31 January 2007

a long forgotten gift.

I, along with my good friend and excellent comic-book artist/partner in crime Willow Dawson will be teaching a book-making workshop affiliated with AGYU starting in two weeks time. In an attempt to gather some samples to show students, I asked my mum if she could lend me some of the sundry gifts I'd made her over the years, of a bookish nature. She brought some unexpected treasures, that I'd completely forgotten I'd made. These excerpts are from a scrapbook on the revered nature of journaling that I made her in 2000, complete with fragments of stories I wrote when I was 8 (including the infamous "The Adventures of Super Pickle" and "The Hair Grower"), as well as my very first report card at the age of 6. I was particularly enamored, in a navel-gazely kind of a way, with this latter document, which (of course) begins: "Stefanie is a very verbal child...."
(click on pages to see them in full detail)




Licensed at Last!

I have AT LAST, well, yesterday, received my official motorcycle M2 license in the mail, a mere days before I would have had to troop out and get another temporary one. I look, suitably I suppose, and not surprising at all, like a terribly overweight jail convict. Upon examining the contents of the envelope, I also found the following, which I sincerely hope they send to all new drivers, and not just those getting motorcycle licenses.

(Click on pic for detailed view of the Ministry of Transportation's benevolent campaign)

the UCCS; a most civilized event of a Saturday eve.

I haven't the witty wherewithal to post fully on this, for the moment, but I had the privilege of joining (via my pseudo-caricature Pippa Ellsworth Marigold, Esquirée) a Upper Canada Chap Society party celebrating the return of their founder, one Ozcar Wildeflower III, on Saturday night. Held at the Library bar at the Royal York Hotel, the revelry was over 23 personages strong, all of them decked out in full regalia, indulging in G &T's, Pimms, and, ahem...plenty of cucumbers.
Check out correspondence leading to the event as well as the event itself here. Alas, there are no photos of my costumed self, due to the fact that I was behind my camera, but I'm hoping fervently that some other members will post their own photos of the event in the near future. We shall see.
I will say though, that it is one of the first times in an AGE that I walked into a room full of strangers and was able to hold my own (COMFORTABLY) in a conversation, with nary a concern over my ignorance of the latest on television, newspaper or tabloid. Bliss and Glee!

29 January 2007

yeah, swell.

So.
To any of my reader(s) who got spammed not once, but THREE times today, my Profuse apologies.
I still don't know how/what happened (trying to work it out right now) but, despite running test messages in all three instances, somehow the emails got sent out with only my subscribe/unsubscribe details in them. And though I am quite soliticious when it comes to whether or not people actually want to be on my list, I really don't need it reaffirmed three times, nor do I think people want to reaffirm it.

Anyhow.
My original intention, after a long arduous think about it, was to forward a message that got forwarded to me.
Yes, one of those. That we all already get too many of, that put me through ethical trauma everytime I get them, 'coz I really would rather use my list for what it was originally intended, namely, to let people know what I'm up to, that they might come say hi, buy a book, pat my shoulder if they feel so inclined. I don't know that I feel alright carpet bombing people (a great many of whom i barely know) with my politics.

But here it is below, then, Goddammit, if only to end the ruddy thing.

(And yes, I hereby guarantee that I will no longer forward messages of ANY sort to my mailing list. Senders be warned. I love you, I care about this stuff, but I'm officially traumatized about the whole forwarding messages fiasco.)

Please pass this around. It's a French initiative that is just arriving in North America: The 1st of February 2007. Participate in the biggest mobilization of Citizens Against Global Warming! The Alliance for the Planet [a group of environmental associations] is calling on all citizens to create 5 minutes of electrical rest for the planet. http://www.lalliance.fr

People all over the world should turn off their lights and electrical appliances on the first of February 2007, between 1:55 pm and 2:00 pm in New York, 18:55 for London, and 19:55 for Paris, Bruxelles, and Italy. 1:55pm in Ottawa, 10.:55am on the Pacific Coast of North America. This is not just about saving 5 minutes worth of electricity; this is about getting the attention of the media, politicians, and ourselves. Five minutes of electrical down time for the planet: this does not take long, and costs nothing, and will show all political leaders that global warming is an issue that needs to come first and foremost in political debate. Why February 1? This is the day when the new UN report on global climate change will come out in Paris. This event affects us all, involves us all, and provides an occasion to show how important an issue global warming is to us. If we all participate, this action can have real media and political weight. Please circulate this call to your utmost ability to your network.

note to self on a monday.

28 January 2007

one of the many merits of working at a Coach House

Our toilet bowl? Frozen. Solid.
We all stood around it in mute horror (and silent mirth) on Friday.
Someone suggested that filling it in the usual manner would no doubt break the icey pond encased in porcelain, but no one wanted to test and be sure.
Finally a cup of boiling water did the trick.
But not before I wished fervently, SO fervently, that a camera had been present.