Rosemary Brown Dies at 72 I met Rosemary Brown once, through my friend Leila, who has been working on a film about her and her own mother. Rosemary was grandmother to Leila's nephew Jackson, to whom the film is dedicated. Leila, her mother Ruth, Ruth's partner, Rosemary and our mutual friend R passed an incredible evening together with Rosemary telling slightly ribald tales of being a student at McGill in the 50s and generally impressing us with her humour and incredible vitality. I'm so glad to have met her. Rest in peace, Rosemary.

Why I Love My Girlfriends Today, I changed my MSN Messenger name to all girl, all the time, which prompted this email exchange between me and my gal pal A. ___________________________________ From: "A" To: Maggie Kathwaroon Maggie Did you really mean to adopt an online nickname that sounds like a porn flick? Just curious... ___________________________________ From: "Maggie Kathwaroon" To: "A" ummm...yeah...wanna make something of it? ___________________________________ From: "A" To: Maggie Kathwaroon nope it's good that after over 15 years of friendship i can still see new sides to you. ___________________________________ From: "Maggie Kathwaroon" To: "A" i think the moniker is due to a) the weather b) the weather c) compliments on my hair this morning (apparently it was big n' bold) d) various guys smiling at me in the tim horton's now that i'm not wearing a heavy winter coat e) the weather ___________________________________ From: "A" To: Maggie Kathwaroon Big hair, shedding of clothes such as winter coat...like I said, a porn flick. My girlfriends are so clever!

606 takes later Animators and geeks will be facinated by this Honda ad called Cog. Read a behind-the-scenes article here--no computer graphics were harmed in the making of this car ad.

Oxy-moron! Somebody's searching my blog for a "Hello Kitty dog bed". I mean, really!

Twenty Questions A bunch of us at work have been playing with this example of AI. We've tried to stump it by making it guess things like monkey, picture frame, vibrator, dead horse, and tooth filling. It's addictive. It learns. It's a bit scary....

If Fox Television Picked a New Iraqi Leader So very plausible....

A Tribute to Great Design For Easter, my Dad presented me with an Hello Kitty I-Zone camera. It takes incredibly small, cute, but clear, Polaroid photos, and it was a hit during Easter Monday dinner at my house. These little cameras are an example of great design: - they're easy to load - they're easy to handle--there are indentations in all the right places - they're easy to use--they automatically turn off after each picture so you don't waste the batteries; plus, this forces you to choose the right flash setting each time - the individual pictures are colour-coded, so if junior can't count, at least she knows that yellow means the film is almost finished - they provide instant gratification - they're somewhat eco-friendly--i discovered that the case that stores the film transforms into a storage box for my little photos Now that I have my camera, I think I'm going to save my pennies for this.

Yes, Everything Can be a Double-entendre I scoffed at this notion when my friend A brought it up over the weekend as we were painting one of the rooms in my house. Then, I received this description in an email (in reference to an "assert" in our software): A bad case of a dangling process that didn't release some dlls. ~snigger~ dangling process ~snigger~

Random Thing About Me: 1 My ideal man is probably a cross between a Tetley Tea Man and a misunderstood genius.

New York Stories Just back from four enjoyable days in New York City. Rain on the first day forced us to choose indoor events, so we saw the Matthew Barney show at the Guggenheim and then spent a couple of hours trawling Century 21 for bargains. The cinema accross from ou hotel beckoned, and we caught Laurel Canyon . First day verdict: The Barney show was well worth it, but (gasp!) I appreciate him as a craftsman more than anything; all his stuff (props, really) are so well made. I was constantly reminded of Joseph Beuys, as Barney likes to use pseudo-primary materials in his sculptures--"self-lubricating" plastic, vaseline, honey comb, etc.--akin to Beuy's felt and fat. Century 21 offered a couple of new summer trousers and a stylin' new backpack. Laurel Canyon was great: Frances McDormand was superb and Christian Bale was surprisingly unsexy, meaning that he truly is a great actor (Newsies aside), because Christian Bale *is* sexy. Days two, three, and four were spent wandering around Soho, the Village, and Chelsea (where we stayed). Memorable were: Lunch at Tea and Sympathy, the Staten Island Ferry, and Jo Baer at the Dia Foundation. Wheels of Commerce New York would be nothing without wheels. Everyone and everything is on wheels. Apart from the obvious wheels of the subway and ubiquitous yellow cabs, everyone has a small wheeled suitcase or backpack that they use to negotiate the distances between multiple destinations. Children in particular are well-endowed with wheels: strollers now have small platforms behind them that parents place older siblings on. Two children can now be steered safely down busy 5th Avenue by busy mums and dads. Dog Days Everyone has a dog in New York. Frequently people have two. Servicing our canine friends are millions and millions of chi-chi pet boutiques that ocassionally stock the odd cat toy. Dog spas, dog walkers, dog groomers, dog delis. It must be great to be a New York dog. We didn't see any cats. Not anywhere. "I Don't Do the Vagina Thing" It was likely the area we were staying in, but I got the distinct impression that pretty much all the men we passed in the street and met casually in shops and restaurants were gay, except of course any young male between the ages of 16-18 wearing baggy pants and Nikes. I hope no one takes offense to this remark--I'm simply alerting a number of my friends that Chelsea seems to be the place to stay and play.

What Empowered Female Artist Am I? Take with a grain on irony.

You are Ani Difranco!
Self-obsessed and self-possessed, you are a strong woman with a social conscience,
who centers her life around her art. You pour your life experience and passion
into your art, presenting ideas that resonate deep in the souls of others.


Take the "Which Empowered Female Artist Are You" Quiz

Haunted Doll