milkring.com

Happy anniversary (and a week late, because I’m a jerk and forgot) to my gorgeous sister, Leslie and her oh-so handsome husband, Nathan. Here’s to many more years of happiness n’ stuff!

French artist Pierre Maraval calls his photo exhibitions ‘‘human landscapes,” each a collection of 1,000 portraits of individuals linked by a common characteristic or shared passion. Athletes, AIDS workers, Internet pioneers, and women from some of the world’s greatest cities are among those whom Maraval has celebrated since he began his project in ‘93. Now he turns his lens on Toronto and the women who enrich the city’s flourishing cultural scene through Toronto’s Mille Femmes. Toronto’s Mille Femmes is a tribute to 1,000 artistic, creative and inspiring women from Toronto and their protégés, who embody the passion and heritage of the city. Architects, actors, dancers, designers, journalists, musicians and others have been chosen in recognition of their achievements and leadership in their field. Joined together, the 1,000 portraits will become a visual network, a chain of recognition that celebrates not only an extraordinary community of women, but also the creative character and diversity of Toronto.

This exhibit can be viewed at BCE Place in Toronto.

If you would pray for my Uncle Bill and family, I would appreciate it. He’s not doing so well, and needs all the good vibes he can get. Thanks.

Decided to be a little proactive this weekend, and created an online shop for my photography! Swing on by, lemme know what you think.

Or buy. You know. You can do that, too.

So, internet. I’m kinda curious to know your thoughts on these top ten rules of dating. You think it rings true, or do you think it’s a load of crap? Check it out:

1. Be a creature unlike any other. Being a creature unlike any other is really an attitude, a sense of confidence and radiance that permeates your being from head to toe. It’s the way you smile (you light up the room), pause in between sentences (you don’t babble on out of nervousness), listen (attentively), look (demurely, never stare), breathe (slowly), stand (straight) and walk (briskly, with your shoulders back) When a relationship doesn’t work out, you brush away a tear so that it doesn’t smudge your makeup and you move on!

2. Show up to parties, dances, and social events even if you do not feel like it. Realize that you may not meet Mr. Right naturally and that you therefore must take social action immediately even if you don’t want to. Get a manicure and go out on another date or to that singles dance — do something to increase your chances of meeting men.

3. It’s a fantasy relationship unless a man asks you out. Don’t waste time on a fantasy relationship. You may have a good rapport with your doctor, lawyer or accountant, and you may find yourself wondering if he is interested in you romantically. How can you know for sure? If he’s never asked you out, then he’s not interested!

4. In an office romance, do not e-mail him back every time he e-mails you unless it is business related. On all nonbusiness e-mails, responding once for every four of his e-mails is a good rule of thumb. Remember, you never know who has access to your e-mail, so keep all romance off the screen and save it for Saturday nights.

5. If you are in a long distance relationship, he must visit you at least three times before you visit him. Remember, the first three visits are really nothing more than three dates… and on the first three dates we don’t have sex with a man or have him stay at our place overnight.

6. When considering whether to use personal ads or other dating services, you should place the ad and let the men respond to you. It goes back to the basic premise of The Rules: Man pursues woman. When writing your ad, remember that every man has a type, a voice or a look he likes. There has to be a spark for him that attracts him to you, something that makes him find you unexplainably special.

7. If he does not call, he isn’t that interested. Period. We know this is hard to accept, but it’s not that he hasn’t called because he’s busy, or because you didn’t smile or talk enough (or did too much). It’s not that he lost your phone number. The bottom line is, if he hasn’t called, he’s not that interested.

8. Close the deal - Rules women do not date men for more than two years. If you’ve followed The Rules, your man probably loves you and wants to marry you. Your problem is not if he marries you, but when! If it’s been more than a year, see less of him and think about dating others. You’ve already spent more than a year waiting for him to propose; do you have another year to wait?

9. Buyer beware - observe his behaviour as to not end up with Mr. Wrong. Love may be blind, but Rules girls are not stupid! How does he act in the relationship? Is he cheap on dates? Is he critical of you? Remember, The Rules are not about marrying the first man you are attracted to who calls you by Wednesday for Saturday night and buys you flowers. It’s about marrying your own personal Mr. Right — a man whom you love and whose character you admire and can live with.

10. Keep doing the Rules even when things are slow. Take care of yourself, take a bubble bath and build up your soul with positive slogans like “I am a beautiful woman. I am enough.” You must learn to accept that, as an adult, you can’t always rely on a friend to do things with you. Even if you don’t meet Mr. Right, going out — whether it’s a restaurant, lecture or party — is a chance to meet new people and practice The Rules.

Now, a part of me is like wow. Some of these kind of ring true. I mean, I’m guilty of doing some of this stuff. The other part of me is like, isn’t this a little biased? I mean, it’s written by chicks. I’m sure they’ve done their research and taken some sort of guy poll on what guys think about all this, but I can’t help but wonder how many of these Ruler Makers have been on dates recently? I mean, seriously? Make him visit you three times before you visit him? Yikes. I dunno, internet. I’m not sure that all guys fall under such blanket statements. I can tell you if I was a dude, and some chick didn’t write me back after two e-mails, I’d think she’d want me to get bent and wasn’t interested. That, and I’m not into games, so. I’d probably write it off. But maybe I’m missing part of the whole intrigue. Hit me up with your thoughts.