HNT - Canada Day 1990

This week's HNT is a flash-back to July 1st, 1990.

Along with my best buddy's Steve and Pete and our friend Mary-Jane, we enjoyed a fun Canada Day celebration that included a concert at Lansdowne Stadium in Ottawa. Kim Mitchell was the featured performer that day and they were shooting footage for the video for I Am A Wild Party that day.

Here's my ticket from that day

This is Steve and I checking out the sights on Elgin Street shortly after the fireworks finished.
Parliament Hill is behind us and we're looking south down Elgin Street.
You can't see the crowds in the picture, but the street is mostly filled with
a mass of people walking down the middle of Elgin.
There's a cab to our right, but it can barely make it through the crowd.

Steve and I being goofy with the sleeves I'd cut off my t-shirt.
Don't ask me why - I thought it was cool. Can you tell we got some sun that day?

Happy Canada Day 2009

It's a quiet morning. I'm puttering around doing some writing administration work, checking emails, etc. Weather calls for a mix of sun, clouds and rain. Yet again, I'm extremely thankful to live in this phenomenal country of Canada.

Damn, I'm lucky.

Speaking of Canadian, I'm delighted to read that John Mutford's 2nd Canadian Book Challenge (where he challenged bloggers to read 13 books by Canadian authors in a 12 month period and post reviews of them online) reached a total of 1118 books read. (Beating last year's 415 books by a long shot) -- Congrats to John and to all the other participants. I know I had a blast sharing the Canadian books I'd been reading and hopefully helping other readers discover Canadian writers they'd perhaps not heard of before.

I'm certainly looking forward to the 3rd Canadian Book Challenge and in honour of Canada Day have started reading LAST CANADIAN BEER: THE MOOSEHEAD STORY by Harvey Sawler (Nimbus Publishing) -- which is a look at the story of the Oland family's brewery, Canada's last oldest independent brewing company. (Born in 1867, they are celebrating the same birthday as Canada, BTW -- so along with a Happy Birthday Canada, I'd like to extend a Happy Birthday Moosehead)

I love discovering and purchasing independent and micro brewed beers from Canadian breweries -- running an independent bookstore, I take pride whenever I spend my own dollars on independent local businesses. They are part of what makes Canada unique and special, offering up choice, selection, uniqueness and the kind of independence that Canadians take pride in (if not only once per year on July 1st)

But back to John's Canadian Book Challenge. I was also delighted to learn I was one of the randomly selected winners and am getting a New Canadian Library Prize Pack from McClelland & Stewart. This is perfect since each year I do my best to try to read a few of the classics that I hadn't already enjoyed.

In any case, Happy Canada Day to all the Canucks out there reading this! We live in a truly spectacular country and should regularly count the blessings inherint in our free society, with the freedom to be creative and make personal decisions of where and how we live, the right to vote at all levels of municiple, provincial and federal government, affordable universal health care, a wonderfully multi-cultural society and a truly phenomenal geography as beautiful as it is diverse.

My name isn't Joe, but I'm proud to be Canadian.

[And unlike Joe, who abandoned his Canadian-ness in 2005 when Molson sold out to Coors (sorry, couldn't resist that little dig), I'm still proud to be Canadian.]

Prelude To A Twitch

I posted Episode 06 of my Prelude to a Scream podcast this morning. If you feel like you're often running around like a chicken with it's head cut off, then this particular episode is for you.

Episode Six contains the full story "Nervous Twitching" which is a surrealistic disturbing little short. It was first published in NorthWords magazine in the Fall of 1996 and it was reprinted in my book One Hand Screaming in 2004.

You can follow the link to the podcast and listen to it online or download it by right clicking here.

And if you do listen to it, please don't be shy -- post a comment here or on my podcast blog and let me know what you think -- good or bad. Don't worry, I'm a seasoned writer, along with some praise and good reviews of my writing, I've also got decades of rejections and negative comments about my work under my belt . . .

Please Stay Tuned For Our Complete Lack Of Anything New To Report

I saw this cartoon by John Campbell last week during the endless media parade that occurred in the wake of Michael Jackson's death. Don't get me wrong -- I feel for the loss his family is going through, but have to shake my head at how the media goes on standby to provide updates when no updates are necessary.

Seriously. A famous person has died. The world is shocked. Let's go on 24/7 standby to give you absolutely no new information but simply dwell on the same three facts over and over, rather than report on actual news items.

John got it perfect in this hilarious cartoon . . .

Cartoon by John Campbell

Summer + BBQ = Dad Celebration

Today is my dad's birthday. He would have been 72 this year.

June 28th was always a really special day for the guys in my family. We always made an extremely big deal out of my Dad's birthday. It was a great excuse to have a big BBQ, get a draft ball (Northern Ontario's Northern Breweries equivalent of a keg) and celebrate summer.

Unfortunately, my dad passed away in 2003 and Northern Breweries closed it's doors in 2006.

Despite the fact that there isn't a party with lots of Northern Draft flowing, this day still holds a special place in my heart and always will.

Today, while doing work around the house and yard, I enjoyed several different beers from Ontario craft breweries in a sampler pack that I purchased Friday evening. As I enjoyed each one, I imagined cracking the beer open with my Dad and the two of us comparing notes on which one we enjoyed more.

The summer, hanging around a BBQ and enjoying a beer in the summer sun will always remind me of the fun times with Dad. I'm thankful for those happy memories.

2nd Canadian Book Challenge - The End is Nigh

About twelve months ago, I joined the 2nd Canadian Book Challenge.

The originator (John Mutford), challenged bloggers to read (and write about) 13 Canadian books (by Canadians and/or about Canadians) in the 1 year period between July 1, 2008 and July 1, 2009.

And the last days of the challenge are among us. While I was successful in my efforts (I surpassed the required 13 books a few months ago), I haven't been so successful when it comes to actually POSTING about my reads. I had planned on posting longer reviews of the books I read, but merely ran out of time. Also, I didn't crack 20, but there's always next year, right?

I've only posted two updates prior to this since I began.

My first update is here. (Jan 11, 2009)

My second update is here. (April 1, 2009)

My list so far:

1) The Killing Circle - Andrew Pyper
2) Cricket in a Fist - Naomi K. Lewis
3) Wolf Pack - Edo van Belkom
4) Lone Wolf - Edo van Belkom
5) Cry Wolf - Edo van Belkom
6) Wolf Man - Edo van Belkom
7) In Tongues of the Dead - Brad Kelln
8) Wake - Robert J. Sawyer
9) Grown up Digital - Don Tapscott
10) Too Close To Home - Linwood Barclay
11) The Gargoyle - Andrew Davidson
12) Frozen Blood - Joel A. Sutherland
13) Me Minus 173 - Alicia Snell
14) The Book of Negroes - Lawrence Hill

And now, for my final batch:

15) POW! Right Between The Eyes: Profiting from the Power of Surprise - Andy Nulman
(Finished reading April 26, 2009)
An interesting book that I'm quite looking forward to sharing with others. I have already placed it in the STAFF PICKS section of my bookstore as it's a decidedly different type of business/marketing book that is a very quick read, but with significant examples and landmark moments that stick in the reader's mind.
Andy's take on surprise is fascinating -- I quite enjoyed the book and have bookmarked certain parts of it to return to later for practical use.
One additional thing I'll say about the book is that is CERTAINLY sticks to its mandate. While offering examples of the important of surprise marketing, it stays true to its word and the book itself (as well as the author), have embedded some truly unique surprises that I can honestly say I have NEVER ever experienced before between the pages of the book. Some of the surprised that START within the pages of the book take on a multi-dimensional aspect that bring the reader into the real world with "live" and up to date surprises. Nuff said, go read this book if you are at all interested in marketing.
Link(s): Andy Nulman's website, Silly picture of me being hit between the eyes with the book


16) Crimson - Gord Rollo
(Finished reading April 27, 2009)
I absolutely loved Gord's THE JIGSAW MAN, which came out last year (I listed it as one of the 10 top books I read in 2008, in fact), and the opening of CRIMSON was truly riveting -- it immediately hooked me and pulled me in.
Unfortunately, and perhaps this had to do with the endless dream sequences within the middle part of the book, it started to wear on me and I was merely finishing the book for the sake of finishing it and not because I was riveted. So, in many ways, the middle part of the book fell flat for me. The last third of the book, though, redeemed itself in full and more than made up for those moments when my attention spam seemed to wane.
David's struggles in prison, spending his life there for murders he didn't commit, were extremely riveting and well written -- and the ending was incredibly well done, brilliant, in fact. The last third of the novel really redeemed itself and made up for the challenging second third of the novel. So Rollo is two for two in my mind as a solid writer who delivers on his promise and I cannot wait to get my hands on his next book.
Link(s): Gord Rollo's website

17) Beneath the Surface - Simon Stranztas
(Finished reading May 19, 2009)
Stranztas has created some compellingly interesting characters in this book. The tales within this collection contain a disturbing undertone and read like literary tales that have been injected with a solid dose of the bizarre, disturbing and surreal. This certainly isn't one of those books that you rush through reading, but is rather one that you absorb and experience. For that reason, I read this book slowly over the course of several months, enjoying the stories between finishing full books.
A side note. The publisher of this book has, unfortunately, gone out of business just a few months after the release of Simon's collection. If you see the book in your travels, grab it up quickly because chances are it won't be there long.
Link(s): Simon Strantzas' website


18) Scar Tissue - Michael Ignatieff
(Finished reading June 27, 2009)
Say what you want about him as a politician, but Michael Ignatieff is a gifted writer. I had the pleasure of listening to him speak a couple of years ago at an event at McMaster so I already knew that he was a master of the spoken word. I picked up Scar Tissue that night wanting to explore his written words.
Scar Tissue is a disquieting story of a man watching his mother descend into the maddening depths of Alzheimer's. As her mind continues to unravel in chaotic strands, so too does the man's life.
I have to admit that while the first few pages of the novel were compelling (consider the wonderful opening lines of: "I do not want to remember her last hour. I do not want to be eternally condemned to think of her as she was in those final moments, when we held her hands, my brother and I, and she fought for life and lost, her mouth stretch open, gasping for breath, her eyes staring sightlessly up into the lights.") my interest started to faulter for the next 10 to 20 pages. It didn't hook me again until another couple of dozen pages in, but by then, I was sufficiently drawn back in to the story.
Poignantly written, this novel is filled with beautiful turns of phrase and perfectly captured descriptions that stick in the mind and are a pleasure to absorb. It nicely questions the concept of "personhood" and is evidence that Ignatieff isn't just a talented speaker and writer of non-fiction, but also a storyteller of talent. It's easy to see why this novel was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1993.
Link(s): Scar Tissue on Penguin.ca



With only a few days left in the challenge, and me being an extremely slow reader, I doubt I'll be able to add any more Canadian authored titles to this year's batch. But I'd like to thank John Mutford and all the other bloggers participating in this challenge, for a truly fun time of discovery and sharing.

Tweet Memories

I sold another Twitter length story to Tweet the Meat, a twitter-based e-zine of bite-sized horror you can consume in 140 characters or less. It went live last night at about 6PM.

The theme I was shooting for was "Retro" and my story is about a man who is just attempting to better his miserable life by having things back the way they were in his earliest moments of life. Here's my "author profile" on their blog.

'Nuff said -- go check it out at Tweet The Meat. And if you like it (and can find the time), check out my first Tweet the Meat story from a few weeks ago.

He Was Zombie When Zombie Wasn't Cool

A lot is going to be written about Michael Jackson, his life, his music, his bizarre personal life, his legacy. It will be interesting to read and absorb -- just as, last night, the radio station I had on in the car was interesting in that they played back to back Jackson songs all night -- and not once did they have to repeat anything, and not once did they play a song that wasn't great.

It was in listening to his music that it hit me. He was gone. But he left an incredible wave of music in his wake.

Like Elvis and The Beatles, he had a huge impact on the music industry, adding volumes of different songs to the playlists over his many decades as a musician.

My strongest memories are how his music videos, like "Thriller" ushered in a whole new realm of appreciation for music in the shiny new MTV world of the 80's. I remember sitting captivated and watching the mini-movie video for Thriller and, with the rest of the world, marveling at the story being told within that 13 or 14 minutes of short film.

And yes, I know, there are all kinds of stories about his personal life. But right now, I'm more interested in the music. Yes, there is no disputing the fact that Michael Jackson was a complex man -- but sometimes, the message of his music was simple and powerful.

"I'm starting with the man in the mirror.
I'm asking him to change his ways.
And no message could have been any clearer.
If you wanna make the world a better place
Take a look at yourself and make a change."
- "Man in the Mirror" - 1988

The King of Pop is dead. Long live the King.

HNT - Clear As Mud

Photos from the Mud Run that I did a few weeks ago have been posted. Since I went by myself and didn't bring a camera, I don't have any pictures of me at the race (just a shot of my clothes on the grass after I got home)

I flipped through the list of mud run photos online and found a couple shots that included me.

Not very clear shots, but at least some sort of evidence that I did the run. (And, of course, that I sweated a lot) Here's one of them showing me only about 10 feet into the 50 foot mud pit. But it is proof to Francine that while I was quite mud covered, I wasn't quite as muddy as some of the others.


Oh, and I found out that, due to a mix-up with the race, I was one of the people who ran about 8.5 K rather than the full 10. I'd thought my finish time of 1:02:46 was a little too quick based on how I'd timed my 5 and 7 and 8 K runs previously. I'd been expecting it to come in at about 1:15 or so.

Oh well, it just gives me a better goal for NEXT year's run.

Endless Father's Day

Father's Day was two days ago -- but I'm still getting wonderful surprises from my son, like this beautiful picture he drew in the day-care craft project in which he was supposed to complete the sentence: "My Dad is special because . . ." (I think perhaps we worked on it last week but forgot to bring it home for the weekend -- he is so much like me, it isn't funny)


Alexander filled it in with " . . . because he helps me play the Wall-E game"

He is talking, of course about the PC game based on the movie Wall-E, which Alexander is in absolute love with. Admittedly, I've watched the movie a couple of dozen times and am rather fond of it too. Apart from seeing the movie and playing the soundtrack countless times, we've exhausted pretty much every Wall-E book we can find, and have moved on to Wall-E colouring and activity books as well as having beat the Wall-E PC game twice now (we're on our third go-round of it)

In the drawing (left to right), is the computer mouse (red circle with that ergonomic curve), the game CD (green with brown filling), me (with a big grin) and Alexander (also with a big grin)

An absolutely beautiful work of art capturing father and son engaged in a fun activity and a special bond.

This is a picture I'll be cherishing forever.

CBA Summer Conference 2009

I have to admit it. When the big publishers starting pulling out of Book Expo Canada in early 2009, and then the organizers (Reed Exhibitions) decided to cancel BEC, I was frustrated and upset. But I was also determined that members of Canadian Booksellers Association should still have some sort of annual gathering with like-minded book people.

As a member of the CBA board of directors, I was fortunate enough to have an immediate voice that we ought to do something. Of course, it was Eleanor LeFave of Mabel's Fables who invested a great deal of foresight into our dreams and visions and presented the board with her concept of Stronger - Shorter - Smarter - Sweeter, which became the mantra for our goals of putting together the CBA Summer Conference 2009 -- our mini version of the ABA's Winter Institute, which some of our members had already enjoyed.

Yes -- if we could do something, even something small, just to say to the overall industry that we're still here, we're still united in our determination as booksellers and we're not going away. The goal became to organize some educational sessions that would be beneficial to our members, then see if we could tie-in an opportunity for publishers to present information on their forthcoming titles in a more intimate setting, costing them far less than BEC and allowing them more direct and personal access in terms of face to face meetings with booksellers.

Michael Tamblyn discusses BookNet Canada's
Catalog 2.0 project with book buyers

Robert Charles Wilson discusses his new novel
Julian Comstock: A Story of 22nd-Century America

Well, after endless meetings and calls and discussions and modifications to the venue and schedule, it happened. Thanks, of course, to the tireless efforts and endless dedication of the staff of CBA, Susan, Emily and Carol. I mean, after all, members and board members can have ideas, visions and dreams -- but, apart from the combined volunteer efforts of CBA members across the country, it's the core staff that actually pull through, tie everything together and make things happen.

And happen it did.

Robert Charles Wilson, James W. Nichol, John Brady

Last weekend in Toronto, CBA members gathered with like-minded book folks. They attended educational sessions, (one of which I had the pleasure of giving with fellow CBA board member and co-owner of Collected Works Bookstore, Christopher Smith), speed-dating with publisher reps, listened to authors talk about their new and forthcoming books, listened to author readings, did an intimate tour of publisher's tables and displays and celebrated the best of the best in the CBA Libris Awards ceremony.

Stephen Finucan shares highlights from the 8 year process behind writing The Fallen

Zoe Whittall proudly holding her new book up high before her reading

On the Sunday, CBA had a breakfast, held a member's forum, the AGM, a panel discussion on "Shop Local" campaigns and a lunch. The breakfast and lunch were a bookseller's dream as they each included talks and readings from authors John Brady, Robert Charles Wilson, James W. Nichol, Stephen Finucan, Zoe Whittall and Stuart McLean.

One of the greatest pleasure I have as a bookseller is getting the opportunity to hear from authors about the writing of their books, sometimes about the process, sometimes about the struggles and sometimes about the inspiration. But I always find it fascinating and a valuable experience that allows me to share something a little bit more with customers who come into my store. When talking about the book with them I can not only talk about my own interpretation of having read it, but I'm given a special insight directly from the writer that helps me deliver that extra little nugget that the book buyer can walk away with.

That's part of the magic of events that include author appearances and readings such as the ones that took place at CBA Summer Conference.

Stuart McLean reading a brand new story
he'd finished writing the night before

In all, the CBA Summer Conference was a fantastic weekend. And I'm not just saying that because my store, Titles Bookstore McMaster University, took home the 2009 CBA Libris Award for Campus Bookseller of the Year.

That was just a little extra icing on the cake.

Sorry Other Dads But It's Now Official

I post this with a humble apology to all the other dads out there, but it has been made official.

Today, on this very special Father's Day, I have been declared the World's Best Dad and I have the original document from my son to prove it . . .


Sorry to all the other Dads. You might have t-shirts or coffee mugs declaring your top spot, but I'm sure that none of you have this original seal.

Although, in retrospect, I think the document needs a minor adjustment.

It should read: WORLD'S LUCKIEST DAD!