A couple of nights ago, I did my yearly book binge shopping trip and visited my favourite local bookstore, Greenwoods. To my delight, I learned that The Mystery of the Frozen Brains was selected as a staff choice for young readers. I'm proud of the book, but I'm biased, so it's great to know that informed book sellers like it. What a great way to end the year!
December 2004 Archives
On a freezing and snowy day, there is no better restaurant for lunch than Dadeo's on Whyte Avenue. The down south comfort food will warm you from the lower extremities to the tip of your Rudolph nose. My favourite is the blackened catfish po' boy sandwich (although I noticed they raised their prices), but they offer a great variety on the menu. The cafe atmosphere is old world with table juke boxes (they don't work any more) and a funky diner feel. I'd highly recommend this as an afternoon out. Just make sure to get a booth.
Hurray!!! I just learned that The Mystery of the Frozen Brains is going into third printing. My big thanks go to all the teachers, librarians, parents, and especially the kids who have picked up the book and read it! I hope I won't let you down with the sequel.
Yikes! I have not started Christmas shopping at all. Thank you gift certificates. Next year, I'm going to start shopping earlier. Yeah, right. I say that every year that I leave everything to the last minute. I wonder if it's just me or is it human nature to procrastinate. I'm betting it's human nature.
What a rough week on the fitness front. I retreated from the gym, and became entrenched for four straight days in a play workshop, which was stressful and time consuming. My eating habits went out the window. I spent more time in the food court than in my kitchen. I'm going to hit the gym to day to see what four days off will have done to my weight and my stamina on the treadmill. Plus, I should check my blood pressure today. Next step is to figure out how to incorporate workshop days or rehearsal days into my fitness routine. The big thing that I'm glad about is that even though I was off my menu plan, I knew to look for healthy food choices. I guess that's what dieting is all about; making healthy choices whenever you can. I just have to keep making those choices.
Yesterday, I was in a foul mood. Things just were not going the way I had planned, and my stress level was high. But in the evening, I saw the Citadel Theatre's production of "A Christmas Carol," and my spirits were lifted. I know people are probably sick of that Dickens' classic, but when the story is adapted and performed with genuine heart, it can inspire even the most Scrooge-like of people. I came in with a dark cloud over me, but I left feeling great, full of good will to the world, and a sense of hope. Tom Wood, who wrote this adaptation and starred as Scrooge, is brilliant. The script moves along briskly and the scenes are funny and moving. We get to see why Scrooge became Scrooge in such a clear and human way that we can't help but sympathize for this crotchety miser even when he's yelling at kids. As a performer, Mr. Wood carries the entire show on his back. When he sees the error of his ways and is filled with the joy of the Christmas spirit, I couldn't stop smiling. I felt his joy for life and I felt like the Scrooge in me had changed as well. I forgot about my bad day, and actually enjoyed myself at the opening night reception. Normally, I can't wait to go home because I'm so uncomfortable in large social settings, but last night I was a chatty Cathy.
If you haven't seen this production of "A Christmas Carol," you're missing out on a real gem. It's a visual spectacle with lots of great touches of magic. It's well worth trying to find parking downtown to see the show. The good news is that it starts at 7:30, so the lots still have room before the Nutcracker crowd storms the Citadel.
I didn't think that this day would turn into a hidden gem discovery day, but it did. After my Forbidden Phoenix workshop (which went well... lots to mull over... stuff to revisit and change... I'm starting to get excited about the show again), I went to an NFB screening at Metro Cinema, located in the Citadel Theatre. The screening was "In the Shadow of Gold Mountain," by Montreal filmmaker Karen Cho. Wow! It was fantastic. The documentary was about the head tax in Canada and how it affected the Chinese who came to the country, as well as efforts to redress the tax. I found the film moving and incredibly well produced. The documentary reminded me that citizenship is a right never to be taken for granted. Very powerful and very moving. I think the CBC will air the documentary in January 2005. I highly recommend it.
Plus, I recommend seeing flicks at the Metro. It's a funky cool theatre space downtown. I only wish that parking was cheaper. All in all, the experience was great to chase away the winter blahs. Tomorrow, I'm into Forbidden Phoenix work. Hopefully, I'll get back to my novel by early next week.
Sigh, I was hoping not to regress until I was at least 45 years old, but here it is. I just came back from the dentist where I got a splint which reminds me so much of a teenager's retainer. And my new prescription makes me feel just like that dorky kid in school with the Coke bottle thick lenses. And thanks to the cold dry weather, my acne's come back with a vengeance. I'm reliving my teen years, but not in a good way.
Okay, today is the final stretch for lyric writing. My composer, Bob, and I get together to finish out the last two songs. We chipped away at both of them last week, and got about three-quarters of the way through one song and about a quarter through the other one. We should be able to finish them both today.
Next week, we go into a 4-day workshop to hear how the songs work with the text. It's been a while since I've heard the play, and I've never heard it with the songs, so I'm pretty excited to see if what we proposed will actually work. That's the big difference between theatre and fiction writing. When you write a book, you generally see the final product on the page. With theatre, the script is a best guess at what will work on stage. You actually don't know what works until actors are performing the script. I'm hoping that Bob and I guessed right or at least I hope we bat somewhere around .500.
What a wonderful night. I was part of a group of readers at the Children's Literature Roundtable. The event took place at the Whitemud Crossing Branch of the Edmonton Public Library, a pretty cool library if you ask me. The other performers included story tellers Marie Anne Maclean and Jennie Frost, author Elaine Essien, and members of the U of A Mixed Choir.
I'd never heard a storyteller before, and was very much taken with Marie's wonderful tale about a young orphan baby being adopted by an entire community, while Jennie's fairy tale held me on the edge of my seat. Elaine's reading was great as she mapped out the friendship between two friends in 1902. The choir was late in arriving, so I was bumped earlier in the evening. I read from The Mystery of the Frozen Brains, and was pleasantly surprised to see a few CBC listeners who remembered the Dim Sum Diaires, the radio commentaries on which the book is based. My reading went over well. I kept one eye out for the choir, thinking that I had to stall a bit longer. I read an extra section to buy time, not realizing that the choir was in the wings waiting. Good thing the section I read was short.
The choir were great. Funny thing happened about halfway through their set. The library shuts down at nine, and the lights were turned off on stage. A panicked librarian ran to turn the lights back on, but turned off the audience lights by accident. The choir kept singing in the dark until the lights came back on.
The coolest thing is that I met a woman who taught grade six in Morinville. Her name sounded familiar, but I couldn't quite place her. I wish I had a year book of my elementary school years so I could see all the people who had an impact on my childhood.
The whole night was awesome. My thanks to the Children's Literature Roundtable.
Last night, I was one of some 50 odd people who received a Performance Award for national or international recognition in the field of arts and sports. The ceremony was held at City Hall, and I got to shake hands with Edmonton Mayor Steven Mandel and Councillor Bryan Anderson.
I had no idea what to expect at the ceremony, so I was thrilled to see a lot of familiar faces. Composer Allan Gilliland also picked up an award, and it was great to see him again. I wonder if he still shakes his head at the fact that I convinced him to play a zombie in the Fringe musical two years ago. Also at the ceremony were the Teatro La Quindicina gang. They picked up the award for their hit play "Pith," which was the talk of the New York Fringe Festival.
I send congratulations to all the awards recipients. The Edmonton Journal Website lists all the winners, including the Paralympians who picked up Gold in Wheelchair basketball at Athens.
