January 24th, 2018

Many things are terrible/1000 things we like is back

It probably just proves that I’m a self-absorbed jerk, but I feel a bit self-conscious about the fact that you can’t really tell from any of my social media that I realize that large swathes of the Canadian literature community seem to be self-immolating. If you care what I think–and probably no one does–I do realize. Boy, do I.

I’ve been pretty entrenched in following every new horrifying reveal and all of the ensuing bickering/battling over the details. I’m reeling for my colleagues who have been hurt and were still brave enough to come forward–sometimes more than once–to try to protect those who could be next, or just to get their stories known. I’m so sorry I didn’t know more years ago–though I knew a little. Mainly I have been very very lucky in most of my literary life. So lucky.

If you have no idea what I’m talking about, that’s fine–it’s very depressing. And if you know exactly what I’m talking about and feel I’m not doing it justice, I’m sorry, and I know. I’m just not really equal to this sort of thing, especially when tides and tempers have been so mercurial lately. I’ll be running around the house muttering that I’m really going to tell X what I really think and Mark–who is also upset but more measured–will suggest that that’s not the best path, and then the next morning more of the story will emerge and everything is different and I’m glad I didn’t say anything. That has happened enough times that I think I’m never going to say anything ever again. I’m spending more of my time miserably scrolling through more and more sadness, wondering what to make of any of it.

And yet one must go on–and one must write, in this increasingly fractured and strange environment. Surely it won’t always be this intense, but I can never unknow what I know now and…oh no. So…I do what I can. One thing will be a re-foray back into 1000 things we like, which for the first time in it’s 15 year history, we didn’t come close to finishing in its allotted year. But as has been mentioned in this space, 2017 was a toughie for different reasons. So I’m giving myself a pass on that and myriad other things, and just trying to do more and better in 2018. Here are some of the ways I’ve been trying to buck up, cheer up, or just get up in the morning throughout the maelstrom of awfulness so far this year:

455. The The Toronto Women’s March was on Saturday and it was an inspiration and a motivation and a joy to hear the speakers, chant the chants and walk the walk with so many female-identified humans and our allies for the right to imagine own our future. And added bonus was that my mom marched with me this year, which was really wonderful.

456. Doctors without Borders Canada never ceases to inspire and amaze with what they do. I just called them to iron out a problem with my monthly donations and it made me feel a little better about everything.

457. Cookies! I’ve been bringing them to any friend who seems to need a bit of good cheer of late, because honestly cookie-baking is one of the few concrete skills I have in my arsenal. A lot of people like my baking and even if it turns out the recipient doesn’t, I hope they feel loved that I made them something. Also, I like doing it.

458. WhatsApp–I couldn’t even tell you why, but sometimes it’s really the medium that makes the messages work. Over the past year, I got into WhatsApp groups with both a gang of my university friends and (separately) a gang of my elementary/high school friends. Both groups are delightful! Why WhatsApp, when email threads and Facebook messenger and who knows what else didn’t work for either set? No idea and I don’t care–I’m just so happy to have messages from some of my favourite people, all the time!

459. Ballet classes–they are hard, but I really do like them. Grand battement is my favourite.

460. Giving away my stuff. I said in my new year’s resolution that I was going to sort through my stuff and get rid of what I do not need, but it’s hard when everything has a story or a memory attached. Then there was that awful cold snap and a colleague said her church was running a soup kitchen and they wanted to outfit those who came with warm clothes and blankets if they could get enough donations. I went right home and packed up all my extra scarves and hats and fleece blankets–Mark gave a bunch too. Even if someone did make them for me years ago, I’m sure they wanted them to go to someone who really needed them.

461. A couple fleece blankets for myself.

462. Liking and retweeting/sharing. I haven’t completely disappeared from social media–I still like and share material, even though I’m not generating much myself. I’m not sure how much the so-called “signal boost” helps, but if it does, I’m happy to do it. Also, likes help the writer, or at least that has been my experience for sure–it does feel good and give confidence when you get a bunch of stars or thumbs-ups or hearts. You feel like your message is getting through. So I’m trying to let anyone whose voice resonates with me know that. I think I might have been a little parsimonious with the likes before, just out of thoughtlessness–“I enjoyed that essay/post/photo, what’s next?” I’m trying to do this tiny thing very intentionally.

463. Reading books. I mean, that’s the heart of everything, right? Otherwise, why bother? Currently I’m reading The Making Room Anthology under a fleece blanket, and hoping for better, warmer days.

February 12th, 2017

Long live 1000 things we like

I wondered if 1000 Things We Like 2017 might peter out due to lack of interest, but you guys really rallied–nice work. Here are some things you like:

From Claire

284. Ziploc bags
285. dead leaves

From Paul S

286. Forgetting everything except the present at the pinnacle of a long run.
287. Being incapsulated by music at a perfect concert.
288. Landing safely and smoothly after a turbulent flight.
289. Having your dog sleep on your chest.
290. A significant other massaging your scalp with their fingertips.
291. A pleasant forest trail dappled with mid-afternoon sunlight through the canopy.
292. Kaytranada

From Fred

293. Ginger Tea
294. Hans Rosling (RIP, but check out his Ted Talk)
295. going to the ballet
296. downhill skiing (I just recently rediscovered this)
297. the song “New York Minute” by Don Henley
298. teaspoons
299. cleaning out your purse
300. Contigo travel mugs (quality stuff)
301. Drake’s third mixtape (So Far Gone)
302. Photos taken in 1987
303. Beach holidays
304. Reading Wikipedia articles about Space Travel
305. Paintings of Napoleon
306. Cherry pie

From

February 5th, 2017

Hey, whatever happened to 1000 things we like?

It’s been a while–dark times, but also busy times. Don’t worry, there actually are still things to like. To whit:

From Joe Dague
260. the album Graceland, by Paul Simon

From RR
261. Against Me
262. new sheets
263. watching a cat figure something out
264. when my niece gives me orders: “Becca, come!” “Becca, lie down!”
265. licorice allsorts
266. jam
267. pineapple
268. bees
269. Pokemon Go, even in the cold
270. Evees (the cutest Pokemon, for my money)
271. just a tiny nap on the subway
272. hugging someone wearing a parka–so cuddly!
273. getting home after a long day
274. malls
275. Bellinis
276. the satisfying consistency of chain restaurants
277. meeting new people
278. meeting new cats
279. Brie
280. wondering what a candy labelled in a foreign language will taste like
281. running, briefly
282. watching snow from indoors
283. when a broken thing is fixed

What do you like?

January 11th, 2017

1000 Things We Like: Good night edition

Tonight I don’t particularly need cheering up, as i had a lovely time at the Brockton Reading Series and it’s not even cold in my apartment (or outside of it–I walked home without a hat!) Nevertheless, seeing the list expand and with such great things–both things I like too and those I don’t yet, because it’s nice to be reminded of the possibilities.

From Johnny Pigeau

183. Watching my cat bathe himself

From Zainab

184. Star Trek Voyager (I see Fred already has TNG listed )
185. Jean Luc Picard
186. Warm desserts
187. Ginger
188. Soft kisses
189. Foot massages
190. Catan
191. Tokyo Bar
192. Montreal
193. Baby laughs/giggles
194. Warm blankets
195. Fire pits
196. Dim Sum
197. Home cooked meals
198. Jurassic Park
199. Gingerbread
200. Calculus
201. Snail Mail that is not a bill
202. Notifications that you have a package waiting
203. Deep dish pizza
204. Metal water bottles
205. British TV shows
206. Vacations
207. Dinosaurs
208. Cheese
209. Montreal Bagels
210. Frittata
211. Getting carded now
212. Reunions
213. Ballet slippers
214. Ballet class
215. The Sound of Music
216. Cuddling
217. Historical Romances
218. Not waxing my legs in the winter
219. Hugs
220. Holding hands
221. Lip gloss
222. Red Lipstick
223. Names of paint eg Western Navajo

Julia Zarankin says
224. novels by Marilynne Robinson
225. holding a magnolia warbler in my hand
226. watching a displaying American woodcock
227. eating my mom’s borscht
228. letters in the mail
229. watching the mailman’s truck arrive
230. usable beautiful pottery
231. buying the ideal mug
232. writing letters
233. Chekhov’s Lady with a Lapdog
234. early Woody Allen movies
235. the first cup of coffee of the day
236. binoculars
237. bird t-shirts by Paul Riss
238. Marimekko bags
239. herring
240. cardamom buns
241. dense rye bread
242. the first red-winged blackbird of spring

Frédérique says

242. Almonds
243. Having a very satisfying imaginary conversation in your head
244. Construction paper
245. Icicles
246. Emojis
247. Toddler sneezes
248. Beauty Blenders (they work!)
249. Lesser awards shows (like People’s Choice or Golden Globes)
250. Justin Bieber’s Sorry (Yes, I said it!)
251. Very sharp kitchen knives
252. A hard copy of your local paper
253. The feeling of autonomy and control that driving a car provides
254. Logic puzzles in Tele 7 Jeux magazine
255. Pâté and baguette
256. The shape of the Orangina bottle
257. Lisa Frank stationery
258. A big map of the world
259. Top hats

We are more than one quarter of the way there!! Liking stuff is so easy once you get started!! Keep’em coming, guys!

January 8th, 2017

1000 Things We Like: Cold Sunday Night Edition

Thanks so much for continuing to like things, you guys. The cold, coupled with having to go back to work tomorrow morning, when it will no doubt still be cold, is hell on my morale. So these really cheered me up. Enjoy these likes!

From Frederique Delapree

112. Star Trek: The Next Generation
113. OWL magazine
114. A diverse and well-organised sticker album
115. Calligraphy
116. People with red hair
117. Blue nail polish

From AMT

118. winter clementines
119. dogs snoring
120. the fact that little staplers have appeared multiple times on multiple of these lists
121. sparing amounts of eggnog
123. recycling my christmas tree
124. buying many plane tickets all at once
125. good reviews
126. when people you’ve always liked turn out to also be really successful
127. almond butter
128. right after you’ve vacuumed
129. zipping up very long boots
130. ice skating outside in a new american town and guessing who the other canadian-born skaters are
131. atomic fireball cinnamon candies
132. extra lip balm
133. finding toonies in my american purse(s)
134. very warm socks
135. very warm leg warmers
136. lindy hop
137. watching the dog run in her sleep
138. flavoured coffee (i know.)
139. hugging

From Alison Foster
140. watching people eat ice cream (extra bonus if the person is over 80 years old).
141. The print from my baby’s ear that gets left on my arm from breast-feeding).
142. Ear hair on babies.
143. Listening to a really good song really loudly on repeat for an entire car ride or road trip.
144. Opening up a suitcase that still smells like the last trip you took.
145. Fat cats.
146. Beer.
147. Butter tarts made by my parents.
148. Nice people.
149. Laughing with people.
150. Swimming/floating.
151. Long, hot showers.
152. Sleeping outside in the sun.
153. Learning how to do something.
154. The smell of new clothes.
155. Segue (both in language and the ride-y kind).
156. Segues.
157. Segways.
158. Sleeping.
159. Puns.
160. Online shopping.
161. In-store shopping.
162. Singing/playing music with others.
163. Singing/playing music by myself.
164. Listening to my daughter sing.
165. Sewing.
166. Falling asleep during yoga class.
167. When someone farts during yoga class.
168. Farting during yoga class.
169. Farting in general.
170. Going out for breakfast.
171. Stars.
172. The moon.
173. Science.
174. Math.
175. Art.
176. The relationship between math and art.
177. Making art.
178. Finding things that you’ve lost.
179. Making faces in the mirror.
180. Heated seats.
181. Watching TV with my husband at the end of the day when the kids are asleep.
182. Knowing that there are many more things that I like and that it may take the rest of my life to make a complete list.

January 6th, 2017

1000 Things We Like: into triple digits

Colette Maitland says

78. Chickadees at the bird feeder
79. Multi-coloured Christmas lights
80. Quilts
81. The perfect butter tart

Mark Sampson says

82. My wife
83. New Year’s Eve parties
84. Star Wars nostalgia
85. Donairs
86. The West Wing Weekly Podcast Series
87. Fancy hotel rooms
88. Cask ale
89. Netflix
90. The New Yorker
91. Snow days
92. P.G. Wodehouse novels
93. Homemade biscuits with homemade jam on them.
94. Wine tours
95. Taking a break once I’ve earned it
96. Tweed coats
97. Preprandial cocktails
98. Working with smart people
99. Travelling to new cities and figuring out how to get around

And from me again, just to get us into the triple digits
100. Round numbers
101. The smell of sparklers
102. The smell of babies’ heads
103. Falling asleep on the subway and waking up just at my stop
104. licorice spice tea
105. expensive moisturizers that promise to make me live forever
106. the charity coin collectors where the coin spins around and around
107. seeing I have a new text
108. Gruyere
109. chewing on pens
110. lip balm
111. Weekends

January 5th, 2017

1000 Things We Like 2017: More to like

This is making me so happy–thanks for playing along, Fred, Jill, Kyrielea! And keep the likes coming, everyone!

Frederique Delapree says

34. The struggle required to eat a pomegranate.
35. The song “You can call me Al”
36. Barack Obama
37. Turkey sandwiches
38. Old-fashion glazed Timbits
39. Glitter
40. Tic-tacs
41. Cutting out Snowflakes
42. Fried chicken
43. Paintings by George Bellows
44. Paintings by Edward Hopper
45. The People vs. OJ Simpson miniseries
46. Scrapbooks
47. Magnets
48. Attending a Major League Baseball game on a breezy but sunny May afternoon.
49. Washington, D.C.
50. Bumper stickers
51. Blanket scarves
52. North Face polar fleece jackets
53. Pencil cases
54. Someone else doing the dishes
55. Shoveling snow (when you are dressed for it)
56. The Complete Works of Fifth Harmony
57. White Teeth, the book
58. White Teeth, the enamel-y things in your mouth
59. The TV show Unsolved Mysteries

Jill Hefley says
60. Corn in the summer
61. Weekend crossword puzzles
62. Funny animal videos
63. 90s Rom-Coms
64. Canada
65. House Hunters
66. Robertson Davies

Kyrielea says
67. The smell of someone making you dinner
68. Watching snowfall from a warm home
69. Hot showers
70. When your car can’t make it up an icy hill, until you try driving it in reverse
71. Snow covered forest
72. The level of quiet in a snow covered forest
73. Evening power outages (when you’re ready for it)
74. Pre-making 10 awesome lunches at a time so your work-lunch game is on point, all week
75. Freshly cleaned sheets
76. Happy dogs
77. 0 unopened emails left at the end of the work day

January 2nd, 2017

1000 Things We Like: the fourth thousand

Fred reminded me recently that 2017 marks the 15th year since we did our first 1000 things we like, a list we made in 2002, and then again in 2007, and again in 2012 of things that we like. I can’t find the post that explains the original ethos, so here it is again: I once read a novel, title and author now lost to the mist, that was about adult characters but had two teenage girls in the background. The girls were making a list of 1000 things they liked, and this was thought to be silly and dismissible by the adult characters. But I thought it was great–what a revolutionary act it would be, to work that hard at simply being pleased. And I liked the “we” too–the collaborative act. Fred and I were the spearheads of all three lists so far, but anyone we knew could and did contribute, and we got a lot of great and varied ideas about what is likeable. The exercise itself, as well as the specific liked things, brought a lot of joy, at least to me!

As I’ve mentioned, I wasn’t crazy about 2016 and I’m feeling a lot of trepidation about 2017 as well, so let’s dive right into the good stuff–won’t you play 1000 things we like with us? Here’s how it works–the rules are pretty simple and more for clarity than anything:

a. Send me some things you like–in the comments of this post or subsequent ones, as an email to rebeccabooksATexciteDOTcom, or any of the varied social media I am on. I’ll number the items appropriately and run them on the main blog, and credit you however you like (let me know!)
b. No sneaky negatives–no “when other people DON’T step on my feet” or that sort of thing. It has to be an extant thing that you genuinely enjoy.
c. Don’t worry about going through old lists unless you want to–some things will repeat and that’s fine (we have had “little staplers” several times on multiple lists). And don’t worry about contradicting other likes, either–if someone else has already liked “eating the frosting first” you can still have “saving the frosting for last” as well. Both are likeable, and “we” is a multitudinous thing.

And just to get things kicked off, here’s a few likes from me, which taken together form a summary of how my holidays were, or at least, the highlights:

1. Better news than expected
2. Merengue
3. How driveway salt works, every time
4. Tom Stoppard
5. Record players
6. The tiny brush you use to clean the needle on a record player
7. Billy Galecki
8. Spooning a cat and he actually stays
9. My parents
10. My brother
11. My cats
12. Thai food
13. Waiting patiently at the airport gate with a good book
14. Being picked up at the airport
15. Pink squares (a very sugary type of bake-sale treat, I can’t really explain them)
16. Scrabble
17. Hugs
18. Overheard song
19. When children are pleased I’m paying attention
20. Christmas tree lights
21. Spice racks
22. Balloon animals
23. Dirty jokes (when I get them, anyway)
24. The game “Things”
25. Having zillions of in-laws
26. Olive Garden
27. That Seventies Show
28. Marriage
29. the TTC
30. Holiday cards
31. Old friends
32. The playground next to my building
33. Being home

October 11th, 2012

1000 Things We Like: So Close Now!!

Let’s get started with 10 from the lovely Annie:

831) the smell of freshly cut grass
832) people who string their skates over their shoulders
833) sitting on the floor (RR says: yes!!)
834) bonfires
835) leaving work on time
836) peeling off labels on “school supplies”
837) pouring a fresh cup of coffee or tea
838) sitting with elderly people on benches
839) when you find out a famous person you like is Canadian
840) live music

And 100 (!!) from David:

841) The Internet
842) Semi colons
843) Mashing words together to make new words
844) The German language
845) Microscopic art
846) Electron microscopes
847) Vowels (RR says: Never thought about it before, but actually, yes)
848) SQL database programming language
849) MP3 format
850) The existence of sounds that humans can’t hear
851) The LHC
852) Dopamine
853) Photo bombs
854) External validation
855) Micro Machines
856) Commercial ditty’s that you don’t think much of at the time, but then you catch yourself singing them later on and raise your fist at the sky to curse Capitalism for making you like a song about a fabric wholesaler (RR says….yes)
857) John Stewart
858) Theater chairs that go back exactly the right amount
859) Lake Huron
860) The internal combustion engine
861) Nikola Tesla
862) Tesla Coil
863) Super Mario Brothers 3 (RR says: half my childhood)
864) Brand name facial tissue
865) Honeysuckles
866) Sweet Corn
867) When really smart people appreciate your input (RR says: the best!)
868) Ice cubes shaped into things that are not cubes
869) Space Invaders!
870) Pinball (RR says: I like the Back to the Future one!)
871) Morticia from the original Adam’s Family show
872) People in costumes at comic conventions
873) People who are not at comic conventions but are inexplicably in costumes anyway
874) Musical parody
875) Weird Al Yankovic
876) Hilarious T-shirts
877) The Pixies
878) Internet Memes
879) Pixie sticks
880) JavaScript
881) Cherry Cheesecake
882) Rib festivals
883) When that song you love, but totally forgot about comes up on your playlist
884) Pulled Pork
885) The ability to format e-mails in HTML
886) All-inclusive resorts
887) Fight Club (movie)
888) Dark Dark Dark (RR says: the number matches the thing–weird!)
889) Tire swings
890) Cheap wine/booze that tastes as good as the more expensive stuff
891) When you attempt to pronounce a name you don’t recognize, and find out that you’ve pronounced it perfectly
892) Specialized farm machinery
893) Humming birds
894) Indie music
895) When the total on a bill or receipt is inexplicably a perfectly round dollar value
896) Prime numbers
897) Animaniac re-runs (RR says: so few people realize the greatness!)
898) The Hawaii Five-O theme song
899) Rocks for diving off from
900) An elusive sandbar
901) The unrealistic romantic idealism of Ninjas, Samurai, and Cowboys
902) When dogs sit like human beings
903) The Android convention of naming versions after deserts
904) Reasonably easy to solve jigsaw puzzles
905) FileZilla
906) A waiter/waitress who remembers your name
907) Beach Volleyball
908) When the politician you hate makes a gaff (RR says: smiley face)
909) The Pride Parade
910) The human need to name ships, planets, cars, animals, etc…
911) Centreville
912) A female vocalist accompanied by a cello
913) Drinking songs
914) Bars with over 100 types of beer
915) Excel
916) Cars that count down how many kilometers of gas is left (RR says: that’s a thing now?)
917) Honest mechanics
918) Chuckit brand dog toys
919) Voyager 1 and 2
920) Plane seats with an interactive screen built into the back so you can watch movies/TV
921) Lego
922) Coral Reefs
923) Sharks and Octopuses at a safe distance
924) Hotels made of ice
925) James Bond movies
926) Popcorn at movie theaters
927) Movie previews
928) Free Wi-Fi hotspots
929) Half day Friday workdays
930) Slushies and other frozen convenience store drinks
931) Listening to personal music at work
932) Online news sites
933) Professional hockey
934) Apricot jam
935) Sunflower seeds
936) Futurama
937) Ancient Roman history
938) Hands-free bathroom facilities
939) Pizza delivery
940) Candy-bar flavoured ice cream
941) Home-made gifts from young children

Oh my god, 59 things to go–amazing!!!

October 10th, 2012

1000 Things We Like: Ever Closer

Fred and I have been going through the archives–the 2002 and 2007 1000s, and they are so great. I do not know how to make a Word document available on this blog, but feel free to hit me up if you are curious. What’s interesting is that different people contributed to each of the three lists, and some I am no longer in touch or never actually knew that well–they were just kind list contributors! So some of the stuff on the lists, I’m like…why? But such is the wonder of the world–everything is liked by *someone*. On a sadder note, the 2002 list includes a cat, a dog, and two goldfish all now deceased. Good to be reminded of them, though.

Onwards–back in 2012, we have some contributions from Liz:

812) Shamefully, pumpkin spice lattes from Starbucks (RR says: everyone is obsessed with these lately. I do not like the idea of a pumpkin beverage, but may have to try it….)
813) Having skin tags removed
814) Eight-year-old girls talking about lighting their farts on fire and subsequently burning their houses down

And back to me…

815) Taylor Swift’s Mever Getting Back Together (sorry, cool people!)
816) when something huge happens to someone I really like, and then I see them again and they are exactly the same
817) tuxedo cake
818) when my good news genuinely lights up someone else
819) a surprise ride home in the rain
820) pub curry
821) tiny kitten feet
822) scratching a really itchy spot
823) peanut brittle (anything brittle, really)
824) the way you can roll sideways on a futon that is in couch formation so you are kind of in a gully at the back
825) really shiny hair
826) friend dogs in the elevator
827) “The Variance” by Miranda Hill
828) palindromes
829) rhinestones
830) green gum–particularly the 5 flavour called “Rain,” even though I realize that’s a very dumb name, even for gum

Let’s keep this going, gang–what do you like?