Archive for January, 2009

Twitter Updates for 2009-01-31

  • At conference for @utpress (U of T Medieval!) all day. Nice to be home and relax! #
  • Morning tweeps! Debating going to the gym. And by debating, I mean convincing myself not going is a-okay! #
  • Penguin UK’s third leg of Round the World in 80 books: http://tinyurl.com/dkzh2u #
  • I think Penguin UK has one of the best publisher’s blogs out there! Lots of pubs could read & learn from them: http://tinyurl.com/bxlma4 #
  • Today is Norman Mailer’s birthday. As profound as I’m trying to be about this, I can’t shake referencing that GILMORE GIRLS episode. #
  • @bookingmama Hooray!! I’m telling myself I’ll definitely go tomorrow. I probably will. my work-out guilt is vast and deep. #

Twitter Updates for 2009-01-30

  • @mdash @gilliebee *blushes* Thanks! There’s many possible lists-for book lovers, for pub professionals, authors, pub houses, etc. #
  • @mdash @gilliebee All would be different and all would be valuable! :-) #
  • Barack Obama’s daily routine: http://tinyurl.com/aewzqw #
  • TINARS to break away from Pages: http://tinyurl.com/chwxx7 (via quillandquire) subscription needed. #
  • For those interested, here’s the complete Obama White House article: http://tinyurl.com/dzvoqk #

Twitter Updates for 2009-01-29

  • @Weegee I heart all these things immensely. If you love fashion reality television, then we MUST be twins, it’s unmistakable! :-) #
  • @Weegee that’s the ONLY way to care about it! #
  • Reading stimulates your brain? Who knew?! http://www.physorg.com/news152210728.html #
  • @mdash My 10: @mdash (!) @sarahw @jafurtado @mkindness @annkingman @chriswebb @colleen_lindsay @katmeyer @nybooks @harperstudio #
  • @mdash it’s interesting, because my top 10 for book lovers would be really different!! #
  • @neilhimself Twitter interviews? I do them weekly! Great interview w/ @flamesrising btw! #
  • TRUTH ABOUT DIAMONDS/Richie: Forgettable fluff, but if you need to read a fictionalized socialite’s memoir, take Nicole over Paris any day. #

Twitter Updates for 2009-01-28

  • Esquire lists best online lit mags: http://tinyurl.com/cvpjjq (via @readerville) #
  • TV Tangent: PROJECT RUNWAY CANADA 2 premiered tonight. Initial thoughts: http://tinyurl.com/dcdz2a Will flesh out tomorrow. Tonight, SLEEP! #
  • @tatvictoria I heart Iman. She can do no wrong-fashion or otherwise-in my mind. #
  • @paperhaus I felt the same way. #
  • RT @KBTaylor A list of 100 beautiful words: http://tinyurl.com/akbue3 #
  • Today is Susan Sontag’s birthday! Have you read her diaries yet? #
  • @luxlotus Haha, I ordered it yesterday too!! #
  • @llapen I think we need a list of “100 Awesome Words.” Bombastic would DEFINITELY make that one! #
  • @Weegee What makes you say that? (I’m taking it as a compliment, BTW!) #

Project Runway Canada: Designer Impressions

picture-1Last night’s premiere episode of Project Runway Canada had everything a reality show producer could want, interesting characters, instant tension, loads of drama, harsh, polarized judging and even two medical emergencies.

The show started with fourteen designers and already we are down to eleven. Since it began with so many (and the medical emergencies took up a lot of screen time) we didn’t really get a chance to get to know all the designers. Here, based on last night’s episode alone, are my initial impressions!

Adejoke

adejoke I’m calling for an Adejoke win right now. She’s got the skills, she took Brian’s critiques to heart and made an amazing tailored dress that impressed the rock star in Iman. It should have impressed Rita more than it did, but whatever. (Rita cried over Lucien’s final collection last year, remember. Cried over something that, while beautiful, we’ve seen before.) She’s the complete opposite of Biddell-not-white, not-male, not-egomaniacal-which will go a long way in a franchise that prides itself on the diversity of it’s winners.

There’s potential for craziness here. But if Adejoke keeps it in check, she should be fine.

Baylor

baylor We hardly saw Baylor last night, which was too bad. At first, I was horrified there was a designer willingly going by the name Baylor. But he seems quiet, talented and sweet and will ease into the designer-filler role. I’m expecting Baylor to either fizzle quickly or be a solid dark horse contender.

Brandon

brandon This cocky little asswad is gunning to be the next Biddell. I’m certain he’s not in it to win it, but in it to become a household name. Oh Brandon, he’s so edgy and confident. Oh Brandon, he so knows what he wants. Stuff it, Brandon. At least Biddell’s designs backed up his ego. That frothy cocktail dress you made last night? It won’t cut it.

Camille

camilleCamille is the pretty girl in town everyone thinks should be a model because they have no clue what real models look like. I’m sure she’s a wonderful dressmaker, but somewhere along the way confused the ability to sew with the ability to design. It didn’t help her cotton-candy sweet personality only backs up the small-town-model-trying-make-it-in-the-big-city metaphor I’m going for. She wasn’t going to add anything to the show, design-wise or personality-wise. I’ve got nothing against her, but I’m glad she’s gone.

Christie

christieOh, Christie’s sooo kooky, don’t you think? I, like, so, totally love her. If Christie can bring the talent to back-up her space-invader aesthetic, she is going to be an exciting one to watch. However, I’m banking on more hot pink messes from the twelve-year-old in a thirty-year-old body. If you’re too old to be on Gossip Girl, you’re too old to wear headbands, sweetie.

Danio

danioI’m genuinely disappointed Danio opted to leave the competition. I completely understand why he did (and completely support it), but he had a super-strong narrative that would draw viewers in, seemed to be sweet AND competitive and had the design credentials to back it all up. Get better Danio!

Genevieve

genevieve We didn’t see much of Genevieve last night. She’s an art school type who fancies herself creative and artsy (there are always several interchangeable versions of this girl on the Project Runways. Did you watch Season 5? I couldn’t tell half the cast apart!). I doubt she will be as intriguing or as polarizing as Kim or Christie. She seems talented enough, but perhaps not enough so to push the envelope on the show. It’s too early and there’s not enough screen time to make a decision on this one.

Jaclyn

jaclyn What a waste of time and space casting Jaclyn was. My guess: she’s a moderately talented designer the producers cast because they felt her anxiety issues would make for awesome television, not even thinking she would breakdown in THE FIRST HOUR. For someone who completely changed their hair and wardrobe to be on the show (go watch her audition video), I’m deeply disappointed.

Jason

jason Jason is Marco from America’s Season 1? Remember him? The bravado, the super-literal interpretation of the challenge? The arguing? The lack of hard work and insight that makes a designer exciting? Attitude is a big part of being a PR designer, but it ain’t everything. He’s not going to last, and I’m glad for that.

Jeff

jeff Jeff is a designer I’m excited to see more of He really sees this show as an opportunity, he’s quietly confident and genuinely grateful for this experience. (He reminds me a bit of Shawn from PR Australia.) I’m hoping he’s a strong enough designer to make it far and hasn’t just made a career simply through his longevity in the industry.

Jessica

jessica Jessica could go either way for me. She could be the token plus-sized girl cast for one-dimensional commentary on the state of the industry and for comic relief. Or she could be a vivacious and exciting designer and personality. I liked her a lot this episode, but hope she has the opportunity to become a real person on this show and isn’t pigeon-holed into being a character.

Kim

kim Kim, for me, is the most exciting designer of the hipster twenty-something set on this show. Her dress was interesting and had potential, it suffered from lack of experience and not knowing how to edit one’s work. She seems to have a bit of an attitude, but if she can keep bringing it on the runway, this attitude can become engaging. If she starts flopping, she’ll become a whiny, bitchy baby.

Margarita

margarita Margarita is so tough, isn’t she? She has so many hard edges with those piercings, black clothing and tube top. Margarita is boring, Margarita has been done. Stopping giving everyone the finger and start focusing on your designs. You’ll be more interesting and more liked if you do.

Sunny

sunny Sunny’s got it. He’s got talent, the fashion background, the personality. He just needs a platform to take his career to the next level. He’s going to be interesting and exciting on the runway (probably less so on the screen) and give Adejoke a run for her money. There’s he possibility of him totally tanking a challenge and getting sent home inappropriately early because of it, but I have faith he’ll be a top three contender.

So excited for next week already!!

Images via Global

Twitter Updates for 2009-01-27

  • Need one more book for free Amazon shipping. Suggestions?! #
  • Thanks for all the great book suggestions everyone! It is greatly appreciated!! #
  • Happy Birthday Mordecai Richler and Lewis Carroll! #
  • New 140 Interview! Last week I twitter-interviewed Toronto-based writer @danicouture! http://tinyurl.com/cukdb2 #
  • @sarahw I loved that book! I should reread it for that very reason! #
  • @seenreading @PauloQuerido Thanks for the retweets of my interview!! #
  • @Lionnesss Yup, he is!! #
  • RT @RandomHouseCA It’s like NCAA March Madness for Books! http://twurl.nl/lbyxut #

Project Runway Canada 2.01: “Fashion is a Battlefield”

picture-1Project Runway Canada premiered tonight and holy crap. The production quality is stunning and it could easily compete with any south of the border reality television program. Global secured Iman for a second season, which is fantastic. Iman is by far and away my favorite fashion reality show host, and not just because she’s hosting a Canadian show. She’s smart and saucy and freaking fabulous.

A few initial thoughts:

I like the move to Ottawa, it reflects the notion that this is truly a Canadian show. I am disappointed, however, in the lack of Eastern Canadian representation for the second year in a row. I recognize that the contestants from the past few years represent the Canadian demographic breakdown, but it’s still a bit frustrating for a former Bluenoser. One question, though: Why Ottawa over Montreal?

Two contestants leaving in the first episode for medical reasons? They need to creatively rectify this. I don’t want to see two non-elimination episodes.

The Canadian War Museum was a fabulous venue. Sleek, modern, sophisticated, timely, it was the perfect way to launch the second season.

Joe Zee? I couldn’t stand the man on Stylista, but securing Elle’s creative director proves Global and PRC2 are serious.

Iman is fabulous. I can’t say this enough.

In the end, Jaclyn and Danio left for medical reasons. Adejoke’s outfit was slamming. Iman’s reaction: “I love it! I love, love, love it!” was the perfect reaction. Sunny’s outfit was a decent runner-up, his jacket was immaculate. Camille and her machete dress (she said it, not me!) and Jason and his Wilma Flintstone bedspread made the bottom two, with Camille going home. Jason’s outfit may have been a mess, but he has attitude and vision and I want to see what he does next. Camile, well, Camille who?

Next week: Elisha Cuthbert. What is happening, Canada?

The 140 Interview: Dani Couture

daniThis week’s Twitter interview was with Toronto-based writer Dani Couture. Dani is a jill-of-all-trades, if you will and is currently working on a short story collection, a poetry collection and a novel! When she’s not writing, she is co-editor of Northern Poetry Review, the Youth Event Curator for The Scream Literary Festival, and working on her project, Animal Effigy.

I get dizzy just thinking about it!

Dani is also the author of Good Meat, a 2006 poetry collection that revolves around food and our relationship with it!

Be sure to read her blog and follow her on Twitter @danicouture!

Hi Dani! Ready for this? I’m DM you a Q & you respond when you can! Tell me about what you’ve been working on lately!

Hi, Erin! I’m finishing edits on a second collection of poetry, working on a novel, and working on a short story, The Mechanical Baby.

Sounds busy! Tell me about the novel!

The working title is Black Bear on Water. It’s a story about two brothers, a winter tragedy, the peculiar way the oldest chooses to cope.

Sounds interesting! You write in so many different styles. What’s writing a novel like compared to your short stories and poetry?

I need more time & space to work on fiction. A poem is easily portable. I can pull a paper out of my bag, work on it while on the streetcar.

Tell me about the new poetry collection!

Personally, it’s been a difficult collection to work on. The manuscript hardly resembles what it looked like only six months ago.

Now I have to ask you about the short story! :-) It’s only fair!

The genesis: A surly teen awkwardly holding one of those class-issued mechanical babies outside of Spadina Station.

goodmeatI like it! also, what an amazing day today! So, tell me what inspired your book GOOD MEAT. I love the concept!

Many of the poems in Good Meat are about my (complicated) relationship with the things I eat, how food can both nourish and host disease.

Where did such a neat & original idea for a collection come from?

Maybe I’m just lazy. Only interested in the things that are closest to me, what’s in my cupboards, my fridge, my stomach.

Haha! That’s a great answer! So, with so many projects on the go, what’s your work/writing schedule like?

The “schedule” manifests itself as loose papers everywhere, pockets full of notes, the computer always on, piles of books beside my bed.

You have a blog and are active on Twitter. As a writer, how & why do you use social media and have you found it useful?

I find social networking tools useful on a personal level. My friends & family are scattered across the country, the globe. Easy to connect.

What about professionally?

You can listen, contribute, watch. Stumble upon interesting people. Converse with other writers who you would have not have otherwise met.

How/why did you become a writer?!

When I was 7, buying books en masse at yardsales, I wanted to be Stephen King. Now, at 30, it’s a compulsion. To write, that is. Not be SK.

Thanks Dani! your answers were awesome!

No, that was great. Thanks, Erin! Great concept!

Good Meat is available through Amazon.ca for $14.60. Be sure to follow Dani for up-to-date info about her new projects!

Image of author reading at Exile Quarterly Launch, Toronto, Ontario in March 2008. Photo by Julie Wilson.

Twitter Updates for 2009-01-26

  • @sarahtrimble thanks. looked @ it already and other than @chaptersindigo there’s nada! #
  • @sarahtrimble that would be awesome! Ben McNally would be great too. #
  • Congrats to @FLWBooks for winning @shortywards in entertainment! #
  • NICK & NORAH’S PLAYLIST/Cohn: Refreshing, original YA read. Relatable, interesting characters have a so-perfect-wish-I-had-it all-nighter. #
  • Congrats @mitaliperkins and @melissacwalker for making the ALA’s Popular Paperbacks Fame and Fortune list! #
  • @SarahMcQ No! I’m a terrible human being! It’s next on the list though. I just wanted to read some lighter fare! #
  • Best.response.ever. RT @neilhimself Newbery, not Newbury. Also FUCK!!!! I won the FUCKING NEWBERY THIS IS SO FUCKING AWESOME. I thank you. #
  • @gaywalker @raimalarter totally agree!! It’s so refreshing and exciting to see authors like that! kudos @neilhimself! #

Twitter Updates for 2009-01-25

  • Morning tweeps! I love Sundays. #
  • Which Canadian bookstores are on Twitter? Can’t seem to find many… #
  • Happy birthday Virginia Woolf! Have you read her essay on reading yet? http://tinyurl.com/88cvzr #
  • “The book is better than the movie” annoys me. You can prefer one, but they are different storytelling mediums w/ different objectives. #
  • I’m not saying you can’t argue the merits of one v. other, but often a blanket page v. screen preference exists w/o accounting for medium. #
  • @michellekostya That’s true & b/c of it, the quality of the movie certainly declines. Effort & creativity is def. required for a good film. #
  • @llunalila I agree. Am trying to think of examples right now! #
  • @mikecane Interesting! What compelled you to read it? #
  • RT @mdash great read, but they’re assuming I *want* to cut down my books! http://bit.ly/Zaf2 (lifehacker) & http://bit.ly/131Cl (wikihow) #
  • @candicelee I find that’s usually the case for me too! But I try to remain unbiased when evaluating! :-) #
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