CreCommradery

The term CreCommradery, coined by the ever clever Chadd Cawson, is one I will never forget.

I want to thank all the members of the OG Class 3, for the awesome semester.

I love you guys! And am very sad that I will only get to spend the rest of the year with a third of you, but know that there will be many lunch hours together on the couches and after school escapades to the King's Head.

This isn't goodbye, it's see you later.

Anita Daher, Manitoba Author

Earlier this semester, author Anita Daher came to speak to us Creative Communications students during our thursday seminar slot. She's a well-known and established Manitoba children's author, and I was lucky enough to hear from her after her inspiring, and interesting speech about writing.

Daher's books for kids and teens have been recognized for their greatness by McNally Robinson and she's been a finalist for the Arthur Ellis, Hackmatack, and Diamond Willow awards. She was the 2007 recipient of the John Hirsch Award for Most Promising Manitoba Writer.

Some of her well known books are Spider's Song, Racing for Diamonds, Flight from Bear Canyon, Flight from Big Tangle and Two Foot Punch.


Daher is an active member in the writing community in Manitoba, she is holding an intensive fiction writing class tonight, called Through the Looking Glass, at Aqua Books. Fortunately for Daher, the class is full. She was also writer-in-residence at Aqua Books in 2008. She currently has work-in-progress.

Here's what she had to say about it writing.

Q: What did you do before becoming a writer?

AD: Before I turned my attention to writing (with the intent to be published) I was--for a time--a burger flipper, ice-cream maker, lunch-truck driver, grave plot seller and dog groomer. Primarily, however, I was a radio operator (flight service specialist) in the air traffic service division of Transport Canada. Clearly I am restless. Now, as a writer, I am able to try out any occupation I please.

Q: What inspired you to write books for young adults and children?

AD: I believe each of us has a emotional age we most naturally go to when we seek the creative space inside. It might change over time, but for me, when I imagine story it is most often through the eyes and perceptions of an adolescent or teen. Therefore, more than writing books for teens and middle grade readers, I am writing my way through their adventures and experiences.

Q: Who is your favourite author?

AD: Always a difficult question. There are several authors whose writing consistently takes my breath away, and I will always read: Tim Wynne Jones, Martha Brooks, David Bergen, Arthur Slade, Joseph Boyden. And for those days I feel a need to be so scared I might pee, Stephen King and his boy, Joe Hill. Hmm. Loss of breath and incontinence. Reading might not be as healthy a pastime as I thought.

Q: What is your favourite part about writing?

AD: When the story flows and I look up to see it is mid-afternoon, except that just a moment ago it was 8 a.m. and the kids were leaving for school...this is the drug that keeps me coming back.

Q: What advice would you give aspiring writers in Manitoba?

AD: Skill is developed through practice and persistence (and will always beat raw talent in a thumb wrestle). Write every day. Know that it might take time, but if you are determined, publication will come. The key is pig-headedness, and the reward is in the journey.

You can check Anita Daher's work out on her website, some of her works are available for purchase through PayPal. I highly recommend checking it out, she's a fascinating writer and person.

Smoking at RRC

Are you a student or faculty member at Red River College? We want to know how you feel about smoking.

Please help us out by completing this survey about smoking on campus:

http://bit.ly/etgM91

Oprah's Favorite? Things

Over the years I've had mixed feelings about Oprah's annual show that airs around Thanksgiving traditionally, where she gives away all of her "favorite" things to audience members.

On one hand, I love it. I love that she's giving things away to people who wouldn't necessarily be able to afford the things she gives away, some of them being considered luxury items.

In 2004, all the audience members consisted of teachers, who are considered to be very underpaid. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina volunteers were rewarded in her audience.

In 2006, audience members were given $1000 and a video camera to use towards a good deed and videotape it, she then had a follow up show. Many of those members used the money to raise even more money for causes and did great things in their communities.

Though Oprah didn't have a Favorite Things show in 2009 - All Headline News reports she cancelled it -she made up for it by having two in 2008 and this year, she had Oprah's Ultimate Favorite Things.

Some of the gifts audience members received from this year's show were lululemon yoga pants, Nikon cameras, 5 year memberships for Netflix, Sony 3-D TVs and the big gift, seven day all-inclusive Allure of the Seas cruises.



All these free gifts that audiences of around 300 people receive makes me wonder where they come from.

The other side of Oprah's Favorite Things shows is that I don't think she even likes half the things she gives away, and that she's just given them by the companies for advertising purposes.

It makes me wonder what the reason behind the 2009 cancellation of the show really is. There was a recession going on in the United States, maybe companies couldn't afford to give away mass amounts of their supply during the economic downturn.

How many people do you know that buy books because they have the Oprah's Book Club sticker, or remember things when they see them because they saw them on her show, so they must be good.

I can count many, and because of that Oprah's show is a big target for companies to advertise. She has so many viewers and dedicated followers that if you can get your product on her show, it's like hitting advertising gold.

Galaxy Desserts, a Richmond, CA based company reports sale increases after appearing on Oprah's Favorite Things. They were featured on the show three on separate occasions. Their croissants were featured on the 2002 episode and again on the 2005 episode and their molten chocolate cake batter was featured on the 2003 episode.

So are the things Oprah gives away on her Favorite Things shows really her favorite things, or does she just give away whatever the best products are that companies are willing to give her? Talk about extreme product placement.

For some reason I just can't picture Oprah in a pair of lululemon pants.

Sauce Master

I have officially been successful in making a delicious cream sauce.

Last weekend I was inspired to try making a cream sauce, and if I failed this time I thought I might give up.

The problem was that I would always get very impatient and turn the heat up really high when making the sauces from scratch. Cream and milk are very sensitive when cooking and can burn really easily, which every time before I have done.

This time, I put my iPhone on shuffle and played music, and stood there patiently and stirred. I was so excited when the sauce came out perfectly!

The sauce I made was a sweet chili cream sauce. I paired it with meatballs. I was inspired by my cousin whose worked in culinary arts for four years as he made the same sauce at a family gathering we recently had and it was so delicious I thought I`d try and match his cooking skills.

I used 1 litre of whipping cream, about half a small bottle of sweet chili sauce and 5-6 drops of Frank`s Red Hot sauce.

I brought the sauce, which I added the meatballs to after I let it reduce slowly, to a potluck dinner my friends were holding as a duel birthday celebration.

To my surprise, everyone loved it and thought it was so "fancy". I was on the top of my cooking throne as there was only one meatball (out of 64) left at the end of the night with 9 people eating them.

I will no longer boycott making cream sauces, I will just make sure I have a lot of time to spend in the kitchen and be patient with them!

I also highly recommend anyone to try this sweet chili cream sauce, it sounds unusual but it smells and tastes soo good and you could easily pair it with things other than meatballs.

Vanishing Act

I recently wrote a short story for creative writing class and here's a small piece of it. It's called Vanishing Act, it should be self explanitory.

“I wish that more people could see what I see in you” said Julienne, “people are blind to who you really are.”

He paused to think of a compassionate response, as not to hurt her feelings. “I do too dear, but there’s nothing I can do to change that. It’s the way it has to be.”

Julienne’s mission in life was always to promote his existence and make people see him in a more positive light but she’d never been successful. Nobody ever took the time to listen to her pleas. If it weren’t for him, she would feel alone in this world. Every day she wrote in her diary, expressing her feelings for him and reacting to what may have happened to her.

Dear Diary,

People were staring at me again as I walked down the street. It’s as though I’m invisible, like I can’t see their eyes locked on me, judging, thinking all kinds of insanities. I often wish that I could read their minds but, at the same time, am afraid of what they’re thinking. I can imagine it’s something along the lines of “who does she think she is?”, “why is she doing that?” and “I’m going to stay far away from that girl”.

I’m starting to get used to the pain of being alone. It’s almost become second nature to me. Yes, I have him, but I don’t know how much longer he’s going to stick around. I want to grow closer, but I can feel him pulling away. The time between our encounters is growing and communication is diminishing. I need to prepare myself to either tell him how I really feel or accept the pain of being without him. Either way, my future isn’t looking very bright.

Love, Julienne

She called him five times and hadn’t heard back yet. Each message must’ve sounded more and more desperate, she thought. Julienne knew the end was coming but she wasn’t ready to let go. She hadn’t been without him since she was eight years old; he had been by her side for the past twenty years.

As she entered her apartment upon returning from work, she saw the light flashing red. “My answering machine, he called!” she exclaimed, nobody hearing but herself. She hit play and listened intently.

“I’m sorry Julienne but this is the last time I am going to call you. If you want to say goodbye please meet me at Mario’s for a glass of wine tonight at 9 p.m.”

Mario’s was their usual meeting place. Julienne knew that after tonight, she would no longer be able to go there. She pondered whether or not she would meet him. On one hand, she really wanted to see him again, but on the other she didn’t want to say goodbye. She thought that after all, if you avoid confrontation then it’ll all just go away, right?

            Julienne called her mother, the only other person who she chose to talk to. She didn’t have any friends at work and never socialized at school, she was a stereotypical loner.

            “Hello”

            “Hi, Mom…”

            “Yes, dear, what is the problem?”

            “Tonight is my last chance to see him before he leaves me, should I go?”

            “Oh Julienne, you know that I think all of this nonsense is silly. You can’t really be in love; you need to move on and make some real friends. I say tonight you go out and do something new and forget about it. Call your sister, she’d be happy to take you out.”

            “You know I don’t want to do that. Thanks anyways, you’re no help…Goodbye.”

She hung the phone up abruptly and decided that she had to meet him or it would be her greatest regret. After all, he had been her only companion since she was eight.

Fifteen Minutes of Fame

I am proud to say that my letter to the editor regarding Thomas Steen's victory in the 2010 Winnipeg Civic Election was published in the Winnipeg Free Press today.

Ever since a classmate told me I was in the paper, I've been telling people about it all day. Though I found it strange though that they didn't call me to confirm I wrote it before they published it, I was still ecstatic when I opened the Winnipeg Free Press to page A15.

A friend of mine photographed my blurb and posted it on Facebook, so here it is!

Some of my classmates also had their letters published in today's paper, and tomorrow's paper will likely feature others opinions. I really enjoyed this experience and hope that they, along with myself, continue to write editorials. It's good practice writing and a good way to get your name out there.

Also, my dad is an avid reader of the letters to the editor and he said it was nice to see so many well written letters. He hopes that he sees our names appear in there again. (thanks Pops!)

I'd like to thank Kenton Larsen for "inspiring" us to write letters, my parents for being awesome and reading the paper every day and Thomas Steen for creating controversy to write about.

Letters to the Editor: October 28 2010

Elmwood-East Kildonan Residents, Still in High School?

 Photo by Trevor Hagan, Winnipeg Free Press

I am baffled by Thomas Steen’s win in the Elmwood-East Kildonan ward last night. Though I could predict that the NDP vote would be split between Shaneen Robinson and Rod Giesbrecht, I thought one of them would still have the numbers to be victorious.

Being in attendance and meeting all the candidates at their forum last week, I didn’t feel that Steen was as prepared as his competition. He read all of his speeches off his paper and when asked a yes or no question he responded with “yo”. Listening to Steen talk, I got the impression that he doesn’t know what he wants to do and doesn’t have a lot of strong ideas or points on how he’s going to improve the community.

I think that a lot of people were unsure of who to vote for and saw a familiar name on the ballot and filled in the little bubble beside it. Being an ex-Winnipeg Jet star, I also think hopeful hockey fans elected him with the expectation of Winnipeg becoming an NHL city again.

Photo from hockeydb.com

In no way do I think that being "popular" or "famous" makes anyone qualified to represent a community. When I attended the forum last week, half the words that came out of Steen's mouth sounded like gibberish because of his Swedish accent and lacking English language skills. Now, I am not discriminating against people with accents but communication skills are of top priority in politics. If the guy is barely understandable, how is he supposed to be the voice for the 42,135 residents in the Elmwood-East Kildonan area?

I am disappointed in the choice this community made. I was given the impression at the forum last Wednesday night that they were ready for a big change, and improvement. I feel like this ward is back in high school, voting for Steen because of his popularity, and not his qualifications.



Steen fighting, but not for the residents of Elmwood-East Kildonan.

Election results in the Elmwood-East Kildonan city councillor race:

Thomas Steen: 3,921
Shaneen Robinson: 3,705
Rod Giesbrecht: 3,501
Gordon Warren: 264
Nelson Sanderson: 236

Just Bacon It!

Photo From FoundShit.com

ba·con (as defined by dictionary.com)

/ˈbeɪkən/ Show S[bey-kuhn]

–noun

1. the back and sides of the hog, salted and dried or smoked, usually sliced thin and fried for food.

There's something about bacon that is just so irresistible to most people. It's potent smoky smell, crispy texture, easily consumable strips and ability to make so many foods taste better.

But bacon has been reaching people through more than just their stomachs. The love of bacon has expanded to products unrelated to food that you'd never expect.

Recently, on a trip to Toad Hall Toys in the Exchange District for advertising class I saw a few "bacon" products that were really intriguing.

 

Do you have chapped lips, and want to taste like bacon to your boyfriend? Then Bacon Balm is the product for you.

Need somewhere to keep your money? What about a bacon wallet?

Read all the stories in your bathroom book? I'm sure the I Love Bacon book is a good way to pass the time.

Have bacon stuck in your teeth? Bacon floss to the rescue!

Experience bacon's wonderful odor, and be hungry all day with a bacon air freshner.

Bacon bandages are the only way to go for cut protection.

There aren't many times where I would refuse to eat bacon but some people just take it too far with the stuff. I absolutely refuse to eat a Double Down Sandwich from KFC. That thing is just pushing bacon's awesomeness a little too far.

My name is Terryn, and I am addicted to Facebook

Photo from Collective Thoughts, Social Media Thinking

I heard about Facebook for the first time at a dance competition in 2007. One of the girl's competing in my class was from Ontario and was talking about keeping in touch on Facebook. Wanting to fit in, I nodded and pretended that I knew what she was talking about.

Honestly, I had no idea what Facebook was. At the time, other networking websites such as MySpace and Nexopia were still popular among my friends. I promptly went home after the competition and went to see what Facebook was. There was no turning back from there, I've been addicted ever since.

With Facebook being accessible on my iPhone I've been even more addicted since I got it last December. When I heard about The Social Network coming out, I was so excited to go see it since I didn't really know anything about Facebook's creators or history, just how it worked.

I thought the movie was going to be a promotional almost advertisement for Facebook, but I was very wrong. They told the story of how it was created and what's happened within the company from then until now.

If I were Mark Zuckerberg, I would be very happy that a movie came out profiling my company. In my opinion, all publicity is good publicity. Even though it shows him being sued and going through court, people are still going to remember the movie, his name and more importantly, Facebook.

Though the movie doesn't show Zuckerberg in the most positive light, it didn't make me hate him either. I felt that they showed a good balance of both sides of the story, letting the viewer decide whose side they were on for themselves. On one hand, I felt bad because Zuckerberg did end up firing his friend, but I thought that he wasn't happy about it. He was just thinking of what would be more beneficial for the company. Everyone has the right to be selfish.

Zuckerberg's response to the movie, as outlined by the PR Post's article, "Zuckerber,Hearst and Hollywood: PR Lessons Learned from the Past" seemed very uninterested.

I would've expected him to be slightly unimpressed that some people would see him in a bad light because of the movie, but he didn't seem to care. I think he should have showed more compassion since it is an honour to be featured in a film and people might think he's just a self-centred egomaniac who thinks he's indestructible.

It was necessary for him to react to the film, I just don't think he did it in the right way. He should have clarified things more.

For example, he characterizes the film as fictional and insignificant, according to the PR Post's article. He doesn't answer any questions as to why or how this is. If he's going to make claims he needs to be able to back them up.

Overall, I did learn a lot from the movie that I didn't know before and enjoyed it for that aspect. After reading about Mark Zuckerberg's response to the movie on the PR Post, I have lost some respect for him. But, I still love Facebook and will continue to frivolously check my friend's status updates, creep on their pictures and press "like" too many times a day.

Check out this YouTube video of  Isk & Honi's "Facebook Addict Song" posted by LurveMyMusic.

What did you Learn at School Today?

It was like clockwork, every day when my parents got home from work before I freed myself from elementary and secondary education, they would ask "what did you learn at school today?"

"Nothing" I would answer, being the intellect that I was, I mean I already knew everything right? Not so much, I just didn't get excited about what I was learning and talking to your parents wasn't "cool".

Now, I openly tell my parents what I'm doing in school because I think it's cool and exciting. Sometimes, I think they want me to shut up. Today, I wish they had asked because I'd have such a great answer.

Here is what I learnt at school today.

First, my fellow classmates informed me that you can't go wrong with packing your lunch. Though, some days you just don't have the time (we are in CreComm after all), it's the most cost effective and you can guarantee you will be eating something you like (as long as your mom doesn't pack it!).

Secondly, I was informed that students are unknowingly censoring themselves. They're afraid of voicing their opinions, fearing humiliation, judgement and rejection. I say, there's no such thing as a bad opinion (as long as it's backed up by facts of course) so let your voices be heard!

Thirdly, I learnt that the best place for students to purchase gym memberships from is the YMCA-YWCA of Winnipeg. (Okay, maybe I already knew this a couple weeks ago, but the "Body Break" presentation was fun!)

Fourthly, my peers informed the class that lake friendly products are definitely worth it. Though the laundry detergent is definitely not worth buying, other cleaning products that are lake friendly were highly recommended. (Note to self: remember this when you move out and have to start cleaning)

Last, but certainly not least, I found out that garbage bags made from recycled materials are comparable in price and quality to other regular garbage bags. I also learnt that garbage bag "potato sack" races are HILARIOUS.

That is what I learnt at school today. I was very impressed by my classmates research, efforts and awesome presentations. Congratulations to everyone and thanks for a great day!

This blog post is dedicated to my parents, Dean and Glenda Shiells.

Buyer Beware: How to Pick a Gym

Are you a Winnipeg student looking to join a gym, but you're not sure where to start? Don't worry, we've done all the work for you and have come up with a recommendation.

Our group, Hannah Pratt, Paul Lagimodiere, Lizzy Symons, Dylan Hughes and I, chose to do gyms for our Buyer Beware project and conducted a lot of research to eventually come up with the "best" gym choice. We were going to target all potential gym-goers but narrowed it down to focus on students after research was done.We didn't really know what we were getting ourselves into but I think it's safe to say we're happy with our results.

We picked the four biggest gyms in Winnipeg to research. GoodLife Fitness, Shapes Fitness Centres, YMCA-YWCA and Anytime Fitness. Our research methods were both primary and secondary.

Our primary research consisted of calling all the gyms and then visiting them as prospective members, getting tours and getting information. We also conducted interviews and a survey to get a better idea of who the "student gym-goer" really is. We found that the student gym-goer is most worried about cost and location of the gym they're going to join. Also, students who go to the gym are there for more than just the work out, but for the social experience.

Here is a chart of prices of membership the different gyms:

Secondary research was conducted by studying each gym's website, consulting past articles on the subject and searching videos on the topic. It backed up our findings with each gym and strengthened the reliability of our information.

We found an article from Mar. 16 in the Manitoban called Making a Good Impression: How Finding a Gym is the First Hurdle by Ben Poggemiller that was almost exactly what our experiences were when researching the facilities. We also found a video on CBC that displays a woman who wasn't been treated well at her gym and was continued to be charged after she cancelled her membership.

Judging by price, location, hours, additional services and staff we finally came to a conclusion. We found that because it has the best price, the most locations, reasonable hours, all additional services (there are a lot of them!) are including in the membership fee and the staff was the friendliest and most helpful the YMCA-YWCA is the winner of this competition. Though some of the other gyms have longer hours on weekdays, options of tanning and massage at an extra cost and a more focused fitness client base, the YMCA-YWCA was ultimately the best choice for students. They focus more on community, which makes it easy for students to socialize which is a huge part of their gym culture.

Now that you know where you're going it's time to learn what to do when you're there!



Check out my other team mate's blogs to see their views!
Dylan Hughes
Hannah Pratt
Lizzy Symons
Paul Lagimodiere

PostFiction

PostFiction is a collection of "postcard fiction" -- short stories or poems that fit on the back of a 4 X 6 postcard or photograph.

For our Group Professional Project in creative writing class we, Class 3 of Creative Communications 1st year students, have created PostFiction. We will be collecting submissions from authors of fiction written on the back of a postcard of photograph. 

As long as the writing fits within 4x6 and is fiction, you're golden. You can choose whether or not to include your name on your work. 

We will be hosting an event in late November which will display the postcards. More information on the event will follow. Also, all submissions will be put up on our website http://www.postfiction.net/.

So get brainstorming and get your PostFiction written today! You don't want to be the only one who hasn't sent one in!

Send to (before November 1):
PostFiction
758 Beverley St.
Winnipeg, MB R3E 2A6

OR

pcfiction@gmail.com

Buyer Beware!

Buyer beware has taken over my life for the last few weeks. I've been doing primary research and though it's been fun we realized that some surveys would be beneficial to our research to better help make a decision for YOU, the consumer! Help us help you by taking this survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/RLZ6JXR

Mayoral "Forum" at Red River College

Wednesday morning from 9 a.m. until 11 a.m. a mayoral forum was held in the Red River College downtown campus' cafeteria with candidates Mayor Sam Katz and Judy Wasylycia-Leis.

During this event I decided to take my first crack at live tweeting. I used hashtags #mayoralforum and #rrc. Here`s a few examples of what went on during the forum.

• You can cut the tension with a knife at the mayoral forum.
• Oh Sam and Judy, you've already proven that you can avoid answering questions now cut it out!
• I have never heard so many interruptions in 20 minutes before.
• "You can feel the love in the room here at Red River College" -Richard Cloutier from CJOB
• @hayleybrigg calls Judy out on giving good jobs to ex criminals instead of more deserving people.
• Richard Cloutier cuts Wasylycia-Lees off to let Katz talk.
• "everyone in this room needs to know there's a quality job out there for them" -Katz on employing #crecomm grads!
• "you don't want me to get the airhorn out" Cloutier says to Wasylycia-Lees! 
• "let's talk about reality Judy, we've never had a defacit, you're making this stuff up" -Katz
• Environmental issues, Katz wants to get into composting and recycling and increase transit popularity.
• Wasylycia-Leis thinks the biggest environmental problem in our city is Mayor Katz for not completing rapid transit yet.
• The crowd seems to prefer the idea of LRT over BRT in Winnipeg
• Cloutier brings up the youth curfew again, neither candidate is "for" it and Judy brings up community centers...again!
• Katz wants to be mayor because Winnipeg is his home and wants it to be a place where we can live, work and play.
• Katz's vision for the next 4 yrs: rejuvenate downtown, more people using alternative transportation, making the city safe.
• Church ministry qualifies you to be mayor according to Wasylycia-Leis 
• Katz asks the audience if they know he owns the Winnipeg Goldeyes. "It's not a secret" he says.
• Judy tells Sam what is "the right" thing to do with Canwest park and water issues.
• "Thanks Mom" - Katz to Wasylycia-Leis on telling him what to do.
• Katz addresses that 45 million dollars has been given to community centers already.
• Public perception vs actual evidence: Katz says perception is reality and that's what you deal with.
• Judy calls the city "dirty" and "behind the times" in environmental issues.

Winner? I'd say Katz takes it. 


To view the complete live tweet, follow me on twitter! @terrynshiells

Music was my Boyfriend

I recently dusted off my old alto saxophone and took it for a spin after some classmates convinced me to. I thought that it would probably sound pretty rough but I'd still remember how to play after two years.

Boy was I wrong! My sound wasn't actually terrible, not as smooth as it was in the peak of my high school jazz band career, but still pretty good.

Instead, I found myself struggling with learning songs by wrote and was significantly slower at reading sheet music.

I thought that for sure the sound would suffer since I only played saxophone for three years and learned music theory from playing other instruments and singing since I was really young.

I guess it's true that if you don't practice something you won't be able to do it forever. Determined to regain my musical theory skills and saddened by my lack of creating for the past two years I've created a list of things I want to accomplish within the next two years to help keep me sane during CreComm.

1. Practice alto saxophone once a month, playing by wrote and off sheet music.

2. Sing karaoke at least once in front of friends who haven't heard me sing before.

3. Learn how to play my dad's acoustic guitar.

4. Get up to expert on RockBand.

5. Sing in the shower every day.

6. Be in a band!

I miss music and am disappointed that what was once the focus of my life is now merely a memory. This list will help bring that joy back into my life and keep me sane! :)

Birdsong Review

Birdsong is a short story written by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

Adichie is a Nigerian author born in 1977. She attended the University of Nigeria where she studied medicine for 18 months before studying communications and political science at Drexel University and Eastern Connecticut State University. She then completed a master's degree in creative writing at Johns Hopkins University.

The story Birdsong is about a woman who has an affair with a married man. The author's descriptive style really brings the story to life. My favorite part to read was the following, on the second page in the online version on www.newyorker.com.

"When I stepped out of the car, I felt as though I had stumbled into a secret garden. A dense mass of periwinkles, white and pink, bordered the walkway to the house. The air was clean here, even fragrant, and there was something about it all that made me think of renewal." 

-Birdsong by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

She is so descriptive of the look, the smell and even the feeling of the place. The style she uses to describe the house was so realistic that I felt like I was in front of the house experience the view, smell and feeling.

One critique I would give is on the pacing of the story. I felt like she went off on a couple tangents and I felt myself a little bit lost in the text. Every time she referred back to the beginning part of the story, she did make a new paragraph which made it easy to follow but she didn't end them in context. A lot of times she would melt the two tenses together in one paragraph which isn't necessarily bad but I found it hard to follow.

Overall, Birdsong was a good read and I would definitely recommend it. It was published in The New Yorker on September 20th, 2010. You can find it in the magazine or online at www.newyorker.com

I Thought Tweeting was for the Birds

A few years ago when it was brand new I decided I should get Twitter. I thought that following all the celebrities I wanted would be so fantastic and thought I would be on it everyday. That is until my friends all made fun of me for having it!

Wanting to be the queen of popularity I decided to stop using twitter and never mentioned it to my friends again. Little did my friends know that Twitter would soon be one of the biggest phenomenons of our generation.

I think the first person I started following was Ashton Kutcher. At the time I had the hugest crush ever on him! This was at the time when I thought I still had a chance because Demi Moore was "really old"! I started following Ellen, Oprah and Britney Spears. All while shamelessly hiding behind an anonymous username. Sadly, my friends still made fun of me for following celebrities since it probably "wasn't even real" so I promptly deleted my account.

In anticipation of starting CreComm at Red River College I decided to venture back into the world of Twitter. I am now using it for more useful things such as following news, recipes and classmates. Best of all, my friends can't make fun of me now because it's required for school!

Follow me on twitter: www.twitter.com/trsdancer

How to Use Sriracha Sauce

Sriracha hot sauce (aka Rooster sauce) is probably the greatest hot sauce I have ever tasted. As a huge fan of spicy food, this is my number one hot sauce choice because you can literally put it on anything and it tastes amazing.

DISCLAIMER: Do not use too much hot sauce! Very little goes a long way with this brand and unless you want to scald your mouth, less is more! If you use too little, it is very easy to add more for extra hotness, if you use too much then you will either have to go hungry or burn your mouth.

Dipping sauces Sriracha makes a great dipping sauce, either alone or mixed in with something else. My personal favorite thing to use it for is to add it to mayonnaise and dip yam fries in it. You can dip almost anything in it, and put it in any dip (ranch, BBQ sauce, mustard). You name it, it tastes good in it!

Eggs Before I found Sriracha sauce I was never an eggs and hot sauce type of person and now I can't eat them without it.

Hamburgers Sriracha sauce in and on hamburgers is pure bliss. Either put it on like ketchup, or as I like to do when preparing my patties, put it directly in the meat before cooking.

Stir Fry Any time there is any kind of stir fry or rice involved this sauce is essential! Walk into any Chinese cuisine restaurant and you will find large quantities of Sriracha hot sauce.

Soups and Stews Aside from cream based soups, Sriracha is always a great addition to any soup or stew. It helps kill the over salted flavor of canned soups for a deliciously warming, easy meal.

Mr. Noodles It is impossible to eat Mr. Noodles without hot sauce. That is all.

These are just a few of the many uses of Sriracha chili sauce. I encourage you to go out, buy a bottle, experiment and report back!

Links The sauce is so awesome it even has it's own facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sriracha-Rooster-Sauce/31148831142
Huy Fong's website: http://www.huyfong.com/no_frames/sriracha.htm

Mongo's Grill: Helpful Hints!

Mongo's Grill is a unique dining experience that is sure to be delightful as long as you know what you're doing! For those of you who don't know, Mongo's is a do it yourself type Mongolian restaurant. They have an assortment of vegetables, meats, noodles, sauces and seasonings in which you combine and they cook it for you on their grill. There are a few options on their menu, you can get just one bowl, one bowl plus soup and salad bar (which isn't worth it), or the Mega Mongo, unlimited bowls and soup and salad bar. Each one becoming more expensive as it includes more. For most people just one bowl is satisfactory since it's pretty hard to make a bad stir fry but there are a few common errors that people often make that result in unsatisfactory meals and repeat trips to make more bowls. Personally, I have frequented the restaurant on many occasions and have learnt a few things on how to be a successful Mongolian stir fry guru.

Tip # 1: Stack all your food in a certain order, it makes it easier to fit as much as possible into one bowl (if you fill up on one bowl it's less expensive than if you have to go back for more). My winning order is vegetables, meats, noodles, sauces, spices. The noodles are best on top because they all stick together and then they'll absorb all the sauces and oils creating less mess!

Tip #2: Plain and simple, do not overfill your bowl! If you are that hungry, shell out the extra couple dollars for the unlimited bowls and do everyone else a favor by not creating a huge mess when your bowl leaks everywhere.

Tip #3: When choosing your vegetables, make sure you think about it. Just because they're all there for you to pick from doesn't mean that they're going to taste good together. It's all about flavors combining and if you don't think they would go well together, don't put them all in our bowl.

Tip #4: Stick to one or two kinds of meat. Though steak and salmon may sound like they go well together you have to remember that in a stir fry all the flavors mingle. It's best to keep in the same family of meats (seafood, red, white, etc.) in stir fry. (Note: this isn't very helpful to a lot of men since they think all meats go together...all the time.)

Tip #5: Neatly stack your noodles. This does take practice but the way you stack your noodles is very important. The best way to ensure that they won't fall all over the place is to stick to one type of noodle. Once you start adding more than one it gets messy. There's no real trick to stacking them right, just practice makes perfect.

Tip #6:  Make sure to read all the different sauces before choosing which ones you are going to put together. I've seen people just put one scoop of each sauce that they think sounds good without thinking if they even mix well. This is a recipe for disaster. Choose 2-4 different sauces and use multiple scoops of each so that it's of significance to the flavor of the stir fry.

Tip #7: When they ask if you want rice, get it on the side. Though it may sound delicious to have it mixed in, sometimes it's just too much for people and they wished they had gotten it on the side. This way is win, win, you can have it on the side and then if you decide that you like it enough then you can mix it in yourself.

Tip #8: Taste the finishing sauces before you put them on. There are little black containers for a reason, so you can put the sauces in them before finishing off your stir fry. There's nothing worse than ruining a stir fry because the finishing sauce wasn't to your liking.

Tip #9: Kind of an extension of the last tip, do not pour on too much hot sauce! I always see people put way too much hot sauce on and then complain because their mouths are burning. They have Sriracha sauce there and for those unfamiliar with the brand, it's very hot and you need very little to add spice. Once again, I suggest putting the hot sauce in a little black container and add more as you go to avoid a burnt mouth.

Tip #10: Last but not least, finish off with any nuts or crispy chow mein noodles as you wish and enjoy!

For more information on the restaurant locations, hours, etc. visit their website : www.mongosgrill.com

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog! My name is Terryn Shiells and I am a first time blogger. I'm currently enrolled in my first year of the Creative Communications program at Red River College in Winnipeg, Manitoba. I'm an arts and culture enthusiast and have recently learnt to love cooking. I will post about various issues that are prevalent in Winnipeg's lively arts community as well as the latest innovations in cooking gadgets, recipes and restaurants. Take a look inside my mixing bowl of ideas!