word nerd…. redux

before today’s post – i’d like to say that i’m in slight mourning for two reasons. the first is that one of my new fish that i bought for my fish pond has died… 😦 he was MIA at feedings the past little while and today the body surfaced…. poor little calico guy… and the second reason i’m sad today – i was supposed to be seeing a david usher show tonight (in hamilton) however the transit gods are not on my side today and i decided not to try to go in order to save the 100.00 i’d probably have to pay for a hotel in hamilton tonight.

ok – black armbands off – my moment of pity is over.

never let it be said that i don’t finish what i’ve started…. as promised (threatened?) the other day – here is the continuation of my love of books/words/writing….

after reading all the horse stories i could get my hands on and using the spring board of the fantastical world of narnia my teens found me being beckoned by the white boney finger of horror… i moved onto the entire library of stephen king, the creepy and somewhat incest-centric v.c. andrews, small town and child obessed john saul, darkly seductive early dean r. koontz and i first discovered my beloved gothic prince edgar allan poe. with the exception of poe – i stopped reading these authors by about age 19. though i did read ‘the green mile‘ in my mid-twenties.

then in my 2o’s i hit my vampire novel phase. i think if a mass market book about vamps came out from about ’90 – ’96 – i owned it! working at a bookstore helped to feed that obsession – and make it more affordable. to this day – i have a great collection of hardcover vampire anthologies, but have gotten rid of most of the cheesy crappola… 😉 and let me tell you – that genre has A LOT of cheesy crappola.

most recently i’ve been reading some novels that have been quite disappointing…. “our lady of the forest“, “the changeling“, “the gleemaiden” and the less disappointing “holy fools“. before those i read “the blue roan child” and “the kite runner” (amazing and fabulous, the both of them). next, i think i’ll be reading book three of the otori series and later this summer, i’m looking forward to the latest harry potter and this fall to the new neil gaiman.

and, of course, i am a non-fiction slut too. books about religion, ancient egypt and other civilizations, various historical topics and biopics (currently am reading a book about ghengis khan – can i be descended from the mongols, pretty please???)

any out there have any recommendations for me? i am always looking for new books and authors to blow my mind….

[music | the eurythmics, “here comes the rain again”]

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it’s a nice day for a gay wedding…

last night the house of commons voted to adopt a piece of legislation that allows same-sex marriage across all of canada…. this make canada the 3rd country in the world to legalize gay marriage (belgium and the netherlands are the other two). the senate still needs to approve the bill to make this law – but it is anticipated to easily pass within days. you can read about it here and here and here and on just about every news site across the world.

leading up to this controversial vote, most of the courts of the provinces already overturned the ban against same-sex marriages and this put pressure on the government to bring the issue to vote federally. i wonder how this is going to play in my home province of alberta – not surprisingly, it’s one of the provinces that still did not allow same-sex unions.

rarely (if ever) do i find the need or want to positively quote a prime minister of canada – but i just loved what prime minister martin said last night :
“We are a nation of minorities and in a nation of minorities, it is important that you don’t cherry pick rights. A right is a right and that is what this vote tonight is all about,” Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin said shortly before the vote.

of course the conservatives are promising that they will look at this again if they win the next election – but really, what can he do federally, when 8 of the 10 provinces already allow marriages regardless of the sex of those seeking them.

and continuing in that vein, there is strong opposition to this bill. frankly, i don’t understand the opposition. many religious groups are upset and believe that this bill is eroding the ‘moral fibre’ of our country – but canada’s charter of rights allows for freedom of religion and no church will ever be forced to perform one of these ceremonies. i guess i really just don’t know how two people who love each other and wanting to get married is a question of morality.

but for today – i am very happy to be living in a country that seeks to limit restrictions rather that entrench them.

[music | david usher, “st. lawrence river”]

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word nerd…

yes, i am a word nerd and i am happy to admit it…. i often read the dictionary for fun, in fact, i own 4 of them (my fave being the canadian version of the oxford dictionary) and when online, i find i’m on www.dictionary.com at least every couple of hours. (also has something to do with the fact that i’m a horrendous speller!)

when it came time to go to university – i chose a journalism school and i actually have a degree in journalism (!?!). as long as i can remember, i wrote. when i used to draw my little stick figures as a kid – i used to also write a sentence or two on each page saying what the picture was about. then i moved into telling strange nonsensical stories to whoever would listen (usually my dog sam) and in grade 5 i wrote a story about a little boy getting lost in a grocery store. and i remember the teacher calling me up after class and asking me who helped me write it. i know i was scared to death to be talking to the teacher (i was a very timid kid) but i told him the truth and said no one had helped me, that i wrote it myself. he finally then told me it was very very good. i wish i’d kept it. i’d like to have a copy of the first story i wrote that got a good review – but because the teacher freaked me out so much, i ripped it up and threw it out after i got it back. strange, the shame that adults can introduce to impressionable minds…. even when that shame shouldn’t be owned by anyone… so, mr. sawchen – if you’re ever reading this – i hope that you have stopped scaring kids out of their minds.

to this day i write. not just this silly little blog – but i used to write short stories, i have started no less than 3 novels (then again, who hasn’t?), i occasionaly write essays for fun, but most of all, i write poetry and prose. i rarely share my stuff with others (after all, who really wants to read the diahreah of my brain) so i have no idea if it appeals to anyone but myself. 🙂 i do know that from time to time, i’ll read back something i’ve written and think to myself that it is pretty good and that i’d be happy to buy it in a store.

but i digress – the topic i’m really exploring is how i ended up this way. besides the predictable answer of personality and predisposition – i believe it had a lot to do with the books i read as a gurl. that and the fascinating fact that my very first spoken word was “horse”. that’s right, there was no ‘dadda’ or ‘mamma’ for this one – no, i decided to say a word that must of been a shock to my parents! i’m sure they were hopeful that their first-born would say something vaguely related to them – instead my vocal voyage began with the utterance of word that described an animal that had nothing to do with my family (we didn’t have horses until i got old enough to care for my first horse, jenny – quickly followed by sandy, sham, shyloh and shasta, yes, i have a thing for the letter ‘s’). my first word also began a life-long love affair with horses – to this day, nothing makes me happier than the smell of a horse or the touch of a velvety nose…

but back to those formative books. as a child, i recall reading lots of mother goose, various fairy tales and brother’s grimm stories – just like most other children. one book in particular that took me from toddler to tween was “lamont, the lonely monster“. it was published by Hallmark cards and i remember reading it over and over and over again. it was a pop-up book that told the story of a monster (lamont) who was in search of a friend. he ended up accidentally scaring people, which made him cry (he was a very sensitive monster) until he was told to check out nearby ‘monster mansion’. there he encountered monster-racism as the witch wanted to cast a spell on him, the vampire promised to bite him and the ghosts evaporated rather than chat. lamont finally found a friend (uriah the heap) who it turned out was the occupant everyone in the mansion was afraid of – turns out the reason uriah was so scary was because he had a little bit of misplaced anger over the fact that he didn’t have a friend either. all together now, “awwwww”. 🙂

as i grew older my love of books and words remained strong. i remember spending hours with the silliness of shel silverstein, the family closeness of laura ingalls wilder , being inspired by strong and independent pippi longstocking, being entertained by intrepid nancy drew, understanding the promise of the black stallion, learning the heartache of equine love with my friend flicka and all the books written by mary o’hara and marguerite henry and becoming absorbed by the life-changing secrets of the chronicles of narnia.

i think this will be my first two-part blog entry… i’ve run on long enough today! but before i go – i want to write a quick thank you to my parents, my grandma’s, aunt chris, aunt rianne and amazing teachers like mrs. gobel, mr. hamilton and mr. macfarlane for for seeing and nurturing that little seed of a writer/reader within me.

[music | jeremy fisher, “on par”]

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i think i’m addicted…..

damn these online quiszes…. but when i came across the quiz for buffy – my fave tv show of all time – i just had to play along…. actually i’m pretty surprised that i got buffy…. i was hoping i would of been drusilla….

Which Buffy The Vampire Slayer Character Are You Most Like!?
created with QuizFarm.com

happy pride weekend everyone (and another david usher show)! my friend kelly is also hosting an art show this weekend – she’s asked me to read tarot for her guests on sunday…

[music | green day, “jesus of suburbia”]

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all the yoga has gotten to me…

What Famous Leader Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

…. but then again….

i actually answered this quiz WITHOUT picking the responses with “evil” in them…. sheesh, wonder what i would of gotten if i did….

am i the only evil ghandi out and about? let me know your results….

[music | emm gryner, “dearg doom”]

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…. live 8 …. canadian style …..

ok – i couldn’t resist posting this link – i laughed out loud when i read this line :

And a pundit on Macleans.ca predicted that the highlight of the day will be “when the bands gather onstage to fight over the last pair of false teeth.”

[music | moist, “break her down”]

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spoiled

today i went to my yoga class after taking monday’s class off (i seemed to have injured myself in last friday’s class & my neck was not going to allow me to bend in any manner other than ‘robot’). when my instructor got there, i told her about my neck tenderness & she figured out which muscle i angered – then she showed me a series of stretches i could do to loosen my neck and make my upper back stronger (rwoar!).

by the time we finished, we were still the only two in the room & it was about 5 after the time class was to start. yey. i got a private class. it was so cool. we worked A LOT on downdog (my right side often bails out of the position and the arm doesn’t straighten – it kind of bowes out). and i think i actually made some progress.

for me, yoga is largely a matter of mental power. if i stop thinking about what i’m doing – i cheat – but if i keep my mind engaged and think about what and why i’m doing – it’s much better. also – i find yoga excellent to help break bad mental habits. ‘i can’t do that.’ ‘there’s no way my shoulder will stretch that way.’ ‘is she kidding me? i’ll fall if i do that!’ i’m not saying that i need to be a mindless little self-cheerleader – but if i tell myself i can’t do it before i even start – well, what do you think the result will be…

the downside of my private class today is that i am feeling it. holy, holy, am i feeling it! she warned me that the deep work we did might make me sore & i think she’s right! and the best news of all – my tender neck only had one very bad moment… and i think it will feel much better tomorrow. ooh – one more thing – i also found out that i hyper-extend my knees. after 3.5 years of yoga, no instructor ever noticed or corrected me…. yey for private classes!

[music | gwen stefani, “what u waiting for?”]

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new neil gaiman!

a new full-length novel coming in september…. yey! it’s called “anansi boys” and you can read an exerpt here

i discovered neil through tori and still haven’t worked my way through all of the *so far* wonderful sandman comics. tori inspired one of the sandman characters, delirum – but i haven’t gotten that deep into them yet… i think if i’d discovered them as they were published – it would of been a very good thing…. i would of understood why some people called me ‘death‘ when i wore my ankh. or at least it would of stopped me from explaining to them what the ancient egyptian symbology really meant!

[music | concrete blonde, “joey”]

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africa & wondering where the lions are…

i really hope that this this story isn’t just anti-poacher propaganda and is to be believed…. go lions!

live8 organizers in canada have just completed a live press conference confirming that the show will be in barrie on july 2nd. tickets are available thursday at ticketmaster & tix are free, with a limit of 2 per person. from what i’ve heard of the line up, i’m not going. barenaked ladies. our lady peace, celine dion, blue rodeo, sam roberts. i know i’ve ranted about this before, but why isn’t there a blend of canuck acts that are known internationally as well as only nationally….

i wish the purpose behind the gig all the best… i think it’s amazing that canada is having a show and i believe it’s important for paul martin to build on the aid-legacy that lester b. pearson began 30 years ago and to step up at the G8 conference in scotland in a few weeks to be a leader in this economic ‘forgiveness’.

message from live8 organizers to the G8 summit leaders :

50,000 people are dying, needlessly, every day of extreme poverty.

At this year’s G8 summit meeting, it is within your power to put an end to this tragedy. It is an extraordinary opportunity which it would be shameful to ignore. We urge you to take these 3 steps to make extreme poverty history…

1. double the aid sent to the world’s poorest countries,
2. fully cancel their debts,
3. change the trade laws so that they can build their own future.

also and importantly – happy summer solstice to all. the custodians of stonehenge again allowed the annual solstice festival. one year i want to be there for it…..

[music | tori amos, “mother revolution”]

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damn the man (and the woman too)!

yet another bone-headed idea brought to you by the canute-like record labels….

i especially love the bit that says :
The copy-protection technology is also far from ironclad. Apple Macintosh
users currently face no restrictions at all. What’s more, if users go to a
web site to complain about the lack of iPod compatibility, Sony BMG will
send them an email with a “back door” measure on how to work around
the copy protection.
*sigh*

if record labels were bodies and if they were to speak to themselves – it might go something like this…

hands : what is that under my touch?
ass : why, dear hands, it is the ass which belongs to the same body as you
hands : no, not possible – we don’t know how to find our own ass!
brain : shut up, the both of you – i’m busy trying to figure out how to stick our head in this pile of sand and how to stem the tide that is about to burst forth from this dam that we’ve been trying to wish away for the past decade
hands : what’s that brain? we can’t hear you. hey, what’s this under my touch?
ass : why, dear hands, where have you gone?
ears : get your frickin fingers out of my orifices!
brain : oh, sweet blissful silence. just what the music industry needs. now we can go back to our main occupation – ignorning this dam that’s about to sweep us all away.

[music | tegan & sara, “walking with a ghost”]

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