Note: This is my first attempt to make a Gif from a video.
Continue readingTag: fun
A Novelist's Mind: Lilian Nattel Online: Mystery Station: for train lovers
Filed under: Fun Tagged: Bessarion, TTC charms
Continue readingThings Are Good: “Weirdos” Make Cities Better
Joi Ito, the director of the Media Lab at MIT, proposes that one way to make cities a better place for people and economies is to let weirdos flourish. What he’s getting at is that cities attract creative people who can generate wealth and culture so therefore we need to
Continue readingThings Are Good: Formula E is the All-Electric Alternative to Formula 1
Car racing is a popular sport around the world and it used to be a great testing bed for new, more efficient, technology used in internal combustion engines. Today, the technological improvements seem to be more on material science rather than fuel efficiency (most racing leagues still allow leaded gasoline).
Continue readingA Novelist's Mind: Lilian Nattel Online: Joyce Carol Oates on 1st Draft
Getting the first draft finished is like pushing a peanut with your nose across a very dirty floor. Filed under: Fun, Literary Tagged: Writing Life
Continue readingThings Are Good: Embrace Serendipity With Shuffle My Life
Shuffle My Life is a cute website that encourages you to bring some randomness into your life by giving fun and easy tasks. It’s a play on all those to-do lists people have which tend to be filled with boring activities. To bring a sense of adventure into your life
Continue readingA Novelist's Mind: Lilian Nattel Online: Pothole Problem Solved
click to enlarge This pothole has been around on Palmerston Square for a while. Recently someone anonymously filled it in with earth and planted flowers. Neighbourliness and creativity abound. Filed under: Fun
Continue readingLaw is Cool: Chess Master, You May Approach the Bench
Ever want to take on an opponent in court from the comfort of your living room? This legal themed chess set might provide an outlet. “Approach the Bench” was designed by a lawyer’s son as a gift to his dad. After realizing there aren’t many legal-themed chess sets out there, the
Continue readingA Novelist's Mind: Lilian Nattel Online: What I Learned from Figure Skating
The figure skaters at the World Championship competition, held this past week in London, Ontario, are the top skaters in the world. And they fall. They fall on their bums in front of a packed stadium, eyes upon them, and in front of TV cameras that represent the millions watching
Continue reading350 or bust: Saturday At The Movies
Need a lift this morning? This should do it!
Continue readingThings Are Good: Get Rid of Stuff, Do What You Love
Often we hear that spending on experiences make for a happier life than buying into consumerism. In concept it sounds great, but many people think that it’s hard to rejig their life to be focused on doing things rather than consuming things. This TED talk is about breaking free of
Continue readingA Novelist's Mind: Lilian Nattel Online: An Everday Story of Cats
(Click photos to enlarge) Filed under: Fun Tagged: cats in motion, urban photography
Continue readingA Novelist's Mind: Lilian Nattel Online: Perspective
winter flowers, click to enlarge I held the camera under the flowers and pointed up, surprising myself in the frame. Filed under: Fun, Interesting Tagged: urban photography
Continue readingA Novelist's Mind: Lilian Nattel Online: Nutcracker
The choreography, sets, and costumes were new, at least to me. This was my family’s Christmas present from A’s mom: row F, seats 14 to 17. I haven’t seen The Nutcracker for years, not since I became a mom myself, and I’ve always wanted to take my children. It was
Continue readingA Novelist's Mind: Lilian Nattel Online: Sea Plane and Reading
WWII military supply plane That is the interior of the sea plane that took me from Vancouver to Gabriola Island. As the only passenger, I got to sit in front. I thought the ride would be scary. Instead it was a stroll through the sky. A magical row below the
Continue readingA Novelist's Mind: Lilian Nattel Online: Draft One Done!
You may have noticed that I’ve been blogging less and less of late and the result is…drum roll please…the completed first draft of a New Book. Yes, folks, there is life after Web of Angels. The floundering that follows every book I’ve written has passed, and I’ve swum to a new shore. As is my […]
Continue readingThings Are Good: Better Block is Bettering Cities
The Better Block initiative was started in Dallas, Texas as a rapid urban revitalization project of an underused, nearly abandoned block of old buildings along an old streetcar line. They project takes the “pop-up” business model to completely revitalise old city blocks with storefronts, community events, and cafés, and sustainable
Continue readingA Novelist's Mind: Lilian Nattel Online: Searching for the Canadian Voice – Imprint
Last week I was at the Kitchener Writers Festival, where I was interviewed by a delightful young woman, Catherine Vendryes, who is an English Major at the University of Waterloo, a slender spectacled smart girl, armed with steno pad and digital recorder. I loved her questions. Here is her write-up:
Continue readingA Novelist's Mind: Lilian Nattel Online: Baseball
Today I’m writing about baseball. Have fun with this! John Fogerty – Centerfield – YouTube. Filed under: Fun Tagged: Centerfield by John Fogerty
Continue readingPaulitical Satire: Holiday Movie Monday
So, the last weekend of summer is upon us loyal readers! I hope that you are currently enjoying the last day of the last long weekend, of this wonderful summer that was. It’s not everyday the Movie Monday falls on a holiday, so I wanted to give you all a
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