Have a junior science lover on your holiday shopping list? Here’s how to give them a special treat: Buy a copy of Fox Talk or Fuzzy Forensics from your favourite bookseller Email a copy of the receipt to shop@foxtalk.ca Include ... Read More  

Ann emptied her purse onto the bedspread and poked through the coins. Ninety-seven cents. A Barbie doll cost three dollars. She sighed. “I’ll never earn enough.” Tree branches scraped against the window, and Ann flinched, her pulse jumping. “It’s ... Read More  

It was one of those projects that was on my list for years. Also one of those projects that sounded simple, but turned out to be a bit more complicated in the actual implementation. Read More  

Want more creepy good bloodsucking facts? Check out Bite Into Bloodsuckers by Kari-Lynn Winters and Ishta Mercurio – perfect for the ghoulish 10-year old in your life! Read More  

A lot of us have had a really rough week. A lot of us are wondering what a Trump presidency is going to mean for us, and for our family and friends, and for the world at large. For every ... Read More  

If you were a superhero, what power would you pick? Reading minds? Super speed? How about invisibility? That last one is a good choice. Scientists around the world are already working on ways to make everyday objects – like ... Read More  

In keeping with my longstanding Halloween tradition, I’ve been watching scary movies for a couple weeks. In this context, my definition of scary is fairly broad, including such films as: Cabin in the Woods (the perfect combo of terror ... Read More  

The doctor will see you now. Read More  

I’ve been cleaning out my manuscript files, and came across this little news piece. Since I wrote it in 2011, it’s not quite news anymore. But Google tells me that an additional 30 Canadian bison were added to the ... Read More  

Summer was the bestest time of year. Kaylee loved lying in warm grass, looking for cloud pictures. She loved running through the sprinkler. The ice-cream truck came every day. But the bestest part of summer was going to Grandma’s ... Read More  

I love the new Ghostbusters. I really, really, do. It’s funny, it has great special effects, the casting (including supporting characters) is brilliant. And despite being a fantasy, it’s so authentic, it almost hurts. Academia really is that cutthroat. Female ... Read More  

Wow. When I wrote about my issues with Highlander last weekend, I had no idea that: There is a large Highlander fandom I was about to make it angry. Oops. One member of the fandom turns out to be a ... Read More  

Crafty Sister of the Traveling Chocolate calls me up the other day – SOTC: What’s up for you this week? Me: Not much. But Tech Support is heading to Kalamazoo. SOTC: Kalamazoo… I know that name… Wasn’t the guy ... Read More  

Back spasm results in a lot of hours on the couch with a heating pad, and when my eyeballs get tired of reading, it’s movie time. Tech Support and I tried to watch Highlander (1986), a fantasy about a ... Read More  

Every autumn, monarch butterflies make an amazing journey.  They fly from their summer homes in the northeastern United States all the way to Mexico.  The trip takes two whole months, and it is dangerous.  But if they make it, monarchs ... Read More  

In 2000, I was lucky enough to spend six weeks in various parts of Europe. My travel buddy, now answering to the name “husband,” was confused by the fact that, while I’ve never been religious in a traditional sense, ... Read More  

Is Throwback Thursday still a thing, or am I totally behind the trend (as always)? Either way, here’s another piece pulled from the depths of my hard drive – an essay I wrote about the most embarrassing moment of ... Read More  

It was Science Literacy Week last week, a Canada wide celebration of science and science books. *emerges from whirlwind* *plucks twigs from hair* *empties biscuit crumbs from pockets* *collapses in heap*   I visited one school and three branches ... Read More