Paul's Reading List

I will be bring a copy of "Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future"

'Masterfully crafted, deeply thoughtful and mind-expanding.'-Los Angeles Times In this powerful and provocative manifesto, Bill McKibben offers the biggest challenge in a generation to the prevailing view of our economy. Deep Economy makes the compelling case for moving beyond 'growth' as the paramount economic ideal and pursuing prosperity in a more local direction, with regions producing more of their own food, generating more of their own energy, and even creating more of their own culture and entertainment. Our purchases need not be at odds with the things we truly value, McKibben argues, and the more we nurture the essential humanity of our economy, the more we will recapture our own.

The Halls of Stormweather, a novel in seven parts, is the first book in a series that explores the mean streets of a city where everything has its price and even the wealthiest families will do anything to survive!Ed Greenwood -- The creator of the Forgotten Realms begins the tale with the capable but embattled patriarch of the Uskevren family.Clayton Emery -- The heir to the family fortune is brought to life by the author of Star of Cursrah and the Netheril Trilogy.Lisa Smedman -- A veteran science fiction and fantasy author shows us a young woman who's more than just a maid.Dave Gross -- The author of An Opportunity for Profit tells the story of the youngest son who carries a horrifying curse.Voronica Whitney-Robinson -- The story of the willful daughter Thazienne is told by the co-author of Spectre of the Black Rose.Richard Lee Byers -- The author of Dark Kingdoms tells a tale of a wife with a past as long as it is dark.Paul Kemp -- A talented newcomer creates a servant with more secrets than his master could ever guess.

In this brightly satiric, postapocalyptic novel of the far future, a young Indian brave named Broadway Danny Rose embarks upon a quest across the desolate planet Earth to find the mysterious Valley of Day-Glo, where plants and animals and large bodies of water are rumoured to still exist, and where, according to legend, "death becomes life."

Valley of Day-Glo is a brilliant blend of Douglas Adams's farcical humour and Kurt Vonnegut's droll absurdity. Hugo Award-nominee Nick DiChario delivers a witty and poignant story that deals with the power of myth, the search for truth, and the meaning of life and death.

temagami

A camping we will go....we're heading off for a real holiday...yeah!!! (We love Mark and Carissa). Reading material I'm taking with me...



No Such Creature

Tooling across the American southwest in their giant Winnebago, Max and his nephew, Owen, seem harmless enough, the actorly old fellow spouting Shakespeare like a faucet while his young charge trots him through select tourist destinations along the road. But appearances, as you might imagin Max is actually a master thief, and young Owen’s summer vacation is his careful apprenticeship in a life of crime. Pulling heists is scary enough, but ominous signs point to the alarming fact that The Subtractors are on their tail, criminal bogeymen who stop at nothing to steal from other thieves. The road trip soon turns into a chase, by turns comic and horrifying. The most disturbing twist: Owen’s slow realization that the person he loves most in the world is the one who can do him the most harm.



Late Nights on Air

Harry Boyd, a hard-bitten refugee from failure in Toronto television, has returned to a small radio station in the Canadian North. There, in Yellowknife, in the summer of 1975, he falls in love with a voice on air, though the real woman, Dido Paris, is both a surprise and even more than he imagined.

Dido and Harry are part of the cast of eccentric, utterly loveable characters, all transplants from elsewhere, who form an unlikely group at the station. Their loves and longings, their rivalries and entanglements, the stories of their pasts and what brought each of them to the North, form the centre. One summer, on a canoe trip four of them make into the Arctic wilderness (following in the steps of the legendary Englishman John Hornby, who, along with his small party, starved to death in the barrens in 1927), they find the balance of love shifting, much as the balance of power in the North is being changed by the proposed Mackenzie Valley gas pipeline, which threatens to displace Native people from their land.



With Heartsick, Chelsea Cain took the crime world by storm, introducing two of the most compelling characters in decades: serial killer Gretchen Lowell and her obsessed pursuer Portland Detective Archie Sheridan. The book spent four weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and garnered rave reviews around the world. But the riveting story of Archie and Gretchen was left unfinished, and now Chelsea Cain picks up the tale again.

When the body of a young woman is discovered in Portland’s Forest Park, Archie is reminded of the last time they found a body there, more than a decade ago: it turned out to be the Beauty Killer’s first victim, and Archie’s first case. This body can't be one of Gretchen's—she’s in prison—but after help from reporter Susan Ward uncovers the dead woman's identity, it turns into another big case. Trouble is, Archie can't focus on the new investigation because the Beauty Killer case has exploded: Gretchen Lowell has escaped from prison.

Creepy Puppet Project - Dusty Zombies

A new Zombie puppet production has been released from our friends at the "Creepy Puppet Project" our good friend Bea at the "Match Factory" is the Character Wardrobe person for the production. Yeah Bea!

Good going Random House Canada

RH Canada Goes With Green Energy
-- Publishers Weekly, 7/14/2008 8:08:00 AM

Random House of Canada has signed on with a green energy supplier to power a portion of its operations. The Toronto-based publisher has agreed to purchase emissions-free electricity from Bullfrog Power, a Canadian provider of green electricity. The house has agreed to purchase nearly 1,300 MWh of green electricity annually, covering operations in both Toronto and Mississauga, Ontario. RHC CEO Brad Martin said the company "takes our environmental responsibility seriously,” adding that it has "been impressed by the positive impact Bullfrog is having and are pleased to be working with them as one of our environmentally conscious initiatives.”

Smart Meters

From the Hydro One Website:

Five Smart Things Your New Smart Meter Will Do in the Future:

1. Measure how much energy you use and when you use it — providing you with the opportunity to take action to better manage your hydro bill by:
* Lowering your electricity use during peak (higher cost) periods; and
* Shifting your electricity use to off-peak (lower cost) periods.

2. Smart metering systems will store your electricity use information — allowing you to review your electricity use information the next day through the internet or telephone.

3. No more estimated bills — your smart meter will automatically and regularly send your readings via wireless technology.

4. Help us to better manage power outages

5. Reduced need to build power generation facilities — as all Ontarians shift energy use away from peak periods.


SO,
We now have a smart meter.... time will tell as to what this will really mean for us.

David Sedaris

When You Are Engulfed in Flames

"David Sedaris's ability to transform the mortification of everyday life into wildly entertaining art," ( The Christian Science Monitor )is truly a gift. Here he is with the new collection of essays...

Some latte art - still practicing

A little latte art - 'cause we're creative whether we want to be or not sometimes... oh - and they taste good.

Wi-Fi at Chat Noir Books

So we have finally bit the bullet and are now offering Wi-Fi to our customers in the store. We are currently beta testing the new Wi-fi service, so there are no guarantees that it will always be up and running. I would like to thank our friend Caleb who helped us setup the network and also big thanks goes out to our other friend David Cooper who recommended the software.

To access the online connection you will have to ask one of the staff for a username and password, you will also need to have your very own lappy(lap-top). The service is currently free, though we have setup some restrictions. This means you will not be able to Torrent files, download movies ...etc, but you should be able to access your email, chat and browse on the interweb.


Caleb

Les Stroud 'Survivorman'

Man am I tired but it was worth the loss of sleep to see Les Stroud 'Survivorman' rocked the Classic Theatre with his new show "An Evening of Film & Music"!

The music ranged from rock to blues,folk to world, show casing an amazing cast of muscians and a video reel of amazing images of people, animals and places that Les has shoot while film 'Survivorman' and other projects.

On another note Les is also writing a book for Harper Collins about survival that is due to be released in the fall. We already have copies on order, and are working on trying to maybe get Les in for a book sign in the store.

P.S. Ian great job with the sound, though next time we would love to see you on stage as well!

Now back to my coffee!!

If you liked the blog.....

So not PC and I have to admit I LOVE it!

From "Stuff White People Like"

#97 Scarves

White People’s body temperatures do not operate on logical or consistent levels, and because of this white people are often forced to wear clothing combinations that might seem strange or illogical. One popular example is the performance vest which solves the age old problem of cold chest hot arms. Another common combination is wearing shorts with a sweatshirt which helps bring about comfort when your upper body is chilly but your lower half is sweltering. But without a doubt, the one piece of clothing that helps to regulate white body temperature in all situations is the scarf.

During winter months, it’s no surprise to find white people all bundled up with scarves around their neck - it just makes sense. But even as the weather warms up and the other layers start to fall off, the scarf remains.

It is not uncommon to see a white person in jeans, a sweater and a scarf. In fact, it’s not a rare occurance to see a white person in a t-shirt, jeans, and a scarf. Thats right. A thin cotton t-shirt paired with a scarf to enable maximum temperature control in bars and places with air conditioning

But not all white people wear the scarves for temperature reasons. A well made scarf can be an essential part of a white ensemble, allowing for all-important differentiation from other white people wearing the exact same clothes as them. Thus allowing them to be picked out of the crowd for dating or mocking purposes

“I like the guy in the white American Apparel shirt with the glasses.”

“Which one? there are eight.”

“The guy with the keffiyeh.”

“Oh yeah, you’re right. He does look smarter and more political than the other guys. He’s clearly more sensitive to wind, so he’s probably more sensitive in general. You should totally date him.”

Along with making up a key part of the white wardrobe, scarves also function as a vital pillar of the white gift economy. Due to their relative ease of creation, many white people (especially women) like to knit scarves for friends and lovers. For this reason alone, if you find yourself needing a new scarf but not a long term relationship, dating a white woman might be the easiest and most cost effective solution.

What's on the night stand

The Condition

The Condition tells the story of the McKotches, a proper New England family that comes apart during one fateful summer. The year is 1976, and the family, Frank McKotch, an eminent scientist; his pedigreed wife, Paulette; and their three beautiful children has embarked on its annual vacation at the Captain's House, the grand old family retreat on Cape Cod. One day on the beach, Frank is struck by an image he cannot forget: his thirteen-year-old daughter, Gwen, strangely infantile in her child-sized bikini, standing a full head shorter than her younger cousin Charlotte. At that moment he knows a truth that he can never again unknown something is terribly wrong with his only daughter. The McKotch family will never be the same.

Twenty years after Gwen's diagnosis with Turner's syndrome, a genetic condition that has prevented her from maturing, trapping her forever in the body of a child, all five family members are still dealing with the fallout. Each believes himself crippled by some secret pathology; each feels responsible for the family's demise. Frank and Paulette are acrimoniously divorced. Billy, the eldest son, is dutiful but distant, a handsome Manhattan cardiologist with a life built on compromise. His brother, Scott, awakens from a pot-addled adolescence to a soul-killing job, a regrettable marriage, and a vinyl-sided tract house in the suburbs. And Gwen is silent and emotionally aloof, a bright, accomplished woman who spurns any interaction with those around her. She makes peace with the hermetic life she's constructed until, well into her thirties, she falls in love for the first time. And suddenly, once again, the family's world is tilted on its axis.

Compassionate yet unflinchingly honest, witty and almost painfully astute, The Condition explores the power of family mythologies, the self-delusions, denials, and inescapable truths that forever bind fathers and mothers and siblings.



The Brass Verdict: A Novel (Advanced Reader's Copy)

Things are finally looking up for defense attorney Mickey Haller. After two years of wrong turns, Haller is back in the courtroom. When Hollywood lawyer Jerry Vincent is murdered, Haller inherits his biggest case yet: the defense of Walter Elliott, a prominent studio executive accused of murdering his wife and her lover. But as Haller prepares for the case that could launch him into the big time, he learns that Vincent's killer may be coming for him next.
Enter Harry Bosch. Determined to find Vincent's killer, he is not opposed to using Haller as bait. But as danger mounts and the stakes rise, these two loners realize their only choice is to work together.
Bringing together Michael Connelly's two most popular characters, "The Brass Verdict"""""is sure to be his biggest book yet.




Chimaera

All resistance has been crushed. In a few minutes of overwhelming violence the Council’s air-dreadnought fleet has destroyed Fiz Gorgo’s defences. Xervish Flydd, Irisis and their allies have been condemned to die in a brutal aerial spectacle designed to reinforce Chief Scrutator Ghorr’s power and majesty.

Nish is their one remaining hope. But Nish is trapped in a burning watchtower, and hunted by both the scrutators and his former lover, Ullii, whose twin brother he accidentally killed. Before Nish can hope to rescue his friends, he must convince Ullii to spare him, then overcome the most powerful cabal of mancers in the world as well as the Council’s four hundred crack guards.

And even if he succeeds, to win the war the allies still have to defeat the scrutators and overthrow Nennifer, the corrupt Council’s dread bastion, before the rampaging lyrinx overwhelm all Santhenar.

We're no longer a threat

Well, after one full day of the gas company closing off the street in front of the store and making more noise than we generally allow, we now have a new gas meter and shut-off valve outside the store. Apparently after a number of places went "boom" they have decided that having the meter and shut-off outside of buildings is much better.



Since this is what a gas meter explosion in a basement looks like - If it means less chance of us going "boom" I'm all for letting them do what they need to do.

Book Signing

Gary Howard will be in store July 11 from 4-6 signing copies of his book "The Rassler from Renfrew: Larry Kasaboski and the Northland Wresting"

For fifty years, old-time wrestling and the Kasaboski name went hand-in-hand in the Ottawa Valley. Especially Larry Kasaboski, who followed his older brother Alex into the ring during the Depression years of the 1930s, then turned his talents to promoting. In the decades after the war, Northland Wrestling Enterprises staged fights in arenas up and down the Valley and throughout Northern Ontario, pitting passions against loyalties for the likes of Whipper Watson, the Parks Brothers, and Gorgeous George Grant.

Author Gary Howard has been a life-long fan of the sport, and in this book, shares his enthusiasm for the early years of show wrestling. Richly illustrated with rare photos, posters, and other memorabilia.