Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in Cameron's LiveJournal:

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Tuesday, June 30th, 2009
1:13 am	Happy Canada day, almost! It's actually our wedding anniversary as I write this (yay, eight years!) but that means it's only 24 hours to Canada Day. Here's a fantastic video to help you celebrate it in style no matter where you may be. Because yes, I know you want to be Canadian. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, June 27th, 2009
12:51 pm	status updates your mom and nieces can read Over in Facebook, I briefly considered the following: "Cameron's garden is running wild. and no, that is not a metaphor for personal grooming." It's entirely accurate, but maybe it's best not to give one's teenage cousins that kind of mental image. We've been so busy lately (oh, who am I kidding, Rob doesn't do any gardening) that the neglected Eden out back is getting a little too lush. Fending for itself in all the rain and sun has produced a verdant jungle that's in serious need of some trimming. Of the metaphor alluded to, quite the opposite: one's personal topiary is perfectly manicured, thank you. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, June 24th, 2009
9:18 pm	If it was just me with the collywobbles (grimy all-day headache, plus the trots) I might think almost nothing of it, but Rob's got it too. We think it's something food borne from our dinner at the Fox & Fiddle last night. Something that suggests maybe the cook should be paying closer attention to, say, hand washing. It also occurs to me that the weekend of trusting the shuffle resulted in a lot of fun but not much sleep- and not much since then, because I'm generally getting up well before 7 no matter what time we hit the sack. So it's been great for gym-going, but less so for sleep-getting. I am tired and a little bit sick. Early to bed tonight. (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009
3:20 pm	trust the shuffle Instead of clinging to my precious playlists, I'm actually throwing all caution to the wind and listening to my ipod on shuffle. And you know what? It's amazing! I love it when the 'pod throws a whole selection of French songs together, or follows techno-Bjork with a perfect Prodigy song, or when it reminds me why I used to love Jesse Cook. It's working. I'm even listening to the shuffle at the gym. Laugh if you like, but that's kind of a big deal for me. This weekend I went a big step further and put my whole life on shuffle. Just trusted things to be different and spontaneous, open to anything. How was it? Amazing. That's how it was. Always being in control means being risk-adverse. I didn't like risk because of the possibility of failure. Funny how I missed the point that risk can also bring far greater rewards. Like the commandos say: who dares, wins. I'm trusting the shuffle. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Friday, June 19th, 2009
10:45 am	fun with the YouTubes Afro Celts have videos? Who knew? I love this song (but slightly prefer the more straight-forward version on a different album) and really like the vid. Enjoy: (Comment on this)
Tuesday, June 16th, 2009
9:10 pm	three chance encounters All in one day, these three odd moments happened. First- in the hot tub at the Y with the chatty old Dutch lady, skinny and brown as a strip of jerky, talkative always in a way that I can't quite tell if she's a little bit batshit, or just lonely. She mentioned that she was born in 1941. "Do you remember the War?" I asked. She nodded. "Ya, ya. I was little kid, but I remember the bombs. The bombed until the very last day. I was crossing a field with a nun when they came." "They bombed you on the last day of the War?" She nodded matter-of-factly. "The nun, she covered me with her body. She died, but I was alive. But my mother told me never to move until the bombs stopped coming, and I was still there when the soldiers came. One noticed I was under there, still alive, covered in blood. But it wasn't my blood, it was hers." She was four years old, nearly five. Second- in the subway, on my way to see a friend for dinner. The stop after mine, a heavyset man bustled aboard. He was dressed in work clothes, middle aged, bespectacled, entirely unremarkable except for the strange nervous energy with which he darted through the car and into a bench seat. He sat in the middle of three. Put his bags on the seat to one side, and his glasses on the other, and a guitar case on the floor. This, he opened at once, and pulled out a fine acoustic guitar. Wait, what? Is this guy going to play music in the subway car? He was. He held the guitar close in a most sensual way- the body cradled close to his, his chin resting on the guitar's shoulder, his left hand high on the neck. He closed his eyes and began to strum with strong nails on thick fingers. He moved constantly- a free leg jiggling, sometimes in time with his music and more often note. He swayed slightly, his hand dropping from the frets to rest on the guitar's shoulder, and then up once more. He played in the Spanish style, and he was surprisingly good. It was as if he was playing with his whole body. He never opened his eyes. He didn't seem to care if people watched or not. I'd been listening to my ipod, but it that seemed somehow disrespectful in the presence of live music, so I quietly switched it off. Everyone else on the car ignored him. That's Toronto for you. Third, and also in the subway, this time on the way home. It was midnight. The car was mostly empty. A youngish guy sat not far from me, looking casually natty in a white knit cotton long sleeve, linen trousers, and stylish shoes. He looked a little dazed. In his right hand, a crumpled liquor store bag. Almost as soon as he sat down, he cast an almost comical look from side to side- anyone watching?- and pulled a tall can of imported beer from the bag. He popped the tab, and proceeded to down the entire can in about five business-like swallows. Then he put the empty back in the bag, smiled a little to himself, and staggered off the car about five stops later. Strange little moments of humanity, each one of them a tiny jewel in a treasure box of a sunny day. (3 Comments |Comment on this)
2:17 pm	ipod love Now that I've finally found a decent pair of headphones to fit my mutant ears, my ipod is getting a lot more play than before. I'm even challenging my usual rigid adherence to routine by occasionally abandoning my cherished playlists, and- gasp!- letting the ipod play in shuffle mode. It's a good thing to shake stuff up every now and again. I've got 704 songs on the 'pod, but probably only listen to around 50 or so with any regularity. This is getting me reacquainted with my music collection, which tends to the eclectic. How so, you wonder? Just the other day I was making a mental checklists of all the languages sung in my list: -English (no duh) -French, both Parisian and Quebecois -Latin -German -Dutch -Irish gaelic -Scots gaelic -Jamaican patois (yes, it's a language) -Bulgarian (at least I assume that's what Kate Bush's bulgarian background vocalists are singing) -Punjabi (bhangra!) -Hindi -Kinyarwanda -Malinke -whatever made-up tongue the Enya sound-alike is singing in "Adiemus" (Comment on this)
Monday, June 8th, 2009
11:29 pm	fun with the YouTubes (Comment on this)
Monday, June 1st, 2009
12:04 pm	the Star Trek Movie recognition flow chart Click here for awesomeness. (Comment on this)
Saturday, May 30th, 2009
11:01 am	fun with the YouTubes I don't know, but maybe you have to be English to truly appreciate this one. Or so Rob thinks, having viewed it for himself without being reduced to snorts of helpless giggles as I was, only moments earlier. Personally, I think anyone who has a reasonable grasp of musical theatre and a fondness for Monty Python will do just fine. I've really been enjoying the clips from all of Britain's Got Talent. The entire planet knows about Susan Boyle, but what about Stavros Flatley? And how about that glam-rock styled Welsh waiter who warbled Nessun Dorma in a most alarming counter-tenor? Makes me proud to be British, it does. *snif!* (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009
12:33 pm	fun with the YouTubes Cheerfully gakked from the Onion's AV club: Your Guide to Facebook Etiquette. Another mini miracle, every single shot of which I adore. Okay, possible exception to "don't steal your friends' friends", because I don't see how anyone gets to call exclusive dibs on other people, but still. Awesome little clip. ETA: When I first saw and posted this, there was an un-yet discovered problem with my headphone jack, such that I could hear only the cheery soundtrack, and not the narration. It was still completely laudable and easy to understand the vid even without the announcer. Now that my sound tech issues are fixed, and I've heard the whole thing over: still awesome. ETA again: Hmm, no more video here. Guess they removed the embedding code... (Comment on this)
Tuesday, April 21st, 2009
11:21 am	my new favourite etsy store I really, really love what this guy is doing. It's almost exactly the opposite of the kind of portraits I'm working on. So bracing! (Comment on this)
Friday, April 17th, 2009
11:44 am	ear buds just bug It's getting harder and harder to find ordinary headphones. Not the big honkin' musicphile pillowy numbers, no. I mean the little folding ones, some kind of behind-the-head band, sponge-covered speakers that just nestled against the ear. I do own one ancient set that long ago lost the little squishy flanges that tuck behind the ear and stabilise the unit. So they don't work for portable use- one shake of the head and they slip. They're good to hook into the computer for desk use, but that's all. See, I can't wear ear buds, and mostly that's all there is nowadays. Can't or won't, you wonder? Can't. I lack the correct anatomy for them. If you look at how those ear buds work, it's largely dependent on a certain feature of auricular architecture that most everyone seems to have. Guarding the ear canal itself, there's a little rampart made of two rounded nubs with a keyhole-shaped opening, right in front of a curved bowl. The buds are worn inside that keyhole, where they fit smoothly against the bowl. My ears are not like that. I've only got half the rampart, and the bowl is so shallow that it's more of a soup plate. No matter how small the bud, they have nowhere to lodge. Epic fail. Odd, isn't it, how I managed to get this far through life without being aware that my ears were deficient in manufacture: they work fine, but the unremarked-upon deviation in their design is standing between me and my mobile iPod experience. My overworked $20 behind-ear 'phones finally cut out and died earlier this week, so my situation is immediate. And it's not like I'm asking for the world, here. All I want is some kind of speaker device that will be comfortable and secure to wear at the gym, and will then fold up neatly to fit in my handbag. Problem is, buds simply don't work, and my ear canal is just too small (or maybe too sensitive) to allow the kind that fit right inside there. And you can't try them before you buy them, which limits my selections to the big-box retailers that will accept no-fault returns. I got a pair of Skullcandy earphones that are an overall fail. There are three criteria, in order of importance: how they sound, how they feel, how they look. These little guys look great, but they're uncomfortable and the sound is thin, tinny, awful. Back they go. Try again. Surely I'm not the only person out there with ear anatomy that's incompatible with the bud technology. Am I really going to end up with a huge, dorky pair of old-style headphones that sound great but make me look like a hipster? (15 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, April 15th, 2009
6:29 pm	fun with the YouTubes In this latest installment, may I present one of my favourite commercials ever: I like absolutely everything about this spot except for the product, which I couldn't care less about. Immaterial: the commercial itself is a mini-masterpiece: casting, shot selection, editing, all perfection. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Monday, April 13th, 2009
12:24 pm	you may be a feminist if... If you believe that women should be allowed to vote, then you may be a feminist. If you believe that women should be allowed to own property and have their own money, then you may be a feminist. If you believe that women and girls have the right to be educated, then you may be be a feminist. If you believe that women should make the same amount of money as men do in the same jobs, then you may be a feminist. If you believe that women are "persons" in law, then you may be a feminist. If you believe that women should be allowed to attain positions of authority- as judges, lawyers, doctors, senators, professors- then you may be a feminist. Do not think that any of these rights are automatic. Many women in the world today cannot even dream of such equalities. And those equalities that you may currently enjoy have been won by women and men before you, who fought, and in some cases died, so you might cast a ballot or go to University. If you believe that women have the right to determine what happens to their own bodies, then you may be a feminist. It is my personal belief that a whore can certainly be a feminist. If you think otherwise, we may have to disagree, as I doubt very much that you could frame any argument that would sway me. If you believe that women who are firefighters should be permitted to meet reduced standards for strength and speed in their work, then you may be a feminist, but I can't agree with you in this case either: I want each and every firefighter to be able to haul my fat ass out of a burning building, thanks. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, April 11th, 2009
11:01 am	the little red car that could The car used to spend a lot of time on the highway. There was the time we shocked the oil change guy by coming back in 30 days- yes, we'd put 5000km on the car in a month. With living in Guelph and singing in Toronto, there was a memorable weekend in January when I drove in on a Friday for a regular choir practice, back home in a storm, and right back into Toronto eight hours later for an all-day rehearsal. That was 400km in less than 24 hours, and maybe it would have been better if any of my choirmates had offered their couch instead. I once totalled up exactly how far I'd driven in and out for rehearsals and the concert, for just one half-season, and it was staggering. We lived in Guelph but all of our work and most of our social life was in Toronto. That's where I had to go to buy most of my art supplies and fabrics- well, until the discovery that Len's Mill Store was literally within walking distance. This car has been to Nova Scotia and back more than once. It went on many weekend excursions to visit Russ and Nicky, and Rob's folks. Nowadays it ferries Rob to and from work every day, and occasionally goes on large grocery runs. Sometimes it stays in the driveway while we both hop on the subway- who would choose to go looking for parking in Chinatown, when we can get there fast and cheap by public transit? This car is less than eight years old, and has over 250,000 km. It is old. But it was built under a lucky star, because in all these years and all those many miles, it's never needed any major repairs. Rob just got the oil changed- the fanciest, high-mileage synthetic that money can buy- and today will replace the air filter and top up other fluids. We're going for a fast holiday visit to see his folks, a three hour drive east of here, and it occurs to me that I can't remember the last road trip we took. Rob was out there last summer, but I wasn't with him on that trip. Russ and Nicky aren't in Canada anymore. And if I was in the choir, which I am not, I'd take transit. One thing that hasn't changed, though, is that Rob gets very worked up in heavy traffic, whereas I maintain an almost Zen-like calm. It's a darn good thing that we no longer have to commute for work: I don't know which would blow first, the car's poor engine or my husband's blood pressure. (Comment on this)
Tuesday, April 7th, 2009
10:38 pm	Another great ad... This one's so cute, they repurposed it without the Hallowe'en greeting at the end. Adorable! (2 Comments |Comment on this)
1:38 pm	alien lifeform update: The amaryllis has blossomed. Those long furled pods that looked so crepey and creepy two days ago, have unfurled into big scarlet bells, six pointed petals each. Two have matured, and two are yet on the way. Of fictional alien lifeforms: most recent Stargate: SG1 episode was the one about the Ashin treaty. "You'll find we are a very patient people," said the alien diplomat, the faintest of smiles on his uncreased brow. And it's true. This was a people that killed by attrition: their miraculous vaccines might cure a pandemic, but invariably rendered an entire race infertile. The news would come slowly, so slowly, and by the time people realised the truth about their new "friends" it would be too late. Civilisations crumbled and were plowed under. The Ashin were patient. They could wait a generation to conquer a planet. It was so sad, so insidious, so chilling. One of the best episodes ever. (Comment on this)
Monday, April 6th, 2009
2:14 pm	yet another reason to shop vintage: My friend Sheri bought a dress at Value Village, and found two rings sewn into the lining seams. One was a diamond wedding band. Beat that, Outlet Malls. (9 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, April 5th, 2009
4:03 pm	gardening begins An entirely satisfying afternoon of digging and raking, the first day of gardening in this new season. Early, yes- we're expecting snow tomorrow, goddammit- but today it was all perfect spring. Sunshine, the smell of dirt, a restful silence except fort he leaves crunching underfoot, and the little girls playing down the street, screaming as if scalded. Minor tree surgery: tying up branches of the juniper out front, both to disguise the two-year old decapitation, and to try to fill in some of the dead area. Then a big pruning, trimming back the big spreading bottom branches to better match the truncated top. Still strikes me as just a stay of execution: I'd really rather rip that sad thing out and plant a more suitable tree. But we'll see how it comports itself over the next couple of months. In all, I raked two big barrels full of dead leaves and assorted dead vegetation from the front garden and part of the back. Tulip and crocus shoots had started to come up through the dry rusty oak leaves- stalks anemic under dark shelter, where they'd punched neat holes on their way through the coverings. Nature in action, inexorable. (Comment on this)