A Piece of My Mind

Thursday Thirteen - 138 - 13 Things We'll Be Doing This Christmas Eve

2009-12-23T23:42:00.031-04:00

For all of you celebrating Christmas, my deepest wishes for a wonder-filled holiday.

This is what I'll be up to this Christmas Eve, my favorite day of the whole year.

1 - Hugs - loads of them. This one features my mom and Auntie Noel.

2 - Silliness - in abundance. Partaking here are my cousin Charlie, my husband Brad and me.

3 - Eating the meal I anticipate for the other 364 days of the year - my auntie's lobster bisque...mmm...

4 - More silliness - from my cousin Julianne and her husband Stephen, demonstrating romance novel clinch cover style.

5 - Laughing - demonstrating proper laugh technique is my mom, sitting with my cousin's wife Heather.

6 - Shooting lots of video footage, usually done by Stephen.

7 - Combine hosting and musical director duties, always done by Uncle Charlie.

8 - Play music - performed here by my cousin Julianne's daughter, Laura, with wee dancer Sarah, my cousin Charlie's daughter.

9 - Clap! Shown here are clappers Mom and Julianne.

10 - Play percussion, shown by enthusiastic drummer, Charlie's daughter Emily.

11 - Sing! Shown here are my sister Michelle and Mom.

12 - More silliness - it's important to keep the vibe flowing regularly throughout the evening, as demonstrated here by top silly pros Charlie, Heather, Sarah and Emily.

13 - Chill - remember to weave liberal amounts of chillin' throughout the silliness, fun and frivolity. Expert chill technique demonstrated here by Julianne's and Stephen's dog, Molly, cuddling with Stephen's aunt.

Michelle Johnson says Hope you have more silliness than you can stand.

Susan Helene Gottfried says Wow. Talk about tidings of joy, Julia.

Akelamalu says Have a wonderful Christmas Julia.

Wordless Wednesday - 131

2009-12-23T01:48:00.002-04:00

Nikki says I used to keep a big sock under my bed until I was in the 7th grade! :)

Brooke says When I was young we use to hang the stocks on the wall with thumb tacks in the formal dinning room. That way us kids couldn't get to them until Mom and Dad got them down..

Akelamalu says We never did the sock thing just had everything under the tree to find 'early' on Christmas morning!

Through the Opera Glasses - 41 - Virtual Advent Tour 2009

2009-12-22T00:01:00.008-04:00

Welcome to today's special post for my Through the Opera Glasses arts feature.

Today is my offering on the Virtual Blog Tour, hosted by Kailana and Marg.

My stop on the tour takes us to the ballet that started it all for me, as it does for so many other people - The Nutcracker.

This is the double album that my sister and I discovered under the Christmas tree in the early 70's. The full ballet score - no Nutcracker Suite, no sirree. I can't tell you how many hours I sat crosslegged on the rug in front of the stereo, gazing endlessly at this illustration on the album's front cover while I listened to every note of this magical work.

When I grew up and moved from Canada's east coast to Toronto, I somehow managed to get a job as an usher at the theatre where The National Ballet of Canada then performed. I started work in November, during the run of Swan Lake, so I was just in time for my first season of working the Nutcracker.

During my eight years at the theatre, I watched nearly every performance of the Nutcracker. The other ushers would get sick of it after the initial novelty wore off, but not me. Even when I was stationed somewhere outside the theatre, like the front doors to rip tickets or at the bottom of the lobby stairs to cover a reception, I would spend my break inside watching the performance.

These are my dear friends Alan and Jacquie, who can vouch for the depth of my ballet passion.

We're sitting at the pass door, which an usher would guard and allow only theatre or company members to pass through, while showing - you guessed it - an official pass.

For today's Advent post, I want to share a simply heartrending and exquisite piece of music from the Nutcracker, the adagio from the grand pas de deux which comes near the end of the ballet.

This is one of my favorite pieces of music. I'd always wondered what it was doing in the middle of a children's holiday ballet, but Tchaikovsky wrote it only a few years before his death, with only ten more works to follow. During the spring of 1891 as he worked on the music for Act II, where the grand pas de deux takes place, Tchaikovsky lost his sister, with whom he was very close. This gorgeous adagio so filled with adoration and longing makes more sense when viewed in that context.

Before we get to the Nutcracker adagio, I'll let two dancers from the Anaheim Ballet describe the process of creating a seamless dance partnership which shines during the pas de deux.

And here is the piece itself, choreographed by Rudolf Nureyev for the Paris Opera Ballet.

The Prince is danced by Laurent Hilaire. I saw him dance in person when he partnered Karen Kain during her retirement season. He was a strong actor, an instinctive partner and had the perfect blend of masculine grace.

Dancing the role of Clara is Elisabeth Maurin. Her technique and balance are absolute perfection.

The ballet was first performed in St. Petersberg, Russia at the Mariinsky Theatre on December 18, 1892.

Note: The volume is very, very low on this clip. You'll have to turn it wa-a-y-y up.

"Tchaikovsky's (initial) skeptical attitude towards a lowly genre was ousted by an attentive interest in its unused creative possibilities.

Given Tchaikovsky's unusual thinking which created dancing poetry, his tendency to portray action in musical-scenic works, and a desire to embody real and eternal feelings in the world of art, this could not but find an outlet in the genre of ballet music." - Olga Gerdt, History of Russian Ballet

To visit the other bloggers posting on the Tour today, visit:

Annabel at Gaskella

Heather at Book Obsessed

Sprite at Sprite Writes

Melissa says The Nutcracker is one of my favorite ballets, too; like you, the novelty never wears off!

Sprite says Ooh! I love the video clips! I particularly was struck by the physics of the jumping backwards while moving forwards bit.

Krissi says What a beautiful memory and experience. Merry Christmas.

Poetry Train Monday - 132 - All Morning, Most of the Afternoon

2009-12-20T23:19:00.021-04:00

For my second last found poem for 2009, I've returned to my diary from 1980, when I was in grade eleven.
My high school years were wrapped around the Prince Andrew Chorus, and I still cherish my friendships which have continued from this sparkling time in my life.

We used to go caroling at Christmas time, heading towards the home of whomever hosted a party afterwards.

For more poetry, Ride the Poetry Train!

All Morning, Most of the Afternoon

It took me all morning
Most of the afternoon
To clean all the party mess away

Dad and Michelle had driven me
Up to the portable
Quarter after seven
They'd come inside
We'd waited for everyone to come

I didn't mind it, though
Cleaning the party away
Cleaning gave me the opportunity
To think about last night again

Last night Dad and Michelle
Piled all the munchies people brought
Piled them into the car
And carted them home

Dad was laughing so much
Laughing at how crazy the portable is
I felt so happy
Happy to see him enjoy himself so much

We'd all set out at 7:30
To sing our little Christmas songs
It was absolutely freezing
I'd had two layers of everything on

Cleaning the party away
It took me all morning
I thought about last night again

We'd gone a little ways down Spikenard
Down Farquarson and Shawinigan
Down Guysborough and Mount Edward to Kelly
And then to my house

We'd sung two verses of one song
Then We Wish You a Merry Christmas at every house
At Ted's house where
We'd gotten molasses candy
At this other house where
They'd passed a box of Turtles among us
We'd sung a verse of O Come All Ye Faithful
Besides

We'd sung two verses of
Joy to the World
Under the carport at my house
Mom had laughed
At all of us frozen carolers
As she stood in the doorway

Most of the afternoon
It took me to clean the
Party away, but I
Didn't mind
I thought about last night

Everyone had piled in
Had peeled their coats off
Mom had dished out the
Hot mulled wine
I'd scurried to my bedroom
I'd changed into my new dress

I'd danced
Danced
Danced
We'd all gathered around
The piano

As people wrapped their
Arms about each other to
Sing, how it made me
All warm inside

It took me all morning
It took me most of the afternoon
I cleaned all the party away

I thought about last night
How we'd all set out
How we'd sung our Christmas songs
How freezing it was
How I'd worn two layers

How it made me all warm inside

- Julia Smith, 1980

Linda Jacobs says I recently found my diary from 1963 or 4. Hmmm...maybe I'll try a found poem, too!

Michelle Johnson says You share the warmth of your family and friends with us so clearly. Makes one reminisce about their own families during the holiday.

Artpredator says How wonderful for you to have these happy memories written down and saved, to savor in later years and turn them into poems, to share in a way you'd never have expected nearly 30 years ago.

Thursday Thirteen - 137 - 13 of My Mom's Christmas Ornaments

2009-12-16T22:22:00.031-04:00

My husband and I are roomies with my mom. We have our own apartment downstairs, but I spend part of each day with Mom upstairs on the main floor, so all of her Christmas decorations fill my Christmas with fun. Here is just a peek at her ornament collection.

- 1

This is Mom's Christmas CD holder, otherwise known in a previous life as my Great-Grandpa Meuse's toolbox, which he made for himself.

- 2

This figurine is known as Angela Angel, whom my sister and I named when we were kids. She used to stand in a snow scene Mom set up which we always referred to as Santa in Fairyland. Mom received this angel when she was 14 from a neighbour of her Uncle Benny's in Halifax. Mom lived in Sydney, Cape Breton at the time, and used to come down to Halifax to stay with her grandparents and aunts and uncles.

- 3

These are the Candy Cane Kids, also given to Mom from that same neighbouring family. They were also part of the Santa in Fairyland set-up. Mom recently had them repaired by a man in Truro who does excellent ceramic repairs.

- 4

This little angel was a gift from Mom's friends Charlotte and Yvon when she used to live in Yarmouth. I love the little lantern, which swings.

- 5

This Santa comes from Virginia and used to belong to my mom's sister, my Aunt Sheila. Mom inherited it when Sheila passed away. My aunt was a certified Christmas freak like me. There could never be too much Christmas for her.

- 6

This is Mom's Christmas stocking which she made from recycled material - fabric she collected from used clothing store garments.

- 7

This is an oversized clear glass ball with silvered texture that Mom bought for herself last year at Winners. She's rather enamored with it.

- 8

These three angels each have their own origin. The tall clear one at the back Mom found in Michigan, where we lived when I was very young and where we still have family and friends. We visit there as often as we can. The middle one Mom found here in Nova Scotia. And the little resin one in the front was actually Gram's, given to her by my step mom, Doris when Gram was in the hospital.

- 9

These three embroidered velvet hearts were given to Mom by my husband and me a few years ago. We found them at Winners.

- 10

Mom calls this carved stone piece The Green Women. She bought it a little over 10 years ago, on one of her trips to Ontario when my sister and I lived in Toronto. We took her for a day trip to Niagra-on-the-Lake and she found it there. She sometimes puts a candle in the centre, but at Christmas she fills the center with ball ornaments.

- 11

This ceramic Father Christmas was made for Mom by her Yarmouth friend, Carolyn. That's a picture of Mom when she was a little girl to the right.

- 12

This is a crystal lamp shade Mom found either at Frenchy's, Value Village or the Salvation Army - she can't remember which. She just fills it like a bowl with glass ball ornaments.

- 13

This is a little stuffed cotton print Santa that always gets hung on a lamp cord or lampshade. And his jingle bells ring.

Adelle Laudan says Most of my decorations are from years gone by.

Toni says I *love* the toolbox CD holder and the nostalgia of it.

Journeywoman says I like the 3 women.

Wordless Wednesday - 130

2009-12-15T23:25:00.007-04:00

Apprentice Writer says Smiles all around! She looks very cute.

Brooke says I miss dancing and watching dancing.. how lucky you are...

Julia @ Easy Eco To Go says It looks like they had a great time!

Through the Opera Glasses - 40 - Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)

2009-12-14T22:11:00.018-04:00

Everyone has a favorite Christmas song. For my husband Brad, it's Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) by Darlene Love.

This song is from the classic album A Christmas Gift For You, written and produced by the legendary current felon Phil Spector.

What's your favorite Christmas song?

Akelamalu says Mine's 'White Christmas'!

Carrie says Mine is O Holy Night.

Dorothy says If I had to pick just one it would be Joy to the World.

Poetry Train Monday - 131 - He Would Find Me in Testament, Virginia

2009-12-13T22:29:00.033-04:00

Heading towards Christmas - woo hoo! 10 days till Christmas Eve!! - here's my found poem which I've reworked from a passage by Jack Kerouac.

I'm currently reading On the Road for the Dewey Reading Challenge.

He Would Find Me in Testament, Virginia

At Christmas 1948
My aunt and I
Went down to visit my brother
In Virginia, laden with presents

I had been writing to Dean
Dean said he was coming East again
I told him if so
He would find me in Testament, Virginia
Between Christmas and New Year's

I had been spending a quiet Christmas
In the country

A mud-spattered '49 Hudson
Drew up in front of the house
A weary young fellow
Muscular and ragged in a T-shirt
Came to the porch
Rang the bell
I opened the door

It was Dean
Dean had come

All the way from San Francisco
To my brother Rocco's door
"But how did you get here so fast?"
"Ah, man, that Hudson goes!"

In the car
I could see two figures sleeping

Big tall Ed Dunkel
Dean's sweet first wife, Mary Lou

Dunkel worked on the railroad
He and Dean had just been laid off

Mary Lou was the only girl
Dean had ever loved
He'd been living with Camille
Became the father
Of a cute little girl
Amy

Saw a '49 Hudson for sale
Rushed to the bank
Dean calmed Camille's fears
Said, "Sal has pleaded and begged with me
Begged me to come and get him
It is absolutely necessary
But we won't go into
All these explanations"

He zoomed into Denver
Ran and found Mary Lou

They had ten hours of wild lovemaking
I had been spending a quiet Christmas
In the country

Dean pleaded and begged
At her knees
For the joy of her being

She understood Dean
She stroked his hair
She knew he was mad

They arrived at my brother's door
They had not eaten for thirty hours
Except for candy
And cheese crackers

My sister-in-law made a spread
The three battered travellers
Sat down to eat
Southerners
Don't like madness
Not Dean's kind

I saw the Christmas tree
The presents

The madness of Dean
Had bloomed into a
Weird flower

He and I and Mary Lou and Dunkel
Left the house
For a brief spin-the-Hudson
For the first time we were alone
Could talk about anything we wanted

He bought cigarettes
He seemed to be doing everything
At the same time
A shaking of the head
Up and down, sideways
Jerky, vigorous hands
Quick walking, sitting, crossing the legs
Uncrossing, getting up
Rubbing the hands, hitching his pants
Looking up, sudden slitting of the eyes
To see everywhere

And all the time
He was grabbing me
Grabbing me by the ribs
And talking, talking

It was very cold in Testament
They'd had an unseasonable snow

I had listened to the talk
Of the relatives
My aunt and I
Had visited my brother
Laden with presents

Dean stood
In the long bleak main street
That runs along the railroad
Clad in nothing
But a T-shirt and low-hanging pants
The belt unbuckled

His laugh was maniacal
It started low
And ended high

We got in the car
And flew back
To my brother's house

I had been spending a quiet Christmas
In the country
I realized
When we got back into the house
When I saw the Christmas tree
When I saw the presents
When I smelled the roasting turkey
When I listened to the talk of the relatives

Now the bug was on me again
And the bug's name was Dean Moriarty

And I was off on another spurt
Around the road

- Jack Kerouac, 1955

For more poetry, Ride the Poetry Train!

Thomma Lyn Grindstaff says So evocative. I'm going to have to read On the Road. I think I'd love it.

Akelamalu says I so enjoyed that Julia, thankyou. x

Thursday Thirteen - 136 - 13 of My Favorite Christmas Tree Ornaments

2009-12-09T20:19:00.055-04:00

- 1

This is one of the first Christmas ornaments I ever bought for myself. I love her as much today as the first time she took my breath away when I saw her in the store over at Halifax Shopping Center.

- 2

You will see a rather strong ballet theme among my Christmas ornaments. This Sugar Plum Fairy was another of the first ornaments I bought for myself when I worked my first job at the Halifax Simpson's in the Candy and Pastry department. I found her over at the competition, Eaton's. Simpson's and Eaton's are now things of the past, but those memories come along with this ballerina when she comes out of her wrapping.

- 3

These two ornaments come from Toronto, where I lived in my 20's and midway into my 30's. I bought the Christmas Fairy with gift money from my brother-in-law, Jeff, and I bought the Mouse King at the Ballet Boutique at the theatre where I used to work, during one of the runs of The Nutcracker.

- 4

This is one of a motherlode of gorgeous ornaments my husband Brad spoiled me with, several Christmases ago. He got them at Crabtree & Evelyn, which used to be a favorite store to gaze into, though I was incredibly allergic to the fragrance in the stores themselves.

- 5

This is a stuffed Snowman from Raymond Briggs' animated special which my sister gave me. We love The Snowman.

Beside him is another little snowman from my Best Friend Forever, Connie.

- 6

This is one of a trio of glass birds given to me when I worked as a live-in nanny in Toronto for the woman who became my dear friend Donna.

- 7

This Waltz of the Flowers ballerina was sent to me by my mother-in-law in a Toronto-to-Halifax Christmas postal delivery.

- 8

This is one of my early, just-moved-to-Toronto ornaments. Pierrots and Harlequins are big faves of mine, and I need a Harlequin for Act One from The Nutcracker, when Drosselmeyer winds up his toys for the children's party.

He's hanging out with a Christmas version of Raggedy Anne and Andy, which is actually a keychain I bought at the dollar store where I worked when we lived in Yarmouth for a few years. And beside him is the Charlie-in-the-Box from Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. Brad and I stumbled onto a whole set of these collectible figures at Winners here in Halifax a few years ago, for a totally crazy price.

- 9

This is a clear Ice ballerina from the Snow Kingdom whom Clara meets following the battle between the Nutcracker Prince and the Mouse King. Mom gave her to me for my first Yarmouth Christmas, when I was missing my job at the ballet so terribly. Beside her is a silver ballerina I bought a few years ago to be another dancer from the Snow Kingdom.

- 10

This golden ballerina was part of a set along with the silver dancer. She's from the Sugar Plum Fairy's kingdom. The Snowflake Fairy is from the Snow Kingdom part of The Nutcracker - I found her at Park Lane in Halifax a few years ago. As you can see, my Christmas is completely entwined with The Nutcracker.

- 11

I have a few Nutcracker decorations which aren't for the tree. I bought this wooden Nutcracker early on, before my move to Toronto. But of course he came there with me. The egg was an anniversary present to me from Brad, and stands in for the beautiful Faberge egg set in The National Ballet of Canada's version which can be seen at the Four Seasons Centre in Toronto. The Gingerbread Lady is part of a salt & pepper shaker set my mother-in-law was selling at an outdoor antiques market in Ontario. When I obviously loved it, she took it off the table and gave it to me.

- 12

Of course, for me Christmas is also tied to the Rankin Bass TV specials from my childhood, like Santa Claus is Comin' to Town, featuring Fred Astaire's Special Delivery man.

- 13

I also love blown glass ornaments like this seahorse I bought last year at Historic Properties in Halifax.

Every year I buy myself a new ornament - sometimes two. Not everything makes it onto the tree because I'd need half a dozen trees for every ornament to make it onto a branch. That might be in my future. Who knows?

My mom's tree is up and decorated upstairs, and Brad and I will get our tree up this weekend. All of these shots were taken of last year's tree. Is yours up? And what is your own favorite ornament?

Janet says Love the bird! I have a few of those, too :-)

Journeywoman says Love the Fred Astaire one.

Adelle Laudan says When I suggested we get a set of matching decorations next year, my girls gasped in horror lol

Wordless Wednesday - 129

2009-12-08T22:53:00.008-04:00

Brooke says We don't have lights up yet and with all the rain (and freezing slush snow) I doubt we will put any up.

Dawn says It looks like you guys are getting ready for the holidays! I hope that it was a lot of fun.

Jayaycee says My sisters and I live so far apart. You're lucky to have this memory together!

Through the Opera Glasses - 39 - White Christmas

2009-12-07T23:35:00.023-04:00

My sister has been staying with us for the past week while she's had her allergy needle from the clinic in Fall River. This is not your ordinary needle or allergy treatment. The allergy shots require her to keep everything in her environment as allergen-free as possible, which used to mean a week spent by herself at her house, eating a very restricted diet, not reading newspapers or magazines, no contact with animals, etc., etc.

But she sold her house since her last needle, and needed a place to crash during this treatment, so home again, home again, jiggety jig she came. It's been fun. Especially tonight, when we watched White Christmas with Mom in front of the newly-put-up Christmas tree.

This is one of those films I'd never seen until tonight.

Believe it.

It was so much fun to watch it with my mom and sister. We love musicals. We loved the costumes by Edith Head, loved the music by Irving Berlin, loved the dancing, loved Danny Kaye (a big favorite of my mom) and loved Bing's lovely voice.

Rosemary Clooney and Vera Ellen

If you haven't seen it before, why not take a breather from all the hubbub and watch this 1954 Hollywood musical? And if you've enjoyed it before, here's a reminder to rent it or pull it off your DVD shelf and settle in.

Ailurophile says Great to see that you enjoyed the film. Hoping also that your sister's allergy remains subsided.

Akelamalu says That's one of my all time favourite films!

Wylie Kinson says I used to watch it with my mom every year.

Poetry Train Monday - 130 - Christmas Wonder

2009-12-06T12:37:00.058-04:00

December rings in the final month of my year-long found poetry challenge. It's really been amazing. It's altered the way I want to write poetry in the future.

For today's found poem, I've taken snippets of lyrics from everything we sang during my choir concert last night.

Christmas Wonder

All the sagging orchards
Steamed with amber spice
I wondered as I wandered
Out under the sky

Let It Snow

Mary said to Joseph
So meek and so mild
Joseph, gather me some cherries
For I am with child

Gloria Tibi
Glory to Thee

'Twas in the moon of wintertime
When all the birds had fled
The weather outside was frightful
Each wild breast stiffened at remembered ice

Thula Sizwe
Hush nation

Hodie in terra canunt Angeli
Today on Earth the Angels sing
Go tell it on the mountain
Jesus the Saviour, come

That day is far away
This Christmas morn

Jesus, Jesus, rest your head
You have got a manger bed
The little Lord Jesus
Asleep on the hay

Ungabokala
Do not cry

It's the most wonderful time
Of the year
The stars in the bright sky
Looked down where He lay

Laetantur Archangeli
Archangels rejoice

Are the shadows deep and dark
As you sleep upon the hay?
Jesus the Saviour, come
For poor on'ry people like you and like I

Ujehova Wakho
Our God

I wondered as I wandered
Out under the sky
Constant was the love He gave her
Though He went forth from her side

Over the hills and everywhere

Forth to preach
To heal and suffer
The darkness that will fall
Though the sun is overhead

Gloria Tibi
Glory to Thee

That day is far away
O child upon the hay
Rejoice and sing
The stars look down

The fire is so delightful
Let It Snow

In the stable
I can see the shadows dark
In the moon of wintertime
That day is far away

Jesus the Saviour, come

Uzokunqobela
Will protect us
We'll tak a cup o'
Kindness yet

Do not cry

Mary gave us all her child
He went forth from her side
A donkey standing near
Like the one that you will ride

Through the cheering pilgrim throng

I wondered as I wandered
The stars in the bright sky
All the sagging orchards
Let It Snow

- American folk tune / Appalachian folk tune / Robbie Burns / Sammy Cahn / Paul Caldwell / Rachel Field / French Canadian folk tune / Langston Hughes / Sean Ivory / Richard Leach / Eddie Pola

I'll let The Women's Chorus of Dallas stand in for my choir - The Dartmouth Choral Society - so you can listen to our show-stopper, Hope For Resolution. For more poetry, Ride the Poetry Train!

Susan Helene Gottfried says I'm going to miss the found poems when 2010 begins.

Kim Richardson says Just beautiful, Julia!

Akelamalu says Lovely Julia :)

Thursday Thirteen - 135 - 13 Things That Kept Me Going During NaNoWriMo

2009-12-02T18:28:00.005-04:00

1 - Victory is mine!

2 -

3 - My fellow bloggers who also did NaNo

4 - My fellow Romance Writers of Atlantic Canada sisters who also did NaNo

5 - Gummies

6 - Those pep-talk emails sent out by Chris Baty, the originator of NaNoWriMo. Especially the one where he said:

"Group Two: The Come-Back Kids. You are part of the vast middle. You're still bushwhacking through the 20,000s or making the trek through the 30,000s. It's going to take some work, and you'll probably validate your novel at the very last minute, but victory is still in sight. Update your time zone (under user settings) so the Validator is there when you need it, and keep on trucking.

To the Come-Back-Kids: I am so with you. I somehow fall 10,000 words behind pace every year. I also win every year, and you can too. Easy-peasy. Our path to victory lies in huge word-count days. The sooner you knock out your first 5,000-word day, the happier you and your book will be. Don't wait until the last minute! To help get some momentum, allow yourself to write the juiciest, word-filled climactic scenes still to come in your book, even if it requires some skipping ahead. Start writing as soon as you finish this email.

To everyone: Have a great final lap of NaNoWriMo. Write like the wind! We're almost home.

Warm noveling regards,

Chris
30,001 words"

I can't tell you how much difference this email made for me. I was sitting at 31,004 words and taking a step back, thinking well, I had the flu, I managed 31,000 words, I'll be happy with that and step out of the race.

But I read his email and finished the marathon. Thanks, Chris.

7 - My characters - they want to live!

8 - My lack of migraines. Thanks, Vivian!

9 - I reminded myself that marathons aren't meant to be easy.

10 - Being stubborn.

11 - Pinot Grigio which my husband bought for me a few years ago when I completed my very first NaNoWriMo. I saved it until I could write The End on that book - which I did with this year's NaNo.

12 - My Xena - I know you fired me. No time for Pack cuddles this month, except when I was sick. But it seems like you hired me back on for another stretch. Love you.

13 - My husband - thanks, love.

Jennifer Leeland says Those are some VERY important supports. Especially the Grigio. LOL.

Paige Tyler says Great list! *hugs*

Brenda ND says It's wonderful you finished and that you have such a supportive hubby!

Wordless Wednesday - 128

2009-12-01T18:08:00.009-04:00

Apprentice Writer says Hooray! Hooray! I purple-barred also!

Brooke says Congrats on finishing and with time to spare.

Akelamalu says Oh well done!

Poetry Train Monday - 129 - It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

2009-11-29T18:16:00.025-04:00

It's the last few hours of NaNoWriMo. For me personally this has been a gruelling, challenging marathon that did everything it was supposed to do: take me well past my comfort zone, make me question my sanity, make me rearrange every priority in my daily schedule in order to write, make me take chances creatively that I would never do at a less crushing pace.

I still have 8800 words to write before I collapse exhausted over that finish line. So I'll ask Bing Crosby and songwriter Meredith Willson to help me out today on the Poetry Train. The pictures were taken today at my writers' group Christmas Potluck at Cathryn Fox's house.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Ev'rywhere you go
Take a look in the five and ten
Glistening once again
With candy canes and silver lanes aglow
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Toys in ev'ry store
But the prettiest sight to see
Is the holly that will be
On your own front door

A pair of hopalong boots and a pistol that shoots
Is the wish of Barney and Ben
Dolls that will talk and will go for a walk
Is the hope of Janice and Jen
And Mom and Dad can hardly wait
For school to start again

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Ev'rywhere you go
There's a tree in the Grand Hotel
One in the park as well
The sturdy kind that doesn't mind the snow

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Soon the bells will start
And the thing that will make them ring
Is the carol that you sing
Right within your heart

- Meredith Willson, 1951

For more poetry, Ride the Poetry Train!

Thursday Thirteen - 134 - 13 Reasons Canada's Defense Minister Peter Mackay Should Man Up About Torture Allegations

2009-11-25T10:08:00.005-04:00

1 - "A top diplomat’s account of the rampant torture and rape of Afghan detainees is not credible, Defence Minister Peter MacKay (shown with Gen. Natynczyk) said Thursday.

Under fire from all parties, MacKay dismissed testimony from Richard Colvin as second- and third-hand information from enemy sources.

'What we’re talking about here is not only hearsay, we’re talking about basing much of his evidence on what the Taliban have been specifically instructed to lie about if captured,' he said." - Kathleen Harris, Toronto Sun Photo by Andrew Vaughan

2 - "The mugging of Mr. Colvin's reputation showed the Conservatives' underside.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservative Party has its own Frat Pack: a cluster of ministers and MPs who represent the sharp point of the party's attack machine. You could see it at work last week, with Transport Minister John Baird and others attacking the credibility of Richard Colvin, the civil servant who tried to alert the Canadian government to the torture awaiting Canadian Forces detainees sent to Afghan prisons." - Jeffrey Simpson, Globe and Mail Photo by Chris Wattie

3 - "In December of 2005, while Canada was in the middle of the election campaign that brought Stephen Harper to power, then-Chief of Defence Staff General Rick Hillier signed a deal establishing our detainee transfer protocol — an arrangement that did not provide for Canadians to monitor their prisoners.

According to Mr. Colvin, Canadian soldiers were rounding up large numbers of suspected insurgents and turning them over to the Afghan authorities, and then relying on the Red Cross and an Afghan human rights group to make sure they were not tortured." - Stephen Maher, Chronicle Herald Photo by Globe and Mail

4 - "Inevitably in this kind of insurgency, where foreign troops sweep the countryside for guerrillas, some innocents get scooped into the same net as actual enemy fighters.

All three of the independent military commands at that point (in 2007) — the Canadian, Dutch and British — knew that under international law they were responsible for the well being of all Afghans they picked up, even after they were handed over to Afghan prisons and interrogation centres.

The Dutch were concerned enough to report immediately any handover to the local Red Cross officials. Britain acted within 24 hours.

But Canada?

When Canadian soldiers brought in the usually hooded and tightly bound detainee, our military police on the spot would first inform the colonels and generals in the Kandahar mission control centre.

But instead of alerting the Red Cross right away, like the Dutch and British, these commanders, following orders, sent the information to CEFCOM, the Canadian Expeditionary Force Command in Ottawa.

This information would then be passed over to Defence Headquarters and to Foreign Affairs.

Instead of CEFCOM sending word back to Kandahar to immediately engage local Red Cross officials, the file instead was forwarded to the Canadian Embassy in Geneva.

Only then did Canada inform the International Red Cross, suggesting that it check up on some Afghan civilians our troops had detained and handed over to Afghan interrogators.

It was while this odd Kandahar to Ottawa to Geneva to Kandahar shuffle was going on that detainees would be under the greatest threat of torture and other abuses. If you wanted to ensure your detainee was grilled to the hilt over days, weeks, or months, would this not be the kind of play-for-time system that you would devise?" - Brian Stewart, CBC News Photo by Musadeq Sadeq

5 - "Former warden of Sarpoza Prison, Abdul Qadar Khan Popal, told Canwest News Service 'Prisoners were kept several days in the custody of the NDS,' Afghanistan's National Directorate of Security. 'It was not a matter of hours,' Popal said before detainees were transferred from the dilapidated NDS detention centre to Sarpoza. 'I myself have seen injuries on their bodies caused by torture by the NDS.' " - Matthew Fisher, Canada.com Photo by Natalie Behring-Chisholm

6 - "Colvin’s analysis came from interviewing hundreds of prisoners who had been transferred to the Sarposa prison, after allegedly being abused. In May 2007, the Globe and Mail’s intrepid, unembedded reporter Graeme Smith had ventured to the Sarposa prison and broke the same story of alleged torture. I happened to be in Kabul with colleagues when Smith’s expose hit the newsstands and, as a result, we were able to do some first-hand followup.

The head of the NDS acknowledged that the abuse issue could strain Afghan-Canadian relations and, as a gesture of good faith, he offered to grant us direct access to the notorious NDS detention centre in Kandahar.

When we interviewed the directing staff, they proudly admitted that to a man they had all received their training from the Soviets and were all former KGB officers." - Scott Taylor, Chronicle Herald Photo by Dene Moore

7 - "Colvin told a special Commons committee on Afghanistan Wednesday that Canada took vastly more battlefield prisoners than either the British or Dutch militaries operating in southern Afghanistan.

He said that those detainees were, by and large, innocent taxi drivers and farmers rather than Taliban operatives, and that abuse was the 'standard operating procedure' of Afghan authorities, regardless of the intelligence value of a prisoner.

The implements of torture were wire cables, electrical shocks and physical and sexual abuse, he said.

Once newspaper reports in April 2007 brought the problems to light, Colvin said he was instructed to keep quiet by David Mulroney, a senior official who had responsibilities to report on Afghanistan to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, then-foreign affairs minister Peter MacKay and Gordon O'Connor, who was the defence minister before he became the first political casualty of the detainee scandal." - Tonda MacCharles, Toronto Star

8 - "As far as anyone knows, no one has seen a Canadian soldier turn over a suspect to a torturer to be pistol-whipped, cudgelled, shocked or raped.

Yet Richard Colvin sent senior Canadian officials no fewer than 17 messages in 2006 and 2007 warning that Afghan interrogators used torture as 'standard operating procedure,' that Canadian troops were handing over 'a lot of innocent people,' and that could make them complicit in war crimes. He also copied more than 70 people.

As for Colvin's credibility, the Afghan human rights panel has just confirmed that there were indeed 232 cases of torture in 2006/07." - Editorial, Toronto Star Photo by Finbarr O'Reilly

9 - "The Foreign Affairs report, titled Afghanistan-2006; Good Governance, Democratic Development and Human Rights, was marked 'CEO' for Canadian Eyes Only. It seems to remove any last vestige of doubt that the senior officials and ministers knew that torture and abuse were rife in Afghan jails.

The report leaves untouched many paragraphs such as those beginning 'one positive development' or 'there are some bright spots.'

But heavy dark blocks obliterate sentences such as 'military, intelligence and police forces have been accused of involvement in arbitrary arrest, kidnapping, extortion, torture and extrajudicial killing.' " - Paul Koring, April 2007, Globe and Mail Photo by Canadian Press

10 - "Whistleblower Richard Colvin joined Foreign Affairs 15 years ago, in his mid-20s, with the idea that – in the words of one source close to him – Canada might not be a major player but 'we're a force for good, we stand for something.' " - Tonda MacCharles, Toronto Star Photo by Sean Kilpatrick

11 - "Counter-insurgency is an argument to win the support of the locals.

Every action, reaction or failure to act become part of the debate. In Kandahar, Canada needs to convince local people that we are better than the Taliban, that our values were superior, that we would look after their interests and protect them.

In my judgment, some of our actions in Kandahar, including complicity in torture, turned local people against us. Instead of winning hearts and minds, we caused Kandaharis to fear the foreigners. Canada’s detainee practices alienated us from the population and strengthened the insurgency." - Richard Colvin, House of Commons testimony, Macleans Photo by Tylere Couture

12 - "I find it insulting to listen to the governing party in Canada trying to discredit someone who is standing up for the Canadian sense of human justice. I think the Harper crew is insulting everything that each and every Canadian soldier fought and died for - basic human rights. We are a country that upholds the human rights of all people, all the time. This government just celebrated Remembrance Day, and now it slaps the face of all who died for this great nation. Canada deserves better." - Rod Sarty, letter to the editor, Chronicle Herald

13 - " 'We inherited an inadequate transfer arrangement left in place by the previous government,' said Defence Minister Peter MacKay.

'There is something called ministerial accountability,' said Liberal defence critic Ujjal Dosanjh. 'You can't shut your eyes, your ears and your mouth to say "No, I didn't know." '

The opposition demanded to know the names of the officials who tried to shut down Colvin's reports and sanitize the reports of other diplomats.

'Who in this government issued that order?' asked Dosanjh. 'Why is this government creating a culture - an un-Canadian culture - of secrecy about an issue as abhorrent as torture?' " - Murray Brewster, Canadian Press Photo by Pete Williamson

Wordless Wednesday - 127

2009-11-25T00:06:00.003-04:00

Photo by Kai Pfaffenbach

Through the Opera Glasses - 38 - Lucas North Faces His Torturer on Spooks

2009-11-23T21:13:00.028-04:00

For lucky TV viewers in the UK, Spooks season 8 has already begun airing. And the latest episode - 4 - focuses on Lucas North's literal torturous past.

For viewers in North America, where Spooks season 8 won't be airing for awhile yet, try this link on You Tube.

In this episode, Lucas (Richard Armitage) faces down the man who was his torturer for four of the eight years he survived in a Russian prison.

Truly the stuff of both nightmares and fantasies, to once again stand before someone who tortured you would take 'mindblowing experience' and totally redefine it.

Torture scenes in films and television put me in a cold sweat. I feel physically sick when I sense one is coming in the story, and sitting through one is an ordeal.

If it's real news footage, like the scene in the Vancouver airport of Robert Dziekański's last excruciating moments after being Tasered by RCMP officers - I can't watch and I have to put my hands over my ears. I can't stand the screaming.

The handling of the Lucas North torture storyline on Spooks thoroughly examines the post-traumatic effects this has on the remainder of that person's life. Lucas is shown as being unable to sleep unless he returns to the hard floor, unable to prevent unrelated stimuli from provoking break-through memories from surfacing, and struggling to prove to his MI-5 superiors that he doesn't retain any Stockholm Syndrome feelings towards his former Russian captors.

CLICK HERE to watch a clip from Spooks season 7 featuring our first glimpse into Lucas' torture memories. WARNING: contains waterboarding footage.

Join me later this week when I haul Canada's Defense Minister Peter Mackay onto the carpet for daring to say he was not aware that up to 130 Afghan detainees who were handed over to Afghan authorities by Canadian troops were then tortured.

My Thursday Thirteen will be posted with both barrels blazing. Wear your flak jackets.

Poetry Train Monday - 128 - I Won't Back Down

2009-11-22T11:43:00.026-04:00

As I mentioned last week, I'll be using song lyrics for the remainder of November for the Poetry Train, due to my writing marathon for NaNoWriMo.

This week was even more desperate than last week.

Last week, when I asked Eugene Hutz to help me out, I thought the Blue Meanies had done with their conspiracy to shake my resolve. My glasses had already fallen apart at the bridge as I was typing away on my NaNo novel. I was without glasses for three days. But did I miss work? No. Did I stop writing? No. Could I see anything? No.

I could even ignore the fact that I felt like absolute crap. I only had to work Mon. and Tues., had my birthday off work for Remembrance Day, worked on Thurs. and had Fri. off (my every-three-weeks earned-day-off.) That's a three-day-weekend for lots of word-count accumulation, right?

Wrong.

The flu knocked me out cold. Flattened. Steamrollered. I crawled into work on Mon., but from Tues. on I stayed home. I slept. And slept. And slept. And slept. Fell down the stairs, too, in there somewhere. Very, very dizzy. No writing at all for two entire days. Zero additions to my word count. NaNo kept on. I didn't.

Did I ever mention I come from a long line of Extremely Stubborn Acadians?

This week I'll let these lyrics explain my state of mind, as I haul myself back into my seat at the computer. Help me out, Tom.

Photo by Karl Walter

I Won't Back Down

Well I won't back down
No, I won't back down
You could stand me up at the gates of hell
But I won't back down

Gonna stand my ground
Won't be turned around
And I'll keep this world from draggin' me down
Gonna stand my ground

And I won't back down

Hey, baby
There ain't no easy way out
Hey
I will stand my ground
And I won't back down

Well, I know what's right
I got just one life
In a world that just keeps pushin' me around
But I'll stand my ground

And I won't back down

- Jeff Lynne and Tom Petty, 1989

For more poetry, Ride the Poetry Train!

Thursday Thirteen - 133 - 13 Random Shots From 2009

2009-11-18T14:32:00.001-04:00

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Wordless Wednesday - 126

2009-11-17T12:03:00.005-04:00

Through the Opera Glasses - 37 - The Silver Chair

2009-11-16T23:08:00.015-04:00

Today on my bus ride home from work, I found myself dreaming of The Silver Chair.

After The Horse and His Boy, it's my favorite of the Chronicles of Narnia. And if all goes well, it will be the fourth of the film adaptations of that series.

Of course, in my dreams Prince Rilian and his enchanted persona, the Black Knight would be played by Richard Armitage.

What say you?

Poetry Train Monday - 127 - Letter to Mother

2009-11-15T12:52:00.018-04:00

I'm deep in the midst of the writing marathon known as NaNoWriMo. I can't possibly write any poetry for the remainder of this month, not even found poetry, because that too requires a calm, clear focus to hear what the found words are saying to me.

So I'll share with you some lyrics I really like from mad genius Eugene Hutz, the songwriter for Gogol Bordello.

Yesterday I tappity-tapped a record-breaking (for me) 4000 words into my NaNo first draft novel. So Eugene, give me a hand here.

Photo by Pavla Fleischer

Letter to Mother

The noise in this joint is unearthly
And soon I awkwardly say,
'Oh look, there it is, my whole life in the ashtray
I can go back to her that way.'

Cause in blue darkness of the night
She keeps imagining one thing:
Someone stuck his Finnish knife
Under my heart

I know that even though she doesn't show it
She grieves sorely for her son
And often walks out to the road
In her old fashioned coat

And in blue darkness of the night
She keeps imagining one thing:
Someone stuck his Finnish knife
Under my heart

I know she's there grieving sorely for me
I know she's there turning grey for me
When I come back she'll forgive me
So motherly, motherly, motherly

- Eugene Hutz, 1999

For more poetry, Ride the Poetry Train!

I'm blogging at Popculturedivas today

2009-11-13T01:31:00.005-04:00

Drop by Popculturedivas today and judge for yourself:

If you're Gerry Butler, does a walk down the red carpet = running the gauntlet?

Thursday Thirteen - 132 - 13 Ways to Say Happy 40th Birthday to Gerard Butler

2009-11-11T08:30:00.046-04:00

As many of you know, I'm rather partial to Scottish actor Gerard Butler.

On Nov. 13th he turns the big 4 - 0. Here are 13 wishes for him on this milestone birthday. He's the inspiration for a fictional character that I'm currently writing about during NaNoWriMo, a month-long writing marathon.

Thanks, Gerry.

- 1

"If you count all your assets, you always show a profit."

- Robert Quillen

- 2

"Whatever you do, do it with all your might. Work at it, early and late, in season and out of season, not leaving a stone unturned."

- P. T. Barnum

- 3

"It's being able to take it as well as dish it out. That's the only way you're going to get respect from the players."

- Larry Bird

- 4

"A taste for irony has kept more hearts from breaking than a sense of humor, for it takes irony to appreciate the joke which is on oneself."

- Jessamyn West

- 5

"Do just once what others say you can't do, and you will never pay attention to their limitations again."

- James Cook

- 6

"The lion is most handsome when looking for food."

- Jalal ad-Din Rumi

Photo by Patrick Fraser

- 7

"The higher the hill, the stronger the wind."

- John Wycliffe

Photo by Debra Hurford Brown

- 8

"When you reach the top, that's when the climb begins."

- Michael Caine

Photo by Dagblat (Norway)

- 9

"Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties."

- Erich Fromm

Photo by Amanda De Cadenet

- 10

"Nobody is born a warrior, in exactly the same way that nobody is born an average man. We make ourselves into one or the other."

- Carlos Castaneda

Photo by Martin Pope

- 11

"Twelve highlanders and a bagpipe make a rebellion."

- Scottish Proverb

Photo by Fotogramas.es

- 12

"Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not. Genius will not. Education will not. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan 'press on' has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race."

Calvin Coolidge

- 13

"The face you have at age 25 is the face God gave you, but the face you have after 50 is the face you earned."

- Cindy Crawford