An interesting hobby

Last Thursday, I went to watch my mom’s clogging class.

That’s right, clogging class.

She clogs.

I sat with a group of spectators while 30 women (and two men) danced up a storm for two hours. There were beginner, intermediate, and advanced routines. People would stand up and do the dances they knew, and sit down and watch when they were unsure of the steps. The music was a combination of Celtic and Highland classics, and also modern, popular music including the theme song to Footloose and “Jai Ho” from Slumdog Millionaire.

When I was younger, I took tap dancing lessons. I loved it, but gradually lost interest. Clogging is something very different from tap dancing. Many of the steps are the same, but the overall flow has been altered. When tap dancing, the whole body is used to DANCE to the music. When clogging, the feet are the primary tool.

To better illustrate what I mean by “clogging,” I have included a video below. These are not the people I personally watched last Thursday, just in case you were wondering.



It’s pretty cool! Some dancers in the class wore red shoes, others yellow shoes. The instructor had crazy pink-and-white shoes, and mom told me she has about five different pairs. I would love to do something like this for recreation, and it would have been an interesting idea for an IPP. Unfortunately, I don’t have the time during the school year. Maybe after I graduate...

I wanted to visit mom’s clogging class to see what all the fuss is about, and I’m glad I went. Next, I’m going to visit her Japanese drumming class, and see what that’s like.

Yep, Japanese drumming.

Mom has interesting hobbies.

Why teachers drink...

The above title was the subject line of an email my mom sent to me yesterday. What follows are a variety of photos that catch students who did not pay attention in class - more or less. I imagine that marking assignment after assignment can get boring after awhile, but dealing with the following answers is enough to make anyone crazy!

Well... theoretically, this is correct. The question didn't specify that six different animals had to be listed...

I really, really like this one. In class, we talked about the proper usage of words- such as to, too, two, and there, they're, their - so it's funny to see a student who knows what they want to say, but they just can't seem to find the correct meaning of the word!

Correct wording issues again. Maybe this student thought "fibula" was the technical term for the word "fib."

CreComms can't do math, and I'm pretty sure this was my answer in class a few times over the years.

This I don't have a problem with...

And this person was probably beaten up after class. Bike racks, three o'clock...

If you can't read this one, the question is "Explain why phosphorus is polar." The answer is "God made it that way."

CP Style perfectionists... majority or minority?

Last week, I was helping my friend Kristen write a letter asking businesses for prizes for her upcoming wedding social. As we were racking our brains to find the right wording, I also instinctively ensured the letter followed proper Canadian Press Style. Kristen asked me what exactly I was doing when I changed the number “9” to “nine,” so I explained the rule behind numbers. I also explained a few other general rules, such as spelling PM as p.m., and when to use a comma versus a colon. Kristen listened – bless her heart – and commented that it’s crazy how many different rules there are for proper spelling.

Then, last night, Kristen and I were talking. She mentioned that she now notices how numbers are spelled when reading articles, and that she thinks back to my little mini-lesson about CP Style. I thought it was great that someone actually took the time to listen to me and remember one of the rules.

We started discussing the “general public,” and mused over whether or not most people have even heard of CP Style. News writing is experienced in print and online formats by people all over the world, but do readers know the amount of effort that goes into each story to ensure it is both technically and grammatically correct? After a lengthy debate, we both agreed that no, most people don’t know, and probably don’t care, how “nine” or “p.m.” are spelled in the article they are reading.

So, why bother in the first place?

This question has been stuck in my mind all morning. If most people don’t care how a story is written, why do journalists take such pains to ensure they follow the proper format? The CP Stylebook is almost 500 pages long, and it includes everything anyone could ever think to ask about how to write correctly. Numbers, grammar, pronunciation, cultural sensitivity, it’s all there. Both the right and wrong way to write something is clearly defined for any journalist to look up and follow.

In my opinion, Canadian Press Style is extremely important. Print journalism is a major news source, and it presents local, national, and international issues to the public in an objective and easy to understand format. If journalists are able to write as they please, and follow any format they like, the medium is not consistent.

And consistency equals credibility.

In CreComm, we have something called an Auto Fail. If we spell a proper name incorrectly, or have an obvious spelling error, we automatically fail the assignment. This may seem cruel and unusual, but it forces us to get it right the first time. There are enough errors in news stories as it is, and our instructors want to make sure that once we graduate, we will always get it right.

Next time you are reading a story in a newspaper or online, take a look at how the piece is written. What do the numbers look like? What about punctuation? Someone had to go through the story and edit it before it was published. They checked facts, double-checked proper names, and ensured every word properly followed Canadian Press Style.

Just in case you’re still curious about what rules I’m referring to, I’ve included a few from the CP Stylebook below...

1. In general, spell out whole numbers below 10 and use figures for 10 and above.

2. Percentages should be written as per cent, and do not use the symbol. But, write out the word percentage (as in “percentage points”).

3. Follow spelling of official names, even when it is at odds with Canadian Press Style (e.g. Tim Hortons is actually incorrect).

4. Monetary units should be preceded by a dollar sign, and do not write the word “dollars” after the amount (e.g. $2 not $2 dollars).

5. Write p.m.

6. Use figures for numbers up to 999,999. Above that, switch to words (like million and billion) if absolute precision is not required.

7. BUT, when writing a headline, many of the above rules are null and void. Just to make things a little more complicated.

Confused? It happens. But at least you’re one step closer to understanding the importance of CP Style!

Can you read this?

We have been talking about eye tracking in class this week, which is how a person experiences words and visuals on a page. One of my classmates mentioned a website that used the below passage as an example, and I thought it was quite interesting. See if you can read it...

I cnduo't bvleiee taht I culod aulaclty uesdtannrd waht I was rdnaieg. Unisg the icndeblire pweor of the hmuan mnid, aocdcrnig to rseecrah at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mttaer in waht oderr the lterets in a wrod are, the olny irpoamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rhgit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whoutit a pboerlm. Tihs is bucseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey ltteer by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Aaznmig, huh? Yaeh and I awlyas tghhuot slelinpg was ipmorantt! See if yuor fdreins can raed tihs too.

And, just to compare, here's the correct paragraph...

I couldn't believe that I could actually understand what I was reading. Using the incredible power of the human brain, according to research at Cambridge University, it doesn't matter in what order the letters in a word are, the only important thing is that the first and last letter be in the right place. The rest can be a total, mess and you can read it without a problem. This is because the human mind does not read every letter by itself, but the word as a whole. Amazing, huh? Yeah and I always thought spelling was important! See if your friends can read this too!

Pretty interesting, eh?

Whatever happened to Audrey Hepburn?

Today I watched Breakfast at Tiffany's, and fell in love with Audrey Hepburn all over again. I decided to do a little bit of research about her, and here are the highlights:

• Born May 4, 1929 in Ixelles, Belgium
• Died January 20,1993 in Tolochenaz, Switzerland
• Some of her most popular films include: Roman Holiday (1953), The Nun's Story (1959), Sabrina (1954), Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), and My Fair Lady (1964).
• Her last film appearance was in Steven Spielberg's Always in 1989.
• She received $1 million for playing Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady, making her the third actor ever to receive that amount for a role in a film.
• In 1999, she was ranked as the third greatest female star of all time by the American Film Institute
• She started working for UNICEF in the 1950s.
• She married twice: first to Mel Ferrer (an American actor) and second to Andrea Dotti (an Italian doctor).
• She turned down a role in the film The Diary of Anne Frank (1959) because, as a young girl in Holland during the war, she had witnessed Nazi soldiers publicly executing people in the streets and herding Jews onto railroad cars to be sent to the death camps. She said that participating in the film would bring back too many painful memories for her.
• Her measurements in 1953 were: 34A-20-34
• She has won an Oscar, a Tony, an Emmy, and a Grammy.
• She has two sons, one from each marriage.

Seriously... I can cook

This post is ninety per cent for my mom and ten per cent for everyone else, but I hope you enjoy...

Cooking has always been a weird thing with me. When I was younger, I ignored it, and opted to spend my time reading and writing. As I got older, I just didn't care enough to learn. Gradually, I became a 23-year-old who moved out of her parent's house and still didn't know how to cook.

Now, it's not my mom's fault. She tried, and tried, and tried over the years to get me to exhibit even the slightest interest. It never worked. This must have been frustrating, because my mom is the best cook I know. She recently gave me a Betty Crocker recipe book, and the stuff in it is actually pretty good.

Last night, I decided I was going to turn over a new leaf. I cooked dinner, by myself, and am proud to say I didn't injure myself or anyone around me in the process. This is what I made:

Marinated pork tenderloin, wild rice, and Caesar salad. Boo ya! It was actually pretty simple. You just follow the recipe.

The point of this blog post is to document the fact that I cooked dinner. And, if I ever do it again, I'll let you know. Aren't you proud, mom?

What's an IPP anyway?

Lately, I've been writing about my IPP a great deal. In an earlier post, I promised an explanation of what exactly the project is, but have yet to deliver an answer. So, It's time I address what the acronym stands for before I move any further with my summer blogging.

IPP stands for Independent Professional Project, and it is something all second-year CreComm students must complete in order to graduate. The project takes the entire eight months of our second year, and in many cases, the summer as well. The sky is the limit for what a student can choose for their project. One student is visiting and blogging about every provincial park in Manitoba (and there are a lot). Another student is travelling to South Africa to film the World Cup soccer tournament. Me? I'm writing stories.

The collection of stories I am writing is based on the life of my late great-aunt, Rose Mary Sykes. This is a topic that is very important to me, because my aunt was one of the most influential individuals in my life. I was lucky enough to sit down with her the year before she died, and take notes while she told me about her life. The story I received was incredible, and her tale contains issues I believe most people will find interesting. She told me about travel across oceans, tuberculosis sanatoriums, love, marriage, divorce, abuse, mental institutions, fire and gangsters. Rose shared a truly compelling tale, and she did so with a clear-headed precision that was impressive, considering she was ninety-one years old at the time. Her husband passed away years ago, and she had no children, so I feel it is up to me to tell her story.

Below, I have included the eulogy I wrote and presented at her funeral in 2008. I wanted to get up and talk about her because she was so important to me. The eulogy was one of the writing samples I submitted when applying for admission to CreComm, so I guess it's fitting that I can only graduate after I complete a project that's largely about her. Enjoy...

Today we are here to remember and celebrate the fulfilling life of my great-aunt, Rose Mary Sykes. To be perfectly honest, I really did not know much about my aunt’s life until recently. Being many years younger, and living two provinces away, I rarely had an opportunity to learn about her. I was only aware of simple details, such as the fact that she grew up on a farm and lived in a log cabin. Thankfully, I was given the chance to learn about not only her life but my family history when I visited Armstrong with my mother last August. For roughly six hours, over two days, I sat down with Rose, and avidly took notes while she proceeded to tell me her life story.

The narrative I received was filled with descriptions of family, turbulent times, travel, and most importantly, love. I learned things I never knew about my background, such as the fact that Rose was a first-generation Canadian whose parents immigrated to Canada from Czechoslovakia at the outbreak of the First World War. In fact, Rose and her siblings spoke Czech before English. I learned interesting facts as well, like Rose’s spontaneous decision in 1998 to ride in a hot air balloon. As she relayed her story, specific events and experiences stood out from the rest for me. I will share those memories with you now.

In 1968, my aunt planned a trip to Norway and Sweden, and fearlessly embarked on the adventure alone. Her first husband, Oscar, had planned a vacation for himself, yet failed to include Rose in the travel plans. Refusing to be left out, and because she couldn't be told not to do something, my aunt took out a small loan, purchased a plane ticket, and spent three weeks travelling from Oslo to Stockholm. When I asked Rose what the best part of the trip was, she replied “being able to do it my way!”

In 1996, Rose planned another major vacation. There were numerous differences, however, as this time she did not travel alone, and she crossed the Pacific, not the Atlantic Ocean. The destination was Hawaii, a place Rose had hungered to visit her entire life. Luckily, it was my family of four and my grandmother who were invited to accompany her on this vacation. It was on this getaway that I really “met” my aunt for the first time, and what an impression she left on me. I was initially amused by her love for horticulture. She continually made remarks such as, “I wonder what that plant is called,” and “ohhh, how do you grow that one?”

I was also awestruck by her spirit. I still remember vividly one morning about halfway through the trip when Rose announced we were all going up in a helicopter and flying over the dormant, yet still very alive volcano of Haleakala on Maui. I was terrified, and opted to remain on the ground with my grandma. But there seemed to be no fear in my aunt’s mind, and she hopped onto that helicopter without a moment’s hesitation. I will always admire her for that, because as I proved by remaining on the ground, travelling 10,000 feet above sea level in a tiny aircraft is a feat for anyone. At the time, Rose was eighty years old.

But the event in her life which I want to place the most emphasis on was her fourteen year marriage to Frank Sykes. Rose’s first marriage to Oscar ended in divorce in 1972. One year later, she met Frank. The two fell in love and were married on June 12, 1973. When I asked my aunt what Frank was like, she became emotional, and responded simply with “he was the most wonderful man.” She spoke of him so fondly, and with such admiration that it was difficult to believe he had passed away nineteen years prior. Rose told me that Frank was her soul mate, and that she was blessed to have found true love at age fifty-eight. Rose also took the opportunity to teach me a lesson which had taken over half of her lifetime to learn. She told me never to give up on love, and not to settle until I found that one person who would change my life. My aunt said the years spent with Frank were the happiest of her life, and I will always hold her advice on love close to my heart.

I will forever be grateful to have had the opportunity to visit Armstrong, BC, and learn all about Rose’s life. As I reflected back upon the scribbled notes I had written almost one year ago, I could not help but smile at the picture her story painted. Overall, I would describe my aunt as a strong, determined, witty yet kind woman who was always dedicated to those she loved. When I have children, many years from now, I will tell them all about my great-aunt Rose, and she will continue to live on throughout my family’s collective memory for generations to come.

Thank you.

Hopefully, I'll be able to make her proud with my IPP. Currently, I have 12,000 words and nine blogs about my efforts. By the end of the summer, I will have created a collection of stories about a truly remarkable woman.

Stay tuned. I'm just getting warmed up.