Into the Deep Freezer - Again!

Ok Dudes, we are in for another weather roller coaster. It was a pleasant stroll into the office this morning. Seemed like a spring day when I went out to lunch. Less pleasant as I left the office and walked toward home. Still warm, but the wind had come up and it was clear that the cold was returning and being driven to our town rather quickly on the tail of an Arctic wind. I took the photo to the left on my walk home. I guess they figured that one wouldn't know what to do when cautioned about falling ice.

I suspect tomorrow I am going to want to cocoon inside rather than go out on a long walk.

News item of the day: Watching the Market Watch TV show tonight they were making viewers aware of the rising concerns regarding the potential of cell phone use to increase incidence of brain cancer. Scary! Of particular concern is the use of cell phones by young people. Apparently since the brain is smaller a greater percentage of it is exposed to the electromagnetic energy. There is a study ongoing in Canada which will have results in about 5 years, but a small study conducted n Europe showed a 5% increase in brain cancer users who used a cell phone for more than 10 years. Scary stuff for sure!!!

So now let me tell you about the Toronto One Read Event. As I mentioned last blog there are a number of events celebrating March as Reading Month. As part of Keep Toronto Reading 2008, the Toronto Library choose Consolation by Michael Redhill as the one book all Torontonians should read. The library held a number of events throughout the city about the book’s themes and issues. I read the novel and have to say it was my best read of the year. I look forward to this year's selection.

For those of you who haven't read it, I must first point out that it has a special significance to anyone who has lived in Toronto. Every page refers to a Toronto street, landmark or noteworthy historical event. There are two parallel plots each similar in theme but set more than 100 years apart. I won't go into more, you can go here if you want a to know more about it.

http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/ktr/onebook/about_consolation.jsp

Next item: Going on a cruise is great fun; riding in an OPP cruiser, not so much...

I had to laugh at my brother's comment left on my face book site. IHe had commented that he had never been on a cruise, but he had been in a cruiser and that wasn't very much fun. I laughed!

Well I have been on a few different cruises, but not in the last many years until the one I went on in December. This one was in some ways far better than any I have been on before but somehow also a bit too posh. I still remember my first cruise (I hate to say how many decades ago). It was a Greek ship. Cruising was certainly not then what it is now. It was the disco 70s and I had an Afro perm and you can probably picture the scene. The ship was not the cleanest, and as I recall the cabin steward (an old fat man) asked that I tip him with a bottle of brandy as he would need to share any money I gave him. I had a party in my room and he brought ice and glasses and I gave him another bottle of brandy in thanks. I recall there were only 3 bars/clubs, no theaters or ice rinks. There was a casino and we did bingo there during the daytime. And the bathroom! It was so small you could sit on the john and shower at the same time.

This cruise was quite a contrast. The Royal Caribbean's "Liberty of the Seas" is the biggest cruise ship on the seas in the 2008/2009 sailing season. There is a "Grand Promenade" in the centre of the ship which is sort of like the interior of the Eatons Center - towering about 6 floors with balconies from the rooms on either side looking out at the promenade. We had an outside cabin with a nice balcony to view departures and arrivals or just to gaze out at the expanse of sea. The room was large - there were 3 of us sharing so that was important. Not that we spent much time in the room. I just counted up the number of bars -- I didn't even get to have a drink in every single one -- there were at least 10, if you count the one deck side and the one in the theatre. The formal dining rooms were over 3 levels with a scarlet O'Hara staircase joining them. Near the top of the ship there was a buffet dining room and there were several different eateries off the Promenade. Oh ya, there was a huge casino, a 2 level disco an an ice skating rink. Add to that the climbing wall, the surfing hill, on deck golf and all manner of on board entertainment, you could very well have stayed on ship the whole time and not been bored.

But of course we didn't and that will be the topic of another blog.

So enough for one blog - the hour is late and my bed calls.

Happy Thursday!

Just a short start on my blog this morning while I coffee is brewing. I got in late last night and once again was not able to do my blog in the evening after work. This week has been a busy one - lots of folks at work to catch up with - lunch and dinners out every day with friends and colleagues. Great way to start back to the "grind".

This picture is my entry to the "so you think you have it bad contest". Not sure how this happened but sure glad this prank wasn't played on me!

So, having just written a paragraph, I must run off. Perhaps I will have a chance to write a bit more during lunch, today is a quiet day with no plans for either lunch or dinner. So stay tuned for the completion of this blog later today.

Ok, so I will admit it... I have this urge just to veg and do nothing more tonight. But I decided that as I sit here by the fire, rum and tonic at the ready, dog at my side, laptop in my lap, tv in front of my face I would open my blog and make an effort at finishing up today's entry. I just got back from getting a load of groceries and after a long day of brain activity at work I would rather sit and veg. However, I am a determined soul and having just been reminded of the promised finish of this entry I am motivated to get it done.

Well, I could write about the weather - did you hear that we have had more snow this year so far than last year at this time - and last year was a record setting year! Or, I could write about how Lake Ontario is starting to freeze up. I was noticing as I got home that the grey/blue shoreline is receeding as it is being consumed by the white snow and ice at a rate of about 8 or 10 feet a day.

But no, I am going to blog on for the next couple of blogs about the Canada Reads event. (OK, a few comments about the weather and or noteworth local events might creep in as well. I discovered Canada Reads last year. March is "Reading Month" and there are lots of events which promote reading in that month. Canada Reads is an annual "battle of the books" competition organized and broadcast by CBC. The books are announced in November and the contest is held during March of each year. During Canada Reads, five personalities champion five different books, each champion extolling the merits of one of the titles. The debate is broadcast over a series of five programs. At the end of each episode, the panelists vote one title "off the island" until only one book remains. This book is then billed as the book that all of Canada should read.

Canada Reads 2009 will be aired from March 2 to March 6, 2009.
For the 2009 competition, the books chosen by the participants were:
The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill, defended by Avi Lewis
The Fat Woman Next Door is Pregnant by Michel Tremblay, defended by Anne-Marie Withenshaw
Fruit by Brian Francis, defended by Jen Sookfong Lee
Mercy Among the Children by David Adams Richards, defended by Sarah Slean
The Outlander by Gil Adamson, defended by Nicholas Campbell

I have started reading The book of Negroes which is by all accounts an exceptional book. Will keep you posted.

Tomorrow I will tell you all about Toronto Reads.

And I promise a Cruise story or two on the weekend!