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Interview: Christy Ann Conlin Author of Dead Time

A few weeks ago, I started to look at Young Adult (YA) novels with my daughter in mind. Adolescence is still a few years off, but I'd like to know what types of books are available now. What I discovered is that there are a lot more books for the 14 to 21 age group than when I was a teen.

Most of you will recall The Outsiders, That Was Then This is Now, and Rumble Fish by S. E. Hinton, or the classic coming of age novels, such as the Catcher in the Rye and Lord of the Flies, all of which pushed the boundaries of what was considered acceptable behaviour in their day. The S. E. Hinton novels gave us a look at the darker side of the teenage years, but the one that left me gobsmacked and terrified about drugs, particularly LSD, was Go Ask Alice.

What was your favourite coming of age novel? I have quite a few, but I think that my all time favourite was the Diary of Anne Frank

Pushing the boundaries of acceptable behaviour is still very much a part of the YA literary landscape. Young protagonists continue to confront social issues and situations, addressing edgy themes such as sexuality in all of its various manifestations, drugs, alcohol, peer pressure, crime, pregnancy, abortion, psychological, verbal and physical abuse, cutting, suicide and yes, love.

I've just finished my third YA novel, and I must admit that it's a good exercise to help you remember how intense teenage emotions can be. The frighteningly realistic Dead Time by Christy Ann Conlin may convince you to start spending more quality time with your kids.

In this novella, we meet Isabella, the 15-year-old protagonist, who has been abandoned by her mother and left with her busy, important father, who is rarely home. Despite her family's wealth, Isabella is acutely insecure and extremely angry. This volatile mixture along with some help from her shiftless boyfriend, Sergei, results in murder. (For the full review click here.)

In addition, to Dead Time, Christy Ann Conlin is the author of the bestseller Heave, which was chosen as one of the top 40 novels of the decade by the CBC's Canada Reads in 2010. Her soon-to-be-released novel Listening to the Island links back to Heave through the character of Fancy Mosher.

Christy Ann was kind enough to answer a few questions about Dead Time and tell us her thoughts on YA literature. 

What made you decide to try your hand at YA?

CA: Well, I was asked to write a book the Single Voice series published by Annick Press.  I was dying, no pun intended, to work with the editor on that series, Melanie Little. She's now at House of Anansi. She's both a uniquely talented editor and writer and I knew working with her would be extraordinary, which it was.  I already had an idea in mind for a novel and so I just wrote that. I would say I didn't write it as YA specifically -- it just happens to work as a YA book, and an adult book.  It's what we could call "cross genre" in its broad appeal to different ages of readers.


Where did you find your inspiration for the character of Isabella?

CA: That's always such a hard question for writers. It's a compendium of factors, I suppose.  The Stephanie Rengel murder in Toronto was really what inspired the book, the tragedy of her slaying, and the horror of the murderers being teens.  I was fascinated with how a young woman, at an age we see as so innocent, could be capable of such violence and horror.  Isabella appeared for me like a fairy tale character, a very dark fairy tale. 

What would you say fuels Isabella's rage and jealousy?

CA:A childhood of extreme neglect. Extreme narcissism and lack of empathy. She's a psychopath.


What YA novel affected you the most as a teen and why?

CA: Harriet the Spy. Her solitude, both the peace of it, and the loneliness of it, are so easy to relate to.  I could so relate to her loss of innocence when she discovered how cruel her peers could be, and her pain on realizing how messed up adults are. But there is such optimism in the book, as Harriet finds her way, and redefines her friendships with her peers, and adults.  It's so moving. Plus, I've always been obsessed with New York and so it was fun to read that book with a map handy, dreaming of the big city when I was stuck in rural Nova Scotia.  I also loved Catcher in the Rye, for the same reason, that it really crystalized that sense of dismay we feel transitioning into the imperfect adult world, where our heros fall off the pedestal.  I find it so interesting how often kids are fed all kinds of ideals, and sheltered from so much, and somehow we expect them to just transition seamlessly into adulthood.  Books like these can be lifesavers, honestly!

Thanks so much Christy Ann! I look forward to reading Listening to the Island.


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Rythmes de Femmes at Rialto Theatre

Last week, I received an invitation from Marilyn Berzan-Montblanch to take part in the closing festivities of the 2011 Images de femmes at the Rialto Theatre on March 20. Rythmes de femmes is the finale of the Images de femmes event, which pays tribute to Mile End women artists. This year Rialto owner Ezio Carosielli generously offered the Mile End landmark for the event, throwing  in a few extra surprises, such as a chocolate fountain fondue and homemade cannoli.

I arrived at the sumptuous theatre just as the best costume was being awarded. Participants had dressed in wearable art for the occasion. I recognized a lot of familiar faces in the crowd, including that of Mile End Councillor Richard Ryan. I also had a chance to snap a picture of Alice Cantine walking around in her ball gown made entirely from Loto 649 tickets.

My last visit to the Rialto was for a New Year's Eve Party in 1988. At the time, they still had the original theatre seats in place. In the 1920s, when the Rialto was built, it seated 1,000 (small) people and was known as a "movie palace." The seats on the bottom floor have since been removed and replaced with cabaret seating.

During the intermission, I had a chance to speak to Ezio Carosielli, who disclosed his renovation plans. A previous owner had redone the theatre, but had chosen red, blue and gold, which were not the original colours. Ezio and his partner were in the process of restoring the balcony to its original green and beige. Although that may sound dull in comparison, when I saw a part that had been restored, the muted colours definitely enhanced the beauty of the original features. Unfortunately, the balcony was closed, but catching a glimpse certainly piqued my curiosity.Carosielli also spoke of a beautiful a cappella performance that had taken place on the previous evening. As I quickly learned when the Images de Femmes musical performances started, the acoustics at the Rialto are indeed magnificent.

In short, Mile End women artists were honoured in the style they deserve, and I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day and the 18th annual Images de Femmes than a party at the Rialto Theatre. Special thanks to Ezio, the wait staff at the Rialto, Robin Gorn for all her help and Linda Morrison who came in spite of feeling under the weather.




Related posts:
Navarino's and Images de Femmes
Guerrilla in the Midst
Bagel Conundrum
Mile End's Ring of Fame
What it is by Lynda Barry
The True Gender
Almost a Visit to Gender
St-Viateur: the Polish Bazaar
The Mile End Buzz Around Beekeeping
For the Love of Vinyl
Airing Our Dirty Laundry


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Review of the Girls’ History and Culture Reader: The Twentieth Century


The Girls’ History and Culture Reader: The Twentieth Century is an anthology of influential essays written by top scholars that have defined the field of American girls’ history and culture over the last 30 years. Girl-centered research is considered a relatively new and dynamic field of investigation that is believed to be critical for gaining a deeper understanding of women and gender, and a fuller appreciation of how generation influences American culture and society. Edited by Miriam Forman-Brunell and Leslie Paris, the Reader addresses twentieth century forces such as fashion, consumerism, immigration, civil rights, music, leisure and labor and how these factors impacted the lives of girls.

The twentieth century was marked by increased choice and freedom for women, which translated into change, albeit not identical, for their younger counterparts. With more opportunities in society, girls took part in sports, went to camp, pursued higher learning in greater numbers, became consumers and members of the labor force, and participated in pop culture like never before. However, their greater independence also meant increased scrutiny by older generations. Girls were still seen as innocents requiring protection in an increasingly predatory world, while their sexual curiosity and independence induced considerable anxiety.

For those of you who thought you had a good handle on the events that influenced women’s history in the twentieth century, you might glean some interesting new information from this book. I certainly did. For instance, menstruation was taught to girls in the 1900s devoid of any instruction on fertility. Instead, teachings were from a purely hygienic point of view, and unsurprisingly, had strong backing from companies manufacturing disposable sanitary napkins. Equally surprising was the fact that single mothers in the Los Angeles area were known to initiate juvenile court proceedings to bring their wayward daughters and their much-needed incomes home in the 1920s. Yet, the most astounding in this collection was the essay on mid-century psychoanalysis, which posited that a healthy Oedipal relationship between daughter and father was the pre-eminent path to sexual maturity. At its limits, it appeared to condone incest as an expression of a girl’s own desires…

My personal favourite in the collection was an essay by Susan J. Douglas on the acceptance of black music in the 1960s, and how girls groups gave a voice to the struggles of young women and showed them the potential for strength in numbers. For all those fans of Nancy Drew, there is also a great essay on our favourite sleuth. Ilana Nash convincingly shows that while our heroine was a model of intelligence, independence and empowerment, her stories also reinforced patriarchal privilege and conservative gender ideology.

While there is a focus on white middle glass girls, which the editors acknowledge, the Reader also contains compelling essays on the double-bind of Mexican, Chinese and Italian-American girls, who had to deal not only with the cultural constraints of their own homes but also with those of a more liberal American society at large. Although there is an essay on Black girls and the institutionalization of double dutch, the book falls short in providing an idea of how black girls’ lives changed throughout the twentieth century. True, there may be few reliable stats, but I still think that oral testimony has a place in data collection, and I'm sure there are plenty of women of colour willing to speak about their girlhoods.

Sadly, native American girls were completely ignored.

Nevertheless, this book is a great resource for anyone wanting to research the lives of girls in a specific decade of the twentieth century, as each essay ends with an extensive bibliography. This is also a great reference for fledgling authors wanting to create an accurate depiction of the lives of girls in the twentieth century.


This review was cross-posted at Elevate Difference .

Other reviews:
Dead Time by Christy Ann Conlin
The Social Media Survival Guide by Deltina Hay
The Birth House by Ami McKay
The Best Laid Plans by Terry Fallis
The Bone Cage by Angie Abdou
Unless by Carol Shields
Essex County by Jeff Lemire


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E-Book Sensation

Sculptor: M. Champagne
The name Amanda Hocking seems to be on the lips of everyone in the publishing world these days. The 26-year-old has gone from making $18,000 working with the physically disabled in 2009 to nearly $2 million since April 2010 when she released her first novel on Kindle. Since then she has published eight more books, selling 900,000 copies.

After Switch was rejected by traditional publishers, Hocking decided to strike out on her own and take the self-published route. As poetic justice would have it, Switch went on to become her best-seller. Her paranormal novels, featuring vampires and trolls, sell for $0.99 or $2.99 each, which is the price that she would be willing to pay for one. She makes 70% of sales on her $0.99 e-books and 65% on those at $2.99.

In June, Amanda changed her approach and sent out advance review copies to bloggers. Her strategy proved successful with her book sales jumping to 4,200 copies, netting her $3,000 in just one month. In July 2010, she decided to quit her job and write full time. Since then, her book sales have continued to climb, and in January alone she sold 450,000 units.

Hocking was recently approached by a District 9 screenwriter to option her Trylle trilogy for a screenplay. Quite a successful year for a young woman from a small town in Minnesota wouldn't you say? Will Hocking go on to become the new electronic J. K. Rowling? Still too soon to tell.

Have you ever bought an e-book? We have the entire Scott Pilgrim series just waiting to be picked up and read.

I know a certain person who could probably use Kindle to capitalize on her repertoire of ghost stories. I hope that this story might inspire her.

Further reading:
HuffPo Interview with Amanda Hocking




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Review: Greedy Little Eyes

Greedy Little Eyes by Billie Livingston
Random House

With all the hoopla surrounding the Canada Reads, I wondered about the number of Canadian authors who were receiving very little ink because they strayed from the mainstream publishing path. Recently, I spoke to a writer about this and asked for a few recommendations of authors who were not getting the press they deserved. She gave me a couple of names, one being that of Billie Livingston.

A few days later, I received a copy of Livingston's collection of short stories Greedy Little Eyes, which incidentally won a CBC Bookie Award. The majority of the stories are set in Vancouver, many deal with families who have a member or loved one dealing with some form of mental illness, and almost all of them contain a measure of alcohol. In other words, the stories are about every day families, warts and all. Livingston nevertheless throws her characters into some dark, yet humorous, situations, such as the Lindt chocolate flogger working at a mall under siege, or a librarian held at knife point by her rodent-exterminating, psychologically unstable boyfriend in the book sign-out line. My personal favourite, also the book's longest story, was about the artistic bipolar Alice and her love Clint, the refurbished preacher, who is matter of factly sized up in colourful language by a pregnant, spandex-clad meth addict, giving the reader an idea of how their love affair might end.

After reading through half the book, I told a friend that some of the stories had at times left me slack-jawed. Now why didn't I see that coming? As my mother used to take apart clothes to see how they were sewn together, I tried on a few occasions to go sentence by sentence to see how the author could continually pull the carpet out from under me. I have a few ideas now, but by the fifth paragraph I was usually swept back into the story. What's more, even without being able to put my finger on an exact description, I had a vivid picture of the characters and situations. In short, Livingston is a crack writer.

Another important point is that Livingston allows her female characters to embrace their dark side, such as the two sisters who lure a sexual predator into a trap to end his lascivious days.  Although this may sound lurid and it is, it's also self-defense against a man who has been given full rein in their home. In these stories, Livingston's female characters are independent, complex and life-like, and those who do have a dark side are never cast in the role of villainess. They are who they are. Take it or leave it. Though some readers will enjoy female protagonists with a wider range of character, as I clearly do, this deviation from the mainstream Pollyanna norm seems to have frightened some people; otherwise, Livingston would be getting the attention she deserves.

If you're looking for something off the beaten path that will make you cringe, gasp and giggle, this is your book.

You could even win it if you "like" my page at the Unexpected Twists and Turns on Facebook. If you've already "liked" this page then just "like" this post at the bottom of the page. Winner announced on Friday, March 18.

Congratulations to Billie for winning the Danuta Gleed $10,000-first prize for Greedy Little Eyes

Other reviews:

Dead Time by Christy Ann Conlin
The Social Media Survival Guide by Deltina Hay
The Birth House by Ami McKay
The Best Laid Plans by Terry Fallis
The Bone Cage by Angie Abdou
Unless by Carol Shields
Essex County by Jeff Lemire



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Chez Elio

On the other side of the train tracks separating the Mile End from Rosemont is an Italian restaurant that no one should miss. I used to pick up my daughter at a daycare a few blocks north of Elio's, and it was just another building until the patio opened. I was pregnant at the time and my enhanced sense of smell could pick up the delicious aroma of tomato sauce at least a block before I waddled past.

We've had more than a few meals chez Elio, and every time we drop in we ask, "How can simple tomato sauce taste this good?" And the best part--the servings are so large that we have enough food for at least the next meal if not more. I asked my hairdresser, Josée, about Elio's. She moved to Canada from Italy when she was 15.

"Yeah, it's good, but that's where people my parents' age go," she said. "It's for an older generation."

The restaurant was founded in 1964, and although some recent interior design changes have been made, there are still some retro features, such as the outdoor showcase with a plaster Joseph holding the baby Jesus, Elio's framed letter from the Pope, a statue of a monk with a giant rosary around his neck, vintage gum ball machines and, of course, its signature wooden arches. The restaurant has also been immortalized in Sébastien Diaz's book Montréal Kitsch, a guide to fun, yet tacky, Montreal landmarks.

This is also a place where you can buy the pasta and take it home. I was once standing behind a man from Toronto at the cash who bought $150 worth of sauce and pasta to take back to la Ville Reine (Queen's city, a synonym for Toronto). Another very important point, children are made to feel welcome in this restaurant, both by the staff and the customers. I have wonderful memories of family meals at Elio's.

Restaurant Elio
Buffet Anna Maria
351-357 Bellechasse, Montreal
514-276-5341

Hood-related posts
Navarino's and Images de femmes
Guerrilla in the Midst
Japanese Paper: Remedy for Winter Funk
Bagel Conundrum
Mile End's Ring of Fame
What it is by Lynda Barry
The True Gender
Almost a Visit to Gender
St-Viateur: the Polish Bazaar
The Mile End Buzz Around Beekeeping
For the Love of Vinyl
Airing Our Dirty Laundry

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Review: The Orphan Rescue

The Orphan Rescue
Anne Dublin
Second Story Press

The Orphan Rescue opens with 12-year-old Miriam and her grandfather taking her younger brother David to an orphanage in the late spring of 1937 in Sosnowiec, Poland. Miriam's grandparents have no other choice. The Depression has been a financially trying time for everyone, and when Miriam’s locksmith grandfather injures his hand and can no longer work, the grandparents are faced with a difficult decision. Young Miriam is pulled from school to work as a butcher’s assistant, while David must go and live at an orphanage, headed by the beady-eyed, vulture-like director, Mr. Reznitsky. After already losing her parents, Miriam is devastated to say good-bye to her brother and vows to bring him home, one way or another.

The Orphan Rescue offers the pre-teen reader a strong girl character in Miriam, who is true to her word and perseveres until she fulfills her promise, even when it requires her to tell lies and transgress the rules. In the book’s afterword, we learn that this is in fact the true story of Miriam and Alter Chaim, the author’s cousins. Dublin also shares in this section that she wanted today’s children to know that poverty throughout the world still forces families to send their children to orphanages and take them out of school to work.

Although this book was intended for pre-teens, I decided to read it to my 8-year-old daughter. She thought that Miriam had done the right thing because she believed that brothers and sisters had an obligation to protect one another; however,“That was a long time ago,” she said. “They don’t have orphanages today.” I told her that these types of institutions didn’t exist in our country but that we still had foster homes. This led to a fairly lengthy conversation about the few alternatives some parents have when they lose their jobs or become ill and have no immediate family to help them out.

As a former teacher, I can see that The Orphan Rescue would make a good class reader, as the subject matter would hold the interest of strong readers, while the book is easy and short enough to accommodate those with lower reading skills. The book also provides teachers with numerous areas of discussion and starting points to explore other areas, such as European Geography, World Religions, the Depression, Genealogy and Child Labour.

Another idea might be to create a second version of this book for stronger or older readers. Its beginning and first few chapters are very dramatic and could have been fleshed out with more period details to hold the attention and draw the reader further into the story. 

Overall, this was a rich story and all the more compelling because it was true.

Other reviews:
Dead Time by Christy Ann Conlin
The Social Media Survival Guide by Deltina Hay
The Birth House by Ami McKay
The Best Laid Plans by Terry Fallis
The Bone Cage by Angie Abdou
Unless by Carol Shields
Essex County by Jeff Lemire


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Review: Dead Time

Dead Time by Christy Ann Conlin
Annick Press

As my daughter approaches that preteen age, I'm looking more at Young Adult (YA) books because we all know that teen readers usually go on to be life-long bibliophiles. In recent weeks, I've been sent two novellas for younger readers, one being Dead Time.

Isabella is a big fish in a small rural pond. She lives in a sprawling home, which her mother soon tires of. An only child, Isabella finds herself alone with her important father when her mother moves to live with a man half her age where the palm trees grow. Her father's busy schedule doesn't change after his wife leaves. In fact, he tells Isabella that at age 12, she is old enough to be on her own. He gives her full run of the house, leaving her some chores, which she gets her older boyfriend Sergei to do in exchange for favours. The father even hires an interior designer, whom Isabella instructs on how to redecorate the home. Fifteen-year-old Isabella has her nineteen-year-old boyfriend Sergei right where she wants him. Everything is under her control until Lulu has the unmitigated gall to wink at her boyfriend. Isabella's security is threatened, throwing her into a jealous rage behind her composed exterior. She orchestrates and exacts revenge by getting Sergei to do her dirty work, or maybe just take the blame for it, but she doesn't have the maturity at 15 to devise a flawless plan. Consequently, our poor little rich girl finds herself in remand custody--dead time--at a youth detention centre.

This is a dark story that the young adult reader will have a hard time putting down. I read it twice to see whether Isabella perpetrated her own own vengeance or whether she coerced her juvenile offender boyfriend into doing it for her. The author makes us read right to the very last page to find out who the perpetrator of this heinous crime actually is.

The author does a wonderful job of rendering the powerful emotion of adolescent jealousy, which is further fueled by Isabella's profound insecurity and need for control. Her jealousy is not only piqued by Lulu, but also by a woman she sees her father with in the city. Isabella is furious with the woman for occupying Dad's precious time. This lady is the bad person, not her father who chooses her company, a nuance that gives away our protagonist's age.

Isabella is conniving and uses coercion and manipulation to get what she wants. The teen reader will see how these methods may lead to a desired outcome but that this slippery slope also leads to onerous and nightmarish consequences. Dead Time is a page-turner that will readily appeal to teens aged 15 to 18, and most likely their mothers too. Mom and daughter may even have some interesting conversations related to a few themes in the book.

A bonus for readers, Dead Time is a flip book and has another novella, Shelter by Jen Sookfong Lee, on the other side.

Other recent reviews:
The Social Media Survival Guide by Deltina Hay
The Birth House by Ami McKay
The Best Laid Plans by Terry Fallis
The Bone Cage by Angie Abdou
Unless by Carol Shields
Essex County by Jeff Lemire



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Daniel Craig for Int'l Women's Day

Some interesting statistics on women in the UK and around the world. Judy Dench narrates this video which features our current day James Bond, Daniel Craig.

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The CBC Investigates Sexism in Publishing

Note Mirror At Top to Fix Hair Before Meal
First of all, Happy International Women's Day! As you may already know, we are celebrating this glorious day over at www.cronos4.tv where we will be featuring women artists all week.

This short post came to me after a reader informed me that the CBC's Michael Enright did a piece (Feb. 20) on the shortage of women with bylines at major literary publications. (Link to the show at the bottom of the page.) He interviewed Ann Hays who returned her issue of the New Yorker  because it featured so few women writers and sent a letter to the publishers. She then posted it on Facebook, where it caused a sensation! To read the letter click here.

Enright also interviewed the spokesperson for VIDA Women in the Literary Arts about its publication in February entitled "the Count," in which the number of men vs. women working at literary publications had been tallied. He then spoke with several magazine editors from the US and Canada, Mother Jones and the Walrus among them, in an attempt to get to the bottom of sexism in the publishing world.

Of course, we heard, "Oh no, no, no, not at our magazine," and their figures did sound, well skewed, but I hope after hearing this, many of you will start counting the number of bylines given to women before you buy your magazine to give those old publishers a sense of what a girlcott might feel like. 

Now if the CBC would only look into its own sexist practices, such as repeatedly giving more awards to male writers (Canada Reads 80% vs. 20% in the last 10 years) and giving equal exposure to women writers, both on the air and on its website, then we might start to see some change. Nothing like pointing the finger at magazines to divert the attention from yourselves.

Just to warn you: there are a few cackle-worthy statements in this 40-minute segment. My favourite came from the editor of the legal magazine: (not verbatim, but along these lines) Well, we have to take very difficult content and make it more palatable to the reader. In other words, they have to dumb it down and apparently only men can do this...

The other hilarious statement came from the Canadian Editor of the Walrus: (again along these lines) There are more men who are willing to do freelance work because women need more job security. Ahmm...BS detector activated!

Please tell me your favourite line.

Here's the podcast:

CBC.ca | The Sunday Edition | Women in Publishing - MMR Autism Scandal - Phil Ochs Documentary

Other posts on sexism in publishing
Guerrilla Girls, Humour and Hope
Publishing: What If...?
Publishing: What's "Good" and "Important"  (Stats on the # of books authored by women that are reviewed)
CBC: The Elephant in the Room  (Terry Fallis's book beats Carol Shields in CanadaReads)
Reads from Men


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Navarino's & Images de Femmes

Over at our visual blog, my husband and I have been preparing all week for International Women's Day with 7 days of fabulous women artists from the past and present. (www.cronos4.tv)

The cafés in the Mile End are undeniably what makes this area worth visiting. There's plenty of gossip, schmoozing, flirting and excessive coffee-drinking to keep people buzzing and awake for days. One of my favourite places is Navarino's on Park Avenue, which we also refer to as the Greek café. It makes a great latté for $2.75, tasty sandwiches and salads, and serves a wide variety of baked goods and desserts, much to the delight of my children. I like it because they tune in to an Internet radio station that plays Motown and other hits from the 1970s. Yesterday, it was Joni Mitchell's Big Yellow Taxi (fab video) and Linda Ronstadt's You're No Good ). That way, I can enjoy memories of my childhood, as I watch my children create theirs.

The original owners of the café are from Navarino in Greece, and one of the first things you'll notice as you walk in the door is what appears to be a big blue-beaded rosary hanging on the wall. I asked Jimmy Zoubris about this (he helps me out with all things Greek in the hood). Jimmy told me that this was a good luck charm to ward off the evil eye. So yesterday, sipping our lattés, fully protected from the forces of E-vil, my husband and I made our afternoon plans. He was taking our daughter to a presentation on the 30th anniversary of le Prince de Motordu, while I took the chocolate-faced Dude to les Images de femmes, the 18th annual vernissage of Mile End women artists to celebrate International Women's Day. I would have preferred to have taken my daughter because then I would have had the chance to talk, check the names of artists and ask some questions. As it turned out, I got to take a few photos, check out two names and chase my son around the various installations. He thought it was fun for 3 minutes and 30 seconds, but wanted to leave once he was told not to touch anything.

Lotto 649 Tickets and the Dude
Anyway, the vernissage did attract quite a few people, including Mile End Borough Councillor Richard Ryan. I also quickly noted that a stop at Navarino's was completely unnecessary, as there were two tables covered with desserts and sandwiches, not to mention wine, coffee and juice. I did have a chance to glance in that general direction, as the Dude performed gleefully for some older women. I quite enjoyed the dress made from Lotto 649 tickets (Alice Cantine), and the wedding dress with the banner, "Always a bridesmaid never a bride." I loved the vintage photo of the married couple attached to the waist. The artist, Kathryn Harvey, actually wore this dress as her costume when she performed as a clown.

The exhibition is open to the public until March 20, 2011, at the Mile End Library, 5434 Park Avenue, and 14 merchants in the Mile End will also be displaying art by Mile End women, so have your eyes peeled. As part of this event, there will be art-related activities held all month at the library.

This exhibition is one of my favourites because it pulls the neighbourhood together after a long cold winter and reminds us all that it's spring! Don't miss the closing party to celebrate the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day at the Rialto Theatre, another beautiful Mile End landmark, at 5723 Park Avenue, starting at 6:00 pm.

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