A Little Pimping & Happy 101

One thing I don't mind doing is promoting the work and good-doings of talented writers within my 'circle of friends'. I'm thinking that most of you who drop into my blog also follow, or at least are familiar with, the talented Cate Gardner over at The Poisoned Apple.

A collection of her short stories, Strange Men in Pinstripe Suits and Other Curious Things, will soon be published by the good people at Strange Publications. I have been following Cate's stories online and in print for about a year and have never been disappointed with her servings of horror with healthy sprinkles of quirkiness on top...follow the links or stay tuned here and I will keep you updated.

I was bestowed an award by Cathy Olliffe at Life on the Muskoka River. The Happy 101 award(or as I prefer to call it: the Sprinkly Cupcake Award) requires me to list 10 things that make me happy...guess that's why it took me a week to get around to the list. Happiness is not a state I walk around in all of the time. Nor is sadness. I think a state of oblivious contentedness is closer to the mark. Anyhow, for those who care to learn more about me (as if you regular followers hadn't heard enough about me already...) I present you with my 'Happy List'.

1. The community of writers and bloggers (or both) that I have surrounded myself with that have both entertained me and taught me a lot about writing in the past year. My 'Circle of Friends' and story-tellers of horror, spec fic, steam punk, humour or generally spin a good yarn about the human condition. Well done, my friends!


2. The inhaling of my morning cup of pot of coffee... combined with the reading of my friend's blogs, local and international news and the hockey stats (in regards to the current hockey pool I participate in through work).


3. Winning of the current aforementioned hockey pool...there is only one more night of hockey left in the regular season of the NHL and I have I lead that I believe can not be caught (knock on wood). I have participated in this for about 12 years and have 2-second place finishes, but have never won. I play, of course, not for money but for the supreme joy of winning ;)


4. It makes me happy that my Ontario employer, an un-named manufacturer of fine steel buildings, allowed me to work from home in what could possibly be the greatest place in the world.


5. I am happy that the people here seem to have accepted us, even though we carry the labels "CFA and BFA". My wife is a BFA, or back from away, a native Newfoundlander that left years ago and returned home. Sean and I are CFA, or come from away. That's a bit of a stigma here, but if you absorb the culture here and mesh well with others things go smoothly. I had heard of the third, more derogatory, label of BIFFO. Sean is a bit quick on giving his opinions and we thought he might earn this label. Oh, you want to know what it means? Big Effin' Know-it-all From Ontario...


6. I am happy that my parents and sister have also moved to this island, keeping the 'Davidson Clan' in one place. However my sister has followed the route of many other Newfoundlanders and currently works in a camp in the Fort McMurray area of Alberta (though she is currently home for a week).


7. Travelling and seeing different places make me happy. As readers of this blog know, I just returned from the Caribbean (our first holiday away since moving here 4 years ago). I feel fortunate that I have seen Canada from coast to coast and many metropolitan centres in the US. Having family in the UK has allowed me to visit several times in a 'budget' fashion.


8. A hamburger at 'Fog City' with my wife followed by a movie. The proverbial date night, which in fact was the name of the movie we saw last night (our son is away with the cadets at the provincial marksmanship competition...which also makes me happy).


9. Listening to the Homebrew radio show on K-Rock on a Sunday morning (which I am doing right now) while keeping up with writing or the blogs of others.


10. My wife and son make me happy. They occasionally drive me crazy, but it's balanced by the joy and entertainment they infuse into my life...after all, I am a Libra.

I am now supposed to pass the Cupcake award to five other folks. The evil voice I hear from my right shoulder chortles and says that I should pass it on to the incomparable Anton Gully...five times...just to hear his verbal tirade. The good voice, whispering from my left shoulder, says that I should invite all of you who wish to share more to me and others in this growing circle to do so. What's your list of happiness? Don't be shy.

Awards Night

It's late Saturday night and what could be more fun than getting dressed up in my tux for the receiving and giving of awards. Note that the Oscar nominations will be announced at 5:30am PT Tuesday. The awards I refer to are not quite so dramatic and, to be honest, the photo was taken on my wedding day over 15 years ago. My hair was a lot longer back then...and the tux was a rental. I may have posted the photo on my blog months ago but honestly can't remember. I know that I have it on FaceBook. Anyway, I've poured myself a wee Glenlivet (a double) and will move on with the show. Please forgive me if I schlerr my words or if I create a few tippos.


On Thursday, the very talented Laura Eno at A Shift in Dimensions with the 'You are my Sunshine Award'. The purpose of it is to acknowledge those that have a blog and spend endless hours ensuring that other bloggers get feedback on their blogs by leaving comments, adding themselves as a follower or dropping by just to let you know there are people out there. It was very kind of Laura to consider me worthy and I thank her very much. There are so many folks that frequent this blog that are quick with humour and a kind word. Two stand out for me that have been commenting here since my first couple of weeks blogging last spring. The award goes to:



KC Shaw at The Knotted Thicket and Natalie L. Sin at Written by Sin.

We now move on to the entertainment for the evening. I am playing a medley of David Hasselhoff songs with hand farts. I'm sorry that you at home can not enjoy it as much as I am.


The second award, the Honest Scrap Award, was presented to me on Thursday as well (suffice it to say that I was giddy with excitement at receiving two different awards on the same day) by Courtney Reese at her blog. Courtney and I are fairly new to each other's blogs but we both recognise the effort and honesty that each other puts into our blogs. Please check hers out, I know that I will continue to do so. Now, the easy part of this award is passing it on to a couple of worthy parties. Drum roll, please *my greyhound is entering the room carrying the envelope in his teeth. I remove said envelope, wipe off drool on sleeve of tux and smooth it out* The Honest Scrap Award goes to:


Katey Taylor at SpecFic and Nonsense and Catherine Gardner at The Poisoned Apple.

The more difficult part of this award is that I have to reveal 10 honest facts about myself. This may be difficult as I've been revealing a lot about myself (perhaps too much some of you may say) on this blog. I'll see if I can come up with some new lies stuff about myself.

1. I had a rock collection in the 5th grade and expanded to minerals and fossils and aspired to be a geologist. I was fascinated with the subject, but couldn't handle of the other 'stuff' that one needs to take in university to meet the requirements of a science degree.
2. In 1990-91, I was on a 16 week overland expedition from London to Kathmandu in the back of a Bedford truck with 19 other travellers.
3. I was once a dog catcher (note: this also includes cats, owls, raccoons, muskrat, a blue heron, a possum and pretty much anything else needed restrained or captured).
4. I once had to get the rabies series of shots after being bitten my a rabid cat (refer back to item #3). Side note...I used to be terrified by needles, but I'm not too bad now...)
5. I enjoy live theatre and had season's tickets to the Grand Theatre in London (Ontario) and saw shows in Stratford and Toronto.
6. Tattoos? No way, as I had always been scared of needles (see item#4).
7. Quirky movies I could watch 100 times? Hmm, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, A Christmas Story, Fargo, Diner...the list goes on.
8. I was raised Roman Catholic, but my parents stopped taking us to mass as they grew weary of listening to 5 kids whining about it. I subscribe to no particular religion and think that they all have their merits and drawbacks. I keep an open mind and listen to what they all have to say.
9. I am probably one of the most patient people that I know. I'm easy-going and some would say 'laid back'. I am quiet by nature and some mistaken this as having nothing to say. This is not true as I will speak my mind if and when the topic warrants it.
10. I once saw an object floating above a farmer's field at 5:30am driving from home in London to work, at the time, in Aylmer Ontario (no, I hadn't been drinking or any other such thing). I believe that we are not alone in the universe and we would be arrogant to think this small blue island in space is the only one of its kind.

Umm, sorry about #10. Ish probably the single malt talking...Actually, it's a crafty segue into my next post.

Count Me In

Catherine Gardner at The Poisoned Apple has started a trend today that all the cool kids want to be part of this Halloween season.

The Aaron Polson fan club is now open to members and I, for one, have never been disappointed by anything he has written and am jumping on the bandwagon.

To join, all you have to do is add the certificate (below) to your sidebar/web page/blog/or have it tattooed on your butt chest.

I am a fan of his smooth, clear writing style and enjoy the evil and horrific journeys he has led us on. I would not hesitate to wave his flag or pimp him out...oops, I don't think that came out right. Anyway, in case you have been living in a well-lit, carefree world--take a moment to step into the shadows and check him out at The Other Aaron . Sign up now while there's still time...Muwhahahah....

Sharpen your pencils

We went to the movies last night to see District 9. I'm surprised that it's been out for a week and it's only in one theatre. Guess that it's got to do with the unknown cast and relatively new director Neill Blomkamp. I suppose it has been more accepted by the mainstream audience as Peter Jackson has thrown his weight behind it. What a fantastic movie, considering the unknown cast. Quite an action/sci-fi story delving into all sorts of subject ranging from greed and betrayal to survival and humanity. Well worth the price of admission.

The highlight of going to the movies for me, or course is watching all the trailers before the main feature. There was one shown that I hadn't seen before. Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant is set for release on Oct. 23/09 and looks like a hoot. It stars John C. Reilly and is based on Darren Shan's book first published in 2000. The entire length of the trailer, I was thinking to myself...this something hilarious, yet bizarre, that Catherine J. Gardner or Carrie Harris would write...

So it would seem that Hollywood is knocking at the door, looking for that strange and wonderful mix of horror and comedy again...so everybody sharpen your pencils and get to work. Attached below is the link to the official website and trailer for this movie.

http://www.thevampiresassistant.net/

A Sweet Read: The Sour Aftertaste of Olive Lemon

For those how may not have heard:

The chapbook, The Sour Aftertaste of Olive Lemon by Catherine J. Gardner, is now available for purchase at Bucket 'O' Guts for $6 incl shipping & handling in the US (payable via paypal). If you live outside the U.S. you can email Nate Lambert at bogpress@gmail.com and he'll get back to you with the price including shipping & handling.

And on the cottage hunt scene...we just returned from Conception Bay North in the continuing saga of finding a cottage. The frontrunner is now a small place with a killer view of the ocean, next to a cemetery. Cool! Things are getting interesting.

John Hughes 1950-2009

I'm going to follow the lead of Catherine J. Gardner and post a clip of one of my favourite John Hughes movies. Planes, Trains & Automobiles is a must see for any fan of slapstick comedy...or domestic travel. It starred Steve Martin and the late Canadian comedian John Candy. Hughes was a gifted writer and director who died before his time.

Having trouble attaching the video trailer from YouTube directly, but here is the link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNDlQibnoSM

Eureka!

Today I opened my mailbox to discover that the Necrotic Tissue Issue 7 had finally arrived. I must now recant the nasty things that I have been thinking about certain postal services. With trembling fingers, I sliced open the end of the yellow, bubble-wrapped cocoon and out slid the glossy magazine. Now the dilemma of deciding to start at the beginning and read to the end, or perhaps jump straight to the stories by Jeremy Kelly or perhaps Catherine J. Gardner whose "The Scratch of an Old Record" was selected best story. Hmm...what's a guy to do...

To help celebrate, I have dug through some old quotes to find one that, I hope, fits the occasion.

"There are certain themes of which the interest is all-absorbing, but which are too entirely horrible for the purposes of legitimate fiction."

--Edgar Allan Poe, The Premature Burial

Perish the Wee Beastie

Catherine J. Gardner's post today, on her blog The Poisoned Apple, had to do with finding old diaries and reminiscing about the entries. Particularly the ones regarding writing endevours. I commented that I had not kept one and it was just as well as there was pretty much nothing to report between the ages of 12 and 20. I suggested that for an interesting read we could crack open one of my old university chemistry lab books...much more entertaining to be sure. The whole science thing got my thought process on a tangent.

I flashed back to public school where we had to take a chicken and boil it in a pot until all of the meat and skin could be taken off (this nasty task, of course, fell upon my mum). We then had to take apart the bones, dry them, and rebuild the bird in some sort of a striking pose. On another occasion, high school I think, we had to discect a cow's eye. I recall the teacher bringing the plastic pail of eyes into the class, the orbs all packed in crushed ice and staring up at us with an accusatory stare. The final nasty flashback is of biology class in university when we had to disect a frog. I had been out all night drinking with friends and got about 1 hour of sleep prior to the 3 hour lab session. I desided then and there the mutilation of wee beasts was not for me. Myself and another burly young man defered the scalpel weilding to the woman of our threesome...which leads to the conslusion that this sort of business is best handled by the fairer sex...or was it: don't mess aroung with a woman holding a blade. You get the picture!