefits from DST changes like these, or from DST at all? Of course, we get that extra hour of light in the evening, but in March it just means we can see that dirty snow piled up outside for longer. The golf and bbq industries love it. Michael Downing, author of Spring Forward: The Annual Madness of Daylight Saving Time tells us that in the US in 1986 when an extra hour was added to DST, the golf industry reported an added $200 million in green fees and equipment sales while barbeque retailers reported a $200 million to $400 million increase in sales.

So tonight don't forget your electrical devices in your clock changing and think of future golf games and barbecues to come. And if you really want to feel like you're doing some extra energy conservation, buy some of those energy-saving bulbs and replace the regular ones in your home or buy a digital thermostat so you can be more precise about the amount of heat you're using.

And enjoy the extra hour of daylight tomorrow. Here where I live it looks like I can watch the rain for an extra hour the next couple of days.

Even more congrats to NL Writers

2007-03-09T09:09:00.000-03:30

Along with a spot on the Giller Longlist last year and an ever-growing list of "Best of" honours for Kenneth J. Harvey's masterpiece, Inside, this week the book was nominated for the Winterset Award and now has won the prestigious Rogers Writers' Trust Award for fiction. To see the recognition this novel has received, visit his blog. Congratulations Kenneth. I am so pleased for you. It is well deserved.

Also, congratulations to the other nominees of the Winterset Award, Russell Wangersky's The Hour of Bad Decisions (I highly recommend this book as well--I loved it) and Ken Babstock's Airstream Land Yacht (shortlisted for the 2006 Governor General's Award for Poetry).

And to my friend, Paul Butler, whose wonderful novel NaGeira, was on Donna Morrissey's shortlist of books she considered for Canada Reads.

International Women's Day

2007-03-08T13:54:00.000-03:30

It is March 8th so it's International Women's Day. As they say, we've come a long way, baby. But there is still much farther to go. It's easy to measure where we are as women in terms of what we experience. Work and pay inequality, the lack of more women in political roles, and violence against women are some of the key issues the women of Canada have to deal with. But it's the international part of International Women's Day that make us think about the issues of women all over the world. And there are plenty. Sometimes we need some stats to make the point so here are some.

From Amnesty International:

At least one out of every three women has been beaten, coerced into sex, or abused in her lifetime. This figure comes from a study based on 50 surveys from around the world.

Every year, millions of women are raped by partners, relatives, friends and strangers, by employers and colleagues, soldiers and members of armed groups.

Violence in the family is endemic all over the world; the overwhelming majority of victims are women and girls. In the USA, for example, women account for around 85 per cent of the victims of domestic violence.

The World Health Organization has reported that up to 70 per cent of female murder victims are killed by their male partners.

Small arms and light weapons are the main tools of almost every conflict. Women and children account for nearly 80% of the casualties, according to the UN Secretary-General

And from the UN:

Violence against women is the most common but least punished crime in the world.

It is estimated that between 113 million and 200 million women are demographically "missing." They have been the victims of infanticide (boys are preferred to girls) or have not received the same amount of food and medical attention as their brothers and fathers.

The number of women forced or sold into prostitution is estimated worldwide at anywhere between 700,000 and 4,000,000 per year. Profits from sex slavery are estimated at seven to twelve billion US dollars per year.

Globally, women between the age of fifteen and forty-four are more likely to be maimed or die as a result of male violence than through cancer, malaria, traffic accidents or war combined.

At least one out of every three women has been beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused in her lifetime. Usually, the abuser is a member of her own family or someone known to her. Domestic violence is the largest form of abuse of women worldwide, irrespective of region, culture, ethnicity, education, class and religion.

It is estimated that more than two million girls are genitally mutilated per year, a rate of one girl every fifteen seconds.

Systematic rape is used as a weapon of terror in many of the world's conflicts. It is estimated that between 250,000 and 500,000 women in Rwanda were raped during the 1994 genocide.

Studies show the increasing links between violence against women and HIV and demonstrate that HIV-infected women are more likely to have experienced violence, and that victims of violence are at higher risk of HIV infection

And bravo to Governor General Michaëlle Jean for visiting Afghanistan to celebrate International Women's Day. As she told the people of Afghanistan: "we, the rest of the women around the world, took too long to hear the cries of our Afghani sisters, but I am here to tell them that they are no longer alone. And neither are the people of Afghanistan."

So on this day, I celebrate women all over the world, past, present and future. I celebrate how far we've come and hope and pray for how far we have left to go. If you feel like that too, why not visit Amnesty International's Act Now campaign and sign up to stop violence against women.

I love/hate Musicovery

2007-03-07T11:28:00.000-03:30

You must, must, must go to Musicovery and become addicted like I did and sit in front of your computer in the same clothes for two days while your child screams "no more music!" (I'm kidding Mom, Sam is fine and happy and I have indeed changed my clothes, this is more a figurative description of how hooked I am on this wonderful, cursed thing).

You just go to the page, click on a mood and wait to see a bunch of music you can play right then and there. You can move around the branches listening to different music, based on the mood you're in. It's the variety that is the wonderful/hideous thing. It keeps you there, clicking and listening because there are songs you have never heard before or ones you forgot and now have remembered how much you liked them at one time or another. I mean I have a screen up now that has, to name a few, Prince, Seal, Van Morrison, Lenny Kravitz, and Lynn Anderson's Rose Garden, another had Coldplay, U2, The Clash, Chris Isaak, and 50 Cent.

If you love music and have moods, got to Musicovery and don't get mad at me when you look up and three hours have gone by, you've missed an important appointment, and your kids have drawn a crayon mural on your wall (no, Mom, Sam didn't do that either).

Via Adam Fire Fist

Designer Superstar Challenge and Living NL

2007-03-06T10:26:00.000-03:30

Well, at least Monday nights at 11:30 (NST) is free time for me now. Studio 60 is gone and now Ambrose Price is no longer on the Designer Superstar Challenge. I'm not into designing in any, way, shape or form so for me, Ambrose was the only bright spot in the show. He is a joy. As soon as he opened his mouth, it was so much fun. Just as I said at the beginning of the show, he has this great confidence with a smattering of insecurity. He was very impressive in some of the challenges and he made it to the top five. I think he should be very proud of himself. He said he may go to interior designing school and I think he should (since I'm so sure he cares what I think). He obviously has talent and a passion for designing so why not back it up with some formal education in the field.

And you can still see Ambrose from time to time on Krysta Rudofsky's show Living NL. As long as I brought it up I might as well blog about it because I've been meaning to. I have admired Krysta Rudofsky ever since she started her talk show on Rogers. I can't remember if it was called Out of the Fog then but I remember a leopard print couch was part of the original first few shows and I thought what a gutsy person she was to try something so different in this province. She went on to impress me on Out of the Fog, especially during political things like the various political debates (municipal and provincial) on Rogers. She was always very knowlegbable about the issues and didn't back down from pushing and asking tough questions. She never backed down from Andy Wells and always got her point across.

So when I heard she would have her own show on CBC, I was pleased. It is described as "a local guide to better living in Newfoundland and Labrador" and boy do I like it. It worked out perfectly because it comes on in the evenings in the time slot formerly taken up with Entertainment Tonight. I learn something different with every episode of Living NL. And while ET drones on about "she who will not be named", I'm enjoying finding out all kinds of new things I didn't know about what's available in the place I call home. If you've missed it or are wondering what it's all about, the most recent shows are always available online.

A Busy Week in NL Arts

2007-03-05T10:18:00.000-03:30

You know, typically, the arts community in most places goes fairly quiet from January to May, especially around here because you can never be sure that some horrible snowstorm won't shut your event down. I'm not sure if it's just me or not but I feel like there isn't much of a lull around here lately and I say hoorah! This week, the first full week of March, is a perfect example. There's loads of stuff on the go here. I can't name it all. Go to The Scope or The Town Cryer or The Tely Go Guide or The Express (Out and About) sites to find out everything, but I'm going to talk about more of the writing/theatre stuff because that's mostly where my interests lie. Some highlights of the week to come are:

WANL Monthly Reading Series

This month WANL celebrates the Newfoundland Writers’ Guild as Guild Members read from their latest anthology A Charm Against the Pain. That's tonight, Monday, March 5, at the LSPU Hall Gallery at 8:00 p.m. As a recent new member of the Guild, I can tell you that it is a wonderful group of talented writers who are very supportive of new writers. It includes members that are pioneers of Newfoundland and Labrador writing to newbies like me.

Featured readers will be Roberta Buchanan, Lillian Bouzane, Lily Bursey, Libby Creelman, Danette Dooley, Anne Ferncase, Michael Bruce Lockhart, Janet McNaughton, Alison Melvin, Jennifer Morgan, Hilda Chaulk Murray, Marilyn Porter, Esther Slaney-Brown, Georgina Olivere Queller, Geraldine Chafe Rubia, and Joan Scott.

(And as if that is not enough for one night, while at the Gallery you can see Michelle Stamp's new exhibit Portrait Works, which includes portraits of many well-known Newfoundlanders.)

The March Hare

After returning from a tour of Ireland, the annual March Hare, a clebration of words and music, hits St. John's, Gander and Corner Brook this week.

In St. John’s on Wednesday, March 7, the March Hare will be at The Martini Bar (above Peddler’s, George St.) at 8 p.m. It will feature Patrick Lane, Lorna Crozier, John Steffler, Agnes Walsh, Susan Gillis, Emiko Miyashita, Larry Small, Anne Ferncase, Boyd Chubbs and Matthew Byrne. Admission is $10 or $5 for students.

The Hare then moves to Gander on Thursday, March 8 at the Knight’s of Columbus, Airport Blvd., at 7:30 p.m. where it will include Pat & Joe Byrne, Fergus, Tom Dawe, Phil Patey, Agnes Walsh, Isabell Blackmore, Stan Dragland, Pamela Morgan & Anita Best, John Steffler, Lorner Crozier, Pat Lane, Allan & Matthew Byrne, Susan Gillis, Dave Shaw, Bernice Morgan, and the Breakwater Boys.

Then it hits Corner Brook. Artists including Nick Avis, Lloyd Bartlett, Elinor Benjamin, Cleve Best, Breakwater Boys, Allan & Matthew Byrne, Joe Byrne, Pat Byrne, Lorna Crozier, Stan Dragland, John Ennis, Fergus, Final Approach, Susan Gillis, Jennifer Hedd, Pat Lane, Ruth Lawrence, Randall Maggs, Emiko Miyashita, Bernice Morgan, Pamela Morgan, Charlie Payne, Daniel Payne, Linda Slade, Larry Small, Gerald Squires, John Steffler, SWGC Actors, Agnes Walsh, and Des Walsh will be at the following locations:

Friday, March 9:

1:30 p.m., Sir Wilfred Grenfell College—March Hare Anthology and CD Launch

4:30 p.m., Glynmill Inn—Book Launches: Larry Small and Agnes Walsh

8:00 p.m., Casual Jack’s Roadhouse—Readings and Music

Saturday, March 10:

2:00 p.m., Columbus Club—Mad Hatter’s Tea Party Matinee

8:00 p.m., Location to be Announced—Pittman’s Fancy

Sunday, March 11:

2:00 p.m., Location to be Announced—Sunday Soiree

Women’s Work Festival

A festival of women playwrights, the Women's Work Festival will take place over four days this week, from the 5th to the 8th. RCA Theatre, White Rooster Productions and She Said Yes! Productions are joining together to host this event with all proceeds going to the Naomi Centre, a shelter for women between 16 and 30 in need of safe and supportive temporary shelter.

As part of the festival, a Play Reading Series is scheduled for three nights from March 5-7, 2007 at 7 pm nightly at the Eastern Edge Gallery. On March 5, Sex, the war of by Lois Brown, and Connecting Rooms by Florence Button of Carbonear will be presented featuring Kay Anonsen, Robert Chafe, Sandy Gow, Brad Hodder, Ruth Lawrence, and Sara Tilley. On March 6th, Family, or, 63 Steps by Agnes Walsh will be read by Robert Chafe, Amy House and Ruth Lawrence. Then on March 7th, The (In)complete Herstory of Women in Newfoundland and (Labrador!) by Sara Tilley will feature Mary-Lynn Bernard, Robert Chafe, Sandy Gow, Ruth Lawrence and Sherry White.

The finale of the festival will be the 2nd Annual The Ladies of Misrule, held at 8 pm, March 8th at the Masonic Temple on Cathedral Street. The evening will include a celebration of several pioneers. Kay Anonsen, Tessa Crosbie, Sheilagh Guy Murphy, Amy House, Katie Pittman, Joan Sullivan, Simone Savard-Walsh and others will salute the work of writer Cassie Brown, music hall entertainer Biddy O’Toole, poet Len Margaret, traditional singer Bride Judge and others. As well, there will be a dessert buffet.

And, because I should add something not really writing related, one of my favorite local musical acts, Oddly Enough, are performing at Roxxy's Saturday night, March 10th.

No reason to be bored around here, I'll tell you.

RIP The Mind Boggles

2007-03-04T11:50:00.000-03:30

One of my favourite blogs, The Mind Boggles, is gone, deleted from the universe. You can find all that is left of it, in Google's cached pages. I'll miss it a lot. It was a great blend of humour, pop culture and the life of Helmut.

Hoohoos and Peepees

2007-03-01T10:42:00.000-03:30

When my son was born, I already knew, from parenting books, magazines, classes, and television shows, that I should use proper names of body parts around my son. That meant all his body parts. In the early days I used cutsie terms for his "boy parts", gleefully using these silly nicknames as much as I could because they sounded cute and because it would be wrong for me to use them later on when the boy was old enough to understand. Calling these parts by nicknames would make them seem more silly and less important and if, God forbid, someone would inappropriately touch these parts, he would know how to explain it and the judge would not have to try to discern what was meant by "he touched my wonka wonka". It also helps prevent any shame in talking about these body parts (although I could use a little more discretion from the boy). So we are very careful to use only the correct names. We gently remind family and friends of this when necessary. My son still makes up names for them but we correct him as well. I think we are doing the right thing. After all, no one calls his arm a "dangly" or his nose his "little sniffer". This all makes perfect sense to me.

Until I see that the world does not agree. Yes, child-care experts agree, but others don't. True, others think that George Bush was worth re-electing and that homosexuality can be cured but, still, I wrongly expect more from adults. People are censoring the use of the proper names of body parts. The Vagina Monologues has been renamed The Hoohaa Monologues. Can you imagine seeing that on a big billboard? I think I would find that much more offensive, on many levels, than The Vagina Monologues.

And even more disgusting, The Higher Power of Lucky, awarded this year's Newberry Medal for excellence in children's books, has been banned in many secondary schools and public libraries because of one word in the book. This disgusting word, terrible enough to have the book removed from school and library shelves is *gasp* "scrotum".Yes, that very part of my son I try to teach him the name of, try to tell him is important enough to be given the right name, is cause to ban a book.

Now, I've discussed censorship here before. I disagree with it. To quote a line wrongly attributed to Voltaire, "I may disagree with what you have to say but I will defend to the death your right to say it". So, when any book is censored, let alone a book so good that a jury gave it a very prestigious award, because of one word, that angers me. It also confuses me. What word should have been used? There are plenty of nicknames one can use to describe that body part. I could list a bunch and then make make up a bunch more and you'd get it. But why use them when there is a perfectly good word for it? Maybe the author could have chosen a different body part, but I didn't read the book and I sure didn't write it. If that author chose "scrotum", I cannot say she was wrong. I guess the Newberry people didn't think so either.

So, don't forget to teach your children the right names for all body parts but if you're performing an Obie Award-winning play, or if you are writing a book for children over 9 years old, make sure you make up nice names for those parts. No need to expose people to those nasty old words. Use hoohoo or peepee and make squeamish people, afraid to discuss the body, happy in their ignorance. In the meantime, if you forget what the real names are: you can ask my kid.

Jesus, Mary and Joseph

2007-02-27T14:40:00.000-03:30

Well, something has finally knocked the death of Anna Nicole Smith off the nauseating stuff on TV that passes as news. And who could do such a thing? Jesus Christ. But not really anything less sordid than the Anna Nicole Smith thing. This one is about the supposed proof that Jesus's bones have been found. Now, you'd think that such information would make the heart of one like me, a holder of a BA in Religious Studies with a concentration in Christian History, beat rapidly with adrenaline. You'd think I'd be drooling right about now and watching the news all the time to find out more. But I watched a bit, just enough to see what they are talking about and see that the holes in their theories are big enough to stroll through.

Let's start with the names on the ossuaries (where the bones were held): "Jesus, son of Joseph"; "Mary"; and "Judah, son of Jesus". Gasp! Why, that's like, like...like finding children in a school today whose names are Matthew, Emma and Sarah. These names were very popular back then so this means nothing. Even less so, since no one knows if Jesus had a son and if he was named Judah.

The documentary people used DNA to prove that two of the sets of remains in the tomb were unrelated, namely Jesus and Mary Magdalene. So, they presume, they must be married. Okey dokey, so they're not related. Now this is where it gets good right? This is where they test Judah's bones to prove that he is the son of Jesus and Mary, right? Oh, no they didn't do that, at least they don't reveal that they did. And wouldn't you think that would be the big revelation these documentary producers would lay on us if they had it--Perfect DNA proof that a Judah was the child of a Mary and a Jesus. And even if they did, is that proof that Jesus Christ married and had a child? Proof?

Then there are the "experts". One "expert", a statistician, said that the odds of all six names (Jesus, Mary, Joseph. Mary Magdalene, Matthew and Judah) being in the one tomb are 1 in 600 to one in a million. Okay, but first you have to get more "experts" to say that the names inscribed on the individual ossuaries are, in fact, these names. For instance, in order to say that one was inscribed with the name Mary Magdalene, it involved getting "experts" to say that the Greek inscriptions (the only Greek inscription in the tomb) “Mariamene e Mara” can be translated as “Mary, known as the master”. Then you need another "expert", namely Harvard professor Francois Bovon to interpret a fourth or fifth century text, the "Acts of Phillip", which apparently reveals that Mariamene is Mary Magdalene’s real name.

I mean I can find "experts" who will swear that almost every product in every infomercial will help you lose weight or look twenty years younger; will tell you that global warming is a hoax and that the Holocaust never happened. Experts sell these days and for every one that says this latest James Cameron film reveals the truth, there will be one or two more who says the opposite. And even more who'll say the only thing I can respect: "We're not sure. Could be, might not be. Not enough evidence right now."

I'm not a skeptic at heart. I believe in things that lots of other people don't believe in and doubt some that many people are certain of. I see connections where others may not. But this latest publicity stunt of James Cameron and his crowd, this latest attempt to create a buzz a la The Da Vince Code, is pathetic. At least Dan Brown just revealed it as a fictional theory, not as a documentary. The bottom line is that none of this is provable anyway. But even to make me think it might be, even to make me sit up and look on with rapt interest, the evidence would have to be a lot more persuasive than what I've seen so far.

And if it is, I'll let you know. I will be watching PBS on Sunday night when the film airs.

Marjorie Holmes

2007-02-26T09:04:00.000-03:30

A guy from Victoria, BC, who calls himself lord marmalade, bought a suitcase at an auction. Contained in that suitcase was a reflection of the life of a woman, of her vacations, her friends, people and places she cared about. They were the photos and newspaper clippings collected by one woman over her life. That woman's name was Marjorie Holmes, a widow with no children. For 30 dollars, lord marmalade tells us, he became "the caretaker of all her memories". Lord marmalade has put some of these photos up on Flickr and you can see the story of her life, both in words and in pictures as he has posted what little he knows about her there as well.

Even though it seems sad that all the photos she took ended up in a suitcase being bought by a stranger for 30 dollars, I love that we can remember the life of this woman we never had a chance to meet and that she will not be forgotten. People all over the world can now see her photos and, being the world traveller that she was, I think maybe Marjorie Holmes would have been pleased by that.

(Did you think I was going to post about the Oscars? Up until nearly 2 in the morning our time to watch a movie I strongly disliked, win both Best Director and Best Movie. Blech.)

Short Personality Tests

2007-02-23T16:33:00.000-03:30

What can I say? It's Friday and I have nothing else. At least they're short.

Your Personality Profile

You are dignified, spiritual, and wise.
Always unsatisfied, you constantly try to better yourself.
You are also a seeker of knowledge and often buried in books.

You tend to be philosophical, looking for the big picture in life.
You dream of inner peace for yourself, your friends, and the world.
A good friend, you always give of yourself first.

The World's Shortest Personality Test

And then there's:

Your Personality Is

Idealist (NF)

You are a passionate, caring, and unique person.
You are good at expressing yourself and sharing your ideals.

You are the most compassionate of all types and connect with others easily.
Your heart tends to rule you. You can't make decisions without considering feelings.

You seek out other empathetic people to befriend.
Truth and authenticity matters in your friendships.

In love, you give everything you have to relationships. You fall in love easily.

At work, you crave personal expression and meaning in your career.

With others, you communicate well. You can spend all night talking with someone.

As far as your looks go, you've likely taken the time to develop your own personal style.

On weekends, you like to be with others. Charity work is also a favorite pastime of yours.

The Three Question Personality Test

Talking to Toys

2007-02-22T14:14:00.000-03:30

I find myself talking to toys a lot. My son does the voices for them and I talk back. I even do the voices myself sometimes. Most of the time, though, I am responding to the words my son puts in the inanimate objects. They tell me where they are going or ask me questions and I respond in great detail, in a happy voice. I hug them and even kiss them when they need it. I think that's all great. It encourages my son's imagination, vocabulary and social skills (talking airplanes always say "please" and "thank you" and share with others).

It's the other times I talk to the toys that worry me. The times when my son is not in the room and I speak to toy robots or cars.

"If he can't keep you off the floor, I'm going to throw you away," I say to a truck that has nearly killed me by being under my feet.

"I hate you," I growl to a flashlight that makes loud train noises when I touch it.

"For the love of God, shut up," I tell the talking robot.

"I won't do this forever," I whisper to the firetruck whose ladder I have once again affixed to its proper place. "Eventually you'll be called broken and we'll all get past the boy's weeping and wailing in mourning for you and move on."

As you can tell, these conversations are often angry and threatening. It's not the fault of the toys really. They can't help getting broken or how noisy they are or where my son places them in an attempt to break my neck. But they take the brunt of my anger about these situations and it's not really fair to them.

I am very kind to the stuffed animals. All the animals, in fact. I am quite fond of Lulu and Luke, the plastic salamanders, and even "ssssss", the cleverly named plastic snake. It's the cars and trucks and robots and noisy things that get my ire. And, since my son feels that only toys with wheels are real playthings, they account for most of the toys in the house. The animals live in a very small basket and the stuffed toys are in the closet since there's no room for them and the wheely toys (I tell them to come out of the closet, that I'm fine with them and will not judge them nor send them off to some Ted Haggard-type retraining school, but in the closet they remain).

I hope that all this is not indicative of some disorder I may have. Is there such a thing as ATTS (Anger Towards Toys Syndrome)? I think there should be. And I think the prescribed treatment should be a weekend alone in a toy-free hotel with a large jacuzzi, a bunch of scented candles, and a vat of wine. I wonder if that is covered by my health insurance insurance plan?

Learning to say no

2007-02-21T14:55:00.000-03:30

My three-year-old has it right. If I ask him if he wants to do something or if he could help me with something, he will think about if for a second, then say yes if he wants to and no if he does not. Brilliant! He is not worrying about putting me out, only about putting himself out and if he wants to do it. The thought does not cross his mind that I will think less of him for saying no, or that anyone could think less of him. For anything. He's Sam. It's Sam's world so why should he do anything he doesn't want to? He is assertive and confident. He is a Sam-pleaser, not a people-pleaser.

If you are a people-pleaser, as I am, then you'll understand the difficulty of saying no. You want to make people happy, to do the right thing, to help out when someone asks but, let's face it, most of all you want people to like you and think you are nice. So, you say yes when you want to say no or, as I do, say you will think about it and then, only after finding a good excuse or a legitimate reason, you say no. If you can't think of a good excuse or find a legitimate reason, you say yes, even if you hate it. I do this. I am terrible with this.

But that is not my biggest problem. No, I always, always go above and beyond. My husband and I were talking about this last night and he said "if someone asked you 'could you hold this cup of coffee for me while I blow my nose', you would hold the coffee then offer to make them some soup for their cold." (Weird example because when has he ever known me to make soup? I suppose I might offer to heat up a can of chicken noodle.) And I know he is right. I do this. I just don't say yes to people, I volunteer for extra duties. I always go above and beyond what is asked of me.

Part of it is that I am super-empathetic. I try to avoid hearing sad stories of people or animals because I dwell on them and find myself wondering how I can help out and what I would do in a similar situation. I take the 'do unto others' thing farther and try to do unto them more than what I would expect for myself. I try to make everything bad go away for people, whether it be their stress, anxiety, pain, or illness, I try to make everything right. And you know that's a task doomed to fail.

The good news is I am getting better. I have recently said no a few times and even answered quickly on a couple of occasions, only giving it a moment of thought before saying it. And I have stopped myself several times from the above and beyond thing. I consciously do it because I will later tell my husband that I almost offered to do something extra but did not. Maybe it is because I am a lot busier and have to maximize my time. Maybe it is because more people are asking more of me and I have to say no or, as my mom says, I will have too much on my plate. Maybe it is because I am getting older and I realize how much time I am wasting on this whole process or how much stress I put myself under by thinking about it too long and too hard, analyzing all the possibilities and the after-effects. Or maybe I have come to accept that, more than likely, saying no won't make someone who likes you stop liking you and saying yes will not make someone who does not like you think any better of you (except that you are a sucker just as they suspected all along).

I think saying no is the sign of a healthy person. It shows you have enough respect for yourself to know what you are capable of, what your limitations are and how important your time is. So, I am going to keep doing it because the truth is that it kind of feels good to say no, move on and let go. Sure, I may apologize for it and may over explain my reasons, but I can say the word. I can. And I will. But if someone really needs me, I will be there if I can at all. That's just the way I am.

Next step, learning not to apologize so much—for supposed slights I fear others may have felt from something innocent I said, for asking something of someone else, and even for saying no.

So, no, and I am not sorry about it. There.

Entertainment Tonight is turning my stomach

2007-02-19T10:38:00.000-03:30

Honest to God! My ritual used to be to turn to NTV at 7:00 and watch Entertainment Tonight. It was a pretty good show and seemed somehow above the tabloid type entertainment shows and magazines around. True, they went overboard with the Tomkat wedding thing and the Jolie-Pitt baby thing and lately they have been getting on my nerves with Dr. Phil's 400 pound babies and 1200 pound man shows, oh and the Ugly Vanessa series was truly annoying (maybe people in the public laughed at Vanessa Minnillo in a prosthetic face and a "fat suit" because she looked like she had rubber slathered on her face and it was melting off). But, it was a fun, mindless half an hour a night where I could catch up on Britney's most recent hoohoo exposure and the latest celebrity arrests/rehab visits.

Then on February 7th of this year, I decided that I was sick of night after night of Anna Nicole Smith slurring, crying and growling into the camera and would not watch ET anymore. This is not entertainment, I thought. Why am I watching this person who does not entertain me and has no discernable talent other than being tabloid fodder? Well, the next day the poor woman died and I felt bad, very sorry for her and hoped she would find some peace in death.

Maybe she did, but we sure didn't. The show that I once thought of as different than the tabloids, is sinking to new lows in television (and that is hard to do in the world of Jerry Springer and Flavor of Love). Since Anna Nicole Smith died, almost every single minute of Entertainment Tonight, and it's sister show (AKA copy of ET with different co-hosts and the same stories) The Insider, has been about her, her baby, the alleged pain of her alleged partner, Howard K. Stern, Stern's siblings, potential daddies for Anna Nicole's baby and rehashes of Anna's last interviews with ET. I know this not because I watched it but because I watched the previews of the shows at the beginning, always with the hope that they could return to the good old ET I knew and loved. I cannot stomach to actually watch the show.

I mean it's disgusting. They had cameras on Howard K Stern when he was reunited with his alleged child because you know that a) if you were being reunited with your child after her mother just died, a camera capturing it all for the world to see would be a big necessity and b) an entertainment show must say "whoa, that kid just lost her mother, let's suck up all the pain we can and throw it out in the world. Yeah, now that's entertainment tonight!"

Maybe nothing else has happened in the entertainment world since Anna Nicole died. Oh, wait, there was something called The Grammys. It is true that ET did do a story on that. They interrupted Anna Nicole Smith is Dead and All Her Scummy Friends and Relatives are Degrading Themselves and Her Memory on TV Tonight to show us a two minute recap of the awards (I watched that night until the Grammy recap was over because I wanted to see more about the Dixie Chicks and their win).

One night I watched the previews of The Insider and I swear to God that host Pat O'Brien was standing in a cemetery next to a freshly dug open grave saying something like "will this be Anna Nicole Smith's final resting place? Tune in and find out." (My husband said "someone is watching TV now and saying 'no, that's Uncle John's grave. What are they doing next to Uncle John's grave?'")

So, ET is done for me. I don't know how I can ever go back to watching it again. Maybe if they announce that they were temporarily insane and forgot what the word "entertainment" meant and profusely apologize for making a sad situation into something loathsome. Other than that, bye, bye ET.

Deadlines

2007-02-17T11:09:00.000-03:30

Been a busy week but now deadlines have been met, new writing is out in the universe and things are settling down a bit. Of course, met deadlines don't mean I can do nothing. No, the whole point of deadlines is to get things out there so you can work on new things. For me, that means I can now focus on the novel in progress.

It's been hard not working on the current novel for the last couple of weeks while I met these deadlines, like good friends I haven't been able to see in a bit. I dropped off the completed novel at Jesperson yesterday and then went straight to Starbucks where I had a Cinammon Dolce Latte and got right back into the swing of things with the characters in A Few Kinds of Wrong. You know a book is going well when you find it hard to stay away from the writing, when the characters call out to you while you're taking the dishes out of the dishwasher, or you hear their songs on the radio and a part of you gets excited, anxious to get back to them and see what they're going to do.

And there are still more deadlines—freelance technical writing to get done, another writing contest deadline on Monday, and stuff to edit for WORD, the newsletter of the Writers' Alliance of Newfoundland and Labrador. But the big ones are out of the way, the ones that have been looming over my head. and today all I have to do is go sliding with my family and then out for a late Valentine's Day supper this evening. But I have a feeling I'll be doing some writing as well, just to see what those old friends are up to.

Names from the Ocean Ranger Disaster

2007-02-15T09:16:00.000-03:30

Valentine's Day is never just Valentine's Day for me, and I am sure it is true for many Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, especially those who were around 25 years ago. It is the day before the anniversary of the Ocean Ranger Disaster. For many of us, February 15th is as recognizable a date as the 14th. Today is the 25th anniversary of the disaster, of the morning when the province woke up to hear the unthinkable, that so many men were lost in one fell swoop. An island used to painful losses at sea or on the ice, suddenly had this new, unprecedented horror. Men lost en masse with no survivors.

I did not know anyone on the Ocean Ranger. My surprise and sadness that day was about the enormity of it while others experienced it on a very singular level, no doubt aware of the hugeness of it all but enveloped in their own personal grief. So how to remember these men 25 years later? Men I did not know.

Well, I took some time to read each name and remember them not as just names or numbers or a part of a famous disaster we remember every year, but as fathers, sons, husbands, brothers, boyfriends, grandsons, uncles, cousins and friends; in terms of missed birthday parties, anniversaries, graduations, and wedding days; as children that would never be born and loves never found; as jokes not told and songs not sung; and as a goodnight kiss missed forever. Maybe you'd like to do the same and take a few minutes to read the names and remember someone you may not have known and the families and friends he left behind.

I am so very sorry for your loss, every one.

Jim Dodd
Derek Escott
Cyril Greene
Derek Holden
Rick Sheppard
Frank Smit
Daniel Conway
Terrance Dwyer
Fred Harnum
Randy Noseworthy
John Pinhorn
Dennis Ryan
William Smith
Woodrow Warford
Tom Hatfield
Arthur Dagg
Kenneth Chafe
Gerald Clarke
Douglas Putt
Gary Crawford
Norman Halliday
Wayne Miller
Gord Mitchell
Perry Morrison
Greg Caines
Wayne Drake
Cliff Kuhl
Robert Wilson
David Chalmers
Robert Howell
Robert Fenez
Jack Jacobson
Robert Madden
George Augot
Nicholas Baldwin
Kenneth Blackmore
Thomas Blevins
David Boutcher
Wade Brinston
Paul Bursey
Norman Dawe

Thomas Donlon
Joseph Burry
Leon Droddy
William Dugas
Domenic Dyke
Andrew Evoy
Randell Ferguson
Ronald Foley
Melvin Freid
Carl Fry
George Grandy
Guy Garbeau
Regineld Gorum
Capt. Clarence Hauss
Ron Heffernan
Gregory Hickey
Robert Hicks
Albert Howell
Harold LeDrew
Robert LeDrew
Michael Maurice
Ralph Melendy
Ken O'Brien
Paschal Joesph O'Neill
George Palmer
Clyde Parsons
Donald Pieroway
Willie Powell
Gerald Power
Donald Rathbun
William Smith
Ted Staplton
Benjamin Kent Thompson
Craig Tilley
Gerald Vaughn
Michael Watkin
Robert Winsor
Stephen Winsor
Robert Arsenault
Darryl Reid
Greg Tiller

Names provided by Memorials Online.

Five grammys is the best revenge

2007-02-12T09:16:00.000-03:30

Oh, I can't help it. I love a good 'living well is the best revenge' story and when the Dixie Chicks won five Grammys last night that was sweeeet.

Everyone knows the story. In 2003 The Dixie Chicks said something bad about US President George Bush at a concert (these fifteen words: "Just so you know, we're ashamed the President of the United States is from Texas") and America and much of the world hit them with a vengeance. Country music dumped them, death threats were made, people boycotted buying their albums or concert tickets, and things were just generally rotten for them.

Now, in 2007, the Dixie Chicks win five Grammy Awards including Record of the Year and Album of the Year, and this for the CD that basically threw it back in the faces of the people who attacked them. The Chicks' music told us that they were not ready to make nice about the whole affair and addressed their critics with lines like:

"It's a sad sad story
That a mother will teach her daughter
that she ought to hate a perfect stranger.
And how in the world
Can the words that I said
Send somebody so over the edge
That they'd write me a letter
Saying that I better shut up and sing
Or my life will be over".

Finally, they get rewarded for speaking (or singing) the truth. You just have to love a story as satisfying as that.

AAMP Frosty Film Festival

2007-02-09T11:39:00.000-03:30

If you like great films then you owe it to yourself to attend the 2nd Annual Frosty Film Festival this Sunday, February 11. It is presented by The Association for the Arts in Mount Pearl in partnership with The City of Mount Pearl and The Mount Pearl Frosty Festival Committee. The film festival will feature Gerry Rogers' Pleasant Street, Roger Maunder's The White Balloon, Matt Tucker's Building Faythe, Noel Harris' Two or More, Jordan Canning's Thick and Thin
and the premiere of Philip David Hogan's Nightingale's Last Song. And the admission price for such a group of wonderful films? You won't believe it. $2.00, that's all. It's at Mount Pearl Square from 5-9pm.

For more information you can contact chris@aamp.ca.

Recut movie trailers

2007-02-08T14:04:00.000-03:30

YouTube users have been creating movie trailers that make a well known movie look like it is a movie of a completely different genre. With the use of the right clips, music, and fonts, you will be amazed how different a movie can seem. Makes you think hard about the whole idea of movie trailers and how deceiving they can be. Some of these recut trailers are better than others (some people tend to make them way too long--3:00 is too long for a trailer), but I get a great kick out of some of them. Examples are:

Office Space as a thriller

When Harry Met Sally as a thriller

The Matrix as a romance

Sleepless in Seattle as a horror movie

Misery as a love story

Mary Poppins as a horror movie

And my absolute favourite, The Shining as a romantic comedy

God Love Him

2007-02-07T10:34:00.000-03:30

Few things on the news can make me laugh out loud but news that Rev. Ted Haggard has been 'cured' and is no longer gay (yup, he is a raging heterosexual now) made me laugh out loud when I first heard it and I've been chuckling about it whenever I think of it. I'm wondering if the same crowd who helped him with this can help me stop blinking or maybe stop that annoying thing where hair grows on my legs. Really, I could use not having to shave them all the time.

Apparently because Haggard alleges that the only homosexual sex he ever had was with male prostitute Mike Jones (over a three-year period), this means that he was heterosexual all along. And you know we should believe him because he was always 100% honest with his flock. Well, except after first denying the allegations and then saying that Jones had just given him a massage and that yes, he bought methamphetamine from the guy but he just threw it away. But then, once taped conversations between Jones and Haggard came out, well, Haggard was totally truthful. Yeah, so I believe him. It was only, at the very least, sex with a male prostitute during a three year period. I mean, how can that be seen as anything but heterosexual?

Now, if you'll excuse me, I am going to see how long I can go without blinking.

Damn. Okay, I'll try again. I can do it, you know. It's all mind over matter. If I just tell myself that I don't need to blink, that I am not a blinker, I can do it. I just have...to...not...close...my

Damn...

J.K. Rowling signs statue

2007-02-06T10:18:00.000-03:30

Or should it read "J.K. Rowling defaces statue"? The author of the Harry Potter books finished the final novel in the series at Balmoral Hotel in Scotland. Before leaving the hotel she wrote, in black marker, on a statue in the hotel: "JK Rowling finished writing Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows in this room on 11 Jan 2007". I think it is pretty cool because I am a Harry Potter fan and a J. K. Rowling fan as well, so the idea of her happily scrawling a message on a statue after completing this amazing journey she has been on with the boy wizard appeals to me. I don't think it was anything malicious but I can't help wondering if they knew she was going to do this or did she just decide, on the spur of the moment, to write on a statue in a hotel.

Now, the hotel won't say anything against it, for sure, because of the publicity. Besides, I am sure that someone with way too much money would pay oodles for the statue if the Balmoral ever wants to sell it and they could probably get thousands of Harry Potter fans to pay top dollar just to step into the room, let alone stay there all night. Who would complain about that?

A spokeswoman for the hotel said "We have many different antique artefacts within the hotel". So did Rowling write on an antique artifact? That wouldn't be good. Why not scribble on something that's not an antique statue? Maybe the mini-bar or the room service menu. Maybe the desk in the room. Or, if she was going for something more dramatic, why not carve the words into the desk? Black marker on a marble statue just seems a little curious to me.

Ambrose Price in the Design Superstar Challenge

2007-02-05T08:36:00.000-03:30

Newfoundlander Ambrose Price is a contestant on HGTV's Design Superstar Challenge. Ambrose grew up in Fortune and makes his home in St. John's now. I first heard about his appearance on the designing challenge when Anne Budgell interviewed him after he had been picked for the show, then again after the taping of his show had wrapped. I loved listening to him talk about his adventures on the show. He seemed so proud of his accomplishments and kind of surprised about it, yet he had a real confidence that came through. You can hear the interviews on Radio Noon's archive site. The first one is here (11 minutes in) and the follow-up here (23 minutes in).

Ambrose said the judges thought he was a breath of fresh air and, based on what I have heard, I have to agree. The show airs on HGTV on Mondays and can be seen tonight at 11:30PM (and February 6 at 2:30AM and 5:30AM, February 10 at 10:30PM, and February 11 at 3:30PM--I think they are all repeats of the same show but HGTV's website is not very forthcoming about it all--all times are Newfoundland Standard Time). I believe that later on the audience will get to vote online so maybe you might want to watch so we can start a new NL voting craze. From the interview, it sounds like he went far with the judges.

Go Ambrose!

Eating Vegetables

2007-02-04T10:59:00.000-03:30

Neil Gaiman had the best quote: "If writing fiction is dessert, then copy-editing is eating all your vegetables. Blogging is snacking between meals."

I am trying to be a good girl and eat my vegetables, I really am. Commas=brussel sprouts; periods=potatoes (they're pretty easy to get down); dialogue="carrots"; em dashes="turnips"; quotation marks=peppers of any colour; and italics/underlining=asparagus.

Just a little blog snack now and I'll get right back to it. Honestly.

In On It Recap

2007-02-03T12:42:00.000-03:30

I got "In On It" last night. I saw the play In On It, written by Daniel MacIvor, directed by Mark White, and starring Philip Goodridge and Jason Card. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was fast paced and kept me completely entertained for the hour or so of the play. It is brilliantly written with never a moment where you know what is going to happen and very well acted by Card and Goodridge. There was a good crowd for what was a pretty snowy and greasy night on the roads and, as always, I was impressed with the number of people who showed up for theatre at the Hall. And, as usual, I was impressed with the staging of the show. Minimal props are on stage (two chairs and a jacket) but the lighting and the sounds are a big part of the performance and had to be flawless, particularly in a scene where there is a game of catch and at the pivotal moments at the end. I won't give anything away. There is one more performance tonight and if you're thinking about going, you should.

michellebutlerhallett.com

2007-02-02T14:09:00.000-03:30

As I recently told you, I have given up designing web pages as a way to make money. When I made that decision I was in the middle of creating a new page for Michelle Butler Hallett, author of The shadow side of grace. She was great to deal with, had good ideas about what she wanted, and was very clear about what she did not want. All in all, a very pleasant experience. I think the end result works well and have had some positive feedback about it, as I hope Michelle has, since RJ kindly pointed people to it. To those of you who may not have seen it yet, it is the aptly named michellebutlerhallett.com. Very interesting stuff but, in particular, I think the Grab Bag will grab you and the random facts will randomly please you as you learn more and more things with each visit to the site and on every different page.

Rant Like Rick

2007-02-01T09:13:00.000-03:30

By the time you read this post, Memorial University of Newfoundland will have probably already launched their "Rant Like Rick" recruitment campaign (it officially launches at 1 pm today). The "Like Rick" part of the name refers, of course, to our own Rick Mercer and his always spot-on rants. MUN's campaign includes a contest encouraging students across Canada to send in their own videotaped rants. The prize is a voucher for two free semesters at MUN. But if you're a SOTA (Student Older Than Average), don't bother. MUN's press release says that the contest is open to "students who are currently enrolled in high school and who will have graduated and be eligible to attend Memorial University in September 2007". Ads for the campaign will play on television, movie theatres and the advertising medium of choice for youth: YouTube. This is something pretty different for MUN and they admit it.

It seems that everyone is trying to advertise in different ways these days. I'm all for it unless it is something stupid like the electronic devices placed around Boston yesterday that caused pandemonium in the city. Highways were closed as bomb squads, police and fire departments worked to find and even explode what they called "suspicious devices"—made up of wires, a circuit board and batteries—from areas such as bridges. Turns out they were for a publicity campaign for a new cartoon and the devices would have shown up in the dark as an angry cartoon character giving passersby the finger. Uh oh. Someone at Turner Broadcasting, owner of the Cartoon Network which will show the new series, is in a heap of trouble today.

I don't think MUN's advertising campaign will cause mass panic in our streets but I think it is an idea that will probably get a lot of attention and plenty of submissions, if for no other reason than Rick Mercer's name is attached to it and who doesn't love Rick? What do you think of the new campaign?

*Update: Here is MUN's ad (with Mark O'Brien) as seen on YouTube .

Shaye reality show

2007-01-31T09:25:00.000-03:30

Shaye, the pop trio made up of Tara MacLean and Newfoundland and Labrador's own Damhnait Doyle and Kim Stockwood, will have their own reality show airing on CHTV later this year. I heard Kim Stockwood tell CBC Radio's Jeff Gilhooly this morning that cameras have been following the group around for six months, showing how they juggle motherhood, family, friends and music. I'm sure we'll be hearing more about this in the months to come but I think it sounds interesting. I bet the reality show will show us how unglamorous the life really is, like the time Damhnait tells that the ladies were feeling pretty good about themselves on a visit to the Humber Valley Resort when, as Damhnait tells it: "just as life planned it we pulled up to the theatre and through the poring rain we read the sign welcoming the province’s own “Shayne” (no permalink to the diary entry I quote but it is Sunday, October 22, 2006). I think it is the ability of the members of Shaye to be totally honest about the realities of public life that will make this show a "real" reality show for a change.

Shaye's next CD, Lake of Fire will be released on February 6, as a physical entity although you can buy it now at iTunes.

WANL reading in Gander

2007-01-29T20:57:00.000-03:30

WANL is having a free reading in Gander. The time is 7pm on Wednesday, Jan 31. The place is the Atlantic Room, Irving West Hotel and that is special to me because the Irving West Hotel is named after my Great-uncle Irving, a businessman from Aspen Cove who was so admired by businessman Harry Steele, that when Mr. Steele bought the hotel in Gander, he named it after Uncle Irving. Uncle Irving has since passed away but the Irving West Hotel and his picture in the lobby remains. So, if you go to the reading, think about that as you go in and look for his picture. A picture of him (with me) is on the wall behind me as I type this.

But, I digress (I digress a lot, hey?) The WANL reading features local writers Isabel Blackmore, Arch Bonnell, Michael Cahoon, Kathy Connors, Rod Golf, Kathleen Hogan, Norah Martin, Philip Patey, Margaret Penton, Dave Shaw, Dave Snow, and Eric West.

Like I said, it is free and everyone is welcome to the exciting evening of readings by new and established local writers. For more information contact WANL at 709-739-5215 or e-mail wanl@nf.aibn.com.

Dawn French's Girls Who Do Comedy

2007-01-28T20:15:00.000-03:30

If you love British comedy, you probably already know who Dawn French is. One half of the French and Saunders television show (where the sketch that launched AbFab came from and one of the funniest spoof shows ever), Dawn French is a hilarious talent. Youtube is great for many things and comedy fans are lucky to have the series Dawn French's Girls Who Do Comedy on YouTube. In the show, French interviews a wide array of talented women in comedy. Included are some of my favourites like Julie Walters (who was brilliant in Driving Lessons, recently shown at the MUN Cinema Series), the outrageous Sarah Silverman, Wanda Sykes, Kathy & Mo (Kathy Najimy and Mo Gaffney), Tracy Ullman, Jo Brand, and Jennifer Saunders. French gives a lot of insights into her own comedy as well. Thanks to YouTube, those of us across the pond can now see this great three-part series.

The whole lineup of female comics interviewed includes: Morwenna Banks, Sandra Bernhardt, Jo Brand, Eleanor Bron, Kathy Burke, Margaret Cho, Denise Coffey, Phyllis Diller, Jenny Eclair, Mo Gaffney, Mel Giedroyc, Whoopi Goldberg, Sheila Hancock, Helen Lederer, Miriam Margolyes, Penny Marshall, Kathy Najimy, Sue Perkins, Miss Piggy, Joan Rivers, Rita Rudner, Jennifer Saunders, Sarah Silverman, Linda Smith, Laura Solon, Jessica Stevenson, Meera Syal, Wanda Sykes, Lisa Tarbuck, Catherine Tate, Tracey Ullman, Julie Walters, Ruby Wax, Victoria Wood and Gina Yashere.

I have included the links for each of the online episodes below or, if I've screwed that up somehow, you can just search YouTube.

Episode 1 (1 of 3)
Episode 1 (2 of 3)
Episode 1 (3 of 3)

Episode 2 (1 of 3)
Episode 2 (2 of 3)
Episode 2 (3 of 3)

Episode 3 (1 of 3)
Episode 3 (2 of 3)
Episode 3 (3 of 3)

Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour

2007-01-26T08:10:00.000-03:30

Remember a while back when I told you about Aweberg, a film about a guy who who went iceberg climbing in Makkovik, Labrador? Well, you can see that film this weekend in St. John's and a bunch of other great short films too at the local presentation of the Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour. It takes place this weekend on Saturday, January 28th and Sunday, January 28th. Doors open at 6:30pm and the show begins at 7:00pm. You can see films about snowboarding; ice climbing; cycling 8000 kilometers across Asia; disabled veterans, severely injured during the war in Iraq, travelling to the Rocky Mountains to participate in an adaptive winter sports program, as well as many more films. Tickets are available at Bennington Gate (Churchill Square), Free Ride Mountain Sports (Water St.), and Wallnuts Climbing Gym (Old Pennywell Rd.) or at the door (2nd floor of MUN's Inco Innovation Centre). But be warned, the organizers of this festival are friends of mine and they tell me that tickets for Saturday night are going fast so don't put off buying them for too long.

Poetry in the library

2007-01-25T09:40:00.000-03:30

Every term, ten poems are displayed throughout Memorial University of Newfoundland's Queen Elizabeth II Library and also on their website. The poems for Winter 2007 are on display now and include works from the first poet laureate for St. John's Agnes Walsh, recent writer-in-residence at MUN, Don McKay, Shoshanna Wingate, Susan Ingersoll, and Wade Kearley.

Postpartum depression on Scrubs

2007-01-24T15:02:00.000-03:30

Scrubs is one of my favourite shows on TV and one of the only comedies ever that I can guarantee I will have at least two or three out loud laughs (usually more) during each episode . This episode had me in tears in more way than one, having experienced postpartum depression myself (although I too called it "the weepies"). I was literally laughing and crying at the same time while watching it. It also contains the single best line about Tom Cruise I have heard since South Park's infamous Scientology episode.

Farewell Freestyle

2007-01-23T09:15:00.000-03:30

Well, it looks like Freestyle, CBC Radio One's quirky pop culture show is being replaced by a new arts magazine hosted by uber-cool CBC personality Jian Ghomeshi. I'll be honest here, I didn't like Freestyle when it first came along and bumped the Roundup off the air. It was so scripted and phony and quite often silly. The truth is that maybe no show can make me 100% happy in that slot because it is between Anne Budgell's Radio Noon and Ted Blades' On the Go, both local programs and I love the local CBC programming.

Allow me to digress for a moment. I remember how my father always listened to CBC Radio. I hated getting in the car after he'd driven it because the radio would be tuned to CBC and I had to quickly change to another station for fear I would hear too much and fall asleep before I could get some Joan Jett and the Blackhearts coming through the speakers. I thought Dad's listening habits were unbelievably boring (sorry, Dad but you know this and I am getting to the part where I agree with you soon). Then my son came along three years ago and I knew I did not want him exposed to television all day long (my own previous habit had been to have the telly on no matter if I was watching it or not). So I started listening to radio in the house and after listening to the same ten songs over and over and over on FM, I turned the dial to AM and somehow to CBC Radio. This was around the time that I was coming out of the writing closet and thinking about trying to get published, while my friend Kathy was exposing me to theatre and other things in the local arts scene. The local shows filled me in on that same arts scene and on NL writers and political goings on. They hooked me. Soon, I had CBC Radio on most of the day. I even listened to the gardening Crosstalk on Radio Noon even though I don't garden, with the hope I would hear some advice on how to get rid of the earrwigs I hate so much, or get some tips on lawn care for hubby.

It was the local shows that interested me the most and that is still true, but I find myself listening to more and more of the other CBC programming as well. I tell my son that one day he will think his mommy's listening habits are horribly boring and that I won't be able to persuade him any differently until he is mature enough to see how great knowing more about his world can be (without even having to click a link). I accept that this will happen and I listen to the same ten songs on FM in the car so he can be exposed to things like Justin Timberlake's Sexy Back (which my son unfortunately loves) and so I can find new songs to add to the soundtracks of my writing. So Dad was way ahead of me and it only took me thirty-odd years to figure it out (see, Dad, told you I'd say you were right).

Back to Freestyle. As I said, I didn't like it at first. Then it started growing on me and they started to interview people like RJ about his Codco DVD petition (hey, why don't I have a Codco DVD yet?) and Craig about being a movie buff in Iqaluit. They talked about stuff you couldn't hear anywhere else and made great blog fodder (I got more than one blog post idea from Freestyle). I even started to like the hosts, in particluar Kelly Ryan, but then she left the show just before Christmas. And now we get the news that Freestyle will be no more. I'm okay with it and Ghomeshi's show could be even more interesting to me because it will be about the arts. But let's hope he includes stories about the arts east and west of Toronto. It will be interesting to see what this new show will be like. For now, farewell Freestyle and thanks for all the weird and wonderful things I only heard about from your show.

Don't read things to me before I have had my first cup of coffee

2007-01-21T14:28:00.000-03:30

If you would like to spend a Sunday morning, as I did this morning, listening to your spouse read things from a web page he/she stumbled upon, while laughing after each line, then refer your spouse to Brian Taylor's Fascinating Facts, Trivia, Interesting Thoughts.

*Warning, if you are reading such things out loud and laughing, and the spouse who has to listen to it has not had her/his coffee and is not in a very good mood on such a Sunday morning, she/he may growl at you and roll her/his eyes.

The cover that never was

2007-01-19T10:25:00.000-03:30

Somewhere around November, 2005, my publisher wanted to add my book to an international rights calendar and had to do a quick mock-up of the cover and a blurb for the book. I knew nothing about this until I set up my web page then googled my name to see if the web page came up in the results. Lo and behold, there was the cover and the listing in the online catalogue, complete with the original title. I immediately contacted the publisher who gave me the explanation. For a few moments, I thought the book had been released without my knowing it. Anyway, here it is, the cover that never was.

Weather Bonk

2007-01-17T15:02:00.000-03:30

Want a combo of weather forecast, current weather conditions, webcams, google maps and satellite images a la google earth, all in one page? Do I hear a hell, yes? Well, click on over to Weather Bonk and enjoy. This site is becoming one of my favourite links, despite the fact that the weather of late around here is summed up in one word: COLD.

Monday morning delight

2007-01-15T09:04:00.000-03:30

What a fantastic way to start a Monday morning.