Meta creation

During a recent visit at the Chapters bookstore downtown Montreal, I decided to check out the writing advice section. This is where they keep all the books like If You Want to Write (which I haven’t read yet) or The Forest for the Trees (which I have read and very much enjoyed).

Looking at this kind of book section leaves me feeling rather confused. On the one hand, I get excited about all the great advice available and how the titles seem to cover the whole range of questions that aspiring authors might have. On the other hand, there are SO many books about writing (which means everybody and their little brothers want to write and publish) and SO many of them are silly that it kind of depresses me.

But then I found this book, and the irony of its title made me laugh and put me in a good mood again. How more meta than this can you get?

Clin d’oeil aux blogueurs qu�b�cois

Re�u:
Un exemplaire du magazine Clin d’oeil du mois d’octobre, dans lequel on retrouve un article que j’ai �crit et que l’on a titr�: Ma vie en direct sur le Web (le magazine n’a pas de site Web autre que celui consacr� � son �mission de t�l� jumelle). Il y est question de carnetiers qui osent r�v�ler des d�tails tr�s personnels sur le Web. L’article fait partie d’un num�ro sp�cial « non censur� ».

Ce num�ro du magazine est vraiment plein de blogueurs: on retrouve aussi Nadine et Carl-Fr�d�ric dans un article sur ce que l’on aimerait changer chez notre conjoint. Ils sont mignons comme tout!

Messages perso: Nika, tu n’as rien � craindre: la photo de toi en bikini (tr�s jolie d’ailleurs) s’est retrouv�e dans le coin gauche, sous le pli du magazine, alors que les fesses de Karl ont �t� carr�ment coup�es (ouille!) � l’extr�mit� droite du montage photo. Karl est cependant entour� de jolies filles alors il ne devrait pas trop m’en vouloir (j’y peux rien aux photos, moi).

Note: Oui, je suis consciente que l’article ne passe pas beaucoup de temps � faire la distinction entre un blogue et un journal intime. La fronti�re est parfois mince et ce magazine f�minin n’�tait pas la meilleure tribune pour ce sujet.

The message is: slow down

While most people ride Segway scooters for fun or to run short errands, Josh Caldwell is on a bigger mission. He’s taking his scooter on a cross-country trip, rolling him on the longest-known trek of its kind, from Seattle to Boston.

This story from Wired News and the Web site describing these guys’ road trip on a Segway remind me of the old guy in the movie The Straight Story. (What a great film. Probably one of David Lynch’s best.)

I can’t help but imagine the old man going to visit his brother on a Segway instead of a lawnmower. It would have been a completely different movie but I like the idea, visually.