tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-68825441813060754122024-03-05T20:36:44.738-06:00The Sylph and the Sail"For I would be nothing without you," the sail told the Sylph. "The world would still be a mystery without the wind."Samantha Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08106871524132001095noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6882544181306075412.post-66550067616404472202011-01-15T12:25:00.006-06:002011-01-20T11:15:48.335-06:00This is my dayAs is pretty evident, I work for these cats:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCCXNTuoBYwPkJT6NlqF1wQh3mPCSVpnpQyYSI2aDXI_pTlLI82X_yjgvQpRHo0-fq7jYbqhJPKmGrQphx8cV2ckpP7_U79dO5N39eH2YFgnBGdgfb4khNMDbQDqMzsBQVe4XCJrrO-Wg/s1600/CZP_centre_logo.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 139px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCCXNTuoBYwPkJT6NlqF1wQh3mPCSVpnpQyYSI2aDXI_pTlLI82X_yjgvQpRHo0-fq7jYbqhJPKmGrQphx8cV2ckpP7_U79dO5N39eH2YFgnBGdgfb4khNMDbQDqMzsBQVe4XCJrrO-Wg/s320/CZP_centre_logo.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562484049354645314" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;">http://www.chizinepub.com<br /></span></div><br />What do I do for them? Well. Practically anything that needs done. Do I love it? You are <span style="font-style: italic;">damn skippy.</span> This is my publishing family, and the amazing books I am lucky enough to help with getting out there every single day are my babies. I could not have asked for a better job, especially on days like today, when after seeing the book through the whole process, here it is, in all its glory!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYKQfArr28sAgwblXvfRG-Ul8FAKt3_doaAiNTirkxaK9jUshDdsEcydTgy7KJtVd9tSe_mCyI5_KRkuKbUDdWEIXOR8t_0VVGTI88aMrAtzWDwR4-XDMvEwZyGgoRIfoVpGLGy6waf2E/s1600/IMAG0041.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYKQfArr28sAgwblXvfRG-Ul8FAKt3_doaAiNTirkxaK9jUshDdsEcydTgy7KJtVd9tSe_mCyI5_KRkuKbUDdWEIXOR8t_0VVGTI88aMrAtzWDwR4-XDMvEwZyGgoRIfoVpGLGy6waf2E/s320/IMAG0041.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562481139633083666" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;">Brett is the happiest book panda of all</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Yesterday, as you may have surmised from Twitter, we just picked up David Nickle's EUTOPIA: A NOVEL OF TERRIBLE OPTIMISM from Webcom. First off, CZP field trips are always such charmed, ridiculous expeditions. The best reward is when the people in the office proper and oogling and drooling all over the cover and coveting the copies getting passed around from cubicle to cubicle, frightened and in awe. Boyz, that's just how we roll!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpLBJwH-SV2wudxoVfWBzbM6qx1u5KfH6aY0H3lY8NyEq2ZyPgVU9iyYD4I_J4id5SAnnnty_YUM45STkIjobbMjHnShE8obffr1qTSpiGEd1E8ChZrDyHlpDiiDBHjRDbOqamW3VXDK8/s1600/IMAG0043.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpLBJwH-SV2wudxoVfWBzbM6qx1u5KfH6aY0H3lY8NyEq2ZyPgVU9iyYD4I_J4id5SAnnnty_YUM45STkIjobbMjHnShE8obffr1qTSpiGEd1E8ChZrDyHlpDiiDBHjRDbOqamW3VXDK8/s320/IMAG0043.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562481144296741266" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;">All them books are in there, just <span style="font-style: italic;">waiting</span>...<br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;">As usually follows these kind of jaunts - review mailing! Oh ARCs, how I love thee. The most unique and smartest thing about CZP is that we shy away from coil bound galley copies. We like to keep really ahead of our printing schedule so that when its time to send review copies, we get to put the real live book into the hands of those sparkly reviewer types. They get to feel the sexy thing in their own hands, test the weight of it, and get the same giddy feeling we booknerds get at the prize of a new novel. Yes. We seduce our readers. No shame here, people.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhetJIzbhyUye40gzq5iXHsqQS4rIRSXSat2lar1z2N_pLSFVlxfMrp66E_XMwEhpQb81NAOL7gARS47SlEwcuAwCCLKaUPyVGzJYLnVxT5TiSI93Abee9YQOW_nkPvi_Pg6UvOTxavSHA/s1600/IMAG0045.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhetJIzbhyUye40gzq5iXHsqQS4rIRSXSat2lar1z2N_pLSFVlxfMrp66E_XMwEhpQb81NAOL7gARS47SlEwcuAwCCLKaUPyVGzJYLnVxT5TiSI93Abee9YQOW_nkPvi_Pg6UvOTxavSHA/s320/IMAG0045.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562481153378834994" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;">AHHHH. Nightmares and joy, oh my!</span><br /></div><br />Needless to say, I love my work. I would be an empty shell of a little publishing girl were it not for the love and support and rockin' epic-tude of my bosses Brett Savory and Sandra Kasturi. They let me into their lives and work and passions every damn day, and in return, I will kick the ass of any challenge/deadline/super crazy publishing demon that comes in CZP's path.<br /><br />It's a charmed life, little chickens.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7sJZvywGZrxQ4wP01XtbBi-9damvzaikheMB5v_p-dfBirB3ON6CrDSbfwXHVtWcBGtxTJOgo3F6KYWEDp7Oe9MJ6JLnw5fITm72O0ghdQTSC6M6weLUd0qwxxE1E-7avYwmVTERVK28/s1600/IMG_5156.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 426px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7sJZvywGZrxQ4wP01XtbBi-9damvzaikheMB5v_p-dfBirB3ON6CrDSbfwXHVtWcBGtxTJOgo3F6KYWEDp7Oe9MJ6JLnw5fITm72O0ghdQTSC6M6weLUd0qwxxE1E-7avYwmVTERVK28/s320/IMG_5156.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562487514102553250" border="0" /></a><br /></div></div></div></div>Samantha Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08106871524132001095noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6882544181306075412.post-8847680766123481002011-01-13T18:43:00.005-06:002011-01-13T19:25:30.941-06:00Auld lang syne<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaW4_ff4t878AVDoseMscg8la8dw7ynZcltpfM9oE1T-XrIic-6nPSfQZh3xqqNUn6lKZ9EogGe3JoLRq8Dd3OJfSFccr_erP8qqbvfVvhuzP5sL0-yS6-W4dSgN5NoXjMftj6c76t-tk/s1600/skye1.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaW4_ff4t878AVDoseMscg8la8dw7ynZcltpfM9oE1T-XrIic-6nPSfQZh3xqqNUn6lKZ9EogGe3JoLRq8Dd3OJfSFccr_erP8qqbvfVvhuzP5sL0-yS6-W4dSgN5NoXjMftj6c76t-tk/s320/skye1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5561836502008584082" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;">The Isle of Skye</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">So ladies, gents, babies, and whomsoever else takes the opportunity and time to read this dusty thing, Scotland! A place always near and dear to my heart of hearts, seat of my ancestors (the MacLeod clan--HOLD FAST!) and the jewel of the UK. I have longed to go there for years, and though I've come close--went to England on a ruddy school trip in 2006--I have been either too occupied with school, work, or the ensuing future to fathom going. There's also that money thing that I hear is all the rage with the kids. Yes. I have none. HA HA isn't that MAGICAL.<br /></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0z5Z9QUtZ9Z031mJM-fPlSBXgg5Se9WQtptkaEIrCGj7PCNYbTdYpS1fTaQrbKM2YtFp29hQn0oARHeDz8_KtLWFSgFrK2jAECFumNtElhRZT94BQN1rnwms0taHsRsqwYKQn6s_k34U/s1600/Hebrides-Isle_of_Skye.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 169px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0z5Z9QUtZ9Z031mJM-fPlSBXgg5Se9WQtptkaEIrCGj7PCNYbTdYpS1fTaQrbKM2YtFp29hQn0oARHeDz8_KtLWFSgFrK2jAECFumNtElhRZT94BQN1rnwms0taHsRsqwYKQn6s_k34U/s320/Hebrides-Isle_of_Skye.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5561836498509732738" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;">The Hebrides</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">But guess what my little babies?! I am finally going! At long, ridiculous last!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyYuqu82Ol9iX7DlOOgDoSY_2Fxqb9nX5t4c_3NA_JszicEyftvGthgJmHRCv5aFSw308w2IUMcEl23DVwdQ7gg5JaVS2tUiXbqUWhDUvz8OieThT3_RII2JSMaeWa50TDz3azbx7pRR0/s1600/dunevegan.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 274px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyYuqu82Ol9iX7DlOOgDoSY_2Fxqb9nX5t4c_3NA_JszicEyftvGthgJmHRCv5aFSw308w2IUMcEl23DVwdQ7gg5JaVS2tUiXbqUWhDUvz8OieThT3_RII2JSMaeWa50TDz3azbx7pRR0/s320/dunevegan.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5561839195909099218" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;">Dunevegan Castle, seat of the MacLeod Clan</span><br /></div></div><br /></div>This trip has kind of evolved quite a bit over the last couple of months. When Peter initially approached me with the idea of a summer getaway to Vancouver Island, I was elated. The sea! How I longed to watch the sun set on it. Birth place of Hey Ocean! and Mother Mother, and, of course, sea food. Whales. Also there were mountains. You know, the usual stuff. I was pumped.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoQdk_36jvg7RW14aPg5a4M2Ou4PIxEu9JZNaiLVEpBnXbd3vNQtGo0OmPy2KGDEX2Q7J6zuDAjbuoiCotQ2CnLmJ78z6Onuzd7nA7MQgXZoFjaQpdlZ_9y0gzBH76LO7L9m0fQkXRZCM/s1600/edinburgh.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 260px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoQdk_36jvg7RW14aPg5a4M2Ou4PIxEu9JZNaiLVEpBnXbd3vNQtGo0OmPy2KGDEX2Q7J6zuDAjbuoiCotQ2CnLmJ78z6Onuzd7nA7MQgXZoFjaQpdlZ_9y0gzBH76LO7L9m0fQkXRZCM/s320/edinburgh.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5561836493467734834" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;">Edinburgh<br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;">But after Peter's parents had come home from a jaunt in Scotland, they kind of tossed the idea of doing an England trip to him, and when he blithely asked me, "So, would that be something you'd like to do? I know you had your heart set on BC, but--" what was I to say? Always the gentleman.<br /><br />At first we were going to go with his parents and the two of us, but as the plans kept evolving, it turned into just Peter and I. Which I think is fine! We will have more chances to do family trips, I think.<br /><br />And as we started hewing out a plan, we were like, <span style="font-style: italic;">why not do Scotland too?! </span>I mean, we were already THERE. And trains! Trains get you places. Someone told me that. It would be soooo easy! SMUG SMUG SMIRK GRIN. No.<br /><br />All that travel was becoming complicated and convoluted the more the trip took on its own brain matter. <span style="font-style: italic;">Let's go to Skye as well as Edinburgh! And start and finish in London! Oh. 11 hours by train from Skye to London? Uh. Buses? How many trains is it from Edinburgh to Skye. . . ? Should we cut London? NO, we already cut York! How many days will we go, then? 2 weeks! Um. Maybe 12 days. 10 days? ...9? So that's 3 days in each place. Well roughly 2. I mean, travel days. Right, right. Um. Oh. I need to look at the calendar again. . . </span><br /><br />Trips are wonderful things, but are they ever a scream-queen super bitch to plan when it comes down to the niggling details! So as of yesterday we boiled it down to this:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">>9 days</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">>Scotland only (no qualms!)</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">>Fly into and out of Edinburgh</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">>Hang out in Inverness/Loch Ness</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">>Spend a solid part of the trip at the North West point of the Isle of Skye</span><br /><br />And as of today, all flights have been booked. The deal is cinched! Now we just need to jump on our B&B's/general accommodations. Here is where we are staying in Skye - <a href="http://www.thespoonsonskye.com/about/">The Spooooons!</a><br /><br />And with the help from some epic friends and advice from family, this is sure to be a most epic trip. I am so excited to spend time with my Darling in what I consider the seat of faereality and all things magical in this world. I also feel like being humbled to death by ancient landscapes and gratuitous amounts of scenery. With a dash of romance. As always.<br /><br />Now, off to paint and draw, and perchance write. I hear that's what I do.<br /><br />Lumiere!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1sUQm2y8QM73_E00awhs9q-KLzv-J-aNavA4fI-IN2d3O6xwy9OwVNieM2T8gKwga057W2ZrnYisVLo148qMAIZAPNV5EmoJR-XapUOqSFfOKDM5Z7g-uBpKjxHdyD2m1yE6E4nEai_U/s1600/cinderella.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 259px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1sUQm2y8QM73_E00awhs9q-KLzv-J-aNavA4fI-IN2d3O6xwy9OwVNieM2T8gKwga057W2ZrnYisVLo148qMAIZAPNV5EmoJR-XapUOqSFfOKDM5Z7g-uBpKjxHdyD2m1yE6E4nEai_U/s320/cinderella.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5561845990753253570" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size:78%;">"The question is not whether they lived happily ever after. The point, gentlemen, is that they lived."</span><br /></span></div></div></div>Samantha Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08106871524132001095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6882544181306075412.post-90696548661681191782011-01-06T19:31:00.013-06:002011-01-06T21:10:21.418-06:00There is magic, still<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTh0xeYJYduwnSYx8mdeqLFVDPd2RoNqZCcg7Di4OEFBbBZH085LI0OPx55v2q8Pxcux1Zn8yaySFQDCyQeNY41167Q-S_-FwqMmjXCs8Qu2Spzts1R6A0eVW-iZWQeBiLLy75tuG8P6I/s1600/62070_1590619255503_1536511592_31458548_3520604_n_large.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTh0xeYJYduwnSYx8mdeqLFVDPd2RoNqZCcg7Di4OEFBbBZH085LI0OPx55v2q8Pxcux1Zn8yaySFQDCyQeNY41167Q-S_-FwqMmjXCs8Qu2Spzts1R6A0eVW-iZWQeBiLLy75tuG8P6I/s320/62070_1590619255503_1536511592_31458548_3520604_n_large.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5559250588768260626" border="0" /></a>As of this moment, I am laying sprawled on the carpet of my expansive, sparsely furnitured livingroom, staring blankly into the ceiling after being berated by my parents and my uncle about my lack of employment and the uncertainty of my future.<br /><br />As if it were something that didn't already consume my thoughts DAILY.<br /><br />I've now lived completely on my own for three months. It has been a lonely life. But thankfully I have friends and ChiZine work to keep me busy, as well as an epic 2 week jaunt back to Winnipeg for probably the best holiday I have ever had, bar none. Falcon lake cabin excursions, romantic Christmas gatherings, food, friends, laughter, and family. Funny gifts, heartwarming promises, fireworks on Lake Winnipeg with ice shacks speckling the horizon. Snow wrestling. Puppies and ponies. Yes. It was good.<br /><br />And yes. It came to an end. And now I'm back home. It is so quiet here. And so lonely.<br /><br />There's the upcoming book, yes. And then there's the new project clunking along. And the constant stream of my ChiZine work, coupled with the knowledge that the man I love/adore/have devoted myself wholly to will be coming to see me post-block 2 Med exams. All this keeps me getting up and going.<br /><br />But holy God. I've only been home what, three days? How is the melancholy and hopelessness so thick already?<br /><br />Anyway.<br /><br />Let's talk get away from reality. I'm tired by it. And I do not have enough chocolate in my house to satiate myself from this steady growing crankiness.<br /><br />Fantasy. Lovely things. Let's talk about those.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAQWo6JC3voaAkt1gQ-bLzVyQtyq0N_U3o8aKbJpSVa9isYBUlKhVVZ0GriAUOaGgYxqrnvEBpPmF2O_Ygv4F8kfe5ddf2HbWI3yY9Yrvpv9dIPhmlu-MzeyXvNIi6oiywh8Cm6YQald0/s1600/tumblr_l8uve4FwFG1qarrqqo1_500_large.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 201px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAQWo6JC3voaAkt1gQ-bLzVyQtyq0N_U3o8aKbJpSVa9isYBUlKhVVZ0GriAUOaGgYxqrnvEBpPmF2O_Ygv4F8kfe5ddf2HbWI3yY9Yrvpv9dIPhmlu-MzeyXvNIi6oiywh8Cm6YQald0/s320/tumblr_l8uve4FwFG1qarrqqo1_500_large.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5559274079518592642" border="0" /></a><br />I grew into this literary world fed on a strict diet of faery tales, mythology and a reality set outside reality. From the bright worlds of <a href="http://www.worldoffroud.com/index.html">Brian Froud</a>, <a href="http://www.davidellwand.com/David_Ellwand/DAVID_ELLWAND.COM.html">David Ellwand</a>, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Christian_Andersen">Hans Christian Anderson</a>, to the elegant shadows of <a href="http://www.bromart.com/index.html">Brom</a> or <a href="http://www.neilgaiman.com/">Neil Gaiman</a>. It is these worlds my imagination was raised in. It is these in which I'd very much like to stay.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLTs7dYisXq-YUnlDeoYzuZdpxI13wmMe7w6TvxUu9yAnYdcMJuD10dIxJ0Jx6DNOcGbMzu-9whKWMTE4wnnyyo2O-5pi3jTAGGSrds2enHSXL50IBF6EhIdCujeC43TJIAt2TRAfc7IQ/s1600/magical_little_world____by_littl3fairy-d331ary_large.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLTs7dYisXq-YUnlDeoYzuZdpxI13wmMe7w6TvxUu9yAnYdcMJuD10dIxJ0Jx6DNOcGbMzu-9whKWMTE4wnnyyo2O-5pi3jTAGGSrds2enHSXL50IBF6EhIdCujeC43TJIAt2TRAfc7IQ/s320/magical_little_world____by_littl3fairy-d331ary_large.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5559257167627987778" border="0" /></a><br />Writing young adult fantasy/general fantasy. To the hundreds of authors and artists that inspire me daily, published or otherwise, I realise that to live in this world is possible, but takes time and commitment and sheer bloody willingness to delve into indelible, self manufactured worlds beyond your own. And while all that is fantastic is truly epic to experience on a day to day basis, I've learned, in recent humbling years, that reality boasts an experience that faery tales cannot compare to. Even if, in terms of my current state, reality feels crushing and impossible and just blegh, there is still so much more to it than dreaming your way out of it.<br /><br />With <span style="font-style: italic;">The Lake and the Library</span>, I hope I can somehow achieve and convey the harmony of the two. And also set the stage for whatever projects manage out of my future endeavours. Fingers crossed.<br /><br />I have so many stories to tell, and in what I'm deeming a fortunately unfortunate break between jobs, which is a stressful place to be, I'm going to try and work as hard as I can on the next book <span style="font-style: italic;">The Stars of Mount Quixx. </span>I don't think I'm going to have a huge chunk of time available to me for my leisure for a long, long time. Should probably make the most of it, if I were smart. And, at the very least, it'll keep me positive in the very tough days to come, where I'm sure you can find me calling up min wage places begging for work in order to just get by.<br /><br />Can the writing be a fulfilling way to fulfill my life? I've been told by the many writers and publishers I've encountered over the last 8ish months a resounding NO. Does it stop me from dreaming, rather fantastically, that such a thing could be real. NO. With book one actually signed up, there's that irritating glimmer of hope. But that's too far down the line to even tell.<br /><br />Grumble, mutter, sigh. Anyway. I'm grousing again.<br /><br />For a peek into my next literary whirlwind-quest into the strange, it's going to go something like this:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjuTxJSO45WpP9QuAVgvRXTVBeN8qWvkWjbMPtKu43kbqVa9RHrWu3uWijMNUS4JOtcapS43x8fhUaHXkNEOxLnoiEMrSU1BHajq1JSKxq7xRm_et4nPYFSvryB6-ZBMxNlJiIesLtDFQ/s1600/Derrekfull.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 424px; height: 283px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjuTxJSO45WpP9QuAVgvRXTVBeN8qWvkWjbMPtKu43kbqVa9RHrWu3uWijMNUS4JOtcapS43x8fhUaHXkNEOxLnoiEMrSU1BHajq1JSKxq7xRm_et4nPYFSvryB6-ZBMxNlJiIesLtDFQ/s320/Derrekfull.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5559264344539613346" border="0" /></a><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfVdaYaZcuxUuKSdRF5pVivqfxPTxzN-B7FU_eD5xYFuWnBo8qbUci4eCYSpVkCqqnlTf-_Z-HqvQ9fT87aly4-bWX72MGP-NDlkzJXhnubQjv2ycK-mjD-AExdmzOpV7tFrimm00ejTk/s1600/colours.png"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 343px; height: 249px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfVdaYaZcuxUuKSdRF5pVivqfxPTxzN-B7FU_eD5xYFuWnBo8qbUci4eCYSpVkCqqnlTf-_Z-HqvQ9fT87aly4-bWX72MGP-NDlkzJXhnubQjv2ycK-mjD-AExdmzOpV7tFrimm00ejTk/s320/colours.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5559266733905372786" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg71YAE9Z_Q7KHRSfxowF5GeN1dKIPY8W1TXD5qiuyXlD2m87rgIhhG6vJvmtLty4E-wtYk1gcqQaF-b9y1Iuvrg4JaEf_U2m7W4M8450nOGVTkI_CPQLnEwk3ZfkpLqioXzB7_3XzL3qo/s1600/colours2.png"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 215px; height: 321px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg71YAE9Z_Q7KHRSfxowF5GeN1dKIPY8W1TXD5qiuyXlD2m87rgIhhG6vJvmtLty4E-wtYk1gcqQaF-b9y1Iuvrg4JaEf_U2m7W4M8450nOGVTkI_CPQLnEwk3ZfkpLqioXzB7_3XzL3qo/s320/colours2.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5559266728356312882" border="0" /></a>Samantha Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08106871524132001095noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6882544181306075412.post-31914309460425922222010-12-15T12:08:00.003-06:002010-12-15T12:20:41.715-06:00Infiltrate<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdZSP4X-aojHNDCU1nSmuQMN0eWEez3oLzUcMEPuDyquQmnDPCWQvxeXRhwba2vlQtWdN5ZmBiDslxO2_fhC-kUTL3nm9rTDot9Rddx9tXevDgSCVILNCOvEZDX_xyrS_IBCmxzrX3dP0/s1600/b672fe9734fdea8761c34c895203990dec5a0ea5_m_large.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdZSP4X-aojHNDCU1nSmuQMN0eWEez3oLzUcMEPuDyquQmnDPCWQvxeXRhwba2vlQtWdN5ZmBiDslxO2_fhC-kUTL3nm9rTDot9Rddx9tXevDgSCVILNCOvEZDX_xyrS_IBCmxzrX3dP0/s320/b672fe9734fdea8761c34c895203990dec5a0ea5_m_large.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5550972706695228642" border="0" /></a>She had not become accustomed to the twilight cold. Not yet. Fall here infiltrates the pores and the soul, not like the clime she'd just landed from. Her bare feet hesitate at the soggy grass, and without a word, he comes to her side, bends down, and picks her up. Prince charming magnificent. This moment is the memory of a thing she dreamed of in the midst of the rage and fury and misery of a past she'd sooner forget. She is unsure whether or not she is dreaming now.<br /><br />He carries her with ease across the lawn. She is the air he breathes. He does not need anything more. Not now, anyway. When they are inside the cottage, he dips her down on the sofa like a precious thing, and sets her on top of him.<br /><br />They are quiet for some time. His fingers trace her hairline and memorize it. Her brow-bone, her little jaw.<br /><br />Yes. It is all he needs. She eases into him.<br /><br />He is all sinew, bone and strength. He holds her like she will break, there, on top of him, and for the world he would not risk that. There is so much power in that chest, a calm and wonder. He is lean, he is man, he is sure of himself. And yet he shakes.<br /><br />"Can I kiss you?"<br /><br />The question is shy, hovering through the cottage and past the heat of their bodies.<br /><br />She smiles as though she never has before. Her heart is a stirring bird, midwinter, plumage out and trilling. She winds her fingers into his dark curls.<br /><br />"Yes."<br /><br />Yes. It is enough.Samantha Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08106871524132001095noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6882544181306075412.post-17764057989889011932010-12-02T11:15:00.005-06:002010-12-02T11:33:46.056-06:00Ever onward<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpujBI7taPCU9mZImeaLikIrc4ZLM4WuvqSWWklh36sasEvP1c4J_bA0MnNswHFs6-pxMFGZvvo2Yl-HTbfYqju3LIuHbDnmbOffrqKQ0D1sRCXlqPYoh0WWVBFQyjelOf3cdu78vb_b4/s1600/IMG_4978.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpujBI7taPCU9mZImeaLikIrc4ZLM4WuvqSWWklh36sasEvP1c4J_bA0MnNswHFs6-pxMFGZvvo2Yl-HTbfYqju3LIuHbDnmbOffrqKQ0D1sRCXlqPYoh0WWVBFQyjelOf3cdu78vb_b4/s320/IMG_4978.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5546135928889787906" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">My delicious reading chair<br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size:100%;">So.<br /><br />Hello blog. Gee, I haven't touched you in so long. How have you been? How's the family?<br /><br />Listen. Things have changed. Lots of things.<br /><br />First of all, I am an intern no longer. I work for ChiZine on a pretty routine basis, on basically everything from editorial, publicity, acquisitions, design, and proof reading. I love my bosses, I love our authors, and I love our books. Still.<br /><br />Toronto has been kind to me. I graduated from my Creative Book Publishing program with Honours a couple of weeks ago. Russel Peters was our keynote speaker. Of course.<br /><br />I still see my friends on a fairly regular basis. They are all that keep me grounded in this whirlwind city.<br /><br />And as for life in general -<br /><br />Life is now a one bedroom apartment in Forest Hill at Bathurst and Eglinton. It is beautiful, it is full of light. . . but I am here by myself. Plans changed. Hearts changed. And though difficult at first, it was for the best. And time moves us ever on. It is strange for sure; I have never lived alone! But I have an antique radio to keep me company, and the comfiest bed there ever was. And I have love in all the right places. The future seems so bright.<br /><br />And that little book I mentioned I had written so very long ago?<br /><br />I just received my final contract and offer for the publication of it with ECW press. I am still in humbled shock. More to come from this fumbling author at a later date.<br /><br />Stumble, trip, fall, get back up again. I work 12 hour days and sleep little, but I am doing what I love, and working toward everything I could have hoped for, and it can't get any better than that.<br /><br />So where's my snow?<br /><br />Winnipeg on December 20 : ) Christmas here I come! 17 days.<br /></span></div></div>Samantha Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08106871524132001095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6882544181306075412.post-86173286134308591042010-07-07T14:09:00.004-05:002010-07-07T14:27:46.282-05:00Everybody's all right, everything is automatic<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRJ5HLq0D7VGQcN_pkA9wMCBopNCFXegOXDpuWB1XuqJF5v2u37eUk_Gbu7T0pIm_HkujX9AdKHXT-cdOinIF_Hby9HBvoEGCQgnmtwydYBArP7uvFukoz0rdXck75__pIOwsRRy3Wszc/s1600/chasing-dragon_small.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 207px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRJ5HLq0D7VGQcN_pkA9wMCBopNCFXegOXDpuWB1XuqJF5v2u37eUk_Gbu7T0pIm_HkujX9AdKHXT-cdOinIF_Hby9HBvoEGCQgnmtwydYBArP7uvFukoz0rdXck75__pIOwsRRy3Wszc/s320/chasing-dragon_small.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5491244305749229186" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;">Just finished this last night. F*cking. Amazing. <a href="http://www.nicholaskauffman.com/">Nicholas Kaufmann</a>, have my dragon babies. And then slay them.</span><br /></div><br />In what other job would I be able to spend my evenings sourcing crime scene photos, as well as researching sci fi/fantasy/horror/steampunk conventions? Where I get to read the most fabulous books JUST as the ARCs are coming out? Where I get to draw caricatures of convention attendees at Polaris in a few weekeneds? Only in publishing! Only with ChiZine!<br /><br />Speaking of Nicholas Kaufmann, check out this<a href="http://www.sfrevu.com/php/Review-id.php?id=10316"> review of Chasing the Dragon.</a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Other things:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:180%;" >**E-Books now available on <a href="http://chizine.com/chizinepub/">ChiZine Pub dot com</a>!** </span><br />GO GO GO!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:180%;" ><a href="http://sixquestionsfor.blogspot.com/2010/07/six-questions-for-sandra-kasturi-co.html">**Interview with Co-Publisher Sandra Kasturi**</a></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.tcon.ca/polaris/modules/tconguests/">**Polaris Sci Fi Convention in Toronto</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> - I'm going to be there drawing stuff!</span></span>**<br /></div>Party!Samantha Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08106871524132001095noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6882544181306075412.post-55954820431760348022010-06-28T09:47:00.008-05:002010-06-28T10:59:48.372-05:00And we all float on<div><div><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyQzqGC4RLmEbf0XA-mtVPuOWkpE2fGrdlU3MN964gi6DUa7AIS6nLq6xzB_jiYb9VAsRp5_uxPyoh8bdDwR8aoTzITb8T1-gucsbmFhMPfUchPHEGUIVqKLbIhC6GlkSADiyhixo7jtM/s1600/CZP_centre_logo.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 404px; display: block; height: 168px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5487836385320839682" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyQzqGC4RLmEbf0XA-mtVPuOWkpE2fGrdlU3MN964gi6DUa7AIS6nLq6xzB_jiYb9VAsRp5_uxPyoh8bdDwR8aoTzITb8T1-gucsbmFhMPfUchPHEGUIVqKLbIhC6GlkSADiyhixo7jtM/s320/CZP_centre_logo.jpg" border="0" /></a> <a href="http://www.chizinepub.com/">ChiZine Publications</a><br /><br /></div><br /><div align="left">By some fortuitous turn of events at Book Summit, and some <em>please please let me help you with your epic publishing venture,</em> I seem to have found myself an intern at ChiZine Publications, located here in Toronto.<br /></div><br /><div align="left">First of all, how excited am I? I am absolutely blown away that I am able to help out, in whatever small way, with <a href="http://brettsavory.com/">Brett Savory</a> and <a href="http://sandrakasturi.com/">Sandra Kasturi's </a>shot AT the dark...Dark fiction, that is. Dealing with principally horror and all things of the surreal, coupled with Sci Fi and Fantasy, these two have made for themselves a really tight catalogue filled with amazing, unique stories that I didn't expect. Although their magazine which originated the name was founded in 1997, the actual publisher has been putting out tremendous works of literary art for two years and going strong.<br /></div><br /><div align="left"><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0NLqM_dASrR8B4cCY35MECaxEWvrerd15uaZ_L3R8TBHuLPp_PefVS27vbSElqZCdLj3qzL4gJRJz4D6ABvqjKFSdvVTRyvokIAwAGxGwP8CaSGs8_oMY-l3w0dt-AUXrzPiF3FyXMk0/s1600/thief-of-toys_small.jpg"><img style="width: 161px; height: 235px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5487838954792865586" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0NLqM_dASrR8B4cCY35MECaxEWvrerd15uaZ_L3R8TBHuLPp_PefVS27vbSElqZCdLj3qzL4gJRJz4D6ABvqjKFSdvVTRyvokIAwAGxGwP8CaSGs8_oMY-l3w0dt-AUXrzPiF3FyXMk0/s320/thief-of-toys_small.jpg" border="0" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-3WsxHD3N9GYmcG4mGe_E6vv1YQ3wkSShf8V1FQutmKiVbsrGFxbi6TPgCHXg7DoU3mpyCISDjKXXOY7XrZcqBTitmlG9qLckjVzBGhJcGeQCCrvyL8P5yoIyrPhldkM4Anb03_RcDKk/s1600/sarah-court_small.jpg"><img style="width: 166px; height: 237px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5487838953985417218" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-3WsxHD3N9GYmcG4mGe_E6vv1YQ3wkSShf8V1FQutmKiVbsrGFxbi6TPgCHXg7DoU3mpyCISDjKXXOY7XrZcqBTitmlG9qLckjVzBGhJcGeQCCrvyL8P5yoIyrPhldkM4Anb03_RcDKk/s320/sarah-court_small.jpg" border="0" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUp1uNllpvR3pJ2L3IOjqjgynQPl_xrL0NgkfK4qzUihj-nHWanEzx6usWynPbxfYjvgpoDCSTtYr3vSpIawaKxjkiSqCL4jTYpIRtiZD3_Fs7Woi2C3UOk7f1lsOb5UQFwL_Knj6-KXc/s1600/cashtown_small.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 153px; height: 237px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUp1uNllpvR3pJ2L3IOjqjgynQPl_xrL0NgkfK4qzUihj-nHWanEzx6usWynPbxfYjvgpoDCSTtYr3vSpIawaKxjkiSqCL4jTYpIRtiZD3_Fs7Woi2C3UOk7f1lsOb5UQFwL_Knj6-KXc/s320/cashtown_small.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5487839790760604098" border="0" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAZHhOsV09xAvSRuGUe2woeMctEzUh1HDFNvY37cWsRab3W93ziI7HR-YklFx6h-iG8I-Z3-ukcVivRoHzt0bu8zQ7beaLy7FEGFolxFFVPRBzsShoksemlq6I8HtlkUF59GonE0CRIyg/s1600/hair-wreath_small.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 128px; height: 198px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAZHhOsV09xAvSRuGUe2woeMctEzUh1HDFNvY37cWsRab3W93ziI7HR-YklFx6h-iG8I-Z3-ukcVivRoHzt0bu8zQ7beaLy7FEGFolxFFVPRBzsShoksemlq6I8HtlkUF59GonE0CRIyg/s320/hair-wreath_small.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5487850353976279506" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Check out their <a href="http://chizine.com/chizinepub/books/index.php">catalogue </a>for yourself. Throw down the fliff for these amazing books and keep your eyes peeled - distributing in both Canada and the US, as well as the UK, ChiZine is going to explode in very little time at all. There are also going to be a variety of events/contests going on, so don't forget to check their site, or my blog often for that kind of info! I am so pumped.<br /><br />Limited edition, author signed hardcover copies of <a href="http://www.horror-mall.com/THE-HAIR-WREATH-AND-OTHER-STORIES-by-Halli-Villegas-Limited-Edition-p-20747.html">Hair Wreath</a> and <a href="http://www.horror-mall.com/SARAH-COURT-by-Craig-Davidson-Limited-Edition-p-20746.html">Sarah Court</a> are still available for pre-order from HORRORMALL. Get yours while you can!<br /><br />Lumiere~<br /></div></div><br /><br /></div><br /><div></div></div></div>Samantha Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08106871524132001095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6882544181306075412.post-3554698974712688722010-06-18T19:06:00.010-05:002010-06-18T20:36:18.740-05:00All the remains of our cadver of days, I keep hidden away<div style="text-align: center;"><object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/kjt4vhSqtFQ&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/kjt4vhSqtFQ&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">Yes...Watch it and be amazed. I need to see this hell come high water.</span><br /><a href="http://www.scottpilgrim.com/"><br />Scott Pilgrim Official Site</a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">So I have been neglecting my promise to deliver some fantastic graphic novels/webcomics every Friday! For shame. I will get back into the swing, I promise...AHH more promises! For now, here are a few amazing webcomics being published in print by 4th Dimension Entertainment soon that you really need to take a look at or else perish!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Comic Goodness For All Involved</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">#1</span><br /><br /><a href="http://hanna.aftertorque.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Hanna Is Not A Boy's Name! by Tessa Stone</span></a><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">Image copyright Tessa Stone 2010</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirtdmi_5FSTmdyAtBoWSDBbJ11uUkghyEcnoZYVSiU8kOF0IoqJMJZE-sS51Zxg31ep-giR5-rV_r9Sy0CHb4G5tF7bYP3Ox8awMGmaAxT5LVCmWlaYOP-HgA_CCXmRHb7MR9nXyQhW8E/s1600/conrad_dammit.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 222px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirtdmi_5FSTmdyAtBoWSDBbJ11uUkghyEcnoZYVSiU8kOF0IoqJMJZE-sS51Zxg31ep-giR5-rV_r9Sy0CHb4G5tF7bYP3Ox8awMGmaAxT5LVCmWlaYOP-HgA_CCXmRHb7MR9nXyQhW8E/s320/conrad_dammit.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5484279706553142962" border="0" /></a>I cannot exalt this webcomic enough. I've been following Tessa's work for several years now via her account on <a href="http://vert-is-ninja.deviantart.com/">Deviantart</a>, and since her days of comicking it up with her equally talented sister <a href="http://sixhoursstarlight.blogspot.com/">Sara Stone</a>, I couldn't get enough. Luckily for me and everyone else out on the internet who loves zombies/vampires/cute paranormal investigators with glasses/ghosts and everything in between, Tessa came along with a thunder-force of a comic that I check compulsively for updates every single day. I can't wait to get my hands on the printed copy of both volumes, which you can get! SO GET ON IT!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:130%;">#2</span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.meekcomic.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Meek by Der-Shing Helmer</span></a><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">image copyright Der-Shing Helmer 2010</span><br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGqFeyjnDs8w7dtm-hTgeX9Pd-NxUDJ6C6Pz-9N5nfmJfkEOTF_lNpiKJ3a2hYUZtyxMg7-jyoqWXafXvH-6b6jIYsG_F0mxUpomOkS6HJLMU_T2G_P0pBkRaa3Y3jwKpKRxtOiHDnQyI/s1600/Meek.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 192px; height: 286px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGqFeyjnDs8w7dtm-hTgeX9Pd-NxUDJ6C6Pz-9N5nfmJfkEOTF_lNpiKJ3a2hYUZtyxMg7-jyoqWXafXvH-6b6jIYsG_F0mxUpomOkS6HJLMU_T2G_P0pBkRaa3Y3jwKpKRxtOiHDnQyI/s320/Meek.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5484281777770659234" border="0" /></a>Another fantastic work with some of the most amazing, spellbinding art out there right now on the webcomic scene. Helmer's epic set in it's own fantastical world, whose tone is all at once humourous and riddled with such political/emotional drama that I have teared up more than once. Also on <a href="http://alexds1.deviantart.com/">Deviant Art</a>, Helmer's extensive artistic portfolio is chock full of the passion and craziness that I crave on a daily basis. You can also pre-order Chapter 1 of The Meek <a href="http://4de.com/product_details.php?pid=43">RIGHT NOW</a> for an extremely reasonable price! Do it now before you regret it forever and can no longer sleep at night!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />#3<br /></div><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.lackadaisycats.com/">Lackadaisy Cats by Tracy J. Butler</a><br /></span><span style="font-size:78%;">image copyright Tracy J. Butler 2009</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWwkfX5hVgvnqDfGIJkGAnq35kBhkVJvDBmehPF8iI46xcpDdhM2IS45KauV4Ww4VZ352kJSjb4uCC47BqErwqVLOa8DM0ojR_wC96kPR77spn5TJwBZQTsW_phT3P17pw7AyBGKB3aO4/s1600/lackadaisy_cover.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 290px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWwkfX5hVgvnqDfGIJkGAnq35kBhkVJvDBmehPF8iI46xcpDdhM2IS45KauV4Ww4VZ352kJSjb4uCC47BqErwqVLOa8DM0ojR_wC96kPR77spn5TJwBZQTsW_phT3P17pw7AyBGKB3aO4/s320/lackadaisy_cover.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5484284385713347522" border="0" /></a><br />Yes, I know. Cats. Brilliantly rendered, 1920s, prohibition-alcohol-swilling-gun-toting-anarchy-instigating cats. Breathe it in. This art deco masterpiece of a comic work is surprising (read: super F*cking innovative) in its design and masterfully written. The expressions, the cadence of language, the depth of the characters...everything about this comic is a feast for the senses. I implore you to jump on it and inhale it. Also being published by 4th Dimension comics, you can read more about it and the other comics above <a href="http://4de.com/graphic_novels.php">HERE</a>!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">#4<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><a href="http://www.abominable.cc/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Abominable Charles Christopher</span></a> by Karl Kerschl<br /><span style="font-size:78%;">image copyright Karl Kerschl</span>, <span style="font-size:78%;">which you can purchase <a href="http://www.store.txcomics.com/shop-2/god-complex-giclee-print/">HERE</a></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKRussm6So-jWGUEK74KEpzjtqx48k5L_3u9hV9XnRSRB-FRr1UjxYvMBe4iiFk2V9gGd1XZxAoxBRVW2ssHEc2vZD8m59jC7WiFG-4VIvbFxud-EF_bG8enlkcidsbk37VeoVO8uMH64/s1600/god-complex-print-small.png"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 165px; height: 253px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKRussm6So-jWGUEK74KEpzjtqx48k5L_3u9hV9XnRSRB-FRr1UjxYvMBe4iiFk2V9gGd1XZxAoxBRVW2ssHEc2vZD8m59jC7WiFG-4VIvbFxud-EF_bG8enlkcidsbk37VeoVO8uMH64/s320/god-complex-print-small.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5484286706830578610" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: left;">So beautiful and a heart wrenching, a tale of intelligent forest creatures and their spellbinding connection to the woods around them, the distant city, and the humans who cross the border between. At times haunting and always a treat, the misadventures of the silent Charles Christopher are interspersed with the oftimes wry commentary of the creatures who live in his world. The first edition of this majestic series premiered at TCAF, and though I didn't have enough money left over by the time I got to the fatally brilliant <a href="http://www.txcomics.com/">TX Comics</a> section, it is still available in the beautiful green felt covered edition at <a href="http://www.txcomics.com/">The Beguiling</a> in downtown Toronto! Get it!<br /></div></div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">#5<br /><br /><a href="http://www.sintitulocomic.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sin Titulo by Cameron Stewart</span></a><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">image is the first page of Sin Titulo, copyright Cameron Stewart 2007<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3FuYohrkB0FXvI4k1_RILgD4eYQfLQbgm-rkVd9ICvw-l7PpMAtreO_Kc-ACGu4swjNXYH4opNNL0nNAczKk_HkqFkldT0nYh-2_XWtmUx24m-b9NeqhXxI5Wvu35HNzNV2EXSCRk_WY/s1600/SinTit.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 279px; height: 202px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3FuYohrkB0FXvI4k1_RILgD4eYQfLQbgm-rkVd9ICvw-l7PpMAtreO_Kc-ACGu4swjNXYH4opNNL0nNAczKk_HkqFkldT0nYh-2_XWtmUx24m-b9NeqhXxI5Wvu35HNzNV2EXSCRk_WY/s200/SinTit.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5484288640547121970" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: left;">I was hooked from the first page. I couldn't stop reading, and knowing that the extremely dark, riveting storyline has been halted for the last month (understandably so, as Stewart is doing an extensive con tour right now) has my mind racing and hart palpating. I want more, more, more! It has been nominated and won many awards, and for good reason. Start today, you won't be disappointed. Stewart's story is like sleepwalking through your own nightmare and mistaking it for reality. I am so glad I was introduced to this comic last week! And you will be too, dammit!<br /><br />Well, that is all I have for this Friday! I will have more 'readily available' comics by next week...or I may just go back into webcomic mode, who knows. I am a pretty voracious consumer of webcomics right now, and because they are readily available to you as well as me, I love sharing them!<br /><br />What are your favourites? Don't be shy internet! Come on!<br /><br />Lumiere~<br /></div><br /></div><br /></div></div></div></div></div></div>Samantha Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08106871524132001095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6882544181306075412.post-89678706076673163032010-06-17T18:02:00.005-05:002010-06-17T18:41:59.641-05:00we'll cause some havoc amongst the birds and the bees<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbwLtEe5XQWJNrcpn484B6YMuWgfDD2KyTJN-GKvYWbn43w_qf36NSRzENC3sdHjFsyuIKFEeZNsOkXztR75SeVx6soRyJbkOxyMJfVHs_HA1DqmrhfkLTD5NWDZPy_vLxwQjA3rL8xfQ/s1600/4476063864_15cc1ca5a9_o_large.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 210px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbwLtEe5XQWJNrcpn484B6YMuWgfDD2KyTJN-GKvYWbn43w_qf36NSRzENC3sdHjFsyuIKFEeZNsOkXztR75SeVx6soRyJbkOxyMJfVHs_HA1DqmrhfkLTD5NWDZPy_vLxwQjA3rL8xfQ/s320/4476063864_15cc1ca5a9_o_large.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5483883042816905890" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Some things you really need to check out:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.lettersofnote.com/2010/06/how-to-train-animator-by-walt-disney.html">Letters of Note: From the Desk of Walt Disney on Animation</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.holartbooks.com/">Hol Art Books & the Team Publishing Model</a><br /><br />&<br /><br /><a href="http://gustwintig.com/">The Clock Without A Face - A Quest!</a><br /><br />----<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo1x6slmhlWZMDAqrlVMGjvx9esjL1FeIKJzpWDW8tkFyS7jqLJDNcgR2dBTA_81Ywd6JFRx8fLNNGJ4YyBUWNHGmgNktAg8fun7yqPF8qjeG9JcL5psO-pQC6cQ4I2TZIlHvoiTebEsQ/s1600/img57m.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 287px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo1x6slmhlWZMDAqrlVMGjvx9esjL1FeIKJzpWDW8tkFyS7jqLJDNcgR2dBTA_81Ywd6JFRx8fLNNGJ4YyBUWNHGmgNktAg8fun7yqPF8qjeG9JcL5psO-pQC6cQ4I2TZIlHvoiTebEsQ/s320/img57m.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5483885147614688818" border="0" /></a><br />Oh Thursday. Also known as fake Friday. You wake up, knowing there are assignments due in somebody else's bed (don't worry, Claire knew I'd be there), stumble out and comb your hair, willing to throw yourself into the 9-5 reigns, and then POOF. You realize it is not Friday, and there is still a whole 'nutha day until the precious weekend of freedom and laughter! Oh well. If we've made it this far, we warrant a reward of Corn Squares swimming in rice milk and sugar covered strawberries.<br /><br />Tuesday was a much more honorable day for once. It spoke for itself and carried me away into peace. A big yellow school bus stirred up my field trip nostalgia and whisked us away to Newmarket, Ontario for a day of learnins. I went to visit two printing presses: <a href="http://www.webcomlink.com/">Webcom </a>and <a href="http://www.pearsoncanada.ca/">Pearson</a>. So amazing. I don't know if it's my dad's love for mechanics and machines that got me jonesin' at the sight of the place, or maybe just the ability to see that tightly wound press creating one of my most favourite things in the world...but I was floored. I wouldn't mind getting an internship at Webcom either, aside from the fact that it is SO far away! <br /><br />After those two whirlwind tours, a girl from the program, Megan, invited us all back to her place for a BBQ in Stoval. Since it was close to Aurora, Stephanie, who was driving, invited whoever wanted to squeeze into her car to visit her stable before embarking on BBQ'd goodness. That, too, stirred up some nostalgia in my heart. I got to hang around in the musky barn, the packed stalls, and the wide open hay strewn fields with beautiful horses and killer friends. Steph's horse, Quinn, is gigantic. In my 4 years of riding I never saw a bigger horse. And I am small by comparison! Dayum! <br /><br />Then it was off to Megan's. I'd have to say that the best part of this venture was that we were out of the city and into the rolling, forest dappled country. Manitoba and Ontario are not that different! Such a lovely pocket of warm, of sun filtered ecstasy. And we hadn't even arrived at her house yet. It was a beautiful little cottage-home on it's own small lake, complete with dock, row boat, three extremely cuddly dogs, a fat cat, birds, a thousand books, a chicken coop, and a mini forest-eden in the backyard. I cannot explain how much I now covet this house, and how much I have longed for/dreamed of living in a place like it. It is purest peace. I am so glad that I decided last minute to come. We wandered around the woods, eating wild strawberries, laughing and loving under the buttery sun. Everything. Worth it.<br /><br />Tomorrow there is a more Torontonian day planned - a very posh Book Summit event attended by literary professionals chatting up all things books and anything in between...At the Harbourfront no less, followed by a dinner held by the French Consulate. I am a very lucky lady indeed to have all this epic city goodness flowing around me! Now to feed myself after a long day, toss my hair in rollers and hope for the best ;)<br /><br />Lumiere~<br /></div></div>Samantha Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08106871524132001095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6882544181306075412.post-16393897219768314152010-05-18T19:21:00.003-05:002010-05-18T20:15:39.275-05:00Bookstore of the Future<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpAEUDZrVRKIuzMaIlpYPBBkEivarNmky1pBHCKRYIre6edPrd-GQj7fqn3g5km3bHid4yi9ZvWvyQgqly2kRCIlvXA0fcoXf33P75Ev6ojZfkaQrcuD4uql_gX0p4SdAsG1MS7qn6SMc/s1600/bookstore.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 216px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpAEUDZrVRKIuzMaIlpYPBBkEivarNmky1pBHCKRYIre6edPrd-GQj7fqn3g5km3bHid4yi9ZvWvyQgqly2kRCIlvXA0fcoXf33P75Ev6ojZfkaQrcuD4uql_gX0p4SdAsG1MS7qn6SMc/s320/bookstore.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472771332916714850" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;">Mmm, my ideal home library</span><br /><br /></div>Now, I know the title may sound a little Jetsony or Matrixy, but hear me out on this: what will the bookstore of the future look like in this quickly changing book model? Will physical books be there at all, or will we be browsing book covers like we browse empty DVD containers? Will there be a bar type area where you bring your eReader and purchase digital books to upload them on the spot? Will there be a huge influx of small boutique bookstores tailored to fit niche genres, or on an even smaller scale - in kiosk form? Will the book Megastore ala the Chain evolve into having giant screens showing book trailers, eBook selections, and so much more? Will there be a loss in the sense of community that can only be found at your local bookstore, or will it become the focus? Will the only physical books we hold be the result of<a href="http://www.victoriabindery.com/"> Print on Demand</a> Espresso machines, available on a wide scale and replacing big printers as we know it?<br /><br />Who knows. The point is simply that we don't know. The point is that the world of books is going through such an evolution that all we can do as readers, publishers, and even writers, is change with it. We need to clearly see it all for its limitations as well as its benefits, and work together to make it all harmonize. It is going to suck for the first while. Everyone is feeling out the new model, the new platform, the new production...everything is new. This is a time to create and to innovate like we haven't since Guttenburg created the cultural artifact of the book as we know it.<br /><br />All of this was the topic of the <a href="http://www.openbooktoronto.com/events/bookstore_future_idea_exchange">Bookstore of the Future </a>panel discussion this evening at the Arts and Letters club off of Dundas. The panel was moderated by Steven Beattie, editor of the Quill and Quire, and the debate launched in many different directions by Dan Aronchick, Mark Lefebvre, Sarah Sheard and Becky Toyne. Ideas flew, sparks ignited, books were just as exciting as they always were and more! Though the panel was only an hour and a half and there wasn't enough time for what could have been another awesome organic discussion, it was good. There was a lot of reiteration of the stuff I've heard from lectures, Book Camp, and other events, but the format was pretty refreshing. <br /><br />Sarah Sheard, providing the point of view of the novelist discussed how we really need to move with optimism towards eBooks from Tree Books, and noted that the benefit of the author without the 'middle man' would be a substantial increase from the usual 15% royalty. She also touched on the importance of closing the gap between readers and writers, and embracing an elegant process of creation that would come out of this. <br /><br />However, I kind of personally took fault with her distaste for the publishing aspect of getting books out. The publisher, in the scheme of things, is constantly sandwiched in the middle of this kind of situation. Yes, the price of books is an inherent reflection of costs of production, marketing, publicity and printing - all important aspects to getting the book to the reader. On the other side, what must be understood is that publishing is the only industry still operating on a consignment basis - when books do not get sold, they get shipped back to the publisher on a credit, further shaving down the already small 3.5% profit margin that the publisher makes. Sheard proposed that with the permanent implementation of eBooks, the writer would get more of that cut and the publisher wouldn't be able to use the book as a cash-cow profit maker. Yes there are successful grassroots campaigns for authors trying to get their own work out without the 'middle man', but I think it is groundless to suggest that publishers are in it for the money. Really. WHAT money?! The publisher takes a risk on a work that may or may not succeed simply because they believe in it. They pay authors advances that they may never pay out with their royalty agreements. If those books don't sell, they are pulped - the hardest thing for a publisher to even comprehend after all the work that has gone into making that book from start to finish.<br /><br />Personally, I am not trying to get into this business for the money. I don't think anyone really is there now, or going into it, for that reason. We all love books to death. We want to put out new voices, new work, and innovating webs of words. We want to build relationships with Canadian authors and idea makers. We want to continue to cultivate the rich culture of reading that is inherent and unique to the Canadian market. <br /><br />I have to say that out of all the panelists, Mark Lefebvre was the most passionate, willing to do ANYTHING to satisfy those he sold books to, and calling the day that bookstores can fill any reader's unique need his 'personal wet dream'. Be it for the audio, digital, or print version of the book, he would love to be the one to put it in the hands of that unique reader. His optimism is really brilliant, and very Literary Eden-esque, and I really fed off his energy for his career. That is something I would definitely love to emulate in my future for sure. <br /><br />Plus, he has a Print on Demand machine, and he brought in some books that were 'hot off the presses'. I got a copy of Chaucer's Prose! The production values may not be the best, the paperstock a little iffy and the print edgy in some places, but for something printed in 10 minutes, it is an amazing little thing! I can totally see the day coming when books will be able to be customized by paper, cover, and so on in a really short period of time! Really awesome<br /><br />All in all a really neat evening. I wish I had the energy to go to <a href="http://www.chbooks.com/events/may-18-stroll-book-launch-lula-lounge-2010-05-18">Stroll Book Launch</a> featuring Shawn Micallef's new book: Psychogeographic Walking Tours of Toronto. If you're on Dundas West, you really should drop in at the Lula lounge to check it out! <br /><br />All right bookies, I am le tired. Time to hunker down and start reading Fox by Margaret Sweatman like I've been intending to!<br /><br />Lumiere!Samantha Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08106871524132001095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6882544181306075412.post-38889913401975691822010-05-16T09:07:00.009-05:002010-05-16T09:44:51.893-05:00Give my hands something to hold<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJX2mvMSwCTyJgFL216orYouuzdGwxrcpiJw12QxxTPs7l0kiVqnNTf4KBLvu2YYNtWSc7ltWfQHt6TTuhJyYqiyI7SMnMvEtZYLhJC4txsmL-KSZENEF4a0x2eBd73K_mW_tDX9NROD0/s1600/a96673_a444_Typer2.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJX2mvMSwCTyJgFL216orYouuzdGwxrcpiJw12QxxTPs7l0kiVqnNTf4KBLvu2YYNtWSc7ltWfQHt6TTuhJyYqiyI7SMnMvEtZYLhJC4txsmL-KSZENEF4a0x2eBd73K_mW_tDX9NROD0/s320/a96673_a444_Typer2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5471874750367746946" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:180%;">The Crafty World of Books</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Wherein the sparrow picks up shiny things for show and tell</span></span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Yesterday, I briefly attended the Toronto Book Camp, a series of conferences that went on from 9-5, dealing a lot with emerging technology with books, and using an open floor discussion type format. Ideas, fears, and excitement were passed around like sweet sweet currency, and with the advent of the eBook/eReader, the conference had all three things in abundance.<br /><br />Personally, I am kind of excited about the eReader. I know that, considering I want to get into the book industry - and, most ironically, the production side of it - that supporting a type of media that is 'doomed to destroy the book' seems not the smartest. On the contrary. The final presentation I went<br />to was called Unleashing Your Inner Reader, and was about how we read and who is reading what. All very intriguing. After only being at the conference for 3 hours, the emerging trend was everyone's total hatred and purist view about eBooks, and the majority voice in this room was no exception.<br /><br />Believe me, I used to hate them too. I was vehemently infuriated by them. For someone who has a gigantic library, I was outraged at the idea that my entire collection would be an obsolete artifact within ten years - maybe even 5. I loathed the notion of losing the tangibility of my reading experience. I was also not impressed with the pricing war going on as soon as the Kindle came out, knowing that book prices are already compressed enough and publishers are having a hard enough time making ends meat as it is. Typography/photo heavy books would never be able to translate the same either. The medium is way too new to even consider investing in it now, and there are so many typeface fuck ups with the ePub format that the product seems more unappealing the longer I talk.<br /><br />And so on, and so on.<br /><br />But here is the flip side: the presenter of the Unleash Your Inner Reader, Marichka Melnyk of CBC Radio, started off by showing us the things she puts in her purse for the long commute to work - Phone, iPod, magazine, book, and finally eReader. This encompasses my point of view entirely; there will always be a desire for that tangibility of the book, of the magazine, of having things on hand in print simply because it is our preference. A book or magazine's battery never runs out - ...because there ISN'T one - and the interface is so easy to understand: words on pages! Yay! However, the eReader was still present. What if there are 5 books you are reading at one time, and you really, REALLY don't want to carry them around with you all day? This is where the eReader comes in. And though yes I am not an iPad fan, imagine what can be done to create the Enhanced Book with that kind of emerging technology.<br /><br />My point is this: the two are totally different things. I think everyone's reaction is that the eBook is trying to replace the Real Book. I think they are completely separate products that fill different needs (tangibility vs. portability), and the point is that you can choose to have one or the other, or both. I am a book nerd, book collector, book fanatic, book-a-holic. If anything, this entire shift is extremely fascinating, especially hearing all of the varying opinions from people in the industry. What everyone also has to understand is that the eBook is here. It isn't going anywhere. We are all going to have to be flexible and see it for its possibilities, because crying about how you want to hold a book and flip pages isn't going to make it go away. The medium is not the message - but it can take the message further than we thought possible. Human beings began their writing experience on tablets anyway. Now it's all come full circle, oddly enough.<br /><br />Now that I've expressed that, here's a totally different perspective/topic: the curious crafty things people are doing in the book/writing world which will never be emulated electronically ever, because human beings are epic like that. Enjoy!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigUo8M-cJ-Zff-p8BQNrL7ysU-TQNeyS40y9SiYDMTHrWqhIKdlMNt66PODMaqxxCclZ_xbNaoFA7irnJeDV4tOlUf9Zqn8dcvR9JeSjOMpL6UoZSWwoTfkfnYbqTlc499I4yh2Z3bsjM/s1600/a96673_a444_Typer52.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 202px; height: 164px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigUo8M-cJ-Zff-p8BQNrL7ysU-TQNeyS40y9SiYDMTHrWqhIKdlMNt66PODMaqxxCclZ_xbNaoFA7irnJeDV4tOlUf9Zqn8dcvR9JeSjOMpL6UoZSWwoTfkfnYbqTlc499I4yh2Z3bsjM/s320/a96673_a444_Typer52.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5471875073558789186" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://oddee.com/item_96673.aspx"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Ten Amazing Sculptures Made Out of Type Writers</span></span></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNyQwBhetct3oFokF-MSU-K6zEdlZd9ox5qQSgTjhZXmg9O44zDWSxwwJTvjL6osSjdFbgnksLC97vFBSL1N5qUlwrIqxEamp6nV2u50RYHaKi8REd4DKp5FpnZsn2XOxp0SzFXCPqxZw/s1600/type.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 157px; height: 201px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNyQwBhetct3oFokF-MSU-K6zEdlZd9ox5qQSgTjhZXmg9O44zDWSxwwJTvjL6osSjdFbgnksLC97vFBSL1N5qUlwrIqxEamp6nV2u50RYHaKi8REd4DKp5FpnZsn2XOxp0SzFXCPqxZw/s320/type.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5471876372586808626" border="0" /></a> <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.hyperactivitypography.com/preview/index.html">Hyperactivity Typography!</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> (though digital, I want this in a printed edition)</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglENaHBBAKI9RNm0qwZDMOvr4W9k5XajeiQElnopdLfQbkai0yKQbY67N4YjZWM958fGn16kWBbiwsatN_N3yQ__cGVnKhbFPosgWuz9Wtw18emEtJyz9l2NU3K2VVaLIKkGl1f0IT4QY/s1600/tumblr_l2fywzgIU91qb383go1_500.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 258px; height: 152px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglENaHBBAKI9RNm0qwZDMOvr4W9k5XajeiQElnopdLfQbkai0yKQbY67N4YjZWM958fGn16kWBbiwsatN_N3yQ__cGVnKhbFPosgWuz9Wtw18emEtJyz9l2NU3K2VVaLIKkGl1f0IT4QY/s320/tumblr_l2fywzgIU91qb383go1_500.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5471877158034680674" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.blogger.com/www.goodnightlittlespoon.com">The epic and fabulous post office art of Bianca Jagoe at Goodnight Little Spoon!</a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Is this not enough to quench your tangibility thirst? You actually <span style="font-style: italic;">want </span>something in your hands that is a superbly crafted harmony of production values and fine words?<br /><br />Then you should DEFINITELY attend the <a href="http://www.torontosmallpressbookfair.org/"><span style="font-size:180%;">Toronto Small Press Book Fair</span></a> on June 15th! Be there and show your love for the care still taken with books in this face paced digital age!<br /><br />Lumiere!<br /></div></div>Samantha Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08106871524132001095noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6882544181306075412.post-47974729169783550072010-05-14T19:22:00.000-05:002010-05-14T19:25:51.559-05:00Run and get me some of them big sunglasses!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAxC1KZ04iR0OXcyTYfs3SZTs96diSXgfB-dbcFSPk8V9fhlZzSnvh1wGNLmjqjaGQCh_y7m8dFmfFhaxx0le8SbbOVOWR5jTzhbSEaYEjFqz1i8yahsto-4NjVs4AKVDjN0M7FNs6E-c/s1600/BeYou.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 275px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAxC1KZ04iR0OXcyTYfs3SZTs96diSXgfB-dbcFSPk8V9fhlZzSnvh1wGNLmjqjaGQCh_y7m8dFmfFhaxx0le8SbbOVOWR5jTzhbSEaYEjFqz1i8yahsto-4NjVs4AKVDjN0M7FNs6E-c/s320/BeYou.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5471272082103705410" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:180%;">Freakin' Comics Friday!<br /><span style="font-size:100%;">Wherein the Sparrow Makes a Nest with Ideas<br /><br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjARw15g9ai5nBVZV8K-3Ty9AMsbt9Bdh2fIGd_G3jlAGj7s2XSqAoGu_aZBAZ_OYAGxhmPUk0MduJsbk_ohEYCpD0oMdq-3FPNRwX5Ailcmhj3D25GfOWNWe4Uj4a8slU8_seTz5DZiZQ/s1600/comicpage1_large.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjARw15g9ai5nBVZV8K-3Ty9AMsbt9Bdh2fIGd_G3jlAGj7s2XSqAoGu_aZBAZ_OYAGxhmPUk0MduJsbk_ohEYCpD0oMdq-3FPNRwX5Ailcmhj3D25GfOWNWe4Uj4a8slU8_seTz5DZiZQ/s320/comicpage1_large.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5471272867082126962" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:78%;">From the amazing <a href="http://itspaulgriffiths.com/">Paul Griffiths!</a></span><br /></span><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size:100%;">I'm kind of taking a shaky cue from a bunch of bloggers I admire, and am trying to uphold some kind of weekly traditions in order to keep me on track with updating! Today will be me testing the waters a bit with a medium I have become freshly re-inspired by (see my last entry): comic art/graphic novels.<br /><br />I'd like to devote the end of my week to some cool comics - either coming out, just released, or old favourites. I'll probably also include stuff I'm reading, or even artists that I adore, in addition to things I am ogling at and saving my pennies for! I'm going to restrict my list to 4 for now, but we'll see where it takes me. I hope that, when someone eventually reads my never ending rantables, these Fridays will encourage people to delve into a really epic medium</span> that has been close to my heart since I first started collecting comics. I still have all my original Sailor Moons and Dragonball Z's!<br /><br />I think to some extent, we all start out being passionate about art media with comics, whether it is instilled with your usual syndicated newspaper weeklies or the stuff your older brother keeps laying around. You know, the usual Batman, Spiderman, even those wonky Simpsons comics they were putting out for a while! All of these took visual storytelling to a completely different level - one people imagined would go the way of the dodo with cinema and animation. On the contrary - the medium has survived and thrived like a bromeliad on the rainforest floor. For that I am happier than I could have believed.<br /><br />After having a really hard couple of years holding up a semi-full time job in conjunction with school, I lost the time and the energy to pursue the things I was passionate about. I didn't read as much as I could, I didn't produce as much art as I was inspired to do. My writing took the back burner in the wake of term papers and exams as it has for the last three years. All of my creative seemed to fold up and tuck itself into some dark cranny for safe keeping. After arriving here, that little prism of ideas seems to have shaken itself awake. I am constantly distracted with a sudden influx of new thoughts and ideas. I am consumed with this need to create, my hands quaking without a pencil in them. I went out and picked up some pencils/pens so I could just throw some stuff into my dusty sketchbook. I am inspired to write new material, and especially to draw again. I have become rusty, let me tell you! But I think the excitement will carry me through.<br /><br />Anyway - comics. Like I said, I picked up quite a few, and it got me to thinking - how awesome would it be to work in production, design, editorial, or even marketing for the Canadian graphic novel scene? There aren't very many here, but our home talent has so much promise. Kate Beaton, Hope Larson, Chester Brown - it goes on. To be able to work with and give a hand up to many artists and writers out there with yet-to-be-heard voices gives me goosebumps the likes of which I have not yet experienced. So for every Friday, I just want to get down with some comics and see how the scene is doing as fresh material rolls off of the godly presses I imagine these tomes are printed with!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center; font-weight: bold;font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:180%;">This week's Fab Four Alert<br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: normal;font-family:georgia;" >#4</span></span></span><br /></div><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: normal;font-family:georgia;" ><br /></span></span></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: normal;font-family:georgia;" ><span style="font-style: italic;">Therefore Repent!</span></span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: normal;font-family:georgia;" >by Jim Munroe (Salgood Sam)</span></span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: normal;font-family:georgia;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">Status</span>: read</span></span></span><br /></div><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: normal;font-family:georgia;" ><br /></span></span></span><div style="text-align: left;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5lnYOqnerMjeYhrni_OE3xOwzXU5aE-qmPlJSCZsRElall3dtkCvsaTnOHtKjgOaXu_9xwpxDGfCznNLZZlNOxClbmFPmALU_X5HY8R8xkdE9-lx4c16TOrqvVw2buNbFG1_gR5O89hI/s1600/thereforerepent-web1.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5lnYOqnerMjeYhrni_OE3xOwzXU5aE-qmPlJSCZsRElall3dtkCvsaTnOHtKjgOaXu_9xwpxDGfCznNLZZlNOxClbmFPmALU_X5HY8R8xkdE9-lx4c16TOrqvVw2buNbFG1_gR5O89hI/s320/thereforerepent-web1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5471273848133004402" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: normal;">Not only was this a really well produced piece of artwork, the story was gripping, edgy and tough without taking itself too seriously. The story follows the world post-rapture, after over a hundred thousand 'believers' ascend to heaven, and the world continues as normal - except the people left behind find themselves able to perform magic. From an aloof talking dog to a raven girl who can make blackbirds from ash, to a mummy with a third eye, this is a remarkable story of what happens when religion gets the better of us, and we remember to just believe in ourselves.</span> <span style="font-weight: normal;">The style was very sketchy, yet had a particular depth and volume that really moved the action and characters with a tremendous fluidity. Salgood Sam also drew a sassy dog for me on the inside cover which I now covet! He was a very sweet, charming guy to be sure. I'd love to pick up Sea of Red next, which features his art once again.</span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: normal;font-family:georgia;" ><br />#3</span></span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: normal;font-family:georgia;" ><span style="font-style: italic;">Louis Riel: A Comic Biography</span></span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: normal;font-family:georgia;" >by Chester Brown</span></span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: normal;font-family:georgia;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">Status</span>: read</span></span></span><br /></div><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: normal;font-family:georgia;" ><br /></span></span></span><div style="text-align: left;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo490Mw0Fc5of8o9pcGi7QBwc_bJ7OjgXl91Y_ViSLOhq2auFQNd7B0F3Xve3mYD3KQKyYgQ_Z3-dd6P5F0U5F7NGB_Wxt_aJtxiMOiqMxszqlDYF-4_P5L5lIHfeR6bJBMyWrC49XPVE/s1600/LouisRiel.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo490Mw0Fc5of8o9pcGi7QBwc_bJ7OjgXl91Y_ViSLOhq2auFQNd7B0F3Xve3mYD3KQKyYgQ_Z3-dd6P5F0U5F7NGB_Wxt_aJtxiMOiqMxszqlDYF-4_P5L5lIHfeR6bJBMyWrC49XPVE/s320/LouisRiel.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5471277097737365714" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;">A friend that I met up with at the convention passed by the table where this was proudly displayed, and demanded I get it and love it simply because I am from Winnipeg. Back home, we consider Riel somewhat of a pop icon and hero, what with his various statues, tributes, and<a href="http://www.keepinitriel.ca/"> t-shirt campaigns<span style="font-weight: bold;">.</span></a><br />At any rate, my friend was right. I had heard of and seen this particular work around and I knew it was necessary for me to eat it up ASAP. I read this the next day and thoroughly enjoyed it. Although it is a blatant support of what some have called a mad prophet, Brown sticks really well to historical truth, and makes an endearing case for one of Canada's unsung heroes. Without this man Metis issues would never have been brought to the forefront, nor would there have been action to deal with them. Though controversial, he was an important man to the fabric of Canada's crazy cultural quilt (alliteration much?) Though very dialogue/fact heavy, the art supported the subject matter with frank simplicity, and did not distract from the issues this comprehensive biography embodies.<br /></span></div><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: normal;font-family:georgia;" ><br /></span></span></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: normal;font-family:georgia;" ><span style="font-style: italic;">#<span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">2</span></span></span></span></span></span><br /></div><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: normal;font-family:georgia;" ><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></span></span></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: normal;font-family:georgia;" ><span style="font-style: italic;">Mercury</span></span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: normal;font-family:georgia;" >by Hope Larson</span></span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: normal;font-family:georgia;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">Status</span>: just released</span></span></span> </div><span style="font-weight: normal;font-size:180%;" ><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: normal;font-family:georgia;" ><br /></span></span></span><div style="text-align: left;"><a style="font-weight: normal;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk1DiGBkjhxlParmsQR8w9RZFnVlxhBZZ0_h3VrHFkvQ8KIHAah9ZPreVi1OVJ34HyIb2omvvcwpVivpMDEnU47mos7W6o0pbZXNfCbxALozkmpyDcShY987LGFaVvI399yEBZwsF3Wy4/s1600/MercuryCover.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 184px; height: 250px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk1DiGBkjhxlParmsQR8w9RZFnVlxhBZZ0_h3VrHFkvQ8KIHAah9ZPreVi1OVJ34HyIb2omvvcwpVivpMDEnU47mos7W6o0pbZXNfCbxALozkmpyDcShY987LGFaVvI399yEBZwsF3Wy4/s320/MercuryCover.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5471273849739673106" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: normal;">I actually came across this today during class when I was zipping around the</span><a style="font-weight: normal;" href="http://www.openbooktoronto.com/"> internets</a>. <span style="font-weight: normal;">I stumbled on</span><a style="font-weight: normal;" href="http://hopelarson.com/"> Hope Larson</a>, <span style="font-weight: normal;">a name I had heard after reading one of her first works</span>, <a style="font-weight: normal;" href="http://adhousebooks.com/books/salamander.html">Salamander Dream</a>. <span style="font-weight: normal;">(For some reason I thought it was Kean Soo's...he corrected me when I asked him about it!) This looks like a really neat book, with clean lines and an interesting story taking place in present day and 150 years past Halifax. It revolves around a mysterious family house, now burned, and the story that involves its fiery past. I am really intrigued by this and I hope you are too! You can purchase the book</span> <a style="font-weight: normal;" href="http://books.simonandschuster.com/Mercury/Hope-Larson/9781416935858">here</a>, <span style="font-weight: normal;">like I will sometime soon. I think I've been buying up too many books of late; I need to read what I have before I buy more!</span></div><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: normal;font-family:georgia;" ><br /><br /></span></span></span><div style="text-align: right;">#1<br /></div></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: normal;font-family:georgia;" ><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />Flight Volume 1</span></span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: normal;font-family:georgia;" >By Kazu Kibuishi</span></span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: normal;font-family:georgia;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">Status</span>: do want</span></span></span><br /></div><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: normal;font-family:georgia;" ><br /></span></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjryGXS33-gqiFHRaD4ph3aJmULpCGKR7QGb6Mwo-tWkyBJzD1qIn6siV11daBf8m2-HBjw6VxutfJW9LYPsAu1c6FPidu32NzuCIBdD8oncoJHJ3amDqvx5WiWehfeLpBiWh8bhaeX7DA/s1600/Flight1.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 231px; height: 360px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjryGXS33-gqiFHRaD4ph3aJmULpCGKR7QGb6Mwo-tWkyBJzD1qIn6siV11daBf8m2-HBjw6VxutfJW9LYPsAu1c6FPidu32NzuCIBdD8oncoJHJ3amDqvx5WiWehfeLpBiWh8bhaeX7DA/s320/Flight1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5471277443538999186" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The Flight series, now on its 7th volume (#2 and #6 have been nominated for Eisner awards) are beautiful graphic-novel anthologies that bring together some of the best artists and writers around, flashing their personal flavours for epic scenery and gorgeous stories. I have been longing for these volumes since I first found out about them, and apart from seeing them very briefly in the graphic novel section of Chapters, I have not had the spare change to procure them til now (I anxiously await mine in da mail!). Each story is about flying, a theme I hold pretty close to my heart in terms of my writing and artwork. Many of the artists in here are my absolute favourites, and I am very excited to see the work which has been hailed by fans and critics alike as a breathtaking journey of the theme of flight in its various incarnations. Some names here include Erika Moen, Hope Larson, Kean Soo and of course Kazu Kibuishi - it was through <a href="http://www.boltcity.com/">his site</a> that I found out about this series, and yearned for it ever since. I can't wait to discover more awesome names and talents through these collections :)<br /><br />That brings us to the end of the inaugural Freaking Comics Friday! I leave you with a little extra somethin-somethin for all the Beatonites out tha'!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><object width="400" height="300"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=11688269&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1"><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=11688269&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="400" height="300"></embed></object></div><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/11688269">Kate Beaton's Hark! A Vagrant!- Case of the Two Watsons</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user3021873">Squadron B</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.</p><p>Lumiere!<br /></p></div></div>Samantha Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08106871524132001095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6882544181306075412.post-12696273294414259272010-05-13T20:47:00.010-05:002010-05-13T21:47:46.306-05:00The Whirlwind Part 4<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNVHugg2u5Ur1QATU_8R8fSh0jGmEl1wncb_pEYjf-WtbU_-Ju6OWfu1pmPf7XYh_3jf6iryaHTOKkm33apf1nO5JE8YlRhJqeT0flufaoeuICoxrOJtuA3FQYzC4TC9l_sCzpRmi-PbY/s1600/IMG_4807.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNVHugg2u5Ur1QATU_8R8fSh0jGmEl1wncb_pEYjf-WtbU_-Ju6OWfu1pmPf7XYh_3jf6iryaHTOKkm33apf1nO5JE8YlRhJqeT0flufaoeuICoxrOJtuA3FQYzC4TC9l_sCzpRmi-PbY/s320/IMG_4807.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5470938123775737250" border="0" /></a><br /><p><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:78%;" >"Comic books helped me to define myself and my world in a way that made both far less frightening. I honestly cannot imagine how I would have navigated my way through childhood without them."</span><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:78%;" > - BRADFORD W. WRIGHT</span><br /></p></div>This little slice of adventure was probably the best part of my weekend. Of my week no less. I did not know it was even going on until the night before, and I had just seen Yann Martel at the same location only a couple of days prior. When I went in, it was a comic book nerd's pallas, intense, transformed and ridiculous. Ladies and gentleman, I give you the TCAF.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-size:130%;">May 8, 2010</span><br /><br />The Toronto Comic Art's Festival 2010 @ The Toronto Reference Library<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZcKsEnAntOGD2HegEwhWX-a6dZfGVwOy0lzCsKnr55UjTVgl8G2uy0qunCtyjWuzhB8ONf_RqTLFHWHsG9Hqam7RE8f9V6yCFzPIVfE57eQ3fBm4XJ6V_aaytCzz7v762Tq2DXwpX8Ls/s1600/IMG_4806.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZcKsEnAntOGD2HegEwhWX-a6dZfGVwOy0lzCsKnr55UjTVgl8G2uy0qunCtyjWuzhB8ONf_RqTLFHWHsG9Hqam7RE8f9V6yCFzPIVfE57eQ3fBm4XJ6V_aaytCzz7v762Tq2DXwpX8Ls/s320/IMG_4806.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5470948450619568930" border="0" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg80gIiWSwGF42WM3OCfk773hFFqD1m4Qdi218hHjo5q8aAjQ10ywqP43yZDLnlMDNzyQDE00pMmgQ-lChuWvzCtQEphGoaGO6zozYwruCEz2Zbc2TZadVKltqRwCUBGVAkcIIDsWik8EQ/s1600/IMG_4834.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg80gIiWSwGF42WM3OCfk773hFFqD1m4Qdi218hHjo5q8aAjQ10ywqP43yZDLnlMDNzyQDE00pMmgQ-lChuWvzCtQEphGoaGO6zozYwruCEz2Zbc2TZadVKltqRwCUBGVAkcIIDsWik8EQ/s320/IMG_4834.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5470949419477132386" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size:100%;">This is the first legitimate comic fest/con I have been to, excluding the poor excuse for a con in the Winnipeg Anime Convention. The best part of this convention were the artists, writers, and publishers all clamouring for the attention of the crowd with their epic wares - and getting in was free! I got to talk to a lot of really amazing and enthusiastic people, and I have to say that I was overwhelmed by the amount of material packed into the space they had taken up. I didn't get a chance to see everything in a lot of detail, even though I got there early and lingered for four and a half hours. It filled up quick and became a chaotic sea of demanding, drooling comic fans. And I can't blame them. I was one of them.</span><br /><br />The focus of the convention was not necessarily comics per se, but graphic novels and the epic art featured. I got to talk to Michael Cho, Eric Vedder, Salgood Sam, and a whole bunch of others who I have been inspired by for years. After reading a sample of Sam's <a href="http://www.salgoodsam.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Therefore Repent</span></a>! I just had to pick it up (and it was so cheap!) as I made my rounds on the ground floor. OWL books were there, as well as Scholastic with Raina Telgemeier's <a href="http://goraina.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Smile</span></a> which I got from her (as well as a gracious amount of change and a custom drawing) and read while I wandered. It was really great! I then stumbled across Kean Soo's table. He is so sweet and generous, and gave me my hardcover copy of <a href="http://www.keaner.net/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Jellaby</span></a> for a couple of dollars off plus a very cute doodle. I think one of the highlights of this convention was how many new artists/authors I discovered and got to chat to after admiring them from afar. Which brings me to the second level!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP8s4E_1VDO7SFdQZRujps32SFeJLRKiub9UZq7usvgQkbeSY_xusPYO7WAKOD12OQR8CLYVvLuB8FKrXRwxodraKeFJTInYOo9EqIlb01-onxJ5L7lpf3C6gtxIAZasuuUCUdbRicZls/s1600/IMG_4810.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP8s4E_1VDO7SFdQZRujps32SFeJLRKiub9UZq7usvgQkbeSY_xusPYO7WAKOD12OQR8CLYVvLuB8FKrXRwxodraKeFJTInYOo9EqIlb01-onxJ5L7lpf3C6gtxIAZasuuUCUdbRicZls/s320/IMG_4810.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5470948456393010898" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br />It absolutely topped my day - the Web Comics room! When I went up there at around 10 am, it was quite empty, which gave me a chance to talk to the super delightful Becky Dreistadt and Frank Gibson about their experiences at varying comic cons, colourful currency, their adventures with Emmy Cicierega, and just how nice the con planners had been to them. All the webcomic people got to have their tables for free! I picked up a copy of their<a href="http://www.tinykittenteeth.com/"> <span style="font-weight: bold;">Tigerbuttah</span></a> book, which is a beautifully bound emulation of the nostalgic Golden Books for kids.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6wd1QHPxrioPr21D5WicC5EygO4kRnyfFp7Gtu2FOLUnL2LxwBfJlHDItbWUjFEfeb50f3Bo3-QmOiOk_vCeGyAaEsu-rhdLyiqMEwaN9REUhChJ4_YdY7dyu94w99hEQsZrllUd8Yao/s1600/IMG_4814.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6wd1QHPxrioPr21D5WicC5EygO4kRnyfFp7Gtu2FOLUnL2LxwBfJlHDItbWUjFEfeb50f3Bo3-QmOiOk_vCeGyAaEsu-rhdLyiqMEwaN9REUhChJ4_YdY7dyu94w99hEQsZrllUd8Yao/s320/IMG_4814.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5470948461362414162" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br />I took a few pictures of the <a href="http://templaraz.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Templar, AZ</span></a> artist/author, but I was swept away too quickly to talk to her. I chatted at the table that Rosemary Travale and Craig Arndt shared (I got some free buttons!) and moved over to Meredith Gran's table to pre-order the new <a href="http://www.octopuspie.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Octopus Pie </span></a>compilation. Though Erika Moen was busy at the time, but I really wanted to pick up a copy of <a href="http://www.darcomic.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">DAR</span></a> (didn't get around to it) on my way back from Evan Dahm's table, where I nabbed a copy of <span style="font-weight: bold;">The City of Shells </span>from <a href="http://www.rice-boy.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Order of Tales</span></a> and talked to him briefly about the original print of Rice Boy and what he uses for his comic works. From Chris North's <a href="http://www.qwantz.com/index.php"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Dinosaur Comics</span></a> to Joey Comeau of<a href="http://www.asofterworld.com/"> <span style="font-weight: bold;">A Softer World</span></a>, I basked in all that is webcomics. The cherry was getting in the extensive line up to get to Kate Beaton of<a href="http://www.harkavagrant.com/"> <span style="font-weight: bold;">Hark! A Vagrant</span></a>. She was the definite star of the floor, and I grabbed a copy of her Poe/Verne vignette as I already own her stunning <span style="font-weight: bold;">Never Learn Anything from History</span>. She also drew me a little angry Poe at the bottom corner and signed it.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjggxCH0rS5jo6_iR9ZyboK-VRR0ZIqu0zkBNgUcLFz3SjWQQoLuUVJOhJedZWWlMq5W9Q7V2pnwyWTi-N2WcvgwSPjbw-oFKVJaAAH0zK54ASItWVOsPCJze5XvI8ulBLW5gn4U4NgjJA/s1600/IMG_4831.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 193px; height: 258px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjggxCH0rS5jo6_iR9ZyboK-VRR0ZIqu0zkBNgUcLFz3SjWQQoLuUVJOhJedZWWlMq5W9Q7V2pnwyWTi-N2WcvgwSPjbw-oFKVJaAAH0zK54ASItWVOsPCJze5XvI8ulBLW5gn4U4NgjJA/s320/IMG_4831.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5470949413405694914" border="0" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTVS_lsiKTLhmSUoW-9H0PUgbCPGRRJgANFoNHrVcKlUr0VjuV6KZasLEbavXUWi0TU9OnlzQeOMFl7RoJMat-D0wepLr9JPmz2V4rN1BTc9QJ2ZesAuaU8MkPeMdJxPRqBdmigZovNNg/s1600/IMG_4825.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 287px; height: 215px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTVS_lsiKTLhmSUoW-9H0PUgbCPGRRJgANFoNHrVcKlUr0VjuV6KZasLEbavXUWi0TU9OnlzQeOMFl7RoJMat-D0wepLr9JPmz2V4rN1BTc9QJ2ZesAuaU8MkPeMdJxPRqBdmigZovNNg/s320/IMG_4825.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5470949408937767938" border="0" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCOBLXXaqJEzrg07kqXYwDNMCTBNpLEHAAzlYCGiDUi4OLZlOOl4zsV7371mUafjRw99IpID6PtIuT9DJBRtoLKupDxV9jF9698DuETlH_sA1iFQAx0etXiWr-BoesJST7tuvfDRewwTY/s1600/IMG_4815.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCOBLXXaqJEzrg07kqXYwDNMCTBNpLEHAAzlYCGiDUi4OLZlOOl4zsV7371mUafjRw99IpID6PtIuT9DJBRtoLKupDxV9jF9698DuETlH_sA1iFQAx0etXiWr-BoesJST7tuvfDRewwTY/s320/IMG_4815.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5470949036229521714" border="0" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9iwczX4Pk26M__bI8-4cOL5kX0xEAmSuRoFXWcTjNt0n3iI892jiSFHUrP5OVnfnqHn0DXusly4Tym9-BNV2KgKIobb8OBiLe43tCpCNcgDgkJ48noVMC3-hlRdswcrWbRYpM8RQFthE/s1600/IMG_4813.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9iwczX4Pk26M__bI8-4cOL5kX0xEAmSuRoFXWcTjNt0n3iI892jiSFHUrP5OVnfnqHn0DXusly4Tym9-BNV2KgKIobb8OBiLe43tCpCNcgDgkJ48noVMC3-hlRdswcrWbRYpM8RQFthE/s320/IMG_4813.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5470949040330326370" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxBbcte7HEBcbiEQVUSZd5uJvy3nuFCcJnfPmROcVsYoIjKpjH564atk5UZS6UpVvEPNBV1OqjVL777U8UdutkZMLZ1YHO7v0F2maGHfUU_SOiOYQ95jA1hjhIrsg1VSoKTrDkUF-gFmA/s1600/IMG_4819.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxBbcte7HEBcbiEQVUSZd5uJvy3nuFCcJnfPmROcVsYoIjKpjH564atk5UZS6UpVvEPNBV1OqjVL777U8UdutkZMLZ1YHO7v0F2maGHfUU_SOiOYQ95jA1hjhIrsg1VSoKTrDkUF-gFmA/s320/IMG_4819.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5470949044077227906" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9iwczX4Pk26M__bI8-4cOL5kX0xEAmSuRoFXWcTjNt0n3iI892jiSFHUrP5OVnfnqHn0DXusly4Tym9-BNV2KgKIobb8OBiLe43tCpCNcgDgkJ48noVMC3-hlRdswcrWbRYpM8RQFthE/s1600/IMG_4813.JPG"> </a></div><br />I met up with a couple of friends towards the end, exploring the ground floor and making my final purchase - Chester Brown's <a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Louis-Riel-Comic-Strip-Chester-Brown/dp/1896597637"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Louis Riel</span></a>. It was well worth the extra time, and I finished it in about three hours in the comfort of my uncle's home the following Sunday. The publisher's room was amazing too, and Daniel Clowes, the author of<span style="font-weight: bold;"> Ghost World</span> was hidden somewhere amongst the stacks. All in all, I spent a lot of money to support some amazing artists, and the entire experience was well worth it! I wish I had stayed for the Doug Wright awards for sure, but maybe next year! And more panels next year as well.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5cp5WZqBtHJFNg8HLAR4NumwWBnX9x34eNWU9vdDZLidviwoFE0bNDatZ2XlPfmdwtiSkyTC61Fh1xhD28S1H21z1bPlEH34tYO9JQ0packrEgVym3Z2I9oHebwVUS-KJOnYgNdFX2I8/s1600/IMG_4838.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5cp5WZqBtHJFNg8HLAR4NumwWBnX9x34eNWU9vdDZLidviwoFE0bNDatZ2XlPfmdwtiSkyTC61Fh1xhD28S1H21z1bPlEH34tYO9JQ0packrEgVym3Z2I9oHebwVUS-KJOnYgNdFX2I8/s320/IMG_4838.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5470949422570172450" border="0" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG9-u1QElu46FaUZQzWihTUU4y-M4YKb8q8C0Ajff53wmXNx2pY8STxH2dyfkqOJiiwyfSMlrCkf7s8apsMbl1BIlSnSPK1q2a8OlJCI_RY35YNoa6nXhe6-U2ijCM7E6bSnK3bX5-JVs/s1600/IMG_4868.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG9-u1QElu46FaUZQzWihTUU4y-M4YKb8q8C0Ajff53wmXNx2pY8STxH2dyfkqOJiiwyfSMlrCkf7s8apsMbl1BIlSnSPK1q2a8OlJCI_RY35YNoa6nXhe6-U2ijCM7E6bSnK3bX5-JVs/s320/IMG_4868.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5470951675344868050" border="0" /></a></div><br />Make sure to check out all of the artists/titles I've mentioned here. They represent the core of my comic tastes, and you should really experience them as I have!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2B9w-3jVMwa8U1u-WoV5Q1Vvh5nkeAfGFGI-uEJ0FmiltIs4yaeFkpDrcJausFNxmV_RxEiPlmUgCXZFllodMvrC2QvKjbyJLvapRTn11KXvhkbkUQsUT3a2zaprzhLUGecJmUcbW_hY/s1600/IMG_4851.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2B9w-3jVMwa8U1u-WoV5Q1Vvh5nkeAfGFGI-uEJ0FmiltIs4yaeFkpDrcJausFNxmV_RxEiPlmUgCXZFllodMvrC2QvKjbyJLvapRTn11KXvhkbkUQsUT3a2zaprzhLUGecJmUcbW_hY/s320/IMG_4851.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5470949721132282834" border="0" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD8jRzOiU2ByH92z3SWXcz6n_AJ-AgfoH2T4ae7PJI3AWJwaiSttB_0luxP3aThPZJm47QYCtPtI2uxX7MAbu74YPBm-g56QFOnQMfs7ISCrAU6V1O-EKmolHlA5tfO8NMDeC83N1bHL4/s1600/IMG_4846.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD8jRzOiU2ByH92z3SWXcz6n_AJ-AgfoH2T4ae7PJI3AWJwaiSttB_0luxP3aThPZJm47QYCtPtI2uxX7MAbu74YPBm-g56QFOnQMfs7ISCrAU6V1O-EKmolHlA5tfO8NMDeC83N1bHL4/s320/IMG_4846.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5470949712986913762" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXUq580O5KGHrn2bWY8MwbYZCDn7fMgUfQtzyF1pNYy9R1ZD2fhyphenhypheneQqzbb7iEgFvftOT53UdfughJAgQris2WAsHgyzC3POG3Gt6JVuy1G_q2xUE6ErrMLJVDS4F7ors3zru7k49Hq0XI/s1600/IMG_4862.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXUq580O5KGHrn2bWY8MwbYZCDn7fMgUfQtzyF1pNYy9R1ZD2fhyphenhypheneQqzbb7iEgFvftOT53UdfughJAgQris2WAsHgyzC3POG3Gt6JVuy1G_q2xUE6ErrMLJVDS4F7ors3zru7k49Hq0XI/s320/IMG_4862.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5470951666890637154" border="0" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ9dfSO1YStzu7_QGhQYRv4_Y73ay41FfogoKVwlxbu6O83q1kKRDOJqqiBI1TpGGWalYGQ_CoQf5Se-cJj8_favfhus9D_u7QbJCBkIiRvm4LUfhEkrGFQHz4qfCCfZnuj0FoOsF2Sko/s1600/IMG_4858.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ9dfSO1YStzu7_QGhQYRv4_Y73ay41FfogoKVwlxbu6O83q1kKRDOJqqiBI1TpGGWalYGQ_CoQf5Se-cJj8_favfhus9D_u7QbJCBkIiRvm4LUfhEkrGFQHz4qfCCfZnuj0FoOsF2Sko/s320/IMG_4858.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5470951658665328354" border="0" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkFCP2uneUdBqaopODuNP8U_sSSurmaUBUtCYhKUSOjOQeDOAgGPMwua3OfO_Ljbw_TKxQUbFWRAgPwqUanoSiPKmPi_woNTAHgO6TQkPocrDXlZn7F7GDPTLmJllaMsMRUMHhwSRgQz4/s1600/IMG_4853.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkFCP2uneUdBqaopODuNP8U_sSSurmaUBUtCYhKUSOjOQeDOAgGPMwua3OfO_Ljbw_TKxQUbFWRAgPwqUanoSiPKmPi_woNTAHgO6TQkPocrDXlZn7F7GDPTLmJllaMsMRUMHhwSRgQz4/s320/IMG_4853.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5470951654084224594" border="0" /></a><br /><br /></div></div></div>Samantha Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08106871524132001095noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6882544181306075412.post-26236038426388465762010-05-13T18:57:00.007-05:002010-05-13T20:46:13.009-05:00The Whirlwind Part 3<div style="text-align: center; font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnt18sgy4zJKUzU_mYw4fydyIYuXX88Y09X8N3g_Dk3yeSw-a6R1yyeBZ-5gwgRmHK2MORf3g8Nhrx334weTw8ThDU9sg43DdsswVpl2U_AVhdywKYbvS_0Pu8B4YXWcSsOAIvYp2ACgk/s1600/IMG_4426.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnt18sgy4zJKUzU_mYw4fydyIYuXX88Y09X8N3g_Dk3yeSw-a6R1yyeBZ-5gwgRmHK2MORf3g8Nhrx334weTw8ThDU9sg43DdsswVpl2U_AVhdywKYbvS_0Pu8B4YXWcSsOAIvYp2ACgk/s320/IMG_4426.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5470908319789664690" border="0" /></a><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">"Those who know nothing of foreign cultures knows nothing of their own." - Goethe</span></span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">After blasting through books, social outings and school, I decided to suck up some culture from a place I have yearned to see in my few years. I have been to the British Museum of Art, the MIA, and a few other places here and here, but the ROM will always hold a special place in my learned little heart of hearts! It also gave Laura and James (the fancy couple I am staying with) a chance to finally go themselves, even though they've been living here for nearly two years.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-size:130%;">May 7, 2010 </span><br /><br />The Royal Ontario Museum on Bloor<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVUVQky3Pr5hzTRWDIbwa5Ctr8fVdd_Y2EUXZvw3sNh8z3xuE1VVKXMMGuiiYubNYz5b4Ea4on81mQ0Vh4g5oJ1UE-zBhkqKxo1mxzKCq60Dq68HLdOUO6ptC8Z-gvYEvbZ3Kn5FRFJvU/s1600/IMG_4449.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVUVQky3Pr5hzTRWDIbwa5Ctr8fVdd_Y2EUXZvw3sNh8z3xuE1VVKXMMGuiiYubNYz5b4Ea4on81mQ0Vh4g5oJ1UE-zBhkqKxo1mxzKCq60Dq68HLdOUO6ptC8Z-gvYEvbZ3Kn5FRFJvU/s320/IMG_4449.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5470922602084706418" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-size:78%;">A sea of trilobites trapped in time</span><br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size:100%;">It was a rainy evening - as has become the norm in the last several days - and through ankle deep urban water we waded to the ROM. First of all, what a beautiful building. </span>I thought the museum of modern art installation in Minneapolis was crazy (it's a towering bastion fabricated entirely out of sheet metal), but this is just beautiful. The interior was absolutely stunning as well, and the stark contrast of the modern vs. the traditional worked to this building's advantage.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAh1i-UHL_r_9tu4fnsLcEEyRUfUNbF2PRT98l04WaWLThQtDTMFD7CR8mw8grjOeXmadGpx9Jw4AHwk06c-l3n3YUs-loxyRUJfSfQIsGyL6mWyHtFPZTfryY7bv1EWLT0ayMkBhyFhY/s1600/IMG_4432.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAh1i-UHL_r_9tu4fnsLcEEyRUfUNbF2PRT98l04WaWLThQtDTMFD7CR8mw8grjOeXmadGpx9Jw4AHwk06c-l3n3YUs-loxyRUJfSfQIsGyL6mWyHtFPZTfryY7bv1EWLT0ayMkBhyFhY/s320/IMG_4432.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5470926358925390530" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br />So in short this place was epic. We were there for three and a half hours and didn't even get to see it all. We stopped short of Egypt, just in time for my batteries to cruelly run out. I did not even get a chance with Rome or any of the other civilizations on the last floor! But here is a quick peek at the ROM's highlights:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:180%;" >Asia</span> - featuring fantastic art from China to Japan, the ROM's collection of ancient Asian art and artifacts was absolutely out of this world. Though I was exposed to a lot via MIA, this was a really extensive and varied collection, ranging from snuff bottles to twelve foot high thousand year old wall murals, to golden Buddhas in the Gandaran style, Boddhisattvas in the Cambodian motif, to a fully restored rickshaw, burial mound and full front facade of a temple. After having taken Indian Religious Art and Architecture (and studying it for a few years), wandering these vast rooms of cultural boons was a nice refresher to a really fascinating Ancient World.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkoW3ZeIrns5TG70jTXscQvBHt1-yGLMX0E-IfFL5eVmK72eGtS2XE2v1bzK1I-CPeYtJ22LRdxwEjw2FKl3b3_WW-6NH2orJAv7vQNAYy7AeVU2rJVy6VXLa0zRx3YZveJVeR-SPHIdg/s1600/IMG_4499.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkoW3ZeIrns5TG70jTXscQvBHt1-yGLMX0E-IfFL5eVmK72eGtS2XE2v1bzK1I-CPeYtJ22LRdxwEjw2FKl3b3_WW-6NH2orJAv7vQNAYy7AeVU2rJVy6VXLa0zRx3YZveJVeR-SPHIdg/s320/IMG_4499.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5470922615134758162" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSdxsyoEy-dTv-SCPGRr0nzkD716HuGCZ9u3ZqHMPJVYUTt-2GSh7a_5pP1v09u0D9htmRy35XHCcAy_1amZBSBb0prvmWvmQy5Q-VRZagWTd537n_4l0cL-b9WUjmpxjFTk7-eBnBEjk/s1600/IMG_4471.JPG"> <img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSdxsyoEy-dTv-SCPGRr0nzkD716HuGCZ9u3ZqHMPJVYUTt-2GSh7a_5pP1v09u0D9htmRy35XHCcAy_1amZBSBb0prvmWvmQy5Q-VRZagWTd537n_4l0cL-b9WUjmpxjFTk7-eBnBEjk/s320/IMG_4471.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5470922608048616194" border="0" /> </a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2xrfLD0YHpsJiVjv3Y4Nt0WqgHexuEOwuaix72N7W-pQBl1Ac8ONCwKNJOgu0sAzG4O_Kb-TmtKDFRKeqBWfoLk1h50ccLpMwpnhXSFZRvd6Irrmqpfywp82paDy9WH30PHBAcPM7yWU/s1600/IMG_4458.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2xrfLD0YHpsJiVjv3Y4Nt0WqgHexuEOwuaix72N7W-pQBl1Ac8ONCwKNJOgu0sAzG4O_Kb-TmtKDFRKeqBWfoLk1h50ccLpMwpnhXSFZRvd6Irrmqpfywp82paDy9WH30PHBAcPM7yWU/s320/IMG_4458.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5470922604392052866" border="0" /> </a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGvjhmXkTS-lU3D1cGNfDJnAQNF2GXkY09UqpGogg7HM8hhR-E_hbsoauek-7XMIbxuwwvDb7lPhgNsHhwJ7xoZRkT4LNsH9NumAiMLdgf5-X3xQSWvFRjVS71pdF0VidaeNJBagmm_r0/s1600/IMG_4474.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGvjhmXkTS-lU3D1cGNfDJnAQNF2GXkY09UqpGogg7HM8hhR-E_hbsoauek-7XMIbxuwwvDb7lPhgNsHhwJ7xoZRkT4LNsH9NumAiMLdgf5-X3xQSWvFRjVS71pdF0VidaeNJBagmm_r0/s320/IMG_4474.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5470926361724469922" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:180%;" ><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:180%;" >Paleontology</span> - this room was totally out of this world. Oh man. I have never wanted dinosaurs to be real more in my life. Although yes, we all saw how that turned out in Jurassic Park - it is still mind blowing the advances and discoveries we have made! Most of these brilliant bones are over a million years old! Like holy. I cannot even comprehend that much time. This floor was extensive and I stayed here for about an hour just gawking at the ridiculous size of many of the specimens featured here. From your basic raptor, the nearly 1 km spine of a brontosaur, the skeletal pterodactyl overhead, the stone encased leoplurdon, to wasp eggs the size of my thumb, a mammoth incisor the size of James' head, ad nauseum, this room was JUST AMAZING. I could gush and gush, really. I took about a bazillion pictures to demonstrate my urgent joy. It's stuff like this that makes you wonder why you didn't become an adventuresome archaeologist, paleontologist, biologist or just plain historical hero. In my next alternate reality life we'll see what I can come up with. I beg you to come to the ROM for dem bonez!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigek6FAYXnafIdlk3fZiO27cpufjTKNrs-EPUQaJpCkPdOjv4d1d2Q2D3F5hLPCFiXLuQE9FoUG4JbbI0PBBuOlUWen-4s6mWJv3SdWsjxQxx9OHhUuLXxL1SKZw5gmYdOs4isBKJ9mRA/s1600/IMG_4562.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigek6FAYXnafIdlk3fZiO27cpufjTKNrs-EPUQaJpCkPdOjv4d1d2Q2D3F5hLPCFiXLuQE9FoUG4JbbI0PBBuOlUWen-4s6mWJv3SdWsjxQxx9OHhUuLXxL1SKZw5gmYdOs4isBKJ9mRA/s320/IMG_4562.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5470928451814841954" border="0" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNXeCk5_v6fteSLm21z7-ykEIj0M_L-XO7MkCjOTzPYxej4-6NtOm7nEfucwmm2NbZHIX6pjmGCKPUZ7KNbuaWxACyZIaqhSk9u9oxq9Qpf1T0atjRQPi8wXDF0McJWsBjtQimAFhWxdY/s1600/IMG_4544.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNXeCk5_v6fteSLm21z7-ykEIj0M_L-XO7MkCjOTzPYxej4-6NtOm7nEfucwmm2NbZHIX6pjmGCKPUZ7KNbuaWxACyZIaqhSk9u9oxq9Qpf1T0atjRQPi8wXDF0McJWsBjtQimAFhWxdY/s320/IMG_4544.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5470928441539334018" border="0" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaXgmFC15AhfbWuWKRaFH905MmJ4F2qIupOiFRjAsdGhb61hUm89fxohLzN1QCLWLFI7bNoRba-q7WrJCM8Zfq5srVIRvwjPqX8eQbSBdYwqlXi9qTDe8jy-BE1VXk1oMJh-TQI07Ybc4/s1600/IMG_4591.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaXgmFC15AhfbWuWKRaFH905MmJ4F2qIupOiFRjAsdGhb61hUm89fxohLzN1QCLWLFI7bNoRba-q7WrJCM8Zfq5srVIRvwjPqX8eQbSBdYwqlXi9qTDe8jy-BE1VXk1oMJh-TQI07Ybc4/s320/IMG_4591.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5470928436069631378" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Animal Kingdom</span></span> - Okay, I'm going to just be brief with this one. So many animals. So beautiful. The bird portion was my absolute favourite - that albatross was gigantic! Laura freaked out a little because she hates birds, but that is OKAY! The mammals, sea life and especially the bat cave were all incredibly nice touches (the bat cave was immense in scale, scope, and sheer volume of bats in there). More than once James and I were down on the floor trying to look at these animals at all angles (especially the giant amphibian-mudpuppy-thing!), and the tropical insect portion made me want to visit the Butterfly Sanctuary more than ever. Again, needless to say, why was I not a vet! Like...a safari vet! Haha. Anyway!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiM5dyQ8hMmBCFOiEFVxDwUVIsp2wQQCJH7WnhBb2-9EIPRkkN9s29-NVlzFtglrGxBqYTOwshMtmBLXuFV63c4RdNQ3WGC3fEK1dPPX08k_cpS8zKmAUkKON3qNHgfcG8DScCMT0wyY4/s1600/IMG_4695.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiM5dyQ8hMmBCFOiEFVxDwUVIsp2wQQCJH7WnhBb2-9EIPRkkN9s29-NVlzFtglrGxBqYTOwshMtmBLXuFV63c4RdNQ3WGC3fEK1dPPX08k_cpS8zKmAUkKON3qNHgfcG8DScCMT0wyY4/s320/IMG_4695.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5470932706299157122" border="0" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjte4iXR-hTjelFnqGylZMc_oF1zv8RWvLX0bMdvpLLeyJnZfAaPnlpHjiM5shBl5kb2XhdrZzwitoCc42twcuJfHKvltMysFKjk4v2kOJLNpORhgTBcU4V-cAvku2Lfd1mvqe7HLCcpBs/s1600/IMG_4648.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjte4iXR-hTjelFnqGylZMc_oF1zv8RWvLX0bMdvpLLeyJnZfAaPnlpHjiM5shBl5kb2XhdrZzwitoCc42twcuJfHKvltMysFKjk4v2kOJLNpORhgTBcU4V-cAvku2Lfd1mvqe7HLCcpBs/s320/IMG_4648.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5470932702188530978" border="0" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMUBYdSRggEj9c1PGr_ppy92E0uxvihtg15pcVu2rfpr9_okdg15PCGBZ9EJ6trQE38ymI6IQ3vYtm2Bfl7jC1dDBSXBKLtiSLtvlvQRGT4QRKLS4XKU66yZemvjSb59VrgdOWwOUfEqw/s1600/IMG_4630.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMUBYdSRggEj9c1PGr_ppy92E0uxvihtg15pcVu2rfpr9_okdg15PCGBZ9EJ6trQE38ymI6IQ3vYtm2Bfl7jC1dDBSXBKLtiSLtvlvQRGT4QRKLS4XKU66yZemvjSb59VrgdOWwOUfEqw/s320/IMG_4630.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5470932697393825938" border="0" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIUwzss3GBCMShgOkX_IWnkZICGaX-5UI1SKNz-AbWE2cTSydfGPaLnX3_xWqgXKGTFcVkFSyt4XtkOP_opM4IvR5DXwhWXPYkGIGGjeihC1fRhA63MT9iLop5CLHL1l250i33MJZLUTs/s1600/IMG_4628.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIUwzss3GBCMShgOkX_IWnkZICGaX-5UI1SKNz-AbWE2cTSydfGPaLnX3_xWqgXKGTFcVkFSyt4XtkOP_opM4IvR5DXwhWXPYkGIGGjeihC1fRhA63MT9iLop5CLHL1l250i33MJZLUTs/s320/IMG_4628.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5470935293205862738" border="0" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1wzhI9cQxRB3WFaxhnFO1chmQj0BMeceFjR8yLKupzotWb1esEemkXGpvpvdQJPIO0j6i4ObXJTmkwv_qI9NadZj8CZxPodMMZWwNT9RgzJnoGJuZEWFN8MgWJ4fQm6IKZygLZMD1qjY/s1600/IMG_4634.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1wzhI9cQxRB3WFaxhnFO1chmQj0BMeceFjR8yLKupzotWb1esEemkXGpvpvdQJPIO0j6i4ObXJTmkwv_qI9NadZj8CZxPodMMZWwNT9RgzJnoGJuZEWFN8MgWJ4fQm6IKZygLZMD1qjY/s320/IMG_4634.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5470935279174160786" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br />And so it went on. All the way through Medieval Europe to present day modernism, until we hit Ancient Civilizations and my heart was dashed by the museum closing time. I will probably return in July when Keith comes to visit, mark my words! Until then, the ROM is one of my all time favourite hang outs in Toronto thus far (though hey, I haven't had time to pass judgment on all of them) and I can't wait to return. Though the journey home was extremely cold and wet, the struggle was well worth it.<br /><br />About half of my pictures can be seen <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/smbeiko/">here </a>since I don't have a full account, haha. If you want to see more, just email moi.<br /><br /></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Samantha Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08106871524132001095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6882544181306075412.post-2419957022660243972010-05-13T17:37:00.006-05:002010-05-13T18:21:02.804-05:00The Whirlwind Part 2<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisbZ-ZiXwZwIS5suNUnnO5w1zHZC2qeSjWIUJKWg4NS6Z0xL-orGXM5vckTZS-NxMaz6hL9xqSxscEAEFPv3YmhNxTcgi74ovYL5nY3AsVIaG8unCVNKL7JsfmB_f1xbYF6bTfMogUJok/s1600/20080516014237.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisbZ-ZiXwZwIS5suNUnnO5w1zHZC2qeSjWIUJKWg4NS6Z0xL-orGXM5vckTZS-NxMaz6hL9xqSxscEAEFPv3YmhNxTcgi74ovYL5nY3AsVIaG8unCVNKL7JsfmB_f1xbYF6bTfMogUJok/s320/20080516014237.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5470887649475187906" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">"When the music should be coming out of every car, there is a silence all over downtown. Where a community of celebration should abound, I walk the sterile gardens where life is on pause."</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">- Eugene Hutz, Gogol Bordello</span></span><br /></div><br />The week carried on and carried me with it! I feel like the first week was hard to get through, still feeling out people and the courses, unable to detect where I'd be taken. Most, if not all, of my teachers are employed in the publishing industry, and working at Penguin. We examined almost all of the multiplicitous facets of publishing - editorial, contracts, rights, production, business, marketing, psychology - it goes on. Though the weather made an ill turn from sunny metropolis to dowager-dull, I still went out and explored, fell in a few puddles, and took as many pictures as my SD card could manage. There is still so much I have yet to see!<br /><br />Many long streetcar and subway rides later, racing through the underground and clattering past the bountiful Lake Ontario, I fell into two really cool events at the end of the week.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center; font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">May 6, 2010</span></span> <span style="font-weight: normal;">The Young Publishers of Canada @ The Artful Dodger</span><br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi33H24v6jSjGL9yF4-RM7RiLNvHnwWeizX1B9YMoxTKEj9npKrjnPPij5pJEdyYNwx0per3T8hdsepemtYpPDUwz18YaHeVA8zN8F_orEZVao6dbVktRNHA2uhNJBOGWnWqcdXkgZT54Q/s1600/ArtfulDodger.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 285px; height: 216px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi33H24v6jSjGL9yF4-RM7RiLNvHnwWeizX1B9YMoxTKEj9npKrjnPPij5pJEdyYNwx0per3T8hdsepemtYpPDUwz18YaHeVA8zN8F_orEZVao6dbVktRNHA2uhNJBOGWnWqcdXkgZT54Q/s320/ArtfulDodger.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5470893275135946130" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br />First of all, what an apt place for people who have invested their lives in the business of books. Second, it was a really sweet pub filled with some amazing people I am glad I had the chance to meet. I went with my friend Andrea, who I met through Humber, and we ambitiously forayed into a world of putting yourself out there. I listened with a somewhat embarrassingly doe-eyed awe as grilled a couple of people from University of Toronto Press about their jobs, and all star struck I admitted they inspired me. And though kind of corny, it's true. I'm still a supa-youngin', and I have so much to learn in this wide wide world. Toronto is the nano-tip of an iceberg I can scarce imagine, and just being able to talk to people in production, rights, or even the assistant editor of Random House made me all starstruck with awe. Not because of the celebrity status (because as I'm learning, you are only a celeb to your peers and clients!), but because it all seems so attainable, especially when you get to hang out with people who have been where you are. And where am I? I'm at the 'working hard and dreaming of a career you are in love with' phase, and maybe it's the small-town in me talking, but I am unabashed! I am so excited to get started in publishing, do an internship and maybe - God/epic loans willing - one day start up my own press. Getting to meet up with the YPC was a fun way of getting that little step closer.<br /><br />You can look these lovely people up on Facebook for future events if you are interested/want to support them! If you are in the Toronto area, you should try to make it to a meet next time :) However, Andrea and I did not stay very long, for down the street was another extremely important event.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="file:///C:/Users/Batman/AppData/Local/Temp/moz-screenshot-1.png" alt="" /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-size:130%;">May 6, 2010 - an hour later</span><br /><br />The Toronto Reference Library w/ Yann Martel<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXC_CJQo4odXgWfjSahSoXojBtOZSxwa-5FtVafpLz4HsmM3Wz2M0WGyir27ZeKRNNfpoWDSyownPFFily1pPSfOJiy9yFOpqVhm-BMxlW5qRxUwFlSaYHeTPrgxRbqNmI6rB802a05aI/s1600/BeatriceVirgil.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 180px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXC_CJQo4odXgWfjSahSoXojBtOZSxwa-5FtVafpLz4HsmM3Wz2M0WGyir27ZeKRNNfpoWDSyownPFFily1pPSfOJiy9yFOpqVhm-BMxlW5qRxUwFlSaYHeTPrgxRbqNmI6rB802a05aI/s200/BeatriceVirgil.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5470898555905452882" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Although the buzz about Yann Martel's <span style="font-weight: bold;">Beatrice & Virgil </span></span></span>had literally just kicked into gear when I arrived in Toronto, I was really interested to hear him read and defend the mixed reviews the book has received. Although I had read <span style="font-weight: bold;">Life of Pi</span> many years ago in school, I had forgotten the free-flowing wave of his prose and was very thrilled to go to this event. He also discussed his <span style="font-weight: bold;">What is Stephen Harper Reading</span> project, which is a very interesting movement that I wish was having the desired effect. To know that my PM isn't a very well read person, or isn't even vaguely interested in replying to a literary outreach like this, kind of makes me a little nervous! For more information on that project, you can go here: <a href="http://www.whatisstephenharperreading.ca/">http://www.whatisstephenharperreading.ca/</a><br /><br />After the reading followed a discussion moderated by CBC's Carol Off. It was a very frank discussion addressing the criticisms the new book has received, his feelings and struggle about trying to create a fragmented allegory about the holocaust, if he's gotten a response to taxidermists about it, and his recent letter from Obama and his daughter. It was a very fascinating discussion and debate, and I wish it had gone on longer! However, I did get him to sign my copy of Life of Pi, and also asked him his opinion on eBooks. After discussing it all week ad infinitum from the publisher's point of view, it was refreshing to chat candidly to the author about it - after all, it is his work changing shape. PS - he loves them!<br /><br />More to come!<br /></div></div>Samantha Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08106871524132001095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6882544181306075412.post-34190774762309917722010-05-13T16:57:00.004-05:002010-05-13T17:36:36.611-05:00The Whirlwind Part 1<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2OoA1ncaiI9nithLALgtC41VLV_mEGzceDuH_jX-7I0IuFQNcgond_MQwSxXh-fjhyphenhyphenQ7u7eMgsKP0JZi1El2DfrWtxdKIa_BFh6a5l-8MWw1o_RAIPC7jxczrmxBwgHJ_tR_khytWaLI/s1600/IMG_4422.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 276px; height: 207px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2OoA1ncaiI9nithLALgtC41VLV_mEGzceDuH_jX-7I0IuFQNcgond_MQwSxXh-fjhyphenhyphenQ7u7eMgsKP0JZi1El2DfrWtxdKIa_BFh6a5l-8MWw1o_RAIPC7jxczrmxBwgHJ_tR_khytWaLI/s320/IMG_4422.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5470878856946065330" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWwCkjy192vgMe6BiUPvqPGSQj84ymjQxQHhqWoel-ArE4hjfEa4ToZZoKJNoc7ajCLmKnrly0LAX_bAIS23ctrlMsf_5-7Yq9ZZMSE3DilknCK4F1T3ZU_Etyt6yrSnXebO4yx4L6N1s/s1600/IMG_4424.JPG"><br /></a>I have been so busy lately it is hard to believe. I am going to split my recent adventures into several parts (entries) so I can get it all out and it can all have equal description!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-size:130%;">May 3, 2010</span><br /><br />The Gladstone<br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWwCkjy192vgMe6BiUPvqPGSQj84ymjQxQHhqWoel-ArE4hjfEa4ToZZoKJNoc7ajCLmKnrly0LAX_bAIS23ctrlMsf_5-7Yq9ZZMSE3DilknCK4F1T3ZU_Etyt6yrSnXebO4yx4L6N1s/s1600/IMG_4424.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWwCkjy192vgMe6BiUPvqPGSQj84ymjQxQHhqWoel-ArE4hjfEa4ToZZoKJNoc7ajCLmKnrly0LAX_bAIS23ctrlMsf_5-7Yq9ZZMSE3DilknCK4F1T3ZU_Etyt6yrSnXebO4yx4L6N1s/s320/IMG_4424.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5470878849963147394" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG1a2R7mltX7czYMKsQDdbPgV6AVjR5Uvd_fMefHoDrjMyKRo2ALt1MzjgHYz8KvTk4C3GBXN2_oiobmCmfSrcqtv9k8Fn0SdVV4jPjSeBYy6gk_C80lwCyFIfadBvfWTPuS8TH6CLtwk/s1600/therefore.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 164px; height: 254px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG1a2R7mltX7czYMKsQDdbPgV6AVjR5Uvd_fMefHoDrjMyKRo2ALt1MzjgHYz8KvTk4C3GBXN2_oiobmCmfSrcqtv9k8Fn0SdVV4jPjSeBYy6gk_C80lwCyFIfadBvfWTPuS8TH6CLtwk/s320/therefore.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5470878844095748210" border="0" /></a></div></div>Book Launch for Keith Oatley's <span style="font-weight: bold;">Therefore Choose</span>, as part of the Toronto based THIS IS NOT A READING SERIES. This was my first day of classes, and it was a hell of a ride. I got to meet and hang out with a lot of really awesome people, and dive right into what is already a psychotic and epic program! Everyone is so fun and like minded, and I've already gone on a few outings with my little crew of school chums. I honestly can't believe that 2 weeks have gone by! Although that's a half truth -I have been doing so much in this short period of time it feels like I've been here for 2 months! <br /><br />Anyway, book launch! I found out about it through my program director (Cynthia Good, former president of Penguin Books Canada - she is very rad!). Most of the class went to the event because at orientation we were encouraged to go out of our comfort zone and attend a lot of these kind of things in order to meet people and network. None of us were very sure what so expect with this reading however; the novel is written by one of my program teachers Keith Oatley, who conducts our very fascinating Psychology of Creativity class. The main part about the THIS IS NOT A READING SERIES is simply that - there is no reading involved from the book per se, more a discussion on thematic threads between the author and someone who they have a strong working relationship with. In this case it was Maja Djikic, one of Keith's peers, who posited a lot of psychological questions in regards to the novel. I picked up a copy, and I have yet to read it simply because I have bought so many books since I arrived! I have a huge list to go through.<br /><br />All in all it was a very interesting event! I'd never been to anything like it - just your regular reading was all I'd encountered. This was just a neat little social event, and at a really interesting venue. It's not exactly in the best part of town, and it has evolved from what was once a ridiculously ill maintained flop house to a major art venue! The ballroom, double bar and performance room are all really well established, and apparently all of the rooms have been designed by a band of super unique artists. If you would like more information about the Gladstone Hotel, check out their website! <a href="http://www.gladstonehotel.com/">http://www.gladstonehotel.com/</a> Also, there is a really awesome documentary I had watched about it before I came here called Last Call at the Gladstone Hotel by Neil Graham and Derrek Roemer. It is very gritty, very moving and very human take on how this ramshackle living space transformed into an accessible art space...but at what cost? Check out this article <a href="http://www.toronto.com/movies/article/514809">http://docspace.ca/film/Last_Call_at_the_Gladstone_Hotel</a> for more info, as well as the trailer below which really encompasses the duality that the film embodies.<br /><br /><object width="640" height="505"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/2Jp6S4Thy8s&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/2Jp6S4Thy8s&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="505"></embed></object><br /><br />Tell me what you think about this issue. Though it's been 3 years since this documentary debuted, do you think it is still relevant, especially if you are a Torontonian yourself?Samantha Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08106871524132001095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6882544181306075412.post-63300346648058272002010-04-26T19:24:00.027-05:002010-04-26T21:13:18.138-05:00Give me a window and I will dream out it<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHCErNFvG5Wycgq61sW8mbLFmXG55VTqWnHeP8_oRZVSZIg4xQlrMlqcTgndj8rU1MHnj5TgPh63-jdaRimXJjhSoWkJ352LDLLimuwxjwrB30UqgoPEq6znfzUDnOMMi68d50vQQv97U/s1600/housekeeping.jpg"><br /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEint7emIr0u15jA9MyaJBH8MXy8sJsJJQXczI33SMVZBFJOzmCHZLL9f-WANPEg8On92lXYJXm3Ixm5CrSSbX0lJKcDzoXi2UPHTkinF8OUN-he-TiEuRQtf4sc7WFuxwtBtxURpMTOqTU/s1600/344bih4_large.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 258px; height: 370px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEint7emIr0u15jA9MyaJBH8MXy8sJsJJQXczI33SMVZBFJOzmCHZLL9f-WANPEg8On92lXYJXm3Ixm5CrSSbX0lJKcDzoXi2UPHTkinF8OUN-he-TiEuRQtf4sc7WFuxwtBtxURpMTOqTU/s320/344bih4_large.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464612415869213010" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:78%;">"You've fallen into a dream. Ashleigh, you <span style="font-style: italic;">idiot</span> - you've fallen in the lap of a <span style="font-style: italic;">library</span>." - Never Leaving the Library by S.M Beiko</span><br /></div><br />Bonjour, allors, salut! Only 3 days til T-Day - Toronto! In the meantime, I've been thinking a lot about the many amazing books I've read in the last year or so, and I thought I'd share! Many are haunting, realist studies of people and events that I assure you will dwell inside your soul for years to come. I encourage you to pick at least one to read this summer, or to even drop by your local thrift shop and pick up something random from the shelf. A good book and a cup of black tea always make a sunny day sunnier. That the written word is such an important part of our culture is not an accident. They are our transports into the minds and hearts of elsewhere and elsewho. Sit and bask in the silence and light of a forgotten voice, and welcome the envelopment. Books! They are all so beautiful! And many of the picks you see here are Canadian!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Twelve Titles to Titillate Your Summer Library</span></span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4jPfi9G_x6Rv1mt5ClnRTXi85yyyj4khuwTo0_eAwYh-9u6JFQqX7TCAPh1PLkxx_MJ69-u03HgFEhOQCIlIDH4AaBiNMqYVG96MZPHWoGsZjKRUWWqq97lToTTs49RWF9vjM9M-bxZg/s1600/41NV8TBYFHL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU15_.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 131px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4jPfi9G_x6Rv1mt5ClnRTXi85yyyj4khuwTo0_eAwYh-9u6JFQqX7TCAPh1PLkxx_MJ69-u03HgFEhOQCIlIDH4AaBiNMqYVG96MZPHWoGsZjKRUWWqq97lToTTs49RWF9vjM9M-bxZg/s320/41NV8TBYFHL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU15_.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464614394146242562" border="0" /></a>I read this fabulous book in two days and couldn't put it down. Written by a Manitoban in the 20s, the passion in the domestic imprisonment of the Gare family will endure for years after I've read this. After school teacher Lind Archer finds herself the schoolmaster of the only school in Oeland, she is in love with the town's newest mystery Mark Jordan, and becomes caught up in the emotional intrigue and undercurrent of fury resting untamed in the Gare family. Secrets and familial betrayal abound in a landscape that chains its people and condemns them to a life of sacrifice and perpetual tragedy.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlN1zjNQn-MI71TZeOjLaGUVePCYVBQ0Gm6h80Q279qXJ7RPwsF0OqMp64Mm9PwHAeRQ09QRCgdPzk94xPeuYzx-fA_g3XSA-eRmvZEohUB_VNTqhQNg0qnUd0lUuacoKTAmGWvQeuqNM/s1600/51GA7UU-c9L._SL500_AA300_.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 204px; height: 204px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlN1zjNQn-MI71TZeOjLaGUVePCYVBQ0Gm6h80Q279qXJ7RPwsF0OqMp64Mm9PwHAeRQ09QRCgdPzk94xPeuYzx-fA_g3XSA-eRmvZEohUB_VNTqhQNg0qnUd0lUuacoKTAmGWvQeuqNM/s320/51GA7UU-c9L._SL500_AA300_.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464615741877367154" border="0" /></a>Written by the infamous author of Smoke Signals, Sherman Alexie's startling portrayal of Reservation life in the states chills and thrills, and is filled with the contrasting mythologies and never changing sadnesses associated with a stunted culture. A collection of related short stories, some are written in a loose and dreamlike voice, while others are odes unto runaway fathers and lost loves in a confused palamino sunset. Beautiful and raunchy, sad and strange, they will not disappoint.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzhyphenhyphen6NTnsf8YQzuBKGgz2my_-mdCkWwUp_HQR4MYNo2Ph3dxxOSHvvTSV4bAsxnvSH8OBt75eDzmVhnLebUijjdZN2OKq-qJDKCgr2EtR9tenXkTwrvflSa8lBanK6YdCbON7CAU395PM/s1600/51IXIVgeHAL._SL500_AA300_.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 208px; height: 208px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzhyphenhyphen6NTnsf8YQzuBKGgz2my_-mdCkWwUp_HQR4MYNo2Ph3dxxOSHvvTSV4bAsxnvSH8OBt75eDzmVhnLebUijjdZN2OKq-qJDKCgr2EtR9tenXkTwrvflSa8lBanK6YdCbON7CAU395PM/s320/51IXIVgeHAL._SL500_AA300_.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464616737938708098" border="0" /></a><br />Another incredible collection of selected short story works, this time written by the amazing Winnipeger Melissa Steele, who came and did a reading for my Short Fiction class for which the book was read. Very realistic and poignant short tales of human short comings and how we settle with what little we are given. Brutally funny and each a demonstration of what kind of bitterness hides beneath a polite veneer, my favourite story is the titular "Beautiful Girl Thumb", and reminds me a lot of many girls I went to school with.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYwGU1Uk7fpk2BUyh3GWl8eDRbp0dOn19ZCAmPgVQSWSI9nRHNLWVhjfh0_4JkLDv7X_TxK1aDXaSE_gBmkxBw8d2fQKEexmaHKIGdGKGZzpHROQqNET-HI_ymYJO27VPVRrkKPQ-Fcas/s1600/511JPIuuifL._SL500_AA300_.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 231px; height: 231px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYwGU1Uk7fpk2BUyh3GWl8eDRbp0dOn19ZCAmPgVQSWSI9nRHNLWVhjfh0_4JkLDv7X_TxK1aDXaSE_gBmkxBw8d2fQKEexmaHKIGdGKGZzpHROQqNET-HI_ymYJO27VPVRrkKPQ-Fcas/s320/511JPIuuifL._SL500_AA300_.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464618393856247762" border="0" /></a>This was just a beautiful book. A bit of a long read, and quite a brutal story, but it is worth the journey - which is what frames this epic tale of recovery and spiritual renewal. When Xavier Bird steps off the train morphine addicted, without a leg and a dark shadow of his former self straight from WWI, his aunt Niska has a tremendous task cut out for her. She must take him home to the bush where he grew up with his Cree brothers, and take a journey into the war-battered soul of a man who had no claim to the horrors he endured overseas. As Xavier travels through his waking nightmares, he must either face death or defeat it. Moving, impassioned, troubled and spectacular.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTcjq1K1xVKabtOqkenV_q94Bn15CW60IVqKivF7EALu-0ykd3MlyBJ-ajSKeBhrec7U9-bDMDO4qTpnbtzKDDHF51dNdCZXCLcOQzmZJJIKxQzbGjJIzrXHb-u51sKzeVCdqfeKNcCvg/s1600/fifth.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 199px; height: 297px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTcjq1K1xVKabtOqkenV_q94Bn15CW60IVqKivF7EALu-0ykd3MlyBJ-ajSKeBhrec7U9-bDMDO4qTpnbtzKDDHF51dNdCZXCLcOQzmZJJIKxQzbGjJIzrXHb-u51sKzeVCdqfeKNcCvg/s320/fifth.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464619588963713138" border="0" /></a>I first read Fifth Business in my senior year at St. Mary's. It was probably one of the first books that sparked my interest in Canadiana Literatia. Roberson Davies has a voice and a passion unlike many of his contemporaries, and the mystery and miracle that flames through his narration is to die for. Dunstan Ramsay will always be one of my favourite characters for all his misadventures and his reluctant tie to Magnus and Boy Staunton as he moves in and out of history. I recently found The Manticore at Salvation Army, which isn't a sequel but a retelling of the events of Fifth Business from the perspective of Boy Staunton's eldest son. Tragic and probably still one of my favourites to date<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFVVHXBTC0Pm7Dk00OiUl0fghQgWmiaiHCyYzZ_GbjXvce6uN9-E9hHFPY2Ve6caIF9aiW1vlVOUc1tnNkK2gJOcinFdEnoPAwU_Tjuj_9qT9_xNZ56ZxibkXNnHmzJU4j_HQdkukLHic/s1600/troutmans.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 175px; height: 271px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFVVHXBTC0Pm7Dk00OiUl0fghQgWmiaiHCyYzZ_GbjXvce6uN9-E9hHFPY2Ve6caIF9aiW1vlVOUc1tnNkK2gJOcinFdEnoPAwU_Tjuj_9qT9_xNZ56ZxibkXNnHmzJU4j_HQdkukLHic/s320/troutmans.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464622527374771154" border="0" /></a>I randomly picked this book up from the U of M bookstore after finding Winnipegger Miriam Toews <span style="font-style: italic;">A Complicated Kindness</span> in my house (no idea how it got there). I read through that and was dumbstruck and spellbound by how caught up I became in the affairs of a 16 year old Mennonite rebel stuck in a town where her own mother was excommunicated. I had to have more. I found <span style="font-style: italic;">The Flying Troutmans</span> just sitting on a display shelf, begging and waving its bookjacket demanding my attention. I read it in a day. Following the exploits of Hattie and her incredibly intelligent niece and stoic silent type nephew on a cross continent road trip in search of their long lost father, <span style="font-style: italic;">The Flying Troutmans</span> is just one of those stories you can relate to for the sheer zaniness, coupled with that overwhelming loyalty and love for family.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi93foEfdHnjMVXjolpuNkgVGI6pHAvlkTO4k3G26Nd39LzkFCSqQQR4wgrKsJPxyQLqbWDh4mGhxqu2HD773gltsm7UmrsI1ALJAw-R-RXdWTLf9xcrsc5qUnjJ8b6DS9ttmT6jpgA_vw/s1600/Skin.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 165px; height: 274px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi93foEfdHnjMVXjolpuNkgVGI6pHAvlkTO4k3G26Nd39LzkFCSqQQR4wgrKsJPxyQLqbWDh4mGhxqu2HD773gltsm7UmrsI1ALJAw-R-RXdWTLf9xcrsc5qUnjJ8b6DS9ttmT6jpgA_vw/s320/Skin.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464624865938021554" border="0" /></a>After reading this for my first ever University English course, I felt that the atmosphere resembled a sparsely candlelit mineshaft. There was a pervading darkness, and a life made it sustenance as it drifted through history. An account of the complex lives woven around the building of the Bloor Street Viaduct and the dangers untold, this is another finely crafted piece of Canadian art from the author who brought you <span style="font-style: italic;">The English Patient</span>. In fact, this is the prequel to that stunning work which I have yet to read, but have watched multiple times. I'm currently reading this again, and the power of Ondaatje's imagery, the humanity and the shadows that hide in the hearts of men, <span style="font-style: italic;">In the Skin of a Lion</span> skulks in the darkness of a mushroom factory, and somehow finds love.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpPC5yxpZ_TiyTVaVx11VUMcUsyi34udpv6z28Esjz8YBETgU175lp2bYLJwIpoe4G8dWpwZvbVDUB7AeOmlS4EofEI1rlEwKWDHla3JqdJivwsMUZwYOlCJWyUknHprMkIBupTcLccH0/s1600/Diviners.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 194px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpPC5yxpZ_TiyTVaVx11VUMcUsyi34udpv6z28Esjz8YBETgU175lp2bYLJwIpoe4G8dWpwZvbVDUB7AeOmlS4EofEI1rlEwKWDHla3JqdJivwsMUZwYOlCJWyUknHprMkIBupTcLccH0/s320/Diviners.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464626634763253346" border="0" /></a>How I cannot sing Margaret Laurence's praises enough. My throat becomes dry and can only be slaked by more of her award winning, notorious prose. <span style="font-style: italic;">The Diviners</span> is one of her strongest pieces by far, and though a thorough read, it is a study into the mind of literature's strongest women - Morag Gunn. Like the rest of her Manawaka series, the female protagonist is constantly trying to escape the past she feels has marred her, and yet returns to it perpetually in her memory, searching ardently for an answer to her failing integrity and peace of mind. After reading this I immediately tore through <span style="font-style: italic;">The Fire Dwellers</span> and half way through <span style="font-style: italic;">A Jest of God. </span>I simply cannot get enough of the fictional Manitoba town and all of its intricate tragedy, its false starts, its failed good intentions, and its terrible traumas. Without Laurence, this province would not have the new found colour and light that I tout so readily to prairie non-believers<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOMJF4oqblOpRpabx42U_tPEvlwFZaLSAW12Xoa7LM6lPjjqPpgqQ7U5ZjC0m2iupfM798X9sd1MzRcKvbVQURO3hWkV3Kbp5AzkJB3sc-c6ozdgSAcfxsYska7kHejNbRYJJ_CAO_HUM/s1600/413SnoVxOxL._SL500_AA300_.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 274px; height: 274px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOMJF4oqblOpRpabx42U_tPEvlwFZaLSAW12Xoa7LM6lPjjqPpgqQ7U5ZjC0m2iupfM798X9sd1MzRcKvbVQURO3hWkV3Kbp5AzkJB3sc-c6ozdgSAcfxsYska7kHejNbRYJJ_CAO_HUM/s320/413SnoVxOxL._SL500_AA300_.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464627887145011730" border="0" /></a>What would a well rounded study of literature be without one of the greats? Though I had read <span style="font-style: italic;">The Old Man and the Sea</span> at a young age when I did not yet understand post modernist realist fiction, and thus hated every second of it, <span style="font-style: italic;">The Sun Also Rises </span>changed my mind completely. What can only be called a rambling anecdote of the well intentioned, often drunk and meandering adventures of American ex-patriates in 1920s Paris/Spain, this book manages through the complexities of human relationships without going on and on with details. Instead it is a snapshot of a memory, allowing us temporary entry and ending without resolution - just as any realistic human story would. There is no end. There are only different journeys, different parties, and different bull fights to witness the goring of your heroes and hearts.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHCErNFvG5Wycgq61sW8mbLFmXG55VTqWnHeP8_oRZVSZIg4xQlrMlqcTgndj8rU1MHnj5TgPh63-jdaRimXJjhSoWkJ352LDLLimuwxjwrB30UqgoPEq6znfzUDnOMMi68d50vQQv97U/s1600/housekeeping.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHCErNFvG5Wycgq61sW8mbLFmXG55VTqWnHeP8_oRZVSZIg4xQlrMlqcTgndj8rU1MHnj5TgPh63-jdaRimXJjhSoWkJ352LDLLimuwxjwrB30UqgoPEq6znfzUDnOMMi68d50vQQv97U/s320/housekeeping.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464629196159215666" border="0" /></a><br />A tale as overcast as the book cover, told from the perspective of Ruth about her upbringing in Fingerbone, Idaho after the accidental death - but what is thought to be suicide - of her mother. There they live with their grandmother until her own death, and finally with her Aunt Sylvie, who had been a train-riding transient up to this point. Initially they become a close knit group, but as Lucille grows up she comes to dislike their eccentric lifestyle and she moves out. Then when Ruth's well-being is being questioned by the courts, Sylvie returns to living on the road and takes Ruth with her. Abandonment, domesticity and the definition of what a home is in the wake of loss abound, but I will never forget the image that starts out the story: the epic derailment of the passenger train that bore Ruth's grandfather into the haunting depths of Lake Fingerbone - a memory which seeps through the novel every so often like a nagging afterthought.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2tOgBM0htGl0j0s0DawPXt1XVneoma99-DY9WNt_j1Uc6Ce9d1gROvlWSj3gx3Lx5ClDQJ3h0pOmvyNKzAA0hE1AgVL7o3RsBkBfp2iRt0kAfwMI0TynBcc490f4mKoN4FvuJV1-lY8Y/s1600/WhiteTeeth.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 179px; height: 265px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2tOgBM0htGl0j0s0DawPXt1XVneoma99-DY9WNt_j1Uc6Ce9d1gROvlWSj3gx3Lx5ClDQJ3h0pOmvyNKzAA0hE1AgVL7o3RsBkBfp2iRt0kAfwMI0TynBcc490f4mKoN4FvuJV1-lY8Y/s320/WhiteTeeth.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464630604092708706" border="0" /></a>A verrrry long read, which I took to the sauna with me quite a bit and is now falling apart - but so, so worth it. I didn't know what I was getting into with this epic book, but by the end I wanted more. The focus of the plot lays with two wartime friends, Archie Jones and Samad Iqbal, and the subsequent dramas and complexities involved with their families. In a book that starts out with Archie's attempt at suicide, saved by the serendipitous interruption of a meat vendor, leads to his marriage to Jamaican, front toothless, former fear addled Jehovah's witness Clara in the wake of a New Year's Eve party. Their subsequent marriage produces Irie, the same age as Samad's twin children from his arranged and disgruntled marriage to Alsana. The two families remain close knit through the troubled and turbulent events that seem to consume all of them, as all of their intricate triumphs, fears and anguishes coalesce in a stunning finale. Warring racial groups, religion, love, self doubt and shame blend for what is a deservedly award winning spectacle that only 1975 London can play host to.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPsn45Tk8nRTeIVJjYJ9Xcht_scbxTuhDJ1MBTtWFVP0D2jtELsOrO_SYUhmwG1rUhE7q33YiPcorI0mDRvSTgNiGKyF084k0OMXgHMbbC8mHCf5IcrqjDTJ5gWvhKiQle8v0euGXDuGY/s1600/51ZRJP3M2FL._SL500_AA300_.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 276px; height: 276px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPsn45Tk8nRTeIVJjYJ9Xcht_scbxTuhDJ1MBTtWFVP0D2jtELsOrO_SYUhmwG1rUhE7q33YiPcorI0mDRvSTgNiGKyF084k0OMXgHMbbC8mHCf5IcrqjDTJ5gWvhKiQle8v0euGXDuGY/s320/51ZRJP3M2FL._SL500_AA300_.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464632452826762882" border="0" /></a>I think the reason I got so much substance out of Ms. Gordimer's fabulous short story collection was because of the perspective of my prof teaching it. As all of these tales are racial reflections of life and viewpoints of 1960s Apartheid Afrikaans, my prof helped enrich that idea through his own experiences. As he grew up in Africa while these travesties and questionable human behaviours took place, I could see through clearer eyes a world I had barely imagined from short lived history lessons or world issues. This is a must read for sure. The titular story is one of the most powerful. It is very unfortunate that this great work has been out of print for so long, but I was fortunate to get a photocopy of it as class reading material. If you can get your hands on a used copy, please do! Each story is a moving tale from varying perspectives: an upper class working woman who, despite her vanity, only seems to trust a black subordinate; two star cross'd lovers separated by race, a young boy as he is force-groomed to be a saviour to his people, and so many more whose sometimes true stories will both inspire, agitate and bring you to your psychological knees.<br /><br />~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<br /><br />And what are you reading this summer? A timeless classic? A comfort collection of fairy tales? What kind of literature makes you feel beautiful inside?<br /><br />Lumiere~Samantha Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08106871524132001095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6882544181306075412.post-14376756263822876842010-04-08T23:51:00.004-05:002010-04-09T00:19:13.891-05:00Here we goI am not a world weary person. I am not well traveled. What I know about the world is based on the limited scope of a Prairie metropolis, which still isn't saying much. I know that as a rule its a cruel place, and that it is only made kind by those you share it with, by moments of serenity, and that what small life we make here is a quick flick in a sea of millions. Here again, gone tomorrow.<br /><br />I need to move around, to shift around unused wings and trim off into the wilderness. Wherever that is. I know this journey starts only 1800 km away, but I'm going alone. There will be no hand holding. There will be no smooth transition. It will be hard, and sudden. This womb will be history.<br /><br />But fuck it. It's about time. All those years I dreamed of escaping have amounted to reality. I'm taking a page out of Amanda Palmer's book of It All. I'm strong, I'm free. It's happening. Now take a breath and jump.<br /><br />Okay, let's start over. Hi, my name is Sam and I have an addiction. (Hello Sam, welcome to the club, you're not alone.) My addiction is life. I want to live it. I'm tired of reading about and seeing the glory coming off of everyone else experiencing it. It's my turn. Be it a small leap as compared to more monumental, earth shattering, soul touching others, it's mine. I'm going to take it for all it has.<br /><br />I'm moving to Toronto for 4 months. Anticlimactic maybe. But not to small town girl with a hundred thousand dreams and schemes that have run out of breathing room in Winnipeg. I will give you this: this city has its poetry, its art, an entire different reality when you take the time to change your perception. I love it. But its time to keep walking. There's more to see. I wasn't born with legs for nothing.<br /><br />Or wings.<br /><br />Here's the truth. I'm scared shitless. But that's a given. Some people are scared of moving forward, some of getting out of bed in the morning. Because for some reason they cannot stand that they don't know what awaits them. That anxiety is what is driving me to do this. Because if not now, then when? It's definitely time.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The sail had always been there. And so had the sylph. It had taken twenty years, but she finally realized that if she was getting anywhere, all she had to do what breathe. The sail filled up, and they both moved ahead.</span><br /><br />After midnight now. T-Minus 20 days. Time to breathe.Samantha Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08106871524132001095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6882544181306075412.post-76285040972508352192010-03-24T23:02:00.000-05:002010-03-24T23:03:03.935-05:00Test test test. HelloSamantha Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08106871524132001095noreply@blogger.com1