tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89981544250532603512024-03-13T15:36:10.491-03:00Fitz Just RightLeahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06405076356126910937noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8998154425053260351.post-58391730041512139452011-03-30T06:15:00.000-03:002011-03-30T06:15:06.730-03:003D Printing NowSome of you know that I am fascinated by the prospect of 3D printing, and all that it could mean for the future. Most of the things that interest me about it are a little more practical than this, but I think that these dice serve as an amazing example of how 3D printing might let people un-tether their imaginations when it comes to making and fabricating the things they can imagine. If they can Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06405076356126910937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8998154425053260351.post-47283208723461422892009-04-02T09:36:00.001-03:002009-04-02T09:36:20.417-03:00I get my news from the Internet because my local paper won't go under I prefer the Internet for news because you can find longer form features, as newspapers once featured, and you can get news from different areas. I like to check up on the place where I used to live to see that I have made the right choice to move away!I do worry that I am getting a little too much of the "Daily Me" - not getting news not catered to a liberal white Canadian girl who Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06405076356126910937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8998154425053260351.post-36887451119192928902009-03-27T11:37:00.002-03:002009-03-27T11:42:46.308-03:00TV habitSo I finally jumped on the streaming TV thing and have been watching Nip/Tuck season 5 (or I was, until I ran out of sites streaming to Canada) and The Middleman.The best moment of Nip/Tuck was in Dawn Budge II. I love Dawn Budge (played by Rosie O'Donnell) but the sight of her hang gliding to the soundtrack of Peter Bjorn & John's Young Folks was too much. I plotzed.On the other hand, I Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06405076356126910937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8998154425053260351.post-58634683270494002452009-03-25T16:46:00.006-03:002009-03-25T17:06:39.039-03:00If teenage girls were all like Bella Swan, it would be 1708.Or, Why I won't be letting my daughter read Twilight at 13.I read the Twilight books. I actually read the first two before books three and four were even out. I was ahead of the curve on this one, since my husband's high school students gave him the heads up. So, as a favour to him, I read the books, which he duly stocked in his classroom. At least, he did the first two.He may add the third to Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06405076356126910937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8998154425053260351.post-88055772311407504162009-03-20T09:32:00.002-03:002009-03-20T09:56:40.541-03:00If you're such a poet, twist your tongue and show itI took a class at Dalhousie University in Creative Writing from Andrew Wainwright. Dr. Wainwright was a published poet and novelist, as well as a scholar of literature, particularly Canadian Literature. I'd already taken his CanLit class (and was thankful for the introduction to Tomson Highway's Kiss of the Fur Queen, one of my favourite books). One day, at the beginning of class, he pulled out Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06405076356126910937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8998154425053260351.post-33248441379868438832009-03-19T19:43:00.000-03:002009-03-19T19:44:03.914-03:00Review: American Widow American Widow by Alissa Torres My review rating: 5 of 5 starsThis opened my eyes a little about the American Red Cross's role in providing relief to the families of those killed by 9/11. I thought Katrina's rigamorole was bad enough, but I heard little about this.I often wonder, as a Canadian Red Cross volunteer, how effective we can be. The little bit we get from Alissa Torres's story Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06405076356126910937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8998154425053260351.post-83496308689540164002009-03-16T09:10:00.002-03:002009-03-16T09:17:20.059-03:00Reasons I want to visit Japan1. A day in Yoyogi Park (video is Peter, Bjorn & John's "Nothing to Worry About")2. Ghibli Museum3. Enlightenment Guaranteed (I so don't want to get lost, as these tourists do, but I am interested in learning about Zen and visiting a monastery)And that's pretty much it. There are other things that don't appeal to me about going to Japan (the expense, how crowded the major centres are, the Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06405076356126910937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8998154425053260351.post-67161773829720374452009-03-12T12:24:00.002-03:002009-03-12T12:29:07.135-03:00Vaccines are better not strongerI am still a little miffed I didn't correct that mother at Babies in the Library. She claimed vaccines are "so much stronger" these days.The signs at Public Health, where I have to go for vaccines, beg to differ. They give the example of more efficient vaccines, improved by technology and a better understanding of how vaccines work. For instance, the diptheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccine today has Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06405076356126910937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8998154425053260351.post-54663074503846743572009-03-07T09:12:00.003-04:002009-03-07T10:10:21.135-04:00Review: Pierre Jean Jase, Sherbrooke, QCOn our trip to our former city of residence, and Bill's hometown, we headed out for burgers at Pierre Jean Jase (rue Montreal, Sherbrooke, QC). The restaurant was a semi-regular haunt while we lived in Sherbrooke. The menu is simple in the evening, with pizzas and some homey dishes regularly on the menu, and Tuesday to Friday nights, burgers and European hotdogs (sausages, really). We always get Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06405076356126910937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8998154425053260351.post-67219961065854958252009-02-28T08:50:00.000-04:002009-03-07T09:09:33.728-04:00Update on relationship quizI now hold the bigger brain in Big Brain Academy.Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06405076356126910937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8998154425053260351.post-29080375417432091092009-02-27T08:48:00.000-04:002009-03-07T08:49:07.048-04:00Review: Scott Pilgrim by Bryan Lee O'Malley Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 1: Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life by Bryan Lee O'Malley My review rating: 4 of 5 starsI avoided this series, despite enjoying Bryan Lee O'Malley's first book Lost at Sea. Scott Pilgrim is a weird romp through the relationships of early adulthood, with some hardcore geekery in the form of video game and manga references. The first time Scott Pilgrim fought and got a Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06405076356126910937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8998154425053260351.post-75283933080871111832009-02-24T15:33:00.000-04:002009-02-24T15:36:16.552-04:00I overheard a mom at Babies in the Library talking about how she's still skeptical about vaccines, even though she's vaccinating her kid. She said something about vaccines being stronger these days, about kids getting side effects, but she'd feel horrible if her kid came down with the measles or something worse.Babble has a piece about how the anti-vaccine crap started and how it's all a big lie.Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06405076356126910937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8998154425053260351.post-75154359952014385842009-02-21T21:24:00.001-04:002009-02-21T21:24:40.765-04:00Review: Bones to Ashes Bones to Ashes by Kathy Reichs My review rating: 3 of 5 starsI'm leaning more towards a 3.5 stars. At any rate, I liked this one more than some of the other Kathy Reichs books I've read. To be honest, I think I like Bones better than I like the Temperance Brennan books.This book hit closer to home than some of the others, and, as usual, Reichs makes some annoying geography booboos. It takes Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06405076356126910937noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8998154425053260351.post-34828612324557023772009-02-20T11:34:00.003-04:002009-02-20T12:03:05.593-04:00That relationship quizWhat are your middle names?Mine's Dawn, his is Donald.How long have you been together?Since July 2001 - 7 and a half years.How long did you know each other before you started dating?A couple of weeks? We met July 8, had our first date ten days later.Who asked whom out?He definitely asked me. And he had to ask more than once because the first time he asked, a few days after we first met, he kind Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06405076356126910937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8998154425053260351.post-68003093967457390182009-02-18T12:01:00.002-04:002009-02-18T12:06:09.800-04:00Creating arrows for GodBabble has a really interesting article on the Quiverfull movement.That's a broad enough standard to allow for various interpretations, including mainstream beliefs that children should help out in the family and not expect to always have their way. In the Quiverfull movement, which graduates new believers from accepting many children to a deeper study of movement literature about women's Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06405076356126910937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8998154425053260351.post-82970977875836023082009-02-16T11:51:00.001-04:002009-02-18T11:58:30.392-04:00Review: Valentine's Day Dinner at Opera BistroMy husband and I went to dinner at Opera Bistro. I'll admit, it's a favourite anyway, but the five course fixed menu for February 14 was excellent.We started with Goat Cheese Brioche, which were subtlely cheesy and had Bill swooning right away. This arrived with our drinks - Banrock Station Sparkling Shiraz. I am now in love with sparkling red wine. It was a little sweet, pleasingly bubbly and Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06405076356126910937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8998154425053260351.post-55163393019982427342009-02-10T07:03:00.000-04:002009-02-09T20:22:56.038-04:00SevenLeahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06405076356126910937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8998154425053260351.post-75393891875741226632009-02-09T23:55:00.002-04:002009-02-10T08:32:18.878-04:00RIP Blossom DearieI am beyond sad I will never get to see her sing live, even at 82.Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06405076356126910937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8998154425053260351.post-29257797049321642612009-02-09T20:06:00.002-04:002009-02-09T20:12:33.206-04:00Review: Gods Behaving Badly Gods Behaving Badly: A Novel by Marie Phillips My review rating: 5 of 5 starsI kept hearing about this book on CBC and everyone loved it. That is because it is awesome. The Olympians are all perfectly developed and the mortal characters are sweet and you just want to kiss poor Neil by the end of it. It's David Sedaris meets Queen Camilla. Awesome.View all my reviews.Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06405076356126910937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8998154425053260351.post-8376485669807794662009-02-05T14:23:00.003-04:002009-02-09T20:12:09.889-04:00Chocolate chip cookiesI've made "the perfect chocolate chip cookie" - from the New York Times. I've also made these chocolate chip cookies from Martha Stewart.There is a pretty big difference. For one thing, the New York Times cookies come out heftier. They taste richer (I think it's the refridgeration). There's the added dimension of salt.My next batch of the Martha Stewart cookies, which are just simpler to make, Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06405076356126910937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8998154425053260351.post-33017139638280258172009-02-05T14:17:00.001-04:002009-02-09T20:12:53.446-04:00Review: Superior Saturday Superior Saturday by Garth Nix My review rating: 5 of 5 starsI cannot wait for Lord Sunday. I like how far along this book carries the story, but it really felt like nothing actually happened - no conclusion. A true build up for the coming ending. Maybe. Maybe there's a book 8 in the works. I wouldn't complain - it feels like Garth Nix has a lot to say about the Architect, more than might be Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06405076356126910937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8998154425053260351.post-77346425467748015172009-01-31T09:41:00.002-04:002009-02-09T20:11:06.099-04:00Atheism and meHere's the thing: I was raised an atheist.My parents are reasonable people. My dad was raised a Catholic. When Vatican II came in when he was in his early twenties, he actually understood what the priests were saying for the first time. And that was enough for him. My mom was the "sinner" her friends took to church on "Take a Sinner Sunday." While she attended a variety of churches growing up, Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06405076356126910937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8998154425053260351.post-13336369051513154792009-01-30T10:37:00.002-04:002009-02-09T20:15:10.563-04:00Review: Things the Grandchildren Should Know Things the Grandchildren Should Know by Mark Oliver Everett My review rating: 5 of 5 starsI loved Eels the first time I heard Novocaine for the Soul on MuchMusic. I was 16, and the lyrics spoke to me. I needed something for my soul so very much - I was an angsty teen after all. The album Beautiful Freak went on to become a soundtrack to my high school days and the subsequent albums all have tiesLeahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06405076356126910937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8998154425053260351.post-8878155770627071402009-01-30T10:25:00.002-04:002009-02-09T20:15:33.939-04:00Review: The Art of Racing in the Rain The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth SteinMy reviewrating: 4 of 5 starsI thought I'd have a hard time getting around the dog as narrator, but I really enjoyed the outside perspective on the lives of his master and family. I didn't need the final chapter, which I won't reveal since it's a total spoiler, but it didn't ruin the book as epilogues by a certain New Hampshire based novelist do for Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06405076356126910937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8998154425053260351.post-88529475404535685552009-01-23T09:45:00.002-04:002009-02-09T20:15:57.480-04:00A kiss with a fist is better than noneLeahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06405076356126910937noreply@blogger.com0