playdate

Taking Matters Into Your Own Hands

by Racy Red

Sex. It's not only a fun activity after consuming a bottle of wine and several tequila shots; it is a topic of conversation; and the common denominator that unites us all like nothing else. Except perhaps the weather.

After all, we all like to have sex. And unless you are a nun or a monk, sequestered far, far from society in some rural monastery, chances are you've had sex. More than once. And liked it.

Lost in Translation

I have a love/ hate thing when it comes to sushi.
I love it when it's fresh, the restaurant is clean, the tea is good quality and the tea cups don't smell like a mix of bleach and raw tuna, the service is good, it's not outrageously priced and is beautifully prepared.
I hate it when I get violently ill with food poisoning from it.
I'll spare you the gory details.
But I will say that is is no fun puking up large balls of seaweed.

An Issue Of Culture

Late last week, John Oakley of AM640 talked about a nurse in Brampton who was denied an interview because she didn't speak Hindi or Punjabi on his morning talk radio show.  The story gained momentum, and each morning for the past week he has devoted some time to discussing it.  Earlier this week, in a related story, Oakley also discussed the comments made by Bruce Allen, a BC radio host.  In his commentary, Allen stated:

"This is all very simple. We have laws in this country. They are spelled out and they are easy to get a hold of. If you are immigrating to this country and you don't like the rules that are in place then you have the right to choose to not to live here."

Which is, when taken by itself, a reasonable statement.  However, he goes on to say,

"But if you choose to come to a place like Canada then shut up and fit in. We are a democracy. But it seems more and more they we are being pilloried by special interest groups that just want to make special rules for themselves.

This is easy to solve. These are the rules. There's the door. If you don't like the rules, hit it. We don't need you here. You have another place to go. It's called home. See ya."

And suddenly, the whole commentary takes on a different tone.

How far would you go?

Last week's terrible death of Krista Stryland, the 32-year-old Toronto mother who died while undergoing liposuction at a Toronto clinic has me thinking once again about plastic surgery.

I say once again because over the last few years plastic surgery is something I have thought about more than once.

Read-Alouds for the Younger Listener

I have been thinking that Pumpkinpie ought to be old enough to read chapter books with me now, not just picture books. But what to read to a younger child? Something gentle, especially right before bedtime. It's a good time to share old favourites, classics that have endured. I would like some fun stories, something episodic that would be easier to follow, allowing for the reading of one chapter each night, with each being its own little story. These warmer tales I'm thinking of are often animal stories, and with so many children loving animals, those fit the bill perfectly, though not all of them fall into this category. Many of these beloved classic chapters books were developed into series, so I will try to note when that applies, but won't list each title in the series. Instead, I'll let you start with the first one and look further if you enjoyed it.  Here's a starter list to remind you of some of those books you may have loved in your own childhood and relish sharing.

Ode to a Naked Female

guest post by The Crossbowman

You know something?  I like to see myself  as an intelligent man.  I think I'm fairly smart.  I'm considerate of others, and I try to see issues from more than one side.  Blah blah, sensitive, blah, blah blah.

I love the female figure.  I really do.  I especially love the female figure naked... or nearly naked.

What's Really Offensive?

On September 1, a mother was sitting and watching her two oldest children while they attended swimming lessons at a Scarborough YMCA when a lifeguard approached her and suggested she should leave the pool area because her actions might offend someone. Of course, this begs the question, what was the mother doing at a YMCA pool? Was she screaming obscenities at the instructor or her children for poor performance? Was she smoking or drinking or shooting up heroin? Did she get into a physical altercation with another parent over whose kid looked cuter in a bathing suit? None of the above. She was breastfeeding her five month old son.

Read that again: a breastfeeding mother was asked to leave the pool area because her actions might offend someone.

Gwyneth Paltrow is my homegirl

I was shocked to discover yesterday that Gwyneth Paltrow, the woman who named her child Apple for pete's sake, and I have something in common.  We both love and were inspired by the same show, Free to Be...You and Me.

Aw c'mon..if you are a child of the 70's as I (ahem) am, then surely you know this little gem.  It's been described as "a sorely needed counterbalance to the casual sexism of American life...it was fired with high ambitions and aggressive optimism. "Free to Be You and Me" was the gentler side of feminism, a funny and sly discussion of sexism, racism, gay rights and other issues disguised as a sort of cabaret show for children.

A Lawsuit To Get Decent Housing

A woman who has lived in Toronto public housing for the past 22 years has launched a class action lawsuit against the Toronto Community Housing Corporation (the landlord of public housing here in Toronto), the City, and the province.  The lawsuit calls for the housing corporation to repair all units such that they meet basic health and safety standards, as well as pay damages to all tenants who have waited more than two weeks for work to be completed.  The suit also demands that all repairs be complete within six months.  That is a short time for what appears to be years of backlog.

Public housing is handled by the housing corporation since a 2001 download in responsibility from the province.  Unfortunately, the buildings were inherited with a large backlog of repair requests from a provincial government that spent little money on the project, choosing instead to punish those who were living there in an effort to "encourage" them out of the housing and into the commercial market.

Let's take aim together

Long before I was a Don Mills Diva, I was just a diva.

Not that I was ever given to temper tantrums or Dynasty-style cat-fights or outrageous excess. My shoe closet is considerably smaller than your average airplane hanger and I’ve never paid more than $150 for a cut and colour.