My Favourite Read List

One of my girlfriends has spurred me on to write this list, as she has just reacquainted herself with the joy of reading after taking a break from it for a while ... being the Mom of a toddler can do that sometime. WELCOME BACK KIM!!

As most of you, my loving 3 readers know, I am an AVID reader ... fervent actually. When I was working at Chapters (all those years ago) I was in heaven ... I love the feel and texture of the pages, the sound of the binding when it snaps after you've just cracked open the pages for the first time, the cover art or even lack there of ... and of course the stories. I love them all. I am a huge fan of non-fiction and you can always find me in the Biography or the Social and Cultural Studies section, browsing the shelves.

It was my Mother Jennifer, a writer now herself , who started me on my journey with the written word. Bedtime stories were one of my favourite times as a child. My Mom would read to me with such passion and love that it is no surprise that that same enjoyment was embedded in her young daughter. The Chronicles of Narnia, Cloudy with the Chance of Meatballs, Jillian Jiggs, The Wonderful Pigs of Jillian Jiggs, The Velveteen Rabbit, The Balloon Tree, The Queen Who Stole the Sky, The Avocado Baby, The Folk of the Faraway Tree and The Secret of Spiggy Holes were my favourites. I secretly thought Jillian and I were long lost sisters ...

In first grade we had a book club, the Snuggle Up and Read Club, with the premise being that each night we had to make the time to snuggle up and sit quietly with our parents and read. Once the book was completed, it was recorded on the special Snuggle Up and Read Record Sheet. Once the sheet was full we got a sticker ... oh those magical grade one stickers and all they meant to us 6 year-olds! That club and my wonderful grade one teacher Mrs. MacLean made my love of books even stronger.

Those were some of the moments and times that helped to mould me into the reader and lover of books that I am today. I ready each and every day. I read on the bus to and from work, I read on my lunch break, I read while waiting for my coffee, I read in the Dr and Dentist office, I read before bed and while in bed. I find it to be both intriguing and relaxing. It’s entertaining and educating. It is exercise for the mind and can take you places and make you feel things that you never thought a book could.

I encourage everyone to pick up a book, a magazine, a newspaper, SOMETHING, just get reading.

So here's the start of my list of Favourite Reads. It will be an ongoing list as I have a rather large library to peruse and choose from and DAMN, there a lot of good ones!

If anyone reads, or has read any of these, let me know what your thoughts.

Enjoy!

Wacky Chicks: Life Lessons from Fearlessly Inappropriate and Fabulously Eccentric Women - Simon Doonan
Valley of the Dolls - Jacqueline Susann
The Body Farm - Patricia Cornwell
Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs: A Low Culture Manifesto - Chuck Klosterman
High Fidelity - Nick Hornby
You'll Never Eat Lunch in This Town Again - Julia Phillips
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - Hunter S. Thompson
Which Lie Did I Tell? - William Goldman
American Psycho- Bret Easton Ellis
Sonic Cool: The Life and Death of Rock & Roll - Joe Harrington
The Electric Kool Aid Acid Trip - Tom James Wolfe
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - Ken Kesey
Veronika Decides to Die - Paulo Coelho
Easy Riders, Raging Bulls - Peter Biskind
The Rebel Sell - Joseph Heath
All Families Are Psychotic - Douglas Coupland
Scars of Sweet Paradise: the Life and Times of Janis Joplin - Alice Echols
The Diary Of A Young Girl - Anne Frank
Somebody To Love? A Rock And Roll Memoir - Grace Slick
Sound of the Beast: The Complete Headbanging History of Heavy Metal - Ian Christe
Fargo Rock City: A Heavy Metal Odyssey In Rural North Dakota - Chuck Klosterman
On The Road - Jack Kerouac
A Million Little Pieces - James Frey

To be continued ....

Five Common Paper Contaminants

Contamination is everywhere when it comes to recycling. It most likely occurs because people want to recycle as much as possible, and figure that anything tossed in a recycling bin will be recycled in some way.

Actually, the opposite is true, as contamination is the quickest way that an entire batch of recyclables will end up in a landfill because of a few outsiders. This is especially true when it comes to paper, since you rarely find a paper product that is entirely made of paper.

The best way to ensure that your paper is safe to recycle is by knowing what is accepted. Use Earth911 to find specific products that your local program or recycling center collects, as well as exceptions.

While all recycling programs are different, here’s five materials that will likely interfere with recycling once it reaches a paper mill:

1. Food Waste

Paper is recycled by mixing shredded fiber with water to make new pulp. Well, you may have learned in chemistry class that oil and water don’t mix well, so oil stains won’t simply dissolve in the water. Instead, you’ll get new paper that still has oil stains.
Oil is a pretty common cooking ingredient, meaning that it’s a likely remnant for lots of different foods. You’ll be able to tell the difference between a water stain and an oil stain because oil won’t evaporate over time.

Common Example: Pizza boxes

This really applies to any to-go food containers, but lots of people see a pizza box as just more cardboard. It’s unlikely your pizza box is recyclable when the pizza is gone, since oil from the food has been absorbed by the cardboard. Your best bet to not contaminate the rest of your recyclables is to place it in the trash.

2. Hazardous Products

Say it with me: anything that comes into contact with hazardous waste becomes hazardous waste. This is why most paper towels and napkins are unrecyclable; they either clean up food waste or hazardous waste (e.g. household cleaners, motor oil, paint).

Common Example: Paint-stained newspaper

When you’re painting the walls, you don’t want to get the floor dirty, so often people lay down newspaper. Well, if paint drips on the newsprint, it belongs in the trash instead of the recycling bin.

3. Plastic/Wax Lining

Linings are added to many paper products for a number of reasons:

• Temperature control (think coffee cups)
• Leak control
• Strength and durability

While we definitely appreciate these traits in our paper packaging, plastic and wax lining is too difficult to separate during the recycling process. The exception is plastic windows in envelopes, because they can be easily detached by a filter leaving behind just paper.

Common Example: Paper cups

You’ve already learned why the plastic lining exists on these cups; the next step is making sure they go in the trash can. Reusable mugs and bottles are a way of keeping your waste output low while still enjoying a nice beverage.

4. Pressure-Sensitive Adhesives (PSAs)

Not to be confused with public service announcements, these PSAs refer to anything that you can peel and stick without moisture. They are difficult to filter out and don’t dissolve in water (although the adhesive does), meaning they could be lodged in equipment.

Common Example: Sticky notes

You may know them by a corporate name, and you also may find the bright colors user-friendly. Extra complications arise when the bright colored notes are attached to white paper, as white and colored paper are separated when recycled (like when you do laundry). Address labels, stamps and even tape fall into this category as well.

5. Wet Paper

You may be wondering why wet paper is a contaminant if the paper will be drenched with water prior to recycling anyway. The answer is that exposure to water shortens paper fibers, making it less valuable. If your curbside program or local recycling center can’t sell the paper to a mill, there’s no point in collecting it for recycling.

This is yet another reason to not try and recycle napkins or paper towels. As a good rule of thumb, make sure your paper recyclables are covered if it’s raining.

Common Example: Wet newspaper

You may use it to stop roof leaks from ruining your wood floor or to line your pet hamster’s cage. Regardless, wet newspaper has little value to recyclers. Considering most newspapers are made from recycled newsprint, it’s important that what we recycle is in good shape.

Non-Contaminants

Now that you know what shouldn’t go in the recycling bin, here’s a few items that are typically safe to include with your paper recycling:

• Envelopes with adhesive, metal latches or plastic windows
• Paper clips
• Staples

Trey Granger is a staff member at Earth911.com

Riddle Me This?

What year is it??

I could have sworn that it was 2008 but something’s are leading me to believe that its 1990 again.

Case and Point

90210: Dun nanana, Dun nananan - Cha- Cha!

I’ll admit it … it has wrapped its bed hopping, vodka guzzling, pill popping, Marc Jacobs wearing hands around my heart once more! Oh to see Drunken Jackie, Bitchy Brenda, Ditzy Kelly and Nice guy Nat on the screen again makes me feel 15 all over again! Add in a little Lucille Bluth, Aunt Becky and Kyle McBride and hawt damn, I say you have the makings of a killer show. And the new cast and plot lines are hysterical. Silver anyone? Someone force feed that chick a burger STAT. Etham, well, I could take him on a platter any day … I don’t care how young he is damnit … and Navid the scientologist porn heir kills me! Over all I give it a total thumbs up …Screw you haters!

New Kids on the Block – WTF!
They are back and it would seem that they have the #1 album in CANADA… again I question what year this is … has anyone listened to the new tunes? I was hoping for great things. Summertime was a total crapshow, just like all the other sappy screw-me pop out there now, but this: http://perezhilton.com/tv/?videoid=399559ef02c4b

This brought my boys back up a level. If you can cover Queen and make it sound good, you rule in my books And please, lets be honest … I have never stopped pining for Joey Mac or my bad-boy Donnie …

Tapered Jeans, Headbands and Ray Bans
I honestly thought this was just a LA thing when I was down there in April, but gawd damnit it seems to have migrated north, west and well just about everywhere – THANKS AMERICAN APPARAL – Shit! I’m sorry but this trend must die – Its dang ugly, not in the least bit flattering (unless built like a dude ie: no T&A) and really, something are meant to stay in the past, do we not learn from our mistakes? Come on people, what’s next?? Vuarnet France, HyperColour shirts, Chip & Pepper Shoes (yes, I know they have a fancy-schmancy denim line out and really, need I say more …), or Tretorns … I have hear that the latter is on its way – HELP!

In the words of Susan Powter:

STOP THE INSANITY

Weekend Insanity

It was a typical whirlwind trip back East and as per usual I am exhausted, but it is worth it.

I got to spend some wonderful time with my family and see some old friends and their ADORABLE kids.

And it is now official - Kristen and Brian are now MR & MRS RICE!!!! It was a stunning wedding, classy and elegant. The Bride was a vision and the Groom was dashing.

Pics are posted on the sidebar.

I sadly was not able to see everyone and as per usual I have massive guilt over that but there is just not enough time on these trips to see everyone and I don't have transportation so that makes it all the more difficult to get out of the 'Saug to visit.

And honestly, I don't know when I'll be back East again. I simply do not have the time nor the money to take another trip ... I was back 3 times in the last year and that was 2 more than I had ever thought would be able to pull off.

Hopefully it will be sooner than later but I know it will not be until the New Year.

SAD .. I miss everyone like mad and this trip only made that even more clear to me ....

I LOVE YOU ALL
xoxoxoxox

More Snaps

The last of the pics have been uploaded. Now its time to sort out my journal and get to writing ....

London: http://picasaweb.google.com/TinyByNature79/LondonCalling

Homeward Bound: http://picasaweb.google.com/TinyByNature79/HomewardBound