Thursday Night Television

A few years ago, or maybe more than a few years ago, television came up with this crazy concept - let's put a bunch of people that don't know each other and make them live together as castaways in a strange environment. No electricity. No family. No friends. And they made them compete for a chance to win a grand monetary prize.

If you haven't guessed it, maybe you've been living in a cave or under a rock.

The show I'm talking about is of course - Survivor.

It started off innocently enough. The people came and made some friends and all had the hardest time voting someone off. But one player was manipulating the game. He saw that this was a game and a chance for cunning in order to win. He played everyone and it caused some drama. I know I'll never forget Sue and her speech. To watch it - go here. It's pretty awesome.

What happened with the final four of the first Survivor changed the way the game was played from then on out.

Sure I wasn't that into all the subsequent seasons, but there is something really special about this season.

It's Survivor Heroes vs. Villains. The heroes were selected for the way the chose to play the game and the "good" choices and integrity they had when playing. The villains were selected for their cunning in the way they played. Maybe they switched allegiances and ultimately screwed someone over, but they earned their stripes and were proud of their choices.

This season was different in that the alliances were all laid out very early. You could see the people voted off one by one and if you weren't part of the "in crowd" you were going home.

It's true that I haven't watched the entire time, but I've seen enough to know that certain people are being held in the game over promises that are truly not worthy. Russel for instance has gotten so strong that this needs to ultimately lead to his downfall. I have to keep wondering how long they will keep him in the game before they realize he's playing each and every one. I think everyone is afraid to make decisions for fear it will bite them in the ass later. Russel gets to make all the tough decisions.

I'm currently in the middle of an episode and I can see that this is very tricky. Who goes home? Who stays? Too soon to tell. All I can say is watch Survivor on Thursday nights.

Saying goodbye to the printed word

Something interesting is going on in the ways of the world and as someone who appreciates the written word I'm wondering what it's going to mean.

With the release of the iPad and the Kindle, the idea of buying a book is becoming passe. Is this a good thing? Or is it bad?

I've been a voracious reader since a very young age. I'd beg my mother to take me to the library where I would carefully examine covers for gorgeous images and take as many books as were allowed. I'd carefully read over each word, examine every picture and when it was finished I would plead for more. I loved reading as a child, and that quickly grew. By Grade 4 I was reading high school level books and beyond. I may not have fully understood the exact words of what was being said, but I would lose myself in the story. I've found myself falling in love in a book, going on adventures of the real and not so real kind in others, I've been on both sides of the crime spectrum and lost myself to faraway lands and places close to home.

Needless to say - my love of reading turned into a love of writing. I wanted to write and to this day I would be doing that if it actually would earn me some money. Or rather, let me rephrase that. Because I did make some money from writing - and not bad money at that. What I would do if I won the lottery would be to buy a better laptop, a home near water with a dock and I would write my creative short stories and maybe, just maybe finish that novel that I started so many years ago.

But what would come of me? Would my work be published? And really what does published even mean if the concept of a book wouldn't exist?

Libraries allow you to borrow books in 3 week intrevals. This makes it difficult for people like my husband who take their time and absorb a book over the series of a few months not weeks. Not everyone can powerslam books like I can. He's the type of person that would be better suited to buying a book rather than having to pay the hefty library fines. Will he be happier in the paperless society that we seem to be entering into?

I'm not incredibly familiar with the Kindle in that I not only have never seen one, but no one I know has one. I guess I just don't fly in that kind of circle. But with the onset of the iPad, I know more and more people that will be reading books by way of their computers. What I'm concerned with is how will that work? Will it be like a library system where you "borrow" the work to read and then it goes back into their archives, or is this going to mean that you have to pay for everything you want to read?

I do admit that it would be quite convenient to have the urge to read a book hit you and within a few short clicks you have a wonderful story to get lost in. But you'll be stuck taking your electronic devise with you. Does this mean that when you want to go to the beach and lounge around you'll risk getting sand in your electronics? We all know that's a bad news moment waiting to happen.

There is something so comforting about being on the bus or in a waiting room and pulling out a paperback from your purse. You can be anywhere anytime. Will having an iPad or Kindle change the way that many of us read? Will it be strictly for those sitting at home?

I suppose if you live in a remote area it will be very convenient for you to just use your dial-up connection to get whatever your little heart desires. It'll be incredibly profitable for the publishing houses too as they won't have to be producing any books - they will just be promoting and making them available online. But what will that mean to the artists that wrote the books? How can they reach any acclaim? The main way that publishing houses gauge your success is by the number of times they need to send your book to print. If they aren't printing anything, how are authors going to fully be recognized for their abilities?

I'm sure there are many of you out there that love the idea of the kindle and the iPad but I think I'm going to stick with written word.

To Knit a Bridge

The Cambridge Arts Council has come up with a really awesome activity that is letting anyone in Cambridge get involved.

We are going to knit a bridge.

You read that right - knitting a bridge. Cambridge is known for some really awesome bridges. It was built around the Nith and the Grand and founded mainly as three different communities. I wrote about them here. Galt and Hespeler were strong textile communities. We harnessed the power of the river and turned it into wonderful fabrics that became known around the world. This fall we get to bring the textiles back to Cambridge.

Cambridge is a really unique community. We have lots of people of all walks of life and interests and this allows some of these niche communities to come out of hiding. Knitting generally is done in private or in small groups right? People who knit are normally older - grandmotherly types don't you think? Well those stereotypes are being blown out of the water with this project.

The young and old are coming out of hiding. They are knitting at the library, in parks and in the mall. They are taking it with them to dinner out or to sporting events. I myself even was found knitting as a passenger in the car tonight. I've found out about a few male knitters who do some absolutely fabulous work.

You may recall that back in January I started to knit again after a 16 year hiatus and blogged about it here. I did touch on the Knit the Bride project but had some incorrect information that I'd like to clear up now. Sure everything can be found on the website but why not share it in more than one location?

How can you contribute?

Knitted pieces of any size will be accepted but at the moment the preference is for:
1. Pieces 21" x 27" to cover the 267 handrails on the bridge
2. Pieces 6" x 8" wide by 50"-60" long to over 303 handrail spaces
3. Pieces as long as you like that are 8", 10" or 22" wide
4. Pieces 30" wide, minimum 12" long, maximum 4 ft long to cover columns

You may use any type of yarn, pattern colour and knitting technique you wish.
Drop off the pieces at the front desk of the Cambridge Centre for the Arts on Dickson Street in Cambridge and don't forget to attach a piece of paper to the knitting with your name, address,phone number and email.

Don't think that your worthy of knitting something? Think again - they are willing to take any knitting or crocheting from all kinds of talent.

What is the deadline for submissions? In order to lay out what is needed, all the pieces need to be brought in by the end of June if possible.

When can we see the finished project? The knitting will be on the bridge from September 9th to 30th.

Wait -that's less than a month - what is going to happen at the end of the month with all that work? The knitters and volunteers are taking the pieces and turning them into scarves and blankets for local homeless shelters.

Are there any other knitting activities I can get involved in? Yes - Worldwide Knit in Public Week is June 12-20th. In Cambridge knitters and crocheters have been invited to come out front of Cambridge City Hall anytime between 8am-Noon on Saturday June 19th. It's going to be a true Yarn Party!

So what are you waiting for - grab your yarn and your needles and get cracking!

A garden full of wipples

Spring is upon us and I've once again decided to put in a garden. This year - I'd like to not get annuals and instead get perennials. Last year my goal was pink and purple. it worked but I really didn't know what I was doing. Went to one of those big box stores as they had a sale on and therefore didn't get any assistance. I saw pictures on the signs and said "This looks nice."

After getting it home I really didn't know what to expect. They all bloomed at different times and didn't really blend together the best. Some things I really liked but not knowing exactly what I had, I ended up throwing out those that died. Some plants close to the house actually stayed green and stayed alive and strong so they are still out there. I believe they were purple so we'll be cool.

This year - I'm thinking white!

We have a white trellis along the house and I didn't do anything with it last year, but I'm highly interested in putting in some clematis and letting it climb. I don't want it to take over the house but it'll be so nice to see it growing up and up. Now I have to find out if it comes in white. My parents had pink at the old house and a very deep purple at the new. I'm hoping I can find white for mine :)

I had a spreading type of plant grow in too last year and it had tiny white flowers but a silvery white leaf. I had it in the wrong spot and it ended up wanting to take over our path. If only I planted it where it should've gone...

What I'd love if I had someone to actually help me. Someone said they would last year but then kind of disappeared for 6 months. Besides, I was too proud to ask for help. However this year, I think with the help of my new neighbour I'm going to have a kick ass garden. We've already started by taking out the ugly red clay stones from around our shared tree and the ugly red clay stones that lead the way to my garage. It's already improved our property values I swear!

As for the flowers, my mother says - pick what you like and you'll be happy with the results. I hope so!

Bring back the news!

There has been a certain amount of discussion lately with regards to potentially starting a local online paper put together by people that are in Cambridge much along the lines of what the Cambridge Reporter was like.

If you are new to the area, or just aren't aware, the Cambridge Reporter was a daily newspaper in the city of Cambridge, Ontario that ran for 157. It's original name was the Galt Reporter as it was based in the city of Galt until an amalgamation back in 1973. That was when it changed it's name to the Cambridge Reporter. Name aside, it was set up much like your regular big city paper. It had reporters covering beats, there were editors and paginators, there was advertising sales and an entire team of people making things work. I may know a little bit more than the average bear, as I worked as a part time editor, sports reporter, photographer and reporter for the paper back in 1998.

I look back at my days at the paper fondly because it was my first job after college. I took Print Journalism at Conestoga and through that I was able to gain employment and am proud to say that I actually brought in some readers. I started out covering local businesses that won the Best of 97 awards. My business profiles brought in advertising dollars - and I provided so much content they did not just one - but three different sections. After that - they kept me on as a sports reporter part time until I was able to do my co-op. During co-op I started doing all sorts of stories, helped layout some pages, worked with the regular photographer that was getting close to retirement. Later I became the weekend reporter and filled the paper with content every Monday and Tuesday.

It was a great experience but it really wasn't me. It wasn't the way I wanted to write. I could do it - but it didn't feel comfortable to me. I'm a bit of an introverted extrovert so it was hard for me to get out there and do all they wanted me to do. I just didn't have the balls for it. I excelled at covering good news stories and just wasn't cut out for the hard news - the deaths and tragedies of the day.

I moved on in another direction, but find it so intriguing that people are thinking of bring a semblance of it back and that I might be able to be part of it. Sure TorStar stills owns the Reporter - so the name can't be used, but the idea of current content available online is very interesting.

Some of the crew currently talking about it have a bit of a slant on the news, and I hope that if this does start to fly, that we'd be able to actually have a non-political view. Sure we can have a political section and then they can all write and rant all they want. But I've always been non-judgmental when it came to such things. (And probably why I won't talk about Wal-Mart with certain people.)

It seems the main thing missing from the news coverage in Cambridge is that the Times is mostly advertising with a few stories thrown in for good measure. As a free paper, I get it. I completely understand that they wouldn't have much content and that the advertisers would be king. Someone has to pay for the printing and staff. But with the Record mentioning Cambridge rarely on the local pages - we are missing out on local news. Sure we have Snap - but that's monthly. The people of Cambridge are missing out on so much going on and it would be a great opportunity for people to get out there and cover what's happening and for all of us to find information online every day.

Now comes the tough part - who's willing to work for nothing and who's willing to put it together every day? Are we to expect people to work for free all the time? Are we looking at making money from this venture? Or is this something people really want and need and would be willing to get involved?

It'll be interesting to see if this project will fly. For our sakes, I hope it does.