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BOLO: voices behind blogs

Some people hate it when their favourite books are made into movies. The movie just never measures up. That's generally a given. But personally, I love it. I love comparing how I imagined a character to look -- and move and speak -- to the movie's version. Sometimes it's very close, but sometimes it is so vastly different that it simply reinforces why reading is just such a wonderful, uniquely personal experience. In some ways, reading a … [Read more...]

Who wears short-shorts?

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                                                                                                                                          Do you dare wear short-shorts? If you’re my age and can pull off short-shorts, all the power to you. If you’re a young woman with long tanned legs you want to show off, all the power to you. But please — let’s not dress our young girls in short-shorts. {click here to see why I'm such a prude about … [Read more...]

Commercials are bad for my mental health

Lately, I have found myself watching commercials more consciously. And it seems that pretty much everything about me is simply not good enough -- not my skin, my body shape, the way my house smells, or even my own role in my family. This constant barrage of criticism can't be good for my mental health, can it? Even though I can intellectually reject it, messages can still creep into my subconscious. And if it's not good for my mental … [Read more...]

Stuff that happened this week

I didn’t get around to posting anything on my blog this week because my husband has taken to making these beautiful after-work drinks called Brandy Lime & Soda. Mmmm… they are such a refreshing summer drink. But trust me that you will lose any desire to be productive after having one (which isn’t such a bad thing of course, but just be warned). I’ve been missing you though and even though I’ve already consumed said drink, I’ll attempt to … [Read more...]

I’m breaking my chain letter rule to share with you the story of a “female Schindler”

I've got a confession to make. You know when you sent me that email chain letter that said we would all have bad luck if I didn't forward it on? Well, I deleted it. And that one where if I didn't send it on to my seven dearest friends, they would never know how much I cared? Deleted. That internet meme that I you sent with best intentions? Sorry, deleted. Even that chain letter full of stickers for your kids' friends? Yes, I'm the bad guy who … [Read more...]

There are some things I wish she hadn’t had to learn

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For a recent grade 2 project, my daughter was to create a poster. In my era, this poster would have been along the lines of "Don't be a Litter Bug!" or "Help Smokey the Bear and be sure to put out your campfire!" You know, that kind of thing. The title of her poster reads: "Oil Spill: Sea Animal Nightmare" And the captions read: The oil blocks the whale's blowhole Air bubbles in sea otter's fur damaged by oil Fish gills clogged … [Read more...]

A Saturday Night in O-town

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Stop #1: Anna Fine Thai Cuisine Where: 91 Holland Avenue (Parkdale market area of Ottawa) What: Super-yummy Thai food with great service. My Mom had the seafood Pad Thai and I had the Dinner for One, which came with soup and a selection of tasters including ginger fried veggies and red chicken curry (see how cool the dishes are! and even better? it was a lazy-susan style platter. Life doesn't get better than this!) Cost: $6 for a white wine, … [Read more...]

What makes a novelist, a novelist?

Here I am with Joanne Harris, author of one of my favourite books Five Quarters of the Orange but most famously known for her novel Chocolat, which was made into the Oscar-nominated film with Johnny Depp and Juliette Binoche. I recently had the chance to hear her read from her latest offering blueeyedboy when she came to Ottawa as a guest for Writers Fest. She was part of a series of events that Writers Fest puts on called The Writing Life. As … [Read more...]

One year of blogging

This month marks my first-year bloggy-versary. When I first started blogging one year ago, I didn't -- and couldn't -- have known what to expect. But BOLO left me feeling very optimistic about it all. It seems that blogging is one of those things that, like becoming a parent, you just have to do it order to really understand it. And although I have a much better understanding now than I did one year ago, I still have so much learning to do. … [Read more...]