Kine

Warning: your pregnancy will bring unsolicited advice from total strangers

2010-03-22T14:36:00.005-04:00

Little peanut
Originally uploaded by Kinster Nepinster

We think the little human on the right is a girl, but it’s a little too early to tell. We call her Peanut.

I am now 4 months pregnant.

Being pregnant is a big deal to some women, not so much to others. I fall in the latter category. I have to say I’ve been lucky. Other than dizziness and back pain, I’ve been fine and I feel normal, not crazy emotional or nauseous. However, sometimes I leave the house without any shoes on, or I put the cereal box in the fridge (and the milk in the pantry), and well, you’re about to find out that it makes me a little cranky.

The attention to my growing belly is sweet, but the comments I receive from the outside world gave me insight on the image people have of pregnant women. The first thing I learned is that people love giving advice. They love it with a passion.

I’ve been cycling to work. Don’t get me started on the faces I get when I tell them I am on my road bike day in and day out. At first I didn’t have the good sense to realize that people would be so negative and opinionated about this topic. I’ve stopped trying to argue with them, and I don’t let it bother me anymore. Sometimes I argue that advice given to pregnant women apply to the lowest common denominator, and that if you were an athlete on the bicycle pre-pregnancy, things will work out just fine on the bike during your pregnancy. I am usually pretty confident of my choice to cycle, but it does help to realize that I am not alone in that department. But athlete or not I still think biking is a viable mode of transportation for pregnant women.

One thing I’ve noticed is a tendency from people to equate everything exclusively to my pregnancy. Anything I do/eat/say is a result of my condition. Hungry for cheese? Must be those crazy cravings (anybody who knows me is aware I go absolutely gaga for cheese). I may say I am tired and wish I could have slept in. Oh, that’s normal, after all, you’re pregnant! Little do people know I am a champion sleepyhead. I love to sleep more than I love cheese, and that is saying something. At this point they love to add that I won’t have the luxury to sleep in in a few months, and that I better “enjoy it while I can”.

Which brings me to my next point. People love telling me how much of a commitment it will be, as we are first-time parents and we haven’t got a clue what we’re getting into. Yes, the onset of a baby this fall will cut into cycling, reading, cooking, etc. We understand our lifestyle will change dramatically, but the constant narrative I get from people around me is a bit unsettling and repetitive. Most people just can’t see that we will carry the same values with us post delivery (having a healthy lifestyle, maintaining interest in the outside world, mindfulness of the environment, enjoying the latest bands, travel, etc). We’ll still care, we’ll still be ourselves. Hey, you without kids, you can still be our friend!

That said I have been having excellent conversations with friends who are happy and supportive and seem to know where I am coming from, and I’ve been feeding off positivity from these people. It also helps that my other-half reasserts his love and support every day. He still thinks I can install those kitchen cupboards all by myself. No excuses honey.

I can’t wait to go out and about with this kid, walking on the Ottawa River path, packing her up on the bike and go ride canal-side, and much later canoeing in Algonquin Park. It will be a wonderful, frustrating, interesting, fascinating, whatever, growing experience.

See you September 5, Pea.

Flickr

2010-03-22T14:34:00.001-04:00

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

Going to a Town

2007-04-09T10:14:00.000-04:00

I don't remember the last time I listened to a song on Repeat, but consider the new Rufus Wainwright single my new obsession.
I've not heard this type of song since John Lennon or Elton John. The melody is at the same time uplifting and disheartening. A wonderful dark song. Grab it here.

making my own way home / ain't gonna be alone / i'm going to a town / that's already been but down.

Secrets of really good chocolate chip cookies

2007-03-05T09:59:00.000-05:00

Most people I know claim to have the perfect chocolate-chip cookie recipe. I don't believe I have the best recipe, but this is damn close. In the end, I think it's not really the recipe that matters, but how you make them (and the quality of your ingredients, especially the vanilla).

Here's how it's done:

-Always use real butter;
-And real sugar. Don't tell me Splenda should be used, you smug moralizer;
-Melt the butter on a double boiler (careful not burn it). The idea behind this is to have your sugar melt in your butter more easily. Let it cool before you add the eggs, otherwise they will poach in the mix;
-Use real vanilla;
-Use good chocolate: I like buy a brick of bitter-sweet chocolate and chop it up in big morsels;
-Use an electric mixer to combine the sugar, butter and eggs. Mix for a good 5 minutes;
-Use a rubber spatula to fold the dry ingredients in the wet ingredients;
-Mix the dough thoroughly but don't over-mix it;
-Refrigerate the dough at least an hour. When dough is firm, form dough into 1 inch balls. If you don't refrigerate the dough, your cookies will come out flat. In the end, you want to eat little Matterhorns;
-Make sure your cookie sheet is cool (or cold). Parchment-paper-it;
-Only cook a few cookies at a time. Leave the rest of the dough in the freezer. Take the frozen dough out of the freezer only when you're sure someone will eat them immediately when they are done;
-Do not bake longer than 9.5 minutes. 10 minutes and they'll be too cooked (I'm serious);
-Eat approximately 2 minutes after they are done.

The recipe:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks, 1/2 pound) unsalted butter, softened or melted
3/4 cup granulated [white] sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 cups bitter-sweet chocolate morsels
1 cup white chocolate chips or butterscotch chips or your drug of choice.

Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla in large mixer bowl. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition; gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and chips.

Bake in preheated 375-degree oven for 9.5 minutes. Let stand for 2 minutes. Eat the damn cookies.

When you are done eating the cookies, go make some music: Shiver

New travel blog!

2006-12-24T11:33:00.000-05:00

Head on over to my travel blog.

I'm back for good, for now

2006-12-16T09:21:00.000-05:00

I was told a few days ago that by blog missed me, so I'm welcoming myself back -- just in time for travel blogging in India. In a few days I'll be in Delhi holding my Belhi tight, and popping Ibuprofen. Now if I could just find a digital camera to keep a record of all these good times.

I'm leaving you with a recommendation: check out my darling's new blog, he's in Australia right now, and was in Ireland a few weeks back. He likes to take pictures of bicycles, and really, that's why I love the guy.

Arrrrrrr, Yarrrrrr, Harrrrrr

2006-09-19T09:29:00.000-04:00

September 19th is Talk Like a Pirate Day, an annual celebration founded by a couple of theatre guys from Oregon.

In the spirit of this wonderful example of pointless American innovation, learn to release your inner pirate here. Or have the computer do it for you with the Pirate Filter.

Aye. Arrr.

NYC Tour Diary

2006-09-15T16:38:00.000-04:00

It's nice to visit NYC. After decades of watching Allen movies and sitcoms, it's nice to get to see the real thing. Granted, I've been to NYC before, but I don't remember too much of it, except the one time when were robbed (or scammed) of a couple hundred dollars and our car was towed. But I was 13 and I found the whole thing pretty hilarious. Anyway, that is neither here nor there so I'll get to the point and give you my perceptions of my trip, all still minty fresh even thought I got back over two weeks ago.

I saw a polar bear at the Central Park Zoo. It looked as cuddly and warm as George Clooney.
*****
The hole of 9/11 is as big as one might think.
*****
Fashion note: not a single person there wears shorts. Nobody.
*****
Fashion note #2: In Central Park, a new yorker compliments me on my bag. The next day, I overhear a hipster murmuring to her boyfriend: "Oh, I love her shoes". I record these as the two single greatest fashion-related victories of my existence.
*****
I was staying in Edison, one of the many New Jersey strech of suburbia, in a hotel room clad in beige and darker-beige, which is just the way rooms ought to be. It cost me 37$ to be the extra-guest in my brother-in-law's hotel room. My parents and all my sisters (minus one) were there too.
*****
My sister and I had glorious brunch in the ever hip West Village. It was divine. We took pictures.
*****
NYC is a society caught in constant stampede. There are "No Standing Any Time" signs everywhere. I thought it was adressed to pedestrians, but I was later told that it was for cars. But you still feel like a criminal if you don't "Move Your Ass Any Time".
*****
Being in the city make me feel dirty (literally, not figuratively). Something about the air, the smell. It's all so very dirty. I go through a pack of moist anti bacterial towelettes in a day. If I were living there I would constantly be afraid of dying a slow radioactive death, unless I had my towelettes handy.
*****
In Soho: Saw Sofia Coppola foraging for lettuce and bread at Dean and Deluca. It was exotic and unexpected.
*****
Shopping in the U.S. doesn't feel too sinful anymore, as the canadian dollar in is better shape.
*****
Had some glorious walks, but 50% of my brain was focussing on my ailing knees.
*****
In NYC, cupcakes are the must have accessory of the year.
*****
You are not supposed to want to go to the bathroom in NYC. Hardly an original observation.
*****

If someone gets a hint (Caro? Nan?, Mom? Hello?), i'll soon have pictures to post on Flickr.

Stalk and the City

2006-09-05T00:00:00.000-04:00

This is my last night in NYC, but before I take the time to write an entry about that, I want to share the fact that Gawker.com took my stalking of Sofia Coppola in Soho seriously and published it on their website.

I wrote: "[We found] a preggy Coppola buying bread, roses and lettuce at Dean and Deluca, alone and wearing an oversize pink and white polo shirt. No makeup and very pretty."

My sister and I love to stalk celebs. That is pathetic.

NYC bound

2006-08-31T13:28:00.000-04:00

I'll be spending the long weekend in NYC, and the first thing i'll do in the city is this:

458 Ninth Avenue, New York NY 10018 (at 36th Street).

I will gladly cooperate.

happy birthday to me

2006-08-16T15:28:00.000-04:00

I am 30. I can now be president of Chechnya.

I am still processing the information so i'm not going to talk about all the goals I've set for myself. Also, I have no intention of doing any “soul-searching”, “rework my life”, “retake control” or make any sort of “improvements” ...yet. Instead, today I plan on doing some moping, a little procrastination, and a dash of drinking alcoholic beverages (after noon of course).

I’m a big sentimental dope when it comes to birthdays. If you’re so inclined, please send birthday wishes to kikine at hotmail dot com.

oh yeah

2006-08-15T16:29:00.000-04:00

Get your racecar nickname here.

Those were the days

2006-08-10T09:47:00.000-04:00

Djoubi found this little jewel of a website. Remember when music videos had a plot and a lot of over-acting? They were awesome.

Another day, another bird.

2006-08-02T11:05:00.000-04:00

I like Bird Nerd.
I bought this linocut print the other day. Birds make great art subjects.

In other news, it's hot out. Contemplating moving to Alaska. In the meantime, i'll be lobbying for national acceptance of a ritual called afternoon nap. While we north americans are working away at 3pm, the brits are having their tea and the spanish are enjoying their daily Siesta. The afternoon cooldown, it's not a bad idea.

So these days I spend all my non-working time in the coolest room in our house, the very dark TV room, and watch movies: I strongly recommend the british movie Heartlands, a small independent movie about a guy setting off on his moped across the country intent on winning his cheating wife back. The movie captures the exquisite beauty of England's rolling hills.

Sofa, Dirt, Books, Songs.

2006-07-20T16:43:00.000-04:00

I bought this sofa
To answer the question of my last post: what will it all cost? The answer is: probably a lot. This is what happens when you turn 30: you buy a sofa that does not come from Goodwill. I have to admit it will be nice to own a piece of furniture that will last me through adulthood.

Sometimes a girl has to play in dirt.
Last wednesday I had a day off. At first I was thinking of spending the day watching Ab Fabs, but the day took a strange turn. I was having my morning cup of coffee on the balcony and at one point my eyes peered over my Vanity Fair and I saw the train wreck that is my back yard: weeds taller than Yao Ming and many varieties of spiky swamp-like "greenery". Then the fun began. I spent the day pulling weeds and really enjoying it. I can certainly identify with this guy. It was nasty job, and at the end of the day I was painfully aware of muscles I didn’t even know I had. Now we have to level the ground and that should take lots and lots of power tools, wood, bricks, and time.

But there is always time to read.
Ali Smith – The Accidental. I just started it.
Jon Katz – Running to the Mountain. A story about some big shot writer from Hollywood going broke and buying a house in the wood to “regroup”. This is not the best book I’ve ever read, and sometimes the writing is just plain bad, but for some reason I can’t put it away. It’s a bad page turner.

Our of my headphones:
1. Time has Told Me – Nick Drake
2. Heartbeats – Jose Gonzalez
3. Somewhere Only We Know - Keane
4. The Stars of Track and Field – Belle and Sebastian
5. Upward Over the Mountain – Iron & Wine
6. Cello Song – Nick Drake
7. Drops of Jupiter – Train. "Can you imagine no love, pride, deep-fried chicken"
8. Peace Like a River – Paul Simon
9. (Love me Like Music) I’ll be Your Song – Heart
10. Everybody’s Changing – Keane
11. Something to Talk About – Badly Drawn Boy

r-a-n-t

2006-07-17T14:38:00.000-04:00

Summer is the most disappointing of seasons. The promises of fun, slush and cotton candy are replaced with heat exhaustion, vacation envy and noisy air conditioning units. Gasping for air is not my idea of a swell summer time. I genuinely hate the weather ladies who cry at the sight of clouds on a summer weekend, and say it couldn’t possibly be summer if we are not drenched in sun rays.

I miss the cool lakes of the Madawaska Valley and the chilly evenings spent lounging one of those chairs you always see on the cover of Cottage Quarterly, cozily wrapped in a blanket reading the Atlantic Monthly. Purdy Lake was nice, we had a lot of time to read, look out the window, or bike around. But that was two weeks ago and today I’m looking for a pool I can swim in for about a mile, to paraphrase Joni Mitchell. This seems like the obvious solution to my little problems, which are: I don’t sleep well, I have nightmares at night, and I feel like I need ten kinds of leave: vacation leave, sick leave, personal leave, etc.

These things helped me make it through the season:

- My new Creative Zen MP3 player. Worth every penny.
- Michael Palin’s shows on traveling on TVO, Fridays at 7pm.
- The band Keane.
- A daily Grande-Double-Espresso-Iced-Latte-With-One-and-a-half-Raw-Sugar
- Yellow Tail Chardonnay
- Defamer, The Superficial and Gawker.
- The idea that retail is an effective form of therapy.

In other news, I’ll be hitting a new decade next month. The scary thing about turning 30 is not that I’m getting older, it’s that I’m not much different than when I was 23. Oh sure, there has been slight physical change and much soul searching, but deep down (or right on the surface) I’m still the adorably odd student who likes to read her Star in the bath. I still don’t like the 9-to-5-living-for-the-weekend lifestyle (which I thought before was just a hard time adjusting), and my taste in books, music and art has not changed an iota (except I dropped Tori Amos).

As I’m hitting the thirties, I wonder a lot about what will change, if, when, how, and what will it cost?

I’d like to take my twenties, plant them in a jar next to my kitchen window and name it George. Maybe George will grow to become a beautiful and accomplished 30 year-old.

I'm off

2006-06-30T17:10:00.000-04:00

Friday, 5:08 pm. Dawn of vacation time. I've heard that the strongest motivator is anticipation. What's next? What's tomorrow going to be like? Anticipation. I think it explains the addictive quality of traveling. When i'm not thinking about eating brownies, I think about escape. Messing around in an unfamiliar place.

So we are heading off to Purdy Lake for a week of who-knows-what. This place isn't unfamiliar, but it's everything a vacation place should have: a fire pit, a lake, a BBQ, a canoe and moldy paperback novels. I'll post pictures if we don't forget to pack Jeff's digital camera.

I'm leaving you with this poll:

Q: Should we get this dog?

P.S.: The song contest answer: Hangin' Tough, by the New Kids on the Block. A classic.

They've got the right stuff

2006-06-23T10:24:00.001-04:00

1. Randomly pick a song from your music library.
2. Find the lyrics for the first four verses/chorus
3. Go to Google translation and translate the lyrics from English into German.
4. Take the new German lyrics and translate them into French.
5. Take the new French lyrics and translate them into English.
6. Post the NEW English lyrics and have people guess the original song

Try to guess my song:
OH-, OH-, OH- Of OH-, OH-. OH-, OH-, OH- Of OH-, OH-.
To hear each one, if you wanted to take a probability.
[To crush:] On the floor to receive simply and the news dance kids to make.
'Period one not ensures nothing 'the cause which does not take it a long time.
[To crush:] We will use to be „cause you in Trance with a funky the song received you,
hangin durable Hangin “which is durable which hangin which is durable.
[To crush:] We are rough.

OH-, OH-, OH- Of OH-, OH-. OH-, OH-, OH- Of OH-, OH-.
Each one always talkin “period which is on the upper surface.
[To crush:] The cause not to cross our manner” which you are received stomped.
We will not give in one way or another to each Durchhang.
[To crush:] And if you try to downwards hold us,
we will come towards the line from return, and you durably know that we are of
Hangin durably, hangin, hangin durably.
[To crush:] Rather durable Es you?
Hangin durably, hangin durably, hangin durably.
[To crush:] We are rough.

from VoxTrott.

The Name Game

2006-06-12T17:24:00.000-04:00

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet and current street name)
Leslie Drayton

2. YOUR MOVIE STAR NAME: (grandfather/grandmother on your dad's side, your favorite candy)
Eugenie Life Saver

3. YOUR "FLY GIRL/GUY" NAME: (first initial of first name, first two or three letters of your last name)
C-Jac

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite animal, favorite color)
Cat Blue

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born)
Monique Lachute

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (first 3 letters of your last name, last 3 letters of mother's maiden name, first 3 letters of your pet's name)
Jac sma cyr

7. JEDI NAME: (middle name spelled backwards, your mom's maiden name spelled backwards)
Euqinom Llams

8. PORN STAR NAME: (middle name, father's middle initial, street you grew up on)
Monique M. Legault.

9. SUPERHERO NAME: ("The", your favorite color, an automobile you have)
The Black Mystique

From Leab.

Remember me?

2006-06-04T18:40:00.000-04:00

I tried writing an entry last weekend but for some reason I never got around to finish it. I’ve been pretty busy: my new job barely gives me time to go to the bathroom during work hours, let alone take my lunch hour to write an entry.

This weekend I did something I thought I’d never be able to enjoy: I stayed in motels. I don’t care that it had plastic bedspreads from the last century. It was awesome. We watched Animal Planet’s America’s Funniest Pet Videos on television. Sweet, sweet cable.

It was raining non stop from the moment we got to the Adirondacks, so camping became out of the question, especially since we own a cheap-ass Canadian Tire 70$ tent. We were heading for a weekend of hiking, but we ended up driving up the mountain we were supposed to climb by foot. Whiteface Mountain. Yes, we drove up a mountain, 4,800ft. That is pathetic.

When I hiked up Whiteface last year, I resented the people who drove up there, parked their cars, and took an elevator to reach the peak (instead of taking a few stairs up the top). I mean, you spend a whole lot of energy walking up a mountain for about 3 hours and suddendly when you approach the summit you can hear a Harley Davidson and a couple of SUV's. When you finaly summit you get to sit down and eat your lunch next to a lady wearing high heels bitching about the fact that she had to walk up the stairs because the elevator was not working.

This year we became the same people I resented, those same lazy tourists.

But it was brutal on the summit: the rain had a winter blizzard quality to it and I did not trust my feet to keep me grounded to the peak. The winds and stinging rain sent us scrambling for cover. That’s how bad it was up there. The mountain pathways had been flooded. It rained a lot. And then it rained some more. The elevator guy was incredulous, but nice enough to let us go on top anyway, but not without warning us about the conditions up there.

So a weekend of planned hiking and camping ended up being a weekend of tv watching, beer drinking, darts shootting, and generally getting wet. It was great.

Pictures of Puerto Rico...

2006-05-14T13:23:00.000-04:00

...are up.

Scroll down a bit and click on photo icons on the right.

Mylène in California

2006-05-10T10:36:00.000-04:00

Mylène, an ex coworker of mine, got a new blog going after coming back from California, called Californiacation. Because it's nice to look at pictures of Big Sur, it's well worth a visit. The Yosemite shots are beautiful. I hope she'll keep it running with more stuff (hint).

Way to go girl!

I'm not dead

2006-05-06T11:54:00.000-04:00

...I'm just busy.

I can't really talk about my new job, but let's just say i'm training to become a librarian for the parliamentarians. My training will last another three weeks, after which I will be released into the wild and sometimes surreal world of parliamentary life. Obviously I can't blog about that, but this blog isn't about politics anyway.

A week into my training, i'm starting to feel a bit weak. This is very typical: I get a sore throat when i'm overwhelmed with new responsibilities and new feelings about things, about my job. I know that if I sit with these feelings of anxiety for a while, they will go with no consequence. In the meantime, I have to be working my way through some potentially confusing territory, at the end of which I will experience some down time at a cottage in Purdy Lake. It will be summer, after all. I'm glad it's raining and cold today: I have an excuse to finish my book.

The Penski File

2006-04-26T11:28:00.000-04:00

For a week I’ve been working on the other side of the universe otherwise known as Pointe-Gatineau. That means spending three hours commuting every day. This does not make me a very happy person. It makes me reach for the nutella at the end of the day. And because reaching for the nutella makes me burn calories, I also reach for the french baguette. Must replenish energy reserves.

So, last week, when another governmental institution offered me a job in downtown Ottawa (much closer to my home), I started to pay attention. To make a long story short, today is my last day as an archivist and next monday I will go back to being a librarian (email me if you want to know where i'll be working.) I'm relieved and delighted. And also embarrased for leaving a job after only a week.

In the meantime I have to "work". I find this whole situation to be very George Costanza-esque. Remember when George shows up at an office without ever being hired and starts “working” on the Penski File? That's me. I show up at work, and sort of pretend I have work.

People here have nicknamed me Speedy Gonzalez. Here today, gone tamale.

It burns, burns, burns.

2006-04-14T18:55:00.000-04:00

Ah, the cool breeze of April in Quebec. My folks are gossiping in the kitchen, blue grass music is playing on the radio, and I can sit down and write about the past couple of weeks. I'm not exhausted any more, I don't have to schedule some fun activity like kayaking or hiking. Coming back home feels very good indeed. I love travelling, but every minute away is spent agonizing about whether we're really making the most of our time: Is that beach OK? Should we drive further to see if the next one is better? Are we paying too much for that sailing trip? Is 10 bucks too much money for mofungo and pollo (mashed plantain and chicken)?

If you're thinking of going away on vacation where it's warmer and where they don't have any Starbucks, let's me tell you a little secret: Go to Vieques and El Yunque National Forest in Puerto Rico. I'll give you adresses of houses you can rent for very little money. The view from your house will get stuck in you brain forever, and you will fall in love with Sammy the dog in Vieques. The constant breeze will make you comfortable even though it's scorching hot outside. People will be nice to you and offer you a ride if you can't find a taxi to the airport.

First it was hiking. The rainforest, people. They don't tell you this over at Frommers. The Caribbean is a wonderful place not because of the beaches or the turquoise water, but the tropical forest. Sure, snorkeling is nice, but if you are like me and you hate getting sand in your shorts, head to the mountains and find a waterfall. We did, with a guide. It was a bit scary climbing rocks in my bare feet (i was shaking like a leaf)

Then it was surfing. I am not very good with large bodies of water. The significant other tried to teach me surfing, but I could only kneel on the large platform before my lack of enthusiasm sent me crashing in the surf. After swallowing at least 5 liters of water I decided to throw in the towel. So I smiled an apologetic smile and say, "Um, maybe next week?". Never one to lament for too long over a half-empty glass -- or at least I try -- I proceeded to show my beloved how masterful yours truly is on the boogie board. If you're wondering what a boogie board is, well it's much like surfing, except you don't have to stand up on your board. Basically it's for wusses. But I'd rather be a master on the boogie board, than a clumsy mess on the surf board. So there.

Then it was snorkeling. Thinking about how I loved the rain, the forest, the rainforest, the frogs, the birds, the flowers and trees, I felt guilty for now enjoying the corals more. Failing to have an epiphany while watching the tropical fishes in a timely fashion, I tried to brush aside my indifference of the aquatic life and got to work on a sailing/snorkeling day-trip to the tip of the Bermuda Triangle. It was a magical ride and the journey to the snorkeling stop was more enjoyable than the stop itself, witch consisted of watching some fishes through a mask, and trying not to find scary ones. At that point, I found myself at a crossroads: I could either a) move forward with the fish watching at the risk of encountering a shark (not uncommon over there), or b) chicken out, and head back to the boat to enjoy a complimentary rhum punch with the captain. And well, I, um, chickened out.

Then it was reading. I read four books: Into Thin Air, Trois jours chez ma mère, La traduction est une histoire d'amour and Running to the Mountain: a Mid-Life Adventure. Google them if you're interested. They are all very good.

Then it was over.

Pictures up soon.

I'm off y'all

2006-03-28T12:39:00.000-05:00

...to Puerto Rico. For two weeks. I may or may not blog from there. I'll try to stay away from the computer, and just unplug.

There is not much energy left in me to write a long enough entry that would sum up an episode of: offered a new job/accepted the offer/today is my last day of work/i'm boarding a plane at six tomorrow morning/jesus christ i've a millions things to do/oh my god this new job is going to be hard/i need to wash my hair when am i going to find the time to empty my fridge of perishables?

Yawn.

So, bye.

How to pronounce my name

2006-03-20T11:06:00.000-05:00

Good day all y'all.

The other day the Shitty Blog Club featured my blog on their podcast [uh, thanks guys], and understandably pronounced my "name" the "wrong" way. I realized that in english my name sounds really lame, and I can't blame them for not making a mistake. So here's the phonetically inaccurate but official way to pronouce my pseudonym: kin. Not ken, not keen, not kaine, not kinay. Kin. Like "next of kin". Easy breezy.

Ta.

Kine.

Four easy steps for a better life...today!

2006-03-14T13:00:00.000-05:00

-Earlier today I've resigned from my job as library technician at the museum. I have two week to wrap up my work projects. Why did I resign? See next item on list...

-I was offered a permanent management position at the national archives and I've accepted. I'm starting after Easter. This is a major step up. I won't lie to you, it's all intensely stressful on the nerves and I have a mass lodged under my left shoulder blade to remind me that I need my kundalini right now. Serenity NOW.

-I'm leaving in two weeks for Puerto Rico for a two-week vacation with my beloved. Surf, sun and the occasionnal diarrhea.

-They finally opened H&M's in Montreal. That's huge. We can now own nice outfits for minimal cost.

So there you have it. Please offer advice on how to Relax under pressure. Be specific.

Meme of the week

2006-03-08T13:56:00.000-05:00

From the Voix.

9 lasts:
last cigarette: Saturday - had a sore throat the next day
last phone call: Coworker asking about a Bella Coola mask entry.
last museum visit: The Cold War Museum (otherwise known as the Diefenbunker), in Carp.
last movie seen: Hate to say it, but it was Mr and Mrs. Smith. It was awesome.
last meal: Spicy chinese noodles and general tao chicken
last alcoholic beverage: Half pint of St-Ambroisse Rousse at the Iron Pub Works in Almonte, Ontario.
last board game played: Crokinole.
last kiss: on the curb this morning
last CD played: Broken Flowers soundtrack

8 have you evers:
have you ever dated one of your best friends: no
have you ever skinny dipped: yes
have you ever kissed somebody and regretted it: yes.
have you ever fallen in love: duh.
have you ever lost someone you loved: yes
have you ever been depressed: yes
have you ever been drunk and thrown up: yes. I've developped an aversion to champagne and Baileys because of december 31st 1998.

7 states you’ve been to:
1. Maine
2. New York
3. New Hampshire
4. Vermont
5. Massachussets
6. New Jersey
7. aerial view of Florida from plane on the way to Cuba.

6 things you’ve done today:
It's only noon but i've...
1. Bought stamps
2. Credited old photographs of 19th century painters
3. Read some Bill Bryson on the bus
4. Walked up the hill from my house to the bus stop with my beloved
5. Ate shreddies for breakfast
6. Searched online for inns in Puerto Rico's rainforest

5 favorite things in no order:
1. Chocolate
2. Bicycles
3. Movies
4. Trains
5. Beds

4 people you can tell [almost] anything to:
1. Manue
2. Marie-Eve
3. Jeff
4. ...three is enough!

3 wishes:
1. Health and happiness
2. To be debt-free
3. Clean socks in abundance.

2 things you want to do before you die:
Ride for 6 months wherever, alone on my bicycle.
Take my mom to Ireland.

1 thing you regret:
Not taking driving lessons and therefore being scared shitless of driving.

My Oscar Night

2006-03-07T10:17:00.000-05:00

It's a good thing that I was half asleep the moment Crash won the Oscar because I was so angry that I could've Crashed my TV throught the window. It wasn't so much that Brokeback lost, it's that it lost to Crash, a movie that tells us basically: Racism is bad, don't be racist, M'kay? Mmyes, that's very nice. Save it for the afterschool special.

Who will remember Crash? Or Million Dollar Baby?

Very disappointed.

Go Fug Yourself

2006-03-07T09:42:00.000-05:00

Funniest entry so far.

My Oscar predictions.

2006-03-03T12:43:00.000-05:00

Best Picture: Brokeback Mountain
Best Director: Ang Lee for Brokeback Mountain
Best Actor: Philip Seymour Hoffman for Capote
Best Actress: Reese Witherspoon for Walk the Line
Best Supporting Actor: George Clooney for Syriana
Best Supporting Actress: Rachel Weisz for The Constant Gardener
Best Original Screenplay: Crash - Paul Haggis
Best Adapted Screenplay: Brokeback Mountain - Larry McMurtry
Cinematography: Brokeback Mountain
Editing: Munich
Art Direction: Memoirs of a Geisha
Costume Design: Memoirs of a Geisha
Original Score: Memoirs of a Geisha
Original Song: "Travelin' Thru" - Transamerica - Dolly Parton
Best Makeup: The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Best Sound: King Kong
Best Sound Editing: King Kong
Best Visual Effects: King Kong
Best Animated Feature Film: Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
Best Foreign Language Film: Tsotsi (South Africa)
Best Documentary Feature: Marche de l'empereur, La
Best Documentary Short: God Sleeps in Rwanda
Best Live Action Short: Ausreißer
Best Animated Short: 9

Stuff I've been browsing lately

2006-03-01T13:18:00.000-05:00

Animal kingdom: The Llama song.

People: These life-snaps are interesting.

Gonzo: An article on editing Hunter S. Thompson.

Small: Probably the smallest website ever.

William Shatner: is the rocket man. Who would have thunk it.

Inspirational: Creativity manifesto.

Homophobia: The straight dude's guide to 'Brokeback'.

David Hasselhoff: is mind-blowingly masterful in this Hooked on a feeling video.

Glass half-full posters

2006-02-24T13:36:00.000-05:00

I like this project. The Happy Poster Project invites you to print out a poster like this one and put it up anywhere.

Warning: These posters are not suitable for uberironic hipster nihilists.

watch the olympics, How to

2006-02-20T14:25:00.000-05:00

I like watching the Olympics. I don't have a clue what's going on, but I like watching them anyway. I like watching the Olympics because time stops for two weeks, much like a massive global power outage, and the only thing left to do sit on our sofa and commentate on dance skating.

But it's not always easy to come up with smart sounding commentary for sports they seem to be making up every 4 years. After a week of Torino couch surfing, i've learned a few things. If you're about to watch the Olympics with your friends or your spouse (or even your cat), here's how I think you should comment:

For snowboarding, you basically just say something like: "Oh, he's getting a lot of backside air, there", or "good manoeuvre on that kicker".

For speed skating, you just shout very loudly: "Go, goooo", or say: "he's in very good form this time." Go ahead and make jokes about the skin-tight suits. You know you want to.

The Nordic combined is tricky and confusing. Skip it.

As for ski jumping, just say: "Ooh, great jump" or "Good V-position". If the guy can land without dying, that's a pretty good jump to me, considering these guys are falling off a big snow-wall attached to planks.

As for curling... what the hell are you doing watching curling? In the event that you have to watch curling, you can alway try to cheer the team with: "Yeah, that's right girl, warm up that ice nice and good!".

As for skeleton, luge and bobsleigh, you only have to say: "Ooh, that was a good start." Based on what commentators say, there is never a bad start.

I find that one of the easiest sport to pundit about is figure skating, which is why it is my favorite olympic sport to watch. If they suck, you just have to say: "Ooh, lack of synchronicity here with the russian couple, Ooh, she just fell on her bum, Ooh, you call that a triple toe loop?", sounding like you have a clue.

With time, you will learn to say all of this with authority.

If you feel in any way inadequate to watch and appreciate the Olympics, well, don't. There's nothing wrong with admitting that you are clueless with a number of sports. If you think this Austrian guy will get a medal for that performance because he looks more aerodynamic and Latvians couldn't possibly win at anything anyway, your friends/spouse will believe you (because your friends are probably equally clueless, if not more).

Hunt like Cheney.

2006-02-20T13:26:00.000-05:00

It's an online game! It's an easy joke, but easy will do just fine on a monday afternoon.

Again. Here’s some minutiae about me.

2006-02-15T09:35:00.000-05:00

Another day, Another meme.

Four Jobs I’ve Had
Nannie, museum guide, dunkin'donut hostess, archives cataloguer.

Four movies I can watch over and over
Better Off Dead, Alice, Manhattan, Howard's End.

Four TV Shows I Love to Watch
How stuff is made, South Park, Musicographies, Pimp my Ride.

Four Places I’ve Been on Vacation
The woods, the tropical island, the country side, the other side of the globe.

Four Favorite Dishes
Spaghetti, my lasagna, Manue's pizzas, expensive sushi.

Four Websites I Visit Daily
Stuff on my cat, Go Fug Yourself, Weebl and Bob, Google.

Four Places I’d Rather Be
Right here in late-summer cycling around;
In my TV room watching the Olympics;
At a blues festival, sitting on a folding chair, wearing a silly straw hat and enjoying Willie Nelson's performance;
Lying on a new-england beach in late afternoon, wrapped in a blanket with my beloved, in late-september.

Four Books I Recommend
Freakonomics, Breakfast for Champions, Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life, The Art of Travel

Four Bloggers I’m Tagging
You, you, you and you over there.

Valentine's Day Lexicon fun

2006-02-14T09:38:00.000-05:00

amoraphobia
n. an irrational fear of Valentine’s Day.

blue bawls
n. an emotional, romantic version of flirting that leaves you feeling sad and crying.

bud light
n. the blatantly cheap flower selection from a guy who needs to be dumped ASAP. (How was your V-Day? Bud light.)

carniwhore
n. a girl who puts out for carnations.

do-or-diamond
adj. as in, if I don’t see a ring today, he’s dead to me.

long-stem posers
n. people who send themselves flowers from a “secret admirer.”

lote
v. to walk the thin line between love and hate.

ménage à flaws
n. when you crash your friend’s Valentine’s Day date only to talk about all your relationships gone wrong.

PDR
n. public display of rejection: when your valentine takes you somewhere lovely only to break your heart in front of strangers.

Valentiny Tim
n. a man whose masculinity is put in question by his overenthusiasm for V-Day.

bandwagoner
n. A once-single woman who traditionally swears off the holiday but is now happily coupled off and suddenly all about hearts, roses, and luuuv …

candy-boxer
n. A cop-out gifter. (“Good old George. He’s a total candy-boxer, but I still love him.”)

cryday the 13th
n. The day before Valentine’s Day if you don’t have a boy/girlfriend.

(more at Daily Candy)

diary of a hectic weekend

2006-02-13T10:05:00.000-05:00

What didn't I do this weekend?

a) Pass two tests for a job.
b) Ate Swedish meatballs
c) Wore a diamond ring, a tiara, a gold bracelet and a red and gold sari for a "modeling" gig.
d) Stayed in a guest house, in a room lit with a giant egg-shaped lamp.
e) Relaxed at home with a good book.
f) Ate cheesy poofs at a party in Montreal, having a jolly time.

The answer is "e".

If you are curious about c) Wore a diamond ring, a tiara, a gold bracelet and a red and gold sari for a modeling gig, that was for the museum actually. I was asked to participate in an art project for the museum's 150th anniversary. The project involves photographing a bunch of people and making a giant mosaic with the photographs.

Modeling seemed like it would be hell-on-earth but it turned out okay. Being part of a crew of photographers, hair stylists, makeup artists and a professional designer, you have to know your place. I told myself incessantly: stand in that corner, wait for your turn, turn your head, don't loose that diamond ring, don't touch your tiara, keep your hands off your face, don't chew your nails, don't eat, don't drink or you'll ruin your makeup, take you clothes off behind that curtain, get over there now, stop slouching. I still wanted to be there and crack jokes with the other models, but everyone was so busy being busy, and I was exhausted because it was Friday night and all I wanted was to sit and have a drink at the Rainbow Room and listen to the Coggs. (our Friday night ritual). I managed to go through all the stages before sitting down and sip water through a straw. And that was just a rehearsal.

Three Advils later, I set out, navigating on a bus in full glam-makeup, looking rather silly with purple glitter on my lips, black eye shadow and trucker winter boots. I felt like an over the top exotic dancer on her way to Canadian Mardi Gras. I was glad to go home, even though my beloved did not miss a chance to poke fun at the mess my face had become after the hour-long commute in winter humidity. Can you blame the guy?

I hardly ever wear makeup, it feels odd and clownish and I think my face looks decent anyway without it. I'm not especially shy about parading for people in a sari, but watching my reflection in the mirror, clad in heavy jewelry and makeup, is too much to bear. Maybe I need to challenge myself to accept physical change. Or something.

A new week has started, and I need to work and be very quiet and healthy for a day. And tonight, I need to watch some Olympic action on my futon in my PJs. It will be a very boring week, and that's alright.

Le Point Vrai

2006-02-10T11:37:00.000-05:00

My old pal Seb found the time to start his own satire website, despite the huge workload of a fancy doctorate. It makes you laugh, but also think. But mostly laugh.

Check it out. Do it, right now. Do it!

That's it for today folks. There may be an entry on monday about my weekend trip to Montreal for Manue's 30th b-day party. I will try to post picture of her passed out drunk in the tub. Here's hoping.

Namaste.

Libraries are cool, part three.

2006-02-08T09:51:00.000-05:00

The other day I wanted to write an entry about Naughty Librarian Week. As it turns out, I was one week late (NLW was from jan 22 to 28th).

My sister Sly-the-journalist took care of that. Not knowing it was NLW and because St-Valencrap is coming up, she wrote an article (in french) about flirting in libraries.

It's not often I get to be quoted in a major newspaper (albeit under a partially fake name), so I thought this was definitely blog-entry-worthy, don't you agree?

Now, I'm no expert on seduction, and my idea of flirting is laughing at someone's bad jokes, but I spend a good amount of time in libraries (even though it doesn't pay much) and I like to watch people interact with each other. The word library usually sends people snoring, but believe you me, there's a lot going on in there. But that's another show.

Where do you think I met my beloved? Yes, indeedelydoodely: libraries are sexy.

Culinary confessions

2006-02-03T14:28:00.000-05:00

Seeing McDonald’s food still makes me salivate.
I eat things after they fall on the floor (except if it's the public bathroom's floor)
I harbor wishes for fame through my blogging.
It takes me between two and three minutes to eat my dinner.
I need to eat pasta at least once a week
My favorite restaurant is the Kennebunkport Clam Shack, even though it's one of George Bush fave spot too.
When someone (usually a woman) asks me if I like to cook, I never know what to say.
I am a bad cook because I break the rules and never follow the recipe.
Eating alone in a restaurant does not make me feel uncomfortable.
I put bechamel sauce in my lasagna. Heavenly.
I have a sweet tooth for grape juice combined with poutine.
I am grateful for carbs.

Fun with quizzes

2006-02-01T09:48:00.000-05:00

Ten Top Trivia Tips about Kine!

Owls cannot move their eyes, because their eyeballs are shaped like Kine!
The difference between Kine and a village is that Kine does not have a church!
Kine is only six percent water.
In the Spanish edition of Cluedo, Kine is the victim.
The patron saint of Kine is Saint Eugenie.
Kine has often been found swimming miles from shore in the Indian Ocean.
Bees visit over three million flowers to make a single kilogram of Kine.
Every day in the UK, four people die putting Kine on.
Humans share over 98 percent of their DNA with Kine.
South Australia was the first place to allow Kine to stand for parliament.

Type your name in the box and see what you get. Pretty funny...

Harper's dream team

2006-01-26T11:57:00.000-05:00

This is what the Tory Cabinet looks like so far.

Jason Kenney – Minister of Health: “I do support the idea of private health care.”

Art Hanger – Minister of Citizenship and Immigration: “Immigrants are choking welfare systems, contributing to high unemployment, and many cannot read.”

Brian Fitzpatrick –Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development: “You can’t scalp me because I haven’t got much hair on top of my head.”

Darrel Reid – Minister responsible for the Canadian Wheat Board: “I think every Christian's under an obligation to change laws to reflect biblical values. Different Christians are going to try to change different laws, according to the call God gives them. You see Christians in all political parties. That reflects different understandings of what God's call is to us. That's a healthy thing. If the yeast congregates in one part of the loaf, it makes for pretty bad bread."

Cheryl Gallant – Women’s Caucus Chair: “We saw that young American having his head cut off. What's happening, what is happening down there no different.” (at a 2004 pro-life rally on Parliament Hill, comparing abortion to the beheading of American Nicolas Berg by insurgents in Iraq)

Rob Anders – Minister of State (Multiculturalism): “Nelson Mandela is a terrorist.”

Source: Rick Mercer

Annie on Stephen Harper

2006-01-23T12:55:00.000-05:00

Happy voting to all (assuming all of you will vote).

The road to health.

2006-01-11T11:50:00.000-05:00

Called my boss this morning: won't be able to make it to work once again. Am still sick. According to Jeff, bronchitis or pneumonia has made its way to my body, and it won't give me a break. Am quitte pissed off, not because of the pain, but because I was going to have three lovely houseguests this weekend. I had to call the whole thing off, and really, i'm trying not to be bitter about it. I now have a house, and it's great to finally be able to invite people over, and feed them fondue, and refill their wine glasses. I now have a fridge full of smelly cheese and pinot gris, and it will just have to sit there until I get better.

Since january 1st, I have worked a total of 2.5 days. It's a bit hard to blog when typically the main dilemna i'm faced with is whether I should read Carol Shields or Nick Hornby before lunch. Plus, the veins on my forehead are throbbing, so any attempt at creative writing will only yield mediocre results.

I'm am now anxious to get back into the real world and:
-invite people over for decadent dinners
-skate on the canal and eat a beavertail halfway down to Dows lake
-work, be useful to society
-go down a hill on a crazy carpet
-enjoy having energy to walk up a flight of stairs

Happy New Year

2005-12-30T15:28:00.000-05:00

This blog will be operational shortly. Admittedly, I am merging onto this New Year at the speed of someone driving a Russian Lada. Usually I do very little around this time of year and this year is no different. After the usual round of x-mas errands/parties, I buried myself under a pile of books.

So for the official holiday entry, I thought this questionnaire would be appropriate. I found it on Caro.

1. What did you do in 2005 that you hadn't done before?
Blog: a welcome and refreshing deviation from my ordinary life.
Make bread: a really cool thing to have is a breadmaker.
Play chess.

2. Did anyone close to you give birth?
People I know gave birth to a Sophia and an Anoriel.

3. Did anyone close to you die?
No, fortunately.

4. Did you travel? Where did you go? Best holiday memory?
I did not board a plane this year. We rather did small outings to nearby places, like renting a lakeside cottage in Purdy, sipping (bad) wine in Prince Edward County, walking and cycling in Iles de la Madeleine. Best memories: walking on Entry Island on a perfect july day and canoeing on Purdy Lake in june.

5. Best thing(s) you bought?
-A good bike bag.
-A Patagonia lambs wool vest.
-Two very funky retro lamps that look awesome in my new living room.
-Comfy leather mocassins.

6. Where did most of your money go?
Rent, books, student loans, clothes and credit cards.

7. What do you wish you had done more of?
Money. Bah Humbug.

8. What do you wish you had done less of?
Worrying about money.

9. What kept you sane?
Cycling.

10. What drove you mad?
At the end of every week I have less energy to deal with crap: I take any problem and blow it out of proportion.
Also, what drives me mad is my restlessness.

12. What made you sad?
Not seeing my best friends Emmanuelle and Marie-Eve nearly enough (they live in another town).

13. How was your birthday this year?
I never liked my b-day. This year was a good one.

14. What political issue stirred you the most this year?
-The war on terror.
-Any isms.

15. Where you in love in 2005?
Yes!

16. What would you like to have in 2006 that you didn't have this year?
A drivers license, a dryer and a Playstation Karaoke Revolution. I wish I had more patience with people who get on my nerves, or torerance for screaming children in movie theatres or restaurants, but I can't ask for too much.

18. What song will remind you of 2005?
Madonna's Hung up.

19. Compared to this time last year are you happier?
This time last year I had no job, no place to live (I was in between living arrangements), I had no idea what I was going to do. So yes, I am happier.

21. Biggest disappointment this year?
I wish I had made more money.

23. Best new person you met this year?
I met a lot of great new people this year, especially at work. I work with talented artistic funny people.

24. A valuable life lesson you learnt this year?
-Don't be afraid to start anything new even if you think you will fail miserably.
-Worry is like a rocking chair: I gives you something to do, but it gets you nowhere.

25. What do I wish for yourself in 2006?
To be smart, kind, honest, hard-working, thoughtful, insightful, committed, understanding, playful, encouraging, savvy, positive, and really, bottom line, just a good human. To have the time and patience to learn how to drive both a car and a motorcycle. To make home-cooked meals to eat at work. To find comfort in the expected, completion in work projects. To meet smart funny new people, find more quality films at my neighborhood megaplex and more cash in my wallet.

If 2005 was the year of Let it Be, 2006 will be the year of Let it Become. I'm forecasting a year of hard work, saving up for my trip in 2007, and getting comfy in my new home.

Happy New Year everybody!

un peu de fatigue

2005-12-22T09:54:00.000-05:00

Sorry for not posting here more often: this is busy time. My life can be summed up in four words: work, shop, sleep and work. Sometimes I eat, or have a chat with my coworkers, and I even get a chance to wash my hair once in a while. An atypical x-mas season. It's all very exciting though: I love the snow, I love giving stuff to people I care for, I get to eat chocolate in the morning (abundantly supplied at work), Ottawa looks like a white fairy land with it's lighted trees and castle-like Parliament.

At the same time, making merry is not always possible; periodically, insanity peeks through, when I pass a screwball on the street, or in a store, and they say something totally wacky and kooky but deep down I feel the same way they do. Gotta get more sleep. Gotta beat that cough. Gotta keep my all my marbles. How are you dealing with it all?

Despite the craziness of it all, I love the fact that in the next few days there will be chatty gatherings, awesome gifts, an insane amount of rich foods, and the infamous Brontë clan.

Avid rhymes with rabid

2005-12-08T16:02:00.000-05:00

“You’re my hero”, my cubicle neighbour told me yesterday morning.
“I didn’t take my bike today”, I said.

Lately it’s become somewhat of a challenge to take a vow of bus-and-car abstinence and I'm not talking about the riding conditions. After many cold weeks of riding my bike to work, I haven’t gotten used to people (mostly strangers) treating me as if I were somehow not right in the head. Nonetheless I took a vow and I intend to keep it, whenever possible.

I go everywhere by bike: errands, social engagements, work, play, exercise, shop, even for job interviews – everyday: rain, shine, snow, slush or wind. I allow a few exceptions: freeze rain, heavy objects to carry, blizzard, funerals.

Don’t think I’m doing this out of respect for the environment. I’m happy to cut down on greenhouse-gas pollution and traffic congestion, but save your praise for my high morals: you see, I love riding my bike more than life itself. It helps that I have an awesome black and white Devinci. To be honest, if my bike generated pollution like a car I would still ride it. It gives me a sense of freedom.

But it comes at a high price: When I approach salespeople wearing my biking shoes (with metal cleats) clicking on the linoleum tile, cashier girls stop and stare. While men will usually compliment me on my bravery, girls will feel sorry for me. I'm not especially sensitive to critical stares, but I’m starting to wonder if there's a problem with people's mentality regarding cyclists in this city/country. Stares are only the tip of the iceberg; I won't tell you how many time cars have been aggressive towards me with slaps on my back, riding very close to me, shouts in my ear and the like. At least winter seems to have tempered their fury.

In a few weeks I will move to a new neighbourhood outside Ottawa and I don’t have to tell you that living outside of the city will pose a certain challenge to me. I still need to be able to walk or cycle to the grocery store to buy food, and it will be hard to let that go. Suburbia is closing in on all sides, with more housing developments every year. The good thing is that people are talking about building sustainable neighbourhoods next to where I will be living. To me, that means: not having to ride 2 miles to the grocery store, 4 miles to my favourite bar and 6 miles to a park. It will take several years to see the project built but in the meantime, I’ll be riding a lot of miles, but as it turns out, the mileage won’t be the problem. Staying zen about people’s attitude might be.

Claude ce héros

2005-12-06T14:31:00.000-05:00

I'd like to take a moment away from our regular programming of Kine's Deeply Superficial Blog and pay tribute to a member of our blog community, Claude. Claude has no last name and no blog, but he's a regular commentator on Caro. Upon reading my entry on the Boggle incident, he proceeded to find me a second hand box of Boggle. So Claude, I hope you are reading this: thank you and I hope I get a chance to play a game with you someday.

Excellent tool

2005-12-01T11:28:00.000-05:00

Pandora
Tell them what kind of music you like, and they'll create a playlist of songs you might wanna listen to. Now that's pretty helpful!

The remains of the day

2005-11-30T14:52:00.000-05:00

San Francisco, embellished. Listen: [high] [low] (thanks Lindsay B.)

For the chubby vegan.

But what good is all this hilarity if there's no one else hip enough to appreciate it?

May we tell you our specials this evening?

Something soothing: Listen.

Kine and Jeff gets a little closer to Bono

2005-11-29T10:53:00.000-05:00

Bono on the catwalk circle.

How do you judge a U2 concert? You can’t.

This was the kind of show where you have to take the next day off and stay in bed. It’s a dance-and-scream type of concert that will take all your voice and hearing out of yourself and send you to an unreal place that is not human. You cannot wear a fancy/cool outfit and jewellery to this type of concert. I had to take my earrings off because I was whacking my face off. My clothes took a good beating from all the dancing and the sweating, I could barely keep my glasses on and I think I lost some hair. People, it was not pretty.

The stage consisted of an oblong circle with the VIP crowd in the middle of it. We were standing just outside of the circle, so when the band played on the donut-like catwalk, we could stretch our arms to reach the band members, but not quite. It was quite surreal to have these four legends play three meters from your head.

You know when a rock concert kicks-off people tend to visually scan the whole stadium in case the lead singer makes a bizarre and spectacular entry? Well, Bono was born in the concert by sneaking on the catwalk with a bouncer (see below) and then adopted the child’s pose, right next to us. Nobody saw him. I was looking around frantically, and then Jeff gave me a “hey look, he’s right there!” look, and there he was. For chrissakes, Bono was right next to us. Bono stood up, I looked up to him, and I let out a high pitch scream.

Bono being discreetely escorted to the circle catwalk. This was seconds before the first song was played. If you look closely you can see Mylène’s hand on Bono at the right. Note how the audience has no idea he is there.

Throughout the concert, we bounced cheerily through:

1. City of Blinding Lights: great kick-off song. "Oh…you…look…so beautiful tonight."
2. Vertigo: The countdown to this song was done with Arcade Fire’s Wake Up. Brilliant.
3. Elevation: Wooo, ooh-hoo, Elevation! Wooo, ooh-hoo, Elevation!
4. I Will Follow.
5. Still Haven’t Found What I'm Looking For.
6. Beautiful Day: an awesome piece of feel good music.
7. Original of the Species.
8. Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own: this song is about Bono’s dad. He took his sunglasses off for this one, perhaps to show us how personal this song is.
9. Love and Peace or Else.
10. Sunday Bloody Sunday: U2 dropped some Rock the Casbah in this song before pulling some fine vocal assistance for the ‘No More’s’ from a little boy who climbed on stage. "For the sake of this man, for the sake of this boy" adds Bono, as he leads a new star off the stage, "May you learn to co exist"..."Things do not have to be the way they are," explained Bono. "If any of you have got cell phones you can take them out now. Let's turn this place into a Christmas tree! Yes I do believe in Santa Claus. But I believe in Canada. And I believe in what makes Canada strong. Looking out for the weak. Big idea, Canadian idea."
11. Bullet the Blue Sky.
12. Miss Sarajevo: Bono sang Pavarotti’s solo and did very good.

First encore:
13. (Pride) In the Name of Love.
14. Where The Streets Have No Name: Oh, the thrill or hearing The Edge’s guitar riffs on these two songs! This is the original and unique U2 sound.
15. One: Before starting this song, Bono spoke directly: "Prime Minister Martin, I write songs, You write history, Write us a chapter we can be proud of." Very unlikely: today the government was destituted.

Second encore:
16. Until the End of the World.
17. Mysterious Ways.
18. With or Without You.

Third encore:
19. The First Time.
20. Stuck in a Moment.
21. Yahweh: Our heads were right at their feet during this song. I heard Bono’s real voice making its way to my ears, sans microphone. That's how close they were to us.
22. "40": "...How long to sing this song...how long to sing this song?..how long, how long, to sing this song...", brought a beautiful close to a beautiful night.

The show ran for over two hours.

All my life I’ve suffered bad tickets, bad sound in arenas, pearl jam next-day sickness, and generally crappy performances. Last Friday the only thing I had to suffer was mild hearing loss, a sore throat, a (very) sore bank account, and regret for not bringing a camera. I can't tell you how much I enjoyed that night but I can tell you that last friday, I crawled very contentedly into bed after a much needed hot bath.

(merci Mylène pour les photos)

Cannot...quite...believe it...

2005-11-25T15:41:00.000-05:00

I've got tickets. The show is in four hours.
I'll post my comments monday or earlier.
(a big juicy kiss and thanks to Mylène)

the girl with the pink goggles

2005-11-25T12:01:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, Ottawa radio station The Bear was giving out ten U2 ticket to whomever in a small pre-selected group could stay the longest on a bar stool, outside, at minus 10, under a blizzard. Runner up was fellow coworker Mylène Choquette. (She's the one with the pink goggles). Mylène stood on her barstool for 7.5 hours without food, water or bathroom breaks. Incredible. The winner was a good sport and gave Mylène four or the ten ticket he had won.

Congratulations ol'coworker. Take good care of those frost bites, and I hope Bono will play Bad (the song, my fave) tonight at the Corel.

I am. As much as I am able. I think I am.

2005-11-24T14:32:00.000-05:00

I am the sonnet, never quickly thrilled;
Not prone to overstated gushing praise
Nor yet to seething rants and anger, filled
With overstretched opinions to rephrase;
But on the other hand, not fond of fools,
And thus, not fond of people, on the whole;
And holding to the sound and useful rules,
Not those that seek unjustified control.
I'm balanced, measured, sensible (at least,
I think I am, and usually I'm right);
And when more ostentatious types have ceased,
I'm still around, and doing, still, alright.
In short, I'm calm and rational and stable -
Or, well, I am, as much as I am able.

What Poetry Form Are You?

Just so you know

2005-11-22T16:41:00.000-05:00

Lately I’ve received emails from people asking me: are you okay? I guess my last blog posts haven’t exactly been chirping with enthusiasm.

The truth is I’m pretty happy these days. X-mas season makes me so cheerful it makes me want to puke my guts out. I see snow and I get the feeling Calvin gets when it’s finally winter. So there, I’m happy that winter’s here. I get a rush of happiness when I ride my bike to work in a mini-blizzard. Do you think that I feel guilty eating chocolate every day when I submit myself to this daily routine? No.

Anyway, where was I going with this? Ah yes: I’m okay and happy. Really.

I’m off; I’m going to go see Shop Girl with Ginger the Ultimate Westerner.

Playlist

2005-11-22T13:54:00.000-05:00

Aw, iTunes. You are so good to me. Every Tuesday you give me a free song that does not suck. Thank you. I was having a tough week at work, but you were there to shout Chaka Khan’s Tell Me Something Good in the morning. 1.11$cdn. is a good price to pay for surviving an office reorg.

No bad mood can’t be cured with a little iTunes.

Here’s what’s on my playlist at the moment:

Johnny Cash, Hung my Head.
No Cars Go, Arcade Fire.
The CBC Radio 3 Weekly Podcast.
The Ballad of Lucy Jordan, Marianne Faithfull
Glass, Concrete and Stone, David Byrne
Soul Meets Body, Death Cab for Cutie
Tom Traubert’s Blues, Tom Waits
The Art Teacher, Rufus Wainwright
Hung up, Madonna
I Want You, Marvin Gaye

Don't ask me why I pay to download these gems on my computer when I could Kazaa my way out of it. I already told you I was a librarian. And guess what? Music, books and movies cost money. So I'll probably make a frown-face over your barely legal music downloading practices. You know who you are. Frowning will not be enough, so I trust that the Karma-Music-Procurement-Mode™ will take care of your punishment.

Aaaaanyway, I just busted a little rapture in my chair because Matthew Good is taking over my killer new headphones I bought for work.

Aw, see? That’s KMPM™, iTunes style.

[bleep] popups

2005-11-21T14:26:00.001-05:00

If you ever get a popup window from my blog, please note that i'm not making money out of them. It's one of those times when I wish I knew more about this stuff, this Innernet stuff. I will try to fix the problem. Perhaps it's a Blogger thing. In the meantime, my popups will teach you patience and peace. Maybe if i'm lucky you'll come back here with a good popup blocker on your browser.

Patience and Peace. Patience and Peace. Patience and Peace.

addendum: problem solved. found the little intruder in my code. ya'll can surf peacefully now.

How tragic.

2005-11-21T14:26:00.000-05:00

Numenorean

To which race of Middle Earth do you belong?
brought to you by Quizilla

Graceful? Moi? Uhhh, no.

(thanks michèle)

The ideal november day

2005-11-15T16:42:00.000-05:00

This is one of these days. Outside, ice pellets mixed with cold rain makes for a very depressing paysage, and the clouds are so thick that it is almost completely dark at 3:30 pm. I have to cycle home in this mess.

I seriously wish I had a day like this one tomorrow:

09:00 Wake up
09:10 Leisurely walk myself to the WheatBerry on Main Street to buy coffee beans and the Globe.
10:00 Breakfast, read paper.
11:30 Putter about, check email, talk on phone with mom, navel gazing, “housework”.
13:00 Heat leftovers in microwave, flip pages of Ikea catalogue.
14:00 Walk to Bridgehead, order coffee and scone and read David Sedaris.
15:00 Walk around the Experimental Farm, on cow lane.
16:00 Nerves shattered by exercise, rush home to lie in bed
16:15 Watch Dr Phil in bed. Take notes.
17:30 Dinner consisting of peanut butter toast and orange juice, my favorite.
18:00 “Wash” dishes.
19:30 Have glass of wine with Jeff.
20:00 Watch Dr. Who, trying to decipher what the characters are saying
21:00 More reading
22:00 Bed

Maybe I just need a vacation.

Talent...it runs in the family.

2005-11-11T12:10:00.000-05:00

My sister Sylvie, who turned 34 yesterday, is a journalist for La Presse and was honored yesterday for an article she wrote about how so called hyper-parents should let their kids get bored during spring break, and not schedule a multitude of activities for them. It was a brilliant article and she deserves the honor (and the lump of cash that comes with it), and i'm not just saying that because she's my sister.

Happy birthday and congratulations, little trooper. I hope you do something very silly with the money.

Tea time

2005-11-07T16:54:00.000-05:00

So what does one do in Ottawa in november when one's best friend comes over for a day-visit? God forbid we should choose to shop or go to a museum. If we wanted to get fancy and do something interesting (and why shouldn't we), a High-Tea is in order.

So go. Go to the Château Laurier. Walk to the chic room called Zoe's Lounge. Stay for three hours or more with your best friend. Feel happy. Enjoy the attention and the Devonshire cream. Ask the tea sommelier a million tea-related questions, even if you don't give a damn about tea. Clear the three-tiered tray. Feel full. And for chrissakes, don't ask for a doggie bag.

It isn't cheap. Go anyway.

Libraries are cool, part deux.

2005-11-04T11:30:00.000-05:00

Marilyn said, "I love libraries. You meet the nicest people in libraries." She married Arthur Miller on June 29, 1956. Together they visited many reference sections. I wonder where the martinis came from.

I love the sight of stacked books and interesting people hanging around them. That's why I love libraries and work in them. Now if we could only have cocktail hour.

Inspirational Karen Walker quotes.

2005-11-03T15:46:00.000-05:00

Oh kids ruin everything. I mean look at the stitching on this. You cannot trust a ten year old to do a good hidden button.

Oh I have half a mind to throw this martini right in your face! [starts drinking it]

Gosh, I don't think that I've ever been stressed out. Why would I be? I've got practically no responsibilities, my job's a breeze and I've got a KILLER rack. Good morning.

[to Rosario]: Uh, okay. I don't know what you people do in Costa-Guata-Mexi-Rico... But here in America, we don't eat birds.

Honey, when I agreed to drive you to the set, you didn't say it was on Staten Island. How the hell am I ever gonna get the stench of landfill and working class families out of tropical lightweight wool?

[looking into a mirror] Hello Starshine.

Good Lord. I can't believe I'm at a public pool. Why doesn't somebody just pee directly on me?

[to a waiter] Hey apron. Who told you you could make eye contact?

Oh honey, I would, but... I don't want to.

By your inflection I can tell that you think what you're saying is funny, but... No.

They're trying to make gay people straight? Good Lord! Don't they know what that'll do to the fall line?

[Grace enters wearing a cow-print skirt] Woah. Got skirt?

Gosh, I just love gambling here in Vegas. Sure, I may lose $100,000 but the drinks are free so it evens out!

I thought, finally. A man who can make a woman feel like a girl. And who can make that girl feel like a slut. And who can make that slut feel like a woman.

Oh, coulda shoulda prada!

Well, deal me in. I've got a lifetime membership to the losers club. Hm-mm. I've been dumped by one-ton billionaires, heads of state, and every member of Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, but I'm not naming names. What's so great about another person, huh? All they do is manhandle your boobs and eat all the ham.

Oh honey, I love you like the mother I had committed.

You know what else is sad? Poor people who have dreams. [pause] Well that's not sad as much as it is extremely funny.

Sorry I'm late. Oh God, that sounded insincere... I'm late.

You say potato, I say vodka.

Brilliant

2005-11-02T12:50:00.000-05:00

Read my bother in law's latest post. Written with enough insanity to give you a good scare. I'm still getting over it.

The remains of the day -- Hallowe'en edition

2005-10-31T12:59:00.000-05:00

Lesbian stalker loses vampire love battle. We need more headlines like this one.

The knitted dawn of the dead.

Hanging Mistaken for Halloween Decoration: "The apparent suicide of a woman found hanging from a tree went unreported for hours because passers-by thought the body was a Halloween decoration" [link]

The Zombie Film Quiz.

The pumpkin I carved yesterday.

it's all in my head, part deux

2005-10-31T09:30:00.000-05:00

It happened again yesterday, this time in a gourmet cheese shop. I ask the cheese guy:

"Do you have Gruyère, Beaufort and Comté?"

"What?"

"Gruyère, Beaufort and Comté."

"Uh, no."

I lowered my head to examine the contents of his cheese display-fridge and there they were: the Gruyère, the Beaufort and the Comté, neatly stacked next to each other.

Maybe it's my attitude, the way I present myself, or the way I talk. Or maybe the world is just full of insane clerks.

for knitters only

2005-10-26T12:58:00.000-04:00

Call toll free 1-877-SOS-KNIT: the Knitting-For-The-Holidays Help Line. Because knitters need moral support during the holidays. (it's worth calling even if you are not a knitter).

it's all in my head

2005-10-26T11:37:00.000-04:00

So I was in a board-game shop yesterday and I ask the clerk:

"Do you have Boggle or Operation?"

The fifty-something store manager looked at me like I had just peed in his store.

"Excuse me?"

"Boggle. Operation. The board games."

"How do you spell that?"

"B-o-g-g-l-e. O-p-e-r-a-t-i-o-n."

"Operation? Are you a nurse?"

"No."

"Miss, all these game names are in your head."

This is not what you say to clients, at least not to their faces. Plus, this guy sells board games. I mean, Operation and Boggle are not exactly obscure items in the board-game market.

"Um, no sir, I'm pretty sure Boggle and Operation are actual games."

Visibly annoyed, he scrached his head and nodded in disagreement.

"Okay. Give me a minute, he said, I will check my binder."

I thought he said computer, but he actually fished out a crabby-looking binder and told me it would only take seconds, as everything in there was alphabetical. Well whooey, I feel so much better now. There is order in the binder.

"No, these games do not exist ma'am."

As if I had only dreamed about the existence of Operation and Boggle. I chose not to make a big deal out of it, as it would only make my existence worse to try to explain what these games are about and how popular they are and how much of a dick he was. But I thought he at least deserved to end up on a blog.

I rest my handbag.

Travel, part deux

2005-10-13T11:21:00.000-04:00

Some of you strongly reacted to my India post. On that subject, you may want to check out Taras Grescoe’s The End of Elsewhere. Anyway, that post got me thinking about why we go through the trouble of spending a big chunk of our hard-earned money to see a new face, a new building, a new tree. Out on the road, Grescoe wonders how he is drawn towards wandering and in the end finds no rational answer.

Yet there are so many reasons to travel. If as a kid you read Tintin et le Temple du soleil you'll want to verify that Hergé described Peru accurately. If you're a hiker, you'll want to see the biggest mountain. If you watch L'année dernière à Marienbad you'll want to see Paris. Sometimes we just have time to take a three month walk in China. Other times we want to see if life is generally more enjoyable in Florida.

I bet that with each of these reasons you pictured a specific individual. Ever found yourself classifying travelers into specific categories? Over the years I've compiled a mental list of types of travelers I’ve personally met on the road. Each of them have their own reasons to travel. Here are a few examples:

The Budget travel snob: Takes pleasure in informing you of all the authentic experiences he has enjoyed and you, poor philistine suburbanite, have managed to miss. Always mentions that it was better back in the eighties when [insert random Eastern European country here] was still under communist regime. Connoisseur of the primitive, he chases native tribes and thrives on having an audience to spew his exploits. Next destination: Kyrgyzstan's back country.

The Girl with bulky sweater: Sporty yet environmentally conscious chick. Vigorous South American hiker, Utne subscriber, hosts vegan potlucks and prez of her local Stitch n’ Bitch and honorary member of Knitters against Bush. Thinks Machu Picchu is sooo last decade. Next destination: Tanzania.

The bon-vivant: devoted to the finer things in life, especially good food and drink. Tends to compare everything with home, is a lousy planner and bordering alcoholic. Example: Bill Bryson. Next destination: Oktober Fest.

The DOC (Drinking Olympics Contender): ever saw that SNL sketch, Drunk Girl? A hefty, squinty eyed college student who has too much to drink. Last seen on a Prague-Vienna train spotting a tee-shirt with caption: “I wolfed down 30 shots at the Ultimate Grappa Challenge, Italy 2004”. Travel must have: flip flops. Next destination: Spring break Aspen 2006.

The Wanderluster: has strong longing or impulse toward wandering. Signs of fear of commitment, thrives on change. Will not give you his/her email address if you meet him/her on the road. Travels lightly. Does not have a definite destination. Next destination: re-read last sentence.

The Uberinsured: paranoid over-vaccinated resort hopper from Edmonton. Stays by the hotel pool and fears ice cubes. Does not take advantage of the Havana day-trip included in package. Next destination: same as last year.

I could go on forever (the Edacious, the Crazy Ageing Hippie), but I won't or you'll think I’m way too judgmental. Besides, I have been a little bit of all of these characters one time or another (except perhaps the Uberinsured.) Each time I watch myself making travel plans I think "What motivates her?" and I’m not certain I know the answer. If I had to guess, it's because travel has to happen for the act of getting back where you started to read books and drink tea and play scrabble with your mother.

Choose carbs

2005-10-11T11:15:00.000-04:00

I've managed to do the autumn thing even though there are no fall colors to speak of here in Ottawa. That is strange. I try to compensate for lack of fall foliage by cooking with squash. Last weekend I discovered a wonderfull thing: the Acorn Squash. The acorn squash looks like a very small pumpkin, and is easy to find in supermarkets. You need an industrial strenght circular saw to cut it in two lenghtwise, but it's worth the effort. Remove seeds and stringy stuff and cut each half in half again. Line on baking sheet. Drizzle lots of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, rosemary, salt and pepper. Roast for 30 minutes at 375 degrees until squash is soft. The texture is heavenly and it tastes like a rich dessert. The experience is completely satisfying once you realize it's entirely healthy. (Healthy is good.)

Here are some winter squash hints and tips.

The remains of the day

2005-10-07T10:38:00.000-04:00

Which animal kills more people in the U.S. than any other? I now have every reason to freak out at the sight of one.

Meet the F**kers, a memorable Daily Show video clip that provides catharsis for any anger you might feel towards the Bush administration for their slow reactions to Hurricane Katrina. You'll need Windows Media.

A man walking his pet tortoise. It's a big turtle, and it walks as fast as a small canine.

Manure happens

2005-10-05T09:37:00.000-04:00

lionwarn5bb, originally uploaded by Kinster Nepinster.

Over-precise meanings

2005-09-30T13:25:00.000-04:00

Crazy-ass vocabulary words from around the globe.

MAHJ (Persian)
Looking beautiful after having a disease.

KOSHATNIK (Russian)
A dealer in stolen cats.

SEIGNEUR-TERRASSE (French)
Someone who spends time, but not money, at a café.

QUEESTING (Dutch)
Allowing a lover access to one's bed, under the covers, for a chit-chat.

DHURNA (Anglo-Indian)
Extorting payment from someone by sitting at their front door and staying there without food, threatening violence, until you get paid.

O KA LA NOKONOKO (Hawaiian)
A day spent in nervous anticipation of a coughing spell.

POMICIONE (Italian)
A man who seizes any chance of being in close physical contact with a woman.

KUSUKUSU (Japanese)
The suppressed giggling and tittering of a group of women.

[link]

Something to kvetch about

2005-09-28T10:56:00.000-04:00

Phew. Finally some spare time.

In the midst of a somewhat chaotic reorg at work, a job competition exam to study for, an exam to pass during office hours, extra hours at work to make up for lost time, a numbing pain between my shoulder blades, a swollen throat, I’m trying not to think about how this week is getting to me. Hey, life is though and then you die. (note to self: do not use this as mantra in yoga class). Whatchagonnado? (Sopranos riff here.) Tip: when things get fuzzy at work, smile a lot and agree to nothing.

In the spirit of keeping things light and pleasant, I give you my top six peppy items of the day:

Amalgamated Puppet Libraries. You gotta love that.

Weasel Radio. For the logo and the 80's songs. (thanks J.)

Onion article for this sentence: "Pfft. More like the craptastic crapobolic crapulator of crappity-crap-crap. Blarf.”

This article.

Perogies. They are good.

This website is about project making, being creative, and finishing what you started.

Meditation and Paxil may work wonders on people, but these five items were very effective on me.

For the love of India.

2005-09-22T12:50:00.000-04:00

Every time I mention that I plan to go to India with my best friend, I hear snide comments about being a pretentious bobo (bourgeoise-bohemian), a confused-soul in search of some form of spirituality, or any number of variations on that theme. That is so not right. I’m only half-confused, and a smidgeon of bobo.

It is such an effective myth, created by hippies and the like. But I don’t buy it. Or rather I choose to ignore it. I think India deserves better treatment since it is absolutely huge and multifaceted. I will try to prove this myth wrong by dissecting some of Alanis Morissette’s Thank You song lyrics. So here goes:

“Thank you India, thank you nothingness”
India is full of everything and anything, everywhere and anywhere. If you want nothingness, go to Saskatchewan.

“how 'bout stopping eating when I'm full up”
I don’t think so. The whole country is an all you can eat buffet. The bryannies, dals, achards, curries, naans, not to mention ice creams and oh, halwas, you’d be nuts to stop eating.

“how 'bout getting off of these antibiotics”
What’s wrong with pills? It kills the pain. Besides, you need a large variety of pills to survive India as a tourist: vaccines, malaria pills, sleeping pills, cypro, and maybe a little tranquilizer in New Delhi. If you go into a stomach ache fit and have to be hospitalized, or get covered in insect’s bites and end up spending the rest of your life being fed by a tube, then maybe your doctor was right: take your pills.

“how 'bout no longer being masochistic”
Pfft. Sweetheart, spending time in Calcutta is by itself a masochistic gesture.

"Thank you India, thank you thank you silence"
Are we still talking about India? You might be confusing it with your California yoga class. With a population of over 1 billion, silence is not this country’s strong suit.

Anyway, you get my point. I'm glad Alanis found inner-peace and a shrinking waistline, but let me tell you why I plan to go there: the loudness of the streets, the nauseating fumes of Old Dheli, the fabulous clothes and gold jewelry, glamorous movies sets, 5-hour movies, never-ending music shows, 5-day weddings (so we can be pretty in saris), sleep deprivation in trains. It's not about tranquility, spirituality or letting go of carbs, but about self-gratification, gluttony, vanity, excitement, chaos and just taking a vacation.
I can't wait.

Sudoku

2005-09-21T09:56:00.000-04:00

"So there's a 5 there, and a 5 there, so there must be a 5 here and that means that because there's a 2 there and a 2 down here, then there must be a 2 across there. There's a 7 here and a 7 there so the 7 in this group can be here, here or here, so I need to figure out what goes there and there and across there, which means that if there's a 9 here and here and a 7 down there, then this box can either be a 6, a 8 or a 1 ... "

I looked up at my alarm clock to find that it's way past my bedtime.

[learn to play here. time well wasted. you'll thank me later]

block

2005-09-21T09:54:00.000-04:00

*drums fingers*

What to write, what to draw?

Avast, ye cockered, slow-witted barnacle!

2005-09-19T13:45:00.000-04:00

Today be International Talk Like a Pirate Day. It be Talk Like a Pirate Month for me. So all ya Scallywags swig ye a grog and shiver me timbers. Arrrrrrrrrr.
(If ye wants ta talk like a pirate, this english to pirate translator may be handy to ye)
Arrrrrrrrrr.

The anablog

2005-09-15T10:46:00.000-04:00

In the next few days I'll be blogging from my moleskine in Val David. Every year I end up spending a weekend at this hostel. It's just so darn relaxing and laid-back (and oh-so cheap). We decided not to care about gas prices.

September was never considered a month of leisure, but I find that taking a mini-break out of town when everyone is intensely in work-mode is doubly satisfying.

Caspian study

2005-09-14T13:03:00.000-04:00

Sketch was made yesterday on kitchen table while dinner was cooking itself on stove. This is a nonexistant scenery. Jeff decided it should be a town in the Caspian Sea Region, and added the people and the caption.

I share this commentary by Bill Maher with you

2005-09-14T10:01:00.000-04:00

Sent in by a friend:

"Mr. President, this job can't be fun for you any more. There's no more money to spend -- you used up all of that. You can't start another war because you used up the army. And now, darn the luck, the rest of your term has become the Bush family nightmare: helping poor people. Listen to your Mom. The cupboard's bare, the credit cards maxed out. No one's speaking to you. Mission accomplished.

"Now it's time to do what you've always done best: lose interest and walk away. Like you did with your military service and the oil company and the baseball team. It's time. Time to move on and try the next fantasy job. How about cowboy or space man? Now I know what you're saying: there's so many other things that you as President could involve yourself in. Please don't. I know, I know. There's a lot left to do. There's a war with Venezuela. Eliminating the sales tax on yachts. Turning the space program over to the church. And Social Security to Fannie Mae. Giving embryos the vote.

"But, Sir, none of that is going to happen now. Why? Because you govern like Billy Joel drives. You've performed so poorly I'm surprised that you haven't given yourself a medal. You're a catastrophe that walks like a man. Herbert Hoover was a shitty president, but even he never conceded an entire city to rising water and snakes.

"On your watch, we've lost almost all of our allies, the surplus, four airliners, two trade centers, a piece of the Pentagon and the City of New Orleans [plus the entire federal treasury -ef]. Maybe you're just not lucky. I'm not saying you don't love this country. I'm just wondering how much worse it could be if you were on the other side.

"So, yes, God does speak to you. What he is saying is: 'Take a hint.' "

-- Bill Maher

Libraries are cool, damn it.

2005-09-14T09:25:00.000-04:00

The article begins: "From now on, whatever you check out of the Seattle Central Library will play in color-coded streams across six big plasma screens on the library's fifth floor". Read more about the new art installation at the Seattle Public Library, an information visualization initiative. Only the Dutch could ever think of that.

Today in a nutshell.

2005-09-13T12:12:00.000-04:00

Our current moment in history includes kooky stuff:

-riots in Belfast
-blackout in Los Angeles
-publication of evidence that one of the New Orleans levees may have been blown up with high-tech underwater explosives
-the actual resignation of someone in the Bush administration, FEMA guy Mike Brown
-the ongoing total evacuation of New Orleans and occupation of the city by a mercenary army
-a massive battle in a place called Tal Afar in Iraq
-what did I forget?

This news report sounds like something out of a sci-fi novel.

2005-09-12T14:12:00.000-04:00

You are Shetland Wool.
You are a traditional sort who can sometimes be a
little on the harsh side. Though you look
delicate you are tough as nails and prone to
intricacies. Despite your acerbic ways you are
widely respected and even revered.

What kind of yarn are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

State visit

2005-09-09T13:44:00.000-04:00

Going out to lunch today was quite difficult, what with all the secret service, the hordes of policeman, the protesters blocking the way to my usual Timothy's.

You see I work in a major museum in Ottawa. It is common to have heads of state dropping in for a State Dinner, hosted by our prime minister. Last October the museum had Dubya over for dinner. Today we have Hu Jianto, the president of China. He’ll be in the next room in a few hours. Of course, I won't get to meet him. Cops and bodyguards will make sure that doesn't happen.

At the moment, a lunch–event is being held in the next room with officials and students.

Apparently the Chinese Embassy is making sure that the president is well greeted in Ottawa by offering free lunches, souvenirs and even money to expatriate chinese students who in turn will make the prez feel welcome and generate an overall feeling of sympathy towards Hu. Any student willing to participate in these "greeting activities" is asked to sing a contract that read:

The [association’s name] has invited [the participant’s name] to be a member of the welcome group. As a member of this group, I agree to obey all the rules of the group. I also agree that if I make any trouble (e.g., protest against the American government and/or the Chinese president), I will pay a minimum $5,000 as compensation for the reputation loss brought to the group by the trouble I made. In addition, under the circumstances in which Falun Gong practitioners contact us or we know that other organizations will make trouble, we I agree that we report this to the welcome group and relative official bureaus immediately. We understand that we have the right to express our opinions through protest with any organization. However, as a member of this group, we are willing to give the right up.”
[source]

Now, I’m not exactly well informed in all things Chinese, but nothing seems to be going right for China. The Chinese Communist Party is on the verge of collapse. And when you have to pay expatriates of your own nation to make you feel welcome in a foreign country and generate positive feelings, you must be quite desperate. Falun Gong practitioners are now protesting outside the museum and scattered around the city. They are in higher number than payed greeters, so the embassy must be quite anxious...

100 facts about Plain Old Me.

2005-09-08T12:00:00.000-04:00

In case you were wondering:

1. I grew up in St-André d’Argenteuil, and expect one day to return to a small town.
2. I am a librarian.
3. I don’t have a driver’s license.
4. Maine is my favourite US state.
5. I am a question asker. This is often mistakenly interpreted as criticism.
6. I lived in Quebec City for three years.
7. I once fainted while serving mass, in the middle of a prayer, in front of my entire school.
8. I have a Masters in library and information science from Université de Montréal.
9. I don’t worry about wrinkles or grey hair.
10. I have a hard time getting to sleep.
11. I often wander in my own imaginary worlds (this is why I enjoy Calvin & Hobbes).
12. I have a bad left knee.
13. I am the youngest of 4 girls.
14. Certain movies can bring me to tears.
15. I avoid yelling and angry people.
16. I’ve had more or less the same haircut all my life.
17. A single song has the power to change my mood and outlook.
18. My fingers are so flexible, it’s almost disgusting.
19. I am introverted. People, it’s not a social disease.
20. I dropped out of college at 17, a week into my first semester.
21. I can roll my tongue better than anyone.
22. I am arty in a non-committed way.
23. I lived and worked in Mauritius for a short while.
24. I am a good gardener but houseplants commit suicide when under my “care”.
25. I love solitude, but too much of it will drive me insane.
26. I live with a 65-year-old widow in a beautiful little white house.
27. I call myself a feminist. Don’t ask why: it’s self explanatory (just look at the world).
28. I hate cold toast. When the toaster pops out a hot toast, it is a race to spread butter and swallow it. I rarely make it on time.
29. I do not tolerate messy kitchens.
30. I once worked at a Dunkin Donut.
31. I worked at UNESCO for 2 years.
32. I enjoy smoking a cigarette with my best friend from time to time but I hate second-hand smoke.
33. I used make a killer Bavarian cheese-apple torte until I lost the recipe.
34. The excuse "I don’t/didn’t have time" will not convince or impress me.
35. I never enjoyed the club scene. I prefer pubs and homes for parties.
36. I am left handed.
37. I like to draw.
38. I am not motivated by money: I have an intuitive sense of the amount of money I basically need and once that need is fulfilled then money stops driving me.
39. I fear driving a car more than the apocalypse.
40. I cycle a lot when my knee is okay with that.
41. I wish more people that I knew had pages like these.
42. What I wish for in a home: comfort, serenity, order, laughter.
43. What I do not wish for in a home: Zen design, cheap furniture, the color beige and futons.
44. I have declared 2005 the year of Let it be.
45. I feel sad when I do not have a trip planned for the near-future.
46. I love to read.
47. I am an everyday coffee drinker.
48. I am 29.
49. My first real job was at a daycare. I was 15.
50. I am very sensitive to noise – I carry earplugs with me everywhere.
51. I worry about my friends and I do not call them often enough.
52. My boyfriend makes me pee in my pants when doing his Burrito the Mexican Kangaroo impression.
53. I have low tolerance for what I like to refer to as les petites madames: chatty, gossipy, squeaky voiced, middle-age suburban ladies with highlights.
54. My feet are enormous.
55. The train is my favorite mode of transportation.
56. I am afraid of endings and have a hard time finishing projects (such as this list).
57. I work at a museum and do research on First Nations of British Columbia and Oklahoma. Basically what I do is document their culture and put it online.
58. I am lazy and like to lie around a lot, but generally feel best when in motion.
59. I collect moose mugs.
60. I have a thing for salt and vinegar chips dipped in sour cream.
61. I am not an avid recycler.
62. I'm still undecided about what I want to be when I grow up.
63. I pull out all of the solicitous and subscription inserts from my magazines before I read them.
64. I'm a sucker for John Cusack, Mark Ruffalo, Liam Neeson, Peter Sarsgaard, Johnny Depp, Charlize Theron, Laura Linney, Ralph Fiennes.
65. I didn't go to my senior prom.
66. I tend to procrastinate.
67. I was born on August 17 at 10:55pm.
68. That makes me a Leo sun, Taurus rising, Taurus moon.
69. And a dragon.
70. I majored in ethnology at Laval University.
71. I constantly dream of having a cottage (hence the moose-mug collection).
72. Dancing makes me happy.
73. The Gap owns me.
74. My dream car is an old blue-grey Saab 900 with a ski rack on top.
75. I make randomn weird noises in my sleep. Sometimes I even talk or scream.
76. My favorite place in the world is Rodrigues Island. [other link]
77. Old Orchard Beach is another.
78. I like these bite-size brownies they sell at the supermarket.
79. I met my boyfriend while he was interviewing me for a job.
80. I am not a member of an organized religion.
81. My favorite authors are: Dorothy Parker, Jacques Poulin, John Irving.
82. Carbs keep me alive.
83. Once a year I treat myself to some Kentucky Fried Chicken.
84. I would never miss Oscar Night for anything.
85. I love the smell of fresh cut lumber, lily of the valley, the adirondack forest, freshly bought clothes.
86. Chapters is a very dangerous place for me.
87. I prefer to be cold than hot.
88. I usually walk fast, and have unknowingly left people behind until they pointed it out to me.
89. I'd like to go fishing someday as long as I don't catch anything.
90. The first movie I ever saw at a movie theatre was Beverly Hills Cop.
91. Excessive use of exclamation marks bugs me.
92. As a little girl I wanted to be a painter, or a lego sculpter artist.
93. My blood type is O positive.
94. The music video "Thriller" scared me as a kid.
95. I have 6 wisdom teeth. People usually have 4 or less.
96. I am of irish and belgium descent.
97. My best friend is the coolest person alive.
98. I own a Devinci Destination 2004.
99. I like hanging out with my family.
100. I didn't think I could ever finish this list.

That sums it up really well.

2005-09-07T15:52:00.000-04:00

Read today's Onion.

2005-09-02T11:57:00.000-04:00

the new religion

2005-09-01T13:20:00.000-04:00

Visit Google.com. Type in box: 'Flying Spaghetti Monster' and it shows about 234,000 hits.

Have you heard of the latest internet phenomenon? A creation of a Ohio State U. graduate, the FSM theory holds that the universe was created by a Flying Spaghetti Monster. A great parody of the fundamentalist Christian Intelligent Design theory which is to be taught in class along side evolution in biology classes, in Kansas.

article link
wiki

Fashion and parental advice from Mr. T

2005-09-01T12:52:00.000-04:00

I pity the fool who will watch this.
Something has to be said for those shorts.

Note: you have to watch an ad before the actual videoclip.

The little black book that could

2005-08-31T11:20:00.000-04:00

I’ve always been searching for the perfect notebook. I constantly carry one with me, creased from being carried in my purse. Everything is a journal entry: notes, grocery lists and snatches of conversation, titles and authors of books I might like to read, recipes, songs I want to listen to, rough sketches of things.

When travelling, I spend a lot of time in local pubs and coffee houses and write postcards or an entry in my notebook. It somehow took we away from the bad habit I had of constantly sightseeing through my camera lens. People can spend their entire trip in one silly posture: arms stretched forward, digital camera in hands, eyes squinting at the tiny screen, not looking at where they are going. (Am I the only one seriously annoyed by this?). Anyway, I would draw the most mundane of things: a plant that grows in the cracks of the sidewalk, a plate of food, a hand holding a cup of coffee, my hotel room, whatever. I started to sketch more seriously when I got my hands on a Moleskine notebook in Lausanne, Switzerland and I’ve incorporated Moleskines into my daily life since then. Keeping a travel journal is one of the best things I've ever done to keep my travel experiences fresh in my mind.

At first I thought that my Moleskine was so beautiful I was afraid to draw in it. After all, they have been used by the likes of Hemingway and Picasso; I just didn't feel moleskine-worthy. After a couple of weeks, I got over it and became hooked. These notebooks are very rugged and will last you through your travels. I left one of mine under the rain once, and the pages were still legible and the penciled drawings were fine (but pages with ink pen were smeared). I like it when my notebooks are less precious looking and more solid (no cutesy flowery cheapo journals for me, thank you very much).

The regular-size Moleskine costs about 30$cdn and will last you several months. The company has started to do a less expensive line called the Cahier line, and they are nice for to-do lists and practicing your drawings. Standard models include a pocket to collect the scraps of your life, and a hard black cover. Caro, I know you will appreciate this piece of info: you can buy them at the Papery on Bank.

Words dazzle and deceive because they are mimed by the face. But black words on a white page are the soul laid bare.— Guy de Maupassant

What are your journal fetishes?

But if you try sometimes

2005-08-29T13:21:00.000-04:00

All I wanted was a scone, a nap and a little Billie Holiday. Jeez, it was Sunday. I just did not want to go to a Geezer Rockers concert. We didn’t even have tickets. After I completed my usual Sunday round of Ikea-catalogue-page-flipping reveries, J.D. reminded me that unless I was a weasel, I was not allowed to weasel out of my commitments. He then proceeded to make us salads for dinner, and we were on our way. I am not a big Rolling Stones fan.

J.D. took me to Echo drive, a street surrounding Lansdowne Park. The plan was to eavesdrop somewhere around the open-air stadium, but instead we somehow found a way to get a full view of the stage, and crystal-clear sound. There we were, bobbing heads in the thick of the concert on a small hill between Echo drive and Colonel By drive perched amongst bushes and trees, barely hanging on. On the street in front of us, Harley riders, cars and RVs stopped short, surprised to get such a clear view of the show. Clapping hands and singing along, we felt like we were fully part of the audience, and in so many ways, we were. As we lay on the slippery terrain, mumbling you can’t always get what you want, locals were piling up in the streets, on the sidewalk, on bike lanes, in the bushes, on the canal, everywhere. J.D. was happy : “Regarde ma chérie le vieux Mick comme il cours”. Wait a minute darling, my bum is slipping, my back is hurting and I think I lost my shoe.

To breathe summer night time air and listen to night rhythms, that is what I crave. Jagger is not my favourite song-master, but I would agree that his energetic live efforts are for the common good.

Quite drunk with the pleasure of this find, settling in the sheer sweetness of being alive, we listened to the last songs, watched the final fireworks and walked home to consider the observations du jour. We got what we needed.

(merci Mylène pour la photo)

You say that like it's a bad thing.

2005-08-29T10:09:00.000-04:00

Fig. 1. Best metaphor for the Internet ever, courtesy of Cat and Girl.

St-André, Aug.14th.

2005-08-25T10:07:00.000-04:00

Some pictures from the tri-birthday party. (mom's, Mat's and mine)
(merci Caro)

Have you hugged your inner pre-jail Martha today?

2005-08-24T11:41:00.000-04:00

I have no quirky story or fun link to relate to you today so it’s back to my boring domestic life.

Damn it’s nice out. I don’t know that it’s fall by all the usual indicators (leg warmers, the smell of stationary, the crisp fresh air), but it sure feels like it. It's not exactly cold like put-on-a-tuque cold, but we will soon be confronted with the dreaded morning dilemna: what the hell should I wear today? Chilly at 6am, piping-hot at noon, chilly again at 7pm. It's insane.

The thing that people forget about fall is that it’s food season. I like the words harvest, pumpkin, apple and season premiere. Fall is just so damn wholesome and makes me want to take a subscription to Cooks.

I don’t mean to be unkind, but you really are a sucker if you have an oven and you still buy those lame-ass store-bought buttermilk biscuits. This recipe was my mom’s originally; I have modified it a bit.

Mix in a bowl, in that order, with a fork:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter
3/4 cup milk mixed with 1 teaspoon vinegar (if you don't have 3/4 cup of buttermilk)

Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead gently (not too much, or they will turn out like hockey pucks). Pat out dough into a ¾ in. thick pancake. Cut circles with a floured glass. Transfer biscuits to an ungreased baking sheet, arranging them 2 inches apart. Bake until pale golden, 10 minutes. Makes 6 biscuits. Eat immediately: split open one and spread some butter and homemade strawberry jam. Or make a Sausage Egg McMuffin.

I will soon bore you to death on this blog (if I didn't already) and put up pictures of my summer vacation and birthday party (I turned 29 last week). Caro, get busy and send them to me, prettyplease. I don't have a digital camera so I rely on other people to send me their jpegs (mom, do you have any? pat? nan?). I'm a big sentimental dope when it comes to pictures: I like to preserve them intact, touch them, and not look at a computer screen when looking at them, and therefore remained in the analog side of photography. Don't underestimate the value of paper.

Am Elizabeth "Bridget Jones" Bennet

2005-08-23T09:28:00.000-04:00

You're Elizabeth Bennett of Pride and Prejudice by
Jane Austen!

Which Classic Female Literary Character Are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

(thanks Michèle)

Liza Frulla, do something now.

2005-08-22T11:49:00.000-04:00

The CBC's in lockout. Give it back to us. I miss my CBC. I'm passionnate about my radio and telly, and my life is not the same without my usual George Stomboulopoulos. When Radio-Can was on strike last year I remember watching, to my amusement, an NHL hockey game with no announcers. Just the shrill sounds of the sleeping fans and the occasionnal thump as a player was banged on the wall. As a viewer, I felt abadonned. This time around it's no different. We are left watching reruns of the Canadian Antiques Roadshow. Actually, that's not a bad show...

For the love of all that's holy, bring back Jurgen Gothe.

On sleep

2005-08-19T11:09:00.000-04:00

I always worry about people who do not get enough sleep. I worry about my insomniac sister. Maybe she needs a new bed. I don’t know. Some people tell me rather smugly that they only need 5 hours of sleep. I worry about them. When did sleep ever become a precious commodity? I think 8.5 hours of sleep should be a right, not a privilege.

Since I’m a proud sleep addict, I feel it is my duty to spread the good vibes in the spirit of volunteerism and will therefore post here my top ten healthy sleeping tips:

1. Don’t eat right before getting your Zs. If you do, sip some mint tea in bed. My sister Nan (health guru extraorinaire) told me once that mint helps you digest.
2. Do not compulsively watch three episodes of Six Feet Under in a row and in the dark of your room before going to bed. I road-tested this one yesterday evening. Pass the Tylenol.
3. Take naps.
4. When you are all tucked in and ready for some sweet dreamin, sit up and read a novel for a few minutes.
5. If you have a significant other, ask him or her to read you a short story in bed (preferably something by P.J. O’Rourke).
6. Before bedtime, have a ritual: sip some fancy-schmancy herbal tea, play a game of domino, listen to the radio or draw. Bottom line, it has to be repetitive.
7. If you usually get less than 5 hours of sleep, I have news for you: more coffee won’t help.
8. In the evening, play locked out of the house and stay there for an arbitrarily determined length of time. Move around, jog, bike, or take a nice walk. Get back in around bed time, and go straight to bed.
9. For chrissakes, don’t watch American Idol: the bad hip-hop, the annoying audience, the ugly glittery stage, the obnoxious contestants, the sex-scandals. Two words: bad stimuli. At the risk of sounding like an elitist snob, stay away from the fugly pop culture.
10. After 9pm, unhook the phone. People will get the clue after a while.

This concludes the advice portion of this blog. You are welcome to post your ideas on best sleeping practices. Good night.