Politics?

Voters in the province of Quebec went to the polls today and they sent a message.

They want to stay in Canada.

I could not be happier. I don't think Canada would be the country it is now without what this province brings to the table.

As a hockey fan I'm overjoyed that team Canada won't have to face a team Quebec at the Olympics any time soon, though I think it would be very good for the women's game to add another top flight team to the competition.

I think it would add a little more parody and there would be more than two teams that would have a legitimate shot at winning. (I hope I'm not sounding like I am taking a shot at women's hockey because I'm not. The drama provided by the women's gold medal game at this year's Olympics was epic).

I grew up in a neighborhood that wasn't exactly pro- French. I knew a lot of people in school that resented having to learn it as an official language.

Once upon a time they did a study in Canada and found something shocking about the demographics of the country - apparently there were more than just English and French people living here.

I don't have a problem with French being an official language. I had a few friends from South Africa and one of them told me they had a lot more than just two official languages.

One time he tried to show us as he sang the country's national anthem.

I remember the furor and the controversy in the early 90s as Canada tried to change its constitution. I think it was called the Meech Lake Accord, and it was sponsored and supported by all major political parties in the country.

One problem everyone had with it was the inclusion of the idea or notion that Quebec was a 'distinct society', whatever that meant.

During the campaign Jean Chretien came in to speak to my high school (it was like a million years ago so I was still in high school)

I got to ask him a question.

As a kid I was always interested in politics. As an adult not so much. I can't even remember the last time I voted. (or was in the country during an election I could vote in)

From now on I think I'm going to pay a lot more attention to politics.

Who knows, I might even go out and vote.

peace

rymr

Lending a Hand

Rhonda Klippenstein has an office in building F at the Notre Dame campus of Red River College. It's located inside the Aboriginal Support Centre on the second floor.

There is a drop in centre right next to her office.

Next door, a little ways down the hallway there is a computer room where Aboriginal students can get together.

These are just some of the tools being used to help Aboriginal students become successful at the college.

"It's really a team effort. We all work on different aspects of a bigger picture.".

Klippenstein is Metis. She's been working at the college for the last twelve years. Over that time her job has evolved.

Now she is helping Aboriginal students with financial problems.

"People think an Aboriginal student can just walk in and get free school."

Klippenstein says this is not the case.

" Many bands have a limited education fund. It's kind of first come first serve. They get to choose who to sponsor and who gets to come to school."

"The amount is not generous. It hasn't changed in twenty or thirty years. So what they were given that many years ago, is what they are getting now. Of course there have been tuition hikes and cost of living has gone up as well."

The extra money she helps the students get often shows up on the dinner table.

"We like to say it's the difference between having baloney or chicken for supper."

A lot of the Aboriginal students at the college aren't aware of all the awards, bursaries, scholarships, internships, and employment opportunities she can help them out with.

Another service the centre provides Aboriginal students on campus is a chance to get in touch with their culture.

"Some people assume that if you are an Aboriginal person then you know everything about the culture and what it means to be an Aboriginal person. Some of them don't and haven't practiced a lot of the traditional ways. Here at the centre we are able to give them that at sharing circles and events."

Some of these programs, such as one that involves teachings from elders are open to all students.

"I think it's important to learn the history of your country which includes Aboriginal people."

Cheyenne Chartrand works at the Princess street campus in a small office on the fourth floor.

She was also hired by the college twelve years ago. She works as a recruiter and adviser who goes out into the communities.

The main part of her job is to be the primary source of contact for Aboriginal students. It's her job to act as a liaison between them and the college.

When she was young she struggled as a single mom while studying at the University of Manitoba. She has seen first hand what many of her students are going through.

"I remember being a university student heading down to the student centre in tears, ready to toss in the towel."

That's when a lady named Mary Young helped her out. Chartrand wants to have the same impact on others.

"It's really nice to see the students succeed. I like to think that I can play a small part in a student making their dream come true."

"They are making things happen. They are sounding their voices. They are using their education to push things forward. It's not just for themselves. They are doing it for their people and for their community."

The Next Challenge

In two weeks all the Journalism students as well as the rest of the students in the Creative Communications' program at Red River College will be heading out on our work placements.

I will be going to work for Sun Media.

I currently am a freelance reporter for the Selkirk Journal. My editor is Amanda Lefley, whom I met while covering an announcement by the Manitoba Sports' Hall of Fame while working at my last placement, at the Selkirk Record.

I will be working with her and Glen Hallick.

Today I asked Hallick about my duties and responsibilities during the work placement. He said I would be writing a lot of stories covering Stonewall.

He also asked me how good I was at InDesign because they want me to do some layout for the paper.

This has me a little worried. I've never been that great with InDesign, even if I do feel that I have improved a lot from where I began.

When it comes to design I do think I have a good eye for composition. I shot 27 interviews for my IPP last summer and I was really suprised and impressed by some of them.

At times I'm left shaking my head and wondering if it was really me who shot some of them.

I can't believe they look so good.

I guess this means I must have talents that I am not aware of.

I have a little  under two weeks before I go out on my work placement. I'm hoping this will be enough time.

The plan is to practice my InDesign skills as much as I can to get up to snuff. I'm positive I can do it.

If anyone knows anyone who is good at InDesign and would like to make a few bucks giving me a few pointers, please let me know

Going Back (one last time)

It had been a long time since I had stepped foot into the Westwood Presbyterian church. A lot has changed.

The year was 1981 and I was only four years old.

Most of my fellow students weren't even a glint in the eyes of their parents then.

I used to go their in the afternoons for what was called 'Kiddie College'. For a kid it was a lot of fun and a chance to interact with people my age.

We did finger painting as well as other games and crafts.

I still have this one piece I worked on with my mom a long time ago. Some how it has survived the last thirty years plus and still looks good.

Church was a big part of my life from an early age. My mom and my dad used to go every week which meant I had no choice.

Before going to church we used to watch Switchback on CBC. It was hosted by Laurie Mustard. For some reason he had a big fued with the town of Teulon.

He used to show old Batman episodes as well as other old TV shows. I used to think it was pretty funny. I remember one episode where he had a Trekker on wearing his Star Trek uniform. I thought it was pretty cool.

Sunday used to be my least favourite day of the week. I hated going to church. To me it was the most boring place to go in the world.

Like in the Simpsons, my favourite part of the week was the time right after church, because it was the time of the week when I had the most time before I had to go back.

We didn't go every sunday and each week I hoped that we wouldn't be going.

I guess I just couldn't stand what I considered bad public speaking.

Sunday school was always full and there was never a shortage of young families in attendance with their children.

It's not like this anymore.

In the congregation of about sixty people there was only one other person who was my age.

Not as many people it seems, attend church services in the city anymore, and many buildings which were built to house very large congregations are being torn down because they just don't pack them in like they used to.

What happened?

It's tough to say. After speaking with a bunch of the elder members of the congregation I couldn't find one single answer.

The answer I did find is the reason why people continue to come.

The one person I did speak with who was my age said that he enjoyed coming to church because it provided him with a sense of community.

I guess I never felt that and I suppose it's one of the reasons I didn't keep going.

My mom never stopped going. She still prays for me and hopes for the best.

She openly cried during the service and I couldn't understand why.

I hope it's not because she thinks I've been won back. Probably not.

I wouldn't be too surprised if another thirty years or so passed before I enter a church again.

How much more will change before then?

Time to Grow Up

I've seen better behaved students in Korea.

These kids were pretty terrible.

The old man at the front of the room had to tell them to stop banging on their desks. It wasn't the first time. When he told them he reminded them he had already said this was not acceptable behaviour.

They did it anyway, almost as if to spite him.

When they got up to talk it was hard to hear what they were saying.

The other kids in the classroom wouldn't stop talking.

If I was the teacher I might say, Jo Yung He Haseo.

If they didn't quiet down after that, I might have even used the much more forceful, Jo Yung He Hey!

It's funny, when I was a high school teacher my students never behaved so poorly in my classroom.

I would never have allowed it.

What type of classroom am I talking about?

Not any type of classroom you might be expecting.

Today, as part of an assignment for Journalism class, I spent part of the afternoon at the Manitoba Legislature.

The disorderly students weren't my fellow journalists, they were the politicians, supposedly working on our behalf.

The disorderly class they were keeping is also known as question period. Like many of my classes going to grade school growing up in the 80s, it only lasted forty minutes.

I guess some of the kids needed to go for recess.

Now I want to be fair, not all of our elected officials were behaving in a disorderly conduct. Many of the people who were talking out of turn I could not see.

Maybe they were hiding at the back of the room, just like in grade school.

As a student journalist I was very frustrated. Especailly after I was told to turn off my electronic recording device.

With all of the competing voices it was sometimes very hard to understand clearly what someone was trying to say.

Writing by hand became a chore.

Speaking with some politicians in a news scrum afterwards was a lot more fun. I was allowed to record that. They were very well behaved then.

I only wish I didn't have my Winnipeg Jets' jersey on. Underneath my jersey I had on a really nice button up shirt. I like to wear the jersey because the zipper on my jacket is broken.

I wish I hadn't worn it to the legislature yesterday. O well, I guess that means I'm just as bad as the politicians.

Time for us all to grow up.

cheers


Rymr

From a Former Teacher

I wasn't quite sure how to do this.

As a former teacher I have nothing but the highest respect for those who choose to do it as a profession. I know how hard it can be at times.

Good thing I never had to deal with me as a student.

My greatest weakness as a teacher is when it comes to discipline. Every time I would see a student misbehaving in my class it was hard for me to punish him.

I saw too much of myself.

One of the strongest memories I'll have of you is the fiery look you were giving me during first year when I was sleeping during Alex Freeman's speech.

It's a good thing I wasn't in your class yet.

Probably didn't make the best first impression.

I guess what I'm saying is I wish I had been a better student and tried harder.

This has been a very hard experience for me.

Sometimes I have to remind myself why I am putting myself through it. In the end it all comes down to the work.

I love journalism.

What I love the most about it is going out into the field and getting to talk to people.

It's the only time I really feel like I can be myself.

When you meet people for the first time they usually have no choice other than to take a person at face value.

That's how I wish everyone was treated.

One of my favourite memories from this year will be of covering Justin Trudeau. Not because of anything he said. I wasn't that impressed with him.

But I had a really great time speaking with the mother of the candidate in the by-election Trudeau was there to support.

I thought it was hilarious when you got an email from the candidate talking about the interview I did with her.

Journalism is the only thing that allows me to come alive.

When I'm down I love going out on an assignment because I love to go out and talk to people.

Believe it or not I'm actually a very friendly and out going person.

I wish people had got a chance to get to know me and that I could have brought more of this personality to class.

On second thought, maybe it's better that I didn't - being outgoing and energetic in class was Liz's job.

All the best with your retirement. I know I've enjoyed some of mine.

Rymr

Harold Ramis Comic Genius

The first movie I ever saw in the theatre when I was a kid was the movie Stripes, starring Bill Murray and Harold Ramis.

Sadly Ramis passed away this week.

As a tribute I wanted to talk a little bit about how much of a fan I have been of his work.

I saw Stripes at the drive in out in Headingley when the movie first came out. It was playing with some other movie, I think it was called The Empire Strikes Back, but I can't really say because I don't really remember too much of it.

I was only 5 when it happened and the ending to that movie had already been spoiled in kindergarten.

Stripes might not have been the best movie for a kid my age. There was nudity in it.

But hey, a kid is bound to be curious and it's only sooner or later...

There were other parts of the movie I also enjoyed. (did I mention there was nudity in it?)

It was the first time I got to see John Candy on the big screen. Dave Thomas and Joe Flaherty were also in the movie.

By this time I was already a fan of SCTV.

My blog is named after my all time favourite character from the show, Johnny La Rue.

Another favourite character of mine was Moe Green.

I saw an interview with Harold Ramis where he was talking about the character. In particular he was talking about his book keeping sketch and how the character was a socialist and resented giving tax advice to rich people whom he thought did not do enough to pay their fare share.

The character is a classic. The way he would cheat and phone his wife so they would win the prize on Dialling for Dollars, or to how he called out a terrorist group who threatened action against SCTV.

In the end Moe Green was kidnapped by this terrorist group and held for ransom. The ransom was never paid.

In a later episode the group calls back and offers to give Moe Green back but Guy Cabilero, the station owner and President, refuses to pay the bus fare home.

I enjoyed so many of the movies he wrote and directed during the 80s.

Too many to mention by name.

I remember seeing an interview where Ramis said he was never the class clown, but more like the kid who told the jokes quietly to the class clown who then would tell everyone else.

It seemed as if he felt more comfortable behind the camera than in front of it, but part of why characters like Moe Green worked were because he let himself show this feeling to the audience.

Moe Green was awkward and uncomfortable on camera. This is what made Harold Ramis so funny.

Thank you so much for all of the laughs.

rymr

Thank you, Holden

There were lots of small things that bothered me about Korea.

Lack of personal space was a big one.

It bothered me when my co-teacher would hit the students with a stick.

But what bothered me the most was the way students with learning disabilities were treated.

Recently I worked on a story for the Selkirk Journal about a student who has a rare form of autism. Because of this he has low muscle tone.

Despite this, he signed up for the school basketball team. The principal at the school has gone out of his way to make sure it has happened.

Most of the time he sits on the bench and when members of his team are fouled he gets to step up and take foul shots.

To see him jump off the bench and get excited about getting into the game would warm the coldest of hearts.

At Lockport School they practice inclusive education. Holden Whall, a student with autism has benefitted greatly from it, and so have all of the teachers, students and staff.

Holden feels accepted as a member of the basketball team, and his father always describes him as a great kid with a smile from ear to ear.

Most of the times at school Holden is in the classroom with the rest of the students just like any other kid.

When I was a teacher in Korea, their idea of inclusive education was to have students like Holden in the classroom with the rest of the kids, but they were ignored.

Nobody ever spoke to them. It was almost as if they were invisible.

This bothered me a lot.

It’s the kind of thing that sticks with a person.

As part of the story I wrote I found out that representatives of the Korean government had sent a delegation to Manitoba to learn about better ways to include all students.

I really hope they do something about it.

Seeing the smile on Holden’s face is enough proof for anyone to show the benefits of inclusive education.

I’m just glad I got to see it. Writing a story about him also seemed to help a lot.

It felt nice that I was finally able to do something.

Thank you Holden.

Cheers

rymr

Go Canada Go!

5 am! 5 am! 5 am!

This was what the crowd was chanting at Rocky Mountain Tavern in Itaewon as the clock finally counted down during the semi final match between Canada and Slovakia at the 2010 olympics.

The cheers would get even louder after Sidney Crosby scored the game winning goal in over time during the gold medal game.

It was the most exciting hockey game I ever watched.

I had moved that day. Before I had been in a job where the boss tried to blackmail me.
She said if I didn't work for her for free she was going to phone my new employer and tell them a bunch of things to get me fired.

To get out of my contract I agreed to pay for my flight. On that final day they extorted another three hundred thousand won because they said I owed them for some of the apartment costs. When I asked to see a bill he showed me something hand written.

After that day I never saw him or the boss lady again.

I met my new coteacher at my apartment in Pyeongchon. Two days later I had my first day as a public high school teacher.

For the first time I took a bus from Beomgye station to Bundang. It was a Sunday night and I used to see a lot of my friends at trivia night at the Dublin.

After my team won, four of us took a cab to Itaewon to wach the game. I was with my friends Alex Felman, Sean McConnehy and Karl Walsh. (sorry guys if I spelled your name wrong).

My friend Karl was from Ireland and had never seen a hockey game before. He called it 'ice' hockey. By the end of the evening I think he was very impressed. It wasn't just the game but the experience.

The Canadian Ball Hockey in Korea recreation league had held the draft for its spring season earlier in the day. Many of them were still in the bar at game time.

We got there around 3:30 in the morning. They stopped letting people in around 4. I've never seen the place so full.

I remember seeing the owner up on the bar with his camera phone taking a video of the crowd.

There were some Americans in the building that night

Every now and then they'd start chanting "USA, USA, USA", but then the Canadians would drown them out.

The only time we were all silenced was when Parise scored the tying goal with less than a minute left. Many of us held our heads to the ground. We couldn't believe it. The smell of doom was in the air.

But like every great story a hero emerged to save the day for the good guys. That hero was Sidney Crosby, and when he scored I nearly fell over.

The Canadians began to scream, and the Americans began to sink down.

Two of my friends, both from the U.S.A., quietly payed me the ten thousand won we had bet.

And then, as we walked to McDonalds for some breakfast, it was already early morning the next day.

I fell asleep on the subway on the way home and missed my stop. I felt lucky to not have gotten lost trying to find my new apartment for the first time.

You've got to love days off.

Go Canada Go!

(thanks Dan for the public school job)

rymr

David Alexander Robertson

I probably picked the right time in my life to read the graphic novel 7 Generations by David Alexander Robertson.

Like the main character Edwin I also feel very much lost and haunted by despair.

I think the graphic novel takes this to a melodramatic level by having the main character try to commit suicide. I guess just being really bummed out isn't as dramatic.

The author seems to use this as a plot device to get into the retelling of the character's ancestors. This is a part of Edwin's culture and the search for his identity.

This is something I can also identify with.

I'm a Mennonite. We were kicked off our land in Europe in the 19th century and forced to move because we wouldn't fight in any wars.

I have also lost my language and much of my culture. When I was a child my father used to speak in German with his dad, but sadly none of this got passed on to me.

Before Canada decided to become multicultural it used to be a melting pot. Much of my culture was wiped out by it.

The biggest thing I took out of our class discussion with the author was that I agree with his claim that the graphic novel could be an excellent tool for teaching children.

As he stated during his presentation, if you presented a child with a textbook and a comic book and asked them to say which one they would rather learn from, that most children would say the comic book.

This book is able to tell the story a lot faster than other formats. I'm not a big reader. Having been an English major in university and having had to have read some really long dry material (but not Milton, I liked Milton) has turned me against reading.

When my friends say they prefer the book I tell them I'd rather see the movie. Having pictures just adds more detail to flesh out the story. I like that I can finish the whole thing in one sitting as opposed to drawing out the process over a couple of weeks when I usually have to read a book.

I do not think it's journalism. If journalism on TV is a news broadcast, than I think this book would be one of those after school specials that try too hard to teach a lesson. Don't get me wrong, I like what it's trying to do but some of the elements, like the suicide, just seem a little bit too melodramatic.

Compared with the earlier work by Jim Blanchard about Winnipeg during the Great War, I would say that Blanchard sticks to the facts while Robertson uses them to create fiction.

Robertson is more of a storyteller, but Blanchard is more of a journalist.

In terms of storytelling and being a journalist, Nahlah Ayed has Robertson beat hands down.

No one likes an angry person

Since so many people this week have been talking about mental health issues I thought I would talk about mine.

Right now I'm going through one of the worst bouts of depression in my life. It has gotten to the point where I don't want to get out of bed. I don't want to go out and face the world. I'd rather just hide and try to sleep it all away.

People in general have become more accepting of mental health issues and the stigma that is attached to them.

I feel like there is one exception to this rule and it concerns bad anger management.

I've been in anger management for over ten years now. Not being able to control my temper has pretty much ruined my life and driven away so many people who cared about me.

Right now I can proudly say that I have my anger in check, for the first time in my life. Instead of solving the problem this has only created a new one.

You see my temper or my excessive anger served a purpose: it was my armour and it protected me from feeling pain. Now that I don't have it anymore the armour is off, my guard is down and the pain is unbearable at times.

The stigma is the shame I feel because of all the bad things I've done in the past to hurt people. Last week I bumped into someone who had a lot of knowledge of 'Angry Neil' and she did a double take when she first saw me.

I get it a lot. Even ten years after the fact I feel like I'm held up and judged for the person I used to be and the things I did.

People aren't very understanding when it comes to anger management problems.

I was talking about this with a fellow student yesterday. She told me that if I was an angry person, people at school would shun me.

My response was that I didn't think it would be possible for people to shun me more at school than they already have and continue to do so.

I just want to say that I don't think this about everyone. I have met some very nice people in the program.

I also realize that some of this is my fault. I do get very anxious when it comes to certain social situations so this year I've just completely avoided them.

There are times when I'd rather have people think I'm a snob than to know the truth.
Because of this someone from the program that I've never had a class with took to social media to take a cheap shot at me. They said that I felt like I was separate from the group. I guess it hurt because it's true. Most of the time at school I feel all alone.

I can't stand living here. To me this is the coldest, loneliest, most depressing place to live in the world. I think a lot of it right now is the weather and it's making things worse.

I know people get upset when I talk about Korea but there is a reason for that.

Winnipeg has never been a kind place to me. As a kid I was bullied in school. I used to hate going and when I did go I would try to shrink myself as much as possible. The point was to be invisible so no one would notice me.

I feel like that now.

I'm frustrated to the point where I just feel like giving up on everything. I really don't know how I'm going to pull myself out of this one and I really need some help.

I tried calling my therapist to set up an appointment but she is upset at me right now because I missed too many appointments, after she specifically told me not to do this.

I miss Korea so much right now. I miss my friends. The friendliest people you will ever meet are ex-pats in Korea. It's the only place I've ever felt like that welcomed me with open arms and made me feel like I belong.

I honestly don't know how much longer I can take this. I probably shouldn't have used such a public forum to talk about this but part of my probelm in Winnipeg is I have no one to talk to.

Any advice from anyone would be greatly appreciated.

Grace in Defeat

I arrived at Lucky Luc's in St. Agathe a few minutes before eight. The establishment was mostly empty except for a group of my fellow journalism students.

 I knew NDP candidate Dean Harder many years ago. We took the same acting class at PTE, but it's been so long we couldn't remember which one.

When I got there they were already asking questions. It almost looked to me like they were giving him the third degree. I couldn't believe some of the questions they were asking him.

I think he was nice enough to talk to them for a while, but had to conveniently excuse himself to go write a speech for after the results had come in. I couldn't blame him.

He didn't have a pen so I let him borrow mine. He came back a few minutes later and borrowed my other pen because the one I had given him didn't work.

I went to university with his wife. She actually directed me in a play. It was called Rosencrantz and Guildernstern are Dead. I got to fulfill an acting dream of sorts by playing the role of Hamlet.

When I saw her I don't think she was quite certain how to react.

I hadn't seen either of them in at least a decade.

As the results started coming in it very quickly became apparent he wasn't doing very well. Soon after PC candidate Shannon Martin was declared the victor.

According to Elections Manitoba, Martin received 2,642 votes while second place Harder ended up with 488.

Liberal candidate Jeremy Barber finished close behind Harder with 422. Independent candidate Ray Shaw received 138 votes, while Alain Landry of the Green Party came in last with 85.

During the last election in 2011 there were only three candidates, with Mavis Taillieu of the PCs winning the seat with 73.6% of the vote, according to the Winnipeg Sun.

Mohamed Alli of the NDP had 19.26% of the vote while Janelle Mailhot of the Liberals only had 6.5%.

Before the totals were announced Harder wouldn't say what his goal was for the byelection. Afterwards he admitted to being disappointed he was unable to match the results of the previous candidate.

Speaking to those assembled, Harder was very humble.

"One of the best things about the weather is we were helping people."

He then talked about how he would help boost cars while out on the campaign trail.

During his speech his father, who was seated at the table next to the press corps, kept his eyes closed, back turned and face pointed at the ground.

After his son was finished speaking the elder Harder got up and addressed the crowd, which included the mayor of Morris.

A few minutes later I was back on the road heading home.

My Favourite Assignment

It's not secret to anyone who knows me that I am a very big hockey fan.  To go to my first Jet game at the MTS Centre I traveled seventeen hours by plane to get there. After I arrived I went straight to the rink.

For the last year and a half I have been studying journalism. My favourite part about journalism is going out and talking to people.

This past week I got to combine the two as I got to cover the Jets vs Oilers game, which included going into the dressing room after the game to interview players.
After watching the game in the press box I have to say that it's a lot more fan to watch the game in the stands. In the press box you're not allowed to cheer or boo or do any of the fun stuff you get to do in the crowd.

My favourite Jet just happens to be Jacob Trouba and I was hoping I'd get a chance to interview him after the game. When I finally got the chance to ask him a question, I froze up.

It was the first time I was nervous doing an interview since my first year in CreComm. One of the reporters before me had asked some of the questions I was going to ask so I was left scrounging to think of a new one.

I'm hoping what I came up with sounded at least half intelligent, but I'm not too sure.
I don't think I did much better with Mark Scheifele.

Speaking with another student who had gone through the same thing in class made me feel a little bit better. During his first time in the locker room he said he was so nervous he didn't even ask a single question.

The only time I was that nervous was when Paul Maurice was having his press conference after the game. I thought of asking him a question, but chickened out.

Sometimes you have to be careful of what you ask for and for me this was one of those cases.
After conducting countless of interviews and having no problem coming up with questions I was at a loss.

I tried to get some good advice before the game. For a number of years now I have been
corresponding with Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Molinari has been recognised by the Hockey Hall of Fame for his work covering the NHL as a print journalist.

He had lots of good advice.

He recommended that I try to avoid scrums and try to get players one-on-one. He closed with this:

"I'm guessing that you realize it is important that you observe the proper decorum in the press box. No cheering, no booing, no nothing above a conversational tone. No seeking autographs in the locker room, either. Take your cues from how the regulars comport themselves. And have fun."

Thanks Dave. I did. I made a few minor mistakes but I think I learned from them. If I ever get the chance again I'll know what to do.

Next time, I won't be nervous.

cheers

rymr

Fun with Twitter!!!

When I started my career at Red River College way back in September of 2013 I knew very little about Twitter and the social media. About seventeen months later I’ve learned a little. This education was accelerated last week when I was given a Twitter assignment for my News Radio class.

For the class we are required to listen to talk radio for fifteen minutes every day during the week and then tweet about it.

With the hash tag #NewsRadio we are supposed to tweet five times a week. This will be a significant increase over my regular Twitter activity. (in the past I’ve gone months without using it)

For some reason I’ve never fully embraced Twitter. I’m not really sure why that is.

In general I am not a big personal fan of Social Media, although I can see the professional benefits.

 I only joined Facebook because I was in Korea and didn’t know anybody. After I found out there was a group for people in Guri I decided to sign up. I ended up meeting so many people because of it.

When I first heard about Facebook I thought it was totally lame. I resisted joining and only signed up because I felt I had to. I had been in Korea for less than a month and didn’t know anyone in my area.

This might sound strange, but I could go weeks without seeing another white face in public. There weren’t very many people for me to talk to.

The social media known as Facebook put an end to all of this.

Basically I had a need and Facebook was able to fulfill it. (find friends who spoke my language)

So far, due to my own professional blindness, I have not been able to discover the same thing about Twitter.

This changed last week. Suddenly, Twitter has a purpose. Going on twitter and posting  five times a week will help me get a good grade in my class.

But there is more.

I had an interesting first week embracing Twitter.

For my first tweet I wrote about what I heard on the Charles Adler radio program on CJOB. Taking the instructor’s advice, I made sure to include the Twitter handles of the people I was writing about, and this would allow them to read it.

My first tweet got re-tweeted by Charles Adler. I was so proud.

 For my next tweet, I wrote about something I heard on the Nighthawk, another show on CJOB. They were talking about the Harper government and whether or not it was afraid of science.

Of course I made sure to include Harper’s twitter handle. A few minutes later I got re-tweeted. It happened again a few minutes after that.

Some conspiracy nuts/groups decided to share my tweet and mention me in others. I wasn’t sure what to make of this.

I hope this doesn’t mean I’m on some nut job/wacko list myself.

If I am, we all know who to blame.

Cheers,

Rymr.

Tail Between My Legs

How did I end up here?

When I was in University I decided to take theatre. It wasn't because I thought I would be really good at it, but because I was very shy and wanted to go to the parties. I figured it would be a really good way to meet women.

The shy guy who couldn't talk to anyone was elected class representative to serve on the board of directors of the Black Hole Theatre Company at the University of Manitoba. The board was in charge of approving submissions from students who wanted to direct and put on plays during lunch time.

It was called a lunch bag (not sure how they spelled it but it wasn't like this).

The first time I was in a position to vote there were no submissions. Instead of cancelling the show I found a script and put together a pretty good show. It was a big success. (I directed)

During the next vote we once again received no submissions. The program was hoping students from the OnStage class would submit but nobody had. After the meeting I spoke with one of the students in the class who had wanted to submit but couldn't get the rights. I told him to go speak to Dennis Smith, the technical director of the company.

The next day we had a meeting to approve a new submission. I ended up getting the lead role in the show. It was different but well received.

I was rewarded for all of this hard work with a dream assignment. There were talks of a master playwright festival and it just so happened that the playwright they were going to do that year was my favourite writer, Samuel Beckett.

I got to direct Krapp's Last Tape.

Before that show went up I auditioned for Kelly Stifora who cast me as the lead in Fat Men In Skirts.

Guy Maddin came to see the performance. When I saw George Toles the next day, without asking him what he thought of my performance (I never asked) he told me how impressed Maddin had been.

He said I was the kind of actor who could carry a movie.

So where did it all go wrong?

Poor anger management was all the self-sabotage I needed to completely derail all of my success and any chance I had to make a career out of doing something I truly loved and was good at.

Acting was never hard for me. It was just something I knew how to do as if nobody ever had to teach me.

I was a natural.

Writing just isn't as easy.

In December I did a work placement at the Selkirk Record. It did not go as well as I thought it would.

As it turns out I'm not as good a journalist as I thought I was.

For the last little while I have had my tail between my legs. I feel humble.

I'm not going to give up. I just need to try harder.

For someone who has had things so easy his entire life this will probably be a good thing.

I need to work harder and develop more of a work ethic.

I guess that's why I'm here.