tic. tac. type.

coupland nation

2009-08-16T20:50:00.000-07:00

Jpod is my most favourite book & has been since i stole it from my friend Cara after she read "List of Faggy Colour Names" to our creative writing class. if you haven't read it you need to do so now (think The Office meets. . .something equally hilarious & satirical, & clever). P.S. if you happened to catch the short-lived television series on CBC based on the book do not let it cloud your judgments!
its author, Douglas Coupland, is just a genius (he is the brain behind the term "Generation X" and "Mcjob"). i have more of his books than any other author. so i was super excited when i spotted photos of his vancouver home over @ callepompon. i love the little car.

i'm not sure what's in this wall but i like it.

charming.

one can dream...

see the original article here.

Favourite Couplandisms:

"Canadians can easily ‘pass for American’ as long as we don’t accidentally use metric measurements or apologize when hit by a car."
"Long lives aren’t natural. We forget that senior citizens are as much an invention as toasters or penicillin."
"If cats were double the size they are now, they’d probably be illegal."
"Most people have no idea how to politely answer a phone. The English do, and it’s been their only major business advantage for the past two centuries."

"Gap clothing allows you to look like you’re from nowhere and anywhere.It also allows you to look as though you’re not particularly from the present, future or past, either."

"New York is a theme park for people with IQs over 108."

"Brain research tells us that only twenty percent of human beings have a sense of irony, which means that eighty percent of the world takes everything at face value." (scary!)

LISTENING TO: The Weakerthans- Our Retired Explorer (Dines With Michel Foucault In Paris, 1961)

craft schmaft

2009-08-09T21:20:00.000-07:00

cuteness has reached new levels over @ craft schmaft. look see.

part of an owl mobile.
a whole family.
double date?

my owl obsession rages.
LISTENING TO: Owl City- The Saltwater Room

love your city

2009-08-08T09:44:00.000-07:00

photo courtesy of Windsor visuals- a photoblog

mind the puddles on your way to the opening of the Made in Windsor Store today! located at 1465 Ottawa st., the cutest new store in town will feature all kinds of windsor made arts, crafts, jewellery, stationery, & wearables.
the store will celebrate its grand opening some time late aug./early sept. and eventually promises to host all kinds of artsy events: crochet/knitting/sewing classes, silk screening lessons, children's story time...
while out that way, pop on over to Tres Bean for lunch or across the street to another recent addition to the neighbourhood, Aquarius Vintage.

handmade AU

2009-08-06T15:03:00.000-07:00

boys, shield your eyes...
some aussie handmade delights courtesy of frankie mag:

i love this little Belinda Kemp brooch for summing up how i feel every morning:

Erin K Jewellery: erin makes no two pieces the same & happily takes custom orders.
wishlist.hoot.

handmade in melbourne. Pocket Carnival's super cute blog makes me wish australia was reachable by roadtrip. it seems melbourne is the hub of craft fairs & art festivals + galleries & vintage shops. has anyone been?here's a taste of some of the adorable treats on her etsy page.
does anyone share my love of school supplies?

and okay this is from new zealand, but look how lovely: you can see/buy kristin ash's jewellery here.

croadcore.

2009-08-05T11:02:00.000-07:00

oh my oh my oh my.
i've been meaning to blog about one of my new favourite writers/artists for some time now...
while in nyc a couple months ago i had the pleasure to meet Cristy C Road after her reading at the Cake Shop.

artist, writer, musician, activist, her work is poignently politically charged in support of feminism, LGBT rights, environmentalism, and anti-establishment DIY culture. plus, she's just so damn genuinely nice (when we were buying her books she insisted we only pay what we could afford and she gave me a free typewriter pin & some postcards!).

her published works include BAD HABITS A Love Story (Soft Skull Press, 2008), INDESTRUCTIBLE (Mirocosm Publishing, 2006), and DISTANCE MAKES THE HEART GROW SICK (Micrcosm Publishing, 2007).

see wake-up-grrl's post on cristy here for more info.

bathroom @ the cake shop:

home sweet.

2009-08-04T14:17:00.000-07:00

i'm so happy one of my typewriters has found a new home on this yellow ikea table. right under another favourite thing... a jason deary original :)

also happy because i've just added nyc memorabilia to my bulletin board:

i've had a long, rough day.

saturday night movie

2009-08-01T21:39:00.000-07:00

i just finished watching canadian film One Week and fell in LOVE for more than these 4 reasons:

#1. it has the most lovely soundtrack (stars, wintersleep, great lake swimmers...)
#2. joshua jackson plays an english teacher/writer and is quite charming while he's at it.

#3. the director, michael mcgowan, called the film a love letter to the country (precious).

#4. it features my grandpa's hometown: White River, ON which has the title of coldest place in canada, having once reached -58 celcius, and perhaps even more exciting, it is the birthplace of winnie the pooh!

if you haven't already seen it i suggest doing so. it will bring out the proud canadian lurking within your bitter windsorite soul. then let's take a road trip. maybe hit fast-forward through the praries. i'll make a mix tape.

in the meantime, here are a few of my favourite canadian travel photos:

maid of the mist.

"downtown" Banff.

lake louise.

mt. tremblant, quebec.

LISTEN TO: wintersleep- weighty ghost

pola-droid

2009-07-21T20:11:00.000-07:00

nostalgic for polaroid? try poladroid: drag & drop your digitals and watch them time warp into old school lovliness.

for the full effect give them a little shake.

makes me feel all warm & fuzzy inside.

lots o' photo

2009-07-20T09:22:00.000-07:00

i heart ny.

ho ho ho.

layers of layers.

red-doored church.

outside the MET.

peek-a-boo taxi.

open window in the village.

homeless family needs money for booze AND drinks.

everyone is playing hold 'em these days.

late night subway station.

warning: Nitrogen.

melanie checks her mail in the Mews.

free personality test!

flowers for sale.

dangle.

china town is bright.

crayola apartments.

ticxtac.

the streets

2009-07-17T08:09:00.000-07:00

i took most of these photos traipsing around the lower east side in gritty neighbourhoods looking for commercial galleries where art sells for $100,000.

ABC NO RIO.

156 rivington street: abcnorio.org

shark toof.
bowery st., the lower east side.

m c.

NOPE.
in a charming alley that leads to art gallery Salon 94.

nevr lie down.
church on bowery in the lower east.

jesus love me not you.

guerilla kniting.
st. mark's place, east village.

aka crochet bombs.

f the stock market...buy art!

he knows when you are sleeping...
church on bowery.

Renegade

2009-07-15T08:19:00.000-07:00

while in nyc i had the chance for the first time to attend the Renegade Craft Fair, a celebration of all things DIY and handmade. Started in Chicago in 2003, it is now held annually in Chicago, Brooklyn, San Fran, and LA.

Brooklyn's McCarren Park played host to 300+ pre-selected crafters and artists from all over the country and an overwhelming amount of handmade goodies: the best of etsy in one place... not surprisingly etsy also had a tent.

my favourite booth belonged to husband&wife team Something's Hiding in Here, who were selling plaster hearts, cross-stitched yo-yo's, mini houses, faux logs, and wooden mustaches with different personas (ie: the bartender).

photos taken from Something's Hiding In Here's blog, which is definitely worth a visit. they're currently refurbishing vintage bicycles!
also, visit their etsy page here.

RCF goes home to Chicago, taking over Division St. on September 12 & 13.
i might just have to get my second helpi
in the meantime, RCF also has a permanent online shop.
shop here.

sight. see.

2009-07-12T09:19:00.002-07:00

more nyc photos; less thematic.

tree scarves.

corner apartment.

gumshoe.

"don't forget to write"
bench & bottle.feet over brooklyn. Cappuccinotattoo.

Alice in the Mews.

i'd trust this little guy with all my secret messages.

more later when blogger is sucking less.

bicycle love

2009-07-11T14:12:00.000-07:00

hello again! back from travels to the atlantic with pictures and stories to share. the following are photos i took of biycles in nyc as i was missing mine back home.

i've never met so many bikes with so much character, like old traveled souls.

observe.

@ nyu

for sale. jumble.

afro bike.
lower east.greenwich village.

worn & weathered.

bicycle lovers.

bicyle love triangle.

love your bike.

ticxtac.

made in windsor

2009-05-11T18:15:00.000-07:00

i was so pleasantly surprised by all the talented artists and crafters who brought their wares to the made in windsor craft show on saturday.

i fawned over a table shared by sister designers Tina Thibert (Dancing Jellybean) and Coleen Thibert (Coleeflower Designs) for quite some time before finally settling on a set of lovely magnets, a wee little deer patch, some pretty fabric-covered earrings, and a sewing machine-patterned tote for my dearest friend.

check out Tina's etsy shop... i have my eye on this sheepy wallet:

+ click here for Coleen's.

i also met hair accessory designer Stephanie Martin (To The Moon Designs) while admiring a set of cupcake hairpins... i was later informed they were for little girls. however, she does take custom orders for big girls too! check out her web shop here.

precious! find me a baby; i want to stick something pretty on its head.

Jodi Green had these amazing screen printed treasures for sale (notebooks, messager bags, dresses) that were actually part of her MFA thesis, which you can learn about here. i really wanted a notebook, but they were a little out of my price range ($70)... i couldn't walk away empty-handed so i bought a teeny little matchbook-notebook for teeny little note-taking.

i'm still admiring that full size notebook from afar in her etsy sh op.

check out her shop and then see how she turns the insides into works of art here.

last, but not least, i nabbed a greeting card featuring a photo from the series The Travels of Bonhomme Squelette by Laura Gould. look how pretty. i don't think i'll ever have the heart to send it away.

oh windsor, you're so cute sometimes.

go (mint) green

2009-05-05T15:11:00.000-07:00

this makes me super happy: Jones & Co., Windsor's most lovely vintage shop, is offering a 20% discount to anyone pedeling in on their bicycle during the whole month of May!

buy something pretty & carry it home in your basket.

my bicycle is mint green.

p.s. i got this picture from Melinda Clynes' article "Hipsters Guide To Windsor." Reading about your own city is funny. Having someone point out your city's "hipster" places is even funnier.

book fest x 2

2009-05-02T08:23:00.000-07:00

Ann Arbor Book Festival:
runs may 15-17th, featuring about 100 guest authors flooding the beautiful streets of ann arbor.

"The Ann Arbor Book Festival’s mission is to promote reading, heighten awareness of literacy challenges, and showcase the rich culture of the written word in Michigan and beyond."

http://www.aabookfestival.org/index.htm

highlights: 2009 literary symposium, breakfast with the authors, 2009 writers' conference, "the art of the play" @ the Arthur Miller Theatre

writers: they are currently (as of may 1st) accepting submissions for their Ann Arbor Book Festival Short Story Contest. the prize is $25o and publication. the entry fee is $10. you can go here for more info.

Toronto Small Press Book Fair:

"On June 13, 2009, from 9 to 5 p.m., up to 80 small- to medium-sized presses from the Greater Toronto Area—and a number from as far afield as Montreal, Calgary, and even Vancouver—will gather in the atrium of the Toronto Reference Library to sell their books, chapbooks, graphic novels, audio-books, magazines and comics, and a wide array of high-quality arts and crafts."
http://www.torontosmallpressbookfair.org/

some of my favourite small presses will be there: broken pencil, Carousel Magazine, Maisonneuve...

and a local one!: Rampike
and some i've never heard before that sound fun: Robot Kissing Booth, Sweetie Pie Press, & Peachy K Press whose write-up reads, "Drinking tea, sewing clouds, puttering,wandering,walking and wondering... welcome all to my opened suitcase."

see the full list here.

thank you mr. car

2009-04-28T09:22:00.000-07:00

why i want to live in portland, oregon:

nuff said.

scrabble aint just for grandpoppies and the socially inept.

2009-04-28T09:12:00.000-07:00

scrabble ups its street cred. a little birdy pointed me to these great new scrabble ads by Ogilvy & Mather Paris and i just had to share. see more @ juxtapoz.com

words are art

2009-04-23T19:40:00.000-07:00

every time i go to an art show i get a little sad that us writers don't get to have our work up installation-style in an austere, white-walled gallery with beaming spotlights and intellectuals milling about, rubbing their beards... however, today i realized i was wrong to be so downtrodden. LA-based writer miranda july's new exhibition "the hallway" gave me new hope. check out a video experience of the hallway:

The Hallway from The Hallway on Vimeo.

windsor gets crafty

2009-04-23T18:33:00.000-07:00

support the locals! i am so excited for... the made in windsor arts & craft sale: saturday may 9th 10-5 @ the vincent franzoi gallery and the nancy john's gallery (wyandotte and pillette-ish). i can't wait to indulge in button-y, hand-stitched goodness.

buy yourself something pretty. you deserve it.

penchant for paper products

2009-04-21T17:15:00.000-07:00

sometimes chapter's is an evil vortex. today when i went for my bimonthly $15 magazine fix (i won't say which because as it is i was barely able to get the last copy) i found these stunning reprints of literary classics. you can't go wrong with a hardcover classic @ $14.99! so first i decided to buy Dickens' Great Expectations because its new cover is adorned in chandeliers. but i reasoned it would look best next to the purple and red Madame Bovary. but i've been meaning to read Pride & Prejudice for quite some time so why not get the one covered in swans? finally i had to put down the three (okay five) i had craddled in my arms and run out of the store. i may or may not have shed a tear. sigh, my bookshelf looks so bland by comparison.

for quite awhile now i've stalked Little Paper Planes, an online store featuring a community of artists selling their often quirky, whimsical, and ridiculously cute art work, paper goods, clothing, and accessories. click the link: i think you'll enjoy browsing too.

seriously, it might need a restraining order from me soon.

everything is going to be ok? oh, good. i'm so glad.

tic x tac x type.

bibliophiles rejoice!

2009-04-14T17:59:00.000-07:00

1. kind of a far hike, but ottawa's international writers' festival is up-and-coming (april 22nd-may 2nd). on the guest list: Michael Ignatieff, Adrienne Clarkson, Ursula K. Le Guin, and former u of w writer in residence, Nino Ricci.

how are you celebrating national Al Purdy day?

2. on a rather long jaunt down queen street west to trinity-bellwoods park, I stumbled across little, eclectic, indie bookstore "Type." so kitschy cool, it's like nanna's closet: crammed full of interesting things you can't help but fawn over. if you're heading to the gta any time soon, i suggest you wander in.

<-- i spy one of my favourites: Lullabies for Little Criminals

3. two things i love: artists' journals & perusing the doodles on their pages. so naturally i can't help click-clicking my way through 'skine art, the website that celebrates artists and their moleskines. give it a peek or perhaps an original doodle.

4. buy handmade and canadian @ thimble. look at this little goodie.

april showers

2009-04-06T21:04:00.000-07:00

i have no upcoming literary events to blog about (i don't think), so in the meantime i will tell you to check out "Through Women's Eyes & Voices," a showcase of super talented female photographers and musicians @ Milk, running all month (with music on friday the 17th and saturday the 25th.)

here's a teeny tiny sample, courtesy of cri[u]stina naccarato. it looks even better hanging on the wall @ milk (and my bedroom wall where it also happily lives).

in other news... i've recently fallen in love with michele maule's etsy page, and consequently her blog. Typewriters, bicycles, cups of coffee,

rainboots... it's like we were separated at birth... oh, except she can draw and paint.

buy handmade!

p.s. i drove home in a blizzard.

window ledges and other high places

2009-03-31T18:24:00.000-07:00

tuesday, april 7th: the u of w's creative writing grad students (myself included) will be celebrating the end of the term (and for some the end of their MA degrees) with a gala reading @ PHOG from 7:30-9.

come listen to new fiction and pick up your free (FREE!) copy of "Window Ledges and Other High Places," a chapbook assembled by this year's grad creative writing class.

also, don't forget about the english dept. social tomorrow (wednesday) and the black moss book launch this thursday @ Elias deli. arrive early.

april fool's

2009-03-26T17:12:00.000-07:00

wednesday, april 1st: u of w's english department spring social ("isn't english department social an oxymoron?"- danielle) @ the ambassador room (2nd floor CAW) from 4:30-7pm, featuring readings by Nicole Markotic, Andre Narbonne and u of w's writer-in-residence M. Nourbese Philip! "Drinks, Food and Refreshments Served-- Free Admission!" (i'm interested to see what other refreshments there will be besides drinks and food.) let the social awkwardness ensue!

i'd link you to the eng. dept. website here, but the upcoming events section is blank.

in other news... jutting out of my mailbox when i came home from school today was a manila envelope containing filling station's issue 44, featuring yours truly for the first time between a spine. should be available in chapter's soonish, if anyone is interested.

i feel quite motivated to bust out the manila and SASE's again.

tic x tac x type.

2009-03-24T05:11:00.000-07:00

thursday, march 26th: undergraduate creative writing gala reading @ katzman lounge (u of w). doors @ 7:15. 44 creative writers x 2 minute readings: the literary equivalent of speed dating! cash bar and free finger food. bring your friends and your short attention spans!

book launch your bones

2009-03-23T08:07:00.000-07:00

monday, march 30th: Jeff Lemire reading @ vanier hall (oak room) @ 7:30.

thursday, april 2nd: "book launch your bones." a double book launch! Marilyn Gear Pilling will be reading @ elias deli @ 7pm, in support of her newest publication The Bones of the World Begin to Show (black moss press). she is also the author of The Life of the Four Stomachs and Cleavage: A Life in Breasts. Gear Pilling will be joined by Roger Bell, who is launching You Tell Me (black moss). he is the author of The Pissing Women of Lafontaine and When the Devil Calls. hang out, be entertained, support canadian literary talent.
http://www.blackmosspress.com/main/

happy qwerty-ing.

2009-03-18T12:41:00.000-07:00

the Lance gets artsy.

the Lance is currently accepting submissions of "poetry, prose, erotica, photography, artwork, etc." for their spring arts issue. submit to uwlance@uwindsor.ca by march 26th.
http://www.pastthepages.ca/

(the genre of erotica gets its own heading, really?)

wanting to publish?
Janine Morris will "write your wrongs." Janine is a fabulous freelance editor here in windsor, who you can consult @ ja9_morris@hotmail.com. just look at her pretty business card (spots and smudges courtesy of my wallet).

tic x tac x type.

i love windsor

2009-03-16T17:00:00.000-07:00

literary events happening in windsor this week:
(because the u of w rarely updates their english department website.)

tuesday, march 17th (yes, st. patrick's day): launch of the spring 2009 issue of Generations Magazine (a student-run publication out of the University of Windsor) @ PHOG 6:45-8pm; come check out readings by the contributors before you drink yourself into irish oblivion.
http://we b 2.uwind sor.c a/generationsmag/home.html

thursday, march 19th: Kyle Buckley reading @ the u of w (vanier hall, 4pm). His first poetry collection, The Laundromat Essay is out now: "The Laundromat Essay is a spiralling poem about the pathology of forgetting, a poetic narrative of credible absurdity and dazzling interest."
and he has fun glasses. exciting!
http://www.chbooks.com/catalogue/laundromat_essay

other art events happening in windsor:

friday, march 20th: Build & Burn (art show) reception @ the lebel gallery (u of w) 7pm, featuring Jason Deary, Taylor Pilote, Elizabeth Lojewski, and Elizabeth Mclachlan, with Furs DJing. the show is a stunning jumble of the most lovely bits and pieces, odds and ends...oh, and cars and bed frames! this is the type of art that makes you want to go yardsale hunting on your bicycle in the summertime. their talent makes me swoon. if you can't make it friday, go there right now; it's up all week.

a week of delights for eyes and ears!

anything else happening this week?

it is fun to mope!

2009-03-12T19:53:00.000-07:00

if you are a writer, artist, or photographer (and really, who isn't?), you should head over to http://www.mopemagazine.com/. the resurrected brainchild of the fabulous cara giagnocavo is currently under construction, but is accepting submissions while it awaits its launch.

freudian psychoanalytic theory

2009-03-11T21:40:00.000-07:00

this is a story - a true story, perhaps a cliched story.
it begins in high school - tenth grade - a class called "careers."
the setting is easily imagined - a classroom: desks in rows, a blackboard, a map on the wall.
i am the protagonist. i am mainly characterized by the presence of the tightly wound bun on the top of my head, also a debilitating shyness and tendency to blush.
the antagonist is a boy who sits behind me. he is characterized by his tenth grade charisma and affable nature.
the climax is quickly approaching.
i suppose we need a rising action first. okay, he makes fun of me a little bit. pokes me with a pencil or something, makes me do his homework. i barely speak, keep my head down.
the climax is unexpected - or perhaps not. he pokes his finger into the hole of my bun, sticks his index finger into the coils of my tightly wound hair, hair still wet from the shower. he pokes his finger in and out. in and out. all the while i do not speak, keep my head down.
the denouement is short: he gets bored and takes his finger out of the hole.

2009-02-03T19:30:00.000-08:00

things to do:
1. read 157 pages of literary theory.
2. ask an old man on the street how to get home and watch him say he has never heard of it.
2.5 wait for something to fly out of his beard and fall at your feet.
3. write the phrase "congratulations! you have stolen my pancake heart" and put it away til it means something.
4. go to new york city and bite your nails in the subway.
5. speculate as to why there are small cuts on the insides of your fingers.
5.5 decide your mittens were sewn together with glass.

it is cold outside.