Four books

Life has been a tad hectic lately and I haven't been able to read as much as usual, so I decided to make up for it this past weekend. In addition to attending a wonderful Great Lake Swimmers concert on Saturday evening, I spent a great deal of the weekend reading.

One of the greatest pleasures of life, as far as I'm concerned, is reading an entire book at one sitting. I managed to do this FOUR TIMES in the past few days. Jeff and I seemed to have both picked up a bit of a bug, and have been spending much of the weekend indoors. Mine has been happily buried in books.

Even more happily, all of my reads were excellent, the kind of stories that draw you in and compel you to keep reading until the very last page. They were:

How To Get Suspended and Influence People by Adam Selzer. Aimed at young adults, this had a ton of clever writing and laugh-aloud humour. I had a chance to chat with Adam (who is also a talented songwriter and musician!) at GAfilk and will be interviewing him for Inkygirl. More about the book in the interview.

Stanford Wong Flunks Big-Time by Lisa Yee. I loved the first book in this series, Millicent Min: Girl Genius and loved Stanford Wong even more. I adore Lisa Yee's characters, PLUS she's funny, PLUS her characters have heart. Both books made me cry at some point, and I can't wait to pick up So Totally Emily Ebers. I'm also a big fan of Lisa's Livejournal and hope to meet her in person someday.

The Sea Of Monsters by Rick Riordan. Sequel to the acclaimed The Lightning Thief and second in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, this is an action-packed story aimed at 9-12 year olds. A great read.

Princess Academy by Shannon Hale, author of one of my all-time favourite books, Goose Girl. My twelve-year-old niece lent me her copy and warned me that once I started reading it, I wouldn't be able to put it down until I was finished. She was right! I'm going to have to get my own copy. It's not as lyrically written as Goose Girl, but I *loved* the characters and the story.



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A ragtag punitive fleet...

Thanks to mainly to Jeff's efforts, our solarium is now free of moving boxes! Now we have to figure out what to do with that room. Helpful suggestions from friends have ranged from a mini-greenhouse to a cottage-y reading room to installing a hot tub. We're both leaning toward a reading room with some houseplants; the small room gets a great deal of light, though it's chilly in the winter.

Speaking of winter, where did spring go?!?



Anyway, one of the boxes we unpacked contained some old books from my childhood, like the Battlestar Galactica Photostory pictured at the top of this page. This memorable piece of literature dates back to 1979, and was based on the original Battlestar Galactica movie in which Lorne Greene played Adama, Dirk Benedict was Starbuck, and Richard Hatch was Apollo.

Hey, and that's an excuse for me to re-post a great photo that Gary Ehrlich took of me jamming with Richard Hatch at Marcon about five years ago!



That's Richard Hatch on the left; he now plays Tom Zarek on the new Battlestar series. A fellow named David is in the middle and I'm on the right. I never had a chance to chat with Richard but Rand tells me he's a nice guy, easygoing and approachable.



Does anyone out there remember the original Battlestar Galactica movie and series? I used to watch the series on television in my childhood, but I seem to recall I lost interest somewhere near the end. I tried watching Galactica 1980 but hated it.



My brother, sister and I were all big fans of the original movie and series. When I browsed the first page of the photostory book, I realized I could still almost recite the intro text from memory: "There are those who believe that life here began far across the universe with tribes of humans who may have been the forefathers of the Egyptians, or the Taltecs, or the Mayans -- that they may have been the architects of the great pyramids, or the lost civilization of Atlantis. Some believe that there may yet be brothers of man who even now fight to survive far, far away, amongst the stars."

I suspect that I'm not the only one who can still clearly remember how those words were recited in Lorne Greene's regal (and Canadian, eh?) tones, the dramatic rise and fall of key phrases. If only other childhood experiences (like say, my history lessons in school) had claimed equal share of my longterm memory.

Jeff and I both immediately noticed the typo on the last page:



"PUNITIVE" (instead of "fugitive")?!? Someone obviously wasn't paying attention in the proofreading department.




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Review: e-DENTITY at the Royal Alex, Toronto

Jeff and I recently attended a performance of e-DENTITY, a new play at the Royal Alexandra Theatre. I went in with neutral-low expectations; the promo images (like the one to the right) struck me as somewhat cheesy. I also half-expected the play to target a general audience, so mentally prepared myself for the usual over-explanations of Internet elements so common in mass market movies and tv shows these days. Our friend Craig convinced us to go, however; it's hard to say no to Craig. :-)

Conceived by Jacquie Thomas with script by Michael Spence, the play explores the various ways human communication has changed since the advent of cyber communication. I know, I know! Even as I typed that, I could picture you making a face and reaching for your mouse, itching to click away to anywhere else but here.

But wait!

Jeff and I were both surprised by how much we liked this production. The people behind e-DENTITY did an excellent job at getting across the whole feel of being online with clever use of projections, transparent screens, original music (including using the human voice for interesting acoustic effects), and (believe it or not) choreographed dance-like movements. AND they assumed the audience was already somewhat Internet-savvy.

It would have been so easy to go overboard, but these elements were all well-integrated into the overall dialogue, which was well-written and engaging. It's not aimed at the typical theatre audience; you need to have some experience with the Internet to appreciate all the segments. The show is a collection of vignettes rather than a continuing story.

However, even vague familiarity with certain topics was enough to appreciate certain vignettes. My closest experience with Warcraft, for instance, was watching the South Park episode focusing on the online game; I still found the Warcraft segment entertaining though I wasn't in hysterics like some of the audience who obviously WERE very much into the game :-D.



Some vignettes had me laughing to the point of tears, while others were surprisingly moving. The projected images, original music and choreography were mesmerizing, but it was the strong writing that carried this show for me. That, and the fact that I could identify with many of the elements. :-)

For those attending: be sure to read the inserts in your program, which give extra info: several of the vignettes are based on real-life incidents. The ticket prices, by the way, are much more reasonable than the regular "big name" productions at the Royal Alex, ranging from $20 up to $65.

For more information:

e-DENTITY.ca

Mirvish.com: e-DENTITY (buy tickets online)

Runs March 20 - May 20, 2007
Tues - Sat 8PM; Wed, Sat, Sun 2PM

The Royal Alexandra Theatre
260 King St. W.
Toronto, Ontario




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Flatmouse Fame!

My sister's new book, A Trip With Grandma, is now available! At least it's available in the U.S.; my friend Rand already has his copy. I've been told that my local bookstore is supposed to get it any day now. You can see some sample interior pages and a rough in Ruth's Web site, which I've just updated.

Jeff is particularly excited about this because pretty much every illustration in the book features Flatmouse, one of his childhood toys. Jeff claims that Flatmouse (a name he gave the toy himself as a child) was always flat, but what demented toy company would produce such an obviously weird-looking, flat toy for a child? No, I'm convinced that Flatmouse used to be a regular-looking mouse....until tragedy struck.

I have my own theories about how the poor thing got flattened. The nose is crooked, as if it was pressed very hard against a hard flat surface. Like the pavement, as Little Flatmouse is being repeatedly run over by the family car, for instance. Or perhaps young Jefferson was in the habit of sleeping on top of the defenseless toy, a subconsciously aggressive action sprung out of a secret but deep-seated hatred of mice. Possibly. He'll deny it now, of course.

In any case, Jeff has fortunately grown out of these childhood neuroses (though who knows if he ever truly recovered from the shock of being taken to the hospital emergency ward by his mother when he got that pussy willow stuck up his nose) and regards Flatmouse with genuine affection these days:



Four days until FilKONtario!

Link O' The Day

A short while back, I mentioned Part I of Wil Wheaton's funny but sad story about his first meeting with William Shatner. Thanks to Danea for alerting to me to the posting of Wil Wheaton's Geek in Review: William F** Shatner, PART II!

Arrogant Worms YouTube Video: Carrot Juice Is Murder: I had never seen an Arrogant Worms video, so thanks to CDenise for the link! I first heard the very funny "Carrot Juice Is Murder" in an open filk circle ages ago.



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Squirrels, exercise, cartoons and books

Here's another poem by Dave Alway, written in response to one of my Blatherings last year when the squirrels absconded with my heart-shaped birdfeeder:

A Quatrain for a Frustrated Squirrel Hater He was athletic, dark and artful, That horrid, long-tailed Sciuridae, He feasted on my lovers' symbol — And then stole my hanging heart away! — Dave Alway, 16-February-2006

After an indulgent holiday season and much good German chocolate (thanks to Franklin, Eva, Crystal and Rafael!), I've decided to get back to regular exercise. Went to the gym late yesterday afternoon...the hardest part is getting there; I always feel great afterward. So I'm opting for a new strategy: get my gym stuff ready in the morning, so I have no excuse later in the day. I prefer exercising outdoors over the treadmill, but it becomes more of a challenge with sidewalks made uneven with slush and ice.

I find that I tend to be more motivated to stick to a regular schedule when I monitor my progress. Does anyone out there know of a good (and preferably FREE) online fitness-oriented site where users can log their workouts and chart progress? Or how do YOU motivate yourself, in terms of regular exercise?



Above (my Daily Doodle): I drew this in Corel Painter with the Artists Oils & Blender brushes (girl) and Chalk brush (shadow). I purposely made the head a little misshapen; I thought it added to the slightly skewed (in a "wait a second, that's not right") atmosphere.

Some of you may have noticed that I removed my old search function (a Google search) from Blatherings; it turns out it wasn't picking up terms that were linked. Which brings me to my next question for all you technogirls and technoboys out there...can you recommend a good site search tool that is relatively easy to install? Preferably one you've used yourself?

All suggestions appreciated!

RECENT READS:

	Secret of the Sirens by Julia Golding. I wasn't sure if I was going to like this book at first because I'm not a huge fan of talking animal books (or at least I wasn't, but I keep finding talking animal books I do enjoy) but the Big Bad Guy in this story was deliciously evil. Good book for younger readers, with lots of action and suspense. First in a series, and a first novel for the author...I look forward to seeing what else she writes. This book has been nominated for a Cilip Carnegie Medal (awarded by children's librarians in the UK for an outstanding book for children and young people).
	Farewell Summer by Ray Bradbury. This is the sequel to one of my favourite children's books of all time, Dandelion Summer. I was initially thrown by the different tone and style of this book, plus I found that it lacks some of the "feel good" vibe I so enjoyed in the first book; it seems to be told with more of an adult spin than a child's viewpoint. Still, for anyone who enjoys Bradbury's lyrical writing style, it's a good read; for me, it's like reading a fine book of poetry.
	**Revenge Of The Witch (The Last Apprentice)** by Joseph Delaney. Yikes. I had only read a few pages on the weekend, decided to read a few more last night. Except those few pages turned into "just a few more," and I ended up reading last night WAY longer than I had intended. I loved this book and was delighted to discover that it's only the first in a series. I'm already angsting about whether to wait for the softcover of the next book, or to spring for the hardback edition. Some excellent storytelling here, and I adore Patrick Arrasmith's eerie illustrations at the beginning of each chapter. NOT for late night reading when you're home alone with an overactive imagination...

Link O' The Day

Cupcakes Of Catan: "Cupcakes of Catan is a a totally edible, fully functioning, utterly playable, all vegan, mostly organic, completely cupcake version of the original boardgame, Settlers of Catan." (Thanks to Mary Ellen for the link!)

Cool Tools by Kevin Kelly. "Cool tools really work. A cool tool can be any book, gadget, software, video, map, hardware, material, or website that is tried and true. I am chiefly interested in stuff that is extraordinary, better than similar products, little-known, and reliably useful for an individual or small group."
(Thanks to Jeff for the link!)





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