Friday Footnotes

Current time: 5:21 a.m.

Out the window: It's the summer solstice tomorrow, and it looks like we'll be celebrating with the sun and some moderate heat. Perfect.

On the menu: After writing about imperial cookies yesterday, I am having a serious craving. Must get myself to a bakery.

Reading: NW by Zadie Smith. The "NW"of the title is in reference to the postal code for the impoverished neighbourhood in Northwest London that provides the backdrop for the novel. The story follows four main characters who grew up in the same government housing complex and are now trying to make their own way in the world as adults. This isn't an easy read - Smith takes all grammatical and stylistic rules and turns them on their heads. But those who make the effort to dig in and work with the unconventionality of the writing will be rewarded. I'm about 60 pages in and I'm hooked.

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Watching: There are some shows that never get old for me, and Cheers is one of them. I can watch the episodes over and over and still get a laugh out of them. I'd be hard-pressed to say which version I enjoy more - the early years with Diane and Coach, or the later years with Rebecca and Woody - they all crack me up. Maybe that's because they all had Norm's one-liners:

Coach: "How's life, Norm?"
Norm: "Not for the squeamish, Coach." 

Woody: "What's your pleasure, Mr. Peterson?"
Norm: "Boxer shorts and loose shoes. But I'll settle for a beer."

Coach: "What's shakin', Norm?"
Norm: "All four cheeks and a couple of chins, Coach."

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Listening: "Anywhere" by Naomi Wachira. I discovered this song on a new music recommendation list from Bitch Magazine. Since then I've caught myself humming it more than once. It's catchy that way.

Learning:
I started a new practice on Twitter this week - the Word of the Day. In an attempt to solidify my status as a word nerd, I plan to pick up my Canadian Oxford dictionary each day, choose a word that I don't know, and then tweet it, along with its definition. I've only done three so far, and I cheated on one because I already knew it, but here are this week's choices:

• acedia - noun - laziness, sloth, apathy 
  
• bric-a-brac - noun - miscellaneous, often old, ornaments, trinkets, furniture, etc., of no great value
  
• chiffchaff - noun - a small European bird of the warbler family
  

Out and About:

• How and Why to Keep a Commonplace Book
  
• Internet reliance
  
• 12 Amazing Books that Pass the Bechdel Test
• The perils of checking in online for a flight
  
• Why you should stop taking pictures on your phone and learn to draw
  
• Oddly beautiful porcelain art
  
• The struggle of reading
  
• Insane record collections and the people who own them
  
• Watching the World Cup

That's all for this week.

Sarah xoxo