in search of grey

I don't know, maybe I'm the last person on earth (or at least in Canada) to have discovered Meaghan Smith, but I have (thanks, CBC radio one), and I'm so happy.

calamity kim giveaway

I was surfing around looking for easter activities and crafts to do with the kids (read: avoiding the massive pile of dirty dishes), and like a meandering train of thought, my browsing led me to a very cool blog that happens to be having a very cool giveaway. 

People magazine named Hugh Jackman the Sexiest Man Alive. Show us who you think should hold that title.

Oh, I don't know.  I don't care much, honestly.  Plus, my answer would probably change from moment to moment.  At this moment, for example, it would have to be Daniel Craig because I re-watched Casino Royale last week in anticipation of seeing the new Bond film in the theatres sometime soon, and the commercial for the movie just played on the television, and well, he's just too cool for school.

But the only reason I even clicked on this vox hunt to reply to it is because I went to see what other voxers uploaded in reply to the vox hunt, and went scrolling through photos.  There were all the predictable ones... George Clooney, Johnny Depp, various real-life boyfriends and husbands.  And some less predictable ones, whose names I don't even know, like some boy that looks like a girl, and Ryan Gosling, and even Michael Douglas.

But I don't know... I did a double-take when I spotted this one. 

Wrong

In the same way you might take a drink of cool water after tasting something you don't really enjoy, I'm going to cleanse my visual palate with this:

Better

1 comment

What book are you reading right now?

Oh, thank you, Culture qotw, for this question, which will waste at least 15 or more minutes of my time.  Amazing the things I will do to avoid packing. 

I've got two novels that I'm actively reading right now... I specify "actively" because I always seem to have bookmarks in a dozen books at a time, some of which take me months to read.

Bridge of Sighs: A Novel (Vintage Contemporaries)

Richard Russo

The first is Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo. 

Russo won the Pulitzer for his novel Empire Falls in 2001, and it was six years until he published this, his next novel. 

I've read three or four of his previous novels and all stood out among other books for their good writing, obviously, but also their humour.  I rarely actually laugh out loud while reading, but a few of the most hilarious passages in Russo's book had me doing so.  I also rarely remember the details (or even the major plot points) of books after I've finished reading them, but a few of the characters were so well-crafted that I'm hard-pressed not to believe they're still living their lives in some small upstate New York town. 

I'm only a short ways in, but so far, Bridge of Sighs seems to be a much less humourous novel.  The characters are still realistic, and the attention to details that Russo somehow makes matter to the reader is as fine as ever, but it's actually a bit sad in a way I can't quite pin down.  There's foreshadowing of something tragic to come, and the main part of the novel is written from a looking-back point of view, which casts 90% of the story in this late Sunday afternoon in September sort of ambiance.  Whatever the hell that means to anyone but me, which is why I don't post more book reviews.

I still have hundreds of pages to read in this book, and the characters have captured me enough that I'm definitely going to continue with interest - I just have to let go of this expectation that the very next page is going to have me laughing, because I continually feel disappointed when it doesn't
.

The Princess of Burundi (Ann Lindell Mysteries)

Kjell Eriksson

I'm also reading The Princess of Burundi by Kjell Eriksson, as translated by Ebba Segerberg.  I started this one when I misplaced Bridge of Sighs and it was quicker to grab a new book off my shelf than hunt around for the lost one.

I'm even less far into this than I am with Bridge of Sighs, so I don't know what to say.  It's the second in a murder mystery series that's popular in Sweden.  Only the first to be translated to english.

I'm always a bit distracted when reading translated books - I find myself wondering if my experience of the book in English is what the author originally intended, and how much of him/herself the translator injects into the writing.  Speaking only English and having no understanding of what it's like to be multi-lingual, these are the things that I think about.

The atmosphere created in this novel is serious, solemn, and cool yet somehow made intimate by the setting and quiet moments we're allowed with the characters.  Not as much of a page-turner as your typical crime novel, but neither is Bridge of Sighs, so I think I'll move along smoothly with both of these, as time permits.

August Declutter Challenge

I don't know how I find these things, but I decided to take part in a declutter challenge.  Anything that comes with a cool little button or banner that I get to use always gets me.

Dear tardy movie-goer,

Just a few tips:

• Don't ask me to move down so you and your friends can sit as close to the centre as possible.  In fact, don't even ask me to move my bag when there are plenty of seats elsewhere.  I arrived early to get my seat.  You're late!  Sit on the side and deal with it.
  
• Don't ask me to move my drink so you can put your disgusting flavoured coffee there to stink up my whole movie-going experience.  No, actually, leave your coffee there, since it occasionally masks the scent of your BO.
• Don't talk during the movie.  I don't care how hot you think Pierce Brosnan is, you don't have to reiterate it every single time his face shows up on the screen.  And when you're doing all of that not-talking, keep your mouth closed when you chew your gum.
  

Signed,
A harried mother-of-two, who went to a movie tonight in order to prevent a mental breakdown, and had those two hours, those two hours alone, to regroup and recharge before going back home and attempting to be a good, patient mother until next year, when she just may get to go to another movie.

Show us the cartoon character that annoys you the most.

I don't watch a lot of cartoons, but without a doubt:

Dora The Explorer

I know she's cool, I know kids like her, I know she solves problems and uses her brain and isn't too ditzy.  I know she teaches kids Spanish and other useful things.  I know there are many more terrible role models out there for young children, particularly girls. 

But oh, that voice... that loud, strident, annoying voice.... Even just responding to this qotd will have that voice playing in my head for days. 

Not sure where I saw this first, but a few people in my neighbourhood have done it, and being the follower that I am... I present My Life Mosaic:

my flickr life mosaic... a bunch of colour and some nursing puppies

The Instructions:

a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker.

The Questions:

1. What is your first name?  Cath
2. What is your favorite food?  Sashimi
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?  Yellow
5. Who is your celebrity crush?  Robert Downey, Jr.
6. Favorite drink?  Water
7. Dream vacation?  Japan (sakura festivals)
8. Favorite dessert?  Ice cream
9. What you want to be when you grow up?  Teacher
10. What do you love most in life?  Being a mother
11. One word to describe you.  Unorganised
12. Your flickr name.  cathinto

Taking a break from reading the very boring outline of the ministry of education's curriculum outline for kindergarten.  Did you know that by the end of senior kindergarten, our children will be able to... wait for it... tell us what they like and don't like??  And if that's not amazing enough for you, they will also be able to follow two-step directions!!  Insanity.  How are these kindergarten graduates not going straight into university with this massive amount of knowledge being provided by the ministry?

Anyway...

There was a great episode of Everybody Loves Rayond where Ray and Debra have a silent battle over who will put away a suitcase which was left on the stairs after a vacation.  Really... so hilarious.

We have many similar silent battles here in our house, although not so hilarious.  Not always with a suitcase, of course... there have been burned-out light bulbs, overflowing trash bins, empty toilet paper roll holders, and a pile of paper recycling, among many others.  Currently I'm monitoring the status of two suitcases:

One. 

A pile of charcoal briquettes from our gas bbq.  It no longer works, so he put it at the curb in the hopes that someone would come and take it.  Which they did, except first they opened the lid, dumped the charcoal (or whatever those things are called) onto our lawn, and took off the with the rest.  I actually watched them do this from the front window, and I was standing there trying to decide if they looked like the type of guys that would beat me up if I went out and yelled at them, but well, it doesn't take long for two men with a truck to load up a small bbq and drive off, so I missed my chance. 

Anyway, I might have actually take care of this one myself, particularly since I sat there and allowed it to happen, but on the first day, Greg said that he would do it, so I didn't.  And now so much time (10 days, to be specific) has passed that it's become The Suitcase. 

We have many pedestrians on our street since we live near the subway, and I spend all day at home watching the people walking by, glancing at the pile of charcoal on our lawn.  Perhaps they think we go out there at night and roast hot dogs on our front lawn.  Perhaps we are those neighbours.

Two.

A reuseable grocery bag on the counter, containing my george foreman grill, which Greg gave to me as a christmas present one year.  It was in the closet, clean and waiting for the next chicken breast, when, without my knowledge, he took it to the restaurant to experiment with one recipe or another.  I have no idea why, since, well, it's a restaurant, and they grill stuff there, so yes, they have a giant grill.  But for some reason they needed my teeny tiny one which can only fit a chicken breast and a small portobello mushroom at one time.

Last week he brought it home in the shopping bag (I should note that he is always badgering me about buying too many reuseable grocery bags, but he never mentions that my supply keeps dwindling because he keeps taking them), and tossed it on the kitchen counter.  There was a small, distracted exchange about the matter, but that's it. 

I looked inside the bag and I have no idea what they did with my grill, but apparently they were testing how long it would take to turn half a dozen skewers of shrimp completely to ash, and doing so smack dab in the middle of a mud pit.  And apparently he decided not to wash it before bringing it home.  So there it sits, as it has for almost a week. 

Okay, so those are the suitcases on the stairs in our house.  I will post updates as to the outcomes of these two standoffs.

The one important distinction between Ray and Debra's battle and the ones that occur between Greg and myself is that, uh, well, I'm the only one that knows the standoff is even happening. 

This is usually a big problem, in terms of how long the standoff will continue, as well as the level of satisfaction I get when he finally does it, as he should have done x number of days/weeks ago, and similarly, the level of righteousness I get to enjoy when I do it myself "because you know, I'm the only one who does things around here, and if I didn't do it, it would never get done, and grumble grumble..."

Nine times out of ten, I find out after it's all over that he had no idea that anything was even happening.  Sure there are some upsides to spending life with someone as clueless laid-back as this, but when it comes to suitcases on the stairs, I've learned it's just not as fun playing this game alone.

Still, though... ask me if I plan to wash the grill today.