Firstly I want to apologize to all four of the people who read the piece I wrote on Calgary and The Calgary Stampede a few days ago.It was a low quality,lousy piece of writing and I'm amazed that anyone bothered with it.I wasn't happy with it ten minutes after I'd written it.
What I have to learn to do is to be more real.You see,I was raised to say nothing at all unless I could find something nice to say.By natural inclination,I am adaptable and tend to like to respond to my immediate surroundings in a positive way,and believe that things could always be worse.Indeed they could be but that doesn't excuse my lying,even if that were not my intent.So once again,my deepest apologies and I promise to try to have a bit more respect for anyone who reads my blog in the future.
So let me tell you how I really feel,keeping in mind that my attitude tomorrow may or may not be the same as it is right now.I've caught myself saying so many times in the past few weeks "man,I hate this city."And I well and truly do,I may as well tell the bare faced truth.It doesn't seem to matter if I'm waking up in the morning or going to bed at night,looking at the skyline or watching someone drift down one of our rivers on a raft,taking the train or walking,I just have no heart for this city,and I wonder why I ever came back here.
I don't want this to sound like sour grapes or a self indulgent pity party,but that's the way it is.I arrived here some three months ago with money in my pocket,rented a room,which are in short supply and then ended up being locked out of that room because my room mate failed to pay the rent.Never mind that I paid my rent.I found accommodations following that,but they are far from acceptable and certainly not sustainable in the long term.I also had a guitar when I arrived and one that was kept here for me by a friend during my eastern sojourn.Both of those are apparently gone since my old room mate cannot be found.They are with all of my cds and the majority of my clothing,not to mention much of the personal writing I've been doing over the past three years.I did manage to escape with the clothes in my back pack which are at least sufficient.Life's tough,then you die.I just didn't count on going to Hell before that happened.
During my time in this infernal city I've endured harassment,theft,flooding,a deliberately set fire,a lay off,default on pay that was owed me,crackheads banging on my door at all hours of the night,unjustified accusations of racism,and the garden variety intolerance of some Albertans for anyone who was not born and raised here.Well,guess what.I no longer have the energy for any of this.I simply do not have enough blood in my body to satiate the energy sucking vampires that are all too common in this city.It's time to find a new place to roost.
I've decided,and to be honest,it wasn't even that hard of a decision,to move west come the end of this week.Give Vancouver a try even if I have to crawl,which is a distinct possibility.Nevertheless,if I were to admit it,I simply hate it here and I just don't see how living in a city I hate is worth the effort.If it doesn't work out,I guess I can come back but I'd prefer not to think about that for the time being.
All of that writing I did about Calgary being an ok place...I take that back.All my readers saw right through that anyway.This is a boom town,like San Fransisco in 1849.A great place to work,but a miserable,low down,mean spirited,unfinished and dirty place to live.And,in point of fact,I don't recommend that you come here even to visit.
Yes,I'm possessed of a very poor attitude tonight and it may change tomorrow.In a way I hope it does,because I hate having a poor attitude.But,in truth I can still see myself looking around at this city tomorrow or next week or next year and thinking how much I hate it here and how I'd really rather be anyplace but here.So it's time to move on hopefully this time for good.And while I do have some very dear friends here,to whom I apologize for knocking their city and whom I will greatly miss,I will not miss the city itself.Good riddance!
Maybe I'll have to give my head a shake.I'm not sure how much of this being more real I can handle.
Monday 16 July 2012
Sunday 15 July 2012
Op/Ed-Integrity in Journalism.
Integrity is hard to find these days.But don't necessarily blame the younger generation.It's a godless,post modern,moral relativism thing.That seems to especially apply to journalism.Don't get me wrong,there are still a lot of responsible journalists around,even if I don't agree with them all the time.Even if they are sometimes imposed upon to to cast the"news"in a light that they are not always comfortable with just to be able to continue making a living.
My fight,in this case is not with some huge,politically slanted news agency-you know who most of those are,so I need not mention them by name.My quarrel involves a small "news agency"located in a medium sized city in Eastern Canada.For now they will remain nameless as well,for admittedly legal reasons.At any rate,it has no real bearing on the problem.I will say that this group gathers and distributes"news"in their local community.They display their version of the news both on Youtube and Facebook.As far as I can determine,most of their stories involve local interest.There tends to be a lot of coverage of auto accidents mixed in with arrests and the like.Also,there tends to be very little in the way of editorial content.I have not been able to determine if anyone involved with this agency has any formal journalism training,but what they do, they do reasonably well.The scene seems to be accurately represented without a profusion of leaking body bags,which is more than I can say for some mainstream media outlets.
What,then is the problem?Why do I direct my wrath towards this supposedly decent,hard working group of journalists?It all stems from the identity of one of their directors,who I found out about while doing an unrelated online search.Again,I will decline for the time being to identify this person by name.But the problem is that I know this person,this news director, to have made unsubstantiated and unsupportable statements regarding someones alleged criminal activity,specifically, alleged domestic violence..A simple criminal background check,made with the full blessing of the accused,I assure you,reveals no such criminal involvement.Yet this journalist steadfastly clings to their story,refusing to apologize or defend her statements even as the story,along with a good deal of journalistic integrity dissolves like a puff of smoke.
The problem is obvious.Why is this person still a director of a media outlet?Any media outlet?Is it not fully apparent why this person should resign from their post at least until their issue is settled?At this juncture,it is unclear as to whether or not the agency was aware of the activities of this person.It has at least the appearance that the journalist in question may have actively concealed these facts,or,perhaps with no formal training in journalism,to mention nothing of a comprehensive course in media ethics,simply didn't que into the relevance of the matter.That is about to change.
This matter will be a true test of integrity for what I consider an unconventional form Of media.Again,I have no quarrel with the nature of any given report produced by this outlet.but I'm unclear as to what their position is regarding the ethical reporting of news.Perhaps they would like to respond to my doubts by asking their director to speak to the issue at hand.Because I don't see that we can trust the veracity of any reporter,to say nothing of a director,who has behaved in this manner and then,to be charitable,forgotten to mention it to their fellow colleagues and fellow directors.
Unconventional forms of media are not,in my opinion bad forms of media.I can see how they can play a useful role in local markets,perhaps even more effectively than remote agencies who have little interest in local matters and are largely politically slanted.
But this particular agency,it's directorship and it's reporters need to take a stand for moral journalism if they are to be recognized as a real force in their particular market.They can start by speaking to this issue,either by asking their director to support the claims made or withdraw them and issue an appropriate apology,and to resign,at least temporarily,pending the outcome of this unresolved issue.
My fight,in this case is not with some huge,politically slanted news agency-you know who most of those are,so I need not mention them by name.My quarrel involves a small "news agency"located in a medium sized city in Eastern Canada.For now they will remain nameless as well,for admittedly legal reasons.At any rate,it has no real bearing on the problem.I will say that this group gathers and distributes"news"in their local community.They display their version of the news both on Youtube and Facebook.As far as I can determine,most of their stories involve local interest.There tends to be a lot of coverage of auto accidents mixed in with arrests and the like.Also,there tends to be very little in the way of editorial content.I have not been able to determine if anyone involved with this agency has any formal journalism training,but what they do, they do reasonably well.The scene seems to be accurately represented without a profusion of leaking body bags,which is more than I can say for some mainstream media outlets.
What,then is the problem?Why do I direct my wrath towards this supposedly decent,hard working group of journalists?It all stems from the identity of one of their directors,who I found out about while doing an unrelated online search.Again,I will decline for the time being to identify this person by name.But the problem is that I know this person,this news director, to have made unsubstantiated and unsupportable statements regarding someones alleged criminal activity,specifically, alleged domestic violence..A simple criminal background check,made with the full blessing of the accused,I assure you,reveals no such criminal involvement.Yet this journalist steadfastly clings to their story,refusing to apologize or defend her statements even as the story,along with a good deal of journalistic integrity dissolves like a puff of smoke.
The problem is obvious.Why is this person still a director of a media outlet?Any media outlet?Is it not fully apparent why this person should resign from their post at least until their issue is settled?At this juncture,it is unclear as to whether or not the agency was aware of the activities of this person.It has at least the appearance that the journalist in question may have actively concealed these facts,or,perhaps with no formal training in journalism,to mention nothing of a comprehensive course in media ethics,simply didn't que into the relevance of the matter.That is about to change.
This matter will be a true test of integrity for what I consider an unconventional form Of media.Again,I have no quarrel with the nature of any given report produced by this outlet.but I'm unclear as to what their position is regarding the ethical reporting of news.Perhaps they would like to respond to my doubts by asking their director to speak to the issue at hand.Because I don't see that we can trust the veracity of any reporter,to say nothing of a director,who has behaved in this manner and then,to be charitable,forgotten to mention it to their fellow colleagues and fellow directors.
Unconventional forms of media are not,in my opinion bad forms of media.I can see how they can play a useful role in local markets,perhaps even more effectively than remote agencies who have little interest in local matters and are largely politically slanted.
But this particular agency,it's directorship and it's reporters need to take a stand for moral journalism if they are to be recognized as a real force in their particular market.They can start by speaking to this issue,either by asking their director to support the claims made or withdraw them and issue an appropriate apology,and to resign,at least temporarily,pending the outcome of this unresolved issue.
Saturday 14 July 2012
Since I live in Calgary,in the province of Alberta,in western Canada,my readers would likely view it as incredibly ignorant on my part if this whole week were to pass and I were to make no mention of the Calgary Stampede.But you see,even though I live here,I do not really partake of the Stampede.I did not take parade day off as many Calgarians do,to watch the opening of our cities biggest annual event.the reason is simple.I work for a living and that is simply not an option.Moreover,I do not enjoy rodeo events,though I don't dislike horses.and the Stampede is certainly about horses.All week long the rodeo and chuck wagon races go on at the Stampede grounds,and processions of horses interrupt the flow of traffic right in the heart of downtown.Many of these horses are amazingly beautiful,proud animal.
With this being the 100th anniversary of the Stampede,it seems to be a bigger event than usual.Streets are crowded as they normally are during Stampede,though this year there seems to be more visitors than ever.Judging by all the languages I hear spoken,people come from all over the world for this event.So,in a sense it seems really odd to live here and not participate.Everyone dresses the part of a cowboy it seems.Everyone but me at least.I don't much see the point of having a cowboy hat for only one occasion.Some people here will wear their hats year round,but I never have liked wearing a hat.Cowboy boots are in fashion too,and there was a time I used to wear them,but I found them rather uncomfortable for daily use.As to the pancake breakfasts,and there seem to be about a thousand of those,well,again I'm at work at that time of day,and I really don't care much for pancakes.Still the breakfasts are a well attended staple of the event.
Calgary Stampede never seems to pass without controversy.Often PETA has protesters picketing the rodeo events,believing them to be cruel.In point of fact,the rodeo stock is a valuable commodity to western ranchers and as such is well cared for.Sometimes though,there are accidents which result in tragedy,as was the case on Thursday night when a wreck occurred during one of the chuck wagon races and three horses were killed.Of course that brought the animal cruelty protestors out in force.And while they raise reasonable issues,I sometimes wonder where they go during the rest of the year.They certainly are not as visible.
Please don't misunderstand.I am not down on the Calgary Stampede.Come some year and enjoy the event,by all means.It's just that I do not personally participate in the lifestyle that the Stampede represents.Except for perhaps the exhibition of art by Charles Russell being held this year at the Glenbow museum.Russell was a an artist noted for his portrayal of western life,especially in Montana and southern Alberta.I think perhaps it's easy to take an event like the Stampede for granted when you live here.And,speaking for myself,though I know other writers who have similar difficulties,I seem to be cursed with an inability to write well about a place-any place-when I'm actually there.I'm trying to overcome that,but you'll have to bear with me.Hence,you don't find daily rundowns of events like the Stampede in my blog.
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With this being the 100th anniversary of the Stampede,it seems to be a bigger event than usual.Streets are crowded as they normally are during Stampede,though this year there seems to be more visitors than ever.Judging by all the languages I hear spoken,people come from all over the world for this event.So,in a sense it seems really odd to live here and not participate.Everyone dresses the part of a cowboy it seems.Everyone but me at least.I don't much see the point of having a cowboy hat for only one occasion.Some people here will wear their hats year round,but I never have liked wearing a hat.Cowboy boots are in fashion too,and there was a time I used to wear them,but I found them rather uncomfortable for daily use.As to the pancake breakfasts,and there seem to be about a thousand of those,well,again I'm at work at that time of day,and I really don't care much for pancakes.Still the breakfasts are a well attended staple of the event.
Calgary Stampede never seems to pass without controversy.Often PETA has protesters picketing the rodeo events,believing them to be cruel.In point of fact,the rodeo stock is a valuable commodity to western ranchers and as such is well cared for.Sometimes though,there are accidents which result in tragedy,as was the case on Thursday night when a wreck occurred during one of the chuck wagon races and three horses were killed.Of course that brought the animal cruelty protestors out in force.And while they raise reasonable issues,I sometimes wonder where they go during the rest of the year.They certainly are not as visible.
Please don't misunderstand.I am not down on the Calgary Stampede.Come some year and enjoy the event,by all means.It's just that I do not personally participate in the lifestyle that the Stampede represents.Except for perhaps the exhibition of art by Charles Russell being held this year at the Glenbow museum.Russell was a an artist noted for his portrayal of western life,especially in Montana and southern Alberta.I think perhaps it's easy to take an event like the Stampede for granted when you live here.And,speaking for myself,though I know other writers who have similar difficulties,I seem to be cursed with an inability to write well about a place-any place-when I'm actually there.I'm trying to overcome that,but you'll have to bear with me.Hence,you don't find daily rundowns of events like the Stampede in my blog.
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Book Review
Once again I direct your attention to the"What I'm reading"section of this blog at the bottom right.Here you will see a list of books I've read recently,though it is not an exhaustive or all inclusive list.From time to time I may take the time to make comments on certain of these books.
I have just finished reading a fascinating book on Galileo entitled Galileo's Daughter-A Historical Memoir of Science,Faith,and Love,by Dava Sobel.In this book we see Galileo revealed through both the authors narrative and through letters sent to Galileo by his eldest daughter,a nun.
The book deals,of course with Galileo's trials in which he ran afoul with the then seemingly all powerful Catholic Church for defending the position of Copernicus that the Earth revolved around the Sun,contrary to the literal position of the Church that the Earth was central to the universe and stationary.We see,through his communications with his beloved daughter a picture of his faith and commitment to that faith,as well as his steadfast refusal to deny what he can see and experience of the world he lives in.What is important here,and should be an important lesson for today's materialists is that Galileo was hardly dogmatic in faith when confronted with visible evidence of a reality contrary to the literal word of scripture.And,of course,the lesson is that we need not view God's word and Science as being mutually contradictions.
It is astonishing to the modern mind how much power the church exerted in Galileo's day.The elite institution literally had the power,then viewed as legitimate,of life or death over those it viewed as heretics.Such was it's influence that even civil authority had to bow before it's popes.Certainly it had the ability,used to full force,to destroy Galileo's reputation such that his credibility was never restored except in the light of fairly recent history-disturbingly recent so far as the Catholic Church is concerned.
Clearly there are some parallels to our time inherent in the story of Galileo,being as it is about dogmatism and the injustice that often results when the position of orthodoxy is occupied by a relatively small unpluralistic group with vested interests of it's own.Today,we could note that the shoe seems to be on the other foot.Whereas in the time of Galileo the Church held the orthodox view,today faith seems to be under attack by Darwin and his proponents as well as athiests such as Dawkins,Dennett,and Hitchins among others.In most "intellectual"(actually pseudointellectual) discussions,materialists,atheists or agnostics begin at the default position of their non-belief as though to question it causes one to lose all credibility in the academic arena.It may be that such things follow naturally from the entrenched attitudes of Galileo's time and the point is we need to be aware of their presence in our society so as to learn history's lesson adequately and not obscure reality behind a veil of dogmatic belief.In the meantime,a whole class of people with Dawkins as their vocal leader have raised spiritual ignorance to the status of a new religion,in the sense that it takes a good deal of faith to believe most of their suppositions.And while they claim atheism,they believe in it's tenants with religious fervor.
What is also strikingly evident in Galileo's story is that he did not view religion and reason as being mutually exclusive concepts.There was a deep seated knowledge that God provided men with intellect so that they might enjoy the discovery of His world.I would note that today,many people seem to reject faith because they view it as something that cannot be believed intellectually,when in fact,if we don't listen too closely to the current voice of orthodoxy,true science can affirm faith.Galileo got this concept and was possibly one of the first people about whom this can be said.As to his faith,in terms of actions,he was a loving parent,generous supporter of his community and steadfast in his support of what he knew to be true,in the face of overwhelming opposition.Hardly lacking in faith,as revealed by the letters from his daughter.
Take some time to read this amazingly insightful book.It comes with my highest recommendation.
I have just finished reading a fascinating book on Galileo entitled Galileo's Daughter-A Historical Memoir of Science,Faith,and Love,by Dava Sobel.In this book we see Galileo revealed through both the authors narrative and through letters sent to Galileo by his eldest daughter,a nun.
The book deals,of course with Galileo's trials in which he ran afoul with the then seemingly all powerful Catholic Church for defending the position of Copernicus that the Earth revolved around the Sun,contrary to the literal position of the Church that the Earth was central to the universe and stationary.We see,through his communications with his beloved daughter a picture of his faith and commitment to that faith,as well as his steadfast refusal to deny what he can see and experience of the world he lives in.What is important here,and should be an important lesson for today's materialists is that Galileo was hardly dogmatic in faith when confronted with visible evidence of a reality contrary to the literal word of scripture.And,of course,the lesson is that we need not view God's word and Science as being mutually contradictions.
It is astonishing to the modern mind how much power the church exerted in Galileo's day.The elite institution literally had the power,then viewed as legitimate,of life or death over those it viewed as heretics.Such was it's influence that even civil authority had to bow before it's popes.Certainly it had the ability,used to full force,to destroy Galileo's reputation such that his credibility was never restored except in the light of fairly recent history-disturbingly recent so far as the Catholic Church is concerned.
Clearly there are some parallels to our time inherent in the story of Galileo,being as it is about dogmatism and the injustice that often results when the position of orthodoxy is occupied by a relatively small unpluralistic group with vested interests of it's own.Today,we could note that the shoe seems to be on the other foot.Whereas in the time of Galileo the Church held the orthodox view,today faith seems to be under attack by Darwin and his proponents as well as athiests such as Dawkins,Dennett,and Hitchins among others.In most "intellectual"(actually pseudointellectual) discussions,materialists,atheists or agnostics begin at the default position of their non-belief as though to question it causes one to lose all credibility in the academic arena.It may be that such things follow naturally from the entrenched attitudes of Galileo's time and the point is we need to be aware of their presence in our society so as to learn history's lesson adequately and not obscure reality behind a veil of dogmatic belief.In the meantime,a whole class of people with Dawkins as their vocal leader have raised spiritual ignorance to the status of a new religion,in the sense that it takes a good deal of faith to believe most of their suppositions.And while they claim atheism,they believe in it's tenants with religious fervor.
What is also strikingly evident in Galileo's story is that he did not view religion and reason as being mutually exclusive concepts.There was a deep seated knowledge that God provided men with intellect so that they might enjoy the discovery of His world.I would note that today,many people seem to reject faith because they view it as something that cannot be believed intellectually,when in fact,if we don't listen too closely to the current voice of orthodoxy,true science can affirm faith.Galileo got this concept and was possibly one of the first people about whom this can be said.As to his faith,in terms of actions,he was a loving parent,generous supporter of his community and steadfast in his support of what he knew to be true,in the face of overwhelming opposition.Hardly lacking in faith,as revealed by the letters from his daughter.
Take some time to read this amazingly insightful book.It comes with my highest recommendation.
Friday 13 July 2012
Memoir Writers Homework/Humour.
I love humour of most,but maybe not all kinds.As a writer it's something I strive for.Because I love to laugh,it would be great to be able to make others laugh.In fact,it's one of our God given rights to laugh.And while I'm invoking God's name,I'm convinced God has a sense of humour.How could anyone who created Giraffes,platypuses,Jeff Foxworthy,Jeff Dunham and me,not have had a sense of humour and wanted us to laugh?
Humour,to me needs not to be mean spirited,though it may cast us,or any group of us in a humorous light.But I've always had my limits.Some things are not funny.Like AIDS jokes,for instance that started making the rounds in the 1980s.I never want to reinforce the joke teller of a "joke" like that. The same with jokes that are racially degrading.
I always wanted to preform stand up comedy and,eventually,I got my wish.I sat down,wrote some jokes,tried to memorize them,then got up in front of an admittedly rather friendly audience at a club I used to haunt in Edmonton,Alberta and let her fly.The whole thing was more or less a success.The crowd laughed.I'd prepared about 30 one liners and managed not to forget them.I don't know what I'd have done if there were any hecklers.I'd asked my friend,also a comedian,and a much better one than I,to keep an eye on the crowd and try to find out what jokes got the best reaction.It turned out my featured stuff wasn't near as funny as some of the jokes I wrote mostly as filler.Here is the one they liked the best,according to my friend:"There are some things the Bible doesn't come right out and say.Like that part where the snake got us all off on the wrong foot-and snakes don't even have feet-and God made him crawl on his belly for all eternity.Well,God must have been really chocked with the aardvarks...he made them suck ants through their nose."Howls of laughter,according to my friend,though I thought some of my other jokes were better.
I like to laugh at myself too.I am a big man.By big,I mean big around.It's called generously proportioned.Well,one time I was getting into my friends Smart Car,and having a bit of trouble.He says to me, jokingly,"if you were not so well endowed you could get in with no problem."
"Really",I replied,"are you sure you didn't mean"generously proportioned?"
"What's the difference?"
"Let me demonstrate by using both words in a sentence for you."I'm so generously proportioned,I can't tell whether or not I'm well endowed."Howls of laughter,I hope,because I might like to do stand up again sometime and I can see a place for that one in my routine.But as for humour in my writing,I suspect it's still a work in progress.You be the judge.
Humour,to me needs not to be mean spirited,though it may cast us,or any group of us in a humorous light.But I've always had my limits.Some things are not funny.Like AIDS jokes,for instance that started making the rounds in the 1980s.I never want to reinforce the joke teller of a "joke" like that. The same with jokes that are racially degrading.
I always wanted to preform stand up comedy and,eventually,I got my wish.I sat down,wrote some jokes,tried to memorize them,then got up in front of an admittedly rather friendly audience at a club I used to haunt in Edmonton,Alberta and let her fly.The whole thing was more or less a success.The crowd laughed.I'd prepared about 30 one liners and managed not to forget them.I don't know what I'd have done if there were any hecklers.I'd asked my friend,also a comedian,and a much better one than I,to keep an eye on the crowd and try to find out what jokes got the best reaction.It turned out my featured stuff wasn't near as funny as some of the jokes I wrote mostly as filler.Here is the one they liked the best,according to my friend:"There are some things the Bible doesn't come right out and say.Like that part where the snake got us all off on the wrong foot-and snakes don't even have feet-and God made him crawl on his belly for all eternity.Well,God must have been really chocked with the aardvarks...he made them suck ants through their nose."Howls of laughter,according to my friend,though I thought some of my other jokes were better.
I like to laugh at myself too.I am a big man.By big,I mean big around.It's called generously proportioned.Well,one time I was getting into my friends Smart Car,and having a bit of trouble.He says to me, jokingly,"if you were not so well endowed you could get in with no problem."
"Really",I replied,"are you sure you didn't mean"generously proportioned?"
"What's the difference?"
"Let me demonstrate by using both words in a sentence for you."I'm so generously proportioned,I can't tell whether or not I'm well endowed."Howls of laughter,I hope,because I might like to do stand up again sometime and I can see a place for that one in my routine.But as for humour in my writing,I suspect it's still a work in progress.You be the judge.
Wednesday 11 July 2012
review
Three months seems an appropriate time to conduct a review of my blogging activities,so please bear with me as I take a few moments to do just that.My stats page indicates I have made 55 entries over just a bit more than three months and have just over 850 page views.I wish there were more and that I knew how to promote my blog better,but it's just my first try at it and I am learning.Hopefully the writing will get better too.For now I'm reasonably happy with things overall,though not necessarily with every entry.
I set myself the goal of getting to 75 entries before the end of this month,but that is looking like a bit of a challenge at this point.I've been busier than I thought I would be and I still do not have my own laptop so getting computer time can be a bit of a problem too.And really,I think it is more important to aim for quality rather than quantity,even if it means I miss posting for several days.The problem is that pageviews seem to drop if I don't post at least every couple of days.Also, unfortunately I'm not blessed with an inexhaustible supply of writing ideas either.That seemed so much easier when I was doing my writing in a notebook.Notebooks,though seem to keep getting lost,stolen,burned or flooded or just plain thrown away by someone that doesn't see their significance
So what about the direction this blog is taking?Well,basically the idea was to start a sort of a memoir.But really this blog contains just about everything I would normally be writing when I was putting things in my notebooks.In fact,the blogs entitled Memoir Writers Homework are prepared by hand first anyway.That is because the intent with those entries was to continue the writing in the same way as when I was attending the writers group in Toronto.Those entries are topical in nature and took about 10-15 minutes to complete,which is something I could never achieve in similar time with a keyboard.Still,apart from writing memoir in larger themes,or chronologically,I found those assignments a useful hunter gatherer activity and they have produced a wealth of raw materials for the actual writing.So they will continue.
So far I haven't really started the memoir except to set a sort of a context and provide some of the backstory without which the story itself would not make sense.But the starting of that is not far off.
Why write a memoir.Well,simply,I think everyone who can write should write.I don't really see my life as being especially interesting,but others might.My grandparents stories are mostly lost because they didn't write.They were not extraordinary really,but I am at a lack for some things I expect I would find interesting.As might people a hundred years from now when they see my name in a family tree.
Mostly I think my story is about my identity as a Canadian,and how you find that identity in a country so vast.That's still an ongoing experience for me.Consequently,you will see basically two kinds of writing.There is of course the memoir complete with some of the writers exercises that help to create it.So you will tend to see some insight into the actual process as well as the work product,which is an idea that appeals to me,at least right now.You will also see what I like to think of as writing in the here and now,which are really my daily reflections on a wide variety of subjects,that,until recently were being kept in coil notebooks as a kind of a journal.That too will continue.A couple of years ago I tentatively decided to separate the "now"from the "then" as far as writing is concerned.Format rules that out for the moment but it is just something I will have to live with.
How do I feel about keeping all these thing in a blog?Truthfully I'm not certain.At times I think the writing is not good enough,but I guess everyone who writes is subject to those thoughts.I sometimes wonder if putting all these things in the open market changes the way I write,or what actually gets written.Subject for a separate entry perhaps.Then there are the times,less frequent when I think that this writing might actually be of interest or use to someone.I notice I have readers from several countries all over the world,who might be getting a sense of what living in Canada is like and that keeps me going.
To everyone who takes the time to read,I thank you for your indulgence and I hope you will continue to follow along.I hope you will read the blogs I'm reading too as well as the video lists posted at the bottom,and some of the books I'm reading,which I've also posted.
For at least another three months and likely longer I will continue to keep this blog.I also welcome some of your comments,good or bad.It would be great if you could just leave me a note and let me know who you are and where you are from.Also,if any of you are writing blogs,I would like to check them out and possibly list them among the ones I'm currently reading.
That's all for now on this very hot night from Calgary,Alberta,Canada.
I set myself the goal of getting to 75 entries before the end of this month,but that is looking like a bit of a challenge at this point.I've been busier than I thought I would be and I still do not have my own laptop so getting computer time can be a bit of a problem too.And really,I think it is more important to aim for quality rather than quantity,even if it means I miss posting for several days.The problem is that pageviews seem to drop if I don't post at least every couple of days.Also, unfortunately I'm not blessed with an inexhaustible supply of writing ideas either.That seemed so much easier when I was doing my writing in a notebook.Notebooks,though seem to keep getting lost,stolen,burned or flooded or just plain thrown away by someone that doesn't see their significance
So what about the direction this blog is taking?Well,basically the idea was to start a sort of a memoir.But really this blog contains just about everything I would normally be writing when I was putting things in my notebooks.In fact,the blogs entitled Memoir Writers Homework are prepared by hand first anyway.That is because the intent with those entries was to continue the writing in the same way as when I was attending the writers group in Toronto.Those entries are topical in nature and took about 10-15 minutes to complete,which is something I could never achieve in similar time with a keyboard.Still,apart from writing memoir in larger themes,or chronologically,I found those assignments a useful hunter gatherer activity and they have produced a wealth of raw materials for the actual writing.So they will continue.
So far I haven't really started the memoir except to set a sort of a context and provide some of the backstory without which the story itself would not make sense.But the starting of that is not far off.
Why write a memoir.Well,simply,I think everyone who can write should write.I don't really see my life as being especially interesting,but others might.My grandparents stories are mostly lost because they didn't write.They were not extraordinary really,but I am at a lack for some things I expect I would find interesting.As might people a hundred years from now when they see my name in a family tree.
Mostly I think my story is about my identity as a Canadian,and how you find that identity in a country so vast.That's still an ongoing experience for me.Consequently,you will see basically two kinds of writing.There is of course the memoir complete with some of the writers exercises that help to create it.So you will tend to see some insight into the actual process as well as the work product,which is an idea that appeals to me,at least right now.You will also see what I like to think of as writing in the here and now,which are really my daily reflections on a wide variety of subjects,that,until recently were being kept in coil notebooks as a kind of a journal.That too will continue.A couple of years ago I tentatively decided to separate the "now"from the "then" as far as writing is concerned.Format rules that out for the moment but it is just something I will have to live with.
How do I feel about keeping all these thing in a blog?Truthfully I'm not certain.At times I think the writing is not good enough,but I guess everyone who writes is subject to those thoughts.I sometimes wonder if putting all these things in the open market changes the way I write,or what actually gets written.Subject for a separate entry perhaps.Then there are the times,less frequent when I think that this writing might actually be of interest or use to someone.I notice I have readers from several countries all over the world,who might be getting a sense of what living in Canada is like and that keeps me going.
To everyone who takes the time to read,I thank you for your indulgence and I hope you will continue to follow along.I hope you will read the blogs I'm reading too as well as the video lists posted at the bottom,and some of the books I'm reading,which I've also posted.
For at least another three months and likely longer I will continue to keep this blog.I also welcome some of your comments,good or bad.It would be great if you could just leave me a note and let me know who you are and where you are from.Also,if any of you are writing blogs,I would like to check them out and possibly list them among the ones I'm currently reading.
That's all for now on this very hot night from Calgary,Alberta,Canada.
Sunday 8 July 2012
memoir writers homework/a hated place
It was 1979 when I first came to the most hated place I can think of.I have no idea why I would come back again in 2012 for a third kick at the cat.Oh,yes,there is plenty of work here,it's a boom town,just like it was the first time around.Money grows on trees,or at least on the kind of trees that go to make news print for the classified ads.I'm not sure I ever really believed that money grew on trees anyway.
But just because there is work is not to say that Calgary offers a decent lifestyle,with all respect to those who like it here.I don't!
This town just sucks a person dry.Sure you can make money,but the city takes away as much as it gives.Boom town economy brings boom town prices.It's hard to find housing at any price and even a lot of the working people are homeless.For $500/month you can sometimes rent a room roughly the size of a broom closet.And you have to put up with things a person should never have to put up with.Crackheads living in the next room and leaving their needles all over the place,or knocking on your door at 3am to see if you have anything to sell.I never have been involved in that kind of enterprise,but try telling a crackhead that,or that you have to be up at 5am to go to an honest job.And there is no point calling the police here in Calgary when you have bad neighbors.You see,most of the affordable suites are illegal in terms of zoning laws so there is a danger of becoming instantly homeless.Or,more likely the police will just say you consent to being mistreated by virtue of living in an illegal suite.Unless you get very seriously assaulted,the police could not be bothered.There is no shortage of police cars to hide in the bushes though so as to capitalize on the flow of money with speed traps.
Food is another thing.In Toronto I could actually afford food.I could purchase anything I wanted in good quality with a far better selection than I ever could here.The same goes for clothing.All part of the rat race I guess.People running about to get nowhere,never realizing they are slaves to a system.
Then there are the people who say"if you don't like it here why don't you leave"That's long been a prevailing attitude here.I'm here to help fill at least one of those jobs that you say can't be filled because of a shortage of workers.But as sure as the oil prices could drop like a stone again,sometime at least,these people would be talking about firewalls against the rest of Canada and offering anyone not from here a bus ticket home.Calgary is not a welcoming city.I have some very dear friends here,whom I dearly love.But that is in spite of the way this city really is.I will always,along with many like me be perceived as"that eastern trash that brings crime and social problems to Alberta"It may be thirty years since our former premier said that,but it's impossible to live here and not know that many Albertans still feel it.So,as I look to the blue mountains only sixty or so miles away,I wonder why I don't just start walking into them.Maybe someday I will.Calgary is a place to work but not a place to live.
But just because there is work is not to say that Calgary offers a decent lifestyle,with all respect to those who like it here.I don't!
This town just sucks a person dry.Sure you can make money,but the city takes away as much as it gives.Boom town economy brings boom town prices.It's hard to find housing at any price and even a lot of the working people are homeless.For $500/month you can sometimes rent a room roughly the size of a broom closet.And you have to put up with things a person should never have to put up with.Crackheads living in the next room and leaving their needles all over the place,or knocking on your door at 3am to see if you have anything to sell.I never have been involved in that kind of enterprise,but try telling a crackhead that,or that you have to be up at 5am to go to an honest job.And there is no point calling the police here in Calgary when you have bad neighbors.You see,most of the affordable suites are illegal in terms of zoning laws so there is a danger of becoming instantly homeless.Or,more likely the police will just say you consent to being mistreated by virtue of living in an illegal suite.Unless you get very seriously assaulted,the police could not be bothered.There is no shortage of police cars to hide in the bushes though so as to capitalize on the flow of money with speed traps.
Food is another thing.In Toronto I could actually afford food.I could purchase anything I wanted in good quality with a far better selection than I ever could here.The same goes for clothing.All part of the rat race I guess.People running about to get nowhere,never realizing they are slaves to a system.
Then there are the people who say"if you don't like it here why don't you leave"That's long been a prevailing attitude here.I'm here to help fill at least one of those jobs that you say can't be filled because of a shortage of workers.But as sure as the oil prices could drop like a stone again,sometime at least,these people would be talking about firewalls against the rest of Canada and offering anyone not from here a bus ticket home.Calgary is not a welcoming city.I have some very dear friends here,whom I dearly love.But that is in spite of the way this city really is.I will always,along with many like me be perceived as"that eastern trash that brings crime and social problems to Alberta"It may be thirty years since our former premier said that,but it's impossible to live here and not know that many Albertans still feel it.So,as I look to the blue mountains only sixty or so miles away,I wonder why I don't just start walking into them.Maybe someday I will.Calgary is a place to work but not a place to live.
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