Check out my short story in the latest issue of The New Quarterly!
All my loyal munchkins and hombres! I’ve been sitting on this news for months and couldn’t talk about it til now! My latest short story, entitled “The Cipher Hangs,” has been sold and published in the newest issue of The New Quarterly! For those of you outside of the literary world, TNQ is one of Canada’s most prestigious literary magazines, publishing only the finest in prose, poetry, and creative non-fiction (Er…and me). For a frame of reference, I’ve been trying to get published in TNQ since 2005! They’re super hard to crack. So when they bought this piece, I was as giddy as a schoolgirl (and well chuffed).
Here’s a scan of the first page of my short story to whet your appetite.
When the editors contacted me to let me know they had accepted it for publication, they said, “‘Poetic language and intimate details make this a compelling read… a good story…the brutality of trying to have some kind of life in a war zone is well-portrayed…. We are always excited to publish innovative fiction and were especially thrilled with this story.”
Aw, shucks!
Anyway, go online, or to fine bookstores everywhere, and buy the Fall 2012 issue 124 of The New Quarterly!
Lemme know what you fink.
Check out my latest article in YYZ Living Magazine!
Recently I interviewed visual artist Maskull Lasserre, and I sold the interview to YYZ Living Magazine. It’s in their latest summer issue, which you can read in full here. Or if you just want to check out my feature, click the above image to read!
Enjoy!
Read my film review of 2 Days in New York
Click here to read my latest Exclaim film review of 2 Days in New York, starring Julie Delpy and Chris Rock. I really enjoyed it, and think you will too:)
Sorry for not blogging all week, I’ve been in Montreal seeing family (and doing some graff hunting of course!) so expect regular blogging to resume next week!
Happy weekend, hombres.
Check out my film review of To Rome With Love, directed by Woody Allen
I haven’t been much of a film reviewer this year because I was uber busy with other projects (hello finishing my novel!). But I like to freshen up my critiquing skills every now and then. Click here to read my review of To Rome With Love, directed by Woody Allen and featuring an all-star cast (Allen, Alec Baldwin, Penelope Cruz, Jesse Eisenberg, Ellen Page, Roberto Benigni).
Little trivia for you: did you know that Penelope Cruz learned how to speak Italian for her role in Don’t Move? I saw that film when it came out and found it highly leotarded. But hey, she can still rock the tongue!
Film opens today! Enjoy!
The Spadina Monologues gets some lurve from TLAC
TLAC (The Learning Achievement Centre) is a printing and publishing company, and they recently gave The Spadina Monologues some lurve on their official Facebook fan page!
fanks for enjoying this blog guys!
you came for the sass, but you’ll stay for the crass.
speaking of publishing, my novel that i’ve been slaving away at for years is now under the noses of some of the most distinguished publishing houses in north america as we speak. my literary agent submitted my pitch and manuscript a few weeks ago, so now we play the waiting game.
i am so humbled just to be considered.
(aka, i am shitting myself)
i’m not going to name any of the houses just this instant because i think that’s a bit premature (aka i don’t want to jinx it) so i’ll just say that i hope the universe is listening! (and paying out).
if you want to know more about my writing career (and dalliances in infamy), check out my Writing Portfolio, the media coverage i’ve garnered, or my About Me page!
Read my interview with SPUD in The Grid!
I’ve been sitting on this little piece of info for a while now! You know how I’ve been jonesing to interview graffiti artist SPUD for like, eons? Well recently I finally scored an interview with the elusive artist (he turned down The Toronto Star, but he spoke to ME, fank you very much!) and I sold the story and a couple of my photographs to The Grid, one of the best alternative weeklies in the city (they bought a bunch of my photographs once before and published them last Summer).
Click the above image to read my interview with SPUD and his take on being a graff artist in the city of Toronto. Comments are most welcome! Enjoy!
Check out my SPUD category for more of his work that I’ve profiled.
Midnight In Paris
listening last night to people talk about the creation of movies during the Oscars reminded me about my journey in writing my novel, all the years i’ve poured into it, and how this year will be the year that all of that effort pays off ….
More of the Rob Ford Graffiti Gallery
A few months ago, I sold a trove of my graffiti photos to The Grid, and it became known as The Rob Ford Graffiti Gallery. It was a very popular piece, and I am rather proud of it. Turns out The Grid took my photos and turned them into this nifty video. Enjoy!
speaking of Rob Ford graff, this is an old Deadboy piece, but i found it in a new spot recently, and it had some graff-comments on it.
first was Gregory Alan Elliot‘s smiling heart, and then there was the “stop this” which could either refer to Deadboy or to Ford. oh double entendre!
Fassboner in the Top Ten!
It’s too bad that horse wasn’t nominated for an Oscar … what’s its name?…. oh yeah…
Click on the above image to read Exclaim Magazine’s Top 10 Films of 2011. My film review of SHAME made it to #4!
FUCK YEAH FASSBONER.
I wrote a completely new critique of Shame, different from my review originally published back in December … this new review speaks more to the lasting effects of Shame on audiences and why it garnered a spot in the Top 10.
If you’re not feeling clicky, here’s the new review below.
WTF Christine was there?
Last week I attended the YYZ Living Magazine party where they launched their Winter issue. My travel writing article on Machu Picchu appears in the issue, and they also published my accompanying photographs, so I was excited to celebrate the achievement! I blogged previously when the issue hit the shelves, so if you’d like to read my article and gawk at my photos, click here.
Holding it open to my piece (pg 24 hint hint)
Anyway, because it’s a luxury magazine well known for its interest in fashion, the party was held at the posh new Bloke & 4th on King Street West and the attendee list was peppered heavily with glitterati. I’m more of Chuck Taylors & hoodie kind of gal, so I felt a bit out of my depth, but I tried to dress the part. There were so many fashion photographers floating about, so my mug and threads were photographed several times. It was a bit overwhelming. People kept shoving a lens in my face, saying “You look fierce girl! Where’d you get that fascinator? OMG, to die for.”
The top two photographs are by Devic.
This photo is by Jayne Peres.
This photo is by Spiro Mandylor whom I’ve known for a while because we run in the same social media circles, but we’ve never actually met face to face until this night. He put his likeness in the bottom right corner there. You can see next to me I have my two copies of the issue. I purposefully took two so that I have backup copies for my files and writing portfolio.
Writers, here’s one tip from this pro to you, which I think should be self-evident, but you never know: always keep multiple copies of your published work for your files. Things get damaged, things disappear, things age poorly and crumble. And try to scan them all & post online, so you always have a virtual copy handy. Case in point: my online writing portfolio.
When I say I’m a pro, I ain’t kidding.
Anyway, later that evening after the YYZ party, I made my way over to the Mod Club for #HoHoTO, which I attended last year (read my post from that event, scroll down, that was when my blog posts were super long!) and really enjoyed it. Except this year, they sold out tickets before I could get my hands on one. Luckily my friend Kerry came to my rescue, as he had an extra ticket going unused.
Last name Win, first name Epic.
Of course, more photographers bounding about. These next three photos are by Chris Luckhardt.
Kerry had come to my rescue, but he also got rather, shall we say, festive. Look at him photobombing me and Shashena! Makes me snort every time I look at it.
I could say something about this photo, but I think the comments it garnered on Facebook sum it up rather eloquently:
No need for me to say anything.
Happy Holidaze, munchkins!
Mo’ Shame, Mo’ FassBoner
my Shame film review was also published in the Dec/Jan issue of Exclaim!, on the stands now, free across the nation.
mmmmm, Fassbonerrrrrrrrr.
Read my Machu Picchu travel article in YYZ Living Magazine!
Remember when I was asked to write a travel article for YYZ Living Magazine a couple months ago? Well it’s finally been published in their Winter issue!
It’s on the shelves right now, but you can also read it online!
Of course, if you’re like me, you’re too lazy to actually click links and stuff, so I’ve provided the actual article here. Click the below images to enlarge them. I wrote a piece on my epic hike through the jungle along the Inca trail to Machu Picchu. They also published my photos too! I’m not a professional photographer, but EVERY TIME I’ve had a travel article published, they’ve also published my photographs with the article. That would qualify me as professional, n’est-ce pas?
YYZ Living is a really beautiful magazine, it has a high gloss sheen to it, and the pages feel wonderful under your fingers. It’s a luxury publication found in some of the most exceptional hotels and boutiques, and even on airlines. Fly the friendly skies with Chrissy!
(click to enlarge these images)
They included my headshot and bio on the contributors page:)
Read my film review of SHAME starring FASSBONER
Click on the above image to read my film review of Shame, published in Exclaim Magazine. It opens today, and I would highly recommend NOT bringing a date to this film. It is SO not a date movie. However, as my review says, it’s teetering on brilliance. It’s beautiful, sad, provocative, loaded with depravity, and visuals that will leave you speechless. Enjoy!
“he’s kind of tall and a little clumsy”
i took a long drive this weekend up and down Highway 400.
upon returning to Toronto, i wandered slowly along College street, watching the undertow of dusk swallow the sky.
i saw this chalked into a music stand outside a vintage shop brimming with oddities.
i took this photo and ran.
oh, i got a love that keeps me waiting; i’m a lonely boy
i love to run.
as adults, there are very few moments in our lives when we get to jump and play. and running feels like play to me. it’s inhale-deeply-sunshine-gorging-people-watching-music-pumping-rosey-cheekiness-hair-bouncing giddiness.
i love it when i have to yield at red lights and i get to jump around in place to keep my heart-rate up. i love it when a really great song comes up and my footfalls align with the beat, and i start singing along, even though i’m short on breath. i love how everyone on the street responds to runners. they gawk with awe, like they’ve never seen joggers before. i love it when it’s chilly outside and the cold air sharpens my inhalations & reddens my cheeks. i love jogging in my massive Oakland Raiders hoodie that an old boyfriend from high school forgot at my house (and i claimed as asshole-tax).
when i was a little girl growing up in rural Quebec, there was one week when school was shut-down because we were snowed out. the snow was literally higher than our garages. mum and dad still had to go to work, and my sister still had to go to high school, so i was left home alone. mum gave me $2 every day (which was a massive amount in those days) to rent a movie to keep me occupied until she got home. i had to walk a kilometre in those torrid winter conditions to the closest video rental place, and a kilometre back.
it may sound like hell, but i LOVED that week. even as a child, i used to love long, difficult physical activities, despite the freezing temperatures. why? because it gave me time to think.
walking two kilometres roundtrip every day with that $2 bill burning a hole in my pocket (yes i said bill…this was eons before we had the twoonie) was thinking-woman’s mega-heaven. i would craft stories up in my head and then race home to write them. i would make-believe i was a great explorer in an uncharted lands. i would prepare what i would say for future conversations. i would kick the crap out of snowmen along the way. i would think about my life, which was still in its infancy at that point, and ponder with wonderment about all of it. sometimes i would just watch the scenery around me, and wonder about the people scurrying about that small town. who are they? where are they going? will i ever see them again?
running is like a return to that week. i still craft stories up in my head and then race home to write them. i still make-believe, except now i’m running from secret agents and spies from Russia. i still prepare myself for future conversations. i now leave the snowmen alone, but i will splash a few puddles or jump in leaf-piles. and i still think about my life, which has much deeper problems now although i’m better equipped to handle them.
and yes, i still watch people go by, and i still wonder what their lives must be like. and i hope to see them again.
sometimes, we need to stop screaming into the void, and take a quiet, thinking-break.
running is how i navigate through my thoughts.
i guess we all have our thing.
Crash Chrissy Part Two
it’s difficult to know at any time whether the city is laughing or curling up into the fetal position. it swells and heaves and drips with unseasonal brightness, where we’re all spit out like lobsters. but at night, when the stars are masked by smog, it shrinks into a heap of unrestlessness and angst. it’s getting the better of you. it’s telling lies behind your back. it’s dancing with your ex-boyfriend. it thinks those jeans make you look fat.
-Christine Estima, June 11, 2005
William Faulkner once said, “The past is never dead. It’s not even the past.”
As If I Am Not There
Last year at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival, I reviewed the film As If I Am Not There. Click on the above image to read my review.
As I say in the review, after watching it, I wasn’t able to stop thinking about it. That was over a year ago now.
For some reason, the DVD is only available for purchase in Ireland (it’s an Irish film and Irish co-production) and they can’t ship overseas. So recently I downloaded the torrent online.
I can’t stress the magnitude of force this film exacts on your heart. While watching it (and even long after the credits have rolled), you sit there feeling as if someone has just taken a butter knife to your heart, and scraped out the inside until it is left raw, seething, and rigid to the touch.
I feel like I have been through what the character Samira has been through. I have never been brutally assaulted, I have never been interned at a concentration camp, nor have I ever been through a war (although I have been to Bosnia-Herzegovina and other warzones). But this isn’t about the specifics of war, rather about much larger behaviours that affect women.
At any moment we can be the punching bags for aggression, or the object of desires. And we’re struggling to understand the difference.
Watch the film.
every day is guy fawkes day
i’m really glad that social media isn’t my industry.
i don’t know why, but the more people are clenched in its talons, the more it affects their sense of self.
just give me a notebook to write in and street art to ogle, and i’m good.
it began as a mistake
i mentioned the other day that my The Grid article was spotted on a flatscreen tv at a Pizza Pizza location, and now i’ve been sent more photos from other locations.
it’s so weird because i sold those photos months ago, and The Grid is a weekly publication (not monthly or quarterly), so the fact that my particular article is still getting promoted months later…. perhaps it struck a nerve? graffiti will always be a contentious issue, but especially, i suppose, when it’s poking fun at the mayor.
speaking of graff….
found this Super 8 stencil in an alley near Roncies
stencils of cameras have always fascinated me, because they usually denote CCTV and the idea that you are being watched by big brother. but this is a Super 8, which is a handheld camera, the same used to record JFK’s assassination.
fuck instagram.
Like Crazy
Click on the above image to read my Exclaim film review of Like Crazy, starring Anton Yelchin & Felicity Jones, which opens today. I always enjoy a good love story, and now that the season has turned into a colourful and crisp autumn, now more so than ever.
I saw the trailer in the cinemas a few months ago, and was actually really moved just by the trailer, so when my editor offered me this review, I jumped at the chance. I’ve been reflecting a lot lately on some of the love affairs I’ve had in my life, all of which seem to be mirrored in this film. Also, for whatever reason, a large majority of my ex’s have been Eastern European and therefore look redonkulously similar to Yelchin. Go figure.
Watch the trailer below:
L-I-F-E-G-O-E-S-O-N you got more than money & sense my friend, you got heart, and you go in your own way
little chrissy looney-tunes has spent 2011 figuring things out.
i’ve never really had a bad year before. not as an adult, anyway. once my life moved beyond adolescence, life just kept getting better and better. this year, it felt like something was off. i may be a punk rock survivor, but the closest thing to success this year was falling into the spiral of editing my book. to a writer, the truth is usually no big deal, but this year, it was a pendulum.
luckily, september came with montreal, vancouver, and peru blessings.
and then this month, i got the results back from a very scary and painful biopsy…. all clear!
the tail-pipe of this year is finally exhausting breathable air.
turn around, chrissy.
inhale.
and say something.
adding to the Rob Ford graffiti gallery
in august, i sold some of my Rob Ford graffiti photos to The Grid. click on the below image to check that article out.
lately, i’ve been wishing i could add more to the gallery, because there’s no end to rob ford graffiti in this city.
case in point, my latest find:
we can’t afFORD this
the artist’s name appears to be DAH, a name which eluded my google search.
anyone have any information on DAH?
i also found more of those Rob Ford Gravy stickers, which was included in The Grid article.
everything you wanted to know about getting Creative Writing grants but were afraid to ask
as i mentioned last month, the Toronto Arts Council has graciously awarded me with the Level 2 Grant for Writers. if you take a look at my Writing Portfolio (scroll to the bottom), you’ll see that I have been rather fortunate throughout my career when it comes to getting funding and grants to work on my creative writing projects.
i get a lot of questions from new writers, wanting to know how to apply for grants, what the process is, and how to find out about them. back in january, i was an invited panellist on a Writing & Publishing panel at York University (my alma mater). we talked about several different topics related to the professional side of writing, including how to get grants.
when i was asked what kinds of funding and grants i would suggest people seek out and apply for, this was my answer. watch the video below to see me speak for seven minutes at a feverish pace about where to get grants, how to apply, making a case for yourself, and the required hustling therein.
now never ask me about grants again.
