Black Beauty - Sewell

The first of my 100. 'Black Beauty' by Anna Sewell.

A beautiful, eloquent novel written from the viewpoint of a horse, Black Beauty, and spans his life and his experiences, which range from pastures in the country to the cobblestone streets of Victorian England.

Sewell draws attention to the mistreatment of horses, emphasizing that while horses may be 'dumb animals' they are no less affected by the treatment of their masters.

"I said, 'You used to stand up for yourself if you were ill-used.'

'Ah!' she said, 'I did once, but it's no use; men are strongest, and if they are cruel and have no feeling, there is nothing that we can do but just bear it - bear it on and on to the end. I wish the end was come; I wish I was dead. I have seen dead horses, and I am sure they do not suffer pain."

The first of many

I gifted myself with this lovely handpainted bookmark in order to christen my journey through 100 classic novels. I am sure I will use a great many bookmarks along the way, but this one will always be the first.

A Personal Goal

I am a person of lists. They give me a feeling of control in my life, of intentionality in my decisions. I make lists for my grocery shopping, my every day to-do's, my personal finances, wish lists, and most recently I have decided to make a LIST OF THINGS I WANT TO DO BEFORE I DIE. (The inspiration for this list came from MightyGirl, check it out).

I won't disclose the contents my list at the moment, but I will say that one of the items on that list is: Read 100 Classic Novels.

So naturally, I made a sub-category list of classic books that I want to read. So far there are 63 books on this list and I am needing assistance to fill in the remaining 37. I am very interested to hear what your favourite classic novels are, and I'd love to add them to my reading list. Please comment!

The Horror Part Two: The Disclaimer

The first thing you should know about Vampire-Field-School-of-Hell-2009 is that, well, parts of it were really fun. I know you guys are all looking for a good rant, and you'll certainly get one, however I consider it is only fair to say that there were moments, even hours, that remained miraculously unscathed by the administration's fastidious work at crumbling the foundations of my education. Usually these shining moments occurred when the teachers were either missing or their power was usurped by provincial park workers.

If you would like to read the original post click here.

One more disclaimer: If, by some incredible fluke of the internet, you happen to be a student of NWCC and are reading this, please bear in mind that I am writing an exaggerated rant on some of the lower points of the 2009 "Kitlope" Field School. I originally signed up for this program because every single person I spoke to who had been said that it was an absolutely incredible, life-altering, revelatory experience. Please don't let the rantings of a morbidly over-opinionated blowhard change your mind, because you would undoubtedly miss out on the event of a lifetime. Even having experienced some of the lower moments of NWCC staff that often resulted in a lot of frustration, I have every intention of signing up next year for the Haida Gwaii field school and so should you.

Phew, now that that's over, let's talk some smack!

Just give one of these to Kim Jong-Il

My girlfriend Elizabeth grew up, and still lives, on a farm. When she first told me this I remember feeling kind of bad for her, like, that's too bad you never got to do x-y-z in the big city.

My feelings changed in that regard the first time I went to her farm and met her many nuzzleable and smoochable 'pets'.

Three weeks ago the family golden retriever Missy gave birth to 10 puppies. Yep, count em, 10. So of course when she invited me and a few friends to come over and, ahem, inspect their pedigree, I jumped at the chance.

I may have screamed 'PUPPIIIIIIIIIEEEEES!' and lept into her arms, I don't really remember.