Ian LeTourneau

Our Paris trip became more of a reality today: we booked our airfare and rented a flat for two weeks (May 30 – June 13) in the 9e arrondissement close to Monmartre. It’s only 18 sq. metres, but it has a balcony and the owner is lending us a crib and high chair for Wyatt. I’ve already got a list of bookstores to hit!

Yesterday, I drove into Edmonton to interview for a great job with the Writers Guild of Alberta. Should know by the end of the week. Needless to say, I’m hoping I can make the move to the City of Champions.

Here’s a great link to the CBC story about the awarding of the Bulwer-Lytton literary prize, which seeks the worst opening line to a novel. The winner’s line:

Detective Bart Lasiter was in his office studying the light from his one small window falling on his super burrito when the door swung open to reveal a woman whose body said you’ve had your last burrito for a while, whose face said angels did exist, and whose eyes said she could make you dig your own grave and lick the shovel clean.

I’d also like to remind you that you can leave comments now without registering or logging in.

By next year, us lucky Albertans will be able to hoist mugs of mead, a drink the Beowulf poet probably sipped on as he composed his epic (and perhaps the reason he forgot to sign his name).

Alberta beekeepers can now make mead, a honey wine that is the oldest known alcoholic drink. The wine was approved last week for production and sale in Alberta after a year of lobbying by the province’s honey industry. The Alberta Gaming and Liquor Board is allowing farmers to get a cottage winery licence to produce and sell mead.

What’s taken so long?

Read the history of mead here.

Mmmmmm… mead.

On Trans Fats.

The amount of trans fats in the processed foods that Canadians eat should be limited, a federal task force recommended Wednesday.

On Atlas Man. (Brought to you here yesterday.)

Gerald Beaulieu plans to rebuild his sculpture called Atlas Man, which was damaged over the weekend. The sculpture was found Monday morning, tipped over with both his hands broken off, in Fredericton’s Garrison District.

(from CBC)

- Newfoundland & Labrador. A smart gull.

- Alberta. More Ralph Bucks? I wish the Alberta Government would figure out how to spend wisely. Although we could really use $400 each.

- New Brunswick. Atlas Man Shattered.

I’m toying with the idea of a podcast here. I downloaded a free trial of some podcasting software and was playing around with it on the weekend. Mostly, I tried to record a cool intro. I have limited resources and technical skill, so be patient. Plus I need to really think of a concept, etc., for the potential show. Stayed tuned, though.

Song currently being played into the ground on my iTunes: The Golden Dogs, “Yeah!” I came across them on the latest CBC Radio 3 podcast. I’d love to get their album–hint, hint, hint.

A new feature here at ianletourneau.ca: a Friday Spotlight of a weird or spectacular story. Or a story that doesn’t fit anywhere else. This week: Batwoman. Or should I say Batwomyn? Yes, that’s right. DC Comics is bringing Batwoman back and she’s a lesbian. Here’s a snippet from CBC’s profile:

The move is part of the comic giant’s attempt to incorporate more ethnically and sexually diverse characters into its superhero world.

“This is not just about having a gay character,” DiDio said. “We’re trying for overall diversity in the DC universe.”

I’m not even sure what to think about this. Here’s an exchange at Bookninja.

In related news, Stephen Harper is going to ask parliament to reopen the same-sex marriage debate. No comic books for his kids, I guess.

CBC has done a “best of” feature of arts blogs in Canada.

During the past few years, a small crop of top-quality, homegrown arts blogs have taken root online. Here, we present 10 of the very best. These are blogs that deliver a depth of knowledge, degree of passion and quality of writing that rival — or, dare we admit, sometimes surpass — the efforts of mainstream media and their fancy-pants journalists.

One of my faves, Bookninja, is here.

(from CBC)