Suokojaminworldtour

Best Books I Read in 2011

2012-01-17T12:10:00.000-08:00

It's time for my annual "Best Books I Read Last Year" list, this time featuring 13 works of poetry, novels, nonfiction and anthology. As usual, these books didn't necessarily come out in 2010; that's just when I read them. This year, you should too. [Click on the picture to find out more about the book.] Happy reading!

Poetry

Goyette’s imagery is evocative, precise, tangible yet layered with meaning:

I'm beyond biased here because I've got two poems in this anthology of Halifax guerilla poetry, and I like the idea so much I've written a feature about it. But I was genuinely impressed by the quality of work from my town's closet poets:

Nonfiction

Rogers elucidates how the failures of "green" or "natural" capitalism are the failings of capitalism itself:

Paradoxically dense and sprawling, but worth the effort. You know when people say, "This is how the world really works!" Well, this is part of it:

It's actually a novel interspersed among reflections on a campaign to ban uranium mining in Nova Scotia. I never quite figured out how they fit together, but the former is engaging and entertaining and the latter is inspirational and thought-provoking:

Fiction

Rushdie, having accomplished everything a writer could hope for, seems to be just having fun now. And it's a lot of fantastical fun to read too:

This novel was a rollicking fantastic adventure through the idealism of the 60s and the coming of age bestowed by Vietnam. Above all, it had an enormous sense of wonder:

Counter-intuitive to the title, for me these stories resonate with the sad truth of being a grownup:

MacDonald is a natural story teller and he connected all the emotional dots, providing a poignant tale of cultural change, the erosion of old ways and the maturation of young talent and pride:

The lady dialing 911 for love with all the wrong paramedics, the crack-addicted mathematician scoring rock for Robert Oppenheimer, the single condo-dwelling web designer more easily accepting the flaws of his Andalucian woolfhound than those of human companions – all serve Christie well as he masterfully illustrates the interwoven highs and lows of urban isolation:

Takes you right there, with the protagonists, feeling their fears, anxieties, pain and stress:

This is a good old-fashioned slog that probably wouldn't be published in the modern Canlit scene. It's prose is poetry and it's best scenes are heart-wrenching. In its entirety it is an unforgettable, honest portrait of rural life, its hardship and its absolute dependence on community even when community gets nasty:

Once again I'm totally biased because I have a short story in this one. But once again I was genuinely impressed to find myself in such accomplished company:

07-08

2011-12-09T05:40:00.000-08:00

Twice I've seen rosebushes bloom ash
twice felt roots ensnare my skin
and known my remains would fly
with Grandpa and his sisters
and the ocean would take its share -
the grey darkening, solidifying, sinking
But only once has death given roses
You said to me, "I want this same fate
with you and your ancestors."

Happy 3rd Birthday D-Man!

2011-11-25T22:45:00.001-08:00

Sweet morn at home, Hallowe'en Haul and Chris post Knee-to-the-Groin

2011-11-11T13:22:00.001-08:00

Autumn and the Hallowe'en Garbage Man

2011-11-11T13:18:00.000-08:00

Dylan sings his guru song

2011-10-15T12:46:00.000-07:00

Proud to say that at age 2 he has more musical talent than his papa ever will:

Joy

2011-09-19T11:23:00.000-07:00

Moncton

2011-09-17T12:48:00.000-07:00

Kouchibouguac National Park

2011-09-11T13:30:00.000-07:00

D play

2011-09-10T11:33:00.000-07:00

Bouctouche and the eco-dunes, eastern New Brunswick

2011-09-08T12:30:00.000-07:00

Five Islands Provincial Park

2011-09-07T05:00:00.000-07:00

Beach Rocks

2011-09-06T07:03:00.000-07:00

Rocks

2011-09-05T10:55:00.000-07:00

Dinosaur studies!

2011-08-23T17:09:00.000-07:00

There Were Bugs!

2011-08-06T03:21:00.000-07:00

Literary Longlist

2011-08-02T18:24:00.001-07:00

Hey folks,

Great news today: Drive-by Saviours has been longlisted for a ReLit Award, "The country's pre-eminent literary prize recognizing independent presses," according to the Globe and Mail. Check out the ReLit blog for the complete longlists. If past year's are any indication, there should be a shortlist by the end of the month. Wish me luck!

Chris

Low Tide

2011-08-01T16:38:00.000-07:00

Sadness and Beauty at the Injured Wildlife Park

2011-07-31T06:59:00.000-07:00

Airport, bird, beans, robot

2011-07-30T05:47:00.000-07:00

Early Summer

2011-07-28T12:51:00.000-07:00

Boys and Girls and Animals of Summer

2011-07-27T11:00:00.000-07:00

Glenn Gould Screaming Child

2011-06-26T04:18:00.000-07:00

Happy Father's Day!

2011-06-19T07:52:00.000-07:00

Friends and the life of a little boy

2011-06-19T07:47:00.000-07:00

Will the dishes ever end?

Friends and home

2011-06-19T07:43:00.000-07:00

Farewell party for Louise and Silas

2011-06-19T07:35:00.000-07:00

Here come a bunch of Spring and early Summer Pics

2011-06-19T07:21:00.000-07:00

Choo Choo Train

2011-04-26T04:37:00.000-07:00

On a recent trip to Antigonish we heard the lonesome train whistle and sprinted to find it standing still as the driver popped in to Tim Hortons. On his return he gave us a toot and away they went, giving D the biggest thrill of his life:

Weekend in Antigonish Part II and Dyl's New Car

2011-04-05T19:04:00.000-07:00

Our garage full of wheels of all sorts!
Dyl's new Volkswagon that I found in the garbage. A huge hit!

Mastodon Ridge, anyone?
David, Lise and Stella at their finest.

Weekend in Antigonish Part 1

2011-04-05T18:58:00.000-07:00

You can only guess how exciting it was when we heard the train whistle. This one was stopped to get a coffee at the Tim's (seriously) and then was on its way. We're still talking about it.

Lise and Stella con Dylan.

My boys

2011-04-05T18:51:00.000-07:00

Dylan cleaning before the authors' night at our place.
Poor boy sick and wiped.
Old school rye bread.
Dyl helping make bread.
Dyl and cousin Calla - about 8 months apart.

Happy Birthday 2011 and other festivities

2011-02-27T09:47:00.000-08:00

Around the House and Good Food

2011-02-27T09:43:00.000-08:00

Christmas 2010

2011-02-27T09:40:00.000-08:00

Upcoming Reading Events

2011-01-14T08:26:00.001-08:00

I'll be reading from and signing copies of Drive-by Saviours on the following dates at the following locations:

Saturday, January 22, Wolfville, Box of Delights, 466 Main Street, 2 pm

Saturday, February 5, Mahone Bay, The Biscuit Eater Cafe and Bookseller, 16 Orchard Street, 2 pm

Please spread the word!

Chris

New Haircut Boys

2011-01-03T07:07:00.000-08:00

Xofa Xmas

2010-12-23T11:52:00.000-08:00

Chris has a short piece of holiday fiction in today's Coast. Thought I'd share it and wish all happy holidays. Click the image below to read the story.

May we have peace, love, joy, justice, sustainability, creativity and healthy communities in 2011.

Suokojamin/Benautio Family

Fall Photos 2

2010-12-12T10:23:00.000-08:00

We took D-man to the model train expo and it was the best day of his life:

This is our new family sedan, a circa 1960s CCM 60-pound special:

Fall Photos

2010-12-12T10:16:00.000-08:00

D
D had a blast trick or treating with Grammy in his mouse costume. Didn't take him long to figure out life's sweetest equation: house + pumpkin = candy.

Book Tour Video

2010-12-03T16:04:00.000-08:00

This is a highlight reel from my recent book tour. I had fun making it and revisiting all the joy of celebrating a new book in the world! Hope you enjoy it too:

Chris

D with Mapa

2010-11-14T11:51:00.000-08:00

D-man has given us one of those congealed celeb nicknames: Mapa. It is to be used in the negative, as in: "No, mapa," when we are doing something he doesn't like. Paying attention to each other, and not him, for example.

Here are a couple of life's sweeter moments, just Mapa and D:

This last one's D and Miia on the Toronto subway, at the front of the train, taking it all in with great excitement:

Finally, pictures

2010-11-14T11:37:00.000-08:00

OK, here's what you've all been waiting for:

First, D at the park with Papa and Mike:

This is his best Fonzie:

Here's D's cousin Maggie watching a ring spin:

Drive-by Saviours is Apparently Essential

2010-10-28T12:15:00.000-07:00

Exciting news all - Drive-by Saviours made the Canada Reads longlist of "Top 40 Essential Canadian Novels of the Decade."

And we the people will decide which books make the top 10 list. You only get one vote.

If you want to vote Drive-by Saviours, just go to Canada Reads and click the circle next to Drive-by Saviours by Chris Benjamin, scroll down and click the vote button. You have until Nov 7 - but really why wait until Nov 7 what you could do right now?

Btw, here is the Top 40 list, and there are some damn fine books there. What say you, dear reader? What books should have made the list but didn't. Any on the list that you don't think are so hot?

A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews

Bottle Rocket Hearts by Zoe Whittall

Clara Callan by Richard B. Wright

Come, Thou Tortoise by Jessica Grant

Conceit by Mary Novik

Crow Lake by Mary Lawson

Drive-by Saviours by Chris Benjamin

Elle by Douglas Glover

Essex County by Jeff Lemire

Far to Go by Alison Pick

February by Lisa Moore

Galore by Michael Crummey

Heave by Christy Ann Conlin

Inside by Kenneth J. Harvey

Late Nights on Air by Elizabeth Hay

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

Lullabies for Little Criminals by Heather O'Neill

Moody Food by Ray Robertson

Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood

Pattern Recognition by William Gibson

Room by Emma Donoghue

Shelf Monkey by Corey Redekop

Skim by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki

Sweetness in the Belly by Camilla Gibb

The Best Laid Plans by Terry Fallis

The Birth House by Ami McKay

The Bishop's Man by Linden MacIntyre

The Bone Cage by Angie Abdou

The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill

The Day the Falls Stood Still by Cathy Marie Buchanan

The Fallen by Stephen Finucan

The Girls Who Saw Everything by Sean Dixon

The Last Crossing by Guy Vanderhaeghe

The Stone Carvers by Jane Urquhart

The Way the Crow Flies by Ann-Marie MacDonald

The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood

Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden

Through Black Spruce by Joseph Boyden

Twenty-Six by Leo McKay Jr.

Unless by Carol Shields

Thanks,
Chris Benjamin

Lachutes

2010-10-14T09:17:00.001-07:00

I'm writing from Lachutes, Quebec, about 40 km northwest of Montreal. A good friend of mine is Superintendent of a golf course here and he's putting me up. Tonight, (Thurs Oct 14), I read at 8:00pm in Montreal, at Argo Bookshop, 1915 Ste Catherine W. There will be three writers reading tonight, starting at 7:30 pm. Also up will be Susan Gillis, author of Volta, and Claudia Coutu Radmore, author of A Minute or Two/Without Remembering. Hopefully more authors means more people, more energy.

It's been thrilling meeting book lovers in small towns and large cities. In Lindsay, at Kent Books, we had a small crowd of five, but somehow sold 10 books. In Kingston, at the Princess St Indigo Bookstore, I didn't read at all, but signed and sold 10 more books to a sparse crowd on Thanksgiving Day. I met aspiring writers, a military woman who blogs with Chatelaine, and one very young woman who has her first book coming out, about a girl battling with anorexia, later this year. Her mother did most of the talking but you could tell how excited they were. Some folks were kind enough to want to support a first-time novelist, others had heard of the book and were keen to read it. The staff were particularly supportive and several of them bought copies.

My host in Kingston, friend and prolific freelancer Meredith Dault, organized a Thanksgiving Monday potluck and let me read to an intimate and highly receptive audience. They were mostly cultural studies grad students so it was slightly nerve wracking and their questions were astute. I'll have to steal some of them for future book club questions.

At Octopus Books in Ottawa (where even the t-shirts lean left), I was given the warmest welcome I could imagine from Jenn Farr, who does promotions for the store. "Your not the Chris Benjamin are you? You are? Hoorayyyyyyyy!!! Would you like some apple cidar?" It was a small but enthusiastic crowd, including a woman I'd met in Kingston who lived in Ottawa. (My first groupie? Nah, just a kind book-lover with two gorgeous black labs.) Jenn video'd the whole thing and hopefully it'll end up on Octopus' website.

That night I stayed with a friend of mine who I met in Indonesia, where the seeds of Drive-by Saviours were sewn in the form of graduate research. I had an 'I really hope I got this right' moment with her at the reading. There was little time to talk old times though because her three-year old had a lot on his mind, including the complete lyrics to K'naan's 'Waving Flag'.

Boarding the train early the next morning I felt a bit like the lyrics to that Credence song 'Playing in a Traveling Band': take me to the next show / baggage gone, oh well / someone got excited / had to call the state militia / gotta move

OK, maybe not quite that dramatic but the stop-and-go can be a bit jarring. It's nice to have two whole nights in Quebec. The reunions, reminiscing and celebration continue as I introduce my creation to Eastern Canada, and hope people take notice.

Doing the Bookstore Hustle

2010-10-06T08:18:00.000-07:00

I met Ivan Prokopchuk the other night, in person. He's long been one of the most colourful personalities I've met as a blogger, and a character who consistently captures my imagination.

But there he was in the Lula Lounge, in full colour, three dimensions, in the flesh, across the table from me with his book, The Fire in Bradford, in hand. "I'll show you mine if you you show me yours," he grinned.

[That's me in the pink shirt, reading to an enthusiastic crowd at the Lula Lounge.]

But with Another Story Bookshop on hand selling Drive-by Saviours I didn't have any swap copies. The swap had been my suggestion, but with all the insanity of travel, visiting family and friends, organizing book launches and an Eastern Canadian book tour, I'd forgotten. I promised to send Ivan a copy in the mail and he gave me his book, shook my hand and heartily congratulated me. And he was gone, making way for the next in line.

It was one of a series of surreal encounters I've had lately with old friends. The support has been overwhelming - people I haven't seen in years, people I've only met online, have come out to my two book launches in Halifax and Toronto to celebrate my accomplishment.

And now, writing from a friend's home in East Toronto, planning to head up to Kent Bookstore in Lindsay Ontario in a few hours for another reading and more old friends (and to meet a boisterous one-year-old), I'm feeling a deep easy happiness in that willingness to celebrate what others among us do.

At the same time, I ache for my wife and son, who flew back to Halifax yesterday morning at about crack o'clock, and I long for my own bed where I could properly nurse this worsening cold. Suddenly I'm a lone drifter again, something I missed and didn't expect to experience again so soon. Last time I was a young man, full of abstractions and equipped with an eager pen and ink-hungry notebooks. It all seems a little more businesslike this time - I'm a drifter with a mission, a product to move. I feel like a huckster with a money-bulge in my pocket.

That's not a complaint. I'm loving meeting people, sharing my art with them, and experiencing their kind and enthusiastic responses - their questions, comments and cash. Living the dream for me has moved beyond sloganism and into reality.

Upcoming Readings, Book Launches, and Media Clips

2010-09-24T12:01:00.000-07:00

Hi folks,

First, a huge thank you to everyone who came out to the Halifax book launch on Wednesday. We crammed more than a hundred people into the Company House (with a stalled line out the door at one point) and Bookmark sold out the 60 copies of Drive-by Saviours it brought. (Sorry to those who didn't get one, but stores are well stocked and you can buy online here). It was so heartwarming to have all those great people out to celebrate my book and hear great local music and reading.

On Saturday, Sept 25, 7:00 pm, I'm presenting the Percy Prize for best unpublished Atlantic Canadian novel (the award I won in 2008) at the Jane Buss gala. It's at Alderney Landing in Dartmouth. Should be fun.

Then on Sunday I'll be reading at the Main Stage at Word on the Street Halifax, Victoria Park, at 11:30am. I'll be sharing the stage with Russell Smith, so it should be interesting. And I'll be signing books all day at the Roseway/Fernwood booth.

On Monday I leave for my book tour. Some of the dates have changed so please take a look at http://www.chrisbenjaminwriting.com/chris-benjamin-writing-blog/updated-book-tour-schedule-for-drive-by-saviours to see when I hit your town. And a few more Nova Scotia readings will be added later so I'll keep you posted on that.

In the meantime I've already had some fun media coverage. You can hear my interview on CKDU's Book Club at http://129.173.68.249/20100921.13.30-14.30.mp3. I come in at 22:00 minutes (about 1/3 of the way through), and it gets cut off at the end, but it gives you a good chunk of it.

Also, I got to go on haligonia.ca this week with Silver Donald Cameron. We interviewed each other about our new books. The clip is up at http://live.haligonia.ca/halifax-ns/soundbites/16248-sound-bites-a-meeting-of-literary-minds.html.

Aside from the novel, I have a couple other publications coming out this fall. First is my short story, The Law Won, which will be in the literary journal Descant's prison issue. If you're in Toronto you can attend the launch at Revival (783 College Street) on Wednesday, Oct 06, 2010, 7:30 p.m. But I won't be there - I'll be up in Lindsay reading. However, Hurricane Rubin Carter will be there, and it's a shame I'll miss the chance to meet such a passionate advocate for justice. You can learn more about the issue at http://www.descant.ca/issues/d150.html.

My short story, Gifts from the North, also appears in a new anthology out this month, called Airbourne, published by Third Person Press in Cape Breton. The launch is on, wait for it...October 6, 6:30-8:30pm, at the McConnell Memorial Library, 50 Falmouth Street in Sydney, Nova Scotia. More on the Airbourne Anthology at http://www.thirdpersonpress.com/.

Happy reading,
Chris

My Big Day Downtown

2010-09-01T07:37:00.000-07:00

I was given $100 by the Downtown Halifax Business Commission to spend on anything I wanted, as long as I documented the experience publicly. I, naturally, chose books. Here's a video (shot by Miia, edited by me, with music by my brother) of the experience:

Family photos for the Faraways

2010-08-19T08:08:00.001-07:00

This is supposed to be a blog by and about a family, yet it's been all about my literary work lately. My vivacious and loving mother-in-law has let me know she has almost forgotten what we all look like, especially with the wee one getting bigger and changing and whatnot. To those of you who aren't on the evil Facebook and who don't get to see us much, we apologize for the lag in photos. Here are some recent ones from a very busy summer, full of many visitors, home renos, and a little bit of travel:

Water fight with cousins.

On cousin Calla's b-day bash.
He's a clown.

Andretti eyes.

Hearts in the highlands.
He's a climber.

At the Glen Breton Distillery.

High-steppin.

Early-summer garden.

Book Launches & New Video

2010-08-13T06:56:00.000-07:00

The Halifax launch of my novel, Drive-by Saviours, will be September 22 at The Company House on Gottingen St. We'll likely kick things off around 7 pm, but I'll confirm that later. There will be live music and likely some spoken word. Here's hoping we get half of Nova Scotia in there!

Second, the Toronto launch is tentatively booked for October 4 at the Lula Lounge on Dundas West, so if you're in Toronto please mark that on your calendar. I'm still working on the music (if anyone has any ins with hot Toronto bands please let me know) but I'll keep you posted.

Also, thanks to a grant from the Province of Nova Scotia I'll be doing a book tour starting right after the Toronto launch. I'll be hitting Peterborough, Port Hope, Kingston, Ottawa, Montreal, Fredericton, and Charlottetown. If you know any good bookstores or other reading venues (libraries etc.) between Toronto and Halifax, please let me know about them.

Lastly, here's a new video on the themes of the book (ecology, international development, helping professions, indigenous cultures, Western culture, individualism, collectivism, community, Canadiana, Indonesia, and immigration).

Hope to see you all at a launch or reading soon.

Drive-by Saviours Trailer

2010-07-30T11:16:00.001-07:00

Hi folks, here's trailer I made (with help from my brother) for my forthcoming novel:

Novel News

2010-06-25T17:14:00.000-07:00

I've been quite busy with the novel lately, first doing final edits then thinking marketing. To that effect, I've created a myspace page and put up a clip of me reading from the novel there, as well as some fusion-y music my brother created for a trailer we're working on. Click my face below to listen to those:
I've also created a website for the book. Below is what the cover will look like. Click on that for the website (not a lot of content there yet but stay tuned for some video I'm working on regarding the book):

The publisher, Roseway (an imprint of Fernwood), also has a website for the book. Click the Fernwood logo to see that site:

Lastly, I've been remiss with posting my columns. Here are the last three, respectively called Coastal Disaster, Population Bomb, and Lorincz on Environment:

2010-06-09T15:46:00.000-07:00

D painted me this for my birthday:

D is a multi-sport crosstrainer:

Here's D with his buddy Kaleb:
D playing basketball with his Godmother:
At the Bluenose marathon waiting for our friend Larry to cross the finish:

A moment of truce:
D feeding Moon:

Drivin and Fishin and Farmin

2010-05-27T04:22:00.000-07:00

Hi folks, below you can click the pictures to read my last four stories in The Coast - they each have to do with transportation or fish.

I also have a piece in this month's Rural Delivery Magazine about the struggle to legalize chickens in Halifax. It's not online but if you live in Canada you can probably find one at any store with a good magazine rack.

Happy reading!

-CB

Scholar and a Builder

2010-05-26T09:47:00.000-07:00

Piggyback

2010-05-25T05:03:00.000-07:00

D-Dawg Hockeytown

2010-05-24T06:49:00.000-07:00

Clown Time

2010-05-22T14:05:00.000-07:00

D-Man mowing with Mama

2010-05-22T14:02:00.000-07:00

D-Man Washing Dishes with Grammy

2010-05-22T13:55:00.000-07:00

If Earth Day Mattered

2010-04-22T06:49:00.000-07:00

Hi folks,

Bit more news on the writing front. My short story, Your Mental Superhero, will be published this fall in the Airborne Anthology by Third Person Press. Amazingly, this makes 6 short (literary) stories of mine slated for publication this year, in addition to my novel. When it rains...

Also, my annual earth day rant is up at The Coast - click the picture below for that:

Also, click this next picture for a recent column on an inspiring movement toward real change, one town/neighbourhood at a time:

-CB

Dylan and Grandpa Play Catch

2010-04-18T16:16:00.001-07:00

D's New Moves

2010-04-11T10:31:00.000-07:00

Writing Stuff

2010-04-09T05:34:00.000-07:00

Hey folks, great news:

Yesterday I signed a contract with Nimbus Publishing to write my first nonfiction book, which is currently titled Green Soul: a tour through the lives of Atlantic Canada's sustainable trailblazers. It will come out in September 2011.

Also, I've been doing some writing on Silver Donald Cameron's new project, The Green Interview. It's a subscription website but if you're keen to be a smarter mammal I highly recommend it. The site features one-hour interviews with the most brilliant, radical thinkers of our time (including the man who sounded the climate change alarm, the woman who fights bio-pirates in India, and the man who fights illegal whaling operations worldwide). Click the picture below to take a gander:

Speaking of Green Interviews, I interviewed Jim Merkel, author of Radical Simplicity, when he was in Nova Scotia last week. You can see my column on him by clicking this picture:

And, uh, here are three other columns I didn't get a chance to post until now:

1) War on Earth: Against the people's wishes, governments and the war industry choose destruction over protection:

2) Gas tax dodge: Sin taxes on driving, meant to be spent on green initiatives, are instead going to build more roads:

3) More Jobs Per Green Buck: If the Nova Scotian government seeks to bring balance to the budget, it must let the funds flow to green infrastructure:

A great weekend

2010-03-29T18:08:00.000-07:00

Here are a variety of pictures from the weekend. Many friends and much love...

Ryan and Bella for afternoon coffee at our place.

Sofia and 3 month Oliver (note: he's wearing Dyl's old shirt).
Bella in our yard. We've bought some hockey sticks and were playing some very excellent ball hockey. If you hit Dylan with the ball it was minus 10 points.
Sunday morning my friend Rachel came over with her son Kaleb. I was entertaining the boys by running around the back yard and pulling them in the bike trailer. Much hilarity.
The boys liked this game of climbing the stairs and then propelling themselves from the top into Rachel's arms. She wouldn't do it for me, even though I asked.
This is a wooden rocking horse my dad made as a kid and brought from Finland. Dyl has at last learned how to mount, rock, dismount. I don't think he knows it's a horse though.
He's climbing into all sorts of things, including up into chairs. Caught him looking particularly lovely in the afternoon sun.

Our friend and neighbour Louise took Dyl and me to York Redoubt - an old military base but now a great place for dogs to run off leash. Here in the picture are Yaro and Luna.
Our friend and neighbour Silas is a gardener extraordinaire. Here he's showing me his compost soil in his greenhouse.
Silas and Bilbo.
These two were made for each other.
Very rainy day but Dyl is unphased and loves the bike anyway. He's splash in puddles all day if he could.
There you have it. All's well on this end. Good days at work (as well as good work) for both Chris and I and much friends and family to love. I've really been enjoying our sunny little house lately, especially with the longer summer days.

I planted some seeds last week and made some shelves for under our two large south-facing windows. The tomato has just begun and the first parsley is peeping up. Come spring, come.

Miia

2010-03-27T04:35:00.000-07:00

Miia's mother came for a short visit last weekend. It was great having her here and I think she had a lot of fun with D-man. We spent one day at our new friend Steve Law's farm, getting to know him and his two little girls, Jade and Maddy.

Delia and Phil

2010-03-18T07:07:00.000-07:00

Hi folks,

I'm excited to announce that my short story, Delia and Phil is now available from Rattling Books as an audio download read by a great Newfoundland actor, Charlie Tomlinson, who did a great dramatic job with the reading.

You can download it (for $2.95). Just click on the picture below and download directly once there.
(The story is about half an hour long).

Happy reading!
Chris

Five Things

2010-03-15T06:36:00.000-07:00

Hi folks, five things:

1) My short story, "It's Muhammad", placed third in the Atla ntic New Cultures writing competition. They'll be putting the story up on the website at some point.

2) A short arts piece about a new social justice literary award, which I wrote for The Coast - it was late hitting the website but here it is:3) My column, Wasting Away, about the astounding amount of time, energy, money and natural resources we throw away in the form of perfectly good food - all part of a very sick food system - is at

4) My column on high cancer rates and environmental exposures is up at:

5) Is Sable Island National Park a natural disaster waiting to happen? Find out more at:

Cancer Rates & Environmental Pollutants in Communities

2010-02-23T11:32:00.000-08:00

2010-02-18T05:17:00.000-08:00

Two new articles to share with you this week (click the pictures to get to the stories):

1) Midwifery is ready for delivery, but mainstream public health lags (published in This Magazine):

2) Mining Biodiversity: An environmental review for a gypsum mine was written by a company with connections to a mining group, is full of holes, and describes a project that will threaten biodiversity, water quality and farming on the Avon Peninsula. And yet, it was approved (published in The Coast):

Why to Ban Pesticides

2010-02-16T08:27:00.000-08:00

A Bunch of Recent Publications

2010-02-11T08:33:00.001-08:00

I've been remiss about posting my publications here lately, so here's five of them in one go, in case you missed them and were having trouble sleeping at night. Click the picture to get the story:

1) Control Your Technology: Excessive dependence on technology impacts stress, productivity and the environment [published in Your Workplace Magazine]:

2) Round and About: Halifax's most notorious intersections aren't so bad on a beautiful winter's day at noon, but should we be investing in safer alternatives? [published in The Coast]

3) Biomass Mess: Professors make recommendations that could turn NS into a renewable energy maven, including one that could moonscape the province in the process [published in The Coast]

4) Branding the Environment: If environmentalists don't change mainstream hearts and minds, they won't make a lick of difference [published in The Coast]

5) Tragedy of the Common: If the Common is so Common, why can't common people decide how to use it? [published in The Coast]

2010-02-06T13:37:00.000-08:00

With our new niece, Maggie.
Dylan takes a gander at cousin Maggie.
Maggie, Moomo and Miia.
Miia and Maggie.
staring contest.

2010-02-06T11:36:00.000-08:00

Brad and Freja circus.
Breakfast!
Our new niece/cousin Maggie.
Maggie and her Mommy.
Maggy and her Moomo.

2010-02-06T11:24:00.000-08:00

D with Brad, Innez and Freja.
The cat hat.

Reunion.
Rainsuit.

2010-02-06T11:09:00.000-08:00

Auntie Sian and Uncle Mika, about to become mommy and daddy S.

D with some of his favourite grownups.

D with Moomo!

D with Breadhead, a real Japanese hero.

Dylan & Skai and Dylan & Calla and Dylan w specs

2010-02-06T10:55:00.000-08:00

Here's D in Trana with our friends' little boy, Skai.

D and his 2nd cousin Calla got into an xmas wrestling match. Despite his gloating, he lost.

Here's D at the spec store, trying their wares.

Top 11 Albums 2009

2010-02-03T13:40:00.001-08:00

Here are my 11 favourite albums from 2009. Mind you, these didn't necessarily come out last year, that's just when I got a hold of them. The bolded ones are the best of the best:

1) Tracy Chapman, Our Bright Future - The first half of this album features some really new sounds from her, almost like folk-lounge music. The second half is a bit of a let down but the first half carries it.

2) K’naan, Troubador - On the flipside, the second half of this album is really innovative hip hop with brilliant storytelling. The first half is a lot slicker than his first offering, and a bit plain. But the second half is worth the wait.

3) Luke Doucet, Blood’s Too Rich - Took a few listens to get into, but Luke's a phenomenal guitar player and his music is a tonne of fun.

4) Joel Plaskett, Three - Oh man this guy has a gift for catchy riffs and hooks, and this is his magnum opus - a trilogy detailing his departure from, exodus away, and return to Nova Scotia. Amazing backup vocals from some of the province's finast female vocalists, sweet harmonic blend.

5) Bop Ensemble, Between Trains - Saw this "Canadian folk music super group" at Stanfest. I'd never heard of any of the members, but they are indeed super. I guess they literally recorded this between trains, so it's got a good jam feel, yet the songwriting and talent of the performers gives it polish.

6) Brett Dennen, Hope for the Hopeless - My favourite musical discovery of the year is California's Brett Dennen, lovechild of Bob Dylan, Bob Marley and Ron Sexsmith. Highly political lyrics with a folkish reggae backbeat.

7) Rolling Stones, Let it Bleed - One of those classic albums you think maybe you should own, and then you hear it and you wonder how you lived without it.

8) Martha Wainwright, I Know You’re Married but I’ve Got Feelings Too - Raunchy folk-signer who is way better than her more famous brother.

9) Mary Margaret O’Hara, Miss America - Another classic you should really, really own.

10) Metric, Fantasies - I was surprised by this album, how good it is, kind of transports me to a funkier universe while I type my missives.

11) Cat Power, Jukebox - Powerful sultry vocals covering some great but mostly lesser known American country/folk/blues numbers from the last half century.

16 Best Movies I Saw in 2009

2010-01-27T16:00:00.000-08:00

Here is a list of the 15 best movies I saw last year, in no particular order. The best of the best are in bold. These movies didn't necessarily come out last year; that's just when I saw them:

1) Milk - In many ways a typical biopic, but I knew little of Harvey Milk before seeing it and it was a very well acted, entertaining way to learn about an important political figure in the movement for gay rights.

2) Hamlet 2 - I thought I'd had enough high school comedies, but Andrew Fleming was perfectly bizarre enough to flip the whole genre on its head without even mucking much with the formula.

3) Frozen River - My favourite kind of movie: simple, well-told story (about two desperate women who get involved in human smuggling across an Indian reservation straddling the USA and Canada), with plenty of suspense.

4) God Grew Tired of Us - Emotionally powerful, sometimes funny documentary about some of the "lost boys of Sudan," who in this case make it to the USA and experience tremendous culture and economic shock in the land of excess.

5) Che Part 1 - Documentary-style story of Cuban guerillas fighting their way to take the capital, led by Che Guevara as portrayed by Cannes best actor Benicio Del Toro. It has a similar feel to Battle of Algiers - raw realism without a lot of Hollywood drama, so despite its being a war movie the violence is sudden and shocking. A clear example of show-don't-tell. (Part II will likely be on next year's list.)

6) The Wrestler - Micky Rourke's comeback vehicle got me good - he may be nothing but a busted up piece of meat making bad decisions and big mistakes, but his character rings true and sympathetic, and the tension of his story escalates right to the cliffhanger ending.

7) Pan's Labrynth - This movie creates a convincing world for the young protagonist to rejoice and suffer in, and to grow in ways she can't in the real world of the Franquist repression. Although it is a fantasy with a happy ending, it does honest justice to the hardships and cruelties of the real world, without any cheap preaching.

8) The Tiger Next Door - A heart-breaking movie about a crazy man who raises tigers in Indiana, and sees himself as some kind of animal saviour while keeping them in cages where they get sick. Sadly, he is one of many. The doc lets the viewers judge for themselves.

9) Moolaade - Story of a Burkino Faso village in which young girls and women resist genital mutiliation, heroically fighting cultural tradition and patriarchy. It is a story of heroism that resists the oversimplicity of a good v. evil motif.

10) Darjeeling Ltd - Deadpan funny story of three brothers traveling through India in search of their mother, trying to patch the wounds of their relationships with one another and deal with the death of their father. The deepest of Wes Anderson's movies, except maybe that animated one, called:

11) The Fantastic Mr. Fox - An animated adaptation of Roald Dahl's children's novel. The movie seems geared more to adults, but then Dahl tended to write pretty darkly, and with sophistication, for a children's author. The movie, to me, is a great allegory about the downside of civilization, how it has tamed us at the cost of our sense of place in the world, and our freedom.

12) Goodbye Solo - Straight story of an old guy in Winston-Salem who wants to die, and a Senegalese-American cab driver who wants to be his friend, and maybe stop him from killing himself. The movie is very character-based and shows so much about culture clash, and the joys and regrets of life and living.

13) Jesus Camp - Scary documentary about pentecostal fundamentalists in North Dakota, and their use of a children's camp to indoctrinate. There's very little editorial - the filmmakers just show you the craziness as anti-abortionists and other devout republicans visit the camp and tie politics to religion. It's a fascinating look at the lives of people in the American far-right Christian movement, and how they pass their message on to the next generation.

14) We Feed the World - A documentary about farmers and fishermen, and how the globalized industrialized food system is eating up their livelihoods and their knowledge and their ways of life, and torturing and destroying our food in the process.

15) Bruno - Once again Sacha Baren Cohen made me very uncomfortable, and made me laugh very hard. Making people uncomfortable is his gift, and the viewer gets to see how people react in comic and often twisted ways. We criticize because we know he's showing us how shallow and intolerant we really are, when we'd rather pretend we're not.

16) Addicted to Plastic - Great documentary follows plastic around the world from cradle to grave, including the massive "plastic islands" accumulating in our oceans. It stays with you and makes you re-consider every purchase.

Little snippets

2010-01-24T17:15:00.001-08:00

Am posting some pics from the last 2 months as we haven't been quite up to date on the blog.

A wonderful winter day today. Actually, a great winter weekend. Friday night chez Bella, Saturday at the Farmers Market and running into tons of awesome people, then brunch with Lise, Amanda and Bella, the Prorogue protest downtown, supper and Settlers with Elden, Laura, Lise and Bella. Today twice sledding and skating, the second time at Williams Lake (I think). Sunny skies and wintry weather. Felt good to be outside and loving life.

More pics to come but below is the first stash of highlights. I'm trying to do a random assortment of friends and family, partly because as I browsed through all the old pics, I was captivated by the abundance of both in our lives. All wrapped up in our quiet little house on our quiet little street in a littleish town on the coast. Much goodness all round.

Miia

In Reverse Chronological Order...

2010-01-24T16:53:00.000-08:00

Santa had some extra stock kicking around...Dylan was paralyzed by excitement Christmas at the Benjamins'
Restful holidays
Charlotte on the horse; visiting w pa & ma from the Big Smoke
Sweet Bella

Amy taking Dyl for his first sledding/tobogganing
Thanks to the Laamanens for the excellent stool!
Ryan and Sophia's shower
Sweet Jill
Dyl can fly

The view from our bedroom window
It's a bit past someone's bedtime
Our living room - to be lived and loved
Painting detail
Radiance
The view from our window pre-snow

Pesticide Ban

2010-01-19T10:45:00.000-08:00

Nova Scotians and Nova Scotia lovers: please click the image below. It will take you to information about Nova Scotia's proposed ban on lawn pesticides, and instructions on giving feedback to the Province. Please do so, and tell them the proposed ban is the best idea since the Bluenose; okay, even better than the Bluenose. Tell them lawn pesticides are a big health and environmental risk with little or no benefit to society. Many thanks,
CB

Quit & Start Over

2010-01-15T07:44:00.000-08:00

Click the picture to see my column about the New Year's resolutions that saved my soul and may have helped the planet. David Suzuki won't go there:

Best Books I Read Last Year

2010-01-09T18:26:00.001-08:00

Below is a list of the 11 best books I read in 2009. These books weren't necessarily published in 2009; that's just when I read them. These are in no particular order, but my top four are in bold text:

1) Nisa, the Life and Words of a !Kung Woman - by Marjorie Shastak; An engrossing antrhropological account of a group of !Kung San hunter-gatherers in the Kalahari desert, full of lessons that civilization continues to ignore.

2) Resistance - by Derrick Jensen; This is volume II of the two-volume Endgame, and it argues for the forceful dismantling of civilization. Needless to say it is provocative, if not an argument I've been able to get behind. Jensen is also a great writer of personal narrative.

3) The Unusual Life of Tristan Smith - by Peter Carey; Carey creates a convincing and telling slightly alternate universe and a great twist on the nerd done good genre, in which the plucky kid with immense physical challenge is also a hard-to-love know-nothing brat.

4) Lost Highway - by David Adams Richards; He has an unusual, rambling kind of writing style that goes to great lengths to rationalize the morally ambiguous, leaving you sympathetic to the most dastardly and confused as to what is right. This is my favourite by him so far, a work of art.

5) Dust From Our Eyes - by Joan Baxter; The straight truth on what rich countries have done to Africa, and the resilience and beauty of that continent, by a journalist who has spent much of her adult life reporting from there.

6) Through Black Spruce - by Joseph Boyden; Some of the best, tautest prose I've ever read, such beauty in a bleak tale. The best book I read last year.

7) Animal, Vegetable, Miracle - by Barbara Kingsolver; Fantastic personal narrative of a locavore family growing their own food, and the challenges and joys therein.

8) Nova Scotia: Visions of the Future - edited by Lesley Choyce; For full disclosure I had a chapter in this book, which I loved reading mainly because it revealed the depths of talent in this province, and the brilliant array of ideas. I hope all the newly elected officials read it, and the old bureaucrats too.

9) The Deep: The Extraordinary Creatures of the Abyss - by Claire Nouvian; The gorgeous images of deep deep aquatic life in this book look alien because we are so unfamiliar with what lies beneath. Many of them can't be studied out of water because they explode when removed from the extreme pressure of the deeps. And there are countless more species down there yet to be seen, let alone understood. I felt like a kid again reading this book, full of the excitement of new discovery.

10) Amphibian - by Carla Gunn; Nine-year-old Phin Walsh is the narrator, and he's all wound up in knots over the destruction of the earth. Despite the adults' best efforts to reassure him, his logic is indisputable. How I wished I could stamp his earnest, honest lack of cynacism on every adult.

11) Imani's Music - by Sheron Williams; This is the first kid's book I've ever put on a best of list, but then I probably read more kids books last year than anything else. The writing is superb and the tale is complex, weaving in the transatlantic slave trade in a way kids can understand (as well as anyone can) without being trite, and exploring the immense power of music, culture and tradition.

Killer Rabbits, Copenhagen and Bhutan

2009-12-18T12:42:00.001-08:00

I've been a busy boy heading into the holiday season. I'm thrilled that some of my creative writing ventures will soon see the light of day. Two short literary stories of mine will be published next fall, one in Descant and one (about a vengeful rabbit) in the Nashwaak Review, both excellent literary journals.

On the journalisty side I've been blogging for The Coast on the current climate change conference in Copenhagen---quite a feat from here in Halifax. I have more than a dozen posts up there so far, which you can read by clicking the picture below:

I've also been doing some work for fellow writer Silver Donald Cameron, putting together some briefing notes on prominent environmental people who are meeting in Bhutan right now. They are looking at Bhutan's innovative Gross National Happiness index, and determining how a national education system could conform to GNH prinicples.

It was so interesting I did a column on it, which you can see by clicking on this picture:

I find it an inspiring example but as you'll see in the comments on that story, Bhutan is no angel. I'd welcome any thoughts you might have about it.

-CB

STILL more pics!

2009-12-05T09:19:00.000-08:00

Back at work week #4 behind me now. Not unlike most times, it was busy but somehow felt harder than usual. Chris says I have a crazy job. I tend to agree, even though I love it. Still, there are times when it just gets me and my heart.

Being an "administrator" means all those regular things like HR, management, finances and budget. But being an administrator at an NGO that works with homeless youth means a whole lot of stuff that probably doesn't apply if, for example, I worked at a bank. Youth struggling to make ends meet, struggling to keep families together.

We had a session on integrated mental health services for homeless youth with our local children's hospital, health centre and mental health and/or homeless NGOs. Six youth participated. I learned afterward that three of them had spent the previous night on the streets and came to a 9am session with powerpoints and presentations. None of us "professionals" had spent the previous night trying to keep warm or find some food. There is a righteous rage that threatens to consume me at times.

In any case, I write this after uploading all these pictures. They stand in stark contrast, evidence of the beauty and joy of friends, family, home, good food, nature, this city.

Peace out, Miia

Moon can peer into souls.
Neighbours and friends Silas and Louise cooking up a storm for American Thanksgiving.

A cat's tongue is faster than a camera's shutter.

Lise and David pondering Settlers strategy...

Voila! The organic happy chicken from NS Valley donated to our household by our energy auditor. (Long story there.)

Much fun chez the park.

Untitled #345221

Apple cheeks.

This makes me so happy.

More birthday party. Good friends and mentors Jen and Jackson, David and Tim, Fiona

Dylan nearing the end - chocolate face and shirt untucked... a boy who had a blast.

Our neighbours came too with their kiddies.

Dylan welcomes Grandpa to the party.

Aunt Pam.

Cousin Tawnya and baby cousin Calla. Also neighbours!

Lots and lots of pictures

2009-12-05T08:52:00.000-08:00

Lots of pics from late. Dylan's birthday combined with the great new camera that I recently bought equals a bit of a picture volume issue.

Here are some birthday shots...

Alexis, Sofia and Ria.
Iain and Jackson.

The train birthday cake, lovingly assembled by Lise and David.

Papa wearing the shirt he wore when we first met.

Lise preparty in the sunny kitchen. Those are NS Valley apples on the stool.

Dylan LOVES "watering" the plants.

A rare picture of Dyl's happy nose scruntch (he had a bit of a scrape at daycare).

Vulcan mind meld.

Baby yoga?

Blue steel look.

"I will kkkkill those bbbirds!"

The cake was a hit.

Kidsies galore at the par-tay.

People galore at the par-tay.

Choochoocake. (The #1 candle has already been recylced to another baby.)

Ice cream = nirvana.

Dylan's walker - ready to be 80.

Grammy and Dyldyl off for a walk up our street.

Great-grandma B on Remembrance Day. She lived the war firsthand.

Dylan Walks for the First Time

2009-11-28T19:51:00.001-08:00

Suffering Salmon

2009-11-26T06:38:00.000-08:00

Click the fish bucket to read my latest column:

-CB

Road Trip!

2009-11-18T13:07:00.000-08:00

Staycations and Holidays

2009-11-15T06:16:00.000-08:00

A random assortment of pictures from the last few weeks... We did a family staycation here in in NS, hiking in Keji, a night in Yarmouth, up through the Annapolis Valley. Gorgeous all round and I find myself after two years feeling increasingly at home in this province.

Hallowe'en was a blast and Dylan "went" (read hung around the house) as a bear. I'd bought a stuffed teddy bear and emptied it of filling and made it to fit D. Not suprisingly by the time Hallowe'en rolled around, he'd already grown out of it.

We had a farewell party for our friends Amy and Larry who've left Hali and moved to the UK. We miss them and all those good folks who've left here in the last two years. Seems we're the real nomads.

All's well. D turns one this Friday and I started back at work f/t this past week. It's good to be back and luckily we found a good daycare that Dylan seems to be liking. And Chris, as usual, is working like crazy and doing his best to change the world.

Peace out to all the folks out there, M

Critical Mass Confusion

2009-11-13T06:58:00.000-08:00

Click the unicyclist for my latest article: Critical Mass Confusion.

Moms Against Climate Change

2009-11-04T06:08:00.000-08:00

From: Rick Smith [mailto:rsmith@environmentaldefence.ca]
Sent: Tuesday, November 03, 2009 10:13 AM
To: Rick Smith
Subject: Do it for your kids (or nieces, nephews or grandchildren)...

Dear Friends,

I’m sure you feel, like I do, that there just aren’t enough hours in the day. We’re all juggling work, family and other commitments. This is why I try not to fill your inbox with things requiring your attention.

Now, though, I'm asking for your help.

No surprise, it's about global warming. We all know it's a problem but it sometimes feels like there’s little that any of us can do about it.

But there is something we can do. Something that will make a difference. Something that will only take a few moments of your time. I'm writing to ask you to take a few minutes today, tomorrow or as soon as you can for Moms Against Climate Change.

We are asking moms and other concerned Canadians to send a message to our political leaders now, demanding they protect our children's future from global warming. Why now? You may have read or heard about a crucial international climate change meeting in Copenhagen in December. All the world's leaders will be there.

We need to make sure that Stephen Harper and his government remember who they are representing in Copenhagen - our kids.

How can you help?

1. Watch our new Public Service Announcement. This PSA was created for free by zig, a really great communications company. You can watch it on YouTube right now:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwrrikNeFZg. It will be running on TV stations across Canada.

2. Send the YouTube video to all of your friends, family, coworkers...anyone you know!

3. Tell Stephen Harper to get tough on global warming pollution. Here's where our kids come in. Go to the web site: www.TakeActionOnClimateChange.com and post a photo of your kids on the photo wall. Don't worry, we've set up the site so your kids' privacy is fully protected (Otherwise, I wouldn't ask you to do it!). We will be projecting this photo mosaic on outdoor spaces near Parliament Hill to let Stephen Harper know Canadian parents expect him to protect our children's future from global warming.

4. Share the video and web site with your family and friends...post it on your Facebook page or Twitter (this is easy to do from the web site).

5. Talk to your friends and family about this important action they can take. Sometimes a phone chat or face-to-face conversation works better than an email.

To upload a photo, or learn more, visit: www.TakeActionOnClimateChange.com

Thanks so much for taking the time to do this. You really will make a difference, I promise! Our political leaders need to know what we expect them to do to protect our children from the harsh reality of global warming.

All the best,

Rick

Best Atlantic Canadian books

2009-11-02T05:20:00.000-08:00

Click the picture to see my top ten favourite Atlantic Canadian books. [I would have included my great aunt's book of poetry: Dim Time and History on a Garrison Clock, but my bias was too obvious.]

new photos

2009-10-31T06:04:00.000-07:00

I like our colourful clothesline.
Bella and D at play.
Our favourite tree.
sunlight thru yonder window
This and the next bunch are from my recent canoe trip to Five Bridges, which will soon be a designated protected wildlife area, just west of Halifax.
fun-gi

Lichen.

D loves the gourds.

D and his good buddy Jackson.

Bullfrog (renewable) Power licks the Maritime Market

2009-10-23T13:44:00.000-07:00

Click the frog for my latest column.

Our Summer Hearts

2009-10-22T06:19:00.001-07:00

My heart

2009-10-21T04:51:00.000-07:00

More recent pics

2009-10-18T15:25:00.000-07:00

Boshie's Halloween eyes.
Bosh profile.
Autumn Bosh.
Naptime.
Snuggles.
Truck!
Wedding dance.
Grammy dance.
Gimme that camera.
Pier 21.
Hahaaa!
Q-T.
They do.
Brothers, cousins.
D meets his third cousin, Kyle.
He used to be a sailor.

some recent pics

2009-10-18T07:28:00.000-07:00

The Wedding Party (Crashers)
Dylan in his Beaver Bank tuxedo.
Our fall harvest.
D cleans house.
D and honourary Bluenoser abroad, Jocy.