It was the first thing that threw her off about him. She realized that everyone had their own idiosyncrasies, their own particular oddities. She tried hard to be non-judgmental. She was a pretty girl though, and she had dated a lot. Sometimes all it took was finding out that Chris saw nothing wrong in wearing white socks with sports sandals, that part of Mike’s library contained Star Wars novels and that Steve really enjoyed watching reruns of Saved By The Bell. She hated feeling shallow bu...

For some time, he is not even a person, just a novelty. There is often a shuffling of position when word of his arrival is announced. Word gets around faster than he himself might, at least in a small town where social circles are limited. ‘New Guy’ is interchangeable with ‘New Girl’. Either way, it is ‘fresh meat’ for a rabid crowd. It becomes a predatory event: singles and the not-so-single start circling, planning their attack. The hunting grounds are traditionally situated in bars and at p...

I remember the day. Oh, do I ever. I was probably about 7 months pregnant at the time; bitchy, big, and on the verge of being sick yet again. I suppose I was taking my uncomfortableness out on her and I was not very nice to be around, most likely. In fact, I must have been downright untolerable for her to have done it to me. To give me the curse. Yeah, you know it. That curse that accompanies parenthood that goes like this, "I hope that you have a kid who is just like you ." My daughter Kole,...

Deep breath. Keep breathing. Okay. I started blogging because I thought it would be a good opportunity to read and write some reviews about movies, books, and theatre. I also was getting interested in the Internet itself, and in the communities that one can find and be a part of. One of the things I was leery of was getting too political. Having just graduated with honours in Native and Cultural Studies from a university in Canada, I had spent a lot of time debating, reading, writing and res...

I'm currently reading Phillip K. Dick's The World That Jones Made , and so far, so good. My concern at the moment is realizing how often his works of fiction tend to get made into movies, and if this one is optioned, that they'd better do a damned good job. It is a problem for some fans of certain authors whose books tend to get transferred into film. To date, I don't think that I've seen a movie based on a Stephen King book that I've liked better than the book. Stand By Me, based on 'The Bo...

For the past couple of days, I've been using the University computer room to do my Internet stuff. Just happened to be here, and as I have an active account, what the hell. Oh really? I can't say that this is 100% true, but I feel like people are looking me up and down, and all because of another person beside me. Yeah, I brought my daughter to work today. Well, not work, actually, but they don't know that. The thing is, if I was actually doing homework, she would be here. And this time, s...

I'm not saying that Ben Affleck is the best actor in the world. Not at all. He's been in a handful of movies that I have seen, and while he hasn't stood out in any spectacular way, I have realized that he was there. I teared up in Pearl Harbour, but that's probably because of Josh, and bawled in Good Will Hunting because of Matt, but I wasn't even cheering because of Ben's heroics in Armegeddon, but because it was finally over. But nothing has been his fault or to his credit. No,my problem with...

Tonight is the night of the 24 Hour Project/dance program. Last night at 8 pm, a group of directors got together, picked out some music, and went their separate ways to choreograph their pieces. At about 8 o'clock this morning, they met a group of auditioning dancers, and selected people to then perform their vision. At 8pm tonight, the curtain will rise and the audience will get to see what everyone was able to accomplish. Scary as all hell. I've done a 24 Hour Project/acting and it was inten...

My friend Jay, during the holidays, says to me, "Nic, you're into movies. Maybe you know this one... nah. Forget it. It's too obscure." So of course, I light up and say, "Go ahead. Make my day." Well, I was thinking about this movie. It's got vampires. From outerspace. The setting is in England." Of course, the exact title and approximate release date flashes in my mind. (In case you're interested, it was Lifeforce, 1984/85) I saw it once. I wasn't particularly interested in it. Yeah, so? ...

We knew the end was near. She should have been out of my life a year ago. She stuck it out though, and we've been living on borrowed time for a while now. Today, she broke down. On a wintery, blustery, cold day at the corner of Clonsilla and Sherbroke, she choked. Sputtered. Started to fail. And I'm forced to get ready to say good-bye. My dear old Sundance is not going to make it through the winter. I know that now. She broke 400,000 this summer, so it's not that big of a surprise. But still. I...

My women's basketball team (Chicks With Balls) is having another fundraiser. Last September, we had taken over The Spill, hired some great women DJs and had a smashing time while raising money for court costs. (You'd be surprised to find out how many people thought we were raising funds for our defense in the judicial system rather than renting space at the local high school gym!) This January we are going to have a Karaoke Night, which brings up some troubling issues. In no specific order t...

My father showed me a new book he bought. The latest by Jack Whyte. I don't know the title, and to be honest, I don't wanna know. They say his books are just up my alley. Fantasy stuff involving quests, knights, and magicians. I refuse to even look at the book description. I'm already caught up in Stephen King's Dark Tower series. I've been reading his books for years. There's still 2 books left to read, and thankfully, I heard that they are pretty much complete. Rough draft anyway. I'm sorry...

Okay, okay. I know it was my own choice. I turned off the cable and just said no to television. It'll be a year without TV come February, and I know I can make it but sometimes it really is too hard to handle. Sure, I watch it sometimes; at my parents' place when I visit, or at my sister's place when we are able to stand each other. However, watching it occasionally and having it at your fingertips in the comfort of your own home are two completely different things. I've gone without TV before. ...

Lucky me, I also got the latest Gunslinger book by Stephen King for Christmas. I've had little sleep due to the fact that I've been enthralled to be back in Roland of Gilead's world again. If you haven't read the books yet, check them out. They're pretty good. However, I don't know if it's just because I read Tolkien's The Return of The King the other week, but SK's Gunslinger series does bear striking similarities to the former's trilogy. I could tick off these similarities one by one but I...

I admit it. I am one of those people who are hard to buy for at Christmas, if you dare to stray from the list . Yeah, every year we are requested to make out a list of things that we want/need for Christmas. I must say, that I am extremely grateful to have gotten everything that I wished for, aside from a Christmas morning visit to the local emergency room (that's another story). You know, I am really glad to have spent this time with my family, and yes, I am concerned about world peace, the ...