Suggestion Saturday: January 5, 2013

Here is this week’s list of blog posts, photographs and other tidbits from my favourite corners of the web.

When Good Paranormal Fantasy Sex Scenes Go Really, Really Bad. This is why I’ve yet to include sex scenes in my stories.  It’s quite difficult to write one without falling into tired tropes or using metaphors that just don’t work.

Smile. I dare you to not to smile.

From A Letter to Adam , The Newtown Killer:

Dear Adam,

Let me start by saying that I wish for you to find peace. It would be easy just to call you a monster and condemn you for evermore, but I don’t think that would help either of us.

Codecademy. No, that isn’t a typo. Codecademy is a free, online tutorial for anyone who wants to learn programming languages like Javascript, HTML or CSS. I’m pretty computer literate but have yet to find a method for learning this sort of thing that doesn’t make me feel like a bad geek for not already knowing concept X. Until now.

Draw a Stickman via Mzzlee. An interactive drawing game.

Best Practices for Raising Kids? Look to the Hunter-Gatherers. One of the biggest cultural differences between downtown Toronto and northwest Ohio is how over-protected kids are in the former. In the 8 years I’ve lived here I’ve never seen anyone under the age of 12 walk down the street alone. Even in the suburbs kids don’t seem to have the freedom to wander around that I had growing up. A few years ago a teenage relative was forbidden from browsing on a different floor the library because there weren’t any adults from the family on that floor. This makes me feel sad because Toronto is an incredibly safe city. While I’d never tell others how to raise their children I wish the culture here was less neurotic. Part of becoming a well-rounded adult is learning to manage time, memorize how streets and landmarks interact (e.g. how to get un-lost if you wander too far) and solve interpersonal problems without assistance.


Winter is poetry season. The juxtaposition between the lively imagery in A Thousand Mornings and the grey world around us (at least in continental climates) is delicious. The grass and trees may be dormant for the next few months but our imaginations are fertile!

What have you been reading?

3 Comments

Filed under Uncategorised

3 Responses to Suggestion Saturday: January 5, 2013

  1. I never answer your question aobut what I’m reading.

    Just starting The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins

    In the middle of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay: A Novel by Michael Chabon

    Recently read:

    Free Will by Sam Harris

    John Dies At The End by David Wong – This is a dark, strange horror comedy. The audio book performance is wonderful. If you treat it like a wacky roller coaster ride and just enjoy the weirdness and humor, it’s great fun. If you’re looking for a plot that makes sense, don’t.

    How To Play In Traffic – Penn & Teller. I’m a big fan, though this is hit & miss with me. What I really want is a book of their essays, which is sort of what you get with Penn Jillette’s “Every Day Is An Atheist Holiday” and “God, No!”
    Teller’s essays about his production of Macbeth can, as far as I know, only be found on pennandteller.com and are a beautiful snapshot of what it looks like to be in love with an artistic collaboration. The team tackles the bloodiness and goriness of Macbeth with such glee, and the result is so, so wonderful. Amazon has the DVD. (So do I.)

    • I’ve read and enjoyed “Free Will” and “The God Delusion.”

      I tried “John Dies at the End” last year (ish?) but couldn’t get past the first chapter. I just couldn’t get past all of the plot twists.

      The rest of the books are on my to-read list! Thanks. 🙂

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *