Today marked the end of one of the longest projects I've ever worked on at Softimage. Here are some interesting statistics of what my colleague and I accomplished in 1 year: 14 books 4,853 pages 876,049 words 2,682 Tim Horten coffees 34 hissy fits (mostly mine) 10 pounds gained and lost several times (mostly gained) I'm going home to hug my cats and look lovingly at my garden, which is growing despite my neglect.

Four Dead in O-Hi-O I'm old enough to vaquely remember this 34 year-old photo: Young Mary Ann Vecchio witnessed the killing of student Jeffrey Miller in the parking lot of Kent State University on May 4, 1970. Three other students were killed and nine others were wounded. Ohio National Guardsmen had been called in the day before in response to some rioting centred around the campuses' ROTC building. The mayor also instituted a curfew. Students and professors were responding to President Nixon's May 30 announcement of the invasion of Cambodia. Many eye-witness accounts of the atmosphere on the Kent State campus that day point out that many students simply wandered onto the Commons, the main gathering place for students, after their classes let out at around noon. There was a protest, but there were also many students simply sitting on the grass, enjoying the sun, and trying to figure out how to get their lunch from the cafeteria--access was blocked by the National Guardsmen who had taken postion on top of Blanket Hill, directly overlooking the Commons and en route to the cafeteria. Many of the protesters presumed that the National Guardsmens' rifles contained rubber bullets. No one thought they were going to die. The Guardsman, in retreat from the easily quelled tear-gassed protesters, suddenly turned around and fired 60 bullets into the crowd. No Guardsman was ever prosecuted, although some thirty protesters were brought to trial. The ten-year old me saw Mary Ann's picture in the newspaper and wondered "why"? And I guess I'm doing the same today, juxtaposing that image with recent images of American soldiers humiliating Iraqi prisoners of war.

He's so cute how he's got really fluffy, curly bits Strange bird.

April's Monkey: Yes, I Cried (This month's monkey graciously offered by blork et martine.) I'm a strong chick, surrounded by equally strong chicks who tend to make fun of me when I slip and reveal the thin vein of vulnerability that lurks beneath my thick skin. One very dreary Sunday afternoon, I decided to plunk myself in front of the TV and watch a film. I was feeling...listless. Normally, I'd be brunching, reading, writing, bricolaging, something-ing. But this afternoon, I just gave in to mental and physical sloth. Little Women (the newish one with Susan Sarandon and Winona Ryder) was playing on Bravo and I settled in for a commercial-free couple of hours of fluff. It was helpful that the dishy Christian Bale was playing the role of "Laurie", Jo's love interest. Anyhoo, the girls go through trials and tribulations, one of them dies and their daddy finally comes home from some prisoner of war camp. I cried. I cried through most of the movie. I justified this by telling myself that a good cry, regardless of the sappy primo genitor, was a good thing. When my friend A asked what I had done that afternoon, still feeling a bit bluesy from the film, I replied wistfully "I watched Little Women. It made me cry." "Maggie! How could you!" While A believes in a good cry, she definitely believes it should be the result of something important. To this day, this incident remains one of the major signifiers of our friendship, marking the moment when I revealed that, midst all my strong chick friends, I may be the sappiest of the bunch.

We Are the Robots I think I had been waiting more than a decade to see Kraftwerk in concert. The last time they were supposed to tour--sometime in the early 90s--they cancelled. Saturday I finally got my wish to see the grandfathers of techno in the fleisch! The four of them (only two from the original group) stood almost stock still behind elegant laptops whilst minimalist graphics played on the huge screen behind them. Musik non-stop.

You Deserve a Break Today Top guy at McDonald's dies of heart attack. He was 60....

Suddenly Spring Today, I walked out of the house and immediately peeled off my light jean jacket. I was actually too hot in jeans and t-shirt this morning. Yesterday, despite being lured by looming deadlines, I decided to start spring cleaning in the garden. The front yard was first. I got rid of all the debris, cut back the roses and fed all the tulips and daffodils that will be in flower in just a few days. It felt great to be working outside in my overalls and Wellington boots. My neighbours were also outside doing their spring cleaning thing and we exchanged garden plans and plants, and just enjoyed being with our little patches of the city. I smell bar-b-q....

Mellow's Wednesday Horoscope You know that looks aren't everything. You also know that you look fantastic. And if appearances weren't enough, you also attract attention by what you say. Everyone in earshot thinks that you're funny, wise, talented or maybe all of the above. They're right, too. Be gracious when signing autographs. Don't you dare charge for anything that you're delighted to give away for free. One of my short stories is being reviewed tonight by my workshop. I hope this horoscope augers well. Dammit, I am cute and funny!

Let's Play Master and Servant Tell this chicken to bend over and take it like a rooster.

April is the Cruelest Month When I was in university, I remember reciting these words to myself as I tried to get through exam and term paper hell. Now that I'm a professional working gal, I'm reciting T.S. Eliot again as I simply try to get through April. Silly me registered for two writing course, which are wrapping up at the same time as a major project here at work. I'm not exhausted, I'm just unable to turn my mind from writing fiction to non-fiction and back again quickly enough. This may result in some rather poetic technical documentation, but also some rather embarassing prosaic fiction. "It was a dark and stormy setup and installation...."