Is it technology or are you just a jerk?

Seeing as I now carry earplugs in my purse because hearing other people's music on the subway give me commuter rage, this Canadian documentary is right up my alley:

To Hell with Manners: The Decline of Civility

That link is to a CTV interview. There's the predictable bla-bla about technology disengaging people, but nothing particularly insightful. I assume the film itself is better.

Don't get me wrong in my snotty righteousness, I'm getting ruder too. It does take effort to be polite - especially when someone around you is not - still, I ought to behave the way I wish others would, I guess.

Thank you for reading.

Feel free to rant (cleanly) in the comments about rude people and their litter and their lung-collapsing bass car audio systems, and their spitting and urinating INSIDE elevators...

The Princess Bride Game

No really - I clicked on a banner ad (oh yes, I did) and found a Princess Bride Game.

The characters (except for Buttercup) are pretty true to the movie. I'm surprised that such a classic movie would get such low-key marketing approach.

I watched the little video about it and it looks okay. It's just that if you're going to take my favourite movie (female, 25-34), why not make a video game that would appeal to me - an atypical video game playing demographic? Why make it look like every other video game? The style (from what I hear, since I don't play), looks almost Super-Mario-ish.

Perhaps I'll try it and tell you what I think...

In the meantime, if you are someone who actually plays video games, please weigh in!

Sex and Marriage

"She says an unexpected benefit of daily sex was the kindness it required of the couple."

The quote above is from an interesting book review of two books by two (different) couples who have tried instituting a "daily sex" policy . Read it here. Various PhDs and sex therapists weigh in on the pros and cons.

And a slightly older book about a not-quite-daily-sex policy, "Kosher Sex" by Shmuely Boteach, here.




(Orchid photo from last year's Orchid Show at the Toronto Botanical Gardens, 'cause I'm subtle like that.)

Canadian Literary Magazines

In honour of the upcoming Word on the Street at Queen's Park and the International Festival of Authors at Harbourfront, here is a list of Canadian Literary Magazines and a link to a "writer's toolbox" (writing advice) from Geist magazine.

The Voice Fades

Don LaFontaine died on Monday, September 1st. He was much parodied, but a master of his craft. Rest in peace.

Things I Don't Understand (Part I)

1) Because you want to SMELL like a High School Musical

2) I'm not opposed to spaces or design or guys or books. I'm just opposed to the advocacy of egregiously poor taste defined as "for men".

3) Why is the poster for TIFF 08 so boring this year? Am I the only one who finds it boring? Maybe having crummy eyesight and occasional attentional difficulties does not make me the biggest fan of "blurry" as a design choice.

Donuts

Sometime around the year 2000, I worked on a children's show. The show was an adaptation of a popular series of children's books. Its main flaw (in my opinion, which no one asked for) was the casting of the Asian-Canadian character with a white red-headed kid. But my little story is not about poor casting choices on low budget Canadian TV. My story is about donuts.

I worked in the production office. Like any production that shoots on locations, we had location guys (or gals, but these were guys). The cars they used to scout and prep locations were rented. The rental guy came every Friday and dropped off an invoice. With the invoice, he brought a large box of donuts.

They were the best donuts I had ever tasted. I tried to memorize the address on the box, because one day, I said to myself, I would go out there and buy a dozen myself.

Eight years later (that is, today), my friend invites me to a movie at The Queensway - a theatre in Etobicoke. Suddenly, I remember that the Best Donuts EverTM were from Etobicoke! What was the address? Royal Oak? Royal York. But what was the name of the place?

I google. I find a list of bakeries and one stands out:

SanRemo Bakery

I know this is it. This must be THE donut place. I phone to make sure.

"Yup, that's us," the saleswoman says. "But we make our donuts once a day, and they sell out pretty fast. Do you want me to put some aside for you?"

So I go. I have a divine "mixed-berry" jelly donut. I had waited eight years for it, and it lived up to the memory. That's serious quality.

They opened the bakery in the '60s and it's still family-owned and operated. The donuts are only 80 cents each. You should go.

Reading & Writing

I'm taking a Fiction course through Gotham Writer's Workshop online classes. It's been a good kick in the pants and the homework has forced me to examine my writing in a healthy back-to-basics kind of way.

Maybe I'll post some bits of my homework later.

I'm also taking a Sketch Comedy course through Bad Dog Theatre. I took it more because the teacher (Rochelle Wilson) is an excellent teacher who observes well and critiques helpfully and fairly, rather than a burning desire to write sketch com, but despite my initial reservations ("why did i sign up for this? i have no time! etc."), I'm going to go ahead and see if I learn to write funny. Hm.

As for reading, the recent pile has been:

My Miserable Lonely Lesbian Pregnancy by Andrea Askowitz
Eggs by Jerry Spinelli
The Girls of Slender Means by Muriel Spark
What Was She Thinking? Notes on a Scandal by Zoe Heller
and stories by ZZ Packer and Tobias Wolff

On the Amazon wishlist, I keep looking at this funny book, Sister Bernadette's Barking Dog. It's about "diagramming sentences" - an old grammar-teaching tool I had never heard of.
It sounds like the kind of thing I would have loved learning at school.

I'm glad I've been writing more. I just wish I knew how to write and work and sleep at night.

L'Chaim!

This is turning out to be a three-wedding summer. Weddings are interesting social rituals, and generally of the more joyous and festive occasions, so I'm ok with that.

I know one couple who, last summer, had a NINE-wedding summer so I consider myself lucky. I get to enjoy myself at some lovey-dovey festivities and then I have the majority of weekends to myself.

In honour of all that, I am reading Marriage: A History (except with this cover). Author Stephanie Coontz examines marriages from earliest recorded history to now, and pulls from anthropology and sociology (and history) to examine the state of marriage now (around the world) and how we got here.

Scent Dinner

File under "I wish":
Scent Dinner with Chandler Burr and Context.

I must tip my hat to 1000 Fragrances, a blog by a perfume historian with a great name.

In Pursuit of the Demon Barber of Fleet Street

I watched Sweeney Todd (w/ Depp). I luuuurved it. I want to hear MORE! I google the Angela Lansbury version. I google the Patti Lupone version (there are two). I read about George Hearne and Michael Cerveris and Neil Patrick Harris and Len Cariou. I can't find a clear description of the various versions of the soundtrack cds or the production dvds.

Frustrated with Google, Amazon, iTunes, etc., I go to a real, live store!

I tell the cute guy at Grigorian how difficult it was to find the music online. (I can't keep my mouth shut sometimes.) He says, "Oh, one day, there will be no cd stores, and THEN--", he says ominously, "the online retailers will jack up their prices and you'll have no choice!"


Of course, Grigorian has an online store as well and yet... he frightened me.

Just 'cause the word "Gotham" is like, cool.

Links, 'cause I have nothing witty to say:

(1) Online writing courses with good reputations at the Gotham Writers' Workshop. I've signed up for Fiction I, i.e. "paying someone else to get oneself to write".

(2) The Weather Station played today at the street festival on Bloor. They managed to catch one's attention in the intense muggy heat and keep people standing there to listen - impressive.

(3) Really, listen to your Once soundtrack again. Hansard and Irglova (and The Frames) are amazing.

(4) New Emmylou Harris album coming out.

(5) A completely different Harris: Chris Van Allsburg's The Mysteries of Harris Burdick continues to be worked on as an off-off Broadway musical! Creator Joe Calaraco has a blog and here's Playbill's announcement.

Oh, and tonight was the start of Shavuot. The one holiday when I'm encouraged to stay up all night! You're supposed to stay up and study Torah and it's usually a lot of fun, but I forgot to take tomorrow off work. Well, I'm staying up unnecessarily anyhow - I should've just gone to synagogue!

So You Wanna Write a Musical?

As the Tragically Hip song says, "I can get behind anything".
Anything I read about or hear about or see, I want to try.

Delusional? Yes. A noted feature on the ADD spectrum? Yes.

A short list of things I've considered:

Choreograph a modern dance company
Entertain sick children as a clown
Go back to school for Neuroscience/Forest conservation/Zoology/Gemology
Design shoes/jewelry/acrylic furniture/wooden laptops
Be a hip rabbi
Lead walking tours of Rome

So, when I'm temporarily fixated on a musical, thoughts of "gee, wouldn't it be swell to write some little musical for the Fringe festival?" pop into my head. I googled "so you wanna write a musical" and I discovered:

How to Write a Musical by John Kenrick.

His writing is clear and the site is well-organized. I highly recommend it - all his advice relates to any creative endeavour. And the mind-boggling Broadway trivia entertains too!

Violins and Orchids

I have just been introduced to Samuel Barber's Op.14 Concerto for Violin. I want to own it. I go to iTunes. I browse around and decide on an album I like. It is this one. ITunes sells it for $9.99 CAD.

Then I pause and wonder if I shouldn't support my local classical music store. It's been there forever and I rarely buy anything there. I would be sad if it closed down. There it costs $15.98 CAD.

Then I think, is it fair to ask me to pay six more dollars because it's an actual CD that comes in a case? Or am I just paying for their rent in Yorkville? (But then, I'd be sad if they moved.)

Then I look a little further - just to find a good link to the album for this blog and find an even cheaper option. Sony-BMG sells the album for $7.95 USD (which at this time is still $7.95 CAD). Sony is the distributor of the RCA Victor Red Seal line. So, pass the middle men?

What to do? Which option benefits the artist? Which option benefits the environment? Which benefits my local economy?

I'm still undecided. Maybe I'll just request it from the local classical station and save myself the headache of trying to be conscientious.

*

Today was my parents' 48th wedding anniversary. That means my sister and I have two years to plan their 50th! (G-d willing, right?) Anyhow, I took them to the Southern Ontario Orchid Society Show at the Toronto Botanical Gardens. It was a judged show with hundreds of stunning orchid specimens on display. Eventually I'll post some photos. Then we went to LCBO 'cause my parents like to browse the wines, the beers, the everythings. They're not big drinkers, but they appreciate an occasional whistle-whetting. (Me too...) Finally we headed to the parental units house for bruschetta and champagne and then I left them alone.

Now someone on my floor is cooking something with fried onions and I'm ready to eat again...

Superbowl Sunday

I know.
You are wondering, what in heck do YOU know about football?
Nothing.
I was invited to a Superbowl Sunday dinner/ shindig tonight. My lovely friends (one half of whom is the chef behind Culinary Seductions) prepared ribs (which I don't eat but everyone else vacuumed up in apparent ecstacy), while everyone else attempted to teach me about football.

(I mean, I read some gossipy websites, so I knew who Tom Brady was, but let's face it, an over-pretty jock with a hot baby-mama AND a supermodel girlfriend? Not my cup of tea. Yeah, yeah, beggars and choosers, I know.)

I didn't manage to understand a lot of what I watched, but I was thrilled the Giants won AND I discovered Manning.

No, not Eli (wonderful though he was), Peyton.
So sedate and serious, well-heeled, sitting alone half in shadow, focusing all his good energy on his little brother (or so I imagined). What's not to love? So, of course I get home and look him up. (Is he heterosexual? Married? Lonely tonight?) And the article I find is one in Slate where his well-known status as a geeky dork is examined. Get it? From miles away, through television, in 4-second increments, I manage to hone in on the one NERD in football!!!

Dear lord, it is a GIFT I have. A veritable TALENT.

*

As for books... finished reading Three by Tey, a 3-book volume of Josephine Tey's work. Miss Pym Disposes, The Franchise Affair, and Brat Farrar all being masterful examples of characterization and setting.

*

Food discovery: Astro has new pack of yogurt flavours out including lemon meringue, caramel, vanilla and banana cream in the same box. The lemon meringue is awesome.

*
Ok. 1500 words before my head hits the pillow, so that's all for now...

Books I Have Not Read (or Books of Wives and Daughters)

The Time Traveler's Wife
The Pilot's Wife
The Kitchen God's Wife
The Zookeeper's Wife
The Mapmaker's Wife
The Senator's Wife
The Memory Keeper's Daughter
The Piano Man's Daughter
The Optimist's Daughter
The Bonesetter's Daughter
The Gravedigger's Daughter
The Florist's Daughter

If you have read them, could you please reveal some of the title characters' names in the comments?

I never made a decision not to read the above books. I was discussing books with a friend and noticed that I always confused the first two in my head. Then I had to assuage my curiosity and see how many other "wife" and "daughter" titles I recognized but never read.

I have however, read:
The Firework-Maker's Daughter (Philip Pullman picture book)
The Meaning of Wife (Anne Kingston essays on the "Wedding Industrial Complex")
The Man Who Mistook his Wife for a Hat (Oliver Sacks, non-fiction)

If you do a search on Amazon, though, you find a lot of "The [adjective] Son", as opposed to "The [noun's] son. Do you think the current titling of [so and so]'s daughters is just a trend, a way to market a story as taking place in the past? Or is there an element of (misguided) nostalgia in the titles? Or am I reading too much into it?

Biscuits, Books, and Bookings

I got a job posting from the Temp Agency I'm with. It is a very well written job posting for a administrative sort of job with a non-profit organization.

Of course, they want someone who can self-motivate, prioritize, see things to completion. They want someone organized who can also organize others and plan events.

I'm sure such people exist. I am not one of them. I am lazy. I have often wished for telekinesis so that my coffee or tea could float to me when I forget the mug on the kitchen counter. I am disorganized (see drawer, socks; see papers, basket of). I do not prioritize well. I work on things I enjoy. Then I force myself to work on things I don't enjoy. And sometimes I wait too long and have to hustle to meet the deadline.

I would love to see a job posting like this:
"Creative, compassionate, intelligent person with good humour needed. Character, spine, and good morals required. Ability to delegate and motivate a plus. Ability to brew good coffee an asset. Organization will be done by others who are better at it than you. Ability to prioritize not necessary as your assistant will hand you numbered lists. Lying, scrupulousness, gossip and politics prohibited."

*

Went to visit my friend and her wee baby. By "wee" I mean "very big and round and adorable". I had bought the wee (giant) baby an ensemble from Janie and Jack in the States. They sell very cute things. She provided tea and delicious biscuits that she had whipped up from scratch before I arrived. (And took care of baby AND had the kitchen spotless by the time I arrived.) I'd been eyeing the uber-flakey biscuit recipe at Cooks's Illustrated, but Friend introduced me to Chef Michael Smith's clever frozen butter biscuits instead. Genius! Guess what I'll be baking from now till June?

*
Have been reading one Martha Grimes after another. Now I'm reading the books she mentions in her stories. To whit, "The Turn of the Screw and Daisy Miller" by Henry James. (I'm reading this version. I picked it up at a used bookstore in Kansas and my friend rightly noted that the font reads like 'Pink Panther' rather than 'Henry James'.) I'm also reading "Miss Pym Disposes" by Josephine Tey (in this edition. The book is three novels called "Three by Tey" and there's apparently another set called "Four, Five, and Six by Tey". So far, highly recommended, but I haven't finished it yet.
*
Got an idea for a story. One of those nice moments, when a story falls into your head, nearly fully formed. Until I write it down, I have the illusion of it being brilliant and publishable. Once I write it then I get to see the plot holes and general weaknesses. It's like an unchecked lottery ticket. As long as you don't check, you could be walking around with MILLIONS in your wallet!

Links I Receive

I just got back from Kansas yesterday. Kansas has many things. My sister, lots and lots of space, and the best onion rings in the Western hemisphere. I will post a pic of the rings tomorrow.

Today I got two links by email from two people who care about me.

I thought they made a funny juxtaposition. One can be taken as a reminder not to take oneself (one's self?) too seriously, the other is a good motivator.

Here's the "novel" bit from Family Guy.

And

Here's a new Nike ad.
You might have to search around a bit if it doesn't start right away. You can go to English, then USA. You'll find it.

Super Saver Shipping

My sister asked me to get her a book from Amazon.ca since it isn't available in the States yet. I ordered it, but I couldn't pass up on the "Super Saver Shipping". Just get your total up to $40 and shipping is free. Otherwise, you pay $6 or $10 for shipping, and thinking sadly of the book you could've bought. I decided to purchase the recent Robert Plant & Allison Krauss CD, Raising Sand. I don't buy music all that often, and I'm certainly not on the vanguard of musical taste, but this CD is incredible. It is atmospheric and coherent, and Plant and Krauss' voices blend beautifully. I really need to own more Allison Krauss albums - she has a truly angelic voice.

I also bought a Martha Grime's Book, I Am the Only Running Footman, but more about Grimes' series another time.

Here I am

Whether there's anyone reading or not is another matter!

If you are reading, then Happy New Year!

Not a ton of writing done since my last post. But I'm back on the wagon (the writing wagon, that is).

As for why I've been away... well, let's just skip right over that. Some people blog through thick and thin, whereas I do not.

Lately, I've been researching agents and editors again. Also working on a synopsis and query letters. Is my novel ready to send out? Not yet. But writing the synopsis is helping me fix the weak points.

Next deadline: Unknown.
How long should a revision take?