Counting down the season

Here we are in that final lap of the year, that calendar curve between Christmas and New Year's; I hope one well stocked with treats, visits and parties. We're checking our email and phone, in and out of the NQ office, but mostly, it is true, out, with places to go and people to see and chocolate oranges to savour. And maybe some recharging time to find. This last is hard to do, I know, when you are very used to working. Every day. Until 6. Or 7. Or - well, no time like the present to turn over a new leaf, or fold yourself up in a duvet and lie on the sofa, at least for a day or two. I know I'm relaxing when I do something I never do - watch TV during the daytime. You wouldn't want to be at it all the time, I guess, but a few days of Much More Music's Top 100 Videos (catch this from UNKLE) and the original British version of Life on Mars can be most restorative. Help you plan that New Year's Eve party menu, design one or two thrilling resolutions, and get 2011 off on the right foot.

(Image: vintage card, typepad.com.)

Walking In The Air

Music is a vital ingredient to the season, and everyone has their favourites. Personally, I've managed to get through three entire Craft Fairs with my fondness for White Christmas intact. Here's another piece of music that is really special, in fact exquisite; I think I link to The Snowman around this time every year, but why break with tradition?

(Image: therushmorefilmsociety.files.wordpress.com.)

Even Santa needs a little help this time of year, and the NQ is happy to step up

So we made another stop on our circuit of Craft Fairs: the Anna Templeton Centre. This arguably has the nicest atmosphere of all these events, a neighbourly kind of bustle accompanied by a communal playlist of seasonal tunes. On Saturday, Andy Jones insisted on giving me an afternoon break (kind of like having Harvey Keitel take your booth over for a while - Jones, by the way, is bringing his Queen of Paradise's Garden to the LSPU Hall later in December, and I'm definitely catching it New Year's Eve). I used the time to score a couple of gorgeous ornaments, including some from Erin McArthur. And what perfect weather to be Christmas-shopping, or even just Christmas-minded; a little snow, crisp air, those edging-towards-solstice sunsets. Meanwhile, back at NQ headquaters, we're still all about those Christmas subs, so keep 'em coming.

(Image: christmasfiles.com.)

All Heart Smiling Land

What is it with The Ode to Newfoundland? from our former Premier on down, just a few lyrics are all it takes to have us choked up - it's worse than Sonny's Dream, for Pete's sake. And, believe me, I hold no pretence of superiority here - one whiff of those pine clad hills, and I'm gone. And it doesn't matter how long you've lived away from home - this is always home - those notes still resonate. Even, say, in Toronto, at the Masonic Music Hall, Yonge Street, Saturday Night. Arctic cold outside, hundreds of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians and one Great Big Sea inside. It was The Smiling Land (those words again!) Foundation's Rockin' Big Give, which the NQ was happy to play a small role in. So far from those sunrays, just around the corner from Bloor, but, we love thee Newfoundland.

(Image: www.heritage.nf.ca.)

At the Fair foot of Marble Mountain

Marble Mountain is a beautiful site for a Craft Fair, as glass blowers and cranberry loaf bakers and fashion designers took over the three floors of the lodge, set out their arrays within the wood-framed, blue-draped areas, and worked the Craft Fair crowds for the past weekend. The NQ was present (and many thanks to Boulder Publications for the lifts from Corner Brook and back!). And, did you know that there is a whole world of ideas behind craft booth display? 'Cause I sure didn't, showing up with one string of Christmas lights, two boxes of magazines, no extension cords, no tablecloths, and in short no clue as to how to pull things together. But, no fear, Craftspeople being so, well, crafty I suppose, and also completely kind, they found extras of this and spares of that and rearranged their own lighting to brighten my space, so in jig time I had a reasonable-looking display. But, lesson learned. Thumbtacks, spotlights and a dish of pretty, foil-wrapped candies truly help make that Craft Fair "go".

(Image: rhs.org.uk.)

Artisans & Fairs

Working practices at the Craft Fair often embody the aesthetics and methods of Medieval guilds. The craftsperson or artisan displays their wares, and, often, sits beside their handiwork, working away at producing more of the same, knitting socks, beading jewelry, enrobing chocolates. The customer comes, studies the inventory, makes their selections, and after some discussion and negotiation, currency changes hands. It is very straightforward, very social. Amongst themselves, they work exchanges - a tryptych photo montage for an oilskin coat, say. And they shift camps, from site to site - now heading to Corner Brook, setting up on Marble Mountain, the NQ moving with them, Jean Claude Roy painting in tow (or cargo hold).

(Image: employees.oneonta.edu.)

Notes from the Craft Fair

The first half of our first Craft Fair is a wrap, and what a treat to meet so many NQ readers - and so many fans of Jean Claude Roy. Grand Bruit shines like an hypnotic jewel from the centre of the West Gallery, drawing all eyes. We're back again next week, and then off to Corner Brook, following the NLCDA Craft Fair trail. Which is heavily traveled, by the way. All manner of artisans make the trek - jewelers, chocolatiers, photographers, screenprinters, publishers, knitters, bakers (the fruitcake on offer was said to be unparalleled). You become part of a - not quite a tribe, but a distinct crowd - a crowd that clusters together, watches each other's back/booths, yarns through the quiet times, cheers on the busy spurts. Your turf is marked by coloured lights and sparkly decorations and a constant serenade of Silver Bells. And then, after several intense 10- or 12-hours days, the Fair is over, and you break your display down, and depart, possibly to meet again the next year.

(Image: naturehills.com.)

Mag design on the go

And NQ headed for the Craft Fairs - a coincidence of deadlines, and a busy time. You'll be seeing the magazine in about three weeks - so far, so good with our fact checking and design ideas and pretty close to most of our material in. (Waiting on just one columnist - you know who you are.) We should be scanning and finessing our first proof in a couple of days, Lord willing and the creek don't rise, or whatever. And at some point we'll gather our stock for the first Fair, opening Thursday, and we will have a painting and calendars and nice candies for treats, which you can even have if you don't buy a subscription, but remember we do make a very good Christmas gift. Truly.

(Image: nifteeseat.com.)

2011 calendars on the drawing board

We're shifting into Craft Fair mode (St. John's, Corner Brook, and then St. John's again), and that means we have to a) figure out exactly what are the regulations for taking beautiful Jean Claude Roy artworks on planes, and b) design our calendar. The latter has become a popular gift item, being a handy-dandy year-at-a-glace-type of thing, and a way we can all take home at least a small part of that subscription prize. We've got a little bit more than a week to bring this together, and then you can count on seeing Team NQ flanking this gorgeous image - you won't really notice us, though, the landscape is so hypnotic. It really is - people get entranced, they can hardly take their eyes of it as they buy, renew or give a subscription*. If you care to test your own powers of resistance, you know where to find us.

(Image: Jean Claude Roy, Grand Bruit.)

*Deft embedding of subliminal message.

And if you can ID this you definitely know your 1970s

Walking to the NQ office in the cool, metallic, askant sunshine of an autumn morning, thinking, always, of story possibilities and ideas for illustrations (and you should see the fabulous 1970s album covers Wayne Tucker has provided to run with his article on NL music), I thought, of course, of Orca (1977). This film, which as everyone knows was not an imitation of Jaws, because it was about a killer whale, not a killer shark, was filmed in Petty Harbour. Wayne Johnston wrote an hilarious piece on being an extra on the set, and the complete pandemonium at the local premiere. (I couldn't link to that piece, but here's another, just to give you a shot of Johnston's fine, wry humour.) Orcas were much in the news recently for their attacks on minke whales. These were thought to be rare, but several such lethal encounters were filmed; perhaps just a matter of witnesses being in the right place at the right time, though, as CBC's On the Go host Ted Blades says, it's hard to get away with anything if you're a killer whale.

(Image: mblog.hu.)

P.S. If you missed Andy Jones' four-night-run of To The Wall, he's staging it this Thursday, 6:30pm, in the Reid Theatre, MUN Campus.

Like Ford Prefect said

So there we were, heading towards Vol. 103 no. 3 with all systems set to go - when not one, but two, of our computers went down. Of course this proved immediately and almost ridiculously disabling - but, we are managing. Fortunately, no material for our '70s issue has gone far astray, so we'll just take a deep breath, saddle up our borrowed machines, and, like the heros of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, we won't you-know-what.

(Image: wordpress.com.)

The Newfoundland renaissance

This was the title of Sandra Gwyn's seminal article on the extraordinary energy of mid-'70s Newfoundland theatre, visual art and music, published April 1976 in Saturday Night magazine. Gwyn, who died in 2000 (the annual Winterset Festival and Award is founded in her honour) surveyed the scene and found "the freshest, brashest, most compelling art in the country." The evidence was undeniable: CODCO, The Mummer's Troupe, Gerry Squires' Boatmen series, Mary Pratt's foiled-wrapped domestic still lifes, Figgy Duff's rock-folk fusion, Elliott Leyton's immediately relevant anthropology that stepped from studies to stage. What caused all this? Gwyn, a smart, elegant and observant writer, had a few ideas: some comparisons to the Quebec culture, post-Quiet Revolution; an awareness of what Resettlement had wrought; an unflinching look at the ethics and ethos of the 'happy' province, one generation post-Confederation. On the To-Do list for this week: We hope to revisit this article, and some of the people she talked to, to feature in our Winter Issue.

(Image: www.cbc.ca/history.)

Next, we'll pick up a nice lava lamp

An informal quiz at our launch party last Thursday produced the following suggestions for our 1970s theme: MUN Extension, Decks Awash, The Boatmen Series, CODCO, and, my personal favourite cultural hit of the time, the superb (and underrated) The Rowdyman.
Maybe we'll cast a wider net, and talk about The Me Decade (check out Tom Wolfe's article, from 1976, from whence the phrase), op art, Fleetwood Mac. The advent of the blockbuster film. The groundbreaking TV series a la All In The Family. (And H. R. Pufnstuf!) The sideburns and platforms.
In the meantime, we note that a folklorist who just happens to be a font of 1970s idea, Mekaela Mahoney, is giving a talk at The Rooms this Wednesday, 7pm: Coastal Women of Newfoundland and Labrador. (And I mentioned that Edvard Munch's Madonna is on display there, I think? Until Nov. 18.)

(Image: affordablehousinginstitute.org.)

Interesting Climate + Approaching Copy Deadline = Fall

Well, that's the last time I get flippant about the weather. Hurricane Igor was a bit much, I must say. And lots of people still in dire straits, which is awful. And the army called in. Here's hoping everyone gets clear of this soon.
On the NQ front, we're starting to make some travel plans. First stop, the NLCDA Christmas Craft Fair in Corner Brook (Nov. 26-28). We missed out on this last year, because of the HINI pandemic (remember the HINI pandemic?), but we're on track for 2010 and we'll have our gorgeous subscription prize, Jean Claude Roy's Grand Bruit, on display. We're hoping to bring the painting to a couple more cities before the contest closes. When we have definite plans we'll be letting you know, right here.
And it's a month and a bit until our next copy deadline. Time to start building the new issue. Theme: The 1970s. This is going to be fun.

(Image: www.todayscampus.com.)

Launch par-tay invite

According to the weather reports it's time for some hatch-battening - 150 mm of rain? C'est un deluge!* - but we're engaged in a different kind of prepwork here at the office. Seeing as we're in some new digs here in the Education Building, and further seeing as we have a new issue to promote and a new painting by Jean Claude Roy to show off, we're planning a little 'do, next Thursday, Sept. 30, 4 - 5pm. So if you are in the neighbourhood please do drop by, we'll have coffee and tea and treats for all. And, and, Jean Claude Roy himself will be here.

(Image: farm4.static.flickr.com.)


*Practising for France where they speak French and I hope to visit next year.

103.2 distribution countdown

The Fall issue launch is a go, the magazines soon to be in reader's hands and on their coffee tables all over the province, all over the country, and all over the world.* And speaking of stuff from Newfoundland turning up in potentially unexpected places, have you seen this intriguing website, newfoundlanders aboard? A great way to keep updated on who's where and doing what. Back on the home front, there's a new reading series launched at RCA's Second Space, and I caught Dave Sullivan's** brilliant Bed, Breakfast & Beyond there yesterday. Another dozen or so events are planned; what better way to spend a Sunday afternoon if you're in downtown St. John's? (And it only costs $5.)
This week we'll be doing our retail distribution, an ever-growing network. If you're in Twillingate, we're at the Iceberg Shop and the Museum.If you're in Halifax, check out Atlantic News (great spot; it's also a cafe and they have music performances, too.) Strolling down Bloor Street in Toronto's Annex? Passing by Book City? Why, just turn your head and look in the window and - hey - could it be - the Newfoundland Quarterly, as I live and breathe!

(Image: vintage magazine stand, wordpress.com.)

*Once you see the gorgeous cover you're going to want to view more of Jean Claude Roy's work; he has a show opening at Emma Butler Gallery this week and you can see works online as well.

**No relation, although I do have a brother Dave, and would have no objection to being related to this playwrighting Dave Sullivan also.

Hello again

And we are well met in September, Labour Day weekend behind us and fresh opportunities ahead. The sunlight is taking on that lovely askant, metallic sheen, and sunset is beginning to coincide with a late evening return home. Our plans at the office are gearing up - we're already blocking our plans for our Christmas Fairs, let alone gathering bins and preparing labels for our Fall Issue mailout this Thursday. We can't wait to see the new issues, and especially the new cover, with our latest gift from Jean Claude Roy, going out to some lucky winner in the Spring. If you're near a radio this afternoon, Ted Blades has me as a guest for On the Go, and we'll be chatting about the magazine's theme (Myths of Newfoundland and Labrador history) and Ted's favourite articles (ie. Bert Riggs' Top 10 of same).
Meanwhile I'm recharging the blog, but with a few changes. I'm hoping to post longer pieces, on a weekly basis. Keep you up to speed on the NQ, and maybe a few other events besides. (Did you know you can see Edvard Munch's Madonna at The Rooms until November 28? That the Neighbourhood Dance Works Festival starts arabesque-ing around next week? It's all going on, I tell you.)

(Image: from cache2allposters.com. Some tips for all us writers, and everyone heading back to school.)

Our Subscription Prize: an advance peek

Jean Claude Roy, whose generousity is as large as talent, and that's saying something, has given us this stunning work for our subscription prize this year. It will be featured on our cover and you'll get the chance to see the real thing at our Craft Fair booths and other selected sites.
Work on the issue continues, with copy deadline approaching and design and edits scheduled over the next few weeks. Between these tasks I hope to make at least a few short road trips, to Grand Bank and Trinity. So I'm signing off on this blog for the latter part of August, and I hope you, too, get a bit of a break and a chance to truly enjoy this last bit of summer. See you back here in September, when we'll be launching Vol. 103. no 2!

(Image: Grand Bruit, by Jean Claude Roy.)

Sunday: a 'large' day, and same for the beach action

Even a land-lubbing townie such as myself can't help but notice that our shoreline seems clogged with minke whales. Guess they are in after the caplin, but, whatever, gosh, they make for a gorgeous show.

(Image: tripadvisor.com.)

Peter Hart 1963-2010

I have a feeling many readers of this blog knew him, or certainly knew of him. Here's a Globe piece that ran today.

Winterset in Summer 2010

Anyone heading to this prestigious festival? (Attn fellow CBC Radio junkies: You're sure to catch Michael Enright there.) We're packing up some NQs for distribution - not that the event will be short on reading material, of course.

(Image: beachesheritagecentre.ca)

A time to read, and a time to watch tv series box sets

Summer reading lists are a seasonal staple - Infinite Jest*, anyone? - and all the more reason to hie to the library. Usually I get there every couple of weeks, and I've been noticing - I'm late on the ball, I know - that our local excellent library also offers dvds and tv shows and docs and they are FREE yes FREE. Here's what I'm watching between the reruns of Republic of Doyle.

(Image: edopter.com.)

*This one I'm saving for an upcoming plane trip.

A Midsummer Night's Dream @ Cupids

I was lucky enough to attend a special preview of this Rabbittown production - it opens August 5 in Cupids and it's going to be wonderful. Feel the need to brush up on the play before viewing? No problem, here's the text, makes for a great read in a midsummer garden on a midsummer evening.

(Image: The Quarrel of Oberon and Titania (1846) by Sir Joseph Noel Patton, wordpress.com.)

And it is Royal, no less

Most of the country is headed towards the Civic (or Bank) Holiday, a lovely long weekend introduction to August. Round these part of course we await Regatta Day - the only civic holiday is North America to be determined by committee.

(Image: art1club.com.)

Hot dog

On the grass outside the Education Building, a family is having a little picnic. The wind is a bit strong but they are holding their own and seem to be enjoying that most American summery of foods.

(Image: allpostersimages.com.)

Nouvelles Peintures @ Emma Butler Gallery

Jean Claude Girardin's latest show begins this Saturday, and you can see works on line, too. (Just sit by your computer with a glass of sauvignon blanc; it will almost be like attending the opening.)

(Image: Migration, emmabutler.com.)

Answer to a deep blue riddle

Were you also captivated by the story of the strange medallion 13-year-old Luke Myles found in the codfish in Fortune Bay? It appears the mystery has been solved.

(Image: allahazam.com.)

Fall issue editing stage 2

We've got, oh, 20% of our copy in, nicely ahead of our deadline. Gives us lots of time to cover pages with little squiggly marks.

(Image: www.hsj.org.)

Republic hits the streets

Lines of cube trucks on the corner of Bond and Colonial, guys in reflective vests directing cars away from Gower Street, a cluster of tourists at the foot of Holloway gathered in an observant knot around lighting boxes and a boom mike - must be the hit series Republic of Doyle is in lights! camera! sound! production.

(Image: cbc.ca)

Education en plein air

Outside the NQ office windows, we can hear the voices of seminars and classes who have moved their scolastical business outside to conduct themselves on the green lawns in the sunshine. The summer semester has only about two weeks left, it seems to pass faster than the others, barely arcing from lilacs blooming to Regatta Day.

(Image: chem.mun.ca.)

Vacation H&G

A 'staycation' used to mean holidaying at home because it was too expensive to go anywhere. But lots of people are taking staycations because they're too busy to go anywhere - they're working on the house. Maybe you're in the midst of a redesign - this might juice up your reno inspiration.

(Image: hostessblog.)

According to a friend of a friend of mine...

'Myth' tends to evoke classic stories and imagery, like Helen of Troy or Robin Hood. But urban legends are a kind of ongoing myth, too, much aided these days by the framework of the internet, Facebook and twitter. Here's a guide to today's most popular ones, and tips on how to spot them.

(Image: yesterland.com.)

Fall issue enters editing stage

With our contributors working away, it's time to focus on the submissions we have already received, or produced on our own. Time to get out the red pen and start making squiggly marks in the margin. Time to edit.

"But editing, I believe, is something we all do, a fundamental human tendency. We correct ourselves all the time as we speak, going back to replace the wrong word with a better one, to fix a double negative, etc. We also do it collectively, often without even realizing it."

- Dennis Drabelle, The Washington Post. Here's the whole article.

(Image: amazon.com.)

Just like Frankie Goes to Hollywood Used to Say

A month to copy deadline, we've re-circulated our dates, our own material is coming together - but still, I can't stop worrying. In fact, my mind is clicking along a well-grooved worry loop. In fact, my own horoscope told me yesterday, "Stop worrying." Here are some tips that supposedly make that happen, to which I'd add: catch the occasional movie matinee.

(Image: tuesza.files.wordpress.com.)

Fall issue: Myths, the voice of

The NQ has been conducting some intriguing interviews lately. We're researching myths of Newfoundland and Labrador History, so we're chatting about Sheila NaGueira, the Masterless Men, all kind of characters, symbols and metaphors from our past, and how they speak to us today. Maybe we'll even come across this guy: the title after all is Arthur in Avalon.

(Image: www.pbs.org. Painting by Sir Edward Burne Jones.)

Cool Beans

Iced tea is lovely on a hot day, but coffee drinkers aren't without options. This makes a sweet, striking brew.

(Image: ineedcoffee.com.)

And believe it or not it actually relates to our Winter Issue*

Someone was blasting this as I walked to work this morning, reminding me it is the best video ever.

(Image: wordpress.com.)

*more on that later.

Three lovely words...

...long summer weekend. Repeat as desired. (Perhaps you are planning a picnic?)

(Image: vintagelifenetwork.)

And it's down to the final

A bit adrift without FIFA? Here's a bit of online fun, might help pass the time.

(Image: smart-kit.com.)

Here's to you

Back in the office after a great chat on Crosstalk. One thing that surprised me was how many callers liked magazines first and foremost for their recipes. We don't include many recipes in the NQ, but I do link to the occasional one on this blog. Here's one for what might be the nicest of summertime drinks: white wine sangria.

(Image: drinks-recipe.us.)

NQ on CBC Crosstalk tomorrow

In case you're in earshot of CBC Radio tomorrow, Wednesday July 7, the NQ will be on chatting with Radio Noon host Ramona Dearing* about magazines and so forth - so lend us your ears!

(Image: sunbelt-software.com.)

(*Incidentally she's a fabulous writer.)

Fall issue under construction

It is summer, just look at the pots and baskets of flowers so colourfully available outside the supermarket of your choice. As nicely distracting as gardening can be, the NQ retains focus on the next issue, starting to get our beams aligned and riveted, ie. whatever it is these brave guys are at here.

(image: nfb.ca.)

And we're back...

...from our gig on the lovely, foggy Burin Peninsula. Vol. 103. no. 2 ahead.
(Image: artandcarol.ca.)

(Image: ioffer.com.)

Summer issue aloft...

...and I'll be taking flight as well, spending the next few weeks traveling between the NQ offices and the Grand Bank Regional Theatre Festival. When I'm in the office I will be posting here, but the blog will be somewhat erratic until July 5. But here's hoping we'll all be too busy outside enjoying the sunshine to worry about that!

(Image: lifeinthefastlane.ca.)

3 Artists

Spent part of yesterday evening taking notes on a show that opens next week at Emma Butler Gallery: Three artists/One Show. The trio are John McDonald, April Norman and Danielle Evans: just check out Evans' luscious Fields, the paint wielded like dark jeweled meringue.

(Image: artarama.com.)

Eve of delivery

Summer Issue (aka Vol. 103 no. 1) due tomorrow, so we, like Ms. Carly Simon, are full of anticipation.

(Image: followthemusic.com.)

Weather-wise we'll just proceed with caution

I took a chance and left the house without my mittens this morning. But I haven't put the shovel and salt in the storage closet, and no way will I. That is just asking for it, I truly think. If you, too, attend this logic you might like this here quiz.

(Image: llamaproducts.com. Not really about the weather, I know, but who could resist?)

Time for SATs (seasonally appropriate treats)

It is warm out, so you don't necessarily want to be standing by a hot oven. But it is a bit rambunctious, what with the wind and sheets of rain, so you still need cookies. What on earth to do? These no-bake recipes may help.

(Image: vixiexpress.com.)

I just don't get out that often.

My usual weekend routine involves writing (at the extremely cool and user-friendly Hava Java), laundry (where steady hum of washers and dryers provides a soothing background for difficult course readings), and matinees (if you haven't seen Alan Doyle in Robin Hood yet, well, what's keeping ya?). But this weekend I am invited to two YES two birthday parties. I know what gifts I want to bring, but avoiding gaffes is also important, so, naturally, I'm brushing up on some do's and don'ts.

(Image: flatironlounge.com)