Macro
(31/01/12)
I opened a surprise under the tree this Christmas. I'd been whining and not-so-subtly hinting about renting a macro lens since last summer, to play around with it and see how I liked the world of the tiny and miniscule. Someone took notice.
I unwrapped a beautiful pre-loved 100 mm 2.8 macro four weeks ago and have been fiddling around with it ever since. Below are some of my successes.
I quickly found out that it was best to go all manual with the new lens and to use a tripod because the depth of field was really shallow and moving my subject even by a quarter of an inch would throw my prior settings out of focus. Lighting, I learned, is just as important. Macro photography requires more light than normal, for which reflectors and close-up filters are great.
I have ordered books from the library on macro photography to learn more. I think this is going to be a lot of fun - limited only by my imagination. So, I move forward into February on the hunt for subjects, beyond gifts from my boyfriend. I would love to bash open an old watch to see what makes it tick. So, with my library (and Chapters) books in hand, I'm going to study up on photographing the fascinating world of the Lilliputian. I'm not going to master it for a few decades, but I'm going to have some fun along the way.
New Year's thank yous
(15/01/12)
Instead of New Year's resolutions, I'm going to post some New Year's thoughts. There has been quite a lot going on this month. I busily entered 2012, thinking about ideas and projects for the new year, while already working on a handful.
I appreciate all of my clients, for letting me work on some of the most interesting stories I have encountered to date. Like Malcolm Duncan's story. And the clean slate story. And of course, who could forget, organizing my first fashion shoot feature with Miss Rodeo Okotoks 2009 Kezia Morrison, Miss Rodeo Okotoks 2010 Kenna Lockwood and Miss Rodeo Okotoks 2011 Nicole Schlaak? Impossible to forget the fun we had with those girls.
What I did on my summer vacation
(21/09/11)
As a teenager, for a couple of years, I refused to get a summer job. The opportunities were few and far between in my small hometown, and there were none particularly exciting. I could choose to work at the paper mill, the drug store, the pizza joint or the grocery store. Most wanted hefty teenage boys who could do some heavy lifting and stock grocery store shelves.
I preferred to stay at home and amuse myself as I explored into Shakespeare's works, researched, talked on ICQ with friends, took trips to the beach, the museum and to the city. I didn't make any money, but I learned more in the summer than I did over the school year. Summer days were long, hot, hazy and weren't complete without a homemade rootbeer float (which usually involved one of Dad's beer mugs, a healthy helping of vanilla ice cream and rootbeer to fill in the cracks).
Twelve years on, and I miss those long days, where minutes would stretch into hours, and I could spend careless hours involved in a good book.
I had a pretty good reminder on my recent visit home. Though, I'd forgotten about the crickets. Those darn-blasted loud-mouthed bugs, whose constant symphony in honour of the sunshine, was like the whine of a dentist's drill. It didn't ever stop. All morning, all day and throughout the night. Interrupted only briefly by a raccoon's scream.
A friend told me that she's used to the noise and tunes it out. I used to be able to do that, too. That is probably why my reminiscences of teenage summers are quiet. I tuned the sound out. Like silent movies, favourite summer memories pass in quick sequence, greyscale images of what used to be technicolour.
I remember playing baseball with my family in the back field, me always first to bat. I remember the ice cold chill of the community centre pool and the squish of the Fundy mud between my toes. I remember the smell of sun-ripened strawberry fields.
My 2011 summer memories, I hope, will last just as many years. For the past two and a half months, I have been busy. On the trail of a good story, plus a dozen. A roadtrip to Vancouver. Stampede's deep fried Snickers bar. Date night. Dinner parties. Deadlines. Saw a friend get married. Began cycling again. Barbeque, corn on the cob and ice cream.
A summer well spent.
Treasure Island
(12/09/11)
I spent the first two weeks of this month in Nova Scotia, attending to a high school girlfriend's wedding and visiting family and friends. One of the cool day trips my parents suggested was a trip to mysterious Oak Island, a 140-acre island in Mahone Bay, the site of over 200 years of digging, erm, treasure hunting.
X marks the spot. You see, Oak Island is the site of purported pirate (Blackbeard's and Captain Kidd's) treasure, of Shakespeare's plays, the Holy Grail, the Ark of the Covenant, Marie Antoinette's jewels and/or the treasury from Louisbourg. The Friends of Oak Island Society give guided "Walk the Mystery" tours of the island with colourful and informative commentary.
Arriving on the island for the first time ever, we're astounded by its quiet serenity. The island's isolation from the mainland, though by a small and narrow causeway, is apparent. There is next to no development on the island, though we're pleased to see lots of wildlife.
Our two hour tour began with some history of the island. According to legend, in 1795, local teen Daniel McGinnis and some friends began digging at a depression in the ground they'd spotted... and began finding layers of logs spaced about 10 feet apart. From there, other treasure-seeking souls began digging at the spot, finding layers of charcoal, putty and coconut fibre.
Coconut fibre had been discovered on the island - though the closest coconut trees are thousands of kilometres away, in the southern United States and the Caribbean. Carbon dated, the material is believed to have been harvested some time around 1500.
From there, the story gets a little more mysterious. It was reported in the 1860s, that near the original dig site artifacts like including a pick, an axe and an anchor fluke were found. Bits of china, nails and a pair of Spanish-style scissors dated from between 1500 and 1700 were reportedly found. And several strange rocks. There was a stone triangle on one side of the island, a stone found with an uppercase G carved into it, and a large stone with a inscription carved into it, that read in English, ""forty feet below, two million pounds lie buried." The origins of the translation are murky and the stone was lost to history nearly a century ago.
The island itself, given all we'd been told, took on a strange, slightly creepy feeling. The disappearing evidence, the fanatical treasure fever of the hunters, all made for interesting questions on the way home. Do you believe in Oak Island's treasure? Why would Oak Island be the only island in the Mahone Bay to have oak trees on it? None of the others do.
"Legend has it that the Oak Island treasure will not be found until seven humans have died trying to find it and all the oak trees on the island are gone," says Telegraph-Journal's Sabrina Doyle. Her recent story reports that electrical resistivity tests were done in July to see what was down there. Gold?
Inspiring tomorrows
(06/08/11)
A friend forwarded me a recent Not Rocket Science blog entry written by Ed Yong about an incredible speech given by Robert Krulwich to the Berkeley Journalism School's graduating class of 2011.
In the speech, which Yong got permission to post, Krulwich began, "I want to talk to you about your tomorrows in journalism."
Wow. There are tomorrows in journalism? What happened to the downturn in the market, the closing of tens of newspapers and television stations?
When the recession hit, there were lots of young journalists like myself who suddenly found themselves without a job. We were young, most recently hired and easiest to let go.
We were told, warned, in journalism school, that the world as we knew it, was like a dinosaur on its last legs.
I was, as my father so bluntly put it, "like the harness maker buying leather when automobiles were coming down the road."
I was stuck with slightly out-dated skills in a media world changing faster than I could keep up. Who had the time or money to go back to school and become the multimedia expert journo, when the big media companies wanted you RIGHT NOW? It was called the death of journalism, newspapers were going down the tubes, students at my old j-school were having trouble finding companies to hire them for internships, and everywhere you looked, media companies were bleeding money and people. Jobs became more precious than gold. Jobs allowed you to take care of yourself, put groceries on your table and a roof over your head.
"And yet it seems so hard right now."
"What if – and here’s a horrible thought – that because you were born in 1980, or 82, 85, 87, graduating into a job-stricken, wildly changing economy… maybe you’re just doomed," Krulwich said.
I can't say I didn't have those thoughts as well. And I'm sure lots of you have had them, too. But, he continued.
"I am here to tell you, that you are stepping into a world that is riper, more pregnant with newness, new ideas, new beats, new opportunities than most generations of journalists before you. You are lucky to be you, very lucky, though you may not be feeling it at the moment."
I thought, "this guy deserves a round of applause," and I wonder if there weren't people in that audience, silently cheering for the inspiration Krulwich brought.
In my scant experience freelancing, I've noticed it does get better. And it will get better in the future. Just hang on. Look for ideas everywhere. And learn as much as you can, from whomever'll teach you. Look at me - I joined a podcasting group when broadcasting classes were out of price range and I'm soaking as much information and education out of it as I can.
Last year, I interviewed an old hockey hero to many Albertans, Bearcat Murray. He's the former head trainer of the Calgary Flames, who was with the team when it won the Stanley Cup in 1989. I'm sure the interview lasted over two hours, but in writing the story, there was one quote that summed it all up for me. "I kept up with the new techniques and equipment coming in. If I needed to know something, I went to the best person involved. I had hundreds of people tutoring me. I learned by doing it," Murray said.
So, perhaps you won't wait, like Krulwich suggested, and follow your own path like Bearcat Murray. People teach themselves to read. Why can't you teach yourself to become a multimedia journo, or an expert cake decorator, or whatever your heart desires, by doing it yourself? It's what Krulwich did. In his speech, he tells the tale of covering his first political convention with a fake Yale press card. "And I just... did it. I learned what reporters do by watching them, and then copying what I saw."
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Krulwich's commencement speech. It took me back to my own graduation from King's - the nervousness I felt in going up on the stage, praying fervently I wouldn't trip - the excitement of being finished 18 years of school - the anticipation of the adventure into the big, wide world. I would have loved to have Krulwich give that speech to my graduating class! How fired up we would have become.
Krulwich described a passion for journalism one could have - it would help along the way, he said. His words rang true for me.
"But the impulse, to explain, to write, to tell, began here… [tapping heart] On my insides."
And so it does. For so many of the journalists I know. Myself included.
Krulwich finished his speech with four of the most inspiring paragraphs. For young journos, whether they're graduating or not.
"But what I’ve noticed is that people who fall in love with journalism, who stay at it, who stay stubborn, very often win. I don’t know why, but I’ve seen it happen over and over.
So, here, for what it’s worth, ladies and gentlemen of the Class of 2011, is my graduation advice. Some of you will say, “This is a fantasy. Pay this man no attention,” but hey, you invited me, so here’s what I’ve got:
If you can… fall in love, with the work, with people you work with, with your dreams and their dreams. Whatever it was that got you to this school, don’t let it go. Whatever kept you here, don’t let that go. Believe in your friends. Believe that what you and your friends have to say… that the way you’re saying it – is something new in the world.
And don’t stop. Just hold on… and keep loving what you love… and you’ll see. In the end, they’ll let you stay."
So, here's to staying power. Here's to being stubborn as a goat and hanging on to your dreams. And following them despite the obstacles. Here's to Bearcat Murray, still one of the most popular people in southern Alberta, who learned as much as he could, from whomever would teach him. Here's to Generation Y.
“They’ll scrutinize you and your organization. They insist on integrity. They want to have fun, even at work and at school. Speed is normal. Innovation is part of life.” - Don Tapscott, Grown Up Digital, 2009.
Podcasting
(25/05/11)
Last week, I sat in on Tip Tap Tip's podcast, episode 421. I'd met Eric earlier in the year, at a podcasting meet up. And, it's something I'm really interested in getting into - provided I have some idea on what to podcast about.
I didn't know what to expect when I first showed up to Eric and Rachelle's. Rachelle, with red cat eye glasses, blonde hair and a bubbly laugh, owns and operates Ymay Hair Sudio on 17th. Eric has worked for various media over the years. Podcasting is something they both take seriously. They do a show twice a week.
Their home set up was pretty basic: a table with two microphones, big ones he got from Axe Music in town, pop filters, a macbook and noise-cancelling earphones. Some podcasters create casts with even less - with a portable Zoom H4 recorder.
And as Eric showed me, podcasting is pretty easy, once you have the hang of it. They record live to tape with Audio Hijack Pro, relatively cheap audio software, (free if you use it on trial), and stream live each Wednesday and Sunday evenings through UStream. Their show is much like a variety show - where they talk about current news and events and reflect (often hilariously) on the same events.
Half an hour before the live cast, Eric has music streaming on the UStream channel. He does a quick mic check to get things ready. There is a pile of news stories he's printed from various sites. And multimedia clips are lined up on the desktop, ready to be used.
Rachelle settles in with a cup of tea to the side and a quick smile to me. The teapot is balanced precariously on a chair.
As they go live, Rachelle puts a finger to her mouth, motioning for me to be quiet. The opening theme begins and away they go.
"Good afternoon, welcome to Tip Tap Tip, my name is Eric," Eric says into the mic.
I am transported back to my radio days in j-school. When the slightest noise would interrupt the cast. My breath hitches in my throat. My heart begins to race. Nervousness overcomes me.
But, then it all goes away. I am not the one on the spot. I don't have to worry about the pitch of my voice. Indeed, it is I who clamp a hand over my mouth when I want to giggle.
Eric and Rachelle don't see any of this. The show goes on for an hour - and the two of them banter back and forth like old hands. Eric comes alive when he's recording. Rachelle, bursting with personality, adds chemistry to the cast. When a news item is finished, a half-folded sheet of paper settles on the floor. Silently, I'm containing my laughter, as they talk about root canals, the Rapture that wasn't, yarn bombing, theoretical aliens, and exploding watermelons.
And, as suddenly as they began, they come to the end of episode 241. Once they're done, Eric edits for noise, balances levels and converts the audio to mp3.
Now, I feel a lot more comfortable getting into podcasting, after that experience. I learned it doesn't have to be a nerve-wracking performance, just because it's a broadcast. It was interesting to revisit those old neurosis, to put those fears to rest. I learned that the podcast must be engaging, like any professional radio show. You want to keep your listeners' interest. A podcast can range in time from a few minutes to an hour. It helps to be comfortable with any extra material you want to use - like Eric running through the videos he was going to use beforehand.
Until the next cast, follow Tip Tap Tip on Twitter, or check out their site.
Spring
(05/10/11)
What do bison, Cirque du Soleil, concrete and awards all have in common?
My month of April.
Would love to tell you exactly what stories I worked on lately, and for whom, but that would ruin the surprise.
I can tell you that I have been browsing around the following sites, for various reasons.
1. Cirque de Soleil's Cavalia is coming to Calgary.They use Lusitanos, Quarter horses, Appaloosas, Comtois, the Oldenburg and Criollo and Canadian horses. What an awesome variety of relatively unknown breeds. We were lucky to see Cirque's KOOZA! last year, and were astounded at the vivacity and brilliancy of the show. We told ourselves we'd spend upwards of $100 a seat to experience that again! Add a horse and it makes me that much happier. We're looking into tickets to the experience.
2. DecisionFile. I contributed three stories to OpenFile Calgary's election site during the campaign runs last month. The first one, featured voices that may not be heard as often as some would like. I got great response from it, and that gave me a boost to do a second story, from a file posted by a fellow Openfile journalist, on inclusion for the disabled community in the May election. I learned a lot from this story, from the sources I talked to and the research I did. The third and last story I wrote quickly for Openfile was a fun one. I spoke with Grade 9 students at Red Deer Lake School about the election. You see, for the duration of the federal election campaign in Canada, schools across the country had been participating in a mock election of their own, put on by Student Vote. Surprisingly, the kids had interesting views on what they were learning and not everything could be put into the story. The kids are all right.
3. Alberta Venture. Drumroll please. My first Lifestyle Essentials column was published in the May issue of Alberta Venture. As friend and food blogger Anh Chu tweeted, "Spring food trends: Gluten-free, bison and sharp knives....read more of @jesspatterson's story in AB Venture http://bit.ly/kOBn34."
Exciting!
4. Last month I had the fun of writing a story about an award-winning innovation for the Journal of Commerce. It seems construction powerhouse EllisDon did something special when it came to laying the floors at the new South Health Campus. They had to have equipment large enough to meet the demands... so they created some. Enter the IntElliDeck, a formwork that could be used on similar projects across the country. I see big things happening with this.
5. Travel planning. For various reasons, I can't seem to keep off Flight Centre's site, nor WestJet's. There are dates I'd like to see my self in other places, from one coast of this wide country to the other. My family is also coming for a visit shortly, so looking up in-province adventures have also been taking a lot of my time. It helps that it has become quite spring-like, with temperatures rising to 20 degrees, the first time since last summer. Hurrah for spring travel plans.
AMPA conference
(28/03/11)
I volunteered at the annual Alberta Magazine Publishers Association conference last week. And, what an event it was!
Thursday, the afternoon began with registration and an afternoon seminar presented by sponsors, Transcontinental. I don't remember much beyond a blur of faces and names I recognized from mastheads. Wondering if I had time to introduce myself? No chance.
The evening wrapped up with a sumptuous dinner and awards gala. So many handsome men and sophisticated ladies! Delicious dinner and conversation, "what do you want to tweet about?" as one of my fellow volunteers was live-tweeting the event #AMC11. Another volunteer, photographer Don Molyneaux, was shooting the whole three-day event. Check out his
pictures. I suggested tweeting about AMPA president Agnes Zalewski's hot leopard-print heels. And then the fun began.
Loose Moose Theatre Company graced us with their presence, and five minutes later, people were rolling in the aisles. Okay, not literally. For an indeterminate amount of time that seemed about an hour, though may not have been, due to my missing watch, the improv theatre company had the room engaged and following their every hilarious move.
The following morning, (after white-knuckle driving home and back again) was an early start for us. By 7:30 a.m. I was at work, setting up the swag table and helping with backdrops. I manned the swag table while my lovely co-volunteer, Andrea Tombrowski, shot some amazing photos on the other side. The kicker for the day: quirky souvenir cover photos of the attendees. I hung around with photographer Don Molyneaux for a while, learning the difference a few flashes make for portrait shots. I will have to begin experimenting and playing with flash. It's a whole new world as far as photography is concerned for me.
It was great to interact with people in the industry and I had a fabulous time. I can't wait for next year's conference!
Tomorrow's journalist
(20/03/11)
I'm trying to become tomorrow's journalist. But, on a budget of zero, I don't know how to keep up.
News companies, magazine companies, media companies expect journalists to be jacks-of-all-trades. Job openings in the field are for mobile journalists, multimedia journalists who are able to broadcast from the field, the street or instantaneously from wherever they happen to be. Key strengths of a good mmojo ("mobile multimedia journalist") include the ability to: create and update web pages, edit audio and video, knowledge of HTML/CSS/Flash, Google mapping, social media and SEO. And that's just the basics.
Journalists who have some knowledge of HTML, CSS, Java, or Flash are needed to create multimedia and interactive stories for the world of online. And truly, it is a brand new world. Different ways of story telling are exploding on the world wide web.
Visualization helps put information and data into context. "Basically, half of our brain is hard-wired for vision. Vision is the biggest bandwidth we have in terms of sensory information to the outside world," says researcher Fernanda Viegas, in a Stanford video report on data visualization. "...we are so programmed to understand the world around us in terms of what we see."
Stanford University's Jeffrey Heer quoted a Google chief economist in the video (link above), saying, "the ability to take data, to be able to understand it, process it, extract value from it, visualize it and communicate it, that's going to be a hugely important skill in the next decade."
Tomorrow's journalist will really need to be a chameleon, effortlessly shifting from medium to medium. They will need to have a toolkit that combines the best of radio, print and television. A steady and confident voice for news via podcasts. A fresh, concise voice for online news and feature stories. A comfortability in front of the camera for webcasts and streaming video. And, the social savvy to connect with and build community online. The next generation journalist will be a blogger and a synthesizer of content online.
Now, for the freelancer, becoming a true jack or jill-of-all-trades is valuable. Mastering online involves all of the skills you learned in j-school and going beyond them and embracing new ideas, trends and tools.
OpenFile
(01/03/11)
I was published on OpenFile Calgary last week. It was kind of exciting. I wrote an interesting story about something that matters to Calgarians in the south of the city: transit.
When I first came west to Calgary three years ago, I was without wheels for a week. Unfamiliar with the transit system, I walked as far as my legs would take me. And, I found that Calgary was a pedestrian-unfriendly city for the uninitiated. I got a car quickly thereafter. These days, I live just outside of the city and use my car every day. If I want to get somewhere, I don't even think about walking. As much as I would like, even a trip to the library in Okotoks by foot would take me almost an hour, versus a few minutes by car. Why is it that we live in un-walkable cities?
Back to my story.
I enjoyed writing for OpenFile, I enjoyed learning more about the rapid transit options in Calgary. Being from just slightly out of town, I tend to like using city transit especially if I'm going all the way downtown. I'm not fond of parking downtown, because paying and finding parking is often a hassle.
Amazing then, that Calgary Transit has an express bus service from McKenzie Towne to the downtown… until I found out it only ran in the wee hours of the morning. If I lived there, I doubt I'd be up that early to get it! The BRT, route 302, runs about every 20 minutes during the day, except for the "peak hours" during which it runs every ten minutes.
I thought I'd be writing a piece about how great the transit services were, but instead I ended up writing about how slow residents find the BRT because it has too many stops and doesn't service the "peak hours" well enough. And, I found an alderman who is making progress on something he calls the "SE Transitway," in which he envisions LRVs running on a roadway specifically built for them from the downtown to Seton.
I think OpenFile is an interesting experiment into community journalism. There's a need for it in Calgary. I come from a background in community newspapers, where little stories, no matter how small, matter to the community. Thus, OpenFile stories matter to me.
Hoping to write more for them in the future.
CreatorCamp
(02/14/11)
Let me tell you about my weekend.
I went to CreatorCamp, in Calgary. CreatorCamp is a community UnConference where people from different backgrounds gather to "discuss the creation part of creative pursuits," their official website says. Or, as @darylcognito explained, Creatorcamp is podcamp evolved. The topics covered in the Calgary 2011 session included Blog Editing and The Three Keys of Creativity.
It was interesting listening to the morning presentation on blog editing for a happier editor, because as a freelancer, I copy edit for one of my clients. I understood both sides of @regtiangha's talk, because as a writer I strive to live up to expectations and write as close to assignment guidelines as I can, and as an editor, I understood having to manage different writers' copy while adhering to brand and style. I wondered though, do blogs adhere to Canadian Press Style? CP style, and my CP Caps and Spelling book are my bibles. I wondered, do Canadian bloggers use Canadian English? Or, do they go by what their American spell checkers tell them is right?
The afternoon presentation was about the process of creativity. In his "Three Keys to Creativity" presentation, @darylcognito suggested creativity isn't a vacuum and needs to be shared. He said people should list when and where we found ourselves being creative, to write that moment down and of course, write down the creative thought. What I took away from it was about giving ourselves respect that we are creators and that it is a common experience to crave validation. And, like any other talent, we must exercise our creativity.
On my way up to the event, an idea struck me. I wanted to share a list of places to find ideas and inspire creativity with the group. If only I knew where I had put the list. Being on the c-train halfway up the line, the idea of going back home for it seemed a little silly. I didn't know where the story idea list was. I still have no idea where it is. But, I thought I'd share two interesting online versions. Twenty-five Unique Places To Find Story Ideas, where Michelle Giles lists interesting places to find ideas, and another 10 at Top 10 Ways to Find Story Ideas posted by blogger Albertus Indratno in 2007.
For a writer, story ideas are like little nuggets of gold, shiny and full of promise and potential. For everyone else, hope these suggestions inspire you in a creative way.
New projects
(17/01/11)
Yes, I know I'm well in to the New Year. Happy belated New Year. You'll have to forgive my less-than-cheerful tone, because I didn't celebrate. I spent my New Years Eve flying cross country and was zonked out before 10 p.m. So, to all of you who welcomed 2011 with celebratory cheer, fabulous for you. I think my New Years - with 10 to 12 hours of interrupted sleep - was BLISS.
December was a busy month for me. I spent the majority of it running around, getting interviews for a big piece. I spent a week writing it, readjusting and readjusting. And sent it off, sealed with a hope - "Hope this fits what he wants!"
This month I'm working on features for Okotoks Living magazine. I'm writing a piece about a special Okotokian, who has real-life angels on his side, as he fights to regain his independence. Details in the next issue.
I'm also writing two small features for the culture and arts department and for the sports department - and if I told the subjects, it'd give them away. So, check the next issue of Okotoks Living. I'm shooting lots of everything, which is a chance for me to stretch my photography skills, get them limbered up again. I'm trying to, as much as my camera will let me, to shoot award-winning photos. I don't quite think my camera is up to it, especially given the confines of some situations. It's all in how you use it. And lately, I've been pushing it to the limits - and come up lacking some times.
In the news...
(11/24/10)
I was waiting to tell you that I have been published in Alberta Venture and Metro Calgary. I don't like to tell about stories I've written until after they've come out, because there is always a chance that they'll be killed.
But, November saw my byline on two little stories in Metro and a nice profile in Alberta Venture. I'm happy with how all three turned out.
For Alberta Venture, I wrote about Amanda Hunsley, an entrepreneur and small business owner in Calgary. When she was 19, Amanda opened her own dance studio. Now, nine years later, it's a successful and extremely popular studio on the west side of the city. She's living her dream. It took a lot of hard work, long hours and determination, but Amanda's achievement shows that you can be successful in following your dreams.
For Metro, I wrote about award-winning composer David Pierce. He won an Emmy in April for the score of the Vancouver Olympic Games, which he composed. Here in Calgary, we hear Pierce's work every year at the Stampede Grandstand show. He's the show's musical director. (He's coming back for another year in 2011.) The piece ran online on the Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Halifax, Toronto and Ottawa sites. It also was printed in Calgary's Metro.
In November, I also wrote about the Alberta College of Art and Design's show and sale, which happens every year and features the original work of ACAD students artisans. Good place to score Christmas presents and help fund student careers.
And, early to press was the December issue of Condo Living. I picked up several copies of that magazine to see my latest condo lifestyle profile. The magazine features gorgeous photos of fabulous places to live… and I happen to live in one of them. Which one? You figure it out. :)
Leap magazine
(09/29/10)
Cancer touches everyone. Directly. Indirectly. For me, it has been just over two years since I last saw my aunt Paula. Paula loved life more than anyone else I knew. She always looked at things with a positive attitude. She was the life of a party and would light up the room. Paula was always travelling somewhere cool and would come back to tell us all of her adventures. She would tease, "You look like that girl in Lord of the Rings. What's her name?" "Oh, you mean, Liv Tyler?"
Paula passed away in June 2008 after being diagnosed with liver cancer earlier that year.
Two weeks after the two year anniversary of the day my beloved aunt passed away, I received a surprise assignment from a new magazine called Leap. I found out Leap is the official magazine of the Alberta Cancer Foundation, and I was to write a story about Heather Culbert, an extraordinary woman with an inspiring story.
A survivor herself (she prefers the word "thriver"), Heather helped organize a 100-person strong team to walk 60 kilometres with her during the Weekend to End Women's Cancers. They wanted a mega team, to raise mega bucks, for a cause that was so very close to everyone. Before the race day, Heather's team, called Heather's Heroes, had already raised $100,000. After the weekend, the total they raised grew to over $600,000.
What an incredible accomplishment. And in doing so, Heather became one of my heroes, too.
I'm proud that I could help tell her story. In celebration of Heather's accomplishments, her team's motivation to help others, and in memory of my aunt's courageous, vivacious spirit: this one's for you.
Read the story here.
Fall colours
(08/25/10)
It's gorgeous out here in the Alberta foothills. The countryside is colourful: alternately green, golden and bright vibrant yellow. I miss the reds and oranges of the Maritimes, because everything out here turns yellow eventually. The trees, most of which are poplars, turn the colour of sunshine. In another month or two the fields will be cut and the golden sheen of wheat and other crops no longer sparkle in the warm morning sun. Instead, bits of straw will litter the fields, ground into the dark mud. I look for the sweetly decaying smell of fallen leaves and the crisp bite of a cooler breeze.
I love fall. Its my favourite season. I love to bundle up in warm woolies, pretty jewel toned sweaters and scarves. Mother Nature may have dropped her colours, but I haven't. Fall is the season I break out in colour. Plum and turquoise, oxblood and blue.
This time of year, summer-just-before-fall, is great for produce. The colours at the farmers markets are vibrant. We've been to two or three farmers markets in the past two weekends. Everyone is selling fresh fruits and vegetables. Most everything is in season - from peas, beans and corn, to apples, peaches and berries.
We went to the Millarville and Priddis Fair and farmers market this past weekend. It was cute - reminded me of my favourite Windsor Exhibition - with its exhibits on animals and crops, food, crafts and baked goods. I craved pie after going to the fair. Its interesting to think that this event, which saw a few thousand visitors over the course of the day, was on the brink of not happening earlier this summer. The Millarville Race Track (yes, horse racing) grounds were packed full of people and the parking areas full of cars. The friendly Search and Rescue folks who volunteered to help with parking and traffic ended up parking people in the neighbouring ball diamond, and along the roadway. And when that became full, into a neighbouring field across the street. Admittedly, we were a little late. When we got there, we parked in the field. A few minutes later, a bright green tractor towing a flatbed with square bales of hay to sit on, came by to pick us up and take us into the fair. I was tickled pink. What a great, authentic, way to get through all of the traffic!
Fall also makes me think of comfort food. Of hot savoury beef stews, pot pies, of pickles and jams, jellies and preserves. I then begin to want to cook, which is weird for me, because I'm not a great cook. I'm a great baker. But, I like to have a go at it anyway, throwing a little of this, a little of that, into the pot. One of my favourite fall meals was actually introduced to our table by my boyfriend, in the spring. It comes from Kitchen Seasons by Ross Dobson. It is a fabulous vibrant orange soup made from roasted tomato and red peppers. We've added a few twists to make it our own, according to our tastes. We enjoy toasted baguette and goat cheese as a side, to be dipped. The soup warms you up inside, and outside, depending on how many extra peppers and chile peppers you throw in. It keeps well for about a week in the fridge.
Spicy Red Vegetable Soup
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Chop 2 red bell peppers, 2 1/2 lbs. of tomatoes , 1 red onion (or a few shallots) , 1 large chile pepper and 2 garlic cloves into manageable pieces. In a roasting pan, toss chopped ingredients, 1/2 cup light olive oil, 1 tablespoon brown sugar together and cook for two hours. Stir often, until the veggies are really soft. Take 1 cup of vegetable stock and stir in the vegetables.
Spoon the mixture (in batches, because you won't have a processor big enough) into a food processor or blender and process until smooth. Strain out seeds if you find any! Return the soup to a clean pot and cook on a low heat until heated through. Adjust spice to taste. We like adding an extra chile or ground red chile peppers to turn up the heat. Or, replacing some of the tomatoes with orange peppers.
Next, toast your baguette and while its still warm, spread with goat cheese. Dip and enjoy!
Roadtrip
(20/08/10)
We're back! Nine days, seven provinces, 5,600 kilometres, one muffler,
two moose, seven deer and a heck of a lot of photos. 1,300+ on two memory cards. I documented the cross-Canada roadtrip
here.
The day before
(07/08/10)
So, we checked in to Air Canada this morning. We have one day to go.
I have submitted all of my assignments, loads of photos, and now we're almost ready to go. Our packing trial run went
relatively well. We're splitting one suitcase for clothes,
and bringing one hiking backpack with our camping stuff in it. So far, it all seems to fit. As for rolling clothes
into cute cylindrical shapes or piling them in neatly folded flat piles? We've done both. We'll see who comes out wrinkle-less.
Here's a photo of what we're bringing with us.
Roadtrip plans
(25/06/10)
Okay, so I have begun to get really excited for our
roadtrip. But first, let me rewind the story a little.
My significant other, his best friend and I have decided to go on a roadtrip across Canada. To pick up a car.
And have some fun along the way.
We're flying to Halifax in mid-July and driving back to Calgary. We hope to
make Calgary (and stops for ice cream, amusements, national historic sites and crazy adventures) in about 10 days.
We're leaving it mostly open, open to where the wind blows us. Its going to be a lot of fun, and I can't wait.
I have an incredibly comprehensive packing list - good for most any travel, anywhere in the world - and have begun
to look through my closet and condo for things we may need. There are three of us going and we have one trunk, so
we're doing a trial packing run next week, to see if we can fly our stuff out there and then be able to live with it.
But packing strategies - nothing liquid comes on the plane with us unless it can fit into a little ziplock baggie.
Do you roll clothes or pile them, neatly folded? Do you stuff socks anywhere they'll fit, hoping to find them later?
Do you pack half of what you'll need in your suitcase, half in the backpack, in case one goes missing after the flight?
All questions to be answered. We'll let you know what works best.
Site revamped
(20/05/10)
I decided last month that I wanted to give myself a new look,
a makeover. I settled on a new photo shoot with a fabulous photographer friend and some hair dye. Oh yes, and a total revamp
of my site. It took a little while, playing around with it, to figure out what I wanted to keep and what I wanted to create.
I decided I still liked the aesthetic look of a one-column site, got some colour ideas from a friend and Wordpress and
then I began.
First, new photos. One of my good friends happens to be an amazing portrait photographer. She shot a
bunch last week and you can see the results below. I'm thrilled to show off these photos because I think she did a fabulous
job capturing the real me. You are a gem, Renee!
Newspapers to get readers to pay
(05/07/10)
We've been waiting for this. Though, why didn't I stumble upon it earlier? A two-month-old blog posting by BBC blogger Rory Cellan-Jones, suggests it may be possible. In "Ft to Papers: Readers will pay for quality journalism," posted March 4, 2010, Cellan-Jones spoke to the boss of a successful online newspaper, Rob Grimshaw, of the Financial Times, who said that the paper had seen a significant rise in the number of subscribers to its online news feed.How exciting! We (that is, Shaina and I,) always hoped that some day newspapers would figure out how to make online pay. It seems that they have begun.
However, therein lies an interesting debate. Newspapers have posted their news online for free, literally giving it away to readers, for years. It wouldn't be easy if all of a sudden great news sites like the BBC started shuttering its good news away for paying users only. Users would simply look elsewhere.
The key, I believe, like the FT.com editor suggested, was good content.
Visiting Inglewood
(04/27/10)
A few days ago, I got a lovely assignment from Metro Calgary.
They wanted someone to do a walkthrough of the Inglewood neighbourhood in Calgary, capping the story at 300 - 350 words.What a fabulous opportunity! 1) go to Inglewood to do an interview 2) shop on the way back to the car!
My boyfriend introduced me to Inglewood a few years ago, as we were shopping for Christmas presents for our families. My father happens to have a vintage record player and a selection of his favourite artists on vinyl. And as it happened, Recordland was the perfect place to shop for those types of gifts.
So, off we went. It was a sunny day, that lovely afternoon a year or two ago, and we stopped into every store and stopped by every restaurant that looked interesting. I enjoyed myself - and found a few favourite spots myself. Recordland was awesome. I found a handful of tapes (yes, tapes, for my car, that still has a tape player in it) that I wanted for our summer roadtrips and got them at a great price. That afternoon, we did a circuit of the shopping area and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.
Inglewood has such an interesting feel to it. It is laid back, quaint and has such character. The community association tries to keep development down to a dull roar and similar to the authentic heritage houses, dating back to 1875. No where else in the city (except, maybe, for Heritage Park) can you find chipped paint advertisments on the sides of buildings, creaky wood floors, tin ceilings, actual character - preserved for all and sundry to see. And such a vast array of interesting things to do.
The Inglewood Bird Sanctuary is literally down the street - at the end of 9th Avenue - where visitors can see up to 270 bird species, and a variety of mammalian and reptilian species throughout the year. Its peaceful there, and a good spot to take photos if you're a nature lover.
The hard thing about the Metro piece was trying not to expound on the many facets of Inglewood. You see, they have fabulous nightlife, a great music and entertainment scene. You could write 1,000 words about the music scene and not exhaust the subject.
And then there's the food.
On Monday, it was reported that Rouge was named one of the world's top 100 restaurants. The first time a Calgary restaurant was on the list. That's awesome news. The co-owners, chefs Paul Rogalski and Olivier Reynaud, were thrilled. Maybe that list will expand next year to include a few more?
Favorites of mine include the Vilage Cantina, Choklat, the Tea Trader, Spolumbos and Olivier's Chocolates. Other Inglewood favourites include bookstore Fair's Fair. Sugar, caffeine and booze at Nectar. The Calgary Zoo. Susie Q's bead store. World Antiques and Gifts.
That's just part of the charm in Inglewood. Little hidden gems on either side of the street. And, not enough ink to do it justice.
News
(03/16/10)
Congratulations to my Okotoks Living crew! We won second place in the Best Cover category at the Alberta Magazine Publishers Association conference over the weekend.
Exciting stuff.
Interesting discovery
(01/14/09)
I was tickled pink the other day, when I discovered this picture on CBC's Heartland website. I sent an email off to the production's PR guy, asking about the picture, but I never got a reply back. So, for now, I'm just going to be amused that the character may share my name.
Possible discreet recognition of all of the stories I wrote on Heartland over two years?
Who knows. I was tickled pink to see the name - and notice the actress (Joy Tanner) who plays the RCMP character almost has my nose. My passed-through-the-generations Patterson nose. Lol.
Reflection
(11/25/09)
I was told by a friend a little while ago that freelancing gives you time to think about the type of journalist you want to become. Wasn't that a brilliant little pearl of wisdom? I thought long and hard about it, reflected over this past year.
And what a year it has been. From scrapping together a few newspaper stories a week, to writing for a fabulous new magazine and meeting great people (several of whom are on my Christmas card list) and getting opportunities that would have not otherwise presented themselves had I not been a freelancer.
I realised that being a freelancer has made me a better journalist. It makes me strive for journalistic excellence. It makes me a little more careful, cautious and accurate, a little more enthusiastic when I get to work on what I love to do.
And I'm happy with that.
The Future
(10/18/09)
The future of the news - a symposium covering the aforementioned topic was held in Halifax this past weekend. A former professor of mine, Tim Currie, gathered 10 Ideas for 2010 and Beyond for the current professional journo. Clever stuff, that.
And, one of my ((favorite)) professors, Kevin Cox, reporter/editor at AllNovaScotia.com, said the following:
"Content is king … It doesn’t matter what medium you’re in. Content needs to be engaging, informative and unique... The future of journalism isn’t about platforms. It’s about giving the reader unique information in an understandable way that’s worth paying for. Because news is a commodity. We buy it, we sell it."
Good on ya Kevin.
And, true to the day's namesake, didn't JHowe do the same?
A little background: Joseph Howe was a Halifax newspaper editor and defender of the free press. According to a government website his brush with libel charges (after harsh editorial commentary in his newspaper, The NovaScotian) made him increasingly aware of political issues and he began a career in politics.
The newspaper model of his day, I'm sure, went something like this: "Content needs to be engaging, informative and unique... worth paying for. Because news is a commodity."
See any similarities? Good content, I believe is the selling point for news mediums. You wouldn't turn to a newschannel only to watch a boring newscast to the end - if there wasn't anything remotely entertaining about it, beyond imagining the newscaster with blue troll hair or a clown's bulbous red foam nose?
But the innovative, upbeat and engaging information coming out of the King's symposium is heartening. I'm going to make it a personal mandate to learn as much about this increasingly wireless, mobile new technology.
What is scary about the future of news - another tidbit I heard recently - is that big companies could soon own everything freelancers write, in all mediums they choose to publish it, in perpetuity.
Writers across the country have united against media-giant Transcontinental, as an act of protest regarding the company's new freelance contributor contract, which effectively gives them first publication rights AND unlimited rights to that particular piece of work forever after. J-Source reports that "writers retain copyright... and will be paid when the work is reused in paper form at other publications - but they will not be paid if the work is republished on different media of the same brand."
Its more likely that those writers will have their work displayed online instead of on paper. Which, according to this new contract, will suck.
It is the be-all and end-all of contracts - once signed, it covers all future work for the company. Ouch. Not sure how much I like that.
Hurricanes
(08/31/09)
Hurricane Bill passed by my home province the other day. The media reports were full of stories about onlookers who wanted to catch a glimpse of the high waves. I followed the storm relatively closely, through the internet. There was a video by Melanie Patten, of the Canadian Press, featured on the Chronicle Herald website... in which she quoted Ramona Jennex, the N.S. Minister of Emergency Management.
"We're asking people to stay at home at this time. I know its beautiful during a storm - people like to watch the waves - but please watch them through the media. That's the safest way."
I understand that the Average Joe needs a friendly reminder to stay away from the high waves, which could prove dangerous. While I agree that people should stay away from the crashing waves to save themselves from being pulled in and potentially injured, as well as the rescue officials who would have to save those stupid gawkers, there's still an onus on the media to go out and get that story. Instantaneously.
Those stuck at home would want impressive photos of big waves, stuff they couldn't see.
What about the media personnel who are out there in the lashing rain, near the coast, getting those photos, the video and whatnot?
How safe is it for them? Just wondering.
Most photographers and media personnel I know have sense enough to stay a safe distance away from anything dangerous. They'd use their zoom lenses to get close. That's smart. As for the thrill-seekers whose idea to get the best photos or video outweighs their sense of self-preservation... I'd love to talk to you, to know why.
Exciting new magazine launches!
(06/16/09)
The new magazine I've been freelancing for, Okotoks Living launched last Friday. It was a bit of a hussle to find the right outfit (grumble*iron*grumble*pen on my dress?!*grumble*), but at the last moment I arrived a tad flustered and looking Audrey Hepburn-ish a la Breakfast at Tiffany's, but the event turned out all right. I met some of the faces I only knew as names before and found myself in a gorgeous show home, sipping ice water to ease my sore throat and making small talk.
I love the art of small talk. It works so well in such a variety of situations. I do hope to have more in-depth conversations with some of the fascinating people I met last week, because it looks like this magazine is going to be a hit! Maybe next time, I'll be able to wow them a little more, without a gravelly-sounding voice. Stay tuned.
New rules for a changing world.
(06/05/09)
In one of Mitch Joel's posts on his Six Pixels of Separation blog, he asks what a journalist is in 2009.
Traditionally, he said, "a journalist was the conduit of a community. They were individuals that would gather the important information of a community, synthesize it and distribute it via publishing channel to the mass community."
Journalists have to deliver content in a fair and balanced manner - something I've been trying my best to do for the past two and a half years since j-school. It feels like forever since I last ran up the unending flights of marble stairs to the sanctuary at King's. It hasn't really been that long. CP style is still in, as are red pens. But I know that as a journalist, some of the rules are beginning to change.
I'm not sure I like it.
Joel writes that journalism is changing ( I knew that, thanks), "and its going to change a lot more as some of the major publishers continue to grapple with the digitization of their industry."
So, major companies will begin looking to people like me, and my fellow colleagues for our knowledge of the latest online applications. We'll be called on to write for online and monitor incoming Tweets, comfortable working with video cameras, audio recorders and notepad all at the same time. Believe me, I've done it. Its not that hard to keep track of three electronic devices if they're all pointed in the right direction (ie. the source). Open-minded journos are also being sought in fields that weren't traditionally inked. Not exactly PR, not exactly media relations, but somewhere close to the how-to articles at About.com, or specifically targeted pieces for corporations or non-profits, a.k.a. corporate journalism.
I'm not going there.
Being a journalist in 2009 means being a mojo. Hahaha, no, that doesn't refer to what Austin Powers lost in "The Spy Who Shagged Me," instead it refers to a mobile journalist, someone who is armed with pen, tape recorder, camera, video camera and a sturdy backpack to carry it all in.
Today, I am going shopping for that new backpack - to carry all of my fabulous 2009 skills. Glad my education was worth it, though I will have to work a few more retail hours to afford the backpack.
One month of JessicaPatterson.ca!
(05/12/09)
It has been over a month since my site launched and since my last update. JessicaPatterson.ca is now Google-able!! I searched "Jessica Patterson" this morning - and poof - I'm the second result on Google's search results. I'm happy about that.
I have been extremely busy working. I got two part-time jobs to help fill in the hours of the week, though my freelance work has been picking up a bit.
To answer your question, no, I don't have a social life anymore. I've been too busy filling every second of the day with work, work, or freelance work.
The latest news in my world is that I have scheduled two weeks vacation in late July and early August. One month will see me in Vancouver and the other will see me back on the East Coast. And no, I'm not driving, though a road trip across Canada is something I have thought about.
A new day
(04/08/09)
I wrote a friend a Facebook message today, and wanted to share my bit of enlightenment.
I wandered across J-Source today, and most of the recent news is really depressing. Headlines like "Should j-schools close?" and "Why keep studying journalism?" and "10 tips for freelancers" seem to cement the fact that the Canadian media industry is in decline. Layoffs are happening everywhere, to everyone. I felt some relief, even a little hope, as I read my former j-school prof's story, published in the Toronto Sun.
In "Why keep studying journalism?" Kelly Toughill writes, "The most exciting career path of all will be the one taken by aspiring journalists who don't land a job at an established media outlet."
I am one of those.
So are a few friends of mine. Fresh out of j-school, we didn't manage to land a high-profile gig, and settled for a journalism job somewhere smaller, but no less important to the community it served. And, as we struggled to pay off our debts and eke out a name for ourselves, we had some pretty amazing adventures along the way.
I told my friend on Facebook, "think of all of the adventures we've had in the almost-two years since we graduated.
I've slogged through mud and rain for photos at rodeos, gotten hopelessly lost on range roads, braved flood waters for interviews, walked in -50 degree weather to get to work because my car wouldn't start... seen hailstones the size of baseballs bounce off my car in a freak summer thunderstorm. I've interviewed Olympic hopefuls, MPs, MLAs, television and music stars, I've talked to cowboys and chuckwagon drivers."
And I've had a lot of fun doing it.
And in writing this note, I realized that I have done a lot, that my journey so far down this road many others have travelled has been an adventure for me.
"Marilla, isn't it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?" asks that silly little Anne of Green Gables, in one of my all-time favourite book series.
I realized (probably for the umpteenth time) that its not about what I do or the jobs I get, but the journey I take to fulfill my dreams. And, tomorrow is a new day.
Getting started
(04/03/09)
Hello! Welcome to my first blog posting at jessicapatterson.ca. I'm so glad to finally almost have this website up and running. It seems like its been such a long time since the I first opened the first Notepad document. To type < html > was my first thought, but then I realized that in my 10-plus year hiatus from web design, things have evolved. I still wanted to hand code every line so that I could fix anything that came up.So, it took me a while to figure out what I wanted in a website, but I settled on a plan and have been working for the past two months to get it up and running. Now that it is, what do you think? Email me with your thoughts.