Sunday, July 15, 2018

“Water Is…” at The Bookshelf Book Fair in Newmarket

Every summer, the Writers’ Community of York Region (WYRC) holds a book fair (The Bookshelf) at the Newmarket Community Centre & Lions Hall. The fair showcases over 40 local authors, publishers and artisans through readings, discussions and a tradeshow that features writers’ works in a variety of genres from science fiction and fantasy to mystery, inspiration, science, history, self-help and children’s literature. I participated in this year’s festival on July 7, 2018.

Reading from “Water Is…The Meaning of Water”
At the Reading Lounge onstage in the adjoining Farmers’ Market, I read from my Amazon-bestselling “science-for-lay public” book Water Is…The Meaning of Water. As children and their parents played in the main water feature behind me, I introduced the term “limnology” (someone who studies freshwater) and talked briefly about the meaning of water with an audience eager to learn.
We can’t live without it, so maybe we should start respecting it; this beautifully designed book by a limnologist looks at water from 12 different angles, from life and motion and vibration to beauty and prayer,” said Canadian author Margaret Atwood when she selected Water Is… as her first pick in the New York Times ‘Year in Reading.’
Each of the 12 chapters completes the phrase “Water is…” with terms that evolve from science into philosophy and spirituality; terms such as “magic”, “life”, “motion”, “communication”, “memory”, “rhythm”, “vibration”, “beauty”, “story”, “wisdom”, “prayer”, and finally “joy”.
The book is, after all, a celebration of water.
I first shared some history on the making of the book. I shared that the pursuit of this book was oddly serendipitous and “entangled.”
The "Alien Next Door" with water...
“Early on, during the research and writing of this book, I discovered that this project on water had become a gestalt watershed for all the important moments in my life. Places I’ve been. Things I’ve learned. People I’ve met and with whom I’d had surprising discussions and realizations. All spanning many years. And many of them totally unrelated. And yet, now, with a sudden flood of context, their significance has transcended into a new fabric of meaning through surprising connection. Like puzzle pieces cooperatively arranging themselves into a symbiotic pattern of synchronicity.”
Writer and philosopher Jake Kotze suggests that, “Synchronicity happens when we notice the bleed-through from one seemingly separate thing into another—or when we for a brief moment move beyond the mind’s divisions of the world.” Synchronicity and serendipitous discovery, like metaphor, appear when we change the way we look at things.
“Serendipitous discovery comes to us through peripheral vision. Like our muse, it doesn’t happen by chasing after it; it sneaks up on us when we’re not looking. It comes to us when we focus outward and embrace our wonder for this world. When we quiet our minds and nurture our souls with beauty. It is then that what we had been seeking naturally comes to us. Like a gift.”
For my reading, I chose several summary quotes that appear at the end of each chapter of the book. These quotes were also featured earlier this year in “Morphology”, an art exhibit in Mississauga that honored the creation of a marsh park as part of Jim Tovey’s vision for the Lakeview Site and the Waterfront Connection:
Quote from "Water Is..." at the Mississauga Civic Centre Gallery

Wonder Woman Respects Water
Wonder Woman (Jes Tongio)
“Respect water!” says Wonder Woman (aka cosplayer Jes Tongio). Wonder Woman was careful to point out with her wise Amazonian sword of Athena (goddess of wisdom)—forged by Hephaestus—that “Water Is…” provides a doorway to wonder and responsible action.
Other Authors at The Bookshelf
I met and visited with other fellow writers, including Clair McIntyre, author of YA/fantasy, and crime writer Joan O’Callaghan. Fellow authors who read at Reading Lounge included Douglas Smith, award-winning author of “Wolf at the End of the World”; and A.A. Jankewicz, fantasy author of Q16, and who’s short story appears in the Water Anthology I edited for Reality Skimming Press; and Gabriela Casineanu read from her bestselling book Introverts: Leverage Your Strengths for an Effective Job Search. Claudiu Murgan read from Decadence of the Soul; he is launching his recent science fiction novel Water Entanglement next month.
The IWA was also represented, along with member-writers Gabriela Casineanu, Andreea Munteanu, Claudiu Murgan and Andreea Demirgian.
The Immigrant Writers Association provides programs, activities, and services that empower and support immigrant writers in their journeys. According to their website, the goal of the IWA is to "encourage immigrants to express themselves through writing, to bring more awareness, compassion, and peace into the world." 
As a second-generation immigrant daughter to German and Romanian parents, I recently joined the IWA. I look forward to mentoring new writers and providing workshops and lectures to share my experience as a writer, editor, and teacher of fiction and non-fiction.
The Immigrant Writers Association provides programs, activities, and services that empower and support immigrant writers in their journeys. According to their website, the goal of the IWA is to  “encourage immigrants to express themselves through writing, to bring more awareness, compassion, and peace into the world.”



M.J. Moores, the organizer of the book fair


Monday, July 2, 2018

Canadian, Please




Move over, Gangnam Style. Canadian Dance Moves is moving in. A hokey dance video that may rival the Korean viral hit has surfaced on YouTube.
Canadian Dance Moves is an endearing homage to our country’s wholesome personality. It showcases moves dubbed The Lumberjack, The Friendly Backpacker and our personal favourite, Carry The Two-Four. Plus they're easy to bust out on the dance floor -- or on the Grouse Grind in North Van, or on the frozen Rideau Canal in Ottawa, or maybe backpacking in Italy. You know, wherever the mood to dance Canadian strikes.
Liam Kearney, a digital production co-ordinator, his girlfriend Stina Dios, and Jeff Higgins created the video in Toronto over a few days. Kearney says the biggest expense was a pair of $25 red pants.
Lyrics (by Gunnarolla):
Yeah I know that you wanna be Canadian, please
Even if in winter things tend to freeze
We've got the world monopoly on trees
And our country's bordered on by three different seas
Yeah I know that you wanna be Canadian, please
We invented the zipper, we've go expertise
We made insulin to combat disease
Yeah I know that you wanna be Canadian, please

Brits have got the monarchy
The US has the money
But I know that you wanna be Canadian
The French have got the wine and cheese
Koalas chill with the Aussies
But I know that you wanna be Canadian

Et si ce n'était pas assez
On a deux langues officielles:
L'anglais et le français
Oohlala... 
Yeah I know that you wanna be Canadian, please
Where else do you find mountain police
Or go to the hospital and not pay fees
Yeah I know that you wanna be Canadian, please
And when freshwater is in high demand
We've got the world's largest supply on hand
So you know that we could make a pretty good friend
But it's even better if you can be...

Brits have got the monarchy
The US has the money
But I know that you wanna be Canadian
The French have got the wine and cheese
Koalas chill with the Aussies
But I know that you wanna be Canadian

So you're thinking to yourself,
"How do I live in this beautiful country?"
Well, we've got some steps for you to follow...
STEP ONE: lose the gun
STEP TWO: buy a canoe
STEP THREE: live multiculturally
STEP FOUR: you're ready; there is no more!

We got beavers, caribou and moose
We got buffalos, bears and Canadian goose
And we're sorry about Celine Dion
But she did do that good song by James Cameron...

Brits have got the monarchy
The US has the money
But I know that you wanna be Canadian
The French have got the wine and cheese
Koalas chill with the Aussies
But I know that you wanna be Canadian
The Greeks chilled out with Socrates
Can't build a wall like the Chinese
But I know that you wanna be Canadian
In Kenya they have safaries
We've missed lots of other countries
But I know that you wanna be Canadian!