Mabel Talk

The Writing Corner: Updated

2012-01-31T04:15:00.000-05:00

I had to turn my desk in a different direction recently--there's a rolltop desk in my room now. Yes, there's too much stuff. Anyway.

I discovered I liked my new spot, able to see Kitteh on Heater as well as watch everyone taking their dogs out to pee. Possibly I also like that I can't see over the rolltop desk and book case next to me to see my messy room, or see behind me...

My bookcase of England books (complete with bowler hat, stuffed rats, and Tom Servo.) But because it's next to the washer and dryer, I've been using it to sort clothes and drape clothes that need to be hung up. ...Possibly this should be my next project.

Anyway, my new corner was surprisingly practical, but looked ugly. So I moved a bookcase, and tossed up some decor. Here's the new corner.

On the chair is a sweater, and under the desk is a blanky.

I haven't yet had to bring out the space heater and fingerless gloves.

Rolltop desk to the right. Pencils, pens, pic of old cats.

And a mini Calico on top.

View of the parking lot.

Found a use for my thesaurus, crossword dictionary, quotations dictionary, Chicago Manual of Style, and the two English dictionaries my grandfather gave me when I started my first degree in 1993. (I need the computer screen to be eye level.)

Also pictured: My 2nd hand but came in its original plastic Tsimshian Treasures--research for my book. About a collection of west coast artifacts that ended up in Great Britain, and were repatriated (to Canada, not to the Tsimshian people.)

A little purple flair for the book case.

Ergonomics: Adjustable chair, pullout keyboard.

Night View

Mega mug full of milky mint tea.

Realized we were missing some decor. So added Oscar and 3 postcards I bought in London, to the shelf with the writing books.

Créations Li dude and tea lights for the shelf with research for this and the next book.

Speaking of Li--the writing smurf she gave me years ago.

And for the kittons... a blanket for Minion to land on when she falls asleep on the heater and falls off.

The nearby shelf with boxes of my grandfather's papers (and an article about the room at the University of Alberta that they named after him) which Minion likes to lounge on. I assume she communes with his spirit up there.

One of her throughways.

A rare visit from Haley.

Minion checking out the new setup. Dost thou approve madam?

She doth.

Buffeted About

2012-01-30T04:00:00.002-05:00

I think my novel is finally moving. I think I worked through the blocks and plot obstacles and it's gonna flow now. PHEE-YEW.

And now for a Comments Interlude:

The Story

The Comments

[CBC]

Writing with Minion

2012-01-29T08:14:00.000-05:00

I put my chair back in a more a reclined position. But possibly I reclined it too much.

Minion's clinging to the chair and leaning on my back.

Judging by the movement, she may be giving herself a bath.

(Maybe if I passed her a comb she could tidy my hair.)
(Never mind, I just felt her use her claws.)

Her two more usual spots now that I'm back to working at my desk...

How can I type when someone's napping on my hand?

That's better. With the radiator on, this is a good winter hangout.

Well, stuffy me pink!

2012-01-27T10:02:00.000-05:00

My brother pointed these out to me. They're all designed by Native artists. I LOVE LOVE LOVE them. I have a huge stuffed animal collection and I try to no longer add to it, but OH MY DAYS.

Here's a few, but go see them all! (The whole site has lovely stuff.)

My brother's favorite. He's jolly!

Bizzy the Beaver - Designed by Chris Kewistep, Bella Bella

Clapper the Thunderbird - Designed by Doug LaFortune, Coast Salish

Cleo the Crab - Designed by Corey Bulpitt, Haida

Luna the Whale - Designed by Corey Bulpitt, Haida

Smokey the Wolf - Designed by Beau Dick, Kwakwaka'wakw

Namu the Orca - Designed by Paul White, Haida

Puppets too!

Hunter the Bear - Designed by Corey Bulpitt, Haida

In other news - some new music:

K'naan has a new EP out and released this single.

If you heard this on the radio, would you guess it's Miley Cyrus? From a new album of Bob Dylan covers.

Desk Porn

2012-01-26T07:30:00.000-05:00

After reading Jennifer Crusie's post about Susan Elizabeth Phillips' desk, Ms. Brownlow and I were emailing about desks. I was looking for old pics of my desk, when I came across an old post I made of writing corner porn. (They're not even that porny--some of the features are quite doable. Minus the beautiful windows in clearly old houses.)

Here are two old pics of my writing corner. The essentials are still the same, but I periodically rearrange things. While a fancy pant cute-a-tude corner is nice to dream about, better a crap desk where you get your writing done, than a beautiful one where you don't.

Carnaval de Fernando!

2012-01-25T05:35:00.000-05:00

Fernando is going to the Carnaval de Quebec next month with his friends. I'm staying home to catsit our cats and Shooter the Dog. I don't mind, cause it's not really my thing to stand around outside during the coldest month of the year. As a child I always got tired of sledding before other kids, cause my little toes and fingers were in so much pain.

The carnival's been going since 1894--it grew out of post-Lent frolicking.

This is the Master of the Carnaval, the Bonhomme du Carnaval (carnival snowman.) I told Fernando I want a picture of him!

As you can see he's dressed in traditional Québécois garb.

He also had the honor of making the 10 Creepiest Mascots list, because of his resemblance to the monstrous Stay Puft marshmallow man.

But despite creepiness, our popular news magazine came under fire when they used Bonhomme for the cover story about corruption in Quebec. Poor Bonhomme.

Besides the sporting events, the carnival features an ice/snow castle...

fantastic sculptures...

and a snow bath. Which I think Shooter-the-dog's dad is trying to convince everyone to do.

(My mother and I always wanted to do Vancouver's annual New Year's polar bear dip, but there's no way we're arriving anywhere at 2:30 PM New Year's Day. We can barely get up by the "crack of noon" as my grandfather's cousin used to say.)

I'm going to ask for a souvenir. Maybe a "ceinture flechée" (arrowhead sash)...

or anything with Bonhomme on it. He may be creepy but... he's the man, what can I say. Though I was born in Alberta, partly raised in Manitoba, I've lived in Quebec for 26 years. And my family name is very French Canadian, so it's in the blood there somewhere. My québécoise-a-tude.

A touch of new music

2012-01-24T06:08:00.000-05:00

Ingrid Michaelson has a new album. I bought this song, it sounds pretty good.

And I came across this artist on itunes:

I bought a different song, but it's not on youtube. She's got an interesting opera thing going on.

80s Icons: The Pointer Sisters

2012-01-23T00:51:00.000-05:00

I loved loved loved The Pointer Sisters when I was a teenager. The first album I bought was a best of, which I completely wore out. You gotta love a girl group with a bass singer (Ruth Pointer)! And they wore the most Height of Fashion (and therefore awesomely silly) matching outfits.

The balloon pants in this video were my favorite.

Check out Ruth's combo of voluminous white jacket, sparkly bra, green shorts, yellow gloves, and blue ankle socks. The 80s were a fine time to be alive, my friends.

This was my favorite video. I dressed this way for the Halloween dance one year, in my grandfather's tuxedo.

Reading is Delightful

2012-01-22T03:26:00.001-05:00

Writing this Sat at 6 am. Have to get up at noon for a pahty, but tossed and turned, and finally got a book out. Still no sleepies, so brought book to kitchen for oatmeal.

And I want to say: There is something so wonderful about sitting in a quiet room in the middle of the night, reading a book, and having a snack. It's one of the greatest pleasures in the world.

I remember my mother once saying that she stayed up all night reading Princess Daisy (I think!) in our empty house the last night before moving away.

When I was in my early teens I used to illegally read my Scott O'Dell novels under the blanket, by the green light of my clock radio. Possibly I snuck in crackers.

Naturally my teen novel has just hit a twist, now making it impossible to put down! ...Life isn't perfect, but it has its' moments.

Love Scenes: One of my favorites

2012-01-21T00:00:00.000-05:00

I've been re-watching Sex and the City in reruns, on the Cosmo channel. This post has spoilers, though I'm guessing everyone who wanted to see it has already seen it. But if you don't want to Be Spoiled, well you can still sample this pretty song. ;-)

I remembered disliking Carrie in the last season, especially when she went to Paris--her Dream of a Lifetime City--and acted like a big baby because the man she was with didn't pay enough attention to her. I know what it's like to visit one's Dream City (mine was London) and if I'd gone with a boyfriend I would have been ignoring him. "Sorry I can't have dinner, I gotta go find Oscar Wilde's house and the club where the Marquess of Queensbury delivered his somdomite note!" The character's a diva. Though I love her clothes.

Rewatching earlier seasons, I see I disliked her much sooner than that. The storylines I find touching or romantic are usually with Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte. I especially like the story of Charlotte falling in with a man even though he's not her physical ideal--bald, hairy Harry who eats with his mouth open. But who is sweet, kind, easygoing, and adores her.

This is my fave scene: He's broken up with her cause she said some cruel things when pressuring him to marry her; but now she's miserable without him and just isn't interested in other men. This is at a Jewish single's meetup:

Now that's a better Reconciliation Scene than most romance movies. Shniff. Shniff.

Make mine a pink

2012-01-20T00:00:00.000-05:00

One of the Betties recommended this interesting article about when pink became a "girl's color." Here are some highlights: [direct quotes are in italics]

* For centuries, she says, children wore dainty white dresses up to age 6, cause it could be bleached

* a June 1918 article said, “The generally accepted rule is pink for the boys, and blue for the girls." ... Other sources said blue was flattering for blonds, pink for brunettes; or blue was for blue-eyed babies, pink for brown-eyed babies

* In 1927, Time magazine printed a chart showing sex-appropriate colors for girls and boys according to leading U.S. stores. Many suggested boys should wear pink

* Today’s color dictate wasn’t established until the 1940s, as a result of Americans’ preferences as interpreted by manufacturers and retailers. “It could have gone the other way,” Paoletti says.

* With the women's liberation movement in the 60s, it was all about gender neutral clothing (though neutral being traditionally masculine--girls in slacks, not boys in dressed)... Paoletti found that in the 1970s, the Sears, Roebuck catalog pictured no pink toddler clothing for two years.

* Gender-neutral clothing remained popular until about 1985.... “All of a sudden it wasn’t just a blue overall; it was a blue overall with a teddy bear holding a football,” she says. Disposable diapers were manufactured in pink and blue.

* Prenatal testing was a big reason for the change. Expectant parents learned the sex of their unborn baby and then went shopping for “girl” or “boy” merchandise. (“The more you individualize clothing, the more you can sell,”)

* Some young mothers who grew up in the 1980s deprived of pinks, lace, long hair and Barbies... rejected the unisex look for their own daughters.

* children are just becoming conscious of their gender between ages 3 and 4, and they do not realize it’s permanent until age 6 or 7. At the same time, however, they are the subjects of sophisticated and pervasive advertising that tends to reinforce social conventions. “So they think, for example, that what makes someone female is having long hair and a dress,’’ says Paoletti. “They are so interested—and they are so adamant in their likes and dislikes.” (Which explains why boys who feel like girls inside, and vice versa, vehemently reject gender specific clothing, even to the point of depression.)

* The loss of neutral clothing is something that people should think more about. And there is a growing demand for neutral clothing for babies and toddlers now, too.”

So it came down to consumerism. Are we surprised? Just look at what's happened to the wedding industry. Well, the point is, there is a wedding industry.

I remember going through phases as a child where I would only wear pink, or never wear slacks. Maybe being taller than most girls was something I was becoming conscious of, as well as the usual "Asserting My Personhood!" reasons that kids have. It changed when my mother bought me some slacks that were wide like a skirt, with a cute matching top--after that I broadened my fashion scope.

What about you guys? Or your kids? :-)

Best of the Worst

2012-01-19T00:00:00.000-05:00

Whenever the Best and Worst Dressed lists come out, usually the dresses I like best make it on the Worst lists. Cause I like the ones that take chances, or do something we haven't seen a hundred times before.

Here are some Golden Globers who made the Worst lists, but I liked:

I love this in part because you don't usually get this sort of romantic look on the red carpet--everyone goes for "Hollywood Glam" (aka they all look alike.) But also...

it reminded me of Marion Ravenwood's dress in Raiders of the Lost Ark!

This one made some Worst and some Best lists. That scrollwork is so unusual, but the overall effect is pretty too. Must be stunning in real life.

Something about the combo of high ruched neckline, and the seam down the middle, and the color and material, and the understated train, makes this really eye-catching. And a backdrop to her beauty.

This was on some Best, some Worst lists.

This is the standout--it was on tons of Worst Dressed lists. Oh my days. We've seen lots of dresses with this sort of cut and bunching up, but that ink-in-water effect... it's so beautiful!

And these are just some other outfits I liked:

Look at the crepe-ee folds of that train.

Of course, one doesn't approve of feathers. But the mix of scales and feathers, in peacock green, is striking.

You don't see a lot of necklaces like this. Great pairing with the white-person-nude dress.

Tilda usually makes all the Worst lists, but this year she made some Bests. I think the color is what makes this so unusual.

And the boys...

I'm not in lurv with this, but I enjoy seeing something other than black.

Almost what Doctor Who would wear to the Golden Globes.

He's got sparkly sneakers!

Are Immigrants TV's New "Coons" ?

2012-01-18T00:00:00.000-05:00

So I think there's a new trend that I'm gonna have to go ahead and dislike.

I'm sure many of you have seen the show The Big Bang Theory, which features 4 geek friends. One is an Indian scientist named Raj, and a good number of the jokes surrounding him focus on his Indianness. But he's still smart, he's not any sillier than Wolowitz or Leonard, and when drunk is pretty successful with the ladies. And the Wolowitz character is far more stereotyped, in terms of his Jewishness. So... let's say we give it a pass.

But this evening I decided to tune into two shows I'd never seen before: Franklin and Bash, an American law dramedy; and Mr D, a new Canadian sitcom. And they both had a Southeast Asian Ha Ha The Funny Asian character. Though the shows are from different countries, different genres.

The one on F&B was Pindar, a sci fi nerd working for the two (white) heroes. He was the episode's clown.

The one on Mr D was the school janitor, about whom the big joke was he talks unintelligibly. He was a mega-clown. (Eg. Showing up to a bar in sequined disco slacks, and an orange shirt, tucked in over a big belly, and then dancing away, flirting with the ladies, etc.)

I couldn't believe it--two in one night.

I don't know if Big Bang Theory started the trend, or if this is part of the larger trend of "ethnic comedy" amongst stand-ups. I'm not against ethnic comedy since it's usually done by the Ethnic Person in Question, though there's the whole question of Are people laughing because they get the satire, or because they think it's true? (It's something that made my Jewish friend uncomfortable halfway through Borat, and it's one of the reasons Chappelle stopped his show. Given that Jeff Dunham* is the third most popular comedian in the US, I think Chappelle and my friend have something.)

Dunhams' José

But this oh-the-funny-Indian-accented-guy in the context of regular television is what's referred to amongst African-Americans as a "coon" character. A 21st century version, which plays on our perception of immigrants as these incomprehensible buffoons with funny accents.

The issue goes beyond the character being represented in a stereotypical manner. The humor is often derived from the character daring to be something he so obviously couldn't be, like a good dancer, or a ladies' man. (A ladies' man with that accent? Oh please! Ha ha ha it's so funny.) The real nub of the situation is best summed up by a line from Spike Lee's Bamboozled:

"The network does not want to see Negroes on television unless they are buffoons."

My first school year in Quebec was in a special class for learning French, so all my friends were immigrants. My best friends were two interesting, intelligent Pakistani sisters, each completely different from the other, and not fitting any stereotype. My classmates were from every corner of the globe, and none were Weird Funny Foreigners.

Yes, sometimes when people speak in a second language / with an accent, it's funny. When we moved to Quebec our francophone step-relatives laughed at my brother and I all the time, for reasons we could never quite figure out. And when my brother's Indian father-in-law stopped taking photos at the wedding because "you are a silly bunch" it was funny. But there's a difference between someone who's occasionally funny, and reducing someone's culture to a joke.

Incidentally these characters tonight reminded me of the Latino immigrant played by Oscar Nunez of The Office in movie The Proposal. So maybe the new Stepin Fetchit will be multicultural. ...Yaaay.

__________
*Like most comedians, Dunham claims he's an equal opportunity insulter. But then admits that he doesn't go after the Christian Values jokes because he was raised on them, and it's the majority of his constituency. ...So there goes that excuse.

Comedy Break

2012-01-17T03:33:00.000-05:00

I don't like a lot of sketch comedy--I can't sit through an hour just waiting for one funny skit. I am, however, going to try out Key and Peele which is coming to the Canadian and US comedy networks this month. Here's the ad they've been showing: (it's under a minute)

It makes me laugh every time. These guys were apparently on MadTV, and the funniest part of it.

And here's their Gordon Ramsay imitation, it's spot on:

Presumably SNL in its heyday was the sh*t...

As well as Monty Python (ever seen the Nigerian scammer version of the Dead Parrot skit?)

I watched Kids in the Hall, which was consistently funny...

I watched all of Little Britain (though I haven't seen their American one), and my favorite sketch comedy show ever is The Chappelle Show. Almost every single skit on Chappelle was quality. I'll post some LB and Chappelle another time.

Writing the FUBAR Way

2012-01-15T08:50:00.002-05:00

The movie FUBAR (fucked up beyond all recognition) was one of the earlier mockumentaries--comedies posing as documentaries. It came out in 2002, a year after the UK The Office. It's about two white trash best friends, and their last big weekend before one of them goes in for a cancer operation.

The last big weekend is described as givin'er--a Canadian expression, though I don't know how wide spread because you don't hear it in Quebec. The Urban Dictionary defines it as short for "fucking give it to her" and it means "To party as hard as possible and let nothing get in your way."

During my Masters in Political Science I took a graduate level political philosophy course, and my prof (who was from out west) commonly used "give'r" when talking about the books we read. He greatly admired writers who would leave it all on the page; who would come up with a theory, and then unapologetically beat it to death. Balls to the walls. Damn the torpedoes.

For example, we read Karl Marx's Capital, and it's a perfect example of givin'er. I don't even remember his arguments, I just remember being delighted by his conviction, by the slow, methodical drubbing meted out upon capitalist production:

When a certain stage of development has been reached, a conventional degree of prodigality, which is also an exhibition of wealth, and consequently a source of credit, becomes a business necessity to the "unfortunate" capitalist. Luxury enters into capital's expenses of representation. Moreover, the capitalist gets rich, not like the miser, in proportion to his personal labour and restricted consumption, but at the same rate as he squeezes out the labour-power of others, and enforces on the labourer abstinence from all life's enjoyment. [AKA Your Rolex was bought at the expense of your employees' spare time, but we understand. Keeping Up Appearances is the sacrifice you must make in order to conduct business. Poor you. (Motherf*cking capitalists!)]

I suspect that most books rejected by a zillion publishers, then picked up by one, to become a runaway hit, are give'rs. Books that authors gave their all to, or written in a hasty passion, or experiments they thought would only please themselves.

This is why I love the Kanyes and Princes and Mariahs of the world--they're completely mad, and completely passionate. They fail and succeed spectacularly. There was nothing on the radio that sounded like "When Doves Cry" or OutKast's "Hey Ya."

So. Whether it's in our writing, or music, or business ventures, or some other aspect of or lives... as long as we're willing to risk Failing Big, then we should give'r. Anyone can shot gun beers and trash bus stops, but can you write the literary equivalent? ;-)

(And also, see FUBAR. It's damn funny. "I recommend you try another sport! Like knitting!")

All of the lights?

2012-01-14T06:14:00.000-05:00

Kanye is one of the few mainstream musicians who still treat their works as passionate art forms, producing beautiful and inspiring couture music and offering audible filet mignons as an alternative to the pop-tunes’ Big Macs. (Chris Leal)

Last year I was inappropriately offended that Kanye West's album was shut out from the Grammies--inappropriate because the album falls under 2012 not 2011.

But I can now refresh my piss-a-tude because while he's received a lot of nominations, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy wasn't nominated for record or album of the year. While Adèle deserves all the nominations she got (record, album, song etc.) , the Bruno Mars nomination irks me. I bought his album, it's good, it's fun, he's talented... but for the love! Twisted Fantasy is epic, it's cutting edge, it's lush, and the lyrics are clever and deeply personal.

Here are some lyrics from Bruno Mars' "Grenade" (nom for record and song of the year)

Mad woman, bad woman
That's just what you are
Yeah, you smile in my face
Then rip the brakes out my car

Did he go to the Weird Al School of Love Song Writing?

Oh, why did you disconnect the brakes in my car?
That kind of thing is hard to ignore
Got a funny feeling you don't love me anymore (Weird Al, You Don't Love Me Anymore)

There's a cut off age for seriously writing those kind of lyrics.

Here's one of my fave Dark Twisted songs, "Power" which seems to be most reflective upon all the shit he got himself into, culminating in Taylorgate.

Lost in translation with a whole fuckin' nation
They say I was the abomination of Obama's nation

He's behaving himself and saying he thinks he wasn't nominated for record and album because he released two albums in the same year (the second being with Jay Z, and was also nominated for best rap album.) But I'm not the only one who sees a snubitude. Most critics think it's due, not to his antics, but a lingering lack of appreciation for hiphop among the committee peeps. Bruno Mars' inclusion in best record and album does make this seem likely, since it's très Motown. I can imagine an older committee member saying: "Now this is what those young folks should be singing! Not that gol dang rap garbage. Why in my day..."

Did Kanye West Get Snubbed for Album of the Year?
5 Snubs and Surprises
Grammy's Snub Kanye West

Here's the gorgeous song he was nominated for, including Rihanna, Fergie, woah woahs by Alicia Keyes, and several others including Elton John. "All of the Lights" which I suspect is also about his journey through music industry land ("Tell her she take me back, I'll be more supportive.")

Fast cars, shooting stars
All of the lights, all of the lights
Until it's Vegas everywhere we are

In other news... I hope Nicki Minaj wins for Best New Artist.

She was universally acknowledged to have shredded her fellow big boys on the song "Monster" (when you can get everyone in youtubeland to agree on something, that's a small miracle), won best hip hop album at the AMAs, and has been heralded as the next big thing in rap by the likes of Kanye and Rick Ross. But she won't win. :-(

And if I'm fake I ain't notice cause my money ain't


PS - Radiohead got nominated in the Alternative section. Has Alternative just become a genre, rather than a recognition of off-the-beaten-track artists?

Tuba Prince! (A comedic interlude)

2012-01-13T08:15:00.004-05:00

The other night I was scanning itunes and came across a symphonic tribute to Purple Rain, with such hilarious arrangements that I have to consider this one of the great comedy albums of all time. My dad bought it for me, for Christmas.

I kept sending my brother samples of it from itunes, and of "Let's Go Crazy" he wrote: "I feel like I am walking through Manhattan with Harpo to the Algonquin Club as the opening credits roll!"

Harpo Marx (center back) with Dorothy Parker & other Algonquins.

Even though the song "The Beautiful Ones" was originally a piano based song, and therefore entirely within the range of a symphonic tribute without much alteration. But they chose a Hawaiian guitar for the melody line. Horrifically genius!

Here's two of the songs (and their originals in case you need the comparison.)

Darling Nikki... you just don't expect a song about a "sex fiend" who masturbates in hotel lobbies to be interpreted on the tuba. Bold. Very bold.

<p>&amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;gt;</p>

You shine the most bright

2012-01-12T07:33:00.000-05:00

Robena-Betty recently wrote a wonderful post at the Bettyverse:

"By letting go of preconceived notions of what life should be, or how you think you should behave, and acknowledging what is, you will find a peace and contentment that is soul satisfying. That is when you’ll be able to say I’m happy in my own skin. You’ll be free to embrace your awesomeness despite your early upbringing, negative messages, physical abuse, past disappointments, rejections, illnesses, hair color, big nose, shape of your face, freckles, acne, skinny legs, chubbiness, thinness, fat ass or muffin top, and you will finally be free to celebrate life. None of those other things matter, fretting about them is a meaningless use of valuable energy. What matters is accepting, and being, your authentic self.
Let your light shine. Love yourself. You are awesome!"

Read her list of 7 Ways to Be Awesome.

And here's an Annie Lennox song to go with the sentiment. It always makes me think of my husband, Fernando.
A constellation once seen
Over royal David's city
An epiphany, you burn so pretty
Ya you are a shining light

There are no whites in this movie? $*#&$!!

2012-01-10T00:35:00.000-05:00

Saw an interesting interview with George Lucas about his new production, Red Tails, about the Tuskeegee Airmen (all black fighter pilots in WWII.) He flatly admitted that the movie is very "jingoistic," patriotic, "old fashioned," "corny" because he wanted a movie for boys--to show them African-American patriots who made a real contribution to America. Lucas said he and those working on the film had to keep reminding themselves that they wanted to portray these men as heroes, not as victims.

He's been trying to get the movie made for 23 years. He financed it himself, but couldn't find a studio to promote it, because there are no major white roles. (He said even Tyler Perry movies go to not-major distributors.)

He consulted 40 of the airmen, and looking it up on wiki I see it has African-American screenwriters and director. He said if there's a strong enough opening weekend, he wants to make a movie about the airmen in training, and postwar when they were among the people starting the civil rights movement. He says those will be the good movies (and I agree!)

Don't know if it will succeed in these ways, but kudos to the effort. And how necessary the effort is, considering the unbelievably racist comments to this trailer (against both black and Jewish people.)

Parenthood (Those are our daughters)

2012-01-09T05:19:00.002-05:00

My dad lent me the Parenthood tv series so I've been watching it obsessively. This is why I rarely borrow entire series from people, though friend Maewitch offers me all kinds of things--cause I can't not watch one after another (and Mae has good taste! Terrible.)

But my dad tricked me! He lent me just the first episode of the first season just to test how itunes sharing would work, before sharing Doctor Who. And of course I watched it (it had been recommended by Mae when it came out). And got sucked in. It's quite similar to the original movie, which is one of my will-watch-over-and-over movies.

The humor's a bit different, cause in the movie it's more satirical; whereas the show is more Gilmore Girls, lots of witty quickliners. It's also from the creator and head writer of Friday Night Lights, which wasn't a funny show, but had the same focus on family and the same one-cry-per-episode ratio. (Me crying, not the characters.)

The series has super actors, and the ongoing storyline about having a child with Aspergers is very moving and feels real. Not because I have a child with Aspergers (though if my daughters were tested, believe me they'd have Something) but just from the people I've known, or Betties who have children-on-the-spectrum.

I enjoy the music--the teens have a poster of Tegan and Sara in their room, and they played a great Ray Lamontagne song I didn't know, and the "Swimming Song" which I LOVE.

Anyone else watching this thing?? I didn't even know anyone who liked Fri Night Lights until I met some Betties, cause I assume more Americans were drawn to it (it being ostensibly about high school football, though it's so much more.)

Here, now, is my favorite parenting song. It used to always make me think of Haley, and applies even more now that we have Minion. Fernando and I sang it to her just the other day. We love our furbetties so much!!

Daughter - original version by Peter Blegved (more famously covered by Loudain Wainwright III). Below are the lyrics, annotated by cat.

Everything she sees
she says she wants.  <--Minion
Everything she says she wants
I see she gets.  <--both

That's my daughter in the water <--Haley likes to trail her tail in my bathwater
everything she owns I bought her
Everything she owns.
That's my daughter in the water,
everything she knows I taught her.
Everything she knows.  <-- Actually Nombly taught Haley stuff
                                              and then Haley taught Minion. Like catching moths.
                                             I watched that get passed down cat to cat.

Everything I say
She takes the heart <-- when I tell Haley how beautiful she is, she gently flicks her tail
Everything she takes
She takes apart  <--Minion

That's my daughter in the water
Everytime she fell I caught her <--both
Everytime she fell
That's my daughter in the water
I lost everytime I fought her  <-- this is the key line... we lose... all the time
Yeah, I lost everytime

[musical bridge]

Everytime she blinks
she strikes somebody blind <-- Haley - so beautiful and seduces all our guests
Everytime she thinks
blows your tiny mind  <-- Minion

That's my daughter in the water
Who'd have ever thought her <-- This is how we feel. Who could think up the
That's my daughter in the water   personalities of these amazing creatures?
I lost every time I fought her        We heart cats. Big time.
Yeah, I lost every time

From sperm donors to aliens - Fave Movies of 2011 #2

2012-01-08T01:49:00.000-05:00

This time, movies I hadn't previously seen. To skim quickly, just read the words in bold.

MOVIES RELEASED IN 2011 I actually watch very few new movies, which is why I'm able to get most of my entertainment through movies that pass on TV... cause I never saw them when released. But of the few I did see...

A Quebec film, easily available in English. About a slacker type who learns that the 100s of children sired by his sperm 20 years before, when he was a regular sperm bank donor, are legally trying to get his identity released. Without their knowing he gets to know some of them, and naturally it changes his life. If you cry while watching the show Parenthood (like friend Maewitch and I do) then you should weep at this one too. Same comedy-drama blend.

Really funny and I love ensemble casts.

A comedy starring all women that didn't revolve around romance or shopping. Everyone was funny, including the baddie, but Melissa McCarthy stole the show.

(2010, but came on video in 2011.) This is a great movie about the 1968 general strike by women at the UK Ford plants, demanding equal pay with the men. SO good. It's really funny and inspiring, but still this side of a sappy Hollywood treatment. Highly recommend.

A quietly charming underdog story about a sales conference.

TRUE MOVIES - Movies that spoke to me.

(Eng: The Necessities of Life) About an Inuit man in the 1950s who's forced to go south for Tuberculosis treatment, which means a stay of 1-2 years away from his family. He's dying of loneliness when two friendships turn things around. Beautifully acted and I watched it twice, which is rare for me. Won lots of awards.

An Egyptian marching band ends up stranded in a small Israeli town for one night, and we follow 3-4 members as they connect with the locals in different ways. This is the kind of movie that reminds you what good filmmaking looks like. Nothing melodramatic, just a simple story, complex characters, and the small moving gestures they make towards each other. Won a ton of awards.

Explicitly argues why entertainment movies can be just as important as heavy-deep ones.

Okay this was just a recording of a play. Made me understand what the "fuss" is about Chekov, though. It slayed me.

In the 1980s the Canadian government tried to revise the constitution, and were willing to give Quebec special distinguished status to get them on board--without making similar concessions to First Peoples. Among dire warnings that he would split Canada (ie. that Quebec would separate) Cree politician Elijah Harper blocked the reform. Not only is this an interesting story, but it's a fabulous movie, imaginatively constructed and really funny. I'm a huge fan of the lead now too, Billy Merasty.

London's National Gallery's paintings are removed to an abandoned mine in a small Welsh town. A nice romance, but the best bits show specific locals transformed by encounters with the works of art. Shows how art changes the world, by changing individuals.

Considered one of the best rock documentaries, it's about a metal band that, in its day, was considered among the best, yet never hit it big. Like most of us! Which is why it's worth watching.

A tough one, but quel acting!

Even tougher. A black teen in a small (white) Quebec town defaces a racist statue in a nice old lady's yard, and is held by a pack of local racists for the night. Though his ultimate fate isn't shown, my jaw still dropped in horror. It's creative, artistically rendered, and moving... but holy sh**.

CHARMING OR ROMANTIC

Though I didn't enjoy the well-known characters as much as I did in the 1980s movie The Moderns, this is a lovely ode to Paris and an exploration of the way we tend to romanticize the past.

This movie actually lived up to its popularity. Funny and imaginatively told. I loved the dance number.

Just a nice, funny romance.

A Muslim woman who falls in love with a white guy. It doesn't end tragically like so many star-crossed-lover movies--enjoyable romantic comedy.

I didn't expect it to be so funny--Fernando and I really liked it. A lot of wit, and James McAvoy is the funny brother who's always betting against his brother winning.

Hands down the best rom com I saw this year, called Heat Wave in English. It's about a young guy who's had a crush on an older social worker since she was his case worker when he was a teen. He sees a chance to come courting her and grabs it. Un-Hollywood in that the older woman really does look older, and the sex scenes (even sans nudity) are HOT. And then of course... there's François Arnaud.

During the royal wedding, Turner Classics showed royal romances. I got sucked into this silent film about a sheltered Prince who goes away to school and for the first time in his life finds friendship and romance. Sweet, funny and romantic.

I'd venture to say this is as good as Mary Poppins and will stand the test of time. Enjoyable in the way that "cunning nanny subdues naughty children" movies are, with a nice romance to boot.

Yes, I've never seen Arthur, and I LOVED it. Oh my days there were a lot of funny jokes in here. And I loved the interplay of the two characters. So often comedies with all-out-foolish male leads have a normal character as the leading lady, so I loved this "madcap" pairing. Also, the woman Arthur's family wants him to marry is one of the best Wrong Fiancées in the history of romances. She's as awful as Madeline Bassett in the Jeeves & Wooster stories, and that's saying something.

COMEDIES

Benigni hasn't made that many feature lengths, and this one has a similar structure as Beautiful Life, in that its slow beginning lulls you into a false sense of "it's just a mildly amusing film"ness. Cause the second half had me in tears. It's about a regular guy mistaken for a gangster, and he's unaware of the misunderstanding. I won't say more, except that the banana on the film cover is key.

I don't have much to say. Buddy road movie with an alien. It was satisfying.

Romantic comedy about a ladies' man. A bit weird, but funny and I liked the characters.

I don't need to explain, right? Just that I finally saw it.

More of a dramedy about a bunch of teens on a reserve. The best part comes in the middle when the boys take a white guy out into the woods to "initiate" him into their tribe. They come back actually liking him, and singing Cher's "Half-Breed" together. (By the same director as Hard Core Logo and Highway 61.)

Another classic I finally saw, and its reputation is well deserved. Lloyd's climb up the building at the end is hilarious.

There are authors and directors, like that of The Help, who stumble their way through racial themes without having invested the right amount of humility and research up front. Then there are people like Joe Cornish, who put even more thought into their treatment of race than you could guess at while watching the movie. There's nothing didactic about this movie--it's just a funny and intelligent alien invasion story, in a poor black neighborhood. But it's no accident that the heroes are made scary and unlikable in the very first scene, and that the aliens are very very black.

MYSTERY - THRILLER - HORROR

Great political thriller. Oh that Bill Nighy... he's good in anything he does.

Watched lots of Marples. Though Joan Hickson was the best, I enjoy all her incarnations.

I saw a lot of classic noir this year, for some reason (Double Indemnity, Postman Always Rings...) Sunset was my favorite. Swanson was so creepy. Lives up to the hype.

I only got into zombie movies in the past two years, though I have to watch them when Fernando isn't around. Except for the melting-balls which was just way way too gross for me, Planet Terror was funnier than any other zombie flick (including Zombieland, which had too much too-stupid-to-live). And Freddy Rodríguez always was my fave Ugly Betty boyfriend.

THEY ALMOST SUCKED, BUT DIDN'T - There was at least one really good thing in each of these.

Great Thing: The satire of cop films. The film doesn't reach great heights of satire throughout, but there are a couple jokes right at the beginning that I loved.

During gay pride week I caught a couple lesbian romances--this one about a woman who's hiding her lover cause she hasn't come out to her mom yet. Great Thing: Movie stolen by the transitioning man-to-woman who befriends the visiting mom, and is yearning for our heroine's boss. Really charming.

Sarah Jessica Parker is the slightly awful fiancée brought to meet the family, who can't stand her. Except for the brother, who falls for her. Great Thing: Their romance was just too cute.

Couple fakes an engagement in order to get all the good crap. Great Thing: The two leads had great chemistry! So much so, they got a TV series out of it (which I haven't seen.)

A silly Disney film about a boy who secretly joins a jump rope team. Great Thing: The gender stereotype bending.

Not a great movie, but - Great Thing - the historical and Biblical jokes were pretty clever.

A bad TV romance. Great Thing - I love those weird-small-town-inhabitant settings.

You guys see/like any of these? Any movies I ought to see? :-)

Fave Music of 2011 part un

2012-01-07T02:15:00.000-05:00

I had a lot of headache problems this year which meant not listening to music under headphones, so I wasn't as deeply immersed as usual. I suspect I own a bunch of really fabulous songs that flew under my radar.

But here are the ones that made a blip. First... the ones released in 2011.

ALBUMS - Faves out of the complete albums I bought.

Feist's Metals - Here's the song "How Come You Never Go There." Feist really took time to back away from the business and spend time with herself before creating this album. That balance really paid off--it's different from her last album, with delicate and ethereal tunes, and then moments of Big Drums and Sudden Drama. Quite Kate Bushesque.

The Go! Team's Rolling Blackouts - song sample: "Secretary Song." I just love the energy of this band. Music for when you're gonna Clean All the Things.

Kate Bush's Director's Cuts - For this album Bush took two former albums and made new versions of them. Super interesting to listen to, and as beautiful as ever. On one of those albums she'd wanted to set to music Molly Bloom's soliloquy from Ulysses but James Joyce's estate didn't give permission. So she wrote her own lyrics and called it "The Sensual World." First time I listened to the song I just about died, it was so beautiful. For this new album she got permission from the estate and re-recorded the song with the same music but Joyce's words.

INDIVIDUAL SONGS

Love or Break Songs

"Someone Like You" - Adèle - I didn't lurv 21 as a whole, but this song should be a contender for best song of the year. Blood must have run from her pen when she composed this one.
Who would have known how bittersweet this would taste?

"Time to Think" - Sean Rowe - I never even listened to the lyrics, I just love his voice.

"She's Not Mine" - Robbie Robertson (feat. Steve Winwood and Eric Clapton) - Sound-wise, this is almost as good as "Broken Arrow." Really lush.

"For What It's Worth" - Stevie Nicks - Her album wasn't newish enough to make my tops, but this is a great song.
What you did was, you saved my life
I won't forget it

Okay let's cheer up now...

Dancey Songs

"Jet Lag" - Simple Plan with Natasha Bedingfield - Never been a SP fan but I loved this as soon as I heard it. Can't imagine how hard it is to keep up a relationship if you're anyone who has to travel a lot, and "my heart is so jet lagged" is a cute summary of that feeling. And they made a French version complete with re-done video (not dubbed!) So Canadian.

"Moves Like Jagger" - Maroon 5 - File this under Songs I Tried Longest to Resist but Had to Cave. I even dance when sitting. ...And Jagger finally knows this song is about him.

"Free" - Natalia Kills with will.i.am - You gotta have superficial songs in a recession. I love her fashion sense; though this video feels like it tried to be Grace Jones-esque, and failed.

A Little More Substance

"Complicated" - Ali Milner - After the fiasco that was Am Idol, a couple good vocal shows came out, Eg. The Voice and Cover Me Canada (bands doing covers of Cdn songs). I didn't watch them through cause I wasn't watching a lot of tv, but I sampled most of the songs and this my fave. So this is my Best Cover Song or 2011.

"Say It to Me" - Ali Fontaine - I was sampling Canadian Aboriginal Music Award nominees and came across this. I found it really infectious. She's 18, an Ojibwe from the Sagkeeng First Nation.

"Absalom Absalom" - Steve Bell - A song brilliantly embroidered from the brief glimpse of King David's reaction to his son's death; and touchingly covered by Steve Bell.
You were watching when I took a good man's wife
Gave the order for his murder just to cover up my crime
All the vanity, cruel arrogance and greed
Absolom, you learned it all from me

"Who You Are" - Jessie J - Jessie J's a sort of P!nk--poppy but with a social conscience. I don't know if it was a case of like-attracts-like but I knew a lot of people who, like myself, had it rough this year. The sentiment of "it's okay not to be okay" was oft repeated.
Tears don't mean you're losing
Everybody's bruising
Just be true to who you are

"Illumination" - Lindsey Buckingham - A lot of the greatness behind Fleetwood Mac came from Lindsey Buckingham. His last couple albums have been too internally samey to wow, but when he's on, I'm in.

"Kiss Cam" - Arkells - I've been slowly accumulating Arkells songs so I may be turning into a fan. And they're Canadian! And they put lyrics on their site! Who the hell does that?? LOVE this song, it's so stomp-your-feet.
At a time you were kissing me,
The camera found chemistry; cheering for us in cheap seats.
Driving home I can see you stare at me differently.
We’re stuck in the nosebleeds baby.

That's it! When I post Part II, it will be my fave songs that I bought this past year, but released in years previous to 2011.

The Indignity of the Fractured Rib

2012-01-06T00:00:00.001-05:00

I'm sitting here in all sad-sackitudinosity.

In December I was exiting the bath when I slipped and hit my ribs against the tub side. It didn't hurt by the next day, though, so I assumed there was no damage.

Then a week or two ago I was lying on my side in bed, and my jammy top was stuck under my hip and gagging me, so I was trying to yank it up with my left hand, it slipped and I punched my right ribs. In the same spot.

For awhile I couldn't turn in bed without sitting up first. And it would hurt when I'd reach my arm back, like to open a car door. I assumed it was a strained muscle... somewhat illogically considering how I hurt myself. (Just thought a fractured rib would be more dramatic in pain!) It was healing, cause as of 2 nights ago I could turn in bed, albeit carefully.

But then I must have wrenched my rib in my sleep, cause it hurt more when I woke up. And then...

Now if you have Victorian Toilet Discussion Manners you shouldn't read this next part.

Then I was performing the necessary ablutions upon my bottom, when OWWWW!!! (I was reaching back with my right hand.)

I re-re-injured the bone I guess. Now I can't even use my dominant hand to clean myself. Have you ever had to clean your botty with only one hand, the non-dominant one?

O the humanity!

Ms. Brownlow thinks I've fractured my rib. So now I'm sitting as still as possible on the sofa, with the occasional frozen peas. I'll leave you with some December picatudes.

UPDATE: I've learned that if I take a deep breath and hold it, it keeps my rib stable, and then I can clean myself in the non child-learning-to-go-to-toilet manner. Hower... taking a deep breath when you've just pooped isn't something I would recommend.

This was the Salon des métiers d'art in December, where I worked.

And the view of Créations Li's kiosk, from my seat by the pillar.

And the booth which CL designed and painted, and was

built by another friend of ours'.

Whatever I would use as a pencil holder, people would notice.

I theorized it was either the cute cityscape in back

or people love pencil holders.

Some octoz!

The plants really sold things. People have trouble envisioning

what they could use the pieces for. They'd pick up a bowl and ask

"What's this for?"

The robomours! (Robot + amour.)

And the Montreal line.

First snowfall, only a couple days before Christmas. Which for Montreal is LATE. We usually get snow early November, if not Halloween.

It was still warm so I was wearing my suparubba booties.

Mah block

Mah trees

Mah street

Mah building

Mah mall with mah Santa.

Failure: You don't have to see it that way

2012-01-05T00:04:00.001-05:00

Looking at Spin's top music books of the year, I came across this one:

"an honest answer to one of the most common yet under-asked questions in this industry: What happens when you give it your everything and still end up working at a gym?" (Spin)

It's by a rapper named J-Zone, who made a career in music for awhile, but isn't well known. The failure subtitle came to him when he was trying to get the book picked up and, though publishers liked it, they couldn't publish it because he was a "failure."

I looked at my career and I was like I got a chance to make a living doing what I love to do, I went to 14 different countries, I got to work with guys I grew up idolizing, we became peers. I didn't become a millionaire, it didn't last forever, I didn't get known by a whole lotta people. I had a good little run, but we're in a world of tangible results. We're in a world of numbers, Twitter followers, Facebook likes, how many downloads, how many hits, how many comments, how many YouTube views. In that world, yeah, I'm a failure. That's the way the world we live in works, but in my world it doesn't work that way. The failure part is basically a mockery of where we are today.

What is success? If I'm a failure then what is success? What's the cutoff mark? Is it a certain number of records sold? Do I have to own the Nets and marry Beyonce? What do I have to do? That's what I want people to get out of it, to enjoy things for the sake of enjoying them, to like them for the sake of liking them, and to not let other people tell you what's a success and what's a failure, and even if you don't meet expectations, in order to succeed and you have to fail, and there's nothing wrong with failing as long as you're alive to get back up and do it again. It's a failure in the eyes of the world at large, but you don't have to see it that way. (rapreview.com)

I think this is really important--maybe more so now that a large part of the world is going through a recession. The surest way to go through life feeling like a failure, is by allowing others to define success.

From zombies to orphans: Fave Rewatches of 2011

2012-01-04T00:00:00.000-05:00

Okay, I've got to keep getting my Best Of lists posted. This year I tracked the movies I'd watched so I could add film to my book and music lists. (Sure I forgot some.)

Movies I rewatched this year, and still enjoyed.

Oldies

My boys, the Marx Brothers...

that horrifying Baby Jane which I can never resist watching..

and yes, I like Shirley Temple.

Historicals

Much Ado About Nothing...

George Sand chasing Chopin around in Impromptu...

and the wonderful Cranford.

Romances

Comedies

Ooh Trading Places and State and Main are two of my all-time faves!

Action Comedies

Hot Fuzz! It's so brilliant, so well done.

Dramedies

Two great movies by Arcand, my fave Woody Allen, and good ole Love, Actually.

Music

I don't even remember watching Sign O the Times. But it's in IMDB! Purple Rain I do remember because I watched it a couple times.

Fantasy - Sci Fi

Galaxy Quest is frankly brilliant.

Horror

Another movie I have to watch when it's on TV. Eek! Similar to Baby Jane in that it's one person keeping another trapped in a home, torturing them. Eek!

Docudrama

About the Oka Crisis. Not a great movie, but a good portrayal of what happened, and all the politicking.

Guilty Pleasures

I love the dumb roommates in Head Over Heels. And I practiced my French by watching yea aulde Thornbirds! O the drama of it all!

Evil Minion and Haley in Winter

2012-01-03T00:00:00.000-05:00

Haley's New Years' Resolution is, I believe, to give Minion a run for her money.

She wants to go back to dominating the place.

Here she begins with amping up the cute-a-tude.

This is her Scheming look.

"Hmm on to part B of my plaaaan..."

Minion, meanwhile, got started in December on new shenanigans.

The paper bag is an old classic.

Under the Blanket is a kitty standard, but now she dives under

the sofa blankets at any chance.

She discovered the ladybugs. Luckily they weren't exciting

enough to hold her attention.

This is a keychain I got at a dollar gift exchange.

It's made of real fur, so I gave it to Evil in place of her usual mouse

(which she usu rips up in 1 day.)

This lasted about a month! Until I finally found it in pieces

all around the apartment.

She still likes to play with the head.

Then there's the Barbie shoes. I had them lined up in the bottom

of the glass Barbie house. She slides the door open and jumps in

and frolicks...

...spreads Barbie shoes all over the house.

She's such a smarty, I mostly let her do what she wants.

She esp likes the ballet shoes.

She likes to sit by the heater in the bathroom and watch for the

two silverfish. And discovered that the toilet paper can be

used as a scratching post.

We bought her a bunch of new sparkle balls and they were in

a plastic bag. So then she turned Getting Them Out of the Bag

into a game. I tie it closed and she works on getting them out.

Truly... it's hard to keep occupied when you dance in smartypants.

And I don't have a photo, but she also broke into Fernando's lollipops and crunched on one. She had no interest in eating them... just looking for shit to do.

Fernando: NDP

2012-01-02T00:00:00.000-05:00

We all have our favorite movies that we like to watch over and over. But my husband doesn't really put on DVDs, he just watches, over and over, certain movies that pass on TV, over and over. Which means it's a constant battle to change the channel away from these damned movies!

So here's a list of the ones I could think of offhand. I asked my husband why he likes them so much. His answers are below each title.

Mr and Mrs Smith
Mr and Mrs Smith is awesome.

Any Transformers movie
- Transformers are awesome.

I, Robot
- I, Robot is awesome.

Any Stargate movie
- Stargate is awesome.

Any Bourne movie
- Bourne is awesome.

Starship Troopers
- Starship Troopers rule.

He's not especially in love with the shoot-em-up aspect, I believe, but of the science fiction. He'll watch ANY show on the Space network, unless it's creepy. So I don't really know how the Smith and Bourne movies fit in. They just do. And that's Fernando in a nutshell... No Discernible Pattern.

PS - In the comments widdershins said she was hoping for a photo of Young Fernando. Here's a picture of both of us, at the same church event (some kind of supper which clearly involved table waiting, maybe for seniors). As I had that haircut in grade 11, I'd say we were 16-17 years old.

We were only friends at the time, but I had a crush on him from the time we met, at age 15. (We're now 38 [moi] and 39 [him.]) (Swissgirl will correct me if I got my age wrong.)

Romance & Comedy - fave 2011 books part 3

2012-01-01T06:10:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year!

And now for part 3 of my fave reads of 2011. I read romantic comedies this year, which is why I put these two categories together.

Aunts Aren't Gentleman - PG Wodehouse

This was the first Wodehouse I read, lent to me by an elderly Irish gent from church. (He also got me into Agatha Christie.) Wodehouse's books and stories are like polished diamonds. English author.

'And so began what I suppose my biographers will refer to as The Maiden Eggesford Horror—or possibly The Curious Case Of The Cat Which Kept Popping Up When Least Expected.'

'... his idea of a good time was to go off with a pair of binoculars and watch birds, a thing that has never appealed to me. I can't see any percentage in it. If I meet a bird, I wave a friendly hand at it, to let it know that I wish it well, but I don't want to crouch behind a bush observing its habits.'

'The aunt to whom I alluded was my good and deserving Aunt Dahlia, not to be confused with my Aunt Agatha who eats broken bottles and is strongly suspected of turning into a werewolf at the time of the full moon.'

'If the Drones Club tie has a fault, it is a little on the loud side and should not be sprung suddenly on nervous people and invalids...'

_____________________________________

A Little Ray of Sunshine - Lani Diane Rich (Lucy March)
It made me weepy on the bus, so it's gotta be the best contemporary romance I read this year! (Mind I only read two others, but they were Crusie and SE Phillips, so to *win* means something!) More like "women's fiction" than a romance, but it was a lovely little gem with kind characters I sincerely cared about. American author.

_____________________________________

Friday's Child - Georgette Heyer

I also read Sprig Muslin and Venetia, which are great, but FC was the first Heyer I ever read (my mother gave it to me) and it's just so funny. The characters aren't "aspirational", that is, you don't wish you were Hero, you don't wish to date Freddy, and his friends are idiots--but they're all loveable. And the romance and protagonist growth is gradual and convincing. English author.

This is my favorite cover. It's a scene from the beginning of the book, when Hero is indeed sad and Sherry is comforting her. They look just as they're described, and she looks like the sweetie she is. Unlike most of the other covers where she looks arch and worldly!

Never liked this series of covers, too generic.

And for the worst cover of all time...

_____________________________________

Ooh a new bio!

Some Thoughts on Heyer:
I was musing recently on why most historical romances these days (80% of which are in Regency England) don't do much for me. Heyer's world isn't a realistic portrayal of 1800s England--for that, you go to Austen. Instead she researched and dug out all these amazing little expressions and cant and lingo, and unbelievable historical details (the mind boggles when you really take notice of it). It was world building, as complex as the best sci fi novels.

Almost all Regencies now use Heyer, whether they know it or not. It's like really good fan fiction. Heyer created the world, and most novels take place in it. Which means there's a lot of good plotting, and moving stories, etc., but no one can do what Heyer did, she was a total original. I'd say the only turn the genre took was the addition of graphic sex scenes (which is de rigeur, and I assume killed off the classic Regency Romance lines. Did Amanda Quick pioneer this?)

Which isn't to say there's no new research, or some emotional stories etc. But my taste runs to witty, over moving. (If I have to read about one more bally hero with a tortured past....)

I thought maybe the Pink Carnation books would provide a new twist, but they're Typical Historicals with a modern day framing device (which is a Typical Contemp.) I know many people swear by them, but I gave up 1/4 of the way in.

And I'm tired of the sex scenes. Tired of daughters who are all raised by single fathers who are scientists/classical scholars, and therefore all the heroines are smart and bookish. The heroes are all completely gorgeous. The hero and heroine almost always fight at first. He forces a kiss on her. She fights it for propriety's sake, but inside Oh my! and he knows it! ...I could go on. There are so many clichés, I just cannae take it nae more.

I have much respect for the genre and its authors, but I wish the conventions weren't so rigid.

A Humany-wumany Christmas

2011-12-31T09:32:00.000-05:00

On Christmas Eve the Space channel showed a whole bunch of Dr Who Christmas specials. (Having special Christmas editions of TV shows is a particularly British thing--they're often longer than an hour, have special guest actors etc.)

A man running around Victorian London calling himself the Doctor! Wha? Wha?

I taped the Dr Who ones and we watched them over two days. They were SO GOOD. I'd heard that the new series was great, and sampled it a couple times, but now I'm ready to be hooked baby!

The Master! And Time Lords!!

When the series was rebooted in 2005 I watched the first episode or so, but was underwhelmed, so I didn't continue. By the time it got great I was in school and didn't have time to watch. (Same reason why I didn't get beyond season 1 with Battlestar Galactica, even though I was loving it.)

Lion, Witch & Wardrobe inspired, so WWII setting - which always makes me weepy!

What's so great about the new Dr Whos is that they're a wonderful combination of imagination, action adventure, strange creatures and robots, humor, and sadness. They're very touching--or "humany wumany" as the latest Dr would say. In fact, they're very much like Connie Willis' books.

A well done play on A Christmas Carol.

I loved them all, but my favorite one took place on a spaceship with a Titanic storyline. If I'd been alone I probably would have let it all go and wept buckets, like I did watching the movie Starbuck (no relation to Battlestar G.) But I didn't want the husbando staring at me, so I just wept a couple silent tears into the non-vegan cheesies, and blew my nose a bit.

It also had a good joke about London's inhabitants all fleeing for the countryside at Christmastime, because every Christmas there's some sort of alien disaster (that is to say, all the previous Christmas specials.)

Hope you guys enjoyed your Christmases too. :-)

He was far from being gruntled

2011-12-30T15:04:00.000-05:00

I'm re-reading one of my Jeeves and Wooster books, The Code of the Woosters. (These Wodehouse books are about a young man-about-town of negligible intelligence but a kind nature, who's always getting into trouble when trying to help his friends out; and his genius valet who unravels all the problems.)

Here's an excerpt from the first scene in the book--I put in bold the stuff that makes me faint before the brilliance that is Wodehouse's writing.

'Well, Jeeves, what goes on in the great world? Is that the paper you have there?'

'No, sir. It is some literature from the Travel Bureau. I thought that you might care to glance at it.'

'Oh?' I said. 'You did, did you?'

And there was a brief and -- if that's the word I want -- pregnant silence.

I suppose that when two men of iron will live in close association with one another, there are bound to be occasional clashes, and one of these had recently popped up in the Wooster home. Jeeves was trying to get me to go on a Round-The-World cruise, and I would have none of it. But in spite of my firm statements to this effect, scarcely a day passed without him bringing me a sheaf or nosegay of those illustrated folders which the Ho-for-the-open-spaces birds send out in the hope of drumming up custom. His whole attitude recalled irresistibly to the mind that of some assiduous hound who will persist in laying a dead rat on the drawing-room carpet, though repeatedly apprised by word and gesture that the market for same is sluggish or even non-existent.

'Jeeves,' I said, 'this nuisance must now cease.'

'Travel is highly educational, sir.'

'I can't do with any more education. I was full up years ago. No, Jeeves, I know what's the matter with you. That old Viking strain of yours has come out again. You yearn for the tang of the salt breezes. You see yourself walking the deck in a yachting cap. Possibly someone has been telling you about the Dancing Girls of Bali. I understand, and I sympathize. But not for me. I refuse to be decanted into any blasted ocean-going liner and lugged off round the world.'

'Very good, sir.'

He spoke with a certain what-is-it in his voice, and I could see that, if not actually disgruntled, he was far from being gruntled, so I tactfully changed the subject.

Of course, they were also made into an excellent TV series, which is on youtube. If you've only ever seen Hugh Laurie in House, then you won't know how good he is at playing stupid. I've been cultivating his way of saying "Good Lord!"

The series loses a lot of Bertie's narration, but they make up for it by all the great scenes of him singing 1920s songs at his piano.

Turning over a new comment

2011-12-29T01:20:00.000-05:00

I had another blog where I was posting news headlines and funny comments on them, cause I love reading news story comments. But I've decided to simplify my life and just post them on this blog now, as last year I brought my personal blog into this one as well.

My .com address disappears on January 1st, so I'm first going to copy the old blog postings over here. And then post new ones. My mum, who reads the news more regularly than I, helps me find them and I have a bunch saved up.

The Headline

The Totally Sidetracked Comments on How the Polling Was Done

2nd My fave books this year: Graphic novels

2011-12-28T21:31:00.000-05:00

Read a lot of these this year! I couldn't even pick one as my top fave, cause these ones below are wonderful for different reasons.

Fun Home - Alison Bechdel

Memoir of a young woman around college age, coming out, dealing with her family and the secrets her parents had, etc. Just superbly drawn and interesting and touching. American author.

Burma Chronicles - Guy Delisle

Delisle lives in other countries and cartoons about his time there. As these are usually usually non-democracies (North Korea, China, Burma) it's super interesting! Though his next one will be Israel and I'm sure it will be great too. I read it in English, but it's originally in French. Quebec author.

Aya #3 - Marguerite Abouet, illustrated by Clément Oubrerie

Series about a young woman in an Ivory Coast village, and her buddies. It was in number 3 that I really got hooked, wish my library would get books 4 and 5! I read it in French, but it's available in English (though not books 4 or 5, yet.) Ivorian-French writer, French illustrator, published in Quebec.

Ice Haven - Daniel Clowes

Clowes writes touchingly about social misfits. Ice Haven's my fave--I love how all these disparate stories feed into each other. And I love how he changes his drawing style, as though a variety of authors are illustrating his works (à la American Splendor). American author.

Paul series by Michel Rabagliati

I read 3 of these (just added one to Goodreads which I missed!) Loved loved loved. It's about a man in his 30s thinking back to his youth--each bande dessinée represents a different period. One from his summer job as a camp counselor, one about his first apartment w/ girlfriend, etc. They're funny, charming, the character is SO real, the drawings are beautiful, and in the end they're touching. I read them (the first three) in French, but the whole series exists in English. Quebec author.

1st My fave books of this year: Fiction

2011-12-27T15:26:00.000-05:00

The Imperfectionists - Tom Rachman

A series of short stories, all about a little period of time in the lives of various *imperfect* people. Like Daniel Clowes, he's often writing about social misfits, and draws you in and makes you care about them. What I really admired, though, was how well he draws characters! A couple pages into each story the characters are already 3 dimensional. And he pulled it off chapters after chapter. Great writing. English-Canadian author.

(Ooh he has a short story on amazon as a kindle single. Gonna get that!)

Superficialities: I love this cover. I'm sure it's part of what persuaded me to plunge in and buy.

Un petit pas pour l'homme - Stéphane Dompierre

Like High Fidelity --> guy working in indie record store, and his relationship problems. But I found it funnier and more charming than Hornby's book. I liked the protagonist more.

Superficialities: French book covers in general are truly wretched. I don't know if it's because it's a smaller market, so there's less money? Or publishing conventions from France. A different aesthetic. I can't stand it.

Best books I read this year

2011-12-26T00:04:00.004-05:00

Here's the list! In the coming days I'll post more info about them.

The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman

Un petit pas pour l'homme by Stéphane Dompierre

Fun Home by Alison Bechdel

Burma by Guy Delisle

Aya 3 The Secrets Come Out by Marguerite Abouet

Ice Haven by Daniel Clowes

Paul series by Michel Rabagliati

Aunts Aren't Gentlemen by PG Wodehouse

A Little Ray of Sunshine by Lani Diane Rich

Friday's Child by Georgette Heyer

Hold Me Tight by Sue Johnson

Writing the Other by Nisi Shawl and Cynthia Ward

Forest for the Trees by Betsy Lerner

Writing the Romantic Comedy by Billy Mernit

Listen to A Christmas Carol and Pickwick's Christmas

2011-12-25T00:04:00.002-05:00

Merry Christmas! Or Have a Nice Day to any non-Christmasers.

And now for the annual listening of my favorite childhood Christmas album:

A Christmas Carol as performed by Ronald Coleman (side A)

The Christmas chapter from The Pickwick Papers, as read by Charles Laughton (side B)

My reading roundup 2011! - Anticipation Edition

2011-12-24T00:04:00.001-05:00

Hey there ho there. Here are the books I read in 2011 (I love Goodreads for tracking this stuff! Join Goodreads and friend me!) I don't read a lot of new releases, so my coming list won't be the best books pubbed in 2011, just the stuff I read.

I read about 3-4 books per month, which tends to be my average. Here they are in reverse chronological order (Dec 19 2011, to late December 2010).

I also read:

From my friend Onthatmidnightstreet

- The Deed of the Monkeys (short story, a reread)

- The Sickroom (novella)

- The Grimly Queen (novella)

- Hide and Seek (short story)

From my bloggyfriend Judy, Judy, Judy

- Hungry Ghosts (online serial novel)

Books I gave up on:

To see my 2010 reads click here.

How cold IS it? (news of me update)

2011-12-23T00:04:00.000-05:00

1. Wanna know how cold it can get in Montreal in the winter? Check out this post from 2009:

2. So far we've had no snow this year, that stayed on the ground. Gonna be a brown winter--though today we got freezing rain.

3. Finished my gig working for my pallio at the Salon. She gave me some lovely vegan chocolates as a thank-you! And the lady next to her, for whom I did a few hours, let me pick out a pair of earrings. And I had just been eying a little green set. None of these artisans are rolling in the dough, so I was quite touched. What lovely boss ladies I had! And the other chickies around me were cool too. Will have to post about them later.

4. Speaking of veganism, I've been a vegan for about 10 years? But I decided to downgrade to vegetarian just for the month of December. It's been a rough year, and whenever Fernando had junk food in the house, even if it had some milk or egg ingredient in it, I starting *caving* and eating them. I finally decided: Well if I'm going to unveganize, let's give 'er.

So for this one month I've been buying every food that I used to like, esp stuff that's hard to replace taste-wise: Doritos, tsatziki, donuts, chip dip (I've never been able to make a satisfactory vegan dill dip... maybe cause I'm too afraid to experiment with my nice vegan cream cheese, so I use other crap). And then there's stuff that I can make super vegan versions of, but I just haven't had it in me to cook this year --> so store brand shortbread cookies, and these cookies that are like peanut butter cups. "Menoum menoum" as my francophone stepmother would say.

I do think about the poor battery cage hens, though. So I'm pretty confident I'll be able to veganize again in January--my sad-i-tude will get me back in line. But I don't feel very guilty cause I'm into the veganesque thing for the long haul. I'm a pragmatist--I'll do what I need, to make this something I can do long haul.*

Anyway, so this month I've been eating like CRAP. Waaaay more junk food than I normally eat, and milky foods tend to be higher in fat than vegan equivalents. And I just don't care. I refuse to beat myself up over this orgy of excess.

I'm going to (try to) save my vegan chocolates for when I revert in January. Mind, I'll probably still have Ovaltine left cause I only remembered it on my Nonvegan List today, and there were no small jars!

5. Minion's discovered the ladybugs! Gulp.

___________

* I should explain my veganeque-a-tude. ...I'll make a tab or something. Will let you know.

Christmas Songs Roundup 2011!

2011-12-22T00:04:00.003-05:00

When I last reported in on Christmas Music 2011, I had recommended the new Kate Bush, and Hawksley Workman, but otherwise hadn't discovered anything. But my dad offered to buy me an album for Christmas so off I went through iTunes. In the end I asked him for this awful Prince symphonic cover album, which I hope youtube will let me share with you soon. And then bought myself a couple of the ones below (zamzarred others.)

So here we are: Not the best Cmas songs of all time, but the best ones I discovered this year (I own over 700 Christmas songs.) And for the record, I include winter songs as part of "Christmas music."

If you don't see a video, it's cause one wasn't available.

UNDERSTATED

Breath of Heaven - Oleta Adams - Perfect singer for this song. She emotes, but the arrangement is quiet. No drama.

Jingle Bell Jamboree - Keb Mo

In the Bleak Midwinter - Loreena McKennitt

Ô traineau dans le ciel - Maryse Letarte

December - Regina Spektor

A Change at Christmas (Say It Isn't So) - The Flaming Lips

In the Bleak Midwinter - Bryn Terfel

Christmas Eve - Spirit of the West

BOMBASTIC

Another Lonely Christmas - Prince

Better Days - The Goo Goo Dolls

Carol of the Bells - The Mormon Tabernacle Choir

POPPY

Mistress Claud - Alyssa Red

Christmas Without You - Onerepublic

Last Christmas - Britt Nicole

This Time of Year - Nikki and Rich

PLAYFUL

Baby It's Cold Outside - Meaghan Smith and Buck 65 - Best part of this: The woman is the one making the come ons.

The Cowboys' Christmas Ball - The Killers

Last Christmas - The Puppini Sisters

The Chipmunk Song - Tegan and Sarah

And brother's choice: Sleigh Ride, from The Ventures' Christmas Album

FYI
Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas is You" continued to dominate the holiday charts, as it has every other year. This year she's in two spots, because there's a duet version with Bieber. The rest of the list (iTunes Canada) is all Bieber and Bublé.

* The first A Very Special Christmas album seems to have entered classic status. As well it ought! In those days they got big artists for these albums, but over the years the series turned into pop crap.

PREVIOUS CHRISTMAS MUSIC POSTS

Fairy song
2010 Roundup
That crazy Dylan album
"There's Still My Joy"
Tori Amos' Christmas album
Annie Lennox's Christmas album
Joan Osborne's Christmas album

2009 Roundup (aka Broadway cares but I don't)

No 2008! ??

2007 Roundup

2006 Roundup

Once more unto the play, dear friend!

2011-12-21T00:25:00.005-05:00

First:

Now the post. I put subheadings so you can skip around.

Gilmabelfest Background
For the last two years, bestie Gilby and I stopped buying each other presents, and instead I went down to Toronto and we saw shows. Because he loves shows, but is always too busy to go; and I love shows, but I just never go to any. And he's good at making me get out and do stuff, and I'm good at organizing. So I organize the whole weekend, and he does the driving and entertains me.

In 2009 we saw The Importance of Being Earnest, Cyrano de Bergerac, and West Side Story. His first intro to Oscar Wilde, whom he loved.

In 2010 we saw a small musical called [title of show] (which is great, if you ever see your local college or theatre putting it on), and Evita, and An Ideal Husband. --> My fave Wilde play, which he also loved! So we've decided to see all 5 of Wilde's plays, in our lifetime. Still have Salomé, Lady Windermere's Fan, and A Woman of No Importance.

2011
But we didn't go this year. First I didn't want to spend the money in Unemployment Time, but he offered to pay for all the plays (he usually pays more anyway, cause he likes front section seats). So then I suggested we go in summer cause he's doing an MBA, so I thought the fall would be too busy. But he said no, we should go in the fall. So then I was waiting to get a date from him, and never heard anything! Until I got a text from him that he was in Italy.

?? lol I have no idea what happened. But no biggie. There weren't any plays I was *dying* to see. I've missed his last couple calls, but he'll be in town next week so we'll see what's up. I mean, we'll see anything well reviewed, we're open; but no heartache was involved.

2012
But... I just got my 2012 Stratford Festival catalog... and as I stood by my mailbox I looked at the cover and fainted.

HENRY V!! THEY'RE PUTTING ON HENRY V!!

Weeeeeee!!!! It had better be good. I can't tell you how many times I've seen the Branagh version, and I've seen the Olivier as well. And of course, it's the basis of my next novel.

HENRY V!!!!

And Much Ado About Nothing, which is of course everyone's favorite Shakes comedy, right? It's like Branagh season or something. And there I was last year saying at some point we ought to see a Shakespeare.

They're also putting on Elektra, which maybe Gilby will want to see--he studied classics.

The Shaw Festival, which is nearby, is playing His Girl Friday...

and Shaw's The Millionairess.

Hell we might need to see 5 plays! (Okay maybe that's a bit hectic... but tempting.)

Best of my tiger daughters 2011!

2011-12-20T00:04:00.002-05:00

Minion Vs the Christmas Tree series (does not disappoint)

Minion teaches about risk.

Evil Minion learns how to eat everything in the house.

Lady MacHaley teaches about evil.

And some best-of-pics with original captions.

The Best of Mabeltalk 2011!

2011-12-19T03:55:00.000-05:00

Alright, it's time for annual lists. I've never done this before, but I'm going to look back at The Year In my own blog. Not a summary, cause that would be weird. But just a highlight from each month.

The shocking thing is, I can't believe I wrote these things this year. They feel like a million years ago. One thing I learned this year: Depression, for me, makes time speed up. I keep thinking that things that happened in May happened in 2010 or 2009.

So here we go... 2011 Bloggy Highlights

Last December

A freak snowstorm confirms Sting's claim that we're not alone at being alone.

January

My Political Correctness series. I finally got sick and tired of white people saying "Well we don't get offended when people make fun of us!" And also "Everyone's so sensitive these days" whenever someone suggested they act with a modicum of respect for other people.

February

A tribute to Fernando's foster parents. They had a tough year--he had both legs amputated because of diabetes complications, and at one point they were both in the hospital. But last I saw on facebook, they were still hugging and kissing at their 50th anniversary party.

March

My Joseph Campbell viewing-your-life-as-a-hero's-journey post. Cause I felt there were a lot of us this year who needed to the encouragement. ...Still the case, unfortunately!

April

I posted my first cartoon, to the theme of Choose Life.

May

I made a commitment to Imperfection.

And said farewell to my Trivial Buttonhole blog.

June

Lessons from Magneto, Mystique and Malcolm X in pride. (Who taught you to hate yourself?)

But also I saw Prince for the first time, and so: 10 Lessons I Learned from Prince.

July

A wedding saved me the weekend Amy Winehouse and many Norway kids died.

August

A week of posts about optimism, which led (by the way) to Ms Brownlow sending me stories about Oliver teh Cat and Chloe.

September

We began the story of guess who!

October

Some good simple advice.

November

I hate on "successful" people.

Sidelights from A Trivial Buttonhole:

Minion and I battle the ants.
Hyperbole's revised pain chart.
Better Book Titles.

Bonus: My exclusive holiday fashion guide from last year!

Stoopid Comments

2011-12-18T03:32:00.001-05:00

You don't have to read this... basically it's an article about new regulations for Canadian airlines in re. mediating between customers with allergies, and those transporting cats.

What's stupid is allll the comments. Every single one of them either says

- cats should travel with luggage

or

- allergic humans shouldn't fly.

What I HATE about this, is that the whole article is about compromise!! No one's regulated either of these extremes--no group has been told to eff off and die. They came up with a couple of reasonable solutions, and welcomed the airlines to find others.

So why is there a need to get on the comments section and fight?! Both sides in the comments sound RIDICULOUS.

This must say something about the kind of people who, by and large, comment on news items. Like maybe... they don't even read the articles!

It's not Christmas until ... ?

2011-12-15T04:06:00.000-05:00

Many moons ago, for a few years, my mother lived with her great-uncle--and I spent a couple pleasant Christmases visiting there. During one of these I said to my mother, as a Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers Christmas video came on TV: It's not Christmas until we hear Dolly and Kenny.

But without a video channel playing in the background, how can I now mark the start of the festive season? Well this evening I remembered: It's no Christmas until I've laughed at Bob Dylan's Christmas album.

It's become such a tradition with me, I may have to buy a couple tracks one year. But in the meantime... there's youtube.

Now if this cheered you up, just you hope I can successfully upload some tracks from the Symphonic cover album of Purple Rain I sampled this week. Tears were rolling down my face.

Oliver Kitteh - Chapter Thirteen: Of the happy life Oliver led from hereon out

2011-12-13T04:21:00.000-05:00

As told by Ms Brownlow (italic narration by Mabel).

Click here for chapters one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven and twelve.

Here it is, the moment you've all been waiting for. Next week I'll post some more pics and talk a bit about CH kitties. But for now... the reveal!

It's exhausting having to listen to all those stories about Oliver.

This is Oliver at five months. See how well he's walking now?

During those few months between the time Oliver was three weeks old and about four months old, I spent a fair bit of time placing him on his back on my lap and then moving his little back legs straight up and down.

Because he was a busy little toddler and then a busy little person he didn't have a lot of time for this (I love that pretty much as soon as toddlers can speak sentences they seem to learn to say 'not now, I'm busy').

Also, I felt kind of self-conscious doing it, figuring anyone would think me mad if they saw me. But I felt so bad for Chloe and all she'd gone through. I knew Oliver was happy and he'd be fine so long as he had a home, even if he couldn't really get around. Still, I wanted to make things as good for him as I could. So I'd pick him up and work his little legs up and down for a few minutes once of twice a day. At first it was hard to get them into the right position; they really just wanted to move back and forth along his sides. But before long it began to get easier to get them to pump up and down. His cute little kitten legs.

When the vet saw him to neuter him at six months, even though she'd seen him a few times in his earliest months, she was amazed at the change in him. Delighted. 'Turned around 180 degrees,' she said.

Moth hunting, Christmas 2010, Oliver is 6 months old

"I'm glad your legs work, but can I have a turn already?!"

Winter Albums in 2011

2011-12-12T03:46:00.001-05:00

Well it's time to compile my best of books and music lists. I also tracked which movies I watched, on IMDB, so I can do movies too.

I usually do a Favorite Christmas Music but I'm purposely not buying much, not trolling iTunes in my usual fashion. (If you don't shop, you aren't tempted to spend money.) But I have some rather thorough previous lists, if you're interested. And if you love a song, but have no movies, use zamzar to lift it off youtube (if available.)

I've only bought two wintry albums and haven't imbibed them enough to give reviews. But here's a song from each...

Hawksley Workman's Full Moon Eleven

Here's his excellent cover of Bruce Cockburn's "On the Coldest Night of the Year". I like it better than the original. I just uploaded it, and apologize if it disappears or something.

Kate Bush's 50 Words for Snow

Here's a song from the point of view of a snowflake. Ya... cause that's the way she rolls.

Speaking of Kate Bush, I only recently discovered that she released another album this year: Director's Cut. It's basically a bunch of covers of her songs... by her. It's really good! Here's the official video for "Deeper Understanding" starring Robbie Coltrane.

And it seems her youtube page also released a bunch of old videos I've never seen.
Just being alive, it can really hurt
These moments given, are a gift from time

I had a head cold this weekend, so this post is about all I can muster. Off to bed now...

wot i'm up to

2011-12-09T02:02:00.001-05:00

Hallo friendly peeples!

Sorry for being behind--I'm working a seasonal job, helping man the kiosk for my friend's ceramics at an annual handicrafts show. It's one of the big pre-Christmas events, though I've never been! Beautiful stuff there.

Li's things are so joyful looking, they provoke a reaction from most passer-byes even if they don't buy. I feel like The Bringer of Joy.

I've shown you some of her things before. Not everything's on her website though--she comes up with new ideas all the time. She's SO creative. And people comment not only on how cute they are, but beautiful too. Even les men.

She sells to quite a few American boutiques, but the boutique page isn't up to date, I don't think.

I've posted pics before but, heck, let's play it again Sam!

These hanging puffer fish and octopus get constant reactions. They provoke a lot of laughter.

Like they're hang up comedians.

This was my last purchase. Little octopi with wee tentacles!

Squishy mugs--there's an indent that perfectly fits your thumb.

And she has a line of spikies.

Little flower vases.

I love these! But haven't personally sold any yet! Don't get it...

Jars for plants or utensils.

And this is from her Collection Montreal.

(I never noticed there's a kitty in one window!)

So... the final Oliver post is coming soon! Don't want to rush-post. :-)

Fat-shaming Doctors

2011-12-02T00:04:00.003-05:00

Yesterday I mentioned the site xojane.com . I particularly enjoyed the article on doctor fat shaming. It's a real concern because (a) if doctors make people feel bad, then they'll be less likely to go for check-ups, and (b) if doctors make assumptions about your health and your weight, they might miss serious underlying health problems.

The article talks about seeing a gynecologist, a good one, who then said:

“So, I’ve noticed that you’ve gained 19 pounds in the past six months. Maybe you should think about changing your lifestyle habits.”

Though the debates in the comments of this article are remarkably civil (much more so than places like Jezebel), some people couldn't understand the problem with this statement. Or they said it was "poor choice of words" but not disrespectful.

The problem with it is the doctor's assumption that the weight gain was due to "lifestyle habits"! That's terrible! I think it's ok for doctors to bring up weight, but not like this. It just shows their own prejudices, and as one commenter said, it seems like doctors are the last ones to hear that weight is not always the best indicator of health.

xojane has another article on this subject. When this woman's gynecologist brought up her weight...

“I’m not concerned about it,” I said tightly, “and if it comes up again I’m going to have to find another doctor.”

“Any other doctor would tell you the same,” he said, as though I hadn’t been coming to him, just as fat as now, for several years.

“Well, I prefer a doctor who at least waits to hear what I eat before telling me to eat less.”

He looked exasperated. “There’s no possible way you’re not eating too much.”

Jeepers creepers!! A lot more ignorant comments on this one.
I really like my GP, but she just seems uninformed when it comes to weight issues, so when she says I should exercise I'm like "ya ya" and then forget about her. Mind you, when I weighed less no one ever asked me if I was exercising... even though I wasn't exercising. Don't they care about my overall health? Jimminy Cricket.

I had a check-up last week, and as I approached the scale, I said: "I gained weight when I went on Elavil. The weight gain mostly stopped, but it's pretty much not gonna come off." And that worked! She didn't say a word on the subject after that.

One commenter shared a good experience, and it really is the perfect way for a doctor to approach the subject:

"I have noticed that there has been a change in your weight since your last visit. Is there something that I should know?"

I told her broken foot, and winter and grad school...

She replied "If the change in weight is something you would like me to discuss with you I can, otherwise, since you are having no other symptoms, and your labs are great, then I think we are done."

Here are some bad experiences. Cuz Mabel Reads the Comments So You Don't Have To: [Frighteningly, the worst experiences seem to happen at college med centers! Basically, to the women who are probably most sensitive, and least likely to stand up for themselves. Awful!]

I once had a doctor (GP) say to me, "well, if you are happy being fat." I was there because I'd had my period for literally 2.5 months. I walked out of his office, gave him the finger and NEVER went back (to him).

I stopped going to a doctor who used to fat shame me and yell at me for my squishy belly even though I'm only 126 lbs. I felt so terrible about it that I burst into tears when I left the office.... I found a new doctor who says there is nothing wrong with my squishy belly as long as I'm getting exercise and eating my veggies.

I'm one of the fat women who avoids doctors and other medical-related situations because of shame I've been made to feel throughout my teenage years. ...It seems medical health professionals are the last to hear about "health at any size".

I don't need another doctor to lecture me and ask if I've considered gastric bypass surgery (this has happened TWICE to me).

I wrote my doctor- school doctor, a long email about how agressively she was behaving in regards to my weight.. like talking shit about my skinny jeans and low cut shirts. "Aren't you supposed to be skinny in skinny jeans?" Sort of thing. ... I got a plantar's wart, and I suffered so much for about six months because she tried to tell me that it had something to do with being fat.

i have had asshole doctors who, in no small way, contributed to my eating disorder ("you're too chubby to go into the Air Force," 'You're not thin enough to be anorexics," "You're too fat to be anorexic,"...yes, all REAL things that REAL doctors have said to me.)

One woman was telling her obgyn about how she was working on her eating disorder, had only purged 5 times that year instead of every day, and went from 400 lbs to 300 lbs and was feeling really confident and excited etc. Doctor's reply: "My sister in law had weight-loss surgery and she looks like a brand new person and is so much happier now - it's amazing!" I also once had a therapist named Buddy - yes Buddy - who suggested that I get Weight-loss surgery so I would be "forced to really deal with my issues."

My gyno(who I love very much) told me that I'm getting too fat and perhaps I should join the YMCA. I nodded in agreement but really he was the last person I wanted to hear tell me I was fat and that I should do something about it. I was getting divorced, graduating from grad school, moving to an apartment and suffering from a bit of postpartum. Instead of tell him off I went home and ordered a pizza.

This woman went to the doc because of painful TMJ keeping her awake for days--she was exhausted and in pain, and for the first time had a slightly above norm blood pressure: she does not want to talk about my jaw. She, instead, tells me that I need to stop eating fast food (which 1. she did not ask me if I eat and 2. I don't eat fast food more than few times a year) and that I clearly need blood pressure meds. I try to explain my eating habits, that my blood pressure reading is unusual for me, and that the problem is my jaw pain. Her response was the if I lost some weight and stopped eating so much fast food, I wouldn't be having this problem

the nurse who weighs me and takes my vitals before I see the doctor loves to tell me I need to lose weight. I'm still 45 pounds overweight but I also workout like crazy and am in good health but she doesn't know that. She just makes a snap judgement when she sees me and the number on the scale.

Doctor who had been cool and chubby for years suddenly was very thin and trying to talk to me about weight watchers. Never mind the fact that she asked ZERO questions about my habits.

my friend had that happen with her THERAPIST. Lady went on a crazy liquid diet or something and suddenly couldn't stop proselytizing. That friend, incidentally, is very small AND was there SPECIFICALLY to talk about her ED history (among other things)

same weird experience with dentist as first gyno; at what point do these doctors stop doing the "inquiring minds want to know" thing without your prior consent?

Especially when your shitty nurse practitioner goes, "Well, we're gonna need the LARGE speculum for you!"

I had a terrible experience with a new doctor last year when I went in for a respiratory infection. He listened to my lungs briefly, told me they sounded fine, and then said, "Let's talk about your weight." He asked me a series of leading questions like, "How many times a week do you eat fast food? How much soda do you drink in a day?" When I told him I rarely eat or drink either, he hounded me until I "admitted" that I take sugar in my coffee 3-4 times a week. He seized on that, and told me it was "vital" that I see a nutritionist, and that he also worked as a personal trainer in his spare time so if I wanted to come by his gym he could "show me some easy moves that even someone at my weight could handle." Fuck. You. He ignored the fact that I said I had an untreated pituitary tumor (clearly going to the nutritionist was more crucial than checking my hormone levels), and obviously didn't believe me when I said I do get exercise, even if I'm not at the gym. I was too chicken to say anything at the time - I was already sick, exhausted, and dealing with this douche was too much - but I did get some satisfaction when he had to call to tell me that my blood sugar and cholesterol looked great.

I once had a ob/gyn who, when he saw my weight on my chart, said "Why? You like to eat? Haha!"

My gyno fat-shamed me several times, and I politely side-stepped the issue every time she did, but the last time I saw her she actually handed me the phone number of a doctor who does gastric bypass surgery.

I have had a nearly identical experience with my GP, except that the first she said upon meeting me were, "Have you ever considered gastric bypass surgery? I can refer you to a bariologist." I

parted ways with my GYN last year when she tried talking up lap-band surgery to me while she was giving me a breast exam.

My chiropractor tried talking me into one of those wacky New Age diets with the lettuce and the water/cayenne shit AFTER I had told him I lost 30 pounds using the Mayo Clinic food pyramid. I was so shocked that I just blurted out "Did you even hear a word I just said?"

I've had a lifetime of doctors telling me I'm too fat. Oh, except that one time when I was severely exercise anorexic (ran 3 miles a day and danced for 4-8 hours a day) and ate nothing but lettuce and brown rice for 6 months. When I was weighed in at the doctor's office, they PRAISED ME for my weight loss and how "good" I was doing, without asking for any details on my "eating" or exercising habits.

he ordered a complete physical and told me he thought the results would be "educational" for me and help me face facts. When the numbers all came back not only normal, but OPTIMAL, he was humbled and I got at least a tiny bit of satisfaction. "I guess you DO eat health-food and exercise. There must be some other reason for your weight retention." *rolling my eyes*

Positive Body Image site!

2011-12-01T00:04:00.001-05:00

My brother sent me this link from the site xojane.com :

They have other interesting stuff like...

* an essay on backfat (pics included of course)
* criticism of fat shaming ads
* how to stand up to fat-shaming by doctors (I finally just said, before she could do her song & dance routine: I went up three slacks sizes when I went on Elavil, and it ain't coming off -- and that seemed to stop her)
* bikini at size 14
* and fatshion roundups

It's a good site, check it out!

I'll tell you what (Humor by Heyer)

2011-11-30T00:04:00.002-05:00

I've made a start to my book and, aside from one scene, it's not funny. Not as funny as I want it to be. So I've paused a moment to read some Dickens and Heyer.

My characters are coming off too realistically, whereas the kinds of comic characters I like are always exaggerations, as though you were drawing a caricature of someone you know in real life.

For example, some of Heyer's funniest side characters are in her book Friday's Child. It's about a sort of macho guy's guy who needs to marry to get his inheritance so he proposes to a sweet but quite silly childhood friend, whom he doesn't realize is in love with him. The romance of the book comes from Sheringham's gradual coming to love and acting protective of his bride Hero, though it takes some help from his friends. And the humor of the book comes from his friends.

Here are two scenes that show, I think, just how expertly Heyer draws her comedic characters.

There are three friends, George, Fakenham (Ferdy), and Ringwood. Here's George's first entré into the book...

*

"Don't try to trifle with me, Sherry! Don't try it I say! I know where you have been! You have taken a damned advantage of me, by God!"

"No, he hasn't," said Mr Ringwood. "Now, sit down, George, for God's sake, and don't put yourself in a pucker over nothing! I never saw such a fellow!"

"Nothing to be in a pucker about," said Mr Fakenham, adding his helpful mite. "Sherry's going to be married."

"What?" gasped Lord Wrotham, turning a ghastly colour, and rolling his eyes towards the Viscount.

"No, no, not to Isabella!" Mr Ringwood assured him, touched by the sight of such agony. "Really, Ferdy, how can you? Sherry's going to marry another female."

Lord Wrotham staggered to a chair, and sank into it. Anxious to make amends, Mr Fakenham poured out some ale, and pushed the tankard towards him. He took a pull, and sighed deeply. "My God, I thought--Sherry, I have wronged you!"

"Well, I don't mind," said the Viscount handsomely. "Got too much else to think about. Besides, you're always doing it."

"Sherry," said Wrotham, fixing him with a hungry gaze, "I insulted you! If you want satisfaction, I will give it to you."

"If you think it would afford me satisfaction to stand up for you to blow a hole through my chest, you're mightily mistaken, George!" said Sherry frankly. "I'll tell you what: if you don't stop trying to pick quarrels with your best friends, you won't have any left to you!"

--> George continues to call people out throughout the book. But no one "go out" with him, because he's the best shot in town.

*

Here's the scene just after Sherry and Hero are married. It's possible he hasn't told his friends this is a marriage of convenience:

Once outside the church again, the Viscount handed his wife into the hackney, and turned to consult his friends on the best way in which to spend the evening. Mr Ringwood stared at him very hard, and even Ferdy, who was not much given to the processes of reasoned thought, goggled a little at the suggestion that they should all foregather at Fenton's for an early dinner, pay a visit to the theatre, and wind up the eventful day by partaking of a snug little supper at the Piazza.

"But Sherry, dear boy! Lady Sheringham--wedding night--won't want a party!" stammered Ferdy.

"Fudge! What the devil should we do, pray? Can't spend the whole evening looking at one another!" said the Viscount. "Kitten, you'd like to go to the play with us, wouldn't you?"

"Oh, yes, do let us!" cried Hero at once. "I would like it of all things!"

"I knew you would. And you would like Gil and Ferdy to go along with us too, I dare say?"

"Yes," agreed Hero, smiling warmly upon these gentlemen.

"Then that's settled," said the Viscount, getting into the hackney. "Fenton's Hotel, coachman! Don't be late, Gil!"

The vehicle drove off, leaving the Honourable Ferdy and Mr Ringwood to look fixedly at one another.

"Know what I think, Gil?" Ferdy asked portentously.

"No," replied Mr Ringwood. "Damned if I know what I think!"

"Just what I was going to say!" said Ferdy. "Damned if I know what I think!"

Pleased to find themselves in such harmonious agreement, they linked arms in a friendly fashion, and proceeded down the road in the direction of Conduit Street.

Oliver Kitteh - Chapter Twelve: Which contains the substance of Oliver's Back Leg Rehabilitation

2011-11-29T05:15:00.000-05:00

As told by Ms Brownlow (italic narration by Mabel).

Click here for chapters one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine. ten and eleven.

The Serious Bidness of straightening out Oliver's back legs continues!

I placed the box in the living room, along a path he used when going from the bedroom, and right in front of a new play area we were putting together. He was beginning to travel quickly enough that he wanted to play games with Chloe and have her chase him.

At this point, Oliver was about two and a half months old and he and Chloe were having a lot of racing games. I decided to take the long green scratching post and the wonderful box and that green suede sleeping box I'd gotten Oliver and make him a sort of 'track' to run through.

My idea here, again, was that I wanted to force him to be using his back leg closer together as he made his way around the apartment. He was already improving. His belly was a little bit further off the ground, he was holding his legs at a slightly different angle, still out to the sides but no longer entirely flat on the ground. It was such a subtle difference that the vet wasn't certain I knew what I was talking about when I said he was improving. He really was though.

Pictured here: The fabric bolts that Ms. Brownlow

had to keep rolled up because Oliver was learning to climb on them.

Also, the lovely Chloe.

Anyway, my idea with this 'track' was that Oliver could run along the scratching post, or along the top of the box, or through the box or the suede box. The suede box was the only one where he could spread his legs to the sides, but he'd be slowed down going through the circles on the ends and it was just slower to travel through. My hope was that he would want to go one of the other ways. And, as he and Chloe were playing these chasing games throughout the day, he would get a lot of practice making speed with his little legs closer to his body. Of course, I had no idea quite how he was going
to do that, but it seemed worth a try.

Oh, boy, was it. At first he opted for traveling along the tops of the box and the scratching post. The post was easier because the corrugated cardboard gave him the best traction. He had a bit of a balance challange on the box. Both let him have his legs out to the sides a bit, but because the pieces were all close together, they made 'walls' so he couldn't just let his legs hang over the sides as he'd done previously.

Once he got even better at running this track, and as he got faster and more impressed with himself, he began to run through the box. And he got really good at it. And he began standing much more on his feet.

Of course, we also played with toys like the goldfish on a stick. You can see here how much he's still keeping his legs out to the sides. You may be able to tell he's holding himself up a little bit higher on his back legs.

And another view showing his improvement. He was definitely standing up better, not all the time but increasingly frequently.

Alright my buddies... next week is The Big Reveal!

The bellybutton gals

2011-11-29T01:47:00.003-05:00

Ooh a new Nombrils book is out! Les Nombrils is a graphic novel series about a plain girl, who is very sweet, and her two best "friends", who are total superficial bitches. There's a cute romance as the plain girl finally gets a boyfriend, and later a rival for his affections. But the humor of course comes from the idiot twins.

As I've whined before, there aren't enough comedies about really funny groups of female characters. I got the first three of the series free and didn't have any expectations, but loved them. I thought maybe it was going to end after book 4, so I'm excited to see a book 5!

Which non-fiction book should we read, eh?

2011-11-28T01:47:00.000-05:00

The Canada Reads nominees have been announced! Canada Reads is an annual event where 5 celebrities (from all professions) are give 5 books to champion--they debate, vote each other off, and then Canada is encouraged to read the remaining one.

Last year featured home decorating guru Debbie Travis leading the trash talk on the first ever graphic novel ever nominated, even though she hadn't finished it! She's "out" for me. Out forever.*

The winner was a comic political book which my dad and I read.

For the first time, this year, they're looking at non-fiction books (debate to begin in February). I'm looking at the nominations, and I'm already disappointed by one. Prisoner of Tehran is about a woman who was a political prisoner in Iran, after the Revolution, but it's considered some former prisoners have criticized it as containing many false elements. So I'm out.

I would rather read Something Fierce about a young woman expatriate who goes back to Argentina to fight in the underground. Which as far as I know isn't fake. In.

The Tiger is about a tiger on a killing "spree" in Siberia, and the detective efforts to track it down. Could be the best book on the planet and I'm not gonna read it. Not unless the tiger wins. Out forever.

On a Cold Road is the diary of a band member from a Canadian rock band, touring. "Storied arenas one tour and bars wallpapered with photos of forgotten bands the next. Zit-speckled fans begging for a guitar pick and angry drunks chucking twenty-sixers and pint glasses." Sounds good! Bet it'll get voted out first. Unless the defenders decide to go after the Siberian tiger, since there doesn't seem to be a Canadian connection to it.

And finally, Ken Dryden's The Game, which is a classic insider account of hockey. Will probably win, but I could care less about hockey so I'm out.

________
* Among my friend Gilby's gang there are three ratings. You can be "in" for something, or "out" for something, or the dreaded "out forever."