Magnificent Octopus

Playing at the park or schoolyard, we often interrupt "regular" play for imaginary picnics and pretend naps. Recently Helena's...

Trips to the park: Approximately 15. Chocolate consumed: Countless. Smingus dingus antics: None. Completely overlooked. I'm devastated b...

I've actually been wanting to share quasi-interesting things with you — the reading I attended last weekend, cute weird things the kid i...

(Because it's a quick and pleasant diversion from all else. Well, it's something.) Shelly's Booked by Three for April (via Page...

Helena is home today with a nasty cough, runny nose, and slight fever, but with a mostly sweet disposition. She's home today to fulfill ...

I finished reading Middlemarch , because I hate reading more than one book at a time and also I'm not very good at it. I find myself un...

For my daily bread and butter I read, and try to fix, an awful lot of less than elegant science. In the Guardian , Ian McEwan, in an expande...

I've never been a big fan of short stories. Their length makes them hard to do right — develop the characters adequately, tell exactly a...

Highlights from an interview with Erica Jong, author of Fear of Flying , which I've never read: If I were running a political movement ...

Fifty years ago today my parents were wed. My father lived to see but 21 years of marriage. I marvel at my mother's continued devotion t...

We came out of our metro station this afternoon and saw the cremerie across the street lit up and open for business. So after supper, we too...

Yes! We're still reading Middlemarch ! Discussion of Book III is now underway. I have my ticket to see David Bezmozgis, Tim Parks, and J...

Oh, but there are growing pains! That is, a million little weird things about the girl, some of which greatly annoy me. Some of which are fu...

Today marks a rite of passage in our household. Helena and I were chatting this morning about getting out shopping today, and she suggested...

When I finally went to bed last night, I just lay there, my body clenched into a tiny ball of a fist against the cold air and J-F's slee...

1. Work deadlines are creeping up on me, preparing to bash me on the head from behind and leave me unconscious. 2. Sunday evening, the child...

Yesterday morning, while I was already at work at this very desk, J-F and Helena were driving downtown, to work and daycare. Helena taps J-F...

The 8th edition of the Blue Metropolis Montreal International Literary Festival takes place April 5–9, 2006. The programme is now availabl...

The King and I