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Laura Kunzelman
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I am not shocked, but it is interesting to see the news stories today were not about Eli Manning and the Giants beating the Patriots. Instead I woke up to news about Madonna, M.I.A. and Gisele. If you live under a rock, here's the scoop. The general consensus seemed to be that Madonna sucked, but did okay for being a senior citizen. This real piece of work M.I.A. gave everyone the finger, cause she be bad. And Gisele is whining about how her husband's team couldn't catch a ball to save their lives (my words, not hers).
What is wrong with people? All is right in the world; the Patriots did not win the Super Bowl. So everyone just chill. The problem is, the media didn't cover the important stuff. Forget geriatric pop stars. Forget M.I.A. Really? You didn’t see this one coming? Well, actually, I would have expected Nicki Minaj to do something crazy. Ever see her Stupid Hoe video? She’s a real class act. Just forget about the controversy and focus of what's really important. Tom Brady crying himself to sleep.
But this isn't the first time a celeb has given the finger. How about the Man in Black?
Nothing is going to come of M.I.A. giving the finger. There has been no comment from her, but NBC has apologized for her. "We apologize for the inappropriate gesture that aired during halftime," NBC spokesman Christopher McCloskey said. "It was a spontaneous gesture that our delay system caught late."
Nothing is going to come of M.I.A. giving the finger. There has been no comment from her, but NBC has apologized for her. "We apologize for the inappropriate gesture that aired during halftime," NBC spokesman Christopher McCloskey said. "It was a spontaneous gesture that our delay system caught late."
But back in October, Packers linebacker A.J. Hawk was fined $10,000 for flashing his middle finger during a televised Fox game against the St. Louis Rams.
But I doubt M.I.A. will be charged. That’s what the music biz is like. The issue just is that it was done on a mainstream level and it was done so live.
What crossed my mind when M.I.A. gave the middle finger:
1) Is it bad I don't know who M.I.A. is?
2) I'll be honest, I didn't even see it happen.
3) Who. The. Heck. Cares.
4) Maybe she was so busy being a badass, she didn't realize what she was doing.
5) Pfft, yeah right. She was looking right into the camera. Shit is gettin' real.
6) She gave the middle for less than a second. I don't see the huge deal.
7) Oh, the Paper Planes lady.
8) At least we didn't have to see Madonna's nipple.
8) At least we didn't have to see Madonna's nipple.
*Johnny Cash photo from silberstudios.tv
Posted by
Laura Kunzelman
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After some unseasonably warm weather in Winnipeg, the river trail at The Forks is finally open, and warming huts are being set up on the trail.
A 3.2 km trail is open from The Forks to Churchill Drive, on the Red River but the Assiniboine River remains snow covered. Paul Jordan, chief operating officer for The Forks, says that last year’s ice conditions were not ideal on the Assiniboine River either.
“There is no trail on the Assiniboine this year and no plans to groom unless it really freezes; it didn’t freeze last year. Right now, there is open water under the Donald bridge and under the Osborne bridge,” says Jordan.
Jordan is hoping for some cooler weather.
“When it gets warm, people skate on the ice and destroy it, and we can’t get on to fix it; it’s too warm to get the Zamboni out.”
For when the temperature drops, there are 11 warming huts being brought to the river this week. Some huts are already out.
Three of the huts were chosen from an international competition, one from a University of Manitoba competition, and one from an invited guest. The rest of the huts are from last year.
“This year our invited guest is internationally renowned architect Frank Gehry. All architects come up and build their huts, then we put them on the trail,” says Jordan.
“We put out a call and got around 60 responses from all over the world. The prize is a $3,500 honorarium and $2,500 towards travel to Winnipeg,” Jordan adds.
Retired landscape architect Ron Dixon used to do design work on the river trail when it started. Dixon is impressed with the designs of the warming huts this year, but his favourite is Gehry’s, made from ice.
“The way he chiseled the ice and set it up with the timber is really impressive. He is known all over the world, so the design was bound to be amazing.”
Last year, the warming huts didn’t get on the river until February 12. On February 14, the ice was so bad the trail was closed and didn’t reopen until February 17.
If conditions on the ice are not ideal, there is always the 1.2 km of skating trails on land, or the Olympic-sized skating rink. Something new to the river trail is the Winter Garden, a forest set up on the skating trail.
Warming huts came off the river last year on March 10 and the trail was closed the next day.
Posted by
Laura Kunzelman
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Well, I just spent the last three weeks on work placement at Farm Business Communications (FBC) writn’ up a storm about various farm related topics.
On my first day I met with my editor John Morriss and he asked me what aspect of agriculture I am interested in. I told him that since I grew up on a cattle farm, I would be interested in writing some pieces on beef. So that’s what I did. Besides that, I got some pieces published about canola, insects, and the weather. All topics that Manitoban farmers would care about.
I traveled a bit for my work placement, to St. Jean for their Farm Days and to Brandon for Ag Days. It was nice to have so much trust put in me, that I would just be sent to these places, understand what the seminars were about, and be able to write an article good enough to be published.
During my time writing for the Co-Operator, I came to the realization, that I might like to work as an agriculture reporter. It pays well, I am interested in the subject matter, and everyone is so darn nice.
The hardest thing about writing about agriculture was getting the farmers to talk to me. I learned that they are very bashful and do not like to give their names. That was the biggest challenge.
The most rewarding part of my work placement was having my articles published in a publication that I grew up around, and having my family read my articles and tell me that they are proud of me. I have had work published elsewhere, but I guess you don’t impress the farmers unless it is the Co-Operator.
Posted by
Laura Kunzelman
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Before I read the book Hiroshima by John Hersey, I didn't really know much about what happened in Hiroshima. What I liked most and what I felt worked for the book was all the detail, and since I didn’t know a lot about what happened, this book did a great job presenting the entire picture through the detail. The detail I remember most clearly is when someone went to go help someone up from the ground, and the skin came clear of the hand. That gruesome details proves the lengths Hersey went to give an accurate depiction of what happened.
What worked was how Hersey told a story. He wasn’t spewing out facts about Hiroshima, he took us into the lives of the people that were there and effectively showed us what it was like.
What I think didn’t work, was just the length of the book. At only 152 pages, it was not long enough to get all the stories of the people Hersey focused on. It just seemed like the book bounced back and forth a lot between the characters, and it was hard to keep track. I was constantly trying to keep track of everyone, and was forever flipping back the pages to see what I just read, to see what character I was on again, and trying to find where I last left off with that character.
As a first time reader, I really enjoyed Hiroshima, but the one thing I did think was missing was quotes from the characters Hersey was writing about. I didn’t think about it as I was reading it really though, I thought the story flowed well without them. Just when I thought of something it was missing, I thought quotes.
Journalists can learn from this book, the importance of being there. You would never have gotten all the detail Hersey did without him being a witness to it. If I wanted to write a book about Hiroshima now, the impact would not be nearly as great, and I would not have the little details Hersey did to make the reader feel like they were there. Journalists can also learn how to recount a true story the right way. Hiroshima flows well, and Hersey does such a great job in giving the reader as many details as he can while still keeping with his goal of recounting the story. I would compare this book to another of non fiction, but I am not sure I have read any non fiction before.
Hiroshima was originally published as an article in the New Yorker a year after the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. And from what I have read, it was very well received, and i read somewhere that the issue that it was published in sold out.
It’s not like Hersey dumbed down his writing style to make the story understandable, he just did such an incredible job at telling the story that is was easy to understand and anyone can just pick up the book and be able to follow along. I read the book in just one sitting one evening and was surprised how easily I got through it, having no prior knowledge of Hiroshima subject matter.
Posted by
Laura Kunzelman
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Friday was rushed. Rushed to get to school, rushed to the loan office, rushed back to school for another class, rushed to work, rushed home where I rushed to get ready in one hour for my limo pick up. Through some friends (Rachelle and Krystalle), I procured a ticket to a RRC alumni dinner where Global National anchor Dawna Friesen was the MC.
So I get there with my friends and step into the Fairmont. I spotted Dawna Friesen and wanted to talk to her right away but didn’t want to seem like the crazy chick, so I waited until after the dinner. After chatting and getting advice from Sylvia Kuzyk, I met Dawna Friesen. She took the time to talk to the students, ask us questions, answer ours, give us advice, and take pictures with us. It was all amazing.
Why I admire Dawna Friesen.
1.) She is from a small community, like I am. It is inspiring to see that, even though you are from the middle of nowhere, if you try hard you can make it.
2.) She is a woman and she is great at what she does. Dawna chose to have a career, which is refreshing to see; I think that there is a lot of pressure on women to have a family. Dawna does have one, but she waited until she was established first.
3.) Gives good advice. She told us to take any little jobs that we could because we never know who we could meet, and where the job could take us. She also said do not be afraid to move and told us that we could do it too.
I was a tad star struck by the whole thing, meeting someone that inspires me so much. Never thought I would be getting advice from Dawna Friesen.
I was a tad star struck by the whole thing, meeting someone that inspires me so much. Never thought I would be getting advice from Dawna Friesen.
Posted by
Laura Kunzelman
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I do not come from a military family. I come from a family of farmers in Inwood, and I am quite positive that there has only been one person in my family ever to be in the military. Five years ago I was not sure what I wanted to with my life. Maybe I was drunk or something, but I thought that joining the military was good call. But after researching a few other options, I settled on CreComm, and it turned out to be a good call. But just because I don't have a military background, it doesn't mean I don't take the time to remember.
On November 11 last year, I went to Minto Armouries for the Remembrance Day ceremony. The most memorable experiences about it besides seeing the cadets faint, was Jim Seggie.
Seggie had a son named Mike. Mike died in Afghanistan in 2008. I got to speak with Jim Seggie last year for a school assignment, and again this year for a Metro article.
You can read the Metro article here.
And this is the story I wrote last year around this time.
Every Day is Remembrance Day
Soldiers of all ranks marched in unison through Minto Armoury on St. Matthews Avenue with guns drawn. Watching the young men and women practice their routines for the Remembrance Day ceremony like he does every year, Master Warrant Officer Jim Seggie can’t help but think of his son Michael.
"Every day is Remembrance Day for me," says Seggie, “now that the lake has been named after Mike, this Remembrance Day is extra special.”
Four fallen soldiers were honoured by the Manitoba government during a ceremony at the legislature Thursday where it was announced small lakes northwest of Utik Lake, located about 50 kilometres north of Oxford House, will forever bear their names. The fallen soldiers are Private Lane Watkins, Corporal James Arnal, Corporal Michael Seggie and Sapper Sean Greenfield.
21-year-old Michael Seggie, who served in the Second Battalion of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry based in Shilo, Manitoba, died before his time. He and two other soldiers were killed in an attack by Taliban fighters on September 3, 2008. He was on his first tour and less than two weeks away from coming home.
Michael’s death was the 94th since Canada’s Afghan mission began in 2002. To date, 152 Canadian soldiers have died in the war that was brought on by the September 11 attacks on the United States. Canada entered the war almost a year after American troops arrived with the objective of defeating al-Qaida.
Like all other Canadians who die in war, Michael is automatically entitled under a national program to have a geographic feature, such as a lake or hill, named after him. After two years of waiting, Michael was finally honoured earlier this month. There was controversy this summer when Chicago Blackhawks Captain Jonathan Toews was honoured with a lake being named after him while the Seggie family had been waiting years. Seggie said he is not upset anymore that a lake had been named after Toews.
“While the honour came just a little over two years, it was well worth the wait," he says.
Now that the lake has finally been named after Michael, Seggie said he and family members hope to fly to the lake. He says their trip will take some planning, but they will make it happen.
Seggie, who has been in the been in the Canadian Forces for 32 years, makes sure he keeps his son’s memory alive by visiting his grave site regularly and having a wall dedicated their son in their home.
To Seggie, Remembrance Day is a “time to reflect what the soldiers have done for us, for what Mike has done for us.”
