This is an informative newsletter from Amnesty International:
In Iran, jailed for insulting the president
Did you know you could be arrested in Iran for "insulting the president?"
That is what happened to Behareh Hedayat, a student leader, in 2009 -- and she is still in prison.
Since Iran's 2009 election, thousands of students and other peaceful protesters have been arrested by a repressive government with little tolerance for dissent. Individuals demanding political reform and human rights protections have been jailed and sometimes even tortured for their beliefs.
Amnesty International is taking action. Our report, From Protest to Prison, documents these arrests and the shameful treatment of prisoners. We are advocating for the human rights of the individuals who remain in jail, some of whom continue to face inhumane prison conditions.
Take a stand against human rights abuses like these by making a donation to Amnesty International.
Those who demonstrated against the government in 2009 were met by security forces using batons, tear gas and sometimes live rounds. Hundreds of others have been arrested at their homes or workplaces. Beatings, rape and solitary confinement in small spaces for long periods have all been used against these prisoners. Some have been sentenced to death.
Behareh Hedayat and fellow student leader Majid Tavakkoli issued a statement from prison, encouraging Iranians to continue to push for change. The government responded by extending their sentences -- Hedayat and Tavakkoli are now each serving sentences of at least 9 years.
Support Amnesty's efforts to defend human rights in Iran and around the world with your gift today.
Since 2009, Iranian authorities have passed new laws to restrict and monitor people writing on websites. They have criminalized contact with over 60 foreign institutions, media organizations and nonprofits -- an attempt to isolate Iranians and prevent news, including on human rights violations, from leaving the country.
In addition, film makers and actors have been arrested in an effort to stifle Iran's once-thriving film industry, and students and academics who refuse to adhere to the government's positions are routinely thrown out of universities.
Strengthen Amnesty's impact in Iran and around the world with your donation today.
Sincerely,
Michael O’Reilly
Senior Campaign Director, Individuals at Risk
Amnesty International USA
Friday, October 14, 2011
job interview/ spooky headlines/ pandas
Oct. 12 Job interview: Today is my day off so I went to a job interview, and it wasn't for an office. It was for a new restaurant that hasn't opened yet. Last summer I had submitted resumes to Fat Burger and Press'd Sandwiches before they opened, but I didn't go to the interviews because I had gotten a job somewhere else.
The interview was okay. I don't think I really impressed the interviewer. She seemed to be looking for full-time people, but there may be a lot of part-time applicants. I heard that 80% of all restaurants close down within the first 2 yrs. This may not have good job security so that's why I want to keep my job while having a second one. A lot of employees at my work have a 2nd job.
What We Did That Night: I want to make a correction. I was talking about a TV movie called What Happened that Night, but the real title is What We Did That Night. Check it out:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0170801/
Microbusiness Training Centre: I got an automatic email from them, and I called them so I could attend their information session so I could open my TV production company. They said they don't have the sessions anymore, but will have them set up in a couple of months and will call.
Spooky headlines: It's getting close to Halloween. I got this from the Globe and Mail last year:
"Renovation goes wrong": "A family abandoned their bathroom fearing it had been possessed by the devil after an image of Satan appeared overnight-in a tile" reports Orange News UK. Laszlo Csrefko was renovating his bathroom in Bekasmegyer, Budapest. His wife Andrea took a shower, and then saw the horned head of the devil in one of the tiles. They can't clean it off and it wasn't there when they put the tiles. It appeared overnight and they can't move it.
The room is always cold, even when they turn the heat up. They stopped using the bathroom and are planning to get an exorcist for help. If it doesn't help, they'll never use the room again.
Oct. 13 Creepy: I got this from the Edmonton Journal.
According to Detroit News, Matt Olivarez is 27 yrs old, and from Redford township. Michigan. His family had a 10 yr old rottweiler named Mia. They had to feed the dog by hand because she can't walk. Olivarez decided to put the dog down. He took her to the Westcott Veterinary Care Centre in Detroit and the shot was administered.
He took Mia back to the garage and laid her on a pile of hay. He will bury it in the backyard. Cut to the next morning, Mia's body was gone. He turned around and saw Mia standing there and staring at him. He thought he was in a Stephen King novel.
Westcott officials speculated that the dose that Mia got wasn't strong enough to put her down. The euthanasia fee will be refunded. He is looking for someone else to take care of the dog because he doesn't think he can put down his dog the second time.
Headlines: I ran out of regular headlines I clipped from the newspaper. Looks like I typed it all up. I was watching Jay Leno earlier this week and here are some of his.
JL read a TV guide description of the movie The Prince and Me: "A premed student falls in love with a danish." Or was it "Danish"? Someone falling in love with a pastry. lol. I do like that movie. She falls in love with a Danish prince. It stars Julia Stiles and Luke Mably.
Panda commercial: I was watching this commercial last week. Cut to a couple talking about what they want for dinner. A panda appears in the living room and is selling microwaveable Chinese dinner. My sister was there.
S: They need a cuter panda.
Me: I thought the panda was going to have a Chinese accent.
S: That would be racist.
lol. That does remind me of a joke from Futurama. There's a Chinese New Year Parade, and there's a Chinese dragon dance. The dragon costume was blown off, and it's a huge centipede that was wearing the costume.
Centipede (in Chinese accent): Hey what is this? The Year of the Jerk?
Pandas: I was watching Chinese TV news a few months ago. Well my grandma was watching it and I saw this part of this Chinese scientist talking about pandas. He was playing with this baby panda by feeding him milk through a bottle, and playing with him like he's a human baby. It was so cute. Aww..
Funny bears: I was watching Jay Leno last night.
JL: Yesterday was "Bring your bear to work day." I thought it was "Wear your bear to work today." I was so embarrassed yesterday.
There was a little laughter.
Let's analyze this: JL should have showed it, instead of telling it. They should show JL coming to work wearing a bear costume and the other office workers say: "It's bring your bear to work day" and hold up their bears.
I saw this kind of joke on Tosh.O and it worked better. There was a Video Redemption segment. Cut to a clip of a guy dressed up as a knight and fighting in the woods.
Cut to Daniel Tosh wearing a bear costume with this cute, smiling face.
DT: Hey, I'm in costume.
Guy: You're wearing the wrong costume.
DT: What? I'm wearing the wrong costume? Oh, I feel so embarrassed.
DT puts his paws on his eyes and shakes his head. It was so cute with a bear acting embarrassed.
Sitcom reviews: My sister loves sitcoms, so I watched a couple of them with her recently. I'm not really a fan of sitcoms; I'm more into dramas.
Happy Endings: It stars Canadian actress Elisha Cuthbert. It's about a group of friends. It was well- shot and kind of funny. I was watching the season 2 premiere.
New Girl: It stars Zooey Deschanel. It's about a girl who moves in with 3 guys. I immediately thought of the other comedy show called About a Girl which is about a girl who moves in with 4 guys. It had 1 season and came out in 2007. It was on the N, a kids network.
Back to New Girl. I thought it was kind of funny, funnier than Happy Endings. The episode was called "Wedding" where they all go to a wedding between an interracial marriage of an Asian man and a white woman. It stars Max Greenfield. I saw a bit of him the week before when my sister was watching it. I thought he looked familiar, but I don't know where.
About 30 min later, I remembered he was Deputy Leo on Veronica Mars. Katie Cassidy (Gossip Girl) also guest- starred. At first my sister and I didn't recognize her, but after watching it a bit more, we both recognized her. This is the first TV show to get picked up for a full season. I do recommend you watch it, because it is funny.
Oct. 14 Script pitch: Someone emailed me asking to read my The Vertex Fighter script. I then emailed it to him. I really needed this. I haven't sent my script out to anyone in some months due to my job search.
The interview was okay. I don't think I really impressed the interviewer. She seemed to be looking for full-time people, but there may be a lot of part-time applicants. I heard that 80% of all restaurants close down within the first 2 yrs. This may not have good job security so that's why I want to keep my job while having a second one. A lot of employees at my work have a 2nd job.
What We Did That Night: I want to make a correction. I was talking about a TV movie called What Happened that Night, but the real title is What We Did That Night. Check it out:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0170801/
Microbusiness Training Centre: I got an automatic email from them, and I called them so I could attend their information session so I could open my TV production company. They said they don't have the sessions anymore, but will have them set up in a couple of months and will call.
Spooky headlines: It's getting close to Halloween. I got this from the Globe and Mail last year:
"Renovation goes wrong": "A family abandoned their bathroom fearing it had been possessed by the devil after an image of Satan appeared overnight-in a tile" reports Orange News UK. Laszlo Csrefko was renovating his bathroom in Bekasmegyer, Budapest. His wife Andrea took a shower, and then saw the horned head of the devil in one of the tiles. They can't clean it off and it wasn't there when they put the tiles. It appeared overnight and they can't move it.
The room is always cold, even when they turn the heat up. They stopped using the bathroom and are planning to get an exorcist for help. If it doesn't help, they'll never use the room again.
Oct. 13 Creepy: I got this from the Edmonton Journal.
According to Detroit News, Matt Olivarez is 27 yrs old, and from Redford township. Michigan. His family had a 10 yr old rottweiler named Mia. They had to feed the dog by hand because she can't walk. Olivarez decided to put the dog down. He took her to the Westcott Veterinary Care Centre in Detroit and the shot was administered.
He took Mia back to the garage and laid her on a pile of hay. He will bury it in the backyard. Cut to the next morning, Mia's body was gone. He turned around and saw Mia standing there and staring at him. He thought he was in a Stephen King novel.
Westcott officials speculated that the dose that Mia got wasn't strong enough to put her down. The euthanasia fee will be refunded. He is looking for someone else to take care of the dog because he doesn't think he can put down his dog the second time.
Headlines: I ran out of regular headlines I clipped from the newspaper. Looks like I typed it all up. I was watching Jay Leno earlier this week and here are some of his.
JL read a TV guide description of the movie The Prince and Me: "A premed student falls in love with a danish." Or was it "Danish"? Someone falling in love with a pastry. lol. I do like that movie. She falls in love with a Danish prince. It stars Julia Stiles and Luke Mably.
Panda commercial: I was watching this commercial last week. Cut to a couple talking about what they want for dinner. A panda appears in the living room and is selling microwaveable Chinese dinner. My sister was there.
S: They need a cuter panda.
Me: I thought the panda was going to have a Chinese accent.
S: That would be racist.
lol. That does remind me of a joke from Futurama. There's a Chinese New Year Parade, and there's a Chinese dragon dance. The dragon costume was blown off, and it's a huge centipede that was wearing the costume.
Centipede (in Chinese accent): Hey what is this? The Year of the Jerk?
Pandas: I was watching Chinese TV news a few months ago. Well my grandma was watching it and I saw this part of this Chinese scientist talking about pandas. He was playing with this baby panda by feeding him milk through a bottle, and playing with him like he's a human baby. It was so cute. Aww..
Funny bears: I was watching Jay Leno last night.
JL: Yesterday was "Bring your bear to work day." I thought it was "Wear your bear to work today." I was so embarrassed yesterday.
There was a little laughter.
Let's analyze this: JL should have showed it, instead of telling it. They should show JL coming to work wearing a bear costume and the other office workers say: "It's bring your bear to work day" and hold up their bears.
I saw this kind of joke on Tosh.O and it worked better. There was a Video Redemption segment. Cut to a clip of a guy dressed up as a knight and fighting in the woods.
Cut to Daniel Tosh wearing a bear costume with this cute, smiling face.
DT: Hey, I'm in costume.
Guy: You're wearing the wrong costume.
DT: What? I'm wearing the wrong costume? Oh, I feel so embarrassed.
DT puts his paws on his eyes and shakes his head. It was so cute with a bear acting embarrassed.
Sitcom reviews: My sister loves sitcoms, so I watched a couple of them with her recently. I'm not really a fan of sitcoms; I'm more into dramas.
Happy Endings: It stars Canadian actress Elisha Cuthbert. It's about a group of friends. It was well- shot and kind of funny. I was watching the season 2 premiere.
New Girl: It stars Zooey Deschanel. It's about a girl who moves in with 3 guys. I immediately thought of the other comedy show called About a Girl which is about a girl who moves in with 4 guys. It had 1 season and came out in 2007. It was on the N, a kids network.
Back to New Girl. I thought it was kind of funny, funnier than Happy Endings. The episode was called "Wedding" where they all go to a wedding between an interracial marriage of an Asian man and a white woman. It stars Max Greenfield. I saw a bit of him the week before when my sister was watching it. I thought he looked familiar, but I don't know where.
About 30 min later, I remembered he was Deputy Leo on Veronica Mars. Katie Cassidy (Gossip Girl) also guest- starred. At first my sister and I didn't recognize her, but after watching it a bit more, we both recognized her. This is the first TV show to get picked up for a full season. I do recommend you watch it, because it is funny.
Oct. 14 Script pitch: Someone emailed me asking to read my The Vertex Fighter script. I then emailed it to him. I really needed this. I haven't sent my script out to anyone in some months due to my job search.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
I got published/ my production company/ comparisons
Oct. 9 I got published: Last week I was writing about literary magazines. I had gotten one short story ("TJ's Story") published last year. This year I got another short story published called "Chase." The same company the Poetry Institute of Canada is going to publish one of my stories again. I am very happy about it. I'm going to say, I needed this.
I had gotten my short story "Purse" rejected by them, so I feel good that my other short story is getting published. "Chase" will be published in the anthology called From Across the River.
Salary: Also the last email was talking about salary. Here's a website where you can determine how much you should be getting paid.
http://monsterca.salary.com/
Post Secret:
"I slept with someone so they wouldn't commit suicide."
Me: I guess that's good to prevent someone from committing suicide. Though it's dark.
A picture of Chris Colfer (he plays the gay kid on Glee): "He cured my mom of her homophobia :)"
Me: That's good.
"I don't know how to tell you this, but I can't become a military wife in fear that you will die."
Email: I'm currently serving in Afghanistan and the one thing that keeps the thought of death away, is knowing I need to get home to my wife.
"I am starting to believe true love is only for thin and beautiful women."
Email: Me too. I think it is because I watch too much The Bachelor.
Email: Beautiful and thin women end up attracting the wrong people who waste their time and break their hearts. True love seems much further away.
"I am living proof that your childhood does not have to determine your life!"
"I am afraid that if you stop doing drugs you'll realize you're insane to be with me."
"I attended the wedding of the woman I love, and my wife was sitting next to me."
Then there are secrets where people say they're getting exercise to have better sex and that they found a wedding ring.
My production company: I was going through this Edmonton magazine Frost Fire issue Fall 2007. I see this ad for Microbusiness Training Centre. It can help and train you to start a business. Then I thought: "I'll start my own production company." I emailed them and I'm waiting for their reply.
I'm sure a lot of you guys think: "That's a crazy idea. Why?" Well I've been pitching my script for nearly 4 years to all these production companies in Canada. I've been rejected by all of them. I might as well start my own company and produce this script.
Check out their website: www.microbusiness.ca
Oct. 10: I read the ad and it said that if you have been on EI in the past 3 yrs, I may qualify to get paid while I learn how to make my own business. It also said if I'm under 34 yrs old, I could qualify for business financing through the Canadian Youth Business Foundation. We'll see.
I have never thought to make my own production company until last week. I always thought of getting my script produced through a company or working at a studio.
Saying: I found this on the National Post business section on Sept. 27, 2011. There was a blog written by a recent graduate named Greg Illson. He wrote about getting an MBA and he said: "Sometimes the best way to get out of a rut is to make your own path."
When I was 11 yrs old, I did go to a TV audition and I got rejected. I then thought: "I'll write my own script and give a role for myself." I even remember years later Halle Berry even said that about how there should be more good roles for women, and to write the roles. I was at Deb Green Casting website recently and it said the same thing that HB said.
By creating my own production company, I am creating my own path.
Script pitch: I haven't done this in a few months, but I found some more contacts to pitch my The Vertex Fighter script to.
Oct. 11 Writing: I know I haven't been writing for a long time because I needed a break to get my creative juices flowing. I checked the last time I worked on Rain, and it's been 6 weeks. I am feeling the itch to write my script. If you go through my weekly emails/ blog, I've been busy with my job search instead of writing.
Comparisons: I shall now give you a batch of comparisons to get myself thinking up stories.
Throwing a dead body in the river or lake: It was done on I Know What You Did Last Summer. It was done on Buffy the Vampire Slayer season 6 where it seems like Buffy may have killed someone. Spike then threw the body in the river. It was done on the TV movie What Happened that Night with one body.
Burying a dead body: It was done on Desperate Housewives season 8 premiere, and What Happened that Night with another body.
Story starts off with ominous note: It was done on I Know What You Did Last Summer. The movie title was the ominous note. It was done on Desperate Housewives pilot and then it appeared again on the season 8 premiere.
Hiding a dead body in the trunk: It was done on Ringer episode 2, and Desperate Housewives season 7 finale. It was done in the old movie Arsenic and Old Lace. I remember watching that when I was in gr.11 for Eng. class.
Finding a dead body in the cement: It was on last night's Castle's ep "Kick the Ballistics" where construction workers are stirring the cement. Then they lift up an arm. It was done on CSI: NY before differently. Construction workers were fighting, one worker drilled into the hardened cement and it started bleeding. There was a dead body in there.
Criminal dies, and when police tell next of kin, the family members are blase about it: In the Castle episode "Heroes and Villains", Det.Kate Beckett tells the rapist's mom that her son is dead. She's like "whatever." It was done on an ep of Rookie Blue season 2 finale "God's Good Grace" where a drug dealer dies. Det. Traci Nash has to tell his 2 sisters about it and they're like "whatever."
Vigilante superhero on cop drama: It was also on Castle's ep "Heroes and Villains" about someone dressing up like a superhero and stopping crime. It was done Rookie Blue season 1 where this young black guy was dressing up a like a superhero to stop crime. But it was funnier and lighter. The cops decide to let him go because he really wanted to be a cop and if he gets arrested, he won't be able to be one.
Cop's badge or uniform stolen: On CSI: NY, Danny's badge was stolen from his locker while he was at the gym. It was done on Rookie Blue where one of Det. Gail Peck's uniform was stolen from her car. The criminals were pretending to be cops. It was kind of done on Prison Break, but the prison escapees needed to pretend to be cops so they could attend this event for fallen police officers.
Character is on cell phone and is being watched. As Character is talking on the phone, they are looking for the person who is also on a cell phone: I saw this on Ringer episode 3 "If you ever want a French Lesson" where Bridget is looking for the hit man who is talking to her on the phone. It was done on Scream 2 where Jamie Kennedy's character is on the cell phone as he's looking around for the killer. His other friends are going around the campus and picking up people's phones to find the killer.
I had gotten my short story "Purse" rejected by them, so I feel good that my other short story is getting published. "Chase" will be published in the anthology called From Across the River.
Salary: Also the last email was talking about salary. Here's a website where you can determine how much you should be getting paid.
http://monsterca.salary.com/
Post Secret:
"I slept with someone so they wouldn't commit suicide."
Me: I guess that's good to prevent someone from committing suicide. Though it's dark.
A picture of Chris Colfer (he plays the gay kid on Glee): "He cured my mom of her homophobia :)"
Me: That's good.
"I don't know how to tell you this, but I can't become a military wife in fear that you will die."
Email: I'm currently serving in Afghanistan and the one thing that keeps the thought of death away, is knowing I need to get home to my wife.
"I am starting to believe true love is only for thin and beautiful women."
Email: Me too. I think it is because I watch too much The Bachelor.
Email: Beautiful and thin women end up attracting the wrong people who waste their time and break their hearts. True love seems much further away.
"I am living proof that your childhood does not have to determine your life!"
"I am afraid that if you stop doing drugs you'll realize you're insane to be with me."
"I attended the wedding of the woman I love, and my wife was sitting next to me."
Then there are secrets where people say they're getting exercise to have better sex and that they found a wedding ring.
My production company: I was going through this Edmonton magazine Frost Fire issue Fall 2007. I see this ad for Microbusiness Training Centre. It can help and train you to start a business. Then I thought: "I'll start my own production company." I emailed them and I'm waiting for their reply.
I'm sure a lot of you guys think: "That's a crazy idea. Why?" Well I've been pitching my script for nearly 4 years to all these production companies in Canada. I've been rejected by all of them. I might as well start my own company and produce this script.
Check out their website: www.microbusiness.ca
Oct. 10: I read the ad and it said that if you have been on EI in the past 3 yrs, I may qualify to get paid while I learn how to make my own business. It also said if I'm under 34 yrs old, I could qualify for business financing through the Canadian Youth Business Foundation. We'll see.
I have never thought to make my own production company until last week. I always thought of getting my script produced through a company or working at a studio.
Saying: I found this on the National Post business section on Sept. 27, 2011. There was a blog written by a recent graduate named Greg Illson. He wrote about getting an MBA and he said: "Sometimes the best way to get out of a rut is to make your own path."
When I was 11 yrs old, I did go to a TV audition and I got rejected. I then thought: "I'll write my own script and give a role for myself." I even remember years later Halle Berry even said that about how there should be more good roles for women, and to write the roles. I was at Deb Green Casting website recently and it said the same thing that HB said.
By creating my own production company, I am creating my own path.
Script pitch: I haven't done this in a few months, but I found some more contacts to pitch my The Vertex Fighter script to.
Oct. 11 Writing: I know I haven't been writing for a long time because I needed a break to get my creative juices flowing. I checked the last time I worked on Rain, and it's been 6 weeks. I am feeling the itch to write my script. If you go through my weekly emails/ blog, I've been busy with my job search instead of writing.
Comparisons: I shall now give you a batch of comparisons to get myself thinking up stories.
Throwing a dead body in the river or lake: It was done on I Know What You Did Last Summer. It was done on Buffy the Vampire Slayer season 6 where it seems like Buffy may have killed someone. Spike then threw the body in the river. It was done on the TV movie What Happened that Night with one body.
Burying a dead body: It was done on Desperate Housewives season 8 premiere, and What Happened that Night with another body.
Story starts off with ominous note: It was done on I Know What You Did Last Summer. The movie title was the ominous note. It was done on Desperate Housewives pilot and then it appeared again on the season 8 premiere.
Hiding a dead body in the trunk: It was done on Ringer episode 2, and Desperate Housewives season 7 finale. It was done in the old movie Arsenic and Old Lace. I remember watching that when I was in gr.11 for Eng. class.
Finding a dead body in the cement: It was on last night's Castle's ep "Kick the Ballistics" where construction workers are stirring the cement. Then they lift up an arm. It was done on CSI: NY before differently. Construction workers were fighting, one worker drilled into the hardened cement and it started bleeding. There was a dead body in there.
Criminal dies, and when police tell next of kin, the family members are blase about it: In the Castle episode "Heroes and Villains", Det.Kate Beckett tells the rapist's mom that her son is dead. She's like "whatever." It was done on an ep of Rookie Blue season 2 finale "God's Good Grace" where a drug dealer dies. Det. Traci Nash has to tell his 2 sisters about it and they're like "whatever."
Vigilante superhero on cop drama: It was also on Castle's ep "Heroes and Villains" about someone dressing up like a superhero and stopping crime. It was done Rookie Blue season 1 where this young black guy was dressing up a like a superhero to stop crime. But it was funnier and lighter. The cops decide to let him go because he really wanted to be a cop and if he gets arrested, he won't be able to be one.
Cop's badge or uniform stolen: On CSI: NY, Danny's badge was stolen from his locker while he was at the gym. It was done on Rookie Blue where one of Det. Gail Peck's uniform was stolen from her car. The criminals were pretending to be cops. It was kind of done on Prison Break, but the prison escapees needed to pretend to be cops so they could attend this event for fallen police officers.
Character is on cell phone and is being watched. As Character is talking on the phone, they are looking for the person who is also on a cell phone: I saw this on Ringer episode 3 "If you ever want a French Lesson" where Bridget is looking for the hit man who is talking to her on the phone. It was done on Scream 2 where Jamie Kennedy's character is on the cell phone as he's looking around for the killer. His other friends are going around the campus and picking up people's phones to find the killer.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
literary magazines/ evaluating job offers/ experts
Oct. 1 Literary magazines: I got my short story "TJ's Story" published in a Poetry Institute of Canada anthology of short stories. I then went through my notes in Professional Writing. In 2007, I took a Short Fiction Forms class. One of the assignments is get into groups and research writing magazines to get published in.
Geist: This is a good website. There's a Post Card short story contest where you find a post card, and write a 500 word story or poem about it"
"Make your own postcard using photos, drawings or images in the public domain, write a story inspired by that postcard, then send us the image and the story. The relationship between image and story can be as subtle as you like, as long as the contest judges can see the connection."
http://www.geist.com/articles/8th-annual-literal-literary-postcard-story-contest
Notebook Magazine: I searched through my email inbox, and I got an email from this Edmonton writing magazine called Notebook Magazine. I submitted short stories to them through email, and he rejected them. The last email I got was back in Jan. 2008.
I then went to the website, and it said it was on hiatus. However, there is a piece about an artist named Murray Allen and he made all these crafts in his apartment before he passed away. Check out the pictures. The art is quirky and colorful:
http://notebookmagazine.ca/index.html
Oct. 2 Grain magazine: I bought this for my Creative Writing class. It's a literary magazine from Saskatchewan. The prizes are from are bigger than the usual, from $500-$1000. Others are less than $500.
http://www.grainmagazine.ca/index.html
Oct. 5 Puritan magazine: I had submitted some stories and poems to them. I did back when I was in college. I still get emails from them when new issues come out. I do like their website. Their graphics look frames on a wooden wall.
http://www.puritan-magazine.com/
Oct. 4 Evaluating job offers: I was at the career fair and learned about a info session called "Make me an offer! Tips on negotiating and evaluating job offers" at CAPS. I went there and I was the only one there. It's not as bad as throwing a party and no one showing up. lol. It's a info session.
I did learn some things that I didn't know. It was a power point presentation. One slide:
"Reflecting your budgetary needs and average salaries, your negotiation range starts a little higher than your bottom line and extends to a figure (within reason) that would make you very happy!"
When I apply for office assistant, administrative assistant, and receptionist position, the interviewer often asks: "What wage are you expecting?" I always say $11 or $12/hr. I should really give a range like $11-$14/hr or $23,000-$27,000. You need a range to negotiate with and say you're flexible.
Always do your research on how much the position you're applying for gets paid. I see in job ads and when I go into interviews, they do tell you how much the position pays.
Websites: You can learn about salary here:
www.wowjobs.ca/salary.aspx
www.alis.alberta.ca/wageinfo
www.salaryexpert.com (more USA)
Saying: One slide said:
"Something to think about?
We spend years in school. We spend a large sum of money getting that education. We spend hours writing resumes and cover letters and interviewing. But when we get to the last detail- money, perks, and benefits- we usually negotiate this in less than 5 min."
-Suzanne Green, management speaker
I did realize I am getting a little ahead of myself. I'm not at the negotiating stage yet, I'm in the applying and job interview stage. Negotiating is close because it's often talked about in the interview.
Oct. 5 Writer in Residence: I knew there was a Writer in Residence at MacEwan. I did a little searching last month, but I couldn't find the person. Then today I did some research and I found out it's Lynn Coady who wrote the book The Antagonist. She's nominated for the Scotia Bank Giller prize. I then congratulated her and emailed her part of my Rain script.
I then found out Greg MacArthur, the Writer in Residence at the U of A was nominated for the Siminovitch Prize. I congratulated him and then asked if he read my Rain script yet. I emailed him last month.
The Trouble with Experts: I saw this Doc Zone last week. It was good about how experts aren't really that knowledgeable about their subjects. I'm always cautious about who to listen to like my sister and friends like Angela and Jessica for career advice. They all graduated out of university and have careers, they have experience. They are knowledgeable.
Same goes for judges on reality-TV talent shows. They're all music producers, singers, dancers, and have been in the entertainment industry for years and made millions of dollars. They can judge talent.
Back to the documentary. They talked about wine experts. Some can't even tell white wine and red wine apart. The white wine had red dye in it. Most wine experts can't taste the difference. Regular people without any expectations could taste the difference.
They interviewed an artist that did copies of real paintings like Picasso. He was with another con man, and they sold all these paintings to museums. Part of the Art Experts want to believe they found something special, they lose sight of what's real art.
Financial gurus didn't predict the recession. They discussed the book The Management Myth: Why Experts keep Getting it Wrong about management gurus. There's a book called Wrong about experts getting it wrong.
There are nutritionists who know about health and what to eat. They promote cancer treatments that don't work. "Once you're getting paid, you don't become as objective."
They listed how experts make wrong predictions. One music producer says that "guys with guitars are on the way out" after seeing the Beatles.
Oct. 8 Job interview: The other day I went to a job interview. There were 100 resumes, and I was one of the 15 people being interviewed. So it's good to be considered to be good enough to get an interview. I thought the interview was average. We also talked a bit about my restaurant job and how she did go and eat there before, so that was different.
Flashback: I got this flashback of the actor Ian Ziering. He was in the original 90210 TV show in the 90s. A few years ago, he was being interviewed by Tyra Banks about how he got the role.
IZ: There are so many actors for very few roles. I needed to get an edge. So I went to this room to get the 90210 script. The office was empty and there was this big pile of scripts and a sign that said for every script that's been taken, you have to write down your name. So I wrote "Ben Dover" and then took the pile of scripts and ran away with it. I then managed to find a garbage can and throw them away.
The edge is that less actors got the script, so less competition. lol. Well I'm sure there were still a lot of actors going for that role, and he did audition and got the part because he was talented.
As a kid, I did want to get into acting and I knew there were a lot of actors for a few roles. Actors face a lot of competition. Now that I'm an adult, I learn it's not just actors but for a lot of other jobs.
Geist: This is a good website. There's a Post Card short story contest where you find a post card, and write a 500 word story or poem about it"
"Make your own postcard using photos, drawings or images in the public domain, write a story inspired by that postcard, then send us the image and the story. The relationship between image and story can be as subtle as you like, as long as the contest judges can see the connection."
http://www.geist.com/articles/8th-annual-literal-literary-postcard-story-contest
Notebook Magazine: I searched through my email inbox, and I got an email from this Edmonton writing magazine called Notebook Magazine. I submitted short stories to them through email, and he rejected them. The last email I got was back in Jan. 2008.
I then went to the website, and it said it was on hiatus. However, there is a piece about an artist named Murray Allen and he made all these crafts in his apartment before he passed away. Check out the pictures. The art is quirky and colorful:
Oct. 2 Grain magazine: I bought this for my Creative Writing class. It's a literary magazine from Saskatchewan. The prizes are from are bigger than the usual, from $500-$1000. Others are less than $500.
Oct. 5 Puritan magazine: I had submitted some stories and poems to them. I did back when I was in college. I still get emails from them when new issues come out. I do like their website. Their graphics look frames on a wooden wall.
http://www.puritan-magazine.com/
Oct. 4 Evaluating job offers: I was at the career fair and learned about a info session called "Make me an offer! Tips on negotiating and evaluating job offers" at CAPS. I went there and I was the only one there. It's not as bad as throwing a party and no one showing up. lol. It's a info session.
I did learn some things that I didn't know. It was a power point presentation. One slide:
"Reflecting your budgetary needs and average salaries, your negotiation range starts a little higher than your bottom line and extends to a figure (within reason) that would make you very happy!"
When I apply for office assistant, administrative assistant, and receptionist position, the interviewer often asks: "What wage are you expecting?" I always say $11 or $12/hr. I should really give a range like $11-$14/hr or $23,000-$27,000. You need a range to negotiate with and say you're flexible.
Always do your research on how much the position you're applying for gets paid. I see in job ads and when I go into interviews, they do tell you how much the position pays.
Websites: You can learn about salary here:
www.wowjobs.ca/salary.aspx
www.alis.alberta.ca/wageinfo
www.salaryexpert.com (more USA)
Saying: One slide said:
"Something to think about?
We spend years in school. We spend a large sum of money getting that education. We spend hours writing resumes and cover letters and interviewing. But when we get to the last detail- money, perks, and benefits- we usually negotiate this in less than 5 min."
-Suzanne Green, management speaker
I did realize I am getting a little ahead of myself. I'm not at the negotiating stage yet, I'm in the applying and job interview stage. Negotiating is close because it's often talked about in the interview.
Oct. 5 Writer in Residence: I knew there was a Writer in Residence at MacEwan. I did a little searching last month, but I couldn't find the person. Then today I did some research and I found out it's Lynn Coady who wrote the book The Antagonist. She's nominated for the Scotia Bank Giller prize. I then congratulated her and emailed her part of my Rain script.
I then found out Greg MacArthur, the Writer in Residence at the U of A was nominated for the Siminovitch Prize. I congratulated him and then asked if he read my Rain script yet. I emailed him last month.
The Trouble with Experts: I saw this Doc Zone last week. It was good about how experts aren't really that knowledgeable about their subjects. I'm always cautious about who to listen to like my sister and friends like Angela and Jessica for career advice. They all graduated out of university and have careers, they have experience. They are knowledgeable.
Same goes for judges on reality-TV talent shows. They're all music producers, singers, dancers, and have been in the entertainment industry for years and made millions of dollars. They can judge talent.
Back to the documentary. They talked about wine experts. Some can't even tell white wine and red wine apart. The white wine had red dye in it. Most wine experts can't taste the difference. Regular people without any expectations could taste the difference.
They interviewed an artist that did copies of real paintings like Picasso. He was with another con man, and they sold all these paintings to museums. Part of the Art Experts want to believe they found something special, they lose sight of what's real art.
Financial gurus didn't predict the recession. They discussed the book The Management Myth: Why Experts keep Getting it Wrong about management gurus. There's a book called Wrong about experts getting it wrong.
There are nutritionists who know about health and what to eat. They promote cancer treatments that don't work. "Once you're getting paid, you don't become as objective."
They listed how experts make wrong predictions. One music producer says that "guys with guitars are on the way out" after seeing the Beatles.
Oct. 8 Job interview: The other day I went to a job interview. There were 100 resumes, and I was one of the 15 people being interviewed. So it's good to be considered to be good enough to get an interview. I thought the interview was average. We also talked a bit about my restaurant job and how she did go and eat there before, so that was different.
Flashback: I got this flashback of the actor Ian Ziering. He was in the original 90210 TV show in the 90s. A few years ago, he was being interviewed by Tyra Banks about how he got the role.
IZ: There are so many actors for very few roles. I needed to get an edge. So I went to this room to get the 90210 script. The office was empty and there was this big pile of scripts and a sign that said for every script that's been taken, you have to write down your name. So I wrote "Ben Dover" and then took the pile of scripts and ran away with it. I then managed to find a garbage can and throw them away.
The edge is that less actors got the script, so less competition. lol. Well I'm sure there were still a lot of actors going for that role, and he did audition and got the part because he was talented.
As a kid, I did want to get into acting and I knew there were a lot of actors for a few roles. Actors face a lot of competition. Now that I'm an adult, I learn it's not just actors but for a lot of other jobs.
Friday, October 7, 2011
Post Secret/ headlines/ Steve Jobs
Oct. 2 Post Secret:
"This movie is the only reason I haven't given up."
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1c47wK96HhUCPQOBdp1l6YvB7IwhOtucAg5NdLbjICsl91zXGW7UnLi_ESxGwuirbkIZ70qENy41LAuxqZiDLu7WMtrPGC_PnVMqLC_AyXGZDIIOOZ1dy2WBVHF-5Jmjfw7YAbz7L7vM/s1600/sunshine.jpg
Me: I don't know what movie it's from, but I do want to inspire people with my writing.
"I am resentful towards Breast Cancer Awareness. More children are diagnosed with cancer and die because of it. It's underfunded and deserves more funding and awareness."
Me: I agree. Breast Cancer charity gets the most donations and attention than the other cancers. By having your post card up, more people will donate to kids.
"Being an English major has helped me battle depression better than my therapist has."
Me: That's good to do what makes you happy.
"I faked being pregnant and engaged to keep you from being kicked out of the United States Navy."
Me: So the Navy would say: "We can't kick him out because he has a wife and a kid on the way?"
"My sister lied about being raped to hide the shame of being a 20 yr old virgin."
Email: I am a week away from being a 21 year old virgin and could not me more proud. I hope your sister has reached that same level of pride.
Me: I don't know why you should be ashamed of being a virgin.
"As a Roman Catholic priest, I hear a lot of secrets. Some of them are lurid, others boring or funny, sometimes scary. You would be amazed... Everyone goes home forgiven and has a kind of peace. Thanks God for letting me do this."
Me: That's like last week's ep of Desperate Housewives. Carlos was to see this certain priest, but a younger new guy was there. The priest talked about how he loves this job.
There's a picture of a dog with this neck brace. The neck brace was drawn on: "We decorated it so maybe he'd enjoy wearing it."
There's a picture of a dog with a neck brace, not drawn on: "Wish I had thought it."
Rant: Here's one from Post Secret:
"Sometimes I wish that my gorgeous, autistic daughter was ugly. Too many pervs out there."
Me: I know what you mean. It reminds me of this time my ex-boyfriend told me that he knows a guy who was "dating" a young woman with Down Syndrome. It sounds like this guy was just using her for sex. This guy is of average intelligence and he was "dating" her.
Is there anyone here who would date someone who is mentally retarded? Seriously. I don't care if someone is dating a guy in a wheel chair or a blind woman, as long as they are of normal intelligence. The examples I gave, they are physically handicapped, not mentally handicapped. If you are dating someone who is mentally retarded, it's like you're taking advantage of this person. It's okay if mentally disabled people date one another.
Or maybe my ex-boyfriend made it up, and I'm getting mad over nothing. That's why I broke up with him. He makes this long joke about something that's not even funny. Like how there are 5 mentally retarded men, and one of them raped and murdered a woman. But since no one can figure out who did it, the court got all 5 men executed.
There was no trial at all. He went like this for 10 min. and I was asking why there wasn't a trial or evidence. Excuse me is there anyone here who thought the above joke was funny? I thought that wasn't funny at all.
Dateline: While I'm at it, I'll throw that 35 yr old guy who was "dating" a 12 yr old girl. Even if the girl wasn't mentally handicapped, he was taking advantage of her. Can you imagine the two of them out on a date at a restaurant? No, because it's not acceptable at all.
Just like how a regular guy is out "dating" with a mentally handicapped woman.
Empathy: By dealing with my ex-boyfriend's stupidity and humor, I was able to understand why my sister gets so frustrated by my stupidity and humor. Except, I can justify my actions to my sister.
Like that time I told her the "My cat committed suicide" joke. She didn't find that funny at all, but I know for sure 1 person thought it was really funny. It was from the boy band Blue. The member Lee was serious about his cat, and the member Antony burst out laughing at it. Antony and I thought it was funny, so it was justified.
My ex-boyfriend's stupidity was he was talking to someone and that person said to him: "Surely, there's nothing wrong with it."
Ex-boyfriend: Don't call me Shirley.
I had to explain to him to what it was. Then I think I read somewhere, there's a line like this in a movie with Leslie Nielson or something. I'm not really going to look it up.
Retire by 43: I found this article on Yahoo where a couple managed to retire by 43. They rent their house, shop on a grocery list, when they vacation they don't go too far.
http://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/5-Tips-From-Early-usnews-1623112451.html?x=0?&mod=pf-sp14b
Oct. 5 Headlines:
Taco Trauma: Man angered by burrito price opens fire: I got this from 24. A man who went to Taco Bell was angry when the price for burritos went from 99 cents to $1.49. He fired a BB gun at the manager in St. Petersburgh Florida. No one was hurt, and the manager called the police.
The man shot at the police. He hid in a motel room and there was a standoff. The police threw tear gas and the man surrendered. Remember the other headline of a woman falsely accusing her daughter of being a suicide bomber so she won't be able to get on a plane and fly away? I thought the mom was overreacting, but this man was overreacting.
Nudes Flash Alleged fugitive falls through ceiling: A Mississippi woman Keleigh Townsend was at her home. A naked man fell through the ceiling and asks for clothes. According to Hattiesburg American, the man Patrick Williams was a wanted fugitive and hid in the crawl space.
Townsend calls the police and Williams was arrested for not reporting his probation officer.
"Read 'em and weep": A bus driver in Portland, Oregon was fired for reading an ebook while driving. All Headline News reported that a passenger took a cell phone video of it.
"Is Coco coo-coo?": There is a piglet in England that thinks it's a dog. His name is Coco and he's 4 months old. He was given to an animal shelter and he paired up with a German shepherd named Jay. Coco walks on a leash, fetches sticks and stands guard at the animal shelter says Orange News.
"Hope for Humanity": A university professor in Sweden, his laptop was stolen. About a week later, a USB key containing all his files was sent to his home. The professor was really happy that he got all his files back: "I am very happy. This story makes me feel hope for humanity."
I do want to say, you should save all your files on a USB key or a hard drive. Or in my case 3.5 floppy disks. In case your computer crashes or is stolen, you have it saved onto other things.
Sign: There are anti-Wall Street protests. Emily McArthur holds up a sign: "I can't afford my own politician so I made this sign." I thought it was kind of quirky.
Oct. 7 Steve Jobs: So the other day I was listening to the radio and the DJ said that Steve Jobs passed away. I was like: "What?" I then went and tuned into CNN to see if they're covering it. That's my habit I got from my brother. When he reads some big news on the internet, he has to go to CNN. I go to it, and they're talking about it.
My sister had come home, and she turned around and saw the headline. I don't own anything by Apple, but he has changed computers, phones, and how we listen to music. CNN reporters talked about how he had done so much in a really short time.
I read an article on Yahoo prior to his death, that iPods came out in 2001, and now it's being replaced by iPads and iPhones.
"This movie is the only reason I haven't given up."
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1c47wK96HhUCPQOBdp1l6YvB7IwhOtucAg5NdLbjICsl91zXGW7UnLi_ESxGwuirbkIZ70qENy41LAuxqZiDLu7WMtrPGC_PnVMqLC_AyXGZDIIOOZ1dy2WBVHF-5Jmjfw7YAbz7L7vM/s1600/sunshine.jpg
Me: I don't know what movie it's from, but I do want to inspire people with my writing.
"I am resentful towards Breast Cancer Awareness. More children are diagnosed with cancer and die because of it. It's underfunded and deserves more funding and awareness."
Me: I agree. Breast Cancer charity gets the most donations and attention than the other cancers. By having your post card up, more people will donate to kids.
"Being an English major has helped me battle depression better than my therapist has."
Me: That's good to do what makes you happy.
"I faked being pregnant and engaged to keep you from being kicked out of the United States Navy."
Me: So the Navy would say: "We can't kick him out because he has a wife and a kid on the way?"
"My sister lied about being raped to hide the shame of being a 20 yr old virgin."
Email: I am a week away from being a 21 year old virgin and could not me more proud. I hope your sister has reached that same level of pride.
Me: I don't know why you should be ashamed of being a virgin.
"As a Roman Catholic priest, I hear a lot of secrets. Some of them are lurid, others boring or funny, sometimes scary. You would be amazed... Everyone goes home forgiven and has a kind of peace. Thanks God for letting me do this."
Me: That's like last week's ep of Desperate Housewives. Carlos was to see this certain priest, but a younger new guy was there. The priest talked about how he loves this job.
There's a picture of a dog with this neck brace. The neck brace was drawn on: "We decorated it so maybe he'd enjoy wearing it."
There's a picture of a dog with a neck brace, not drawn on: "Wish I had thought it."
Rant: Here's one from Post Secret:
"Sometimes I wish that my gorgeous, autistic daughter was ugly. Too many pervs out there."
Me: I know what you mean. It reminds me of this time my ex-boyfriend told me that he knows a guy who was "dating" a young woman with Down Syndrome. It sounds like this guy was just using her for sex. This guy is of average intelligence and he was "dating" her.
Is there anyone here who would date someone who is mentally retarded? Seriously. I don't care if someone is dating a guy in a wheel chair or a blind woman, as long as they are of normal intelligence. The examples I gave, they are physically handicapped, not mentally handicapped. If you are dating someone who is mentally retarded, it's like you're taking advantage of this person. It's okay if mentally disabled people date one another.
Or maybe my ex-boyfriend made it up, and I'm getting mad over nothing. That's why I broke up with him. He makes this long joke about something that's not even funny. Like how there are 5 mentally retarded men, and one of them raped and murdered a woman. But since no one can figure out who did it, the court got all 5 men executed.
There was no trial at all. He went like this for 10 min. and I was asking why there wasn't a trial or evidence. Excuse me is there anyone here who thought the above joke was funny? I thought that wasn't funny at all.
Dateline: While I'm at it, I'll throw that 35 yr old guy who was "dating" a 12 yr old girl. Even if the girl wasn't mentally handicapped, he was taking advantage of her. Can you imagine the two of them out on a date at a restaurant? No, because it's not acceptable at all.
Just like how a regular guy is out "dating" with a mentally handicapped woman.
Empathy: By dealing with my ex-boyfriend's stupidity and humor, I was able to understand why my sister gets so frustrated by my stupidity and humor. Except, I can justify my actions to my sister.
Like that time I told her the "My cat committed suicide" joke. She didn't find that funny at all, but I know for sure 1 person thought it was really funny. It was from the boy band Blue. The member Lee was serious about his cat, and the member Antony burst out laughing at it. Antony and I thought it was funny, so it was justified.
My ex-boyfriend's stupidity was he was talking to someone and that person said to him: "Surely, there's nothing wrong with it."
Ex-boyfriend: Don't call me Shirley.
I had to explain to him to what it was. Then I think I read somewhere, there's a line like this in a movie with Leslie Nielson or something. I'm not really going to look it up.
Retire by 43: I found this article on Yahoo where a couple managed to retire by 43. They rent their house, shop on a grocery list, when they vacation they don't go too far.
http://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/5-Tips-From-Early-usnews-1623112451.html?x=0?&mod=pf-sp14b
Oct. 5 Headlines:
Taco Trauma: Man angered by burrito price opens fire: I got this from 24. A man who went to Taco Bell was angry when the price for burritos went from 99 cents to $1.49. He fired a BB gun at the manager in St. Petersburgh Florida. No one was hurt, and the manager called the police.
The man shot at the police. He hid in a motel room and there was a standoff. The police threw tear gas and the man surrendered. Remember the other headline of a woman falsely accusing her daughter of being a suicide bomber so she won't be able to get on a plane and fly away? I thought the mom was overreacting, but this man was overreacting.
Nudes Flash Alleged fugitive falls through ceiling: A Mississippi woman Keleigh Townsend was at her home. A naked man fell through the ceiling and asks for clothes. According to Hattiesburg American, the man Patrick Williams was a wanted fugitive and hid in the crawl space.
Townsend calls the police and Williams was arrested for not reporting his probation officer.
"Read 'em and weep": A bus driver in Portland, Oregon was fired for reading an ebook while driving. All Headline News reported that a passenger took a cell phone video of it.
"Is Coco coo-coo?": There is a piglet in England that thinks it's a dog. His name is Coco and he's 4 months old. He was given to an animal shelter and he paired up with a German shepherd named Jay. Coco walks on a leash, fetches sticks and stands guard at the animal shelter says Orange News.
"Hope for Humanity": A university professor in Sweden, his laptop was stolen. About a week later, a USB key containing all his files was sent to his home. The professor was really happy that he got all his files back: "I am very happy. This story makes me feel hope for humanity."
I do want to say, you should save all your files on a USB key or a hard drive. Or in my case 3.5 floppy disks. In case your computer crashes or is stolen, you have it saved onto other things.
Sign: There are anti-Wall Street protests. Emily McArthur holds up a sign: "I can't afford my own politician so I made this sign." I thought it was kind of quirky.
Oct. 7 Steve Jobs: So the other day I was listening to the radio and the DJ said that Steve Jobs passed away. I was like: "What?" I then went and tuned into CNN to see if they're covering it. That's my habit I got from my brother. When he reads some big news on the internet, he has to go to CNN. I go to it, and they're talking about it.
My sister had come home, and she turned around and saw the headline. I don't own anything by Apple, but he has changed computers, phones, and how we listen to music. CNN reporters talked about how he had done so much in a really short time.
I read an article on Yahoo prior to his death, that iPods came out in 2001, and now it's being replaced by iPads and iPhones.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Straw Dogs/ lessons/ Amanda Knox
Sept. 28 Straw Dogs: I was watching MTV, and there's this little bit about the movie Straw Dogs. On imdb.com, the rating was 5.7/10 from 1500 viewers. I saw like 2min of the director/ writer Rod Lurie and I was very disturbed by it. It's been a couple of hrs since I saw that bit, and I'm still thinking about.
RL says (paraphrase): "The title Straw Dogs is based on this Chinese ceremony. The Chinese make these things for a ceremony, and afterwards, they throw it away. The antagonist Charlie is a straw dog. He was popular and on the football team, and now that he's out of high school, he's only a contractor. He has been used for his purpose, and now he has to find another purpose."
It stars James Marsden and Kate Bosworth who is a married couple David and Amy who moves back to her old small hometown. A's old boyfriend Charlie is there and there's a love triangle. I really felt the fear and tension when I was watching the clips because it leads to the climatic finale where David and Amy have to protect themselves from Charlie and his friends who will attack them. It's a remake of the 1971 movie.
Sept. 29 Reality- based: I realized I'm disturbed by it because it could happen to me. As in a group of bad guys could come and attack my house and family. As for other movies like The Bourne Identity, bad guys are chasing after a spy. I'm not a spy, so it won't happen to me. Or the movie Hard Candy where a sociopathic 14 yr old girl tortures a pedophile she met online. I'm not a pedophile so I know this won't happen to me.
In Bourne, there's lots of tension. Hard Candy is disturbing. I guess with Straw Dogs, I personally felt threatened like the characters did.
Comparisons:
A group of people attack a house: Straw Dogs have that as the ending. In the Dark Angel season 1 ep "Haven" (2001), they did that. I remember where Logan who's in a wheelchair is with a 10 yr old boy. The local bad guys were going to attack their cabin.
Logan: If you attack us, we are armed and we will defend ourselves!
Bad guy (sarcastic): Yeah, whatever, I'm just going to back off now!
It was also done in the 1996 movie Fear starring Mark Wahlberg and Reese Witherspoon. It was on TV back in 2003 and I saw the last half. However, in Dark Angel and Fear, I personally didn't feel threatened. I did feel the fear and tension.
Sept. 30: In all 3 cases, it's a group of grown men with weapons going to attack sympathetic characters in a house.
Feelings: I've been feeling angry and depressed. I get in these moods sometimes. Today I did take a Paxil. However, I can never hit as low of a point as I did back in gr. 11.
Lessons: Here are the life lessons I learned while I suffered from depression and struggled with my classes back in gr.11. At first I was stupid and lazy. In gr. 10, I didn't have to work hard or study and I was able to pass my classes because they were the low ones. I thought I could do that in gr.11, but I couldn't. I thought: "What's the point in trying when you are going to barely pass or even fail anyway? You're wasting your time working on something when you know you're not going to achieve it."
1. Hard work does pay off: I learned that by working hard and having my sister pretty much tutor me for hours on my math just so I could barely pass. I started paying attention in class, cutting down on TV, caring about school, and taking Ritalin. When I passed my math and science with my hard work, I was so proud of myself. It didn't seem achievable for me to pass, but I did. I immediately thought: "Hard work does pay off."
2. Trying and failing is better than not trying at all: If I didn't try, then how will I know what I can achieve? I will always be wondering: "If only I tried..."
3. Ignoring a problem is not going to make it go away: I thought ignoring my school work will make it go away and/or everything will work out on it's own and I'll pass. It was stupid of me to think that. But in gr. 10, I didn't have to study and I passed. In gr.11, it's harder.
You can take a break from your problem sometimes, like after dealing with it. In this case, work and study. After you're done, you may go and watch TV.
4. If you need help, ask: It's simple enough, but I really needed help with my math. I read in the Edmonton Journal Arts and Life section asking for help. There's this article about a woman who had a baby in stroller and a bag of groceries. She was going to the subway and was juggling her baby and bag. A "thuggish- looking teenager" came and took the stroller and helped her down two flights of stairs.
She thanks him and he looks her in the eyes and says: "I was raised by a single mom, ma'am." Aww...
5. The truth will set you free: When I finally told my parents about how I was depressed and was struggling with school, the weight was lifted off my shoulders.
6. You must have stress to achieve: I read an article in the Globe and Mail that stress can push you to get things done and achieve more. It's really about the right amount of stress. In gr. 11, I had 3 months to pick up my grades to passable. It was at a 10/10 stress level for 3 months.
Then in gr. 12, I had 5 months to keep my grades passable for the semester, and it was at a 7/10 stress level for 5 months. I prefer the latter.
Oct. 1 Working: I read in the Edmonton Journal Working section, there's an article about a woman who worked in the energy industry for 8 yrs. She quit so she could get her chemical engineering degree. She already did 2 yrs so she finished it. She did say (paraphrase): "It's really hard to leave a stable career to go back to school."
If I were hired at an office job, I would leave a part-time restaurant job. I still want to work at the restaurant on the weekends.
Oct. 2 Pizza 73: I talked to my new co-worker yesterday, and he said he worked there. It turns out the main call centre is in Hamilton, and Edmonton is the call centre that gets the spillover calls. It's hard to get commission because there aren't a lot of calls to be able to achieve that. He said he got sent home early a lot because there wasn't a lot of work. He worked there for 5 months.
Resume tip: He also says it's good to put a job on your resume if it's longer than 3 months because you passed the probationary period. Good tip.
Oct. 3 Amanda Knox: She has finally been freed after being in prison for 4 yrs. She has been acquitted of murdering her roommate. I have seen interviews with her parents and sister on 20/20. The parents said that they have spent so much money traveling to see her in Italy that they could have bought a really nice house.
From the diary entries that was read to the audience, it seems like AK was innocent. I personally think she's innocent too from the 2 in-depth episodes of 20/20. However, there are people who think she did it so she may get harassed.
RL says (paraphrase): "The title Straw Dogs is based on this Chinese ceremony. The Chinese make these things for a ceremony, and afterwards, they throw it away. The antagonist Charlie is a straw dog. He was popular and on the football team, and now that he's out of high school, he's only a contractor. He has been used for his purpose, and now he has to find another purpose."
It stars James Marsden and Kate Bosworth who is a married couple David and Amy who moves back to her old small hometown. A's old boyfriend Charlie is there and there's a love triangle. I really felt the fear and tension when I was watching the clips because it leads to the climatic finale where David and Amy have to protect themselves from Charlie and his friends who will attack them. It's a remake of the 1971 movie.
Sept. 29 Reality- based: I realized I'm disturbed by it because it could happen to me. As in a group of bad guys could come and attack my house and family. As for other movies like The Bourne Identity, bad guys are chasing after a spy. I'm not a spy, so it won't happen to me. Or the movie Hard Candy where a sociopathic 14 yr old girl tortures a pedophile she met online. I'm not a pedophile so I know this won't happen to me.
In Bourne, there's lots of tension. Hard Candy is disturbing. I guess with Straw Dogs, I personally felt threatened like the characters did.
Comparisons:
A group of people attack a house: Straw Dogs have that as the ending. In the Dark Angel season 1 ep "Haven" (2001), they did that. I remember where Logan who's in a wheelchair is with a 10 yr old boy. The local bad guys were going to attack their cabin.
Logan: If you attack us, we are armed and we will defend ourselves!
Bad guy (sarcastic): Yeah, whatever, I'm just going to back off now!
It was also done in the 1996 movie Fear starring Mark Wahlberg and Reese Witherspoon. It was on TV back in 2003 and I saw the last half. However, in Dark Angel and Fear, I personally didn't feel threatened. I did feel the fear and tension.
Sept. 30: In all 3 cases, it's a group of grown men with weapons going to attack sympathetic characters in a house.
Feelings: I've been feeling angry and depressed. I get in these moods sometimes. Today I did take a Paxil. However, I can never hit as low of a point as I did back in gr. 11.
Lessons: Here are the life lessons I learned while I suffered from depression and struggled with my classes back in gr.11. At first I was stupid and lazy. In gr. 10, I didn't have to work hard or study and I was able to pass my classes because they were the low ones. I thought I could do that in gr.11, but I couldn't. I thought: "What's the point in trying when you are going to barely pass or even fail anyway? You're wasting your time working on something when you know you're not going to achieve it."
1. Hard work does pay off: I learned that by working hard and having my sister pretty much tutor me for hours on my math just so I could barely pass. I started paying attention in class, cutting down on TV, caring about school, and taking Ritalin. When I passed my math and science with my hard work, I was so proud of myself. It didn't seem achievable for me to pass, but I did. I immediately thought: "Hard work does pay off."
2. Trying and failing is better than not trying at all: If I didn't try, then how will I know what I can achieve? I will always be wondering: "If only I tried..."
3. Ignoring a problem is not going to make it go away: I thought ignoring my school work will make it go away and/or everything will work out on it's own and I'll pass. It was stupid of me to think that. But in gr. 10, I didn't have to study and I passed. In gr.11, it's harder.
You can take a break from your problem sometimes, like after dealing with it. In this case, work and study. After you're done, you may go and watch TV.
4. If you need help, ask: It's simple enough, but I really needed help with my math. I read in the Edmonton Journal Arts and Life section asking for help. There's this article about a woman who had a baby in stroller and a bag of groceries. She was going to the subway and was juggling her baby and bag. A "thuggish- looking teenager" came and took the stroller and helped her down two flights of stairs.
She thanks him and he looks her in the eyes and says: "I was raised by a single mom, ma'am." Aww...
5. The truth will set you free: When I finally told my parents about how I was depressed and was struggling with school, the weight was lifted off my shoulders.
6. You must have stress to achieve: I read an article in the Globe and Mail that stress can push you to get things done and achieve more. It's really about the right amount of stress. In gr. 11, I had 3 months to pick up my grades to passable. It was at a 10/10 stress level for 3 months.
Then in gr. 12, I had 5 months to keep my grades passable for the semester, and it was at a 7/10 stress level for 5 months. I prefer the latter.
Oct. 1 Working: I read in the Edmonton Journal Working section, there's an article about a woman who worked in the energy industry for 8 yrs. She quit so she could get her chemical engineering degree. She already did 2 yrs so she finished it. She did say (paraphrase): "It's really hard to leave a stable career to go back to school."
If I were hired at an office job, I would leave a part-time restaurant job. I still want to work at the restaurant on the weekends.
Oct. 2 Pizza 73: I talked to my new co-worker yesterday, and he said he worked there. It turns out the main call centre is in Hamilton, and Edmonton is the call centre that gets the spillover calls. It's hard to get commission because there aren't a lot of calls to be able to achieve that. He said he got sent home early a lot because there wasn't a lot of work. He worked there for 5 months.
Resume tip: He also says it's good to put a job on your resume if it's longer than 3 months because you passed the probationary period. Good tip.
Oct. 3 Amanda Knox: She has finally been freed after being in prison for 4 yrs. She has been acquitted of murdering her roommate. I have seen interviews with her parents and sister on 20/20. The parents said that they have spent so much money traveling to see her in Italy that they could have bought a really nice house.
From the diary entries that was read to the audience, it seems like AK was innocent. I personally think she's innocent too from the 2 in-depth episodes of 20/20. However, there are people who think she did it so she may get harassed.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
companies/ artist's job/ job essay
Sept. 27 Companies: At the career fair, I learned about all these companies I've never heard of before.
Champion Petfoods: There's one in Edmonton and Morinville. I didn't know about this company because I don't own any pets so I wouldn't have bought pet food at all.
Hria.ca: Have you ever heard of Human Resources Institute of Alberta? It's located in Calgary. It's all about HR people like Certified Human Resources Professional (CHRP) and students taking Human Resources Management.
CAPS: I got this also at the U of A. It stand for Career Services for Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Fellows. It even has this "Mock Interview". You give them your resume, cover letter, what position you're interviewing for. They will create questions in the interview that will seem as appropriate and real as possible. It can be taped and saved on a CD for you to keep and watch.
It's $20 for students and recent graduates within the last 8 months. $40 for others. I kind of got free career advice from my friends. Like that time I said the questions and answers I gave at interviews, and told them to my friend Jessica, who then gave me tips on what I should say.
CPRS: I signed up to get Canadian Public Relations Society with these job postings that needs someone with an education in Communications like I do. The job postings are looking for people with experience, but I did bookmark the companies that are hiring.
Arise: I got this email from Jobserve.com about Arise. It's about working from home. There are a lot of work-at-home scams out there, so I'm wary of them. You can check out the website:
http://www.arise.com/index.php
Jewelry stores: I was talking to one of my friends on Facebook and she said she got a jewelery store and she gets paid a base wage, with 1% commission for everything she sold. She said she sold $2000 worth of things in 3 weeks. I then went and did the math and it's $20. I guess that will be put on one paycheck.
I did do an interview at Pandora jewelery store, and they said base wage with 2% commission. I did talk with Sport Check and Urban Behavior back in 2006 and they said that it's either your paycheck or 100% commission. Whichever is higher, they will give you the money. Like say you sold $100, but you worked for 20hrs at $9.40/hr. The paycheck would be $188, so they will give you that.
Grant Thorton: This is an accounting firm in Canada. I did go to the site and you can vote which charity gets $10,000 and you can win a free iPad2.
http://www.grantthornton.ca/careers/makeadifference
Nextgen.org: This is mainly for teens and it's about the RAP program. It stands for Registered Apprentice Program for teens who want to get into trades.
http://www.nextgen.org/
Sept. 28 Artist's job: I got this flashback a few days ago. It was in 2001 and I was a teenager reading the teen magazine YM. They interviewed this artist who was making: "$15,000/yr. (She lives very cheaply)." I saw her paintings and they're really good. There are a lot of people who don't sell their artwork. I was 15 back then and I didn't know the cost of living.
Now I'm 26, and I have all these questions: "How does she live really cheaply? Does she live with her parents, boyfriend, friends? Welfare? What city does she live in to be able to afford to live like that?"
I would tell her: "Get a second job." There are a lot of people out there who have day jobs that make a living, and their creative/ art job is on the side.
Second jobs: I'm also now getting a flashback of the old reality show Joe Millionaire. It talked about the guy Evan who pretends to be a millionaire, but is really a construction worker making $19,000/yr. I did read an interview and there were pics of him modeling, because that was his 2nd job to make ends meet.
I was watching a little bit of Chinese TV news because my grandma was watching it. There's a bit about a 23 yr old white woman who works 3 jobs to get 60-70hrs to be able to live in Vancouver.
Job essay: I found this in the Globe and Mail life section. It's called "My short-lived door-to-door career" by Marc Thompson. I can relate to parts of the essay. He said he was 18 and answered an ad that said: "Talented, motivated people wanted to join an expanding marketing team! Get paid up to $60,000 a year!"
Me: That sounds like some of those job ads I find on Kijiji.
He goes to this room with teens and retirees. As soon as they were told to be selling things to get people to change their long distance carriers, lots of people groaned. People got up and left. Lots of people over 25 got up.
Then each person was interviewed. He was told by the interviewer about how he has 3 piles of resumes; 1 pile to definitely hire, 1 pile maybe hiring, and 1 pile don't hire. Thompson was in the maybe pile, but he will be hired. A teen with ripped jeans and t-shirt also got hired. Thompson asks him if he got hired, and he did and was told about the piles of resumes.
Me: That reminds me of an interview I did at Abercrombie and Fitch last year. I was with 5 teenagers being interviewed, and they were wearing jeans and t-shirts. But I know this store is not a job scam.
Back to the essay, the employees had to pay $60 for the promotional package. You sell $20 package door-to-door and if you make 3 sales, you get your money back. The pros were people were too polite to swear at your face unlike telemarketing. The cons were the anger and pity you can see in their eyes as they close the door on you.
He made one sale to a college professor who asked him why he wasn't in college. Thompson then quit after that. When someone comes to his door to sell something to him, he doesn't buy anything.
Me: I did an interview for a door-to-door sales, but it was one-on-one interview without a group of a people in a room. I didn't get a call back.
Sept. 29 Bank: The other day I got a call from a bank to do a phone interview. I did a phone interview before with them months ago, and didn't get the job. They were supposed to call me yesterday and they didn't.
Sept. 30 Job articles: I was going through my old Marie Claire's that my sister gave me, and I notice that the "work life" section didn't appear until 2008. I know Glamour and InStyle don't have anything about careers.
I went to Cosmopolitan and there's a article: "Three signs you could be canned:"
http://www.cosmopolitan.com/advice/tips/three-signs-that-show-you-are-about-to-be-fired?click=cos_new
I should really look for job articles in the business section of the newspapers, and job sites.
Oct. 1 Blockbuster: I read in the newspaper that 253 Blockbuster stores in Canada are closing down. I did read that other video stores have increased in profits by 10% because they're picking up all the business when Blockbuster closed down.
Champion Petfoods: There's one in Edmonton and Morinville. I didn't know about this company because I don't own any pets so I wouldn't have bought pet food at all.
Hria.ca: Have you ever heard of Human Resources Institute of Alberta? It's located in Calgary. It's all about HR people like Certified Human Resources Professional (CHRP) and students taking Human Resources Management.
CAPS: I got this also at the U of A. It stand for Career Services for Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Fellows. It even has this "Mock Interview". You give them your resume, cover letter, what position you're interviewing for. They will create questions in the interview that will seem as appropriate and real as possible. It can be taped and saved on a CD for you to keep and watch.
It's $20 for students and recent graduates within the last 8 months. $40 for others. I kind of got free career advice from my friends. Like that time I said the questions and answers I gave at interviews, and told them to my friend Jessica, who then gave me tips on what I should say.
CPRS: I signed up to get Canadian Public Relations Society with these job postings that needs someone with an education in Communications like I do. The job postings are looking for people with experience, but I did bookmark the companies that are hiring.
Arise: I got this email from Jobserve.com about Arise. It's about working from home. There are a lot of work-at-home scams out there, so I'm wary of them. You can check out the website:
http://www.arise.com/index.php
Jewelry stores: I was talking to one of my friends on Facebook and she said she got a jewelery store and she gets paid a base wage, with 1% commission for everything she sold. She said she sold $2000 worth of things in 3 weeks. I then went and did the math and it's $20. I guess that will be put on one paycheck.
I did do an interview at Pandora jewelery store, and they said base wage with 2% commission. I did talk with Sport Check and Urban Behavior back in 2006 and they said that it's either your paycheck or 100% commission. Whichever is higher, they will give you the money. Like say you sold $100, but you worked for 20hrs at $9.40/hr. The paycheck would be $188, so they will give you that.
Grant Thorton: This is an accounting firm in Canada. I did go to the site and you can vote which charity gets $10,000 and you can win a free iPad2.
Nextgen.org: This is mainly for teens and it's about the RAP program. It stands for Registered Apprentice Program for teens who want to get into trades.
http://www.nextgen.org/
Sept. 28 Artist's job: I got this flashback a few days ago. It was in 2001 and I was a teenager reading the teen magazine YM. They interviewed this artist who was making: "$15,000/yr. (She lives very cheaply)." I saw her paintings and they're really good. There are a lot of people who don't sell their artwork. I was 15 back then and I didn't know the cost of living.
Now I'm 26, and I have all these questions: "How does she live really cheaply? Does she live with her parents, boyfriend, friends? Welfare? What city does she live in to be able to afford to live like that?"
I would tell her: "Get a second job." There are a lot of people out there who have day jobs that make a living, and their creative/ art job is on the side.
Second jobs: I'm also now getting a flashback of the old reality show Joe Millionaire. It talked about the guy Evan who pretends to be a millionaire, but is really a construction worker making $19,000/yr. I did read an interview and there were pics of him modeling, because that was his 2nd job to make ends meet.
I was watching a little bit of Chinese TV news because my grandma was watching it. There's a bit about a 23 yr old white woman who works 3 jobs to get 60-70hrs to be able to live in Vancouver.
Job essay: I found this in the Globe and Mail life section. It's called "My short-lived door-to-door career" by Marc Thompson. I can relate to parts of the essay. He said he was 18 and answered an ad that said: "Talented, motivated people wanted to join an expanding marketing team! Get paid up to $60,000 a year!"
Me: That sounds like some of those job ads I find on Kijiji.
He goes to this room with teens and retirees. As soon as they were told to be selling things to get people to change their long distance carriers, lots of people groaned. People got up and left. Lots of people over 25 got up.
Then each person was interviewed. He was told by the interviewer about how he has 3 piles of resumes; 1 pile to definitely hire, 1 pile maybe hiring, and 1 pile don't hire. Thompson was in the maybe pile, but he will be hired. A teen with ripped jeans and t-shirt also got hired. Thompson asks him if he got hired, and he did and was told about the piles of resumes.
Me: That reminds me of an interview I did at Abercrombie and Fitch last year. I was with 5 teenagers being interviewed, and they were wearing jeans and t-shirts. But I know this store is not a job scam.
Back to the essay, the employees had to pay $60 for the promotional package. You sell $20 package door-to-door and if you make 3 sales, you get your money back. The pros were people were too polite to swear at your face unlike telemarketing. The cons were the anger and pity you can see in their eyes as they close the door on you.
He made one sale to a college professor who asked him why he wasn't in college. Thompson then quit after that. When someone comes to his door to sell something to him, he doesn't buy anything.
Me: I did an interview for a door-to-door sales, but it was one-on-one interview without a group of a people in a room. I didn't get a call back.
Sept. 29 Bank: The other day I got a call from a bank to do a phone interview. I did a phone interview before with them months ago, and didn't get the job. They were supposed to call me yesterday and they didn't.
Sept. 30 Job articles: I was going through my old Marie Claire's that my sister gave me, and I notice that the "work life" section didn't appear until 2008. I know Glamour and InStyle don't have anything about careers.
I went to Cosmopolitan and there's a article: "Three signs you could be canned:"
http://www.cosmopolitan.com/advice/tips/three-signs-that-show-you-are-about-to-be-fired?click=cos_new
I should really look for job articles in the business section of the newspapers, and job sites.
Oct. 1 Blockbuster: I read in the newspaper that 253 Blockbuster stores in Canada are closing down. I did read that other video stores have increased in profits by 10% because they're picking up all the business when Blockbuster closed down.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)