Great article today in the Journal from Graham Thomson as the world steps forward into the Copenhagen talks. We cannot have any patience for manufactured spin and psudeo-science that seeks to mask itself in the clothing of formal inquiry and scientific method. Thank goodness for sites like www.desmogblog.com and journalists like Thomson willing to lay down the facts.

How many smokers got cancer amidst confusion over the harmfullness of smoking?

How many droughts and climate catastrophes will happen by clouding the collective public psyche and thus delaying calls for action?

It’s scary that there are still folks like Danielle Smith who are keeping an ‘open mind’ about climate change.

Both Canada and the world need real statesmen right now; those willing to make the tough decisions to take us forward. What is the cost of action? I would venture a guess that it will be expensive. But it is not like we have a choice when compared to the cost of inaction.

Graham’s whole article is worth a read. Link below:

One favourite statistic used by deniers is that the earths climate has been cooling, not warming, since 1998. However, the year 1998 was what Monbiot calls a “wild outlier,” where a strong El Nino effect combined with background climate change to create the warmest year on record. While no individual year has been as warm since then, the past decade has been the warmest on record. In fact, eight of the 10 hottest years in the past 160 years have occurred since 2001.Besides confusing people, Climategate has detracted attention from the latest evidence of climate change. A team of 26 scientists has released a new report called The Copenhagen Diagnosis that warns “several important aspects of climate change are occurring at the high end or even beyond the expectations of only a few years ago.”Among the findings:-”both the Greenland and Antarctic ice-sheets are losing mass and contributing to sea level rise at an increasing rate.”-”Arctic sea-ice has melted far beyond the expectations of climate models.”-”Sea level has risen more than five centimetres over the past 15 years, about 80% higher than IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change projections from 2001.”The report concludes “global emissions must peak then decline rapidly within the next five to ten years for the world to have a reasonable chance of avoiding the very worst impacts of climate change.”Even if you were to take the handful of scientists tainted by “Climategate” and banish them to a disintegrating ice floe in the Arctic, the science of climate change wouldnt disappear with them.

via Climategate doesnt change the facts.

Pssst: the slogan/theme for Edmonton’s 2010 Fringe festival is “It’s All Gravy.”

Relevance to a yoga blog? Erm…a lot of people who go to the Fringe also do yoga. OK, so that was a stretch.

As to the significance or origins of this slogan, I haven’t the foggiest. I’m not a gravy fan myself.

The Edmonton Journal has reported that I am coming to see my friend Earl at Eddie’s this weekend.  I’m looking forward to seeing friends new and old, giving them a sneak peek at the new line and sharing some insights and understanding about the clothing they wear every day.

Eddie’s Men’s Wear is located at 5450 Calgary Trail, and I will be there Saturday all day. Come out and say hi!

When Tyson Houseman called his mom to tell her he got the part of Quil Ateara in the upcoming Twilight film “New Moon”, she apparently threw down the phone at the Edmonton hospital where she works and ran down the hallway, screaming with excitement. Houseman’s character is best friends with Jacob Black and is a member of the wolf pack in the series (which is why I decided to photograph him shirtless for the Edmonton Journal feature. There are not many situations outside of Calvin Klein underwear ads where this wouldn’t come off as being gaggy). Houseman said it was his first big role that he auditioned for and he was positive he didn’t get it, especially as the phone was silent for the week following.

His character is introduced in “New Moon”, which will be released this November, and plays prominently in the third film, “Eclipse”, which is being shot in and around Vancouver at the same time.

Viennese philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein once posed a simple but difficult question: “Why can’t I describe the aroma of coffee?”

I think we’d get along, me and Ludwig. Especially over a cup or two of that undescribable liquid.

I’m enjoying a cup as I write this. It’s a nice, light roast made from fairly traded organic beans from El Salvador, to be precise. I’m drinking it black, foregoing my costly espresso machine for my quick and easy Aeropress machine (made by a frisbee company, I kid you not).

St. Albert home roaster Kim Thornton shows Journal photographer Rick MacWilliam his technique.

I woke up this morning to discover my final Edmonton Journal piece from this summer had finally appeared on the front of the City section. It’s a 24-inch feature on home roasting coffee beans, a hobby I started last year and decided to write about at the prodding of another reporter. I gained a bit of a reputation as a coffee geek this summer, looking scornfully at anyone who asked if I wanted a Tim Horton’s double-double. Instead, I brought the funny looking Aeropress and brewed the coffee right at my desk. Mmmm.

The idea to roast my own beans was seeded long ago, when I heard about someone who roasted his own beans using a popcorn popper. A little extreme, I thought. But the concept stayed with me for at least a year. I eventually came to the realization: I’m a bit extreme!

I began reading about home roasting on web forums like coffeegeek.com, where I discovered a whole world of finicky folk who write impassioned apologies about coffee equipment and techniques to improve your daily brew.

I learned that hot air poppers are actually similar to a type of coffee roasting technique known as “fluid bed roasting.” It uses convection (rather than conduction) to get the temperatures over 400 fahrenheit, necessary for an espresso roast. It’s only one of several techniques you might try, but I’m sticking by it until I achieve coffee nirvana. It’s easy and roasts prettily evenly.

I found descriptions of the ‘holy grail‘ of coffee roasting, The Poppery by West Bend. It’s the very hot air popcorn machine owned by my mother during my childhood. I went to the SPCA thrift shop and found one for $4! After a few electrical modifications, I was able to control the temperature of the hot air (Check out this page to see how people modify the machine). I added my own tin chimney (via creamed corn) and a candy thermometer. It’s not pretty, but it works.

Since last fall, I’ve been steadily improving my home roasting technique. My balcony is covered in coffee chaff, I might smell of burning beans, but the coffee’s never been better.

Wittgenstein would be proud.

Application to the Edmonton Journal to help review :

The Beatles: Rock Band

Name:

Debra Ward

Age:

Oh damn do I have to? Fine, 45. I am too young to remember the Beatles and too old for… Actually, I am not too old for anything!

Creative bit:

Never, ever played Rock Band before but courtesy of my “older” husband herein referred to as Hubby #1 we have ALL the Beatles paraphernalia there is including the Beatles version of Trivial Pursuit which I refuse to play ‘cuz I have no clue and thus no chance of winning. “Hey Jude” played at our wedding 22 years ago and sadly most of the guests remembered when they heard it first. (Except me of course ‘cuz I am not that old!) I had a deprived adolescence growing up away from TV, radio, concerts, or video games because “In my Life” I unfortunately grew up in a tropical South Pacific paradise. Having a chance to check out The Beatles: Rock Band would not only satisfy my long suppressed desire to “Get Back” with Hubby#1’s teenage experience but more importantly “When I Get Home” it would allow me to say “Something” about the Beatles.

Off to review The Beatles: Rock Band at the Edmonton Journal at 18:30 this evening (Tuesday, September 08, 2009. Interestingly a friend, Brent Welch, was also selected so tonight is even more of a treat!

That’s what it says on a Whyte Avenue sign I passed nearly every day for three-four years living near Bonnie Doon.

Help ever, Hurt never.

Although I drove by that marquee so often, I never bothered looking into the origin of this pithy little maxim until just now. It’s an expression of Sathya Sai Baba, a south Indian guru whose teachings resemble some vaguely-Hinduish beliefs, with some quasi-Messianic tinges to it. Adherents conduct pooja in front of Baba photos twice a day (though I’m not quite sure what that means).

Regardless of the origin of “Help ever, Hurt never,” I’ve always liked the aphorism since it doesn’t quite make sense in English. Nor is it something you might typically hear from a Whyte Avenue perambulator. It’s unintentional strangeness is what makes it stick out.

All that to say that I have now left the Sathya Sai sign and all of the other Edmonton oddities for other oddities, namely those of the west coast. Now there are some real oddities.

So here with one exception are my final articles of the summer from the Edmonton Journal. I have one last feature on the coffee roasting hobby taking Edmontonian d-i-y coffee freaks by storm, but it hasn’t hit newsstands yet.

Friday, September 4: School buses more than an hour late.

Thursday, September 3: Smile! You’re on Camera.

Wednesday, September 2: Motorcycle theft ring busted.

Tuesday, September 1: Fire victim identified.

Check out my story today on things you might find inside a used book in today’s Edmonton Journal.

Such as the Edmonton Bookstore’s bottle of Cutty Sark pictured below, cut into the pages of a volume on English poetry. Cool and Shawshank-esque. A bit disturbing too.

The idea for this story came to me by chance a few weeks ago when we were asked for some interesting summer reads. I remember talking with a bookstore worker once about antique football (’soccer’) tickets found inside old books. It popped into my mind — what about all the other bookstores?

Have any of you ever found something interesting in a book? I’d be curious.

My own list includes a nearly century-old religious bookmark, a program from a 1950s cruise, and a few plane tickets. My mom found $300 in a box of books headed to goodwill. My sister had forgotten she stashed the money during a move from Ft. McMurray to Calgary. My brother found some high school photo of a woman in a used book and promptly slapped it on his fridge, where it stayed for years.  It always made me laugh to see the smile of a complete stranger as I reached to mooch some food.

Sunday, August 23: Treasures Hidden Between the Covers, A1.

Sunday, August 23: Paralyzed Lawyer Jumps for Charity, A11.

Friday, August 21: Undercover sting snares litterbug, B1.

Thursday, August 20: Two suspects hunted in bank-security scam, B3.

Wednesday, August 19: 2,400 pigs die in Alberta barn fire, A1.

Edmonton Fringe Festival is upon us here in the Capital City and let me tell you what, it is worth every minute of your time and every traffic inconvenience.

In another life I was very much involved with theater which has put me in an excellent position to inform your decision on which shows to check during this years fringe.

Below is just a list of suggestion of shows I think are well worth checking out, if you would like further information or a more “review” type description I recommend checking out Vue’s Fringe reviews or The Edmonton Journal’s reviews. Both are fairly objective although I belive a caveat to my endorsement is needed. All reviews are subjective and all are only one viewing of one performance from one person, so ensure you keep that in mind and try to ignore the personal rave/distaste and look for the plot description and not the opinionated review of the design/acting/writing.

Full disclosure: I have a great many pals who are involved in the majority of shows mention in the below, however as I give you my word these recommendations come from a genuine belief in quality and creative integrity.

Transalta Stage at the Westbury Theater

The Year of Magical Thinking, Pobbie Productions: an adapted screenplay from Joan Didion, so you know it will be entertaining at the very least. Length: 80- minutes. Origin: Edmonton.

The Laugh Shop

The Big Stupid Improv Show, Rapid Fire Theater: improv is a hard thing to do, even if it looks like actors are just making an idiot of themselves on stage for cheap laughs. Ok, so that is what improv is sometimes, however laughs are always good cheap or Crystal. RFT has failed to disappoint this season, and they are local so this little taste will have you itching for their next season to start up, and then you can scratch that itch, scratch it good. Length: 75 minutes. Origin: Edmonton.

The Honeymoon Period is Officially Over, Gemma Wilcox: I worked the front of house for this show on Friday night, full house and nothing but good things heard from those in line. Length: 70 minutes. Place of Origin: Boulder, Colorado USA.

Acacia Hall

Excuse me: This is the TRUTH!, Break the Wall Productions: @Paulatics gives this show some serious love, and you know she knows what she is talking about. Length: 45 minutes. Origin: Edmonton, Alberta

Fringe Cabaret Lounge

El Dorado, Surreal SoReal Theater: I actually went to high school with the writer/director/actor and have been in several productions with him in our younger days. Excellent actor and I believe this is his first self written, self directed, and self acted show so I am keen to see what comes of it. Based out of Edmonton with loads of local talent from this city to support the show, I am genuinely looking forward to seeing this. Length: 70 minutes.

Between Tosha and Boleck, Aether Bag Theater: A two person show written and directed by Bohdan Tarasenko featuring Ukrainian accents. Length 60 minutes. Origin: Edmonton.

NGGRFG, Guy Un-Disguised & Small Brown Package: I got a glowing recommendation from a designer who’s opinion I trust entirely. This creator has a longer track than the combined characters from Trainspotting. Length: 60 minutes. Origin: Edmonton.

Catalyst Theater

Bashir Lazhar, Wishbone: Translated from Evelyne de la Cheneliere by Morwyn Brebner, toured in Munich, Dresden and Innsbruck. Vancouver Sun fell all over themselves for this production and from what I hear the praise is well deserved. “… raw physical impulse and muted desire.” Length: 90 minutes. Origin: Edmonton/Calgary, Alberta.

Old Strathcona Performing Arts Collective (OSPAC)

Edmund, Mur- Man Productions: Three actors I highly respect, including one I have the opportunity to work creatively with, hold this show down. The director and stage manager are incredibly talented and from the rumours, in high demand. The show was named best of Saskatoon Fringe and was sold out here in Edmonton for its opening night. Length: 75 minutes. Origin: Edmonton, Alberta.

Telus Building

Excess Unwanted Growth, Hey Haggard, Take Heed! Productions: Written and Directed by David Owen a well known director throughout Alberta and an excellent professor. I am lucky enough to have had the experience to be in one of his productions, Faustus at the University of Lethbridge, and have seen an excerpt from this play done for a class at the UofL. Itching to see the full piece. FTWL: interesting, thought provoking and sometimes obtuse theater with a genuine creative force that is refreshingly original. Length: 50 minutes. Origin: Calgary/Red Deer, Alberta.

Planet Ze Design Center

Cadaver, Digestion Theater: A troupe of Edmonton Theater students came together to write, produce and stage this show and from what I hear this is some of the best of Edmonton’s up and coming talent. Length:60 minutes. Origin: Edmonton, Alberta.

BYOV’s (Bring Your Own Venue)

This experiment in found theater space has changed the face of Fringe in the last few years. The idea of putting a production together in a custom found space, a space beyond a traditional stage forces both the actors and the director to interact in an environment alien to the traditional form that theater takes.

Avenue Theater: RAUNCH: The Rise of the Female Chauvinist Pigs!

La Cite Francophone: Reunion Tour, George Orwell is Not My Real Name, Pinters Breif’s

Strathcona Public Library: The Pumpkin Pie Show, Filling in Our Bones

Varscona Theater: LoveHateKill, Die-Nasty

I was talking to my bro-in-law last night about Vancouver and the assorted Islands. He figured there was nowhere like Tofino. You can stand on the beach looking west and contemplate that the next piece of land is Japan.

“Japan?,” I asked. “Wouldn’t it be Russia?”

I went to Google Maps, the source of knowledge for all things geographic, to settle the issue.

Well, due west of Tofino is something in between Russia and Japan.

But check out direction #25!

This week’s articles in the Edmonton Journal:

Saturday, August 15: Jamaican cadets march to new drummer, A15.

Tuesday, August 11: City doctor charged with molesting children, A3.

Monday, August 10: Homeowner suspected of arson; Son comes home to find house ablaze, A5.

Sunday, August 9: Aerosmith Concert Postponed, B5.

I call today’s post that because that’s how I feel.

(Plus it’s the title of a book I’ve never read by an author I find interesting, so it naturally popped into my head.)

I feel truly lucky to be getting paid to write stories this summer at the Edmonton Journal. And not just any stories, but things thousands of people read and scrutinize. And not just in any time and place, but in one of the most difficult economic climates for journalists and in a truly interesting city.

Journal writer Jamie Hall often says we have one of the best jobs in the world.

One of the great pleasures of this summer has been to work with truly amazing people who do very important work. I’m lucky enough to get to bounce stuff off of them and learn from them. I’m also amazed and hopeful when I see how some of my fellow reporters bring scrutiny to their respective fields.

Whether it’s the usual stunts pulled by Alberta Health or just the government in general, the real-life drama and dreariness of the courtroom, the environment beat, or the weird and wonderful world of Edmonton crime, these folks do amazing work.

I was especially impressed by David Staples’ 31-piece serialized work, “Web of Lies,” (here’s part one of 31!) on the Mayerthorpe RCMP tragedy and the subsequent sting to pull down Dennis Cheeseman and Shawn Hennessey. Better than fiction, handled with care, and raises all kinds of questions about what goes into murder.

Perhaps my favourite piece this summer has been Jodie Sinnema’s Father’s Day edition of “In their own words” which tells the story of how she lost her father at sea. It took real courage and vulnerability to write this piece. I’ve been fortunate enough to sit across from Jodie and see how she works hard to tell the crucial stories of the health care beat.

Like I say, I’m a lucky guy.

RCMP

I’m talking 49th parallel, don’t cha know.  Better known as the great white north…. Canada, eh!

I’ll be off line riding for several days and comments will be delayed as I schlep the Harley toward Calgary, you hoser.   I’ve socked some away for a brewski and traffic fines as we try and navigate speeds (1 MPH = 1.61 KPH) and the unusual road rules!  For example did you know it’s illegal to take photos of the RCMP?  One of those interesting “learning’s” from my trip in ‘05 while cruising the Jasper Range on “Barney” the ‘ol Metallic Violet Fatboy.

Our group was pulled over for passing two RV’s who were traveling on the shoulder of the road, up a hill, spewing clouds of diesel smoke and trying to make 30km/h in a 80km/h zone.  Sure our tires crossed over the double yellow!  It was by design as we wanted to give the RV’s plenty of space and there was no on-coming traffic…except way off in the distance a RCMP mounty… who with keen eyes noted our infraction and performed a perfectly executed Starsky & Hutch 4-tire screeching U-turn… as if we were Canada’s Most Wanted.

Adding more insult, the Rodney Rude hoser was insensitive to us foreigners and most dismissive of any explanation.  It was as if simply taking a ride on a too-sunny day meant we had to prove that we were entitled to any civil rights!  Yeah, the RCMP “acted stupidly” and it was a clear case of motorcycle profiling, but we didn’t have the Canadian supreme commander shine a spotlight on the incident!  In fact, the mounty never once smiled which explains the rise in public complaints.

We took our tickets and white working-class motorcycles and motored on, but I was thinking, how appropriate is that Canadian colloquialism of “Harsh my Mellow”… eh!

Look for posts about this trip in about a week… ride safe.

RCMP photo courtesy Edmonton Journal. No disrespect implied or intended with use of CANspeak.

All Rights Reserved © Northwest Harley Blog

Warren Moon was quarterback for the Edmonton Eskimos and won five straight Grey Cups before heading to the NFL, where he played for 17 years. He has written a memoir, Never Give Up on Your Dream and was at the brand-spanking new Indigo in Edmonton on Sunday signing books for a very appreciative, very large crowd of fans. There was great press coverage, including a Maclean’s interview, as well as interviews in all major Edmonton papers:

Maclean’s (http://www2.macleans.ca/2009/07/23/macleans-interview-warren-moon/#)

Edmonton Journal

Edmonton Examiner

CANOE — SLAM! Sports – CFL – Edmonton: Boyhood dream came true for Moon

Published by Da Capo Press

I was reading an article in the Edmonton Journal yesterday and I couldn’t help but smile. The story was about how the Vancouver Opera is using its blog to make the opera “more accessible to people, educate them, increase awareness and make connections“. Wow! If the opera, renown for their tradition and history can turn to social media to spread the word, what’s stopping other industries? I know… that may be a bit too trivial, but you really have to hand it to the Vancouver Opera for enhancing their traditional marketing and communications vehicles with social media.

The Vancouver Opera also uses Twitter to pass along exclusive offers to their followers; another great idea. Kudos to Ling Chan, the individual at the Opera that is responsible for these initiatives; she deserves much credit for her outside-of-the-box thinking. The Vancouver Opera also deserves a tremendous amount of credit for trying something new and, some may say, risky. This case is yet another example of how social media is helping build strong brands and create dialogue with new and existing audiences.

Check out the article.

And here’s another example of the Vancouver Opera’s social media tactics in action:

Enjoy!

By gum, it’s been a while.

My odometer’s been on the rise lately, as I’ve been scurrying back and forth between Calgary and Edmonton during weekends for the past month. No chance to breathe, let alone write anything on my blog.

For the next week and a half, I will be one of two official Capital Ex reporters for the Edmonton Journal, which means I’ll be gobbling down ‘those little donuts’ while chatting up carny folk. Good times.

Incidentally, the best thing I saw at Thursday’s Capital Ex parade was a four-door 1982 Delta 88 Oldsmobile riding by among other classic cars. My very first car, an enormous boat of a machine! Reminds me of the Fred Eaglesmith song, “Mighty Big Car”:

28 feet from bumper to bumper
The last of the sweet old time gas guzzlers
Hard to drive, harder to park,
And when you go by, somebody remarks.
'That's a mighty big car...'

I went down to the grounds last night to catch K-Os performing at the opening night of the festivities. Great show.

Friday, July 17: Parade gets Capital Ex party rolling, B1.

Thursday, July 16: Don’t be a day early for fair, B4.

Thursday, July 16: Railway society stays on right track, B1.

Wednesday, July 15: Capital Ex parade will salute Edmonton troops, B1.

Tuesday, July 14: RCMP recognizes man’s bravery, A12.

Monday, July 13: Sylvan Lake crashes kill two people, A6.

Saturday, July 11: Block party a sure way to build community, A16.

Friday, July 10: Derby girls ‘don’t know if the sucker will float’, B1.

I just read Todd Babiak’s recent column on the turning tide of the Edmonton City Centre Airport debate and how a group of largely young (younger, anyhow) upstarts became engaged, involved, and subsequently lobbied to ensure that their desired outcome was achieved, namely the eventual closer of YXD.

In his piece, Babiak makes these rather bold statements:

“What happened this week was a masters class in the present and future of political organization. [...] [I]t must have been devastating for the city’s most powerful men and women to watch a group of virtually connected — but politically unconnected — young people creating and controlling public debate with speed, elegance and respect.”

I’m somewhat skeptical of the statement, in spite of having been engaged and involved in the debate, going so far as to e-mail my city council reps Jane Batty and Ben Henderson about the issue. However, the more I started thinking about it, the more it occurred to me I’m too entrenched in the issue, too much a part of the whole story, to really take a long view of whether or not this is truly a significant shift in the way discourse is performed, and the way changed is achieved. I will endeavour to take the long view anyhow.

Whenever I read a politician state, as Mayor Stephen Mandel did in Babiak’s story, “I think we’re seeing a dramatic change in politics. Those traditional ways of lobbying, of getting the word out, that same old cast of characters, don’t mean as much,” I kind of shake my head. How many times has this been uttered about emerging technology? And how many of those technologies wind up being flashes in the pan?

But then it occurred to me: this pan has been flashing brightly and for a long time. We saw it with Bill 44, a debate which will continue thanks in no small part to sensible Edmonton-Whitemud Tories, we saw it on a global scale with Iran (particularly when the US State Department apparently asked Twitter to keep the servers running for a little while after their scheduled maintenance window to ensure Iranians had a place to congregate and broadcast online), and we saw it with the City Centre Airport debate and decision.

What does everyone else think? Is Babiak’s piece prophetic or over-the-top?

Given what I’ve seen on Twitter since I signed up almost a year ago, and indeed on other social media platforms, I’m leaning heavily toward the former. I’ve witnessed increased engagement outside of political party lines with organizations across the city like NextGen and Better Edmonton. Blogging, tweeting, using Facebook… Individuals like Mack Male and Jordan Schroder have this as down to a science as anyone else, and they use these media very effectively and organically. Effectively for obvious reasons (how many among you who emailed your councillors would have done so on other issues?). Organically because the two (and a group of other concerned individuals) came forward and joined forces — if only loosely — to champion a common cause. The “coordination” — such as it was — required to run this campaign wasn’t possible even ten year ago, at least not with this level of ease.

Moreover, the very nature of the web as a public arena gives visibility to all sides of an issue, and forces each side to respond to the other with clear arguments and examples of their perspective. It forces people to be civil and considerate, even if only a little bit. It engages people and demands that they defend their perspectives, or at least better explain them.

To me, the YXD closure debate, emotional though it was for both sides, is a shining example to local, provincial and especially federal politicians for how they should behave. And we have people like Mack Male, David MacLean, and Jordan Schroder to thank for that. But more importantly, it represents a new method of engagement, of organization, and way to change things.

Another week goes by, Michael Jackson dies, yada yada yada.

My abbreviated week at the Edmonton Journal included my first back-to-back A1 stories, astonishing since I thought Jacko’s death would surely trump anything else. It goes to show how papers are now purveyors of local content rather than international breaking news. How else could a giant dragonfly statue trump the biggest pop music death since Kurt Cobain?

Strangely enough, my site has been receiving thousands of hits since my post, “What Happened?: Paul Williams’s take on Bob Dylan’s ‘born-again’ period” wound up as a link on Expectingrain.com (not expectin’ grain, but expecting rain, by the way), a premier Bob Dylan fansite. Strange thing that interweb, I wrote the post last September!

Friday, June 26: Dragonfly designed to get tourists buzzing, A1. (Calgary Herald, July 1, B7)

Thursday, June 25: Stolen laptops a ‘warning,’ A1 (Calgary Herald, A9).

Wednesday, June 24: Lock it or lose it, police warn, B2.

… or technically my fifth week, if you add onto the three weeks I did during the Winter Break. (:

Articles I wrote for the week of June 8th – 12th:

• Partiers liable for hefty fines, June 9 09, A1
• Rec centre a boost to McCauley, June 11 09, B2
• Huggable Hero walks and talks the road to a cure, June 13 09, A17
• If mothers use drugs, open dialogue helps keep teens clean, June 13 09. A14
• Owen Schlosser’s death spurs friends, family to live better lives, June 18 09. B3

So I found that the stories I did for the week of June 8th-12th inspired/affected me in different ways.

The story I did about the city recognizing volunteer drivers made me want to volunteer my time more. The story I did about Sylvan Lake’s partiers, made me want to go to Sylvan Lake sometime this summer (and party responsibly, or else be fined, ha ha). The story I did about the new recreation centre encouraged me to stay fit and active. The story I did about the drug research reminded me that, hey I probably shouldn’t do drugs and I’m also glad my mom doesn’t too.. The story I did about the Huggable Hero, Connor Hibbard, reminded me that KIDS CAN BE AMAZING AND INSPIRING INDIVIDUALS!!!! And the story I did about Owen Schlosser made me realize life is short, and you really don’t know what’s going to happen so you really SHOULD live every day to your fullest. Be happy, be healthy, and love your friends and family.

I’m really glad I got an opportunity, especially, to do the story about Owen Schlosser and his family. It was a first experience for me, speaking to a family where a family member has just died. I felt that it was a really important story and I feel honoured really, to have met and spoken to Owen’s friends, brothers, and sisters, and I spent a lot of time making sure the article was just right before filing it.

I received kind and encouraging words from the assistant editor and the breaking news editor, who were both my supervisors for the duration of my internship. We also discussed how probably the splitting-up of the five week internship from winter break and post-semester, probably wasn’t the best idea. I was kind of the guinea pig in terms of that little split-internship experiment. I suggested that in the future, definitely offer the three weeks to a student because that is great experience for sure, but have it be separate from the five weeks at the end of the semester, because I found that my last two weeks literally just flew by. I was there and then it was over. While the three weeks during winter, I had been improving and progressing and momentum was being had, until the winter break ended and it was back to school and the momentum was lost.

All in all, it was a great internship, both this leg of it, and the prior winter break portion, and just overall. I learned a lot. I made a lot of contacts and reporter friends and acquaintances. I feel I became a better writer, and more professional. And I got some great clips to add to my portfolio and overall experience. If I didn’t have summer plans, I would have asked if I could stay longer, honestly.

Now I need to work on .pdf-ing my articles (both from this end of the internship and the winter break end), because I just checked the links from the winter break portion of my internship and all the links don’t work anymore!

Linda (:

Dryness and heat were the themes of the week at the Edmonton Journal.

On Sunday, I went out to an industrial fire near Refinery Row at a paper recycling/shingle plant. Wasn’t much of a story when I went: only giant bales of paper and cardboard were on fire, nowhere near any buildings, and firetrucks were doing the “surround and drown” thing.

It only became a story later because the fire just wouldn’t go out. It smouldered until some time Monday morning. I kind of wished it had been more of a story (at least from a writing perspective). The recycling plant had all these old discarded books on the ground. It was a cool detail. I was surrounded by firetrucks and big flames, and books like “How to Write Without Pain” and ”Civil Elegies” were strewn on the ground.

My biggest story of the week was the drought story in Camrose (with Alex Zabjek), which made the front page on Thursday. You’ve got to feel for all the farmers and ranchers in eastern Alberta through to Saskatoon. There are more dandelions than canola out there - the former being resilient invaders while the latter is delicate and dying. Basically, most of what’s growing out there (barley, hay, canola) will end up as feed for the cattle. Everybody kept saying “it’s worse than 2002,” the year which wiped out many ranchers.

I like talking to farmers. Many of them have a sort of pithy way of talking: lots of humour and meaning behind very few words. I really respect that choice of lifestyle - your livelihood is tied so directly to the land, and many years it’s either all or nothing. Other times, the margins are extremely close.

And as one guy pointed out to me, we take food for granted… just go to the store and don’t think twice about what goes into milk or bread.

Thursday, June 18: County declares drought disaster, A1.

Wednesday, June 17: New firefighting recruits make grade, B3.

Tuesday, June 16: Belgravia residents fear traffic boost, B3.

Sunday, June 14: They march to remember their stolen sisters, A6.

June 7 2009.

… well technically the fourth week if you consider this to be an add-on to the first three weeks that I interned there during the winter break.

Here are the articles I wrote that were published last week:

• Food bank demands soars, June 3 2009, B1
• U of A students revved up, ready to go for car competition, June 5 2009, B1
• City honours ‘Driving Angels’ who help seniors, June 6 2009, B3

The stories got pretty good play in the paper, front page of the City section for two days, second page for the other day. Happiness!

I also worked on/interviewed a nine-year-old boy with diabetes who is in the running for a national contest. That story was supposed to run this past Saturday but there were layout/internal issues that went on that pushed back the story until this coming Saturday. I’m re-interviewing the boy and his mother later this week so I can tweak the story so it’s a bit more timely.

Overall the week went by very quickly. It was interesting to note the differences and similairities between last time I was here during the winter break and now. For instance, when I get out at 5 p.m. now, the sun is still shining and there feels like there’s still lots of time left in the day. This compared to the winter time’s dark skies, frigid air and snow I experienced at 5 p.m. each day last time. Also new this time, I’ve barely used my recorder at all! Most of the telephone interviews I do now, I just rest the phone on my left shoulder and type up what the person is saying. This saves a lot of time, and actually feels a lot more free-ing than when I depended on the recorder use. I think I’ve gotten a lot more comfortable just picking up the phone and calling out to sources as well. Another new thing this time ’round, the use of Twitter! I had had a Twitter account during the winter but I didn’t use it at all and neither did the majority of #yeg — Edmonton. Now, Edmonton is on Twitter like crazy and surprisingly the old computers here can actually access Twitter and allow me to tweet. This leading into something that hasn’t changed since last time… the old computers. They are still here and if possible I got an even worse one than before. Aside from the fact that Gmail, Facebook, and most websites on the interweb are inaccessible with Internet Explorer 5.1 for Mac (these Macs are Mac OS 9.2 btw. OLD!), this computer’s screen starts off normally coloured on the left hand side but as your eyes move from the left to the right of the screen, the color turns from white to yellow. It’s quite awful and hard on the eyes and I find myself blinking multiple times throughout the day in an attempt to avoid serious eye damage. Most of the people who share cubicle space with me are in the process of getting new computers but I won’t be getting one as I’ve only got one week left here.

That segways nicely into the fact that I’m only here for two short weeks. What does that mean? Well, the four full-time summer interns who are going to be working here for four months, all get to do some pretty cool stuff. For instance, they all have rotations for training in the cop room, something I don’t get a chance to do because, again, I’m only here for another week. They also get tours to city hall, the court house, and the Legislature. They also get assigned “mentors,” senior reporters who will go over some of their stories with them and advise them on what they could do better and you know, help mold them into becoming better journalists. And of course, they all get to switch to nice computers. Though to be fair, I have already taken tours to city hall, the courthouse, and the Legislature. One of the upsides of doing my journalism education at MacEwan. Speaking of interns, I’ve made friends with one from Ontario – Sneh Duggal. We share a wall and we also started sharing food! Sunchips, grapes, strawberries and chips, that kind of thing. She’s never been to Edmonton before getting the internship at the Journal so I offered to show her the sights or hang out if she ever wanted to.

Other things to note… I’m real good at managing my time this time around. Where I found last time I would finish things way too quickly and find myself bored with nothing to do, now I make sure I specify what time I’m going to do something, how long that should take me, what time that should take me to, etc, etc. That kind of thing, which ends up keeping me (fairly) busy until the end of the day. Again, I personally need to state that it doesn’t take me an entire day to finish a story. At all. I can do interviews and pump out articles very quickly if need be… I just choose to stretch it out over a longer period of time because if I didn’t, I’d end up sitting with nothing to work on. And I know, if an editor or someone was reading this, they’d be like ‘well in that case, you should be coming up with your own story ideas and working on that!’, and the fact of the matter is I still suck at story ideas and it’s kind of defeating when everything you would pitch, is already well-known to the rest of the newsroom and someone is already likely covering it. Lol. I like walking into the newsroom in the morning and getting a brand new assignment/new topic of the day to research and write about and will for sure end up in the next day’s paper. I don’t enjoy pitching an idea that may or may not work, and waste time trying to see if it will work, only to have it not, and thus nothing will end up in the next day’s paper. Does that make me a bad journalist? I don’t know. Have I mentioned I want to be covering entertainment in Toronto or Los Angeles yet? … lol. One day. One day I shall write about celebrities, musicians, movies, So You Think You Can Dance and other television shows! One day! Nothing wrong with getting my foot well-established in the City/news-writing sector first!

Oh, and another thing to note is I really love the Journal’s newspaper layout. Their fonts, their pictures, their look and feel, I love it. I think it makes my stories look really good. Ha ha!

Also, did I mention why I’m only here for two short weeks yet? It’s because in order to graduate from my journalism program, I need a minimum of five-weeks experience in an industry newsroom. I had gotten the coveted three-week winter break internship spot with the Journal during the winter, and now the extra two weeks is really to just fill my requirements. I would have liked to have gotten the full four-month internship for sure, but alas I think it worked out for the better given my summer travel plans and what not.

Anyway, to conclude… the week of June 1st – 5th at the Journal went really well. I’m super comfortable with the other reporters too, given that I met most of them during the winter and I fostered better relations with them via Twitter over the past few months so it’s all pretty comfortable. (I actually also met up with two of them outside of work to advise them on how to go about making their own websites. Hehe) I think I’m definitely capable of reporting for the City section (and I think I’m doing a pretty good job thus far), and also I found a sushi place in walking distance to the Journal building today that has the cheapest bento box ever! Yum, sashimi.

Next week I’ll put up a summary blog post of my last week of Journal activities / articles, and then embark on the next chapter of my summer/life. Exciting.

(Before then there should be So You Think You Can Dance blog posts as well, lol)

Linda