Development updates from Westboro, Carlington, Kitchissippi and soutwest Ottawa

Photo from Hobolens courtesy of Flickr
(Creative Commons)

Several posts in the Ottawa blogosphere contain urban development news.  The Westboro Community Association has updated the list on their blog of current projects in the community, while the Carlington Community Association board has decided to oppose a proposal to rezone 1110 Fisher Avenue.  A meeting will be held on Wednesday, April 3, at 7 pm. at the Alexander Community Centre to allow CCA members to discuss the Fisher Avenue proposal.

If you live in Kitchissippi, Councilor Katherine Hobbs has announced on her blog that Fisher Park will undergo major renovations in May.  Bulldog Ottawa, meanwhile, provides an update on the proposed megaproject in southwest Ottawa.

David Reevely of the Ottawa Citizen has posted on his blog figures that show how much it costs the city to provide services inside and outside of the Greenbelt (see chart below, which it taken from Reevely's post).

Finally, Citizens for Safe Cycling have details on a talk on Complete Streets that will take place on March 26 at 5:30 p.m, at 90U Residence Lounge, University of Ottawa, 90 University Private.  The following speakers will be present:

• Ryan Whitney, of the Toronto Centre for Active Transportation, will discuss how a Complete Streets policy can direct Ottawa's planners and engineers to create streets that work for all users;
• Dr. Rosamund Lewis, Associate Medical Officer of Health, Policy and Partnerships, Ottawa Public Health, will discuss the public health benefits of complete streets; and
• Keith Egli, City Councillor and Chair of Ottawa's Transportation Committee, will welcome guests and voice his support for Complete Streets in Ottawa.

You can RSVP at this link.

Blog Review: Gordon Dewis

Photo by Trailmix.Net courtesy of Flickr
(Creative Commons)

I have been following Gordon Dewis' personal blog for awhile now.  A self-described geocacher who lives in Ottawa, his blog contains personal musings on a wide range of subjects, weather information (including space weather) and a good blogroll of interesting local sites.

Recent posts include a happy birthday salute to the late science fiction great Douglas Adams, interesting thoughts on moving our clocks forward, (apparently there is no reliable evidence to prove that daylight saving time results in any energy savings, although there is evidence that accidents increase right after the switch), and reflections on a recent trip to New York City.  My favourite post by him this year, however, is this video of boiling water turning into vapour during a particularly freezing day this winter.  In fact, I liked this video so much I included it in my first ever column on Ottawa bloggers for Apartment 613.

New photo exhibit observes the cosmos through an artistic lense

Photy by Sanjeev Sivarulrasa (copyright)
Milky Way, Lake Superior, 2011

In their calendar of local events Artengine notes that local photography Sanjeev Sivarulrasa has opened his new exhibit Night Light, which is taking place at the Karsh-Masson Gallery at 136 St. Patrick Street and runs until May 5.  The exhibit provides a unique perspective on the cosmos, which is a domain normally controlled by scientists.

“Scientists are the gatekeepers of the sky,” Sivarulrasa told me in a recent phone interview. “(But science) doesn’t tell us much about how we feel about the night sky.”  I interviewed him for a story on his show that I wrote for Apartment 613.

The universe, says Sivarulrasa, cannot be left solely to scientists.  While fully embracing the work of astronomers and astrophysicists, he notes that artists provide a different perspective on the cosmos, and that this fresh insight needs to be explored.

Ottawa is full of wonderful photographers, many of whom I hope to highlight on this blog.  While Sivarulrasa does not have a photo-blog, I wanted to mention his new exhibit as his work is very good.  If you want to know more about his work, you can attend a talk this coming Sunday, March 24, at 2 p.m. at the Karsh-Masson Gallery.  The free talk will elaborate on his photographic technique of observing and imaging the night sky, while also comparing the scientific method of understanding the world with the artistic perspective.

Blog Review: The Sweetest Digs

Photo by Gemma Bonham-Carter (copyright)
Courtesy of thesweetestdigs.com

Gemma Bonham-Carter and her husband Dan love do-it-yourself home renovations. This passion for home design led to the creation of the blog The Sweetest Digs, where you can get numerous tips on how to upgrade your home.  "In late 2009, after visiting over 20 houses and browsing countless real estate listings, we finally found our perfect fit: a 3-bed, 2-bath red brick bungalow with tons of potential," says the blog's bio. "Now we’re transforming that house from super boring to super sweet, one step at a time. Join us DIYers as we gather inspiration, renovate and decorate our home, all on a shoestring budget!

If you browse through the blog’s many posts, you will see dozens of examples on how to spruce up your house or apartment.  From making stenciled curtains, to building a narrow shelf, to assembling a farmhouse table, to installing tiles in your bathroom, to reupholstering chairs, to hanging fabric artwork on your walls, this site is a great resource for those who want to spruce up their digs.

Photo by Gemma Bonham-Carter
Courtesy of thesweetestdigs.com
(copyright)

You don't have to be Martha Stewart to implement these suggestions.  Like assembling Ikea furniture, the instructions on this blog are clear and to the point, so anybody can engage in these fun home renovations.  The design tips are also very inspiring, as they demonstrate how a little imagination can produce a fabulous look inside your home without costing you much (or in some cases any) money.

The blog also has a house tours section with photos of other homes, as well as before and after shots of Gemma's and Dan's pad, where you can see their creative work.  You can also access Gemma's etsy shop where she sells watercolours.  "Back when I was around 8 years old, my grandmother (Audrey) bought me my first set of watercolour paints," writes Gemma. "Ever since that first set of mine, I have loved dedicating time to this hobby."

You can follow Gemma on twitter, Facebook, pinterest and FeedBurner.  As well, congratulations are in order, as Gemma has announced that she and her husband are expecting a baby girl!

New Blogs: Fashion, Interior Design and Home Renovations

Ottawa is commonly mocked as a city with boring taste.  If you ask someone in Toronto or Montreal to describe fashion in the National Capital Region, chances are they may describe a wardrobe straight out of the Dilbert comic strip.  However, after spending a few days searching the Internet for local blogs dedicated to fashion and home interior design/renovations, I have discovered that Canada's capital city is overflowing with style.  Chronicling this creativity is a small army of bloggers who are writing about design, whether with clothes or homes, and then documenting their work in dozens of sites.  In the blogroll to the right I have added more than 40 blogs that cover fashion, interior design and home renovations.  In the coming weeks, I plan to review these blogs for future posts.

Talking about wine, whisky, beer and Irish mojitos - oh my!

Photo by Joanna Rees (copyright)

Mostly wine (but also some whisky)

Wine lovers have been known to be romantics and dreamers.  So it makes sense that Second Ferment is pushing for a special event at the Mayfair Theatre, in which a triple bill of wine-related movies, accompanied by a wine tasting, is shown.  While nothing has been scheduled, the idea has been proposed to the Mayfair, so we will see where things go.

With spring in the air, wine out loud notes that the California Wine Fair is coming to town.  The event takes place on April 5 at the Westin Hotel, 11 Colonel By Drive, from 7:00 to 9:30 pm.  Cost is $70 or $65 for wine club members.

If you are looking for recommendations on whisky, wine and sparkling wine, the blog sip. sit. savour offers a great list of suggestions.  An earlier post has further wine recommendations.

Beer

Barley's Angels is a growing network of chapters from around the world for women who love craft beer.  The first meeting of the Ottawa Chapter is taking place on April 2 at Kichesippi Brewery. (See the bottom of this post from sip. sit. savour. for more details).  The Ottawa Chapter's web site is here, while here is the link to their Facebook group, although you will likely need to log into your FB account first.  If you don't use Facebook you can subscribe to their mailing list.

Irish Mojito

St. Patty's Day has come and gone but the dreams and memories (and hangovers?) live on.  Which is why if you think you will have the luck of the Irish with you on a future day, you should read this post from Martinis for Breakfast about how you can turn the Cuban Mojito into a more Irish-like drink.  I recently reviewed this blog and highly recommend reading it.

Blog Review: David Scrimshaw's Blog

Photo by David Scrimshaw
(Creative Commons)

David Scrimshaw is a lawyer whose blog provides, to quote the banner at the top of his site, "Observations, Brilliant Ideas, Useful Tips, Ottawa Life."  I only stumbled across this site recently, but have thoroughly enjoyed what I have read so far.

David is clearly a funny guy, as is made clear by the picture above which he refers to as a new "sculpture" at Algonquin College.  "I spotted a new sculpture at Algonquin College yesterday on my way to the bus stop after work," he writes in a recent post.  "I believe these three shopping carts of different sizes are making a statement about consumerism and elevated expectations.  I would have taken more photos and studied the sculpture longer, but the 95 came and I had to run."

Other posts include a movie about a squirrel, a positive review of West Park Bowling Centre on Wellington Street West, insightful observations about chip bag hangers, and a photo of a chalk drawing at Lebreton.  There is also a hilarious photo of a "big sale" at the Westboro Superstore, a big supermarket that features prominently in the blog.

I have worked in a cubicle most of my professional life and have had a lot of cubicle neighbours over the years.  My favourite are those that can tell jokes, provide interesting insights, give useful suggestions and make your day at work feel better.  David's blog is the blogging equivalent of a cool cubicle mate.

Music Monday: Silkken Laumann, Roberta Bondar, Zoo Legacy and Concert Listings

Photo by eastscene courtesy of Flickr
(Creative Commons)

The music post that I published last Monday worked fairly well, so in keeping with the growing trend of theme days (e.g. Book Review Friday and Recipe Sunday), today is the first post of Music Monday, when I provide a round-up of local music blogs.  Of course, if their is breaking music-related news during the week or the weekend, I will make sure to have it up before Monday.

New Releases

Matías Muñoz of Ottawa Showbox notes that local synth-pop group Silkken Laumann have released Obvious Water/Yer a Kitten, the third single from their upcoming album Not Forever Enough, which is scheduled to come out this summer. (Note: PhotogMusic and National Capital Rock have posted photos of the Silkken Laumann and Hilotrons concert at Babylon Nightclub on March 15).

In another post, Matias writes about a recent teaser video by Roberta Bondar, shot on location at the Kichissippi Brewery, in advance of the release of their full-length album on March 22.

Spotlight Ottawa, meanwhile, reports that local hip hop-indie rock artists Zoo Legacy have released their second video single from their album City Light Glow.

Concerts / Events

Ottawa Blues This Week has a great calendar of upcoming events in Ottawa and surrounding areas.  The list includes concert listings, announcements of musical events (including a guitar conference at Carleton University in early-May) and suggested radio programs on Ottawa's radio dial.

New Blogs: General Bloggers

Ottawa has a lot of blogs.  I am pretty confident that the number is in the thousands, and wouldn't be surprised if the real number was over 10,000 or even more than 20,000.  To help search through these blogs, the growing blogroll to the right is my attempt to classify local blogs into specific categories.  Sometimes, however, it's not possible to pigeonhole a blog into a specific subject matter. There are numerous blogs written by people who simple want to share their thoughts on a wide range of subjects.  As such, I have decided to create a category on the blogroll called General Bloggers, which contains the blogs of those people who comment on whatever catches their fancy.

Blog Review: ELgiN StreEt iRReguLars

Elgin Street - Photo by tsaiproject courtesy of Flickr
(Creative Commons)

This is a weird little blog.  True to its name, the posts are pretty irregular and the content, to put it mildly, is quirky.  It can also be quite funny, however, if you like your humour with a heavy dose of surrealism.  I discovered this site by accident after being attracted to its name, as I used to live on Elgin Street.  How can I describe my experience reading it?  Well, it felt like a hive of bees blended in syrup with a touch of shoelace and green bowling pins.  Confused?  Get used to that feeling if you are going to read this site.

The most recent post as of today (March 17) links to a City of Ottawa announcement about a series of consultations with the public.  Do not let this sober sounding blurb, however, mislead you, because if you delve a little deeper into the rabbit hole you will come across some pretty weird stuff, mixed with a fair amount of the absurd.

But let's focus on the comedy first: The site has ridiculed Conservative MPs Dean Del Mastro and Rob Anders, shaken its head at construction on Elgin Street, made fun of the passing of the twinkie, dared Disney to sue them, and then engaged in downright weirdness with funny post like this, this and this. Actually, with the last post I had absolutely no idea what they were talking about.

I am really not sure how to describe this site, except to say that it brought back memories of the drunken conversations that I had with my friends in university.  If Salvador Dali lived on Elgin Street and had lunch with a Dada collective at Pancho Villa restaurant, this blog is what they might come up with.

Recipe Sunday: Pi Day, Savoury Cake, Crab Cakes and Moo-Less Chocolate Mousse

Photo by Alex Barth courtesy of Flickr
(Creative Commons)

Looking for some ideas on what to cook this week?  Fret not, as here is the weekly round-up of recipes that have appeared in the local blogosphere.  Given that the purpose of this project is to promote local blogs, I decided this week to include one recipe from every foodie blog with a recent cooking post.

Sybaritica continues its Asian-flavoured suggestions with this recipe for Thai-style pineapple fried rice.

Tea for Two Sisters honoured Pi Day 2013 with a post on different kinds of pie, from spicy meat pie, to shepherd's pie, to apple pie to lemon meringue pie.

Culinarilyinclined celebrated Pi Day on March 14 with a spinach and cheese quiche.

Mon Food Blog offers the culinary bold suggestion of savoury cake with prosciutto, chèvre and pear. "When I posted on Facebook that I was working on this recipe for Mon Food Blog, I got all sorts of reactions," writes blogger Dr. Dan.  "Most of them with a gasp in the middle and a question mark at the end."    The foodie in me, however, is intrigued, and my stomach is pretty curious.

Eaten Up by local blogging extraordinaire Pearl Pirie offers a delicious, if perhaps naughty, dessert suggestion of fruit salad and Disaronno.

Dude, COOK! gives his secret to making crab cakes, while wondering why he doesn't eat more of them.

Double Trouble Kitchen Edition explains how to make moo-less chocolate mousse with avocado, cocoa powder, coconut milk and a few more ingredients.

Kelly from The Gouda Life writes that she underwent a disappointing experience recently, and to calm herself she baked a maple porter and chocolate bundt cake.

Blog Review: Ottawa Horror

Photo by L'Orso Sul Monocicio
courtesy of Flickr (Creative Commons)

Since 2008, Ottawa Horror has been covering the creepy side of the National Capital Region.  Be it a film, TV show, song, work of art, dance event, music concert or freaky gathering, this blog can let you know where and how to find the dark side of our city.  Recent posts include:

• A preview on the film Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein, which is playing at the Mayfair on Sunday at 1 p.m.;
• A round-up of local events, including an announcement for the Ottawa Industrial League, a two day event celebrating Ottawa's industrial scene taking place on April 27 and 28;
• An announcement of a study on female horror fans;
• Preview and review of the Game Summit that took place in February in Gatineau; and
• An interesting post about a course at Carelton University called The Monstrous Feminist: Gender and the Horrific in Popular Culture.

This blog will appeal to a wide range of people, from Goth's and fans of industrial music, to gamers and horror movie buffs, to people interested in fantasy and dark science fiction.  Besides this blog, you can follow Ottawa Horror on twitter and facebook.

Restaurant Reviews: Tea at the Chateau Laurier, Pork Fat, Supply and Demand

The Green Door at 198 Main street
Photo by Peter Blanchard courtesy of Flickr
(Creative Commons)

Kids in the Capital blog recently gave a very positive review of the Prince and Princess Tea at Zoé's Lounge in the Fairmont Chateau Laurier. If you have pre-teen or teenage children, and don't want to put them off by talking about princes, princesses or other fairly tale characters, you can call it High Tea.  With that in mind, the author of the blog post brought her pre-teen daughters and according to the review had an excellent time.

"The decor in both the Chateau Laurier and Zoe’s is beautiful and posh. Just walking into the lobby of the hotel made my girls stand up a bit straighter and carry themselves a bit more grown up," says the review.  "In Zoe’s Lounge, all the staff were extremely attentive, and everything they served was presented so elegantly. Both my girls were amazed."  My spouse also likes to go for tea with her girlfriends from time to time, so this this is not the first time I have heard someone rave about High Tea at the Chateau.

Capital Dining, meanwhile, recommends brunch at Murray Street, located at 110 Murray in the Byward Market, with the following caveat: "We call it brunch. They call it 'That Weekend Thing' at Murray Street, and best to recall its Mission Statement before you waddle over: 'Pork Fat… we put that #%$# in everything!' Indeed they do. Come hungry and come keen, ’cause if you’re looking for cool riffs on the bacon and eggs breakfast and have no interest whatsoever in seeing anything green on the plate, Murray Street delivers with unabashed enthusiasm and no shortage of heft."

Peter Hum, the Ottawa Citizen's food critic and blogger, reviews Da Santino Ristorante at 1491 Merivale Road.  In his story, he writes that: "During three visits, we had mixed reactions to the unfussy, homestyle fare on our plates, finding that some dishes delivered good flavour and value, while others would have made us happier with some tweaking in the kitchen or at the cash register."

Hum's review of  Supply and Demand at 1335 Wellington, which opened up about a month ago, is quite positive.  "[M]any dishes on (Chef) Wall’s compact menu are almost addictively delicious," he writes. "(The) others, while they wow a little less, are still satisfying."  The restaurant's one-page menu is tweaked daily.

Completing things out is Hum's review of 327 Wine Bar at, you guessed it, 327 Somerset Street West, in which he calls the menu straightforward and likeable.

Blog Review: Green Living Ottawa

Photo by Peter George Gordon
(Creative Commons)

Green Living Ottawa was started by Alette Willis in the spring of 2007.  According to the blog's bio, the goal of the site is, "to share information and inspiration on environmentally-friendly living in Ottawa.... The blog celebrates the many ways that people locally are finding to live 'green.'"

Alette moved to Scotland in the fall of 2008, and although she edited the blog for a time from overseas, she eventually handed off managing duties to Denise Deby, who still runs the blog.  The current site contains original posts by Denise, writings by guest bloggers, announcements on green-friendly events ranging from movies to workshops, and links to numerous web sites on gardening and other green-related matters.

The blog covers a wide range of topics.  For instance, a recent post provides information on workshops on urban organic gardening that will take place this coming April at the National Archives building on Wellington Street.  The workshops, which are meant to be useful for both beginning and expert gardeners, will look at planning an organic garden, planting it, harvesting it and managing your garden in the winter.

Another post offered tips on where to buy seeds, while a post in February announced the joint talk by renowned environmentalist David Suzuki and economist Jeff Rubin, which took place on February 26.  Other recent posts include details on the Ottawa Riverkeeper’s Wild and Scenic Film Festival 2013, which occurred in February, a post from January that offered suggestions on how to enjoy winter, and a post from November on the Ottawa Renewable Energy Cooperative (OREC).

Overall I found this blog to be a great source of news on environmentally friendly events and activities in the National Capital Region.  From talks at local universities, to film events, to links on various green-friendly organizations and cooperatives, to gardening tips, this is a wonderful resource for those who want to engage in green living.

You can reach Denise at greenlivingottawa@gmail.com.

Book Review Friday: Poetry and YA Novels

Photo by katerha courtesy of Flickr
(Creative Commons)

Poetry

Rob Mclennan reviews Glossolalia, the new poetry collection by Victoria, B.C.-based writer Marita Dachsel. "Most poems written out of biographical/historical materials are painstakingly dull, doing little to add to what is already known," Mclennan writes on his personal blog. "[B]ut Dachsel manages to bring a life to the material, a fine and sparkling energy."

In a different post on the Above/Ground Press blog, Mclennan announces the publication of new works by Dutch poets Hélène Gelèns and Erik Lindner,

Young Adult Novels

Kathy from A Glass of Wine gives two thumbs up to Mila 2.0 by Debra Driza which was released on March 12.  The 480-page novel is the first volume in a science-fiction thriller series about a teenage girl who discovers that she is an experiment in artificial intelligence.

Kelsey's Cluttered Bookshelf reviews Pretty Girl-13 by Liz Coley, set to be released on March 19.  The book tells the story of Angie Chapman, a thirteen-year-old girl who ventures off to the woods, only to find out when she returns home that three years have passed, leading her to piece together what happened.

Pinwing's Bookshelf has only positive things to say about Audrey, Wait! by Robin Benway, a story about a teenage girl whose life is turned upside down after a former boyfriend writes a song about her that becomes a massive hit.  Finally, Rachel, the new teen blogger at the Ottawa Public Library, has some suggestions on what books to read.

Blog Review: Musician on Skis

Photo by Jo-Ann Holden (copyright)

Ottawa is full of talented photographers.  Since starting to chronicle the local blogosphere earlier this year, I have viewed more than 50 photo-blogs from the National Capital Region, as well as being aware of several others that I plan to visit in the near future.  In the coming weeks and months, I will highlight some of the sites that have really impressed me to help showcase the great talent in the city.

Musician on Skis

The first photo-blog that I would like to talk about is Musician on Skis, which was created by Jo-Ann Holden, a classical pianist.  In an email she tells me that she teaches piano, as well as performing with singers and instrumentalists for recitals, auditions and competitions.  While I have not seen her perform (perhaps that will be the subject of a future music-related post!) I have spent time on her blog,  which contains many gorgeous photographs, taken primarily in Gatineau Park.

Her photos can be classified into three categories: outdoor activities, wildlife and landscapes.  Her sports-related shots capture the movement of athletes in a very natural way, which is not easy to do, as the quick movement of a sporting event is a challenging thing to photograph.

"Years ago I did buy a better camera for the race photos as I was getting mostly shots of air and boots," Jo-Ann writes in an email. "I detest start and finish lines ... and try to find exciting vantage points on the race course.  I take far too many photos and throw out most of them.  It's a labour of love!"

Photo by Jo-Ann Holden
(copyright)

The other category of photographs that she takes is of wildlife, such as the great shot of the owl to your left. (You can see the original shot here). While I highly encourage you to visit her site in order to see the full range of her skill, here are some links to a few photos that I find particularly beautiful: cardinal, squirrel, goldfinch and a deer.

"I wish I were better at it," writes Jo-Ann in her email. "It's a really lucky day to see wildlife. I'm always on the lookout, though, and it does help to go out without without a gaggle of noisy friends."  From my perspective, I think she is being very modest, as I consider her wildlife photos to be excellent.

Photo by Jo-Ann holden (copyright)

The finally category of photographs deal with landscapes.  I particularly loved the photograph on the right, which to me looks like a painting.  I had to shrink this photo in order to make it fit in this review, so its full impact cannot be seen here.  That is why I recommend that you link to the original shot in order to see the photo in its proper splendour.

"Scenery?" writes Jo-Ann in her email, as she contemplates what attracts her to a particular landscape. "I also tend to stick close to home, rarely travel, and visit my favorite haunts over and over, in all types of weather.  I hate midday and often prefer 'bad' weather to perfect sunny days."

What intrigues me about her scenery shots is how they look like works of art.  This shot, for instance, has the feeling of an impressionist painting, while photographs like this are just stunning.  In short, this is an excellent photo-blog that is well worth the visit.

Tour de blogosphere: Hockey Blogs

Photo by Dani Girl from Apartment 613 Flickr group

The following post first appeared on Apartment 613 on March 9.

The National Capital Region loves hockey, so it’s no surprise that the local blogosphere is filled with blog posts about Canada’s national game. While the majority of online chatter focuses on the Ottawa Senators, there are blogs covering the Ottawa 67s, hockey-related humour and hockey stats. There is also an online forum for the Olympiques de Gatineau. So sit back and relax, as this week’s blogging round-up reveals where to get your hockey fix.

Ottawa Senators

Battle of Ontario is a blog where Leafs and Senators fans can yell at each other. OK, that’s not exactly true, as this site is really a discussion forum for both sides of the aisle. If you were to ask me, however, I would tell you that I love yelling at the Leafs … loudly.

Jeremy Milks is the creative force behind Black Aces, a blog that provides solid sports reporting with doses of humour. Jeremy also has this wonderful description of himself: “Starving Writer. Weak slapshot. Strong wrister. Mediocre skater. Champion beer gut.”

The 6th Sens was created and is edited by G. Nichols, with contributions from writers, “Tim, Scott and Swedish correspondent steffeG.” Besides having a great name and sense of humour, (on the front page there is an illustration of Alexandre Daigle in a nurse’s outfit with the words, “I see Daigle people”), it also contains a lot of Sens-related information.

Another blog is Silver Sevens, which is part of the online SB Sports network of web sites. Sens Chirp, meanwhile, started as a small blog by a dedicated fan that grew into a popular site for like-minded Sens fanatics. Other fan blogs include Sens Town, Sens Underground and Welcome To Your Karlsson Years.

Pour une perspective en français, il y a le blogue La Chambre Rouge du journaliste Sylvain St-Laurent du journal Le Droit. For English-language journalism, there is the blog Off The Posts from the Ottawa Sun, Senators Extra from the Ottawa Citizen, and Dean Brown’s blog from Team Radio 1200. My Sens City provides a forum and aggregate for blog posts, articles and news releases on the Senator.

Ottawa 67s and Olympiques du Gatineau

The Ottawa 67s have their own fan blog. While I didn’t find any blogs for the Olympiques de Gatineau, (this web site is not really a blog), I did come across a fan forum.

Hockey Humour / Statistics

Sean McIndoe is an Ottawa-based writer whose articles have appeared in the National Post, and who has written a book based on his hockey humour blog Down Goes Brown.

If you like hockey trivia, then the blog Liam Maguire’s Ultimate Hockey may interest you. According to a posted bio, Liam had stored a vast supply of hockey data by the age of ten. “The crowning glory of his youth took place in 1981,” reads the bio, “when he was invited as a guest on the Hal Anthony Talk Show on CFRA Radio in Ottawa. His destiny was, at that point, assured and he became the unofficial hockey trivia expert.”

Do you know of any other local hockey blogs? Let us know in the comments section below.

Blog Review: Coffee With Julie ,,,

Photo by Joanna Rees (Copyright)

Julie Harrison is a mother of two children who loves to travel.  In fact, when not blogging under the general categories of living and family, she shares her travel stories as the Canadian Editor of the online magazine Road Trips for Families. While her current day job is being a manager of corporate communications in the high-tech sector, her love of writing also sees her work as a freelance travel writer and blogger.

Her site Coffee With Julie ... focusses on the following:

• Living: General life stories, observations and rants;
• Family: Anecdotes from her family life living with her husband and two children;
• Travel: Personal travel tales as well as tips for family and adventure travel; and
• Media: Thoughts on theatre, dance, books, television shows and movies.

Her blog has been recognized on several occasions (see list here) and is an excellent place to visit if you are looking for parenting tips, lifestyle news or travel stories.  The site accepts paid advertising and sponsorships.  Recent posts include a product review for face cream, guests posts from her 10-year-old daughter Stella, Oscar predictions and thoughts on Winterlude.  So sit back, have a cup of Joe and chat with Julie.

Local News: Young at Art 2013, Changes in Hingtonburg and Wellington West

Elgin Street - Photo by Hobolens
(Creative Commons)

Kitchissippi Councillor Katherine Hobbs has a post on her blog about Young at Art 2013, a juried art exhibition that brings the work of young visual artists to local art galleries across Ottawa.  Held since 1996, the program allows young artists to display their work, as well as being eligible for a number of prizes and awards. Selected works will be displayed beginning April 24, 2013.

Childfree provides updates on some business turnover in Hintonburg and Wellington West, along with an accompanying slideshow of photographs.  The Carlington Community Association blog, meanwhile, notes that there are now VRTUCAR stations at 130 Central Park, and several along Wellington, Richmond and Parkdale.  According to the post,  the Ottawa network includes one electric car and hybrid vehicles.

Blog Review: Drives In Circles

Photo by Jared Davidson
(Creative Commons)

This is one of the most interesting and original blogs from a local resident that I have read.  Written by an OC Transpo driver, the blog describes what it's like to be behind the wheel of a city bus.  What struck me about the site, however, is the writing, which comes across more as a collection of literary short stories than a traditional set of musings.  One recent post that particularly caught my eye was on how bus drivers are losing their connection to the city.  In the past, the post explained, drivers would be part of a specific neighbourhood, as they drove the same people day in and day out.  In contrast, today's drivers move from route to route across the city, with the result that drivers have a lot harder time building connections with customers.  Nevertheless, our blogging driver reveals that he still gets Christmas presents from clients.

A different post contained vivid descriptions of driving a bus in a snowstorm, while another explained what it's like to deal with drunks who think that their bank card is their Presto card.  Then there are the thoughts about the last bus strike, which left many transit commuters in the city bitter, including me.  After reading what it's really like to drive a bus, however, I was left with a different impression of city bus drivers.  (I must admit that I was one of the many people in Ottawa who were enraged when the strike took place).

Thanks to this blog I learned about some of the challenges in driving a bus.  Being a bus driver is more than just handling a steering wheel, I now realize, for it also includes a huge customer relations component, from stopping people who are trying to get a free ride, to answering countless questions about directions, to helping the elderly, to handling customers who are drunk and/or high.

One sign of great writing is that it takes you to a place where you normally don't visit and allows you to walk in someone else's shoes.  This blog definitely does that.  With great storytelling and writing it reveals a part of the city that I normally don't see.

Music News: Beau's Mixtape, The Balconies Interview, Choral Composition Contest

Photo by Frederic Sune (copyright)

Spotlight Ottawa reports on the launch of the Beau's Mixtape, which will be released every three months.  The inaugural tape contains 15 tracks, including by Ottawa's own Amos the Transparent, Hollerado and The Balconies.  A recent post from Ottawa Explosion, meanwhile, plays some tracks and an interview with New Swears on CHUO radio.

Ottawa Showbox writes in a recent post that they want to cover more punk, hardcore and metal in the city, hence the recent review of a concert at Club Saw.  A previous post from the site contains an interview with The Balconies.

Moving to more traditional sounds, the Irish Music Ottawa Blog has details on the Atlantic Voices Choral Composition Contest 2013.  Open to all residents of Canada, first prize is $500 and 2nd prize $200 for original choral works by Canadian composers.  Contest entries must be received electronically or postmarked no later than October 31st, 2013, and must must fall into one of the following categories:

• An arrangement of a folksong or set of folksongs from one of the Atlantic Provinces (Newfoundland & Labrador, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, or Prince Edward Island);
• An original choral composition based on a text with an obvious direct connection to Canada's East Coast.  This may include a text by an East Coast writer or a text with Atlantic Canadian subject matter. 

Finally, PhotogMusic has photograph from recent concerts in town, including the "4in1" Ottawa Music Session, The Wilderness of Manitoba & Flying Horses show at Raw Sugar Cafe, and a show by Cold Warps and New Swears.

Blog Review: Sheltered Girl Meets World

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I really like this blog.  Since first discovering it this past fall, I have enjoyed reading the various posts on beer, travel and food-related topics.  Recent posts include:

• A fun "what's in your fridge" photo contest, in which readers sent in photographs of the inside of their refrigerator, with the winner receiving a $25 LCBO gift card;
• A post on Sheltered Girl's beer glass collection;
• Food and beer hot spots in New York City following a long weekend trip to the Big Apple;
• Descriptions of a Beau's beer brunch;
• Highlights from WinterBrewed 2013;
• Tips on making a dulce de leche ice cream beer float; and
• Many other posts ranging from restaurant reviews to brewery tours.

Originally I classified this blog in the foodie section of the blogroll.  After noting all of the beer-related posts, however, I moved it into the Wine and Drinks section, although this site also arguably does not belong there either.  With its great range of beer, food and travel commentary this blog covers many topics to please your senses, so if you like to drink, eat and travel then I would recommend this site.

Literary news: VERSeFest (March 12-17) and Reading at Raw Sugar on March 14

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On her blog Amanda Earl talks about VERSeFest, Ottawa's annual poetry festival that takes place from March 12-17, along with some recommendations on what events to see.  In a separate post, she provides additional tips on poets to watch.

Ottawa poet Rob Mclennan interviews Rachel Lebowitz, a Halifax-based writer who will be reading at Raw Sugar Cafe (692 Somerset Street West) on Thursday, March 14 at 5:30 pm, along with with Sandra Ridley.  Lebowitz is the author of Hannus, a poetic biography of  her great-grandmother Ida Hannus, a Finnish-Canadian suffragist and socialist who lived in Vancouver in the late-19th and 20th-centuries. The book was shortlisted for the 2007 Roderick Haig-Brown Regional BC Book Prize and the Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction.  She is also the author of Cottonopolis, a sequence of prose and found poems about the Industrial Revolution that is set to be released on March 15.

Finally, Meaghan Smith of the blog Feeling a Little Bookish has an interesting post that discusses how books are marketed, and what impact this has on reading habits.

Blog Review: Ottawa Valley Moms

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If you are a parent then you should consider reading Ottawa Valley Moms.  Founded in July 2012, this blog contains, among other things, parenting tips, reflections on motherhood, product reviews, giveaways, recipes, a podcast, events listings, a video show and a book club.  The site is very professional and looks like it has been around for much longer than this past summer.

Recent posts include:

• Thoughts on a Ted talk which encouraged parents to teach their children how to code; 
• Reflections on travelling with one's children;
• Becoming more aware on where our food comes from;
• Fitness tips;
• A guest blogger who disagreed with a popular blog for moms (not Ottawa Valley Moms) which admitted to frequently lying to her kids; and
• A celebration of the birthday of Theodor Seuss Geisel, more commonly known as Dr. Seuss.

This site contains a lot of information and resources.  As a father of a young child, I appreciated the fact that fathers are sometimes featured on the site. For instance, one post that stuck with me was from a guest blogger / divorced father who wrote about how difficult it was to no longer be living with his children.  In short, if you are looking for parenting tips, family-related events or want to learn more about products for children and parents, then this is a good site to visit.

Recipe Sunday: Thai-Style Pork, Risotto, Portuguese Cod, Veal and Cookies

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My Google Reader is well on its way to becoming a full-blown foodie.  After subscribing to dozens of food-related blogs, my inbox is overflowing with recipes. In order to keep up with this large volume of culinary suggestions, I have decided to post a weekly round-up of recipes that have been posted online, with the aim of showcasing the impressive kitchen skills in the Ottawa blogosphere.  Given that I like to cook on weekends, I have chosen to publish this round-up on Sundays. Hope you enjoy!

Meals

Sybaritica explains how to make Thai-Style Pork with Pineapple, while the Gouda Like reveals the secret of cooking a veal scallopini with kalikori, as well as bourbon soaked mandarin vanilla affogato.  For it's part, Mon Food Blog provides a recipe for risotto with sausage borlotti beans and spinach, and Dude, COOK! offers his secret to making a great chicken and waffle breakfast.  Open Mouth, meanwhile, explains how to prepare Portuguese Cod, and Handmade describes the steps for making smashed curried cilantro potatoes.

Baking

If you like to think outside the box when it comes to baking, you can head over to Eaten Up where you will find the culinary bold suggestion of chickpea chocolate chip cookies.  If you are looking for vegan and glut-free treats, culinaryinclined can explain how to make healthier chocolate chip cookies.  For those who like traditional chocolate chip cookies, you can use this recipe from Simply Fresh.

Local News: Update on Proposed Megaproject; Spring Bike Ottawa 2013

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Key Gray of Bulldog Ottawa reports that Rideau-Goulbourn Councillor Scott Moffatt opposes a proposed development in southwest Ottawa estimated to be valued hundreds of millions of dollars.  According to Gray, a development consortium lead by an organization named Walton International is working on developing a 4,000-acre city, which would be located in a parcel of land stretching from the Manotick area to West Carleton and Kanata.  In a separate blog post Gray praises Coun. Moffatt for taking this stand.

In other news, the blog Climate Ottawa notes that the City of Ottawa's roundtable on greeenhouse gases will occur on March 23, from 9 am to 2 pm, at City Hall. The Stittsville Village Association, meanwhile, is putting out the word about a petition calling for a public high school in Stittsville that will be submitted to the Ontario government on March 15.

If you are a cyclist, or are interested in cycling issues, the blog Citizens for Safe Cycling has announced that Spring Bike Ottawa 2013 (dubbed "the Bluesfest of cycling") will take place on March 23.  Speakers include

• Councillor Egli - Chair of Transportation Committee;
• Carleton University Bike Advocacy Group: C.U. Cycling - Tamara Nahal
• City Wide Sports: Cycling Education Programs - Gord MacGregor
• Citizens for Safe Cycling - Simone Rivers
• Ottawa Bicycle Club - Rideau Lakes Tour - Tom Stratton
• Pathway Patrol - Kristina Saunders
• City of Ottawa Bike Update - Zlatko Krstulic, Transportation Planner, Planning and Growth Management Branch, Infrastructure Services and Community Sustainability
• Bells Corners: Cycling in the inner suburbs: Recyclore, bike-taxis, bike-shares and new initiatives - Craig MacAulay
• Safer Roads Ottawa - Rob Wilkinson
• National Capital Commission – Bike initiatives 2013 - Pascale LaLiberté.

Blog Review: Martinis for Breakfast

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If you like to drink cocktails then this blog is for you.  A resident of Ottawa, Jen is a married mother of two who was trained as an epidemiologist in public health. Whenever she's blogging, however, she is the girl with a flask.  According to the site's bio, Martinis for Breakfast started in August 2010 at five in the morning, after numerous friends encouraged her to start a blog.  While freely admitting that she has no formal bartending experience, Jen states that she loves to mix drinks and admires bartending, so she decide to create a site where she could write about cocktails and other musings.

This site was dormant between June 2012 and January 2013.  Luckily for drink-lovers, it came back online in February, which is great news as the writing on this site is excellent.  I found the posts to be funny, witty and informative.  Recent posts include a discussion on the war on vodka (apparently The Wall Street Journal called this iconic Russian/Polish treasure passé in 2009) and guidelines for singing Karaoke.  Earlier posts from the spring of 2012 include thought experiments on what special alcoholic drink you would buy if you came into money, cocktail recipes and how to build a kickass home bar.

Foodie News: Westboro Easter Market, Vanier Street Food, New Eateries on Elgin

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The Westboro Easter Food Market will take place at the Masonic Hall at 430 Churchill at Byron on Saturday, March 23 from 10 am to 3:30 pm.  The market will include over 20 Ottawa-based vendors who will sell such items as chocolate, tea, pork, jams and black garden.  Admission is free but donations will be collected for the Westboro Region Food Bank.

A recent post in Vanier Now talks about the Epicurean Munchie Truck, a new food truck that is coming to Vanier’s Olmstead Street, near Montreal Road, in May.  The truck was one of 18 street food establishments chosen as part of the City of Ottawa's attempt to revitalize the city's street food scene.  Peter G. Bowen, EMT’s lead, tells Vanier Now that the truck plans to offer daily and weekly specials with menu items inspired by health guru Dr. Oz.

If you are looking for something new to buy on your next trip to the grocery story, you may want to consider this post from Capital Dining that raves about Stirling butter, bought at the Herb and Spice on Wellington Street.  Ottawa Rickshaw, meanwhile, writes that Truffle Treasures is the best place in Ottawa to get a hot chocolate.

Peter Hum, the Ottawa Citizen food critic and blooger, reports that chef Michael Radford and sous chef Phil Denny have moved to the Whalebone restaurant. (Both previously worked at the Izakaya Asian Kitchen / Bar).  He also notes that Michael Hay, the chef at Black Lane Cafe, is leaving the Hintonburg eatery to open a restaurant in Prince Edward County.

Ron Eade, the former Ottawa Citizen food critic who still blogs for the newspaper, writes that Chef Warren Sutherland is on schedule to open Slice & Co. at the end of March in a former Second Cup shop on Elgin Street.  The eatery will be a pizza and sandwich shop.  Eade also reports that El Camino restaurant should open at 380 Elgin in early April.

Thanks and Three Cheers for Jared

Photo by Jared Davidson
(Creative Commons)

Jared is one talented guy.  Not only is he an editor for Apartment 613, he is also the creative force behind Jam Jar, a web site dedicated to promoting the literary work of Ottawa residents.  In addition, he is a contributing editor for freeactivities.ca, a site dedicated to promoting free events in Ottawa and several other Canadian cities.  Besides his exceptional writing skills – the boy can really write – he takes photographs.  Jared has kindly agreed to shares his photographic work with this blog, so grazie mille!

Blog Review: Ottawa Dog Blog

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If you are a dog lover then Ottawa Dog Blog is for you.  This site is the place to go to for all things canine, from tips on parks, breeders, stores and shelters, to cute pictures and videos, reviews of dog-related books and news that are related to man's best friend.  Founded by Liz Bradley, a dog owner and married mother of three girls who is also a photographer, this is the ideal online destination for anyone who loves our four-legged friends.

In her blog bio she states the following: "Liz hopes that this blog helps people in Ottawa and beyond to learn more about dogs and their life in Ottawa.  She hopes that the website becomes a resource to people looking for a new family pet from a breeder or a shelter.  If one dog is saved because of this blog, then Liz feels that it’s worth it even to try."  So if you can't help but smile when you see a cute doggie photo, or want to know where to purchase a cool chewing toy or get recommendations for dog-related books, then you now know where to go.

Book Review Friday: The Book Thief, Ernest Hemingway, Mind Games and Poetry

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In order to make it easier for me to track the vast array of blogs that are now on my Google Reader, I will write a weekly round-up for certain categories.  For instance, on Sunday I will introduce a new feature that will focus on recipes published by local bloggers, and which will run every Sunday.  Another category that comes up frequently is books reviews, so starting today I will provide a weekly summary of book reviews that have been written by local bloggers.

Novels and Memoirs

Maria of I Believe in Story highly recommends The Book Thief by Markus Zusak a story narrated by Death and which revolves around Liesel Meminger, a young foster living in Nazi Germany.  She also has great things to say about A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway, the renowned author's classic memoir of his time in Paris in the 1920s.

Donald Ermen, who pens the blog The Bookworm at the Ottawa Sun, writes about Under the Dome by Stephen King, the massive novel that runs over 1,000 pages.  The books tells the story of a small town in the northeast United States that suddenly has a enormous dome placed over it, trapping all of the residents inside.  While noting that he is not sure if this is one of King's better works, he did seem to enjoy it.

I also write book reviews and highly recommend Nancy Richler's latest novel The Imposter Bride, which tells the story of a mysterious European woman who arrives in Montreal from Palestine just after World War Two.  It soon becomes clear that the enigmatic woman is not who she says she is, and when she disappears while her daughter is still a baby the reader is left with a series of questions: Who is this woman? Where did she go? And perhaps most importantly, at least for her daughter Ruth who is now a little girl, why was she abandoned?

Young Adult Novels

Kathy from A Glass of Wine gives readers a heads up about the novel 3:59 by Gretchen McNeil.  The novel centers on a teen named Josie Byrne whose parents are divorcing and who is having trouble with her boyfriend and school.  When it appears that she has hit rock bottom, she starts having dreams about a girl named Jo that occur at the same time 3:59 am.  One morning when she wakes up she looks in the mirror and sees that the reflection is of Jo.  For readers looking for another recommendation, Kathy also notes Tumble & Fall by Alexandra Coutts, which describes an Earth that will soon be destroyed by an oncoming asteroid, with disaster being unavoidable.

Emilie's Book World looks at Mind Games by Kiersten White, a tale of two sisters who are trapped in a school that uses the extraordinary power of its girl students for corporate espionage.  She also discusses Notes from Ghost Town by Kate Ellison, which tells the tale of 16-year-old Olivia Tithe who is visited by the ghost of her first love ... or has she really lost her mind, like her mother, and is not seeing ghosts at all?

Ciara from Lost at Midnight Reviews writes about Light by Michael Grant, the sixth and final book of the Gone series that is set to be released on April 2.  It tells the story of a world in which everyone over the age of fourteen disappeared from the town of Perdido Beach, California, and the fallout from this.

Pingwing's Bookshelf revieww Seraphina by Rachel Hartman, a fantasy novel about the Kingdom of Goredd in which dragons and humans mistrust each other, as well as Paper Valentine by Brenna Yovanoff, which has this synopsis:

The city of Ludlow is gripped by the hottest July on record. The asphalt is melting, the birds are dying, petty crime is on the rise, and someone in Hannah Wagnor’s peaceful suburban community is killing girls.... With the entire city in a panic, Hannah soon finds herself drawn into a world of ghost girls and horrifying secrets. She realizes that only by confronting the Valentine Killer will she be able move on with her life—and it’s up to her to put together the pieces before he strikes again."

Poetry

While I have not found an independent review of this book, Ottawa poet and literary blogger Rob McLennan has announced the publication of his new poetry colleceiton Trace this month.