Okay, so lots of action on Twitter today regarding this story about Toronto’s supposed “frosty” reaction to a B.C. billboard.
B.C.'s billboard pokes fun at Torontonians
But the journalist quotes only one GTA resident’s response to the ad, and she’s from Newmarket. Since when does one woman from Newmarket represent the mainstream voice of Toronto? The Town of Newmarket is a fair drive out of Toronto. The town itself certainly recognizes that Newmarket is a separate entity from the city.
So, were any actual Torontonians upset by the billboard? Is there actually a controversy here?
Judging by the reactions I’ve heard from Torontonians on Twitter today, not really. I’m from Thornhill, Ontario myself, which is the suburb immediately to the North of Toronto, straddled between the Town of Markham and the City of Vaughan. And I’m not peeved by the ad in the slightest.
Just thought I’d set the record straight. Or at least a little less crooked, since hey, I didn’t conduct a city-wide survey of Torontonians either.
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This kind of journalism is just the sort of sensationalism and manufactured controversy that legendary reporter Carl Bernstein says has overwhelmed the modern-day news world. As a Sydney Morning Herald writer reported in 2007, Bernstein says journalists need to listen and ask questions designed to illuminate, not elicit controversy.
“The most important thing is to be a good listener. The story is always going to take you somewhere away from your preconceived notions,” he said. “In Watergate my preconceived notion was that the CIA was behind it. It wasn’t and I listened.”
It’s been awhile. Symptom of a busy summer, I suppose. But I should make a better effort to keep this blog as live as possible or it will be hardly worth following.
Since my last post, I’ve wrapped up work with IPDET (although I plan to start helping the program gear up for its 10th anniversary soon) and officially began my job at the Charlatan, working as the paper’s opinions and editorials (op/ed) editor for the 2009/10 school year. I helped put out the July issue, featuring an opinion piece written by Leticia Hernandez, an international student from Mexico, who explains why she thinks Canada did a poor job re-introducing the visa requirement for Mexican travellers. Hernandez on one hand showed respect for Canada’s desire to ease its refugee burden but on the other hand expressed her disappointment with the way our government handled the issue:
The Charlatan’s Frosh issue will be out at the end of the month and Carleton students are still more than welcome to contribute.
Other than working on the Charlatan and helping out at Esprit de Corps magazine, I’ve been keeping busy with a summer course about North American security and defence policy (PSCI 3607) that has taught me a lot about Canada’s perspective on its place in the world and its history with the United States. The course is usually taught by Elinor Sloan, a former defence analyst with Canada’s Department of National Defence, but this summer the instructor is Michael Dawson, a foreign service officer at Foreign Affairs Canada who has witnessed frontline Canadian diplomacy during some key historical moments (such as the signing of the Ottawa Treaty on landmines in 1997.) Carleton students with an interest in politics, international affairs or Canadian history should definitely take this course.
Well, I should get back to the books. The exam for that course is this Thursday.
Hope everyone is enjoying the summer. The weather is beautiful at last. Just got back from four days of camping at Depot Lakes near the town of Verona, Ontario. Couldn’t have asked for better conditions. And I have a feeling this fall is going to be fantastic. Will be nice to kick off my last year of J-school with sunny skies.
Hallelujah. It’s 7:30am. And I’ve been up for a good half hour by now.
Looks like I’m finally becoming a morning person.
Hope it sticks! Will have to be up early every day for my new job. The newsletter I have to produce for the program’s participants will need to be approved every morning before it goes out and so I’ll have to make sure it’s done and ready for a look-over by 9am probably. The newsletter, I’ve been told, only has to be a page. So, shouldn’t be such a bid deal. Bust still. I’ll likely be the first program assistant in the office every morning. So I better start liking these early hours of the day.
News that caught my eye this morning:
The Sorbonne in Paris just decided to get rid of wi-fi Internet on campus because the health risks from the radiation it spreads are still unknown.
Wonder if this trend of canceling wi-fi will start spreading to other universities. Maybe it already has. I heard about an American university president a few years back that refused to install wi-fi on campus for this reason. But this is the first I’ve heard of a university uninstalling the technology. Hmm …
PS: I initially titled this post “Up and Adam,” looked at it and wandered why the hell that’s an expression. Then realized maybe it’s an expression I’ve had wrong all these years. Sure enough, looked it up, and BAM!
Learn something new everyday. Reminds me of when my little brother (who is now 19) was aged somewhere between six to eight years old and he was reading the book Hands, Hands, Fingers, Thumbs and he asked my Mom what “fingers” were. He had always thought they were called “thingers” !!!
Now that things have finally started falling into place for the summer I feel ready to dedicate some love and attention to my little corner of cyberspace again.
All through April I was a wreck. It was taking me forever to finish an essay about the U.S.-China rapprochement that Nixon kicked off when he visited Mao Zedong in 1972. I handed it in the day I wrote the exam for that course (weeks late at that point) and still received a decent mark, thank goodness. Really enjoyed that class (Twentieth Century China – HIST 3805, for anyone who’s interested). Nixon is now my favourite politician of all time. Sorry Laurier, I still love you though.
After exams ended, the job hunt began. Wasn’t until May 5 that I landed one. I’ll be working for Carleton’s International Program for Development Evaluation Training (IPDET) as a media assistant. The program, which is run in collaboration with the Independent Evaluation Group of the World Bank and Carleton University, offers professionals from around the world an intensive and unique opportunity to connect with colleagues and learn how to evaluate development projects. While completing the training, the participants stay on campus and the program’s staff run activities and events for them to enjoy. My role will mainly involve writing the program’s daily newsletter, putting together slideshows etc. and helping the other program assistants provide a memorable experience for the participants. Can’t wait to start training on Tuesday and meet the rest of my team!
While job hunting I used the time to write some more for Esprit de Corps. Check out the next issue (should be on stands by the end of May) for my profile on Ricardo Traven, a former Canadian Forces fighter pilot who now flies Boeing’s Super Hornet for international air shows.
As for my gig with the Charlatan, will be postponing my official op/ed duties until July now. Handed the reigns over to third-year journalism student, Rebecca Ryall, for May-June. She’s doing an awesome job, she’s already got a special summer student writing a blog about his adventures returning to Carleton (he began his studies here in the ’70s) and an opinion piece on the way about why people should stop bringing their own food to the Mayfair theatre. Looking forward to seeing more of what she pulls together.
Before I sign off, just want to say I stumbled upon a fun blog by Eric Reguly this morning. If you love travel stories and hearing about the Italian prime minister’s ridiculous love life, definitely check it out: Eric Reguly in Europe.
So, I’ve been a little M.I.A. on the blog scene for a week or two now. School work, Charla-elections (as of May I’ll be the new op/ed section editor!) and Muslim-Jewish-Student-Alliance stuff is totally consuming my life.
But this French dude just started following me on twitter today and his latest blog post caught my eye. Felt compelled to share this bizarre case he commented on of Obama-mania gone wrong:
Russian ad agency making odd use of Obama's fame to sell frozen treat
I agree with the point the blogger makes. It would be a knee-jerk reaction to call this racism. It’s just bad taste. (That’s me making a pun, by the way.)
Still, quite an interesting specimen of globalization, this poster is. Don’t you think?
According to Atherton Bartelby — a Brooklyn-based graphic designer, art director, writer, blogger and photographer — I am not a very desirable person to follow on twitter.
The causes of follow fail
Seems my main problem is I don’t present “a cohesive personal brand,” or sense of who I am.
Fair enough. I could probably stand to change my avatar to an actual photo of myself, include my location and a little bio in my profile.
Don’t really know why I put off posting this. For those of you who haven’t already had me wag the latest issue of the Charlatan in your face, check it out. I guest-edited the op/ed section (p. 12-13). Don’t tell me it’s not beautiful!
Two themes seemed to provide most of the material for the section this past week: The disqualification of presidential candidate, Bruce Kyereh-Addo, by the Carleton University Students’ Association electoral board and the university community’s reactions to the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Then there was some light-hearted material thrown into the mix: Our ed graphic poked fun at the hype surrounding Obama’s purchase of a beavertail, one of the editorials called upon students to try crazy new things, and we had two contributers hypothesize about android-human love and why you should want to try it out.
Thanks everyone who contributed. I enjoyed hearing your voices and having the chance to share them.
“I hated going to French school at the time, but I’m so grateful now. It’s a great passport.”
- Sammy Khullar,
quoted by Michael Posner of the Globe and Mail,
February 4, 2009
Three decades ago, when Quebec introduced Camille Laurin’s language law, the infamous BILL 101, the separatist cabinet minister said the legislation would have long-term and irreversible repercussions. But very few at the time could accurately predict what exactly those long-term effects would be.
Now the first generation of children who Bill 101 forced to attend French schools are all grown up. And some of them, like Sammy Khullar a.k.a. Sugar Sammy are hilarious.
Sugar Sammy
Khullar seems to embody the win-win effect the law has had for Quebecois society and Montreal’s immigrants alike: The Quebecois gained a star who speaks their language, therefore someone who keeps their culture alive within the global realm of pop culture. And Khullar, whose parents would have sent him to an English-speaking school if they had the choice, gained the use of another language (he also speaks Hindi and Punjabi), making him all the more marketable.
Sugar Sammy has appeared at the Just For Laughs Festival five years in a row and was the first comedian ever to perform in the English, French and Toronto editions of the Festival. He has also appeared at the Sydney Comedy Festival, the Cape Town Comedy Festival, and was invited to the inaugural Johannesburg Comedy Festival this summer. Sammy just completed a successful tour across Canada promoting his new comedy CD “Down with the Brown”, adding shows in all cities due to overwhelming demand …
… Over the last year Sugar Sammy has performed in the USA, Canada, UK, Australia, South Africa, Ireland, Holland, Dubai, Germany, Hong Kong, Thailand, The Philippines, and the Caribbean. He has also opened for Dave Chappelle (a personal career highlight) and worked with George Lopez and Damon Wayans.
I just heard about Khullar for the first time last night watching Friday night’s broadcast of CBC’s The National. Apparently Khullar is touring around Canada right now with Just for Laughs. And I just missed him here in Ottawa! If only the National had featured him a few days earlier. Maybe I can still catch him in Montreal on March 12 …
I’m not sure how new this ad is. But I think this was the first time a web ad at the top of a newspaper’s website caught my eye. Maybe because there was animation. The words originally said: “Does anyone object?” Or something like that. Maybe it was the unconventional pairing of two grooms together? Maybe it was the bold green? Don’t know what made me do it, but I looked.
Banner ads never get me!
So maybe there’s hope for newspapers making money online after all. Or not, considering this is only one out of a zillion ads that have appeared before me.
Web advertisers have to step things up.
P.S. Whoever copy edited the story about oysters on that webpage wins my Headline of the Week award.
