BEST OF 2009 - A YEAR IN REVIEW

Here at Alberta Views we like keep our thumb on the pulse of the province – and failing that, keep our thumb on the pulse of people with THEIR thumbs on the pulse. Items the provincial punditry put out in ’09: Dingbat remarks by a politician; the 10^th anniversary of the Herald strike and Sled Island festival-going. With that, I proudly present Alberta bloggers' best of 2009.

Dan Arnold’s: CALGARY GRIT, LIVE FROM TORONTO

This Week in Alberta - Lingere Party!

The Doug Elniski saga is just so good, it's worthy of a second post. As reported earlier this week, Tory backbencher Doug Elniski got into some trouble for blog and twitter postings where, among other things, he advises young girls:

"Men are attracted to smiles, so smile and don't give me that 'treated equal' stuff, if you want Equal it comes in little packages at Starbucks."

This has prompted some to attack him as being sexist, to which Elniski has responded (and I am not making this up): "If I were sexist I think I would certainly know about it by now."

This is eerily familiar to comments made by world famous economist Stephen Harper, just a week before the stock market crashed last fall:

“My own belief is if we were gong to have some kind of big crash or recession, we probably would have had it by now.”

I guess the good news for Elniski in all this is that if voters were going to punish him for his comments, they certainly would have voted him out by now...

I'll let the Journal's Graham Thompson fill you in:

"Elniski has no doubt learned a political lesson from it, but he apparently has yet to learn the dangers of Twitter. As of Wednesday afternoon, he still had a Twitter posting from June 7 that said "lingere is always good." Whoever is screening his postings might want to take a look at that one for spelling, if nothing else. Journalists who noticed it and have reported on it assume he meant "lingerie, " but we haven't had a chance to ask him about it. His staff says he's not taking our calls. Taken on its own, a four-word declaration in favour of women's undergarments might not be overtly sexist, but it is overtly odd.

You have to wonder why, after all the complaints about sexism levelled at Elniski this week, he would leave that Twitter posting up. You also have to wonder why he made the posting in the first place.

Dan Arnold’s: CALGARY GRIT, LIVE FROM TORONTO

This Week in Alberta - Politicians on Mushrooms!

After spirited debates surrounding Alberta's official grass, official sport an new license plate design, the MLAs in Edmonton spent some time this week debating what Alberta's official mushroom should be. Ahh, the joys of being in a province where the economy is going so good that legislators can focus on issues like this rather than...what?...oh, never mind.

You know, if the MLAs are going to do this, they should at least try and make some cash off of it. Take a page from the Olympics and vote on Alberta's official soft drink, official gas station, and official credit card. Use the sponsorship money to wipe out the deficit.

A free market solution for what ails a free market province!

David Climenhaga's: ALBERTA DIARY

Ten years after the Herald strike, one of Canada’s last great newspapers prepares to commit suicide

Scenes from the Calgary Herald strike, which began 10 years ago today. Top: Strikers try to block truckloads of scab papers exiting the printing plant (can you find your blogger?) while the Calgary Police act as strikebreakers; striker Murdoch Macleod stares down a truck driver; Black, now a felon in Florida, harangues union local president Andy Marshall.

Today is the 10th anniversary of the beginning of the doomed, eight-month Calgary Herald strike, in which I played a small part. This occasion will likely pass unremarked everywhere but here, so let us acknowledge it and our memories of the brave strikers who tried so hard, and failed so completely, to prove that the rule of law prevailed in Alberta by exercising their legal right to be members of a union.

Most of us former strikers fared reasonably well after the strike, some better than others. Many of us established new careers based in whole or in part in the Internet, which nowadays is blamed by the publishers and remaining employees of the once-great newspaper industry for its myriad troubles. This is because newspapers like the Herald, which we once loved, are not doing so well nowadays.

I confess that, as a former Herald striker, I view the industry’s troubles with a certain ambivalence. I still love newspapers. But, yes, I feel some satisfaction at their decline. I will not toss and turn the night the last one dies.

Before and during the strike, we tried, however naively, to save the paper, perhaps the industry, along with our jobs. We were doomed, of course, though for some of us it turned out to be our good fortune that we were amputated, in our former proprietor Conrad Black’s colorful phrase, like a gangrenous limb, when we were. How ironic that on Nov. 8, 2009, the gangrenous limb seems to be doing better than the body from which it was severed, not to mention the head of that body, which rests uneasy on a Florida jailhouse cot.

It is codswallop, of course, to claim the World Wide Web wrecked the newspaper industry, although it certainly hastened its decline once the slide began. Newspaper owners are about as credible when they lie this particular lie as is Alberta Health Minister Ron Liepert when he blames the H1N1 fiasco on drug suppliers, health care employees and supposedly line-jumping Albertans.

The real damage to the newspaper industry was done by the Great Minds who ran the business, and who in many cases continue to do so according to the same playbook with the same predictable results ... (click on link above to read in full.)

Barbara Bruederlin’s: BAD TEMPERED ZOMBIE

Crawling through a festival: Sled crash at the Warehouse

The final night of Sled Island is always a sort of bittersweet affair. On the one hand, you are utterly exhausted and all buzzed up on caffeine to make it through to the end, on the other you are completely stoked for a band lineup that god himself couldn't improve upon, and on the third hand (because you can always use an extra hand) you know you are going to be suffering severe Sled Island withdrawal in a matter of hours.

We were actually the first people in line to get into the Warehouse, as I was not taking any chances on missing out on this show. A nice benefit to this was that we were able to score the best of the handful of booths that line one wall. Not only can you sit and have a table to put your drink on, but the corners of the booths have little built-in tables that are perfect for standing on and seeing over everybody's head when the place fills up. A nice couple from Vancouver, who were in town for the Cantos Music Festival, shared the booth with us. Even though it got stinking hot in the place later, the boy half never once took off his wool jacket. Or his tie. Those crazy Vancouverites!
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Cabinet shuffles not NEARLY as fun as the actual shuffle

The shuffle n.

A style of dance originating in the 1960s. Now out-shadowed by the much less enjoyable “government shuffle”. See also: “the hustle”.

___________

Politics steals everything fun, first de-funning the concept of a party – and now this?

The shuffle, once the staple dance move of awkward adolescents, is officially stolen. Politics is using it and not even doing it properly. (It’s slide, step, clap, step, slide guys, not announce, meet, talk, talk, Twitter.) You're all way off.

We at Alberta Views got together today to put the party back in politics, initially making predictions about the Alberta PC’s pending cabinet shuffle, but before completing the office pool the Twittersphere blew up with the results.

Thus, our predictions became suggestions and these are they. Please send us yours!

FUTURE SHUFFLE SUGGESTIONS:

Minister of Smackdown

Hon. Lloyd Snelgrove:

Mr. Snelgrove to take on role as Minister in the newly formed Ministry of Smackdown - a double suggestion. The broad mandate of the MSD will be responsible for smacking down real and perceived, tangible and intangible issues. Everything that needs smacking down will be smacked down with the efficacy of government. Complaints in the legislature – smack! Defectors to the Wildrose Party – smack, smack, smack! Ducks flying too close to tailings ponds – smack, smack, smack, smack, smack, smack, smack, smack, smack, smack, smack, smack, smack, smack, smack, smack, smack, smack, smack, smack, smack, … so much to smack … smack, smack, smack. Smacking is hard work – is there a Ministry of Shoulder Rubs? Further prediction: In time Snelgrove becomes lovingly known to the people of Alberta as the "Smack-Daddy".

Boy, what I'd give to do some smacking right now ...

Minister of Justice and Occasionally Also Laying the Smackdown

Hon. Alison Redford

Because why should Mr. Stelgrove get to have all the fun?

Minister of Double-Barreled Shotguns and Finance

Hon. Ted Morton

No mandate change, just something more fitting. Plus, who’s going to mess with a Finance Minister whose title is preceded by the words “double-barreled” and “shotgun?” Brilliant? I thought so. Alberta’s not only going to come out of this recession ahead of other provinces, as Mr. Stelmach announced, with a Minister of Double-Barreled Shotguns it will come out aliver.

Equalization? Hmm, no, no, I don't think we'll be doing that this year.

Minister of the Shuffle

Hon. Edward M. Stelmach

In addition to duties as Premier, the Minister of the Shuffle is responsible for teaching the actual shuffle to party members and returning cool things to cool again.

Final suggestion:

Party Whips Robin Campbell and Arno Doerksen, be renamed Co-Ministers Responsible of Getting’ This Party Started Right Here. It sounds nicer.

Blog post by: Peter Worden

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Reflections: Magazine of the Year

Here we are in the fall of 2009 doing some preplanning for the fall of 2010. The magazine world lets you live in many different times at once. The present is where we print and distribute the magazine, the past is where we learn from the issues we've put out before but more than anything, we live in the future. Our stories are sometimes assigned up to 9 months in advance. Our ads are due a month before an issue drops, we're hoping to get information from theatre companies and festival producers 2 or 3 months ahead. Even though winter hasn't started, I can see spring ahead as if it's tomorrow. Christmas has long passed since we've already sent our Christmas promo.

All this thinking ahead means that it's sometimes a struggle to look back. This morning I did. I wanted to see photos of the National Magazine Awards. That night I was so harried and my dress didn't fit and the whole thing was a whirlwind and at the end of the night I spilled chocolate from the chocolate fountain all over myself and when I tried to clean it off, I just smudged it all over. But we won. We won! Sometimes I still can't believe it. I know, awards don't matter too much but they do when you win. When you win it's like a thousand hands pop out and pat you on the back and when you don't, there's always next year.

I don't have anything ground-breakingly insightful to say but I might and when I do, I'll let you know. In the meantime you can watch the event on the NMA website. If you click on the essay tab on the right to watch Jackie Flanagan accept the award for "Magazine of the Year." Read more...

$1,000 PRIZE GOES TO ANDREW BARBERO – IF THAT IS HIS REAL NAME.

I hope you'll forgive me. This isn't normally the stuff of blog entries. I'm posting a press release. Yes, a press release. But it's a good press release. I get hundreds of these every week and I can honestly say, this is the best press release I've read today.

If you don't feel like reading it, the gist is this: Andrew Barbero, 20-something unknown author and law student won our annual short story contest. It's a really good story. He joins Greg Hollingshead and other luminaries in the ranks of Alberta Views short story contest winners. Big, big congratulations to this talented writer!

$1,000 PRIZE GOES TO ANDREW BARBERO – IF THAT IS HIS REAL NAME.

Waiting in Calgary International, Andrew Barbero put his name down for a free credit card, ‘George Wriggly’ along with a pseudonymous career and income to match. When the jig was up, Barbero walked away, opened his notepad in the departures terminal and began a fictional story about a character with mythomania – an ailment in which one struggles to ever tell the truth.

“Charlie Hawkins enjoys the lying. It’s how he relates to people,” said Barbero. “He doesn’t have a lot of confidence. He tells people what they want to hear then loses control and needs to take it all back.”

Barbero’s character playfully illuminates the curious nature of liars and lying. On a desperate binge of lying, Charlie decides to begin curing his mythomania by doing something he has said.

“Honesty is on a timeline,” said Barbero. “It makes you question the illusion of reality. It teaches a lot about self-deception and things we say to ourselves. Not little things but big things, ‘I’m happy,’ ‘I’m smart’ or ‘I’m talented enough.’”

As an English graduate at the University of Calgary, Barbero recalls a professor telling him to make every reader believe they suffer from mythomania themselves. This short story does it. Charlie’s congenial lying induces self-examination of our own little white lies and grandiose illusions, which we tell the world (and ourselves) every day.

Celebrity judge Fred Stenson said of the story, which won $1,000, “this story is entertainment end to end. The unreliable narrator’s voice seems original, yet familiar, and always fun as it flips from lie to lie.” .Barbero currently studies Law in Calgary.

Barbero’s story “Just Words” will appear in the December issue of Alberta Views.

At least this much we know is true.

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Edmonton Ahoy!

For fun, I'll be in Edmonton this weekend. I'm too Calgary-centric! I need to bring a little of the capital back to work with me on Monday.
I'll be doing the following:

1. The Art Gallery of Alberta to see Inside/Out, Printed Matters and whatever else
2. West Edmonton Mall to drop into doom and visit the sad flamingos
3. Dinner at a Chinese place a friend recommended
4. Something for Halloween

Do you have any suggestions? They don't have to be Halloween suggestions.

Thanks in advance,
Beth Read more...

Scooped

Every morning as I brush my teeth and strategically apply makeup, I listen to the Calgary Eyeopener. I have a news crush on Jim Brown. I can't help it. He gives such great interview.

As I coated my lashes in soft black this morning, I heard a promo for our November cover story. My first reaction: "Hey, that's our story!" It wasn't attributed to us of course but suppose it doesn't need to be. Such is the nature of the news business. We inserted the November issue a bit early this month in the Globe and Mail so I have no doubt that we were their lead. Geez Louise, I'm such a hypocrite. I listen to the Eyeopener for precisely the same reason: ideas.

The story is about Dr. Johann Pitout who's discovered an antibiotic-resistant strain of e.coli is pervasive in Calgary (and probably everywhere). It's a fascinating piece written by Paul Webster. If you want to get the in-depth story, our November issue hits newsstands November 2ND and includes another super-story about the health super-board, Stephen Duckett and the always charming, Ron Liepert. Read more...

Alberta's Next Big Idea

Do you miss Peter?
So do we but that's life, I guess.
Sometimes an amazing intern comes into your work life just to make it better. But like the proverbial bird in that Nelly Furtado song, must fly away again, or something. He's writing a story for our March issue though so keep your peepers peeled.

Onwards & upwords:

Have you seen what Alberta bloggers have been up to lately? Daveberta is all post-partisan aiming his barbs and insights with precision at Libs and Cons alike. It's utterly refreshing! Read him if you don't already.

As I was catching up over at Daveberta, I caught a few links that I wanted to champion:

Andrew and Mack got together for lunch and decided that Alberta should hire a citizen-laureate (they didn't actually call it that. That's my contribution). To sum up, the AB government would grant a stipend of $50,000 (or more or less) to someone whose job it would be to improve the province... or follow their passion, it depends which side of the conversation you read.

Here's why I love this: It's a big, crazy idea about changing Alberta. We need big, crazy, unconventional ideas. Nice work, guys. The only thing that sort of niggles at me is the idea of paying someone to be a citizen. Aren't we supposed to do that for free?

Ken Chapman, my favorite conservative (oops, have I just fallen into a partisan trap?), has launched "Reboot Alberta" with former cabinet minister Dave King and others. It'll be a dialogue on change in Alberta that goes beyond the left/right paradigm. Just read his post. If all goes according to plan, I'll be in Red Deer for this. It sounds fascinating.

There are so many more cool, cool initiatives and great bloggers I haven't named. Next time.

I want to see more. Who has an idea about making Alberta better? I want to hear it. Alberta Views wants to hear it. I'm talking about the reasonable, down-to-earth stuff and the nutso stuff you'd do if money were no object!!

Email us: bethe@albertaviews.ab.ca or post it to the comments below.

I haven't blogged in awhile so I'm a bit rusty. Feel free to comment on my grammar below.

Cheers,
Beth Read more...

Will the Real Alberta Please Stand Up?

Come join us at the movies!

Thursday, September 24 at 7 pm in the Glenbow Museum Theatre
What does Alberta represent to you? Setting out to define the real soul of his home province, filmmaker Geo Takach meets oodles of Albertan icons and keen observers from coast to coast, and paints a fast-paced, funny and surprising portrait of the province that people love to pigeonhole.

Alberta Views' founding editor Jackie Flanagan appears in the movie and will be sitting on the discussion panel to answer some of Geo's unusual and thought provoking questions. Curious to find out what she has to say about Alberta? Come join us and find out.

(Geo’s expanded account of his findings is in the May 2009 issue of Alberta Views, now available online.) Read more...

AND THE WINNER IS ...

It's Friday before the long weekend and we all know what that means: Time to alter jeans into short shorts and pull out the beer koozies for one last hurrah. It also means time to do our draw for a Bullfrog Power Green Living Basket.

And the winner is...

Jason Ragan 

Congrats! (email me your phone number or email so we can be in touch.) 

Jason left this message on the blog:

"Our family is being green by sorting our recyclables between deposit and blue bag. We also feed our toddler son a high fibre diet so he doesn't soil his diaper as much."

AV received many great entries, some of which are published below. Thanks to all and enjoy your Labour Day weekend, from all of us at Alberta Views. 

Other clever green ideas:

"I've been doing my part buying most of my clothes at thrift stores since I was sixteen." Lori Hahnel

"We buy locally from farmers' markets and organic grocery stores. We've got beets and carrots and pumpkins and rhubarb and beans and greens growing in our garden." Chris Jensen & Dirk van Wyk

"In the past year, I have replaced my furnace, my hot water tank and my fridge to make them more efficient.  This is in addition to having already replaced my washer and dryer last year and introducing an indoor and outdoor clothesline.  I have also bought a more energy efficient printer that allows duplex printing and makes better use of ink.

In addition to all this, I am the main organizer behind the highly successful environmental discussion group in Calgary known as Green Drinks.  We often have over 75 people attend our monthly events to learn from others as to how they can become more environmentally friendly.  I will also be launching a carshare service this September that will allow people to reduce their vehicle use." Cody Torgerson

"I have gone green over the past year by ditching my 94 Chevy Cavalier and joining the CATCO Calgary Car Share Program. Joining this coop has helped me reduce my environmental foot print by reducing the quantity of driving I do (I book a car only when I really need it), reducing the quantity of cars on the road (cause I share one with a couple of hundred ppl), and reduce my impact even further cause I book a Smart 4x2 which is very fuel efficient and runs on diesel. It's a great program run by great ppl and I recommend it to everyone who lives in and around downtown Calgary." Hesham Said

"Over the past several years, I have been trying to reconcile my personal sense of responsibility for the current environmental crisis and my day-to-day life. The biggest change I feel I can make in the world, however, is to convince others that a greater societal shift is necessary. To that end, I have been involved with a number of local and national environmental initiatives." Alla Guelber

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CONTEST TIME AND THE GREEN LIVING IS EASY (Part II)

SPECIAL NOTE:

Just to reiterate, if you ARE a subscriber to the magazine and we DON'T already have your email address, we will enter you into the draw for the Green Living Basket if you send it to Nicole as a courtesy for saving us, you and the world, paper

avadmin@albertaviews.ab.ca

(This contest is becoming a game of Celebrity Jeopardy - just send me anything. An email. A shape. Your favourite animal. Type anything - anything at all - and I'll enter you in the draw.)

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CONTEST TIME AND THE GREEN LIVING IS EASY

Bikin' and recyclin', the ALBERTA VIEWS staff would be a shoe-in for this contest if it weren't such a darn ridiculous conflict of interest. Hey wait - YOU should enter!

Good day Greenies and currently un-entered Alberta Views contestarinos,

August 25 and it’s about time we draw for our Bullfrog Power “Green Living Basket”.

But before we do …

Contest entries have trickled in this month like so many low-flow showerheads now in your homes. However I have only a small handful of names to draw from. This is an easy contest, folks! “Switched to efficient shower nozzles” is a succinct, qualified response. That’s really all it takes. Other possible examples: “shaved pet and loomed new suit” or  “forwent air conditioning in office place by forgoing pants”  – anything – just please for Pete’s (the intern) sake, enter.

Perhaps I can help get the creative contest-entry juices flowing by discussing a little bit what I’ve done in the past year to live greenly.

First, I got a job at Alberta Views. That alone should be enough. At AV we dedicate entire issues to sustainability, print onrecycled paper and recently implemented a rather controversial ‘no flushing’ policy in the office bathroom. (To the chagrin of other office tenants.)

 ... On Sunday I opt out of showering altogether – it’s for the environment! 

In addition, I personally cut my shower-water usage by 50 per cent sudding only my right-side Monday-Wednesday-Friday, and left-side Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday. On Sunday I opt out of showering altogether – it’s for the environment! This month, I've obliterated my water bill by bathing with the vacuum cleaner. It’s enviro-friendly, easier on the wallet and feels hilarious.

With that, I’m going to enter myself into this draw for a “Green Living Basket” sponsored by Bullfrog Power. I am also going to enter our administrator, Nicole, who is requesting subscribers’/your email address so she can spare paper mail-outs. AND on that note, any subscriber who does so will automatically be entered into this draw for reducing waste.

REDUCE (emissions) ALBERTA VIEWS Magazine and Bike Shoppe.

REUSE (old envelopes) for popping bubble wrap during down-time.

RECYCLE (old paper) AV now on FSC. 

I’m aiming for at least 50 entrants. I won’t draw for any less – I just won’t. OK I will. But please get on it.

*** To enter, send an email to me, peterw@albertaviews.ab.ca with a blurb about what you've done in the past year. Details are all right here. Or leave a comment on this blog thing. That works too. Just remember to leave an email address. ***

Lastly, my apologies to those few who have already entered the contest. As a frequent contester myself, nothing grinds my gears more than being the sole entrant in a draw and finding out the deadline’s been extended for slowpokes. You proactive few will be the chosen winners in my heart.

Until next time, you stay beautiful Alberta. 

Peter

(AV Intern)

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LIVE BLOGGING FROM LETHBRIDGE FARMERS’ MARKET!

 

Saturday, August 8

5:12  a.m.

 

En route to Lethbridge. Rent-a-car folk gave me the grand pooh-bah to end all rental cars – a Chevy Silverado – a far cry from the Yaris I receive normally. This thing could eat a Yaris. How, I wonder, am I supposed to promote our magazine’s sustainability issue when I’m the only one in this giant contraption, not towing or loading anything and I’m pretty sure I just ran over a moose.

 

7:05 a.m.

 

Set up shop at the Lethbridge Farmers’ Market. I recognize that in order to ‘live-blog’ one actually requires a functioning computer to write on, not just a crumpled-up napkin. I make a point of noting this special Peter-type of live blogging. (Check.)

 

8 a.m.

 

Market begins. If I look like I slept in the back of a pickup truck last night and was attacked not once, not twice, but THRICE by hawks, I did. And I was.

 

9:38 a.m.

 

I meet a farmer who I like instantly for three reasons: one, he has a brilliant and insightful POV; two, we share the name Peter; and three, he is only 10-years-old. Young Peter opens up April’s issue of the magazine to Evan Osenton’s piece Beyond Landfill and immediately notes how 80 per cent of garbage in the picture is recyclable.  Young Peter, there are people on this Earth five-times longer than you who would never see that.

 

I restrained the urge to get too grandpa even though talking to 10-year-old Peter was really like talking to 10-year-old me. In retrospect, if I COULD go back and talk to 10-year-old me, I would say:

 

-       Brush it off – everyone wets the carpet.

-       And, you’d be surprised the difference a 10-year-old can make in the world.

 

10:50 a.m.

 

It is about this time I wonder if anyone even reads this blog stuff.

 

11:30 a.m.

 

Sorry, folks. Turns out I was just hungry and getting grumpy. I have a sausage and egg scrambler a black coffee and now no longer care whether anyone reads this blog, I just care where the nearest washroom is.

 

Ah ... beautiful Lethbridge. 

12:20 p.m.

Market is wrapping up now. Another day, another farmers’ market. I decide before formally signing off to make a final plug for the AV August environment issue with our 2009 Local Food Guide. Also, if anyone DOES read this, (see below) enter the Bullfrog contest for a Green Living Basket. You might be the only one!

 

See ya! (At the Canmore Farmers’ Market next Thursday.)

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