writing, speaking, web-making, and best of all, I get to dance later
I'm the author of YA novels, Rhythm & Blues and Break On Through.More about me »
Good morning! Today we continue our blog back in time to the distant era of March, and the mythical land of Los Angeles. I was in LA primarily to hang out with my friend, YA author Cecil Castellucci, invade her apartment, and make it impossible for her to get any serious work done. I’m happy [...]
My friend Cecil Castellucci, author, lady and artiste, will soon return to a warmer place from this colder one. You may know her for her YA novels, Boyproff, Beige and Queen of Cool, or for graphic novels like Plain Janes, but what you may not realize is that Cecil is Canadian. She’s only been hiding [...]
[iPhone] Can’t beat the house on 12seconds.tv We went to my parents’ house for our second glorious Christmas dinner of the season. My family likes board games at Christmas, and usually only at Christmas. I decided to mark the occasion with my first experiment with 12seconds, on my phone. Basically, you get 12 seconds to [...]
Last weekend was a long one in Canada. We all had Monday off, but no one could really agree why. In most of Canada, it was called Victoria Day, in honour of an English queen that no one in England bothers to take a day off for anymore. In Quebec it was the Journée nationale [...]
In the great tradition of b-girl Maehem’s long-since-melted Bonnie & Clyde partner, Bruce the Angry* Urban Snowman, the K-town Kold Krew burst on the scene this weekend in Kingston. Formed mere hours ago under the direction of Missy Fit and Renewable Energy, they are already fans of Street Dance Academy, Hip Hop Karaoke, and (I’m [...]
We got a video camera in October, finally! Its for work, but that doesn’t mean we can’t also use it to capture “life’s most precious moments” such as Frances playing with her best friend, a wimpy doberman named Jersey, and neighborhood shaggy dog, Tiger. This was taken at the end of October, on my mother’s [...]
Tax season, man. We need all the help we can get. Sorry if it’s a little quiet around here for the next couple of weeks. There are some heavy deadlines afoot.
Enter The Rapper, rubbing his head against my elbow as I try to eat a bowl of pasta. Me: What are you doing? He: I’m rubbing my scent on you, so when I smell you later, I’ll feel comfortable.
I’m so excited that the air is finally warming up. No more clunky boots! Lighter jackets! And best of all, I get to start wearing this wonderful scarf that Monica of NaMoDa gave me. It’s warm enough for winter, but I think it will go best with my spring jacket, so I’ve been saving it. [...]
Yeah. Somehow I ended up with a Dr. Who fan who wants more than anything to be able to see through walls. As you can plainly see, our life together is the stuff that childhood fantasies are made of, and if we have children of our own someday, they will absolutely never be embarassed.
New Year’s Eve, right? Whoo whoo, yeah, greatest night of the year! XNZZzzzzz. Who am I kidding? I have a limited tolerance for going out late to loud, crowded places, especially if it’s cold or damp out. I’m so sensitive, I can actually feel my feet starting to hurt and my eyelids drooping a week [...]
Would you believe I am blogging while babysitting? My good friend Eria is upstairs pretending to sleep, having enjoyed the first chapter of a Christmas story about seven-headed mice, and exhausted my explanation for why magnets don’t stick together. (See next week’s Infrequently Asked Questions: Jill, Why Don’t Magnets Stick Together?) But for now, back [...]
The Toronto Public Library site has a link to Les’ web site because they’ve included his first album, I only stop for the Red Ants in their new Local Music Collection. Check it out, he’s right there on the sample page, between LAL and Ninja High School. We were a little confused when they came [...]
.flickr-photo { border: solid 0px #000000; } .flickr-yourcomment { } .flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; } .flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } You may not know this about me yet, but with iMo (right) I (left) am a multiple champion of lifejacket-assisted synchronized lake swimming. This was taken at her wedding un-shower– an [...]
Children have a remarkable knack for sucking all adult attention out of the air and centering it upon tehemselves. This is especially true if the child in question happens to be very small and extremely talkative. My young friend, Eria, is audible 100% of the time she is awake, which makes her very easy to [...]
.flickr-photo { border: solid 0px #000000; } .flickr-yourcomment { } .flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; } .flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } playmate for only child, originally uploaded by codejill. My youngest friend, Eria, aged 4 1/2, is very social, but also an only child. In the isolation of the family cottage, this [...]
Me: So your dad has three unicycles now. When does the juggling start? iMo: I don’t know. He has enough chainsaws.
Me: We need to get more tattoos so we can set the right example for our future children. He: That’s your reason for wanting another tattoo? Me: That’s my latest reason for wanting another tattoo.
“Ultimately, the only control I have is over my own breathing. And even then, sometimes it does it by itself.”
How the Delightful Rapper and I will ensure that we stop losing our small electronic gadgets, jewelry, keys & shoes: Upholster entire apartment in velcro and institute a “you put it down, you stick it on the wall” house rule. Also has potential application for soundproofing. Contract someone to build a central homing system that [...]
MaeHem is going to be opening a street dance studio, and she has scored herself the best location ever, right at the corner of Queen & Spadina. As Ted Dancin’ aptly pointed out, this is not only the best possible intersection in Toronto to locate such a studio, but possibly the best location in all [...]
“It’s becoming painfully clear that I need to come back here soon. And most of my pain comes from the food.”
The Delightful Rapper has been in the UK for the past couple of weeks, performing with The Herbaliser and generally winning over the entire population of London. For those of you who may be wondering how that’s going, he’s doing great, meeting lots of groovy people, doing some recording with various producers and getting a [...]
