Today in history... One of six wives finished...

On March 30, 1533, King Henry VIII officially divorced his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. Henry has become infamous in the television show, The Tudors, and numerous historians have documented his life and the lives of his six wives. The easiest way to remember what happened to them all is by memorizing the following rhyme:

• Katherine of Aragon = DIVORCED


• Anne Boleyn= BEHEADED


• Jane Seymour = DIED


• Anne of Cleves = DIVORCED


• Catherine Howard = BEHEADED


• Catherine Parr = SURVIVED

Henry was first succeeded by nine-year-old Edward VI (Henry's son with his third wife, Jane Seymour), who ruled for nine years. After his death, it was discovered that Edward had changed his will and named his cousin, Jane Grey, as heir to the throne. She was fourth in line, but her family had conspired to place her in power.

Mary I (Henry's daughter with his first wife, Katherine of Aragon), removed Jane from the throne after only nine days. Mary was the rightful heir, and Jane Grey was later beheaded on Tower Green where both Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard were beheaded previously by Henry. Mary ruled until her death, and became fiercely known as "Bloody Mary" for the number of people she personally had beheaded and burned at the stake. After Mary died in 1558, her half-sister Elizabeth (Henry's daughter with his second wife, Anne Boleyn) took over and ruled for 45 years.

If you are completely lost, don't worry. It took me awhile to figure out how everyone is connected the first time I learned about it in history class.

2010 = The Year of the British Home Child

Here's a little bit of history about something important in Canada...

Throughout the late nineteenth century, Britain was faced with poverty, pollution, and social inequality. As a result, hundreds of thousands of people - especially children - were forced to live in horrible, slum-like conditions. These children had limited options. Many went “into service,” and worked in workhouses or served as indentured labourers. Others lived on the streets. By the late 1800s, it was impossible to ignore how bad the living conditions had become, and organizations in both Britain and Canada decided something needed to be done.

The British Child Emigration Movement officially began on October 28, 1869, when Maria Rye – an English social reformer – brought 68 children from London and Liverpool to Canada. Rye wanted to free children who were too poor to survive on their own, and provide them with opportunities they couldn`t find at home. It was planned that younger children would be adopted by Canadian families, and older children would be provided with shelter and food in exchange for farming help until they were 18 years old. Both Canadian and British government supported the program; Britain, because it reduced the costs of having to support struggling children; Canada, because it provided workers-in-training and young children that could be adopted.

Rye's initial movement spawned a number of organizations, and over 100,000 children were sent to Canada between 1869 - 1948. In total, 150,000 children were sent to Commonwealth countries, including Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa in addition to Canada. The average age was six to fifteen years, but some children were as young as six months old.

Living conditions varied for home children. Some were treated very well, and found loving and caring families to adopt them. Others, however, were faced with a variety of circumstances not unlike those they left behind in Britain. Education suffered horribly. Many farming families could not afford to lose their child`s labour when they went to school. Therefore, accepting a home child meant they could send one of their own children to school and not lose the labour needed at the farm. Many home children grew up with limited or no education. Most of the children were called orphans, but in reality, two-thirds of them had a parent in Britain. Most parents were just too poor to keep them.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown issued an apology to home children on Feb. 24, 2010. Brown also met with former home children to listen to their stories firsthand. His apology followed a similar one from Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on Nov. 16, 2009. Canada has proclaimed 2010 the Year of the British Home Child, and various efforts are being taken to ensure the past is not forgotten. Websites and organizations are trying to gather as much information about home children as possible, and are trying to help families trace their origins and ancestors. The Canadian Post Office will issue an honorary stamp in October, and there are plans for a Special Anthology Book and Memory Quilt.

Today in history... Enter Pluto

On March 24, 1930, Pluto was officially named a planet. Initially, it was referred to as Planet X, because scientists knew it was out there, but didn't have the technology to see it. Pluto was considered to be the Solar System's ninth planet until 2006, when it was demoted to a "dwarf planet." Pluto has two known smaller moons, Nix and Hydra, both of which were discovered in 2005. It is composed primarily of rock and ice, and is a fifth of the mass of the Earth's moon.

Today in history... Beatlemania

On March 22. 1963, The Beatles released their first album, Please Please Me, in the UK. Their second album, With The Beatles, became the second album ever to sell a million copies in the UK.

On March 22, 1997, Paul McCartney's birth certificate was sold at an auction for $84, 146.

Nazi war crimes trial of my generation

Being 23 years old, I naturally assumed that the war crimes trials that followed the Second World War were a thing of the past. I read about Nuremberg in history books, and looked at the past from the comfort of the twenty-first century. I never thought I would hear anything new about Nazi prosecution, the Holocaust, or the war. Well, I was wrong...

89-year-old John Demjanjuk is on trial in Munich for being a prison guard in the Sobibor concentration camp who allegedly led tens of thousands of Jews to their deaths. It is believed he helped kill roughly 27,900 people while working at the camp in occupied Poland. Demjanjuk claims he was forced to work at the camp after being captured while fighting for the Red Army, but prosecutors claim he volunteered. There is no documentation to substantiate either claim, but one fact is certain... he did work at the camp.

Demjanjuk suffers from leukemia, and he has to be brought in and out of court on a stretcher. At times he is too weak to even participate in the proceedings. The man is obviously at the end of his life, but many people believe his weakness is just an act. This raises one main question in my mind: Should someone still stand trial if they are too old to stand?

In 1986, he was sentenced to death in Israel for being the sadistic "Ivan the Terrible," a Sobibor death camp Nazi prison guard. The conviction was overturned when Israel recognized they had the wrong man. Now, twenty-four years later, he is defending his actions and possibly his innocence once again.

The court case still continues, and I have no idea how to feel about it. No one can say for sure what his role was at the camp. I plan to follow the story, and the outcome is anyone's guess. Will Demjanjuk be acquitted due to a lack of evidence? Or, will he be sentenced to serve in prison over sixty years after his involvement in the Second World War?

Stress tips from the stressed...

The end of my first year of CreComm is quickly coming to an end, and a small part of me is glad. I have loved every minute of my time at Red River, but I need to reacquaint myself with sleep. The last month has been especially stressful, and I have definitely seen the worst in myself. I am a very organized person, so when I get stressed things must be busy...

Below is a list of the things I have learned and the revelations I have made along the way:

1) Get a BlackBerry. Trust me, it's worth the money. I can't even begin to measure how many hours I have saved since I bought one. Actually, I'm typing this blog in my BlackBerry right now, and I will copy and paste it later. I have on occasion forgotten it is a cellphone, but that's just a detail.

2) Eating an apple every day is key. Eating on the run is a fact of life, but when you get really busy, remember an apple. Throw one in your bag in the morning, and you'll eat it later. Apparently an apple gives you more of a boost than a cup of coffee!

3) Don't underestimate a good yoga pose. Taking a moment to stretch and breathe can really change your mindset. It doesn't have to be a yoga pose... bust out the "running man" if the situation seems right.

4) Look up. People forget that they are still living life when they are busy. Don't ever forget to be a part of the world even if you don't have time to sleep. And don't take out your frustration on the person who is making your coffee or serving you dinner. They are busy people too.

5) Don't forget your family. Even if you just take a moment to ask about someones day, they will appreciate the gesture. Hug your mom, joke with your dad. They just want to know you are alright.

6) Laugh and make it fun. No matter what you are doing, try to have a good time doing it. That goes for anything... even grocery shopping.

I hope some of these tips are helpful. It's hard to try and be happy when times are stressful and life is busy. But something else will always come up, and the only way to get through it is to relax, take a moment, and stop to smell the roses once in awhile...

Written by Amanda Hope, self-proclaimed stress case...

It's all about the relationships

Last night I was watching Lost, and I stumbled across a few realizations. One: I have absolutely no idea what is happening. Two: I don't care. All I want to know is who Kate will end up with. Will it be bad boy Sawyer, or the good doctor, Jack?

After the show ended, I started thinking. I lose interest in television shows quite frequently when the love interest don't hook up or fall apart completely. I loved watching The Office, and I followed it frequently. After Jim and Pam got together, I stopped watching. Throughout the first few seasons, I was always waiting, waiting, WAITING to find out if they would just get it together and start dating already. After they did, I felt like I could move on. Sure, the show is hilarious, and if it's on I will watch it. But I no longer make an effort to tune in.

I followed the same pattern with The X-Files. My boyfriend and I own every season on DVD, and I would tirelessly scour the information cards that outline each episode. I was looking for any indication that something romantic would happen between Scully and Mulder. It never really happened. In the first feature film, The X-Files, the two almost shared a kiss. But, in a cruel twist of fate, Scully was bit by a wasp and ruined the moment. The second X-Files movie was also a huge let down. I couldn't figure out if they were together, had been together, or were getting together. The fact that the movie was absolutely horrible didn't help either.

The series finale of the Gilmore Girls was a huge let down for me. Rory didn't end up with anyone! I was waiting for Jess to show up and proclaim his undying love. He didn't. Rory went to the city, started a job, and stated that she wanted to focus on her career. Good for her, but I wanted to see a happy ending.

My parent's have recently become fans of Bones, and they watch it regularly. I have barely any time for television, and I usually catch a few minutes of the show each week. The plot is interesting, the characters are great, but all I really want to know is if Bones and Both will attempt to have a dysfunctional relationship.

So why am I so obsessed with characters in television shows having a relationship? Maybe I love the drama, the constant question of "will they ever get it together and be happy?" Or, maybe I am actually a closet romantic who wants everyone (even fictional characters) to be in a loving relationship like I am. I doubt it, but who knows! At least one relationship better pan out by the time Lost finishes. If Kate doesn't end up with SOMEONE, I will be very upset, and my blog readers will hear about it.

Movin' on up... or down...

Well, it's official. I have potentially concluded the hunt for an apartment, and in the next few weeks I might be leaving my parents house. Jeff and I have been searching for the perfect apartment for a few months, but nothing seemed to be quite right. We were looking for a certain location on Pembina Highway, which is apparently quite hard to find. After looking at many places, and suffering repeated disappointments, we found exactly what we were looking for.

We are waiting to find out if we will get the apartment, which has left me with time to think about this potential change. I have lived with my parents since I was born. The longest I have been away from home was when I was in Europe for two months last summer, but even then I had either my brother or my mother for company. Moving away from home and into an apartment with a boyfriend is a big step. I can't pretend I'm a student who hasn't officially started her life yet. Life is real now.

I won't have my mom there to make my lunch, help with my laundry, and drive me to school in the morning when I am stressed out. Yes, I know I am twenty-three, and should be doing these things for myself (which I usually do), but she is always there to help with anything I need. I won't have midnight chats with my brother anymore, but I guess we will actually have to find time to see each other. And I won't be able to talk to my dad whenever I want. We will have to rely on the phone, or the occasions we meet in person.

But overall, I'm excited. I feel that I am truly ready for this change. Sure, I attend classes full-time and don't currently have a job, but those are just details. Lots of people make it work, so I know that we can work too.

Does anyone have a toaster?

Treasure hunt through the country

The following is an assignment from journalism class. We were assigned to travel to a small town and write a story about something interesting. We were given no contacts or additional information. Here's what I came up with...

Many Manitobans associate the town of Russell with winter sports and summer fun. It’s a great place to go outdoors and get dirty. But in addition to the appeal of physical activities, Russell contains a wealth of hidden historical locations just waiting to be explored.

As a serious history lover, I yearned to find something unique when I visited Russell. I searched the town website, and stumbled across the email address of a woman who owns a ranch nearby. Hoping she could help me, I contacted her.

Marsha Trinder, 57, wanted to do more than simply provide me with information, and decided to give me a personal tour of historical sites around the area. We drove to the nearby village of Binscarth, and met the elderly yet exciting George Bouscher. He agreed to open up the Binscarth Museum, which is closed every winter, and provide us with a private tour.

Everything imaginable is housed inside what used to be a hardware store. Some of the contents are from the seventies, and other relics date back as far as 1870. One highlight is a collection of First World War uniforms and ration coupons.

Bouscher explained that he is a volunteer who donates his time to organize and preserve the large museum.

“If somebody doesn’t keep up with this stuff, it will be lost,” he explained. “There is so much history to keep track of.”

Next, Trinder drove me to the Millwood Bridge in the Assiniboine Valley. It was built in 1920, spans the Assiniboine River, and attracts hundreds of visitors every year.

“It’s an important piece of the past, and I’m proud to say that my grandfather helped build it,” Trinder explained.

Last, we visited a field that used to be the site of the Russell Barnardo Farm. Between 1869 -1948, 100,000 orphaned or destitute children were sent to Canada from Britain. Many were housed on farms and worked as indentured servants. Dr. Thomas Barnardo – a British philanthropist - picked Russell as the location for one of these farms. At its peak, it covered over 8,000 acres.

Mina Laycock has lived in Russell all her life. Her great-uncle was brought to Canada from Britain by Dr. Barnardo, and lived and worked on his farm as a boy.

“I don’t know much about it, because it was so long ago,” Laycock explained. “So many people aren’t aware this happened in Russell.”

Russell is located four hours from Winnipeg on the Yellowhead Highway. The town and surrounding municipality are packed with interesting places waiting to be explored.

For more information about Russell, visit the town website at: http://www.russellmb.com.

They are moose?

Occasionally in class we are asked (well... told really) to go off-campus to an event and write about it under a deadline. Last week, we attended a Manitoba Moose hockey game. We had to wander around, talk to random strangers, and find a story. It had to be related to the game, but not necessarily about the game. I found the cutest family ever, and here is their story...

Note: I have changed the names, as I did not tell them I would be posting this online...

“You Canadians love your hockey,” said 53-year-old Gio Thomas. “You are very patriotic people.”

Last June, Thomas moved his family to Canada from Paraguay. He chose Canada because he heard of its reputation of being a beautiful country filled with vast opportunities and kind people.
“I wanted to bring my family somewhere nice,” he said. “I wanted to make them a better life.”

Thomas felt completely out of his element last night as he paced quietly outside the MTS Centre with his family, waiting to enter the arena and watch the Manitoba Moose battle the Worcester Sharks. It was the first time Thomas had watched hockey, and he had no idea what to expect.

“I don’t understand it,” he explained bashfully. “I will cheer for your team, though. They are moose?”

Jimmy Thomas, Gio’s 12-year-old son, was part of a school choir that sang the Canadian national anthem at the beginning of the hockey game.

“That is why we are here,” Jimmy said, with a shy smile. “So I can sing for Canada. It gives me pride to do this for my new home. I work hard at school to learn English so I can be more Canadian.”

Jimmy was especially thrilled to sing at last night’s game after watching the Canadian men’s hockey team perform at the 2010 Winter Olympics. His parents wouldn’t watch the game – because they didn’t understand it – but Jimmy was ready and willing to learn everything he could.

“Lots of people running and yelling,” he said of the images broadcasted of Canadians partying after the men’s hockey team won the gold medal on Sunday night. “Hockey makes Canada very happy.”

Katie, Thomas’ wife, was much more anxious about watching her first hockey game than both her husband and son. She was worried she wouldn’t be able to follow along with the action and keep up with the crowd.

“Canadians are serious about hockey, I think. They are so excited, and me, I don’t know what to expect. I go into the game with worries, but I will cheer and try to make you proud.”

The Moose defeated the Sharks 3-1, placing them fourth in the North Division of the American Hockey League (AHL). For the Thomas family, the final score didn’t matter. It was the experience that was important, and Gio Thomas became emotional as he expressed his joy at watching a hockey game.

“It was very special,” he said earnestly. “My family is one step closer to becoming Canadian.”

Thanks to the residents of Russell

I wanted to take a moment to thank the lovely residents of Russell, Manitoba, whom I met on Friday. For a school assignment, my classmates and I were instructed to pick a small town, find something interesting about it, and write a story. We were also instructed to create a tourism advertisement. Thanks to some very kind and friendly people, I was able to find enough information to accomplish both.

Russell it a very cute town, and it has a lot to offer. I was fortunate enough to be provided with a personal tour of the country by a lovely woman who owns a horse and cattle ranch. My other group members found their stories by walking through the town and stopping at random stores. If one person did not have any information, they kindly directed us to someone who did. In one case, Peter from the jewellery store directed us to Alice at the craft store, who directed us to Dianne at the pharmacy. It was great. I am beginning to wonder if small town life is the way to go...

To screenplay or not to screenplay?

For creative writing class I was assigned to write a blog about film and screenwriting. It can be about anything related to either topic, so i’ve decided to take this opportunity to write about the screenplay I have always wanted to write.

To put it simply, my dream screenplay would basically be Quentin Tarantino meets The Lovely Bones. Yep, I know that sounds nuts, but think about it. Dying and waiting to cross over isn’t exactly a beautiful thing, and waiting in limbo could be a horrifying experience. Of course, I wouldn’t really know, because I haven’t been there. But, I can imagine. My screenplay would be tragic and terrifying, yet artistically realistic. And that’s where Tarantino would come in.

Writing a screenplay is actually a lot of work. There are so many components involved, including a logline, a synopsis, and an outline. These aspects make it easier for a person to understand what the screenplay is about, but they are quite difficult to write. You pretty much have to dumb down the concept to the bare essentials, yet still be interesting so a person wants to read on. This may sound like the epitome of a journalistic writing style, and it is.

Putting together the actual script is also more work than I thought it would be. There is a specific format to follow, and a certain way to write out actions and scene changes. It’s very easy for a script to become boring quickly, because the writer becomes so preoccupied with formatting the whole thing correctly. I’ve learned from experience that it’s best to write all the dialogue first, and copy it into the proper document later. This method provides the freedom to be creative without stressing about how it’s supposed to look.

So will I ever have a chance to create my dark masterpiece? Who knows. Local filmmaker, Sean Garrity, seems to be doing quite well with his recent feature film, Zooey & Adam. I supposed anyone could be successful if they put their minds to it. But as fun as writing screenplays would be, i’m going to stick to print journalism for now. Maybe i’ll change my mind in the future, and if I do, you’ll all be in for the film of a lifetime!

I don't want to fuel the fire...

...but I want to make a few comments in regards to the Winnipeg Free Press article about the students who could possibly be punished for recording two teachers taking part in a lap dance at Churchill High School during a spirit event. I will not use the names of the teachers (because I feel they have received enough media attention). I feel the students should not be penalized for their actions, and would like to take a moment to explain why this is my opinion.

I checked this morning, and there are two videos of the incident on YouTube. The first has 69,695 views, and the second 17,064 views. By this time, most people in Winnipeg (and Canada, North America, and other parts of the world) have heard about the lap dance. The teachers have been suspended with pay - as of Feb. 19 - and no final decisions regarding their fate have been made. Now, instead of allowing the issue to become yesterday's news and focus on more important issues - such as the earthquake in Chile - it is being dredged up again as talk about seeking disciplinary action against the students who posted the videos has become public.

The Winnipeg School Division has a zero-tolerance policy on the use of cellphones, cameras, and other recording devices. I know all about this rule, as I was once a high school student in Winnipeg myself. I feel the students who posted the videos should have gone to the school principal with any comments and/or concerns about the lap dance, instead of posting it online for everyone to see. But, they put it online, and probably did so to be funny or to showcase the antics of their educators. I don't agree with the way the video was released, but no one can do anything about it now.

With that being said, I don't agree with talk about disciplining the students for this action. If a student caught a teacher on camera using CPR techniques to save a student, and posted that, I highly doubt we would be having this conversation. Or, if a student videotaped a violent act (heaven forbid) that helped find answers, I find it hard to believe they would be reprimanded. The reason why there is talk about the students violation of the policy is a direct result of the nature of the video. I believe a stern discussion with school administration should suffice, and I am sure a conversation - or multiple conversations - has already taken place. The students who posted the video need to understand that the way they went about releasing the video was wrong. But, I don't think stronger actions need to be taken against them.

Is it really worth continuing to talk about? The teachers at Churchill High School know by now that what they did was wrong. And, by students videotaping the incident, the teachers were caught. Would it not be better to decide whether or not they are allowed to continue teaching, and drop the subject altogether? I know that policies are put in place for a reason, and I understand that the school board is doing what they feel they must to ensure the policies are upheld, but disciplining the students will only give people more to talk about. It will also raise questions about whether or not schools are hiding any other inappropriate conduct that simply hasn't been caught on tape. I believe we should just let it go, and move on with our lives.

To end this post, I will not be including a link to the video. If you are interested in watching it, do so. It is on YouTube.