When I say the words "teens" and "mean girls" I know that many of you shudder a little. We all know some. Some of us have been their target. Some of us have been mean girls ourselves. Some of have been on both sides. We see them reflected in movies, tv show and fiction. But are they really as bad and as prevalent as we make them out to be? Have they become an easy and empty archtype?

Take one part Olympic fever, one part the realities of a Canadian winter, one part philanthropy and one part Canadian patriotism all rolled up in red wool and what do you get? Canada's obsession with the Canadian 2010 Olympic mittens.

We all have pet peeves, those things that drive us crazy for no good reason. Most of the time it's just a minor annoyance but when it comes to books they can drive us to distraction or possibly even to the point of throwing a book against the well. (Which I am sure is someone's pet peeve - book abuse!)

The beginning of a new year is a wonderful. It's bright, shiny and full of possibilities. So we dutifully fill it up with hopes and goals. There's just under seven weeks left in 2009 which makes it a good time to check in with your reading goals.

The first Remembrance Day that I remember clearly...I had to have been about 7. It was my first, and only, year in Brownies. I was chosen to walk with the Canadian flag in my town's Remembrance Day ceremony. This meant standing at attention in the cold, marching just ahead of the Veterans, standing with the flag while everyone sat during the church ceremony. Clearly it made an impression on me. In fact, I was stunned when I went to university to find out that Remembrance Day was not observed on campus (it is now).