BookLust

Full House

Well, it took a little longer than I thought to get my act together and make another blog entry! I had internet connection by Sunday, but I simply did not have the brain power to write even the most banal of posts. I barely do now, for that matter. I had no idea how exhausting this whole moving process would be. I wake up tired, walk around opening boxes, doing dishes and cleaning ovens and fridges tired, and then I go to bed tired. And we've barely made a dent into the unpacking. So much goddam stuff!!

Oh well, it will all get done eventually, I guess. And eventually I will post pictures. Oh, and forgive me if my posts are brief and not particularly bright for the next week or so. My head really is in another place. I probably unpacked it, and lost track of it, like a lot of other things.

And one more thing. I got some nice news from a writer/editor lady whom I work with, illustrating e-book covers. Recently she entered one of my e-book covers into a design contest at the Preditors & E ditors site, and I came in 2nd! Here's a list of all the entries. Thanks, Rida! You rock!

Ok, back to work...

The House That Bleak Built

So who saw the first episode of Masterpiece Theatre's production of Ble ak House? I was riveted, I tell you, utterly riveted. The acting, the atmosphere, the cinemaphotography ... it's all just bloody perfect. And Gillian Anderson as Lady Deadlock? She's mesmerizing. And God, I am still in love with Charles Dance after all these years, even though he is playing the despicable Tulkinghorn. I'm even pleased with how Esther is being portrayed. Physically, I think the actress suits the part very well, and what I really appreciate is the fact that in this series I feel that Esther has been blessed with much more depth than Charles Dickens ever gave her. And Mr. Guppy! He's perfect! So obsequious! So deliciously slimey! Hats off to Masterpiece Theatre for creating such an amazing interpretation of Dickens' Bleak House.

Oh, and speaking of houses, we got possession of ours today! Plenty of work still to be done, and then we move in this Friday. I'm hoping to do one more post if I can, and then more than likely I won't be back online until Saturday night or Sunday morning.

I cannot believe we own a house! Hopefully ours will be anything but bleak!

Belly Up to the Book Bar, Folks!

Sure, having your own personal library is pretty cool, but you know what would be really amazing? For all you boozin' book-lovers, I present to you ... a book bar!

Ok, so it's not as visually stunning as Idiom, but this is definitely a situation where function precedes form, don't ya think? And what a function!

You can see more photos of the bar being constructed at the Vestal Design Blog. And just how did this book bar come to be? From the Vestal Blog:

One of our non-Vestal housemates worked at the Stanford library, and his job included the task of throwing away old books, which apparently the other librarians couldn't bear to do. We decided to rescue these books from that awful fate - and what better use for them than a bar from which to entertain our frequent guests?

I'll drink to that!

Thanks to Johnny for the link!

Cheers!!



Love Bites

Here's an illustration of mine which can be found in the Feb/March edition of Toronto's CityBites magazine. The magazine should be available to readers next week, at these various locations, or in the Globe and Mail, if you're a subscriber. If you live in Toronto, do try and a get a copy of the magazine; it's really quite a unique guide to the city's great food and drink.

The subject of the article is about, yes, all those special foods which can enhance one's sexual drive. Personally, I have never eaten oysters, avacados or baked bananas in bed. But I have had my share of red wine. Heh.

Hurry Hard, Boys!

A pencil rough of a somewhat political cartoon that I'm doing for, if you can believe it, a curling magazine.

Lost in Books

Aren't these visually stunning photographs the most amazing arrangement of books you have ever seen?

The photos are thanks to my talented friend Hadas, who is almost finished her visit in her home city, Tel Aviv. The artistic display of books can be found at the Beauty and the Book exhibit in The Isreal Museum.

Beauty and the Book focuses on the visual aspects of books, and suggests reading them as one "reads" a work of art. Like art, books are a mixture of matter and spirit, manual labor, thought, and creativity. They have shape, color, dimensions, substance, and other qualities, and the concept of beauty emerges from the different combinations and interactions of all these qualities.

The installation is entitled Idiom, and was created by the artist Matej Kren.

The tower is constructed from thousands of books, collected from libraries and publishers in the country in which the tower is to be built.

Take some time to explore the Virtual Tour of the exhibit, as well as the exhibit web page. It is a bibliophilic feast for the eyes, heart and soul. How I wish I could see it live!

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Hadas, for sharing these heavenly images! See you soon!

I Know I'd Have A Ball

Wahhhhh!!! I wanna go!!

Anyone wanna donate the $350 ticket?

It's for a good cause! Boooks! Libraries! Me!!!

Art Imitating Lit 6

Have you heard about the latest literary drama going on with Oprah's latest pick for her book club? James Frey, author of A Million Little Pieces may have been stretching the truth a bit in writing his b est-selling memoir chronicling his "steep descent from a dark marathon of drug abuse". Seems The Smoking Gun kinda blew the whistle on this guy, but apparently many reade rs of Frey's memoir had been doubting the veracity of this supposed life of a former frat-boy addict.

I have to wonder what Oprah's thinking through this whole brou ha-ha. Wait. I don't have to wonder! I just need to create another silly comic strip.

I Got Posted 3

I've got an illustration in today's National Post. If you want to see a larger version, click here.

I'm quite pleased about this illo because this is the first time I've been in the Saturday edition, and it's also my first published caricature of a Prime Minister. The accompanying article, written by Andrew Coyne, discusses the tipping points that could could cost the election for the Liberals.

In case you're wondering what party I'll be voting for, quite frankly, I don't know. At this point in my life they all disgust and bore me. This election (which will be the day we get possession of our house, January 23rd) is a complete waste of time and money. These days I can't help but think of that quote from Yeats' poem The Second Coming:

The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity.



The Glamorous World of Women Bloggers

Yesterday I did something I haven't done in a very long time. I bought a copy of Glamour magazine. But for one reaso n only, ok? Heather Armstrong, creator of the very popular blog Dooce, mentioned recently that she and some other women bloggers were interviewed in the January issue of Glamour. Well, that's just awesome, I thought; I get very excited whenever bloggers get exposure in the media (especially if that blogger is me!), and I get doubly excited if the focus is on women bloggers.

So I flip to the page of the article, and there's a fabulous shot of Ms. Armstrong with her dog. But I start to get concerned about the content of the article when I read the sub-header: Are They Self-Absorbed Exhibitionists? Groovy Free Spirits? Or Just Plain Bored? Meet Them And Decide For Yourself.

The author of this article, Julie Klam, apparently doesn't know much about blogs, and this becomes more evident when I read about the "five women who have blogged and lived to tell the story – for better or for worse." Overall the tone of this article is one that presents women who blog as vacuuous idiots who are lonely and crave attention. There's a woman who blogged while on her honeymoon, a woman who got fired because of her blog (that's the idiot former flight attendant for Delta Airlines who posted pictures of herself goofing around an empty plane) and another gal who confesses that she was just performing for her audience, writing about her life as a "broke-ass chick looking for a rich man, a sugar daddy." Thankfully Heather Armstrong comes across as strong, bright and funny, and the paragraph on the blogger Wendy McClure is positive, too, but I'm confused as to why Glamour did not mention the fact that Ms. McClure managed to get a book published from creating her blog (The book is entitled I'm Not The New Me). There's a multitude of clever, talented, funny and engaging women bloggers out there, and this is the best that Glamour can do? And really, why am I surprised, when I look through the magazine and see compelling articles like 4 Ways to Avoid Holiday Sale-Itis and Men's Secret Dating Language.

So for anyone curious, I will point out a few women bloggers that Glamour neglected to mention, who deserve praise, recognition and respect:

Magnificent Octopus
Part witty, quirky family diary, and part book and arts blog, this is an extremely engaging and intelligent blog from a delightfully unique woman, Isabella, who resides in Montreal, Canada.

Inkygirl
This is a great resource for freelance writers, created b y the very talented freelance writer, musician and cartoonist Debbie Ridpath Ohi. Inkygirl provides a wealth of information regarding freelance writing jobs, writing workshops, as well as many day-to-day practical tips a freelancer needs in order t o stay on top in the business. I recently met Debbie in person, and she is an amazing lady. You can find out more about her fascinating life by also reading her personal blog, Blatherings.

Kate's Book Blog
I discovered this blog about two months ago, and I'm so glad I did! Kate is a very thoughtful and careful writer. Her analysis on books, ideas and writing opens my mind up to fresh, new ways o f looking at the wonderful world of words. Kate is also a published author; her second collection of short stories will be published by Thistledown Press in 2007.

So Misguided
Monique describes her blog as Plain Words, Uncommon Sense on books, writing, tap dancing, technology, and whatever else captures my interest. Monique is, again in her own words, a writer, editor, internet marketer, point-and-shoot photographer, web-aficionado and book reader. Her writing style is elegant and enchanting, and her eclectic blog is chock-full of information and intelligent opinion.

The Bubble
Less than a year ago, the talented and beautiful Hadas left Tel Aviv with her husband and young son to start a new life in the often very cold city of Toronto. Hadas' blog is a fascinating and bittersweet tale of her many travels around the globe as well as in her heart. She also writes about her life in Tel Aviv before she left, expressing a multi-layered array of mixed emotions. Hadas is a gifted photographer, and you must check out her latest photos of Tel Aviv, where she is visiting right now.

So there you go. Some other women who blog, who are anything but self-absorbed or just plain bored. Stick that in your pipe and smoke it, Glamour.