Penguin Cookies

Frozen - two ways

janeg — Fri, 27 Dec 2013 17:06:28 GMT

I am SO glad that Seanan recommended the movie Frozen when she was at SFContario - I loved it and so did the friend who took me to it for my birthday a few weeks ago (I don't get around to posting often). Entertaining, positive movie with great characters - esp. the sisters but also Olaf and the reindeer! Why were there no Olaf toys to buy for Christmas?

And I was frozen for a couple of days before Christmas (we lost power Saturday night to Tuesday morning) - but the house warmed up fast when the power came back on. And I was also warmed by spending two days at my brother's farm with family and two of their friends I really enjoyed getting to know. I am so sorry that a few friends still have frozen houses from the ice storm, and hope they get re-connected today.

Our cats have now forgiven us for turning off the hot but we are never to do that again.

a good day

janeg — Sun, 08 Dec 2013 02:57:47 GMT

I got my BIG early birthday/Christmas present from Phil this week. Took my new red Subaru Forester to the barn for everyone to admire, and tried not to already get straw and horse manure in it. My cold was finally enough better that Nijomi and I could get out in the forest, and her pulled muscle seemed better too. A few soft flakes fell while the sun was shining through the trees. The car already smells of horse. I like the smell of horse.

Tomorrow I'll be taking a camera to the Distillery District's Christmas market, with my friend Audrey. Haven't taken any serious photographs in far too long. So nice to have a weekend where I can fit this in.

SFContario 4

janeg — Tue, 03 Dec 2013 01:43:57 GMT

The overall attendance seemed low; I hope they did OK. Of course it was truly lovely to have Amy McNally and Seanan McGuire in my home town, making music and telling stories. I was mostly quite pleased with my contribution to the concert line-up, on a stage that seemed to get increasingly drier and hotter. I got to be on stage with Amy! There was wonderful music, and the Saturday night circle was excellent.

The consuite had lovely homemade muffins and cookies. Some of the panels were quite good. It was ... interesting to see how the locals coped or didn't with Seanan!

And I went home with con crud and have spent today trying to breathe.

The Escher family tree

janeg — Tue, 03 Dec 2013 01:35:09 GMT

For filkers who have become embedded in the twisted, tangled chosen family tree that seems to have formed in southern Ontario and beyond, I am pleased to announce that Leslie Hudson of Copy Red Leader has accepted the position of Ghost in the Attic. Kindly update your documents accordingly. And share.

If you have not yet had the pleasure of making music with Leslie, look for a chance! http://fiftyninety.fawmers.org/user/leslie-hudson

my uncle made a dance video - at 92!

janeg — Mon, 04 Nov 2013 23:36:33 GMT

A cousin just sent me this link of one of my uncles dancing. Who makes a dance video at age 92? This is just weird.

Mike lived in New Jersey but was always involved in some way or other with show biz in New York, and also with commercial real estate. I never knew much about him, but I remember him hiring an assistant when he turned 90. He was still working full time and was too busy. Now I've lost touch. I must try again to reach him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FBnz3jxDVI

My parents got together by being the best dancers at the parties at the Officers' Mess in WW2. Dad was stationed in Brampton, my home town, to train new recruits. The cousin thinks all Garthson's are good dancers, but that gene skipped my brother and I.

Pegasus concert

janeg — Sat, 26 Oct 2013 12:58:44 GMT

Amazing! A bit uneven but well worth the drive from Toronto. Thank you so much Erica for herded all those talented cats into a spectacular show. Those who thought it would be easier to vote afterwards didn't find that to be true.

OVFF starting now!

janeg — Fri, 25 Oct 2013 19:54:45 GMT

Robin June organized an excellent Frisky Puppy last night, and I got to see some old friends and make new ones, always the best part of filking. I actually got some real work done for a number of hours before napping. Time now to register, hit the dealers' room and hug another batch of filkers. I'm so glad to be back this year!

Friends and Music in Winnipeg

janeg — Tue, 17 Sep 2013 13:48:06 GMT

Arrived yesterday for a professional conference, that doesn't start until tomorrow, so I get to spend time with my lovely hosts Alan and Morva - and they've arranged a music circle for tonight! I think I met a few of them at a filk circle at KeyCon years ago, and of course it's always great to make music with Dave. My guitarist, sadly, didn't come with so I won't be able to do much. But I can listen!

Off now to see Ancient Seas at the Winnipeg Museum, and later The Churchill Experience (a pre-conference thing) with polar bear.

Catching up after too long

janeg — Sun, 28 Jul 2013 15:28:35 GMT

Garden: The east side of the back yard is noticeably freer of weeds than when the back yard was full of filkers last week, or when friends from Tucson saw a total mess. The very hot, humid weather was great for weeds and not great for gardening, esp. when we had to pick raspberries for more than an hour - EACH - to keep up. The place looks good - from a distance. We have lots of frozen berries for raspberry crisps year-round.

Horse: Nijomi is unhappy about being transferred to a pasture with only one other horse, her daughter, across the road from her buddies. I thought she would develop a terrible grass belly (the main paddock has very little grass and the horses there eat hay year-round). Instead, she has lost considerable weight from running back and forth along the fence neighing for her friends, and is fitter than I've ever seen her. The pus pocket on her hoof cleared up quickly. And it's a lovely day so we should be on the trails, but I've pulled a muscle in one leg and it's painful to even walk (I'm sure it's just minor and will clear up in a few days IF I REST.)

Filking: I'm working on organizing the filk track for Can-Con in Ottawa, and we've registered for OVFF - yay! Karen Linsley will be back with us August 8-10 so there will be music, and there's a house filk in Guelph on August 17th. Pegasus nominations sent in Friday.

Song-writing: I have so far written zero songs in 50/90, but I knew July would be crazy busy and I'm not giving up - two months to go. Now catching up on Watchlist songs, starting with Phil's (he's got nine at http://fiftyninety.fawmers.org/user/philkmills). Just bought Lasers and Feelings by the Doubleclicks and am lining up some Cheshire Moon Singles and Fiddly Bits to buy and download.

Organizations: The Creating the Future - Ontario tour I helped organize was very successful - we sold out at MaRS! It was great to see my friends Hildy and Dimitri again, and get to know a couple more local fellows (creatingthefuture.org). For the Aurora Awards, I've read the short stories, poems and Young Adult books, and much of Tanya Huff's wonderful The Silvered. Five more novels, and the graphic novels, to go.

Writing: The international book I have two articles in, You and Your Nonprofit Board, has been getting great reviews and one singled out my board decision-making article. ‪http://amzn.to/12bIBBX‬. With two other local authors, we are planning a book launch party, with live jazz, for September.

And that was probably more than you wanted to know and I've forgotten much.

Many healing wishes out to Tanya Huff, Maya Bohnhoff, Karen Linsley and everyone else recovering from injuries and operations.

Merril, Tolkien, Bowie inducted

janeg — Wed, 26 Jun 2013 13:10:47 GMT

Judith Merril, J.R.R. Tolkien and David Bowie are 2013 inductees into Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame - yay! Along with Joanna Russ and H.R. Giger, who I know much less about.

I hope the Merril Collection in Toronto is planning a celebration!

http://www.empmuseum.org/at-the-museum/museum-features/science-fiction-and-fantasy-hall-of-fame.aspx

Think of mom

janeg — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 22:34:28 GMT

She passed away 10 years ago today, in our home, as I held her hand and told stories. At least once every three or four days, I still think about something that has happened to me that I wish I could tell her.

Many of my memories are positive - wonderful trips together to England, Scotland, Ireland, southern California, Quebec. Always giving me rides somewhere as a kid, including to horse shows in terrible weather. Always feeding any friend I brought home, no matter how short notice. Playing big band and swing music and Broadway show records for me, especially the big bands with female lead vocalists. Taking care of the old horses without complaint. Turning the land around the house into wonderful gardens, and painting birds onto milk cans. Taking apart motors and putting them back together. Reading all my brother's textbooks and notes to him when he had eye problems in high school.

In other ways, I think of her with anger, because she deliberately thwarted some of my dreams just as her mother had thwarted hers. She lied to me, a lot, and made my father lie to me, about our ancestry. She took my school successes as nothing special and rewarded my brother for much less even though I worked harder at it. She told me we couldn't afford equestrian lessons, when a good friend of hers was training future Olympians for free a short distance away.

She was crazy about mathematics, and did complex math problems for fun late at night. She desperately wanted to go to university, and her parents sent her to secretary school. As secretary to a stockbroker, the private fund she managed for herself and six friends made proportionately far more than any fund her boss managed.

She was a product of the time - married women, esp. with kids, were supposed to quit their jobs. Mom would rather have worked, and grandma was there to take care of us. So she volunteered at the hospital, even as chair of the volunteer program, even though she hated hospitals. She volunteered at the church, even though she had lost her religion, because the minister's wife needed support against her abusive husband. She did the taxes, banking, bill payments and more for decades for a "slow" man who had worked for my grandfather; we didn't even know. She arranged the music for skating festivals and sewed costumes for the kids; she hated hand sewing. She read mysteries and wished her mother hadn't vetoed that leadership program she was offered in New York after the war, that could have been her big break from a small town "what would people think?" life.

She still had plans and wasn't ready to go; damn cancer.

My father started dating her because she was blond, blue-eyed and a good dancer. He got someone way more intelligent than him (with his philosophy degree), mostly kind and caring, a good if uninteresting cook, and a person who made the world around her better in many ways. I wish I could tell her again that I loved her, and forgave her the lies.

Best local filk concert EVER!

janeg — Sun, 24 Mar 2013 16:25:51 GMT

Peggi organized an absolutely kick-ass literary filk concert last night at the Merril Collection of Science Fiction, Speculation and Fantasy, part of the Toronto Public Library. The concert was in combination with gifting the collection with 19 Canadian filk CDs and urging everyone to give a CD to the collection as they bring out new ones. Many thanks to the musicians who donated CDs!

For anyone who thinks filk in southern Ontario is same old, same old, some of it is and much of it is anything but. Here's what I remember from the concert (after a very long day facilitating a planning retreat for a client so my memory isn't great) in order

Judith Hayman - opening - Dark is Rising
Peggi Warner-Lalonde, Flowers for Algernon, I Hate Little Fire Lizards
Judith Hayman - Arwen's Song, Moonheart
Lesie Hudson and Devin ?, Fire Swamp, Dread Pirate Roberts - they'll be at FKO and you don't want to miss them
Howard Scrimgeour, Colonel Jacques Chretian (sp? - best I've ever heard Howard do it) , accompanied by Sally Headford, Green Hills of Earth
Kari Maaren, Damn Those Dwarves, Everybody Hates Elves - the funniest song about elves ever - maybe the funniest song ever - people were rolling the aisles - it was partly the kazoo
Debs and Errol, Coming Home (Debbie Ohi), Legolas (best Mary Crowell cover ever IMH0)

CD Presentation

Me - Midnight Songs (Phil), Ravens the Library (SJ Tucker) - so great to hear Heather Dale singing along! Couldn't hear Leslie but she was too
Phil Mills - Stealing the Sky, Other Side of the River (his newest, based on Michelle Sagara's Chronicles of Elantra)
Stone Dragons - Chosen, Dandelion Wine (best I've ever heard Tom do it)
Chris Cozens, Velveteen, As I Am (in front of Heather Dale! - gutsy and well done)
Heather Dale - Fairytale, Up Into the Pear Tree

Phil Mills - closing - Paper Worlds, with harmonies from Peggi and Judith and mandolin from Tom

Did I miss anyone? Get songs wrong?

Almost everyone was at their very VERY best, and Ken did a fabulous job on sound! Apparently there is a hand-held recording, and Tom took photos. Video camera next time!

We had most of the SFContario ConCom in the audience, which was great. And it was wonderful to have Lorna Toolis and Michael Matheson at a filk! There were also a few new people from FAWM, and a few new people we didn't know at all. Everyone stayed to the end (even though we ran a bit late) and they were talking about checking out FKO and house filks. I think the Friends of the Merril sold a number of memberships.

All in all a wonderful evening and we hope to repeat it next year. It's great space for a concert.

FAWM 2013

janeg — Sun, 24 Feb 2013 20:04:15 GMT

Well, I'm not writing as many songs as I'd hoped but at least I'm writing. If you have any interest in gardening (http://fawm.org/songs/6834/), or in the TV shows Lost Girl (http://fawm.org/songs/1579/) or Person of Interest (http://fawm.org/songs/7274/), check them out. Comments very welcome!

There's lots of excellent songs to listen to on FAWM. I am of course prejudiced, and love Phil's Other Side of the River (http://fawm.org/songs/920/), based on Michelle Sagara's amazing Cast series. Overall, the best writer is the same person this year as every year, Karan (http://fawm.org/fawmers/karan/). Aus Atlantis is astounding. Also particularly like ryuu and robynmackenzie but I keep finding more people to follow.

Winterfolk

janeg — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 02:01:23 GMT

See also the sexybass entry!

I found the two days I was there very worthwhile, and with a little more energy would have liked it even more. Three days of professional musicians, on four stages, for a suggested donation of $10! In a nice hotel with decent food. The smallest room had poor sight lines and the pub had a poor sound system if you weren't front and centre, but the two larger venues were quite good.

The Phil Ochs tribute concert, an extra $8 ticket, was probably the best value I ever got at a paid music event. Although the organization left something to be desired (like no designated lead voice for the two songs done as a group), the song choices and individual performances were outstanding. I wish it had gone for the whole three hours. The opening singalong to 60's songs was fun but it didn't need to be part of the tribute time.

Other standouts:
Poor Tom, two young women from Uxbridge we've got to see again!
Tony Quarrington with Margaret Stowe, from their new CD, doing amazing jazz renditions of songs like Shady Grove
The Schotts, a bluegrass duo; he was amazing on mandolin and fiddle and most of their songs were very entertaining (maybe they'll be at the Tottenham Bluegrass Festival; we've been meaning to get back to it)
Glen Hornblast, who writes and sings with real feeling - mostly funny but a also wonderful serious song about a homeless person named Mary

It was great to see local performers we already admire but don't see often enough, like Eve Goldberg, Paul Mills, Joanne Crabtree and D'Arcy Wickham. And to catch a couple of songs from strong performers we didn't know like David Essig (should have stayed for his Saturday show at 11 pm), Noah Zacharin, Sebastian Agnello and Jon Brooks.

There was some stuff that drove us out of rooms, but not too much of that. Definitely want to go back next year.

P.S. Some of our filk performers are better than a few of the people that were on the stage. Stone Dragon at least should audition for next year.

Hall of Fame - nominate now!

janeg — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 19:54:16 GMT

If you are even a little like me, your To Do list grew over the holidays despite all your good intentions to get stuff done. Maybe the list still has "write Filk Hall of Fame nomination" on it somewhere. If so, get it done now! Don't miss a chance to convince the jury members of how worthy your nominee is.

http://www.filkontario.ca/hof/hofnom.html

Slight case of philanthropy

janeg — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 01:52:03 GMT

Listening today again to the wonderfully produced and performed Acolytes of the Machine CD from Mary Crowell. But later two lines in Shifty Screavy changed in my head from

Shifty's the king of the wererats
Has a slight case of ly-can-thropy

to

Buffet's the king of the donors
Has a slight case of phil-an-thropy

Sigh.

Maybe I've worked too long in the charity sector.

Happy 2013!

janeg — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 19:10:53 GMT

Wishing all of you a really, really wonderful 2013. Double happiness to those for whom 2012 was not sufficiently kind.

A black eye for Christmas

janeg — Tue, 25 Dec 2012 01:26:49 GMT

Not me - Phil. But I didn't hit him, honest! I've never hit him. I never will. I had no idea an angry cat had such a right punch. His paw isn't THAT big.

Ashton had a bit of an accident. Phil was holding him while I did clean-up. He wasn't holding Ashton quite well enough. Ashton took umbrage. Hope the eye clears up before his first day on the new job.

A Guinness for remembrance

janeg — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 23:51:29 GMT

I raised a glass - well, actually a can - of Guinness this afternoon because it was the favourite drink of Garvin Farr, my singing teacher, who passed away on Friday. And it was the last thing we shared.

He learned less than a week ago that he had six to eight months to live; the doctors were wrong again. Good-bye to the man who, for better or worse, got me singing, and helped hundreds of others, mostly young people but also many adults including quite a few local filkers, find their voice.

A moose in a maple tree

janeg — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 23:45:50 GMT

For Tom Jeffers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gw8P8L1LfDM

A new cycle

janeg — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 23:07:23 GMT

If we believe the Mayans, the circle turned today and a new cycle began.

Since the first thing to happen for us was Phil confirming his new job - a salaried software engineer again as of January 2nd, with what looks like a very good company - I am very optimistic other things will improve in our lives. It will be a good cycle. Not only will my business improve and my headaches reduce, but our friends will find their way out of financial slumps and health issues and personal problems and have a good cycle too. For how could we enjoy good times except by sharing them with friends?

A very happy holiday to you all, and best wishes for an amazing future.

Filk Hall of Fame deadline change

janeg — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 18:48:32 GMT

The deadline for nominations has been extended to January 10th, to give last minute nominators one last weekend.

Don't wait! I think there are quite a few amazing filkers eligible and not yet recognized, in some cases not yet even nominated. Look through the list! http://www.filkontario.ca/hof/inductees/byname.htm

seasons are changing

janeg — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 22:35:07 GMT

We got our first Christmas card - from The Donkey Sanctuary. I got SOME of my new bulbs planted. The house being built next door is finally getting bricks, which means they might even finish the rest of the outdoor work this month. The best apples are available. We are into cold weather meals - chili and cornbread (even though yesterday broke records for how warm it was)! My brother is vacationing in warm and sunny Mexico. My horse is getting exceedingly fluffy and Ashton's ruff is magnificent (we think he might be part Maine Coon). Every road in Toronto is under construction.

I'm worried; perhaps there's going to be winter again this year.

Toronto SF/Fantasy news

janeg — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 00:48:16 GMT

Interview with Mark Asquith:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/ifoa-hosts-on-the-art-of-good-conversation-mark-askwith/article4330221/

http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/article/1270974--science-fiction-and-fantasy-genres-do-battle-at-the-international-festival-of-authors

Too bad this is happening on the same day as the Toronto SpecFic Colloquium (which we're already signed up for and it's much less expensive: http://specficcolloquium.com/)

Goodbye T.O. filk for Karen Linsley

janeg — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 00:41:38 GMT

On SUNDAY October 21st, Sally and I are hosting a house filk from 2-10 pm at 91 Highland Creek, Thornhill (just NE of Yonge and Steeles).

Because Karen Linsley is moving away from Toronto shortly afterwards, the filk is also a good-bye party for Karen. She has been part of Toronto fandom for a long time and will really be missed. If you want to contribute to a group good-bye gift, there will be a "bring Karen back to FKO" collection (cash or cheque payable to Karen).

Dinner will be potluck; we need munchies and drinks too. Gluten-free items are particularly welcome so Karen has a good selection of food at what may be her last house filk for quite a while.

All friends of Karen are welcome; remind them that listeners are highly valued at house filks. We love people who don't already know all our songs!

If you are attending, kindly RSVP to sheadford at rogers.com or 905-771-0629.

Jane and Sally

P.S. Hold the date: November 24, house filk hosted by Chris Cozens in Markham