Brontë Sisters Power Dolls

Now comes With barrier-breaking feminist vision!

Knowing what I know now

I posted A Gentle Reminder: Narnia is Not a Real Country on January 4, 2006

A financial new agency reported that Narnia representative Susan Aslan walked out of World Trade Organization talks. The story was picked up by several other news agencies.

The Lion, The Witch and The World Trade talks (from The Age)

A couple weeks ago I watched a documentary about The Yes Men who

are a group of culture jamming activists who practice what they call "identity correction" by pretending to be powerful people and spokespersons for prominent organizations. They create and maintain fake websites similar to ones they want to spoof, and then they accept invitations received on their websites to appear at conferences, symposia, and TV shows. - Wikipedia

The documentary focuses on them poses as the World Trade Organization. I wonder if they were the ones behind the Narnia "talks"?

Award for Most Unrelated Search Result

Google Scholar search terms: aneurysm blood mathematical model

Result: Man + Woman = Marriage: Aka: How to Wreak Havoc Upon Your Female Critter [book]


I do not want to know.

Christmas Ideas for LynnieC*

Librarian Action Figure


Librarian Temporary Tattoos





*This is my 500th post on blogger.

Draw me a sheep!

"Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves, and it is tiresome for children to have to explain things to them always and forever."
Le Petit Prince (1943), Antoine de Saint Exupéry, Chapter I

Book Meme

1. Name one book that changed your life.
The Information by Martin Amis. I really started to look at the world differently after reading it.

2. Name one book you have read more than once.
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Has to be the most pleasant book ever. It makes me happy in the same way Amelie and Pushing Daisies do. Everyone needs to be reminded what it is like to be a little kid.

3. One book you would want on a desert island.
The Bible. It is the Book of books you know.

4. Two books that made you laugh.
Joe's Apartment by Gordon Korman
The Information (it realy made me realize what a dark sense of humour I have).

5. One book that made you cry.
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer. A little boy named Oskar finds a key in hidden vase by his father who died on 9/11. The boy begins to search to see what the key is for. I loved this book even more than Everything is Illuminated.

6. One book you wish you’d written.
Can't think of any.

7. One book you wish had never been written.
Fifteen by Beverley Cleary. Seriously the worst book I've ever read in my entire life. A teenage girl wants a yellow rain slicker but her mom buys her pick one. Said teenage girl gets so upset she puts roses in the garbage disposal. Parents can't handle such a rebellious girl so they decide to send her way to live with her mom's friend. Teenage girl finally gets a boyfriend who just happens to be a popular basketball player. He starts failing classes so they aren't allowed to see each other anymore. One her last day before going home she realized that she really truly loved this random boy who is barely in the book. She is devastated. There was a lot of "You got to be kidding me!" while reading this book.


8. Two books I am currently reading.
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. I'm about 2/3 done which means I've read over 600 pages. This book is never going to finish. A coworker remarked "What? Only Tolstoy's second longest book?".
I'm currently also reading Physics: Principles with Applications and Programming and Problem Solving With C++

Stay Gold

S.E. Hinton and the groundbreaking 'Outsiders' , The Associated Press, Posted: October 3, 2007

S.E. Hinton reflects on the 40th anniversary of The Outsiders. She was just a teenager when she wrote it. Interestingly, the novel changed the way English was taught in high schools. Librarians and teachers were the reason the book became a best seller.

Привет товарищ (Hello Comrade)

A wannabe communist espied me reading Tolstoy at the doctor's office. I think he thinks he found a kindred spirit. Just because it's old and Russian does not make it communist literature. How profound that just today I read "There are no communists." It gave me shivers down my spine.

I love technology but not as much as you, you see

MIRANDA
O, wonder!
How many goodly creatures are there here!
How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world,
That has such people in't!

PROSPERO
'Tis new to thee.
(Shakespeare, The Tempest, V.i.203-27)

I thought of this quote a couple days ago when I was playing a game online with a friend from Charlotte, NC and a friend from Cranbrook, BC. I never dreamed this was possible when I first used the Internet about 10 years ago. I was reminded of it this morning when was I reading my sister's post about blogging. As I marvel at all these feats of technology, they will seem commonplace (or possibly antiquated) to younger generations.

Life of Janny

I finally got my hair trimmed two days ago. I really should have gone before Christmas. The hairdresser straightened my hair after. It took her such a long time. Oh well, it looked good in the end.

Last night I went to a reading by Yann Martel. He read a draft of a book about the holocaust sort of. You really had to be there to hear it to know what it was about. It was very interesting.

Before Yann Martel, there were two poetesses who read. The first one was trying to be shocking and original but really was completely boring. There was nothing clever or interesting about her. The next one was pretty neat -- I liked her poems. I guess she is a prof at the university.

Strange note of the evening: I am convinced that the woman sitting in front of me was wearing orangutan boots. They were orangish fur boots! Her hair matched her boots too. It was pretty bizarre.

A Gentle Reminder: Narnia is Not a Real Country

A financial new agency reported that Narnia representative Susan Aslan walked out of World Trade Organization talks. The story was picked up by several other news agencies.

The Lion, The Witch and The World Trade talks (from The Age)

Me sleepy

I subbed for a new teacher today. Things went very well considering I had a grade 9 class I had never met before on the last period before the Christmas break.

I did not fall asleep until after 4am last night. Then my alarm went off at 6:50. That's right folks, less than 3 hours of sleep. I had a consumed caffeinated tea in large quantities today just to stay awake. Now I shall sleep.

On a sad note, I lost my copy of Vinnie Jones' autobiography. I had it in my purse and I took it out when I went to the ATM. Later that night it was gone (the branch was closed). I asked today at the front desk if anyone had turned it in. Sadly, no one had. I'll have to track down another copy. Fortunately my work sells it (not sure if they have a copy though). Today when I was subbing I started to reread Marin Amis' The Information

Now that I got your attention.

Lyn got me Vinnie Jones' autobiography when she was in England. For those of you who do not know, Vinnie Jones used to be a professional soccer player (or if you are outside of North America footballer) and now is an actor. I finally started reading it recently (I had to get through about 6 other books I had not read yet first). It is a little difficult to understand sometimes because of all of the British slang but he is good story teller.

Well, yesterday when I was subbing there were two classes who wrote exams. There is intern who was teaching those classes so I was really just there to support her. These were her exams so I didn't really have to supervise. I sat at the front of the class and read my book. During the afternoon exam I was reading about Vinnie's first professional appearance as a footballer and the story behind the above picture. The other player is Paul "Gazza" Gascoigne. The students must have thought I was pretty strange. The class is dead silent except for the occasional giggle from the sub. I had a hard time not laughing and plus everything is funnier when you are supposed to be quiet.

The Chronicles of Janny

Something strange happened at work last night. There is this back room that at work we refer to as Narnia. It is mostly a storage room for displays and props but the safe is also in there. Last night I was working near the entrance of Narnia (does that mean I was working outside the wardrobe?) when one of the security guards went inside. This is not unusual but he left and then came back again this time leaving the door open (very unusual). He was in there for a long time (another unusual thing). I peaked in and he was just sitting there, in the middle of the room. This made me very curious and I kept on checking to see what he was doing. He appeared to be doing nothing at all. When I left the section about 20 minutes later he was still in there.

I made the mistake of making myself a London Fog before bed. I guess warm milk does not put you to sleep if it flavoured with caffeinated tea and sugar. (I didn't think it would, I was just craving one and it usually does not effect me).

While I was wide awake I thought I would catch up on some TV shows I had taped. I don't usually tape Survivor or the Apprentice but I was curious about what was going to happen after I saw a preview. I was so glad I did , Jon Favreau was promoting Zathura. The teams had a marketing project where they had to make a float for the movie. I adore Favs so I'm glad I didn't miss it . (Note to sister: Remember Monday Night Football style commentary?)

Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Hollywood Franchise - SHARON WAXMAN, NY Times ONline

The producers Howard Deutsch and Ridley Scott have set in motion what they hope will be a lively auction of the movie rights to "Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective."

Children's Books Meme

My sister issued a challenge to list what books from the Teachers' Top 100 Books
I read about 33. I may have read more of them but these are the ones I remember reading. Which ones have you read?

1. Charlotte's Web by E. B. White (9-12 years)
3. Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss (4-8 years)
4. The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss (4-8 years)
5. Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak (4-8 years)
6. Love You Forever by Robert N. Munsch (4-8 years)
8. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle (Baby-Preschool)
11. Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown (Baby-Preschool)
13. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis (9-12 years)
14. Where the Sidewalk Ends: the Poems and Drawing of Shel Silverstein by Shel Silverstein (All ages)
17. Oh, The Places You'll Go by Dr. Seuss (4-8 years)
20. Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see? by Bill Martin, Jr. (Baby-Preschool)
22. The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams (4-8 years)
25. How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss (4-8 years)
26. The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka (4-8 years)
28. Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder (9-12 years)
30. The Complete Tales of Winnie the Pooh by A. A. Milne (4-8 years)
40. Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder (9-12 years)
42. The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien (Young Adult)
56. Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume (9-12 years)
57. Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary (9-12 years)
62. One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss (4-8 years)
67. The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter (4-8 years)
70. Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery (9-12 years)
73. The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper (4-8 years)
74. The Cay by Theodore Taylor (Young Adult)
75. Curious George by Hans Augusto Rey (4-8 years)
78. The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson (9-12 years)
80. Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder (9-12 years)
84. Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish (4-8 years)
85. Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh (9-12 years)
94. Clifford, the Big Red Dog by Norman Bridwell (4-8 years)
99. Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney (Baby-Preschool)
100. The Paper Bag Princess by Robert N. Munsch (4-8 years)

Centrifugal Bumblepuppy anyone?

As if I was not freaking out enough that our society was getting closer to a Brave New World when I read this article: British Team grow sperm and eggs from stem cells. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! I am freaking out!

Book Meme

Last book I bought: That is a really tough one since I have had to get my book buying under control. I have so many partially finished books I decided I wasn't allowed to get any new ones until I finished them all. The most recent one I remember buying is The Information by Martin Amis. It was a replacement copy since I lost my original copy during university. I have received others more recently as presents.

Last book I read: the last book I finished reading was The Five Love Languages
by Dr. Gary Chapman. I finished it last week.

Book I am reading now:Brief History of Infinity: The Quest to Think the Unthinkable by Brian Clegg. It is a little mind-boggling so you can't read a lot at a time.

Next book I plan to read: There are a couple that I have started that I wanted to finish. I probably will finish reading The Golden Ratio : The Story of PHI, the World's Most Astonishing Number by Mario Livio.

Five books that mean a lot to me:
(in no particular order)
1. In School by Ken Dryden
2. I Want to Go Home! by Gordon Korman
3. The Bible (of course)
4. Introducing Fractal Geometry by Nigel Lesmoir-Gordon. All I have to say is as John Archibald Wheeler, protege of Niels Bohr, friend of Albert Einstein and mentor of Richard Feynman has said, “No one will be consider scientifically literate tomorrow, who is not familiar with fractals.”
5. Breakfast at Tiffany's : A Short Novel and Three Stories by Truman Capote. I used to love the movie until I read the real story. The movie was accurate of the book except it left out the beginning and end (which changes everything). There was no happily ever after.

I want to hear from you now.

Try to keep up with me on this one...

Warning: There will be a lot of pop culture references in the blog. So amateurs try to keep up with me, you are going to get yourself an education.


My newest and greatest obsession is the TV show Veronica Mars. It is absolutely fabulous. It is clever, funny whodunit kind of show. Here is what you need to know.
1) Has been called "Twin Peaks for the teen set".
2) Great lines like "Go small blond one! Annoy like the wind". (Guess what my new favorite line for Angela will be?)
3) Surprising evidence that Harry Hamlin can act.
4) Great guest stars like Aaron Ashmore, Tina Majorino, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Joey Lauren Adams and Alyson Hannigan
5) Veronica and her father solve mysteries every week. Her father is a private detective. There are several big mysteries of the season. These will have you hooked.
6) It can current be seen on CTV on Monday nights at 8pm.

The entire season has already been shown on UPN but I don't have that channel anymore. I wish I did then I could watch Dance 360. It is so bad it is great. My only regret is I did not discover it sooner while I had the channel.

OK enough TV ranting, on with the stories of my life.

I am still sick. My throat is not as sore but now it is a head cold. I hope it goes away soon.

On Sunday morning as I was getting ready for church, I moved my Galileo's thermometer out of the sun. It must have slipped out of my hand because it hit the shelf it was on too hard. The bottom broke and the contents poured all over the shelf and the books on the shelf below. Of course I only keep my special books in my bedroom. A used to be perfect 76 year old copy of Homer's Odyssey now has water stains. Fortunately it only effect half the books on the shelf. It makes me sad. The thermometer was a present from my siblings. It was pretty cool. I had just moved it to my bedroom that week. Sigh.

I feel greatly misunderstood. We were playing the game True Colors. The last two times I have played that game I have done poorly. I really feel like everyone has this perception of me that is so far from the truth. Even people who think they know me can be like that. I think part of the problem is that I rarely hear the good things people think of me. It has been getting really hard to deal with lately.