I jumped at the chance to review Marc Gunn's upcoming new CD "A Tribute to Love" for a couple of reasons: a) I really like the way he plays the autoharp, and b) I strongly dislike love songs :)

That may sound like an odd reason to want to listen to something, but I figured if I liked the songs, it must really be a good CD. (Another indicator is if I start to hum along in harmony...)

"A Tribute to Love" combines songs and instrumentals (my absolute favourite is "Silhouette of Longing Love"). Each one clearly demonstrates Marc's mastery of the autoharp. And not a one of them is soppy sweet! There are a couple of updated old classics, and even a love song to a cat. I found all of the songs to be uplifting and positive. And yes, I was humming along...

Check it out at http://www.marcgunn.com/2007/02/tribute-to-love.shtml

And go buy it from CDBaby in October...

(Did I mention I liked it?)

This has been a busy week. My new washer and dryer were delivered today (did I mention I killed 3 appliances last week?). And the baby quilt that I've been working on forever is very nearly completed - and will be delivered on Friday morning. And the week isn't over. On the plus side, I've discovered a "new" author - Jasper Fforde. I'd read very good reviews of his work in the "Sleuth of Baker Street" newsletter - and recommended him to my reading group. We're now all reading "The Eyre Affair" for next month. The discussion should be interesting....

Happy birthday, jhayman from me, technogeek1 and the little furries in the house...

Well, she had her x-rays today - and they found absolutely nothing! So, all we can think of is that she finally lost some weight due to her advanced age (yeah, right - she's only 11), and then when she was able to move more easily, she lost some more. But we're still keeping an eye on her ;-)

Picked up from tnatj:



I knew I was special ;-)

Today the tree people came and cut down the poplars. One of them was taller than the house. A black squirrel had been chased up the tree by a cat, and when strangers came with chainsaws, it decided to climb higher. After realizing there was no where else to go, it launched itself towards the maple, sailed right through the branches, landed in the middle of the lawn, and promptly ran away. I think it was unhurt, as two black squirrels came back in the afternoon (and there aren't that many of them around here). The corner of the yard seems empty, but hopefully our maple tree will survive and thrive now. (Of course, a thick layer of mulch covering the root system should help too.)

Well, that was silly. Thank you to phillip2637 for pointing out that I had comments disabled. They are now enabled. Duh!

This is avt_tor's fault1

( My Interests Collage! )


I think I recognize a couple of those faces...

Last night technogeek1 and I went to see the musical "Lord of the Rings". While it wasn't all that I had hoped for, I'm glad we had a chance to see it before it closes. The staging was wonderful, and the special effects amazing (especially the balrog!). The actor who plays Gollum receives more applause than anyone else - and it is richly deserved. Now I think I'll go listen to "The Evil Eyeball".....

I've been searching for a while for a nice little recorder to take to coventions. I miss my little tape deck - but it just doesn't really do the trick any more. So we've been talking to people, wandering through various electronics stores.... And then technogeek1 said, "Why don't we try Long and McQuade? They might have something." (For those of you who don't know, Long and McQuade is a chain of stores selling professional music gear - instruments, mixing boards, software, and so on and so on.

Well, I came out a bit poorer - but now I have a new mp3 recorder/player . But it does a bit more than that. It also records 24 bit Wave - and it does this to an sd card. It has a USB connector to hook up to my computer - and it will take an external microphone - dynamic or otherwise. And it's just a bit bigger than an iPod or Samsung or iRiver. So hopefully, it will end up being more practical than just fun.

Oh yeah - it's an Edirol R-09 - from Roland.

Yesterday was very enjoyable. technogeek1 and I had a great time at Spamalot. Then we wandered a bit through the Atrium on Bay (for you non-Toronto-familiar folks - it's on the northwest corner of Yonge and Dundas). I used to work in the building, and missed some of the shops. One of my favourites is Wearable Art - where we have spent far too much money and where I have found some beautiful earrings. Another favourite is Travellers Luggage - a great source for leather bags of every size and shape. We had dinner at "Shrimp Tails" which opened shortly after my job moved to Markham. The food was delicious, presentation was very nice, and assortment was huge. Which made deciding very difficult.

It's nice to go to Toronto once in a while (read: once in a long while) - but I'm very glad I don't live there anymore.

Happy Birthday to technogeek1. Many happy returns of the day, and here's to spending many more with you!

We have our second nest of baby swallows this year - we counted 3 little heads (mouths wide open - chirping for food) - and I think I saw one other at the back ducking down. So THATS what they mean when they talk about the birds and the bees...

Further on the questions about a filkzine, I'm working towards starting an eletter (building to a paperzine)... So be warned, I may be asking a few of you if you would mind contributing on occasion (nothing big, mind you ). More to come...

As some of you know, I have published a filkzine in the past. My intention was always to make this a regular zine - i.e. once a month, or 10 times a year, or even once quarterly. That didn't happen, for several reasons.

One reason is that I don't write all the content myself. I suppose I could, but that's just not what I do. I could maybe manage an article here or there, but frankly, I don't think people really want to read my words, and nothing but my words, on a regular basis, and pay for it (i.e. subscription). I've tried to include a variety of content, i.e. movie reviews, filks, fiction, art. However, that all requires contributions, and as we all know, we're all very busy, and have better things for our time than to produce content for someone's filk zine, only to get a copy back as "payment".

But my "dream" hasn't actually died, and I would still like to produce a living, breathing filkzine, with a Canadian flavour. So - what sorts of things should I be including? Everything I've mentioned? Only filk? Interviews with famous filkers? Reviews of filk CDs? Information about filk producers? While I would like it to have a strong Canadian flavour, I also like to include information on filk in other countries, for example, the UK. Should I even try to make it mainly Canadian?

Comments and suggestions are welcome. Maybe you think I shouldn't even bother :-)

This one's unclechristo's fault.

7:30 pm's Past Lives

V V V

1433 BC: A prostitute

560 AD: A lady in waiting

1979 AD: Royalty

'What were you in your past lives?' at QuizGalaxy.com

Of course, given the fact that I was in my present life in 1979, this could be a tad off...

The swallows have flown from the nest, but they keep returning at night to sleep. So we're not completely empty-nesters. It's somewhat amusing to see 6 birds trying to fit into one nest.

I'm working madly on a baby blanket and quilt for my boss, who is due in 3 weeks. AND I splurged today and bought tickets to Spamalot for technogeek1's birthday. (My coworker assures me it's great - after flinging a cow at me .) So something to look forward to...

Thanks to shannachie

When we arrived home tonight there were 3 little swallows sitting on the edge of the nest, and one little head tucked in behind. Given that both parents were trying to get us to leave by flying at us, I'd say there are 4 babies . And it looks as if they'll be leaving the nest soon. It appears there are 3 females (cream coloured front). Each seemed to have gold colouring at the top of the chest, so perhaps I'm wrong about gender. (Of course, we couldn't see the fourth clearly - so its gender is unknown.) We'll soon be empty nesters!