It's a Dramatic Life: Review of Short Film "Teach'er"

“Sometimes you have to take a risk in order to be rewarded.”

So lectures the drama professor to his acting students in the opening scene of Teach’er, a lesson that one of his students will teach him the hard way by the end in a delicious act of revenge.

The Canadian short film is about the politics of competitive student theatre, including everything from sex to blackmail.

Christie Blatchford on Jack Layton's death: Really a Spectacle?

Yesterday, famous Canadian columnist Christie Blatchford wrote an article in the National Post about NDP leader Jack Layton's death that has caused a furor on Twitter and in the comment section of the article.

She argued that the outpouring of remorse was a "spectacle" and questioned the sincerity of many public figures and Canadian citizens who have publicly grieved.

Sit. Love.

My shih poo Poo Pounce likes to sit in my lap like a child. I don't mind.

The Evolution of Anne Hathaway's Musical Career

Here she is performing in Ella Enchanted, a children's movie.



Here she is performing on Conan O'Brien recently.

Piers Morgan Vs. Christine O'Donnell

Christine O'Donnell was just on Piers Morgan Tonight to promote her new book. Piers asked some straightforward questions about her stance on a number of gay rights issues. She skirted them ALL, claiming Piers's probing was irrelevant and that she should just talk about what she wanted to talk about -- as if that's how interviews work.

He said the questions he was asking were on subjects she actually addressed in the book (so highly relevant). She just wanted to talk about her book. He just wanted her to stop saying "It's in the book" and actually say what was in the book.

Kate Plus 8 and Children's Privacy

You may have already heard the glorious news....

Kate Plus 8 has been cancelled.

The show seemed to start the reality show trend of putting children's personal lives on television. You might be asking: what's wrong with that?

Well, for starters, I'd never want my mom to share her vast home video collection of me and my silly antics with the world. I would have probably been okay with that when I was a kid. Because I didn't know any better. These kids are far too young to understand what it means to have your personal life public and so aren't mature enough to make the decision to be on tv or not -- if they were even given the choice.

It has generally become trendy and very acceptable to divulge personal aspects of children's lives thanks to social media, specifically mommy blogging. I have been appalled by the information and photographs people publish on the internet of their children. Tales of diarrhea in public (actually in one Jon and Kate episode, the kids were sick and the cameras followed Kate around as she collected their soiled clothes and linens), pictures of scarred, bloated faces after surgery... I understand that motherhood is tough and social media provides a network to vent and read, but does that trump your child's right to privacy?

What Deters You From Commenting?

An interesting #blogchat on Twitter tonight. The topic was how to get more comments on your blog.

Some said that people are deterred from commenting if comment moderation is enabled. (This means your post will not be published until the author approves it.) Some also said that captchas, or word verifications, the distorted images of warped numbers and letters you have to type out in a field to minimize spam on the site, also deter people from commenting.

These may be deterrents for a number of reasons.

For the first point about comment moderation, some people would rather their comment appear right after they click "Send" to maximize the number of visitors who see it, as your post will probably get its highest volume of traffic soon after it is posted. This means exposure for commenters. Another point is that potential commenters may not like the idea of their comment or others' being screened. These people might feel you will censor them, or reduce the comment discourse to praise, not publishing criticism.

And as for captchas, I think the main, if not only, reason is that they're just such a pain to read. Some people on #blogchat said that many people just can't be bothered with the extra step before their comment is delivered or published.

I've never been deterred by comment moderation or captchas. I want my message read and published no matter what the circumstances are. But as an experiment, I changed my blog settings. I no longer have comment moderation or a captcha enabled. I also entered my email into the comment notification box. And I set the comment section to open in a new window. My previous setting changed the page when people commented. I don't think that's wise because it will mean people will be less likely to go back and look at your other posts. It's more work. I'm not sure why I chose my original setting...

What does deter me from commenting is another sign-in, be it to the particular site or to a comment system like Disqus. I don't want to have to register for anything, or re-enter my username and password or try to remember a username and password to some site I seldom use.

I'm also very deterred by commenting on sites that don't provide a field for my URL. These are called no follow sites. With URL field, it's called Do Follow. Obviously, Do Follow takes visitors to your site if they click on your name after it's published. But Do Follow is also helpful to improve search engine optimization. I will comment anyway if there is something I really want to say. Also, I will occasionally put my URL into the comment field if I'm feeling particularly bold. I don't do that much, though, because  I think it looks a bit spammy. I will link to a particularly post if it's relevant, though, and explain the relevance. I have gotten great traffic through doing that.

I also refuse to visits sites whose owners have asked me personally to visit their blog, in a comment on my blog, in a Tweet, email, etc. If you can't be bothered to use my name, say anything meaningful about work, give any kind of incentive for me to visit your  blog and don't even tell me what your blog is about, than I want nothing to do with you. Traffic and comments must be earned. I'm not part of the blogosphere just to do favours for people. It has to be more meaningful than that.

And I am deterred from commenting again if people don't respond to my comments on their blog, don't visit mine (or others' apparently) -- especially if these people then complain that they don't get any comments! So many want something from nothing.

The blogosphere is a community. It's about building relationships, expanding your knowledge and engaging in meaningful discourse.

What deters you from commenting?

Call for Submissions

Are you looking for more exposure to your text or film? Do you want to build a network of bloggers? Do you want to boost traffic to your websites?

If you answered yes to these questions, email an electronic version of your work and related information to me at aj.ashbee@gmail.com Please include an image of yourself and links to your official website, Twitter account and Facebook Page if applicable. 

A list of possible submissions: novel, short story, non-fiction work, blog, short film, feature length film or documentary.

You can check out my David Sedaris book review and a short film review. 

Disclaimer: I will be completely honest in the review. I make no guarantees that I will write or publish a review, images, film clips or links of what you send me, but by sending me your work, you give me permission to do so. 

Dear Diary

I have been writing in a diary for nearly ten years now. It has become as routine for me to write in a diary as it has to brush my teeth. I have a shelf in my book case full of over twenty diaries I have filled with transcriptions of nights out with friends, descriptions of boring school assignments, moans about menstrual cycles and bowel movements, about boredom and loneliness during illnesses. A catalogue of symptoms.

Some pages are stained from my tears. Some words are obnoxious and illegible from nights drinking. For years I wondered if my diaries would entertain anyone but me. Then I read these great diaries and then I understood the appeal:

The Diary of Anais Nin, Vol. 1: 1931-1934

Anais describes her romances and her sessions with her psychoanalyst -- analyzing herself further in the diary after her sessions. She also analyzes her friends and her relationships with them. 

Anais took her diary almost everywhere with her and wrote in it throughout the day in incredible detail and candour. She was a dedicated diarist for most of her life. I must get my hands on other volumes of her diary.

Hundreds and Thousands: The Journals of Emily Carr

Late in her life, painter Emily Carr wrote several great works of non-fiction. My favourite is this diary (or "Journal") in which she details her insecurities as an artist, her relationships with her animals and other artists. She writes about the natural beauty that inspired so much of her work and her ideas for her paintings. Very wise and emotionally mature, Emily muses on the choices, feelings and actions of the people around her, as well as her own. She also writes about her intimate every day life, her heart trouble and hospital visits.

Emily died of her illness a few years after she stopped writing in her diary. Her writing seemed to fill the void she felt after she was no longer well enough to go outdoors and paint. I highly recommend all of her writing and artwork.


The appeal I referred to is of getting inside someone's head, not of reading gossip about people. A diarist likely explores details most people don't even talk about, at least not in such great detail, let alone write about. 

As a diarist, I can identify with these works from Anais and Emily. We have all felt the need to explore ourselves through writing. I don't write to an imaginary audience, but to myself to figure life out. For me, writing is thinking. Of purging. Of celebrating.

I don't want anyone to read my diaries. Ever. I want them to be burned with me when I'm dead.