Creative Writing posts (3 of 3)

Prairiefire Volume.31.  Spring 2010

Mazing Grace by Michael Van Rooy

The narrator tells of his dad’s job as a bank robber in a pretty nonchalant manner. He says it like saying his dad was a farmer.  At the beginning of the book he details how his dad prepared the entire family for his “trips”.  He describes the effects it has on the family dynamic, by referencing how his mother would refuse to talk to his dad just before these trips and how she would warm up to him only a few days after his returned.  The reader picks up on the tension which obviously would be between the parents regarding his work of choice.  His dad refers to the bank robbing as addictive.  

The scene where the son picks up on the definite dislike bristling between the mom and the police woman who came to inform them of the arrest of the dad.  We see here that the mother has a certain pride and is fiercely loyal to the dad.  The scene where she dresses to go visit the father had me for a bit. I was unsure if she was actually dressing to go visit the dad in jail or if she was dressing up to go out as a “working girl’. The breadwinner was in jail after all. You do not get the sense that the mother was too involved much further than being in love with a bank robber. That is until the arrest.  She knows her hubby would not steal from a jewellery store…He is a Bank robber…

It showed that even the most complicated family can be inundated with petty jealousies.  The female police officer was out to settle a grudge that went as far back as their great grandparents.  They are of French descent and bits of the language emerge in the mom’s speech as she agitating relates this to the narrator.

Very engaging read!

True Blood Mania

I have always thought of myself as an avid Trubie (True Blood Fan)...but I must say this past Halloween I saw some die hard (pun intended) fans strutting their stuff on Facebook and on random searches...I have never been a person to mess myself up with fake blood or put fake fangs in my mouth;thats just not for me...I do however like to dress up as much as the next girl.


I have been known to purchase True Blood attire via Ebay, and I am sure I have at least two Merlotte's t-shirts, 2 matching bar aprons and even a name tag.  It says Arlene though (I have yet to run across the name Sirissa on any pre-printed merchandise...ANYWHERE...)  Below are some of the best and most memorable costumes I saw...

Creative Writing posts (2 of 3)

It was a veritable maze inside the McNally Robinson's bookstore on Friday November 5th.  After standing at the entrance to the Prairie View restaurant for about 10 minutes I finally paid attention to the PA system.  A man's voice smoothly interupted the lady announcing seatings, "Please join us for the book launches of two local writers...".  The rest was drowned out by the sounds of the people  clanking their silverware.  I took off in the only reasonable direction and soon rounded a few corners to stumble into an open space lined with chairs.  Only four people sat facing the podium, which was next to a table where a few books written by both authors were on display. The  two poetry collections, Clockfire by Jonathan Ball and Indexical Elegies by Jon Paul Fiorentino were the more prominently situated.

Just before the 7:00 p.m. mark hit the room filled up noticeably until there was a group of about 25 people gathered.  The announcer took to the podium and welcomed everyone to the launch and gave brief backgrounds on the authors.

Jonathan Ball took to the podium first and it is easy to picture him pounding away at a keyboard as he explains his process of creating. His book of poetry  which is actually, "a series of made-up plays that would be impossible to produce", is not restricted to any specific theme.   From  actors who murder their audience and doppelgangers fighting to be the 'only one', John insists that any morbidity is strictly a product of the readers interpretation. There are 77 plays in Clockfire and John read a couple of his favourites.  '8 Minutes' is a play that has to begin and end within 8 minutes and  “The Play Begins”, turns out to be self explanatory when it is revealed that the only words in the play are, 'the play begins'.


“My god you have a sexy voice.” Jon Paul Fiorentino announces to the announcer John Toews the Events Coordinator for McNally Robinson.  Fiorentino has written 3 other poetry books and a novel. He says that  Indexical Elegies was written as a elegy to the late Robert Allen, his mentor and friend. "He guided me when I had no idea what to write about." Robert Allen, died in 2006.   The majority of Jon's lecture was erratic but entertaining as the author sipped on what was way past his fifth beer throughout.  He prefers Stella Artois.


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Noise

There's noise in my head,
and no one else can hear.
It's not a loud noise,
so I can pretend not to care.
When the sounds make me imperfect,
when I cannot shut them out.
I simply act like all is well,
and try my best not to shout.
There's garbage in my head,
that should be burnt out back.
But who wants to sift through garbage?
Who would go through it stack by stack?
It'd be better just to dump it all,
To leave it at the curb.
But buried among my garbage,
is the lonely little pearl.
Of the little girl I never was,
who I never got to be.
I don't think I've met that person yet,
she was plucked away from me.
You can't miss what you never had,
but at times I get a glimpse.
So I hoard it all the good and bad,
I hold in every hint.
Of the terror that awaits me,
when the noises turn to dreams.
I know that no one ever hears,
when my dreams turn into screams.
The noises are getting louder,
I have yet to figure out why.
But the noises won't defeat me,
even if they make me cry.

A poem by Sirissa Rawlins-Sabourin

Draw me True

I love cartoons and comics.  True Blood has been adapted into a few graphic novels and after browsing though one I decided to search online for other examples of True Blood artwork.  Here is what i found;

I also ran across this funny  PSA...lol...
http://www.fanpop.com/spots/true-blood/videos/6767144/title/vampire-rights-amendment-cartoon

My puppy dog and ...Snoop Dogg...sippin' on Gin and Blood...

So as you all know I am the biggest True Blood fan.  I have been off topic for a few weeks so I decided to remind you of why you come here. I am always on the look out for anything and everything True Blood related...I will share with you my 'Sookie'...

That's my baby!!! She is awesome as you can tell and she has my smile... I also will add a lil sum' sum' to make you laugh...enjoy!!
                                               http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBw2z_p1JfE

                                                                      

The Social Network------JMHO

You can't throw a cordless mouse more than 2 feet without hitting someone on Facebook.  Or as it narrowly escaped being named, 'The Facebook'.   Mark Zuckerberg co-founder and CEO was not necessarily portrayed in a negative or positive light in my eyes.  He just came across as a hurt and vengeful jilted lover.  He had the advantage of being a computer whiz and access to the brainchild of his roomate Eduardo Saverin.  Show me one person who would not build a website exploiting the female students at Harvard University when afforded the opportunity? What saint would resist hacking into said school's database, and using the pictures and names of the female students, create a girl vs. girl themed site?  And who could ever resist calling that site "FaceMash"?  I don't know about you guys but I would have to be tied down to keep myself from being naughty. All joking aside while I am sure not many of us would go to such lengths, I don't think that the movie showed Mark in any other light than that he was a hurt man and was just trying to lash out at the female that hurt him.  He did it the way most of us usually do, irrationally.   But he was lucky enough to flip the venture, which earned him six months academic probation, into the huge success that it is today.

Of course, no movie is compelling without some sort of intrigue (corporate?).  Twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, accuse Mark of stealing their idea. They claimed that Mark had agreed to work with them on a similar site, Harvard Connection.  All the legal bru-haha kind of bored me to be honest. 

I am not sure if Facebook can possibly get any bigger, but I am sure that alot of people probably flocked to the site. Sheer curiosity would be my guess; maybe the movie urged them to give Facebook a second glance once they were given a more human face to the concept behind the popular site.  It could only have been a positive impact, I would think.


Mark's response, due to what I took away from the way he was portrayed in the movie, did not surprise me.  He still comes across as a socially awkward person.  His responses could be taken as rude or inappropriate but I just see it as him bumbling his way through the real world.  He is not stuck behind a computer where coding is his top priority.  He has no idea how to deal with the intricacies of human interaction. He seems to be deflecting from actually giving a concrete reaction, which leads me to think maybe the portrayal is a bit closer to home that he would like to admit.  People may feel that he is detached, but I wonder if it would be in the sense that he is just a kid that hit it rich, on an idea he had to get back at his girl for dumping him.

Considering that he is filthy rich, I would say he may want to get a speech writer. He has no clue it seems as to how to speak without making people either roll their eyes or walk away mid-sentence.  But that is something that I am sure time can fix.

Detox anyone? Anyone? (buyer beware project)

For my Advertising class my group and I went to find out the deets on Detox programs and why they seemed to be so popular.  We were so dedicated one of us even completed a detox program to help gather stats.  I conducted a small survey of women ages 19-55 and I can't really say I was surprised at my findings. People are just plain ignorant of the true purpose of a Detox program which usually led to them abusing the process.

Celebrities like Beyonce, Gywneth Paltrow and Demi Moore all sing the praises of Detox, and the public seems to eat it all up. Who does not want look like a celebrity?  What no one checks out though is the scientific, even common sense rationale behind Detoxes. They should never to be used as a quick fix to weight loss. Which is what my survey showed was the main reason women use them.

Detoxes should only be used in conjunction with a diet plan and should always be approved by your doctor.  Never attempt to detox your body with methods that you do not research.
Detoxes heavily impact the nutrient intake of the person doing one and therefore may lead to serious health problems and in some cases may cause irreparable damage to your organs.
Detoxes are helpful, but as with most things, education and proper application of that knowledge is key.

Would you really talk to your Mom like that?

The Mayoral debates hit the Red River College shores today, and although I must admit I was very entertained, I walked away with a sense of disappointment. 
I do not follow Winnipeg politics too closely, by this I mean very rarely.  I have heard in passing on my drives to school, a few snippets of radio conversation that led me to have a somewhat skewed point of view about the candidates. 

The overall consensus seemed to be that Judy Wasylycia-Leis was just not prepared for the job as Mayor, but it seemed that everyone was resigned to letting Sam Katz keep the reigns.  I had heard a few people say that Sam Katz was somewhat of an untouchable, in that he seemed to be far removed from the regular citizen.  Regardless of  what station I tuned in to the views rarely seemed to differ.

There are supposedly four candidates in the running, but to date I know the faces of two. I am still stumped as to why the other two candidates won't come forward. I want to meet them! I was not expecting to be entertained or even interested in the debate, but it was a hoot.  The show the two candidates put on was well worth their weights' in popcorn.

I was less than impressed, however, with the way Sam Katz behaved.  At first his jabs at Judy came across as funny, even clever.  She certainly did not do much to cement my vote, she refused to acknowledge the time constraints on replies and kept interrupting.  What, are we in grade school? While she had some really good points she just did not seem to be able to communicate her thoughts concisely.  I walked away thinking that Sam Katz definitely seemed like the man for the job but again...it was just because she did not put up much of a fight.  Sam Katz definitely did not resonate with me too deeply as I was less than impressed with the way he treated Judy.

He seemed  very condescending, and at times down right rude when addressing Judy.  It seems to me that if you are sure of your worth that wasting time attacking your oppponent with catty, snide remarks just weakens your argument.  Yes, we the audience will chuckle, applaud even yodel...but in the end we are left to digest  what we may have heard or seen.

While Sam did not outrightly refer to Judy as 'Ms.Palin', he sure alluded to it enough.  Referring to Judy as his mom on more than one account and doing everything short of patting Judy's head, he just struck me as a cocky, chauvanistic---person? 

This seems to be the curse of people that are a bit too confident in thier status.  I would love to endorse Sam Katz, but his utter disregard for etiquette was frustrating.  He seemd not to remember that there were females in the crowd.

All in all I am still undecided as both sides did not really differ much in their platforms, they just refused to admit it.  Timeline seems to be the only place where they diverge in terms of ideas.

I just wish the other two candidates would come out of hiding...we want to make informed decisions...won't you help?

I enjoyed the debate, but Sam calling Judy 'all out her name' was not to my liking.

True Blood and Sesame Street

My blog has been a bit unfocused and for this I apologise.  I can only say that we are back on track...for the most part anyway.  But  be sure I will update you over the next few posts.

Before I start sharing the histories or mini-bios on the charaters as promised, I just have to give a shout out to Sesame Street for doing a spoof on True Blood!!!  It is so funny.   They really made a solid effort to get the tiniest detail right.  I thought that a british accent would not be terribly amiss for the Bill character ( how's that for consistency?),  but the Muppet Sookie has a southern accent  just as horrendous as the TV Sookie's...I know I am not alone in saying Sesame Street is one of the most creative and ever evolving show out there. The writers just seem to instinctively tap into and filter popular culture and present it in its most simple form.  But always with that element of pure fun...enjoy...True Mud...click on the link to watch :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dAZ1-nF3VI

Tweet! Tweet!

So...after having had a twitter account for over a year, I finally kinda understand how it works.  I originally signed up because I had heard about it all the time from TMZ, Entertainment Tonight and all the other tabloid forums.  Actually, I had always just thought of it as a ripoff of Facebook.  Now, however, I understand its many uses and I am looking forward to tweeting my little heart out.
I am fascinated by the fact that you can actually tweet poems.  I can't wait to try my hand at writing poetry no longer than 140 characters long!  Never fear Mrs. Lockhart, I will also use it for PR purposes :).  I will be the tweetinest tweeter out there.

At a second glance I realize that Twitter is a valuable resource in our progressive times.  Just so long as I can wrap my mind around the Tweeting etiquette, I think that the world WILL be a better place for me having tweeted in it!

WOW... True Blood season 3 finale (warning: spoilers included)



WOW...thats's all I can say...The season finale of True Blood was so awesome.  At times I was so mad, I yelled at the T.V (yah, I do that way more than I would care to admit).  Quite a few of the questions previously posted were answered but, as with any good show, I was left with way too many unanswered ones.

Yes, Sookie finally gave Bill the boot and I honestly felt sorry for him, but that was short-lived.  Finding out that the man you loved, hired the people who beat you almost to death, in order to 'save' you and gain your trust, would make any girl think twice about thier relationship.

Tara is apparently leaving town so, although she and Sam had recently rekindled thier passionate fling, I would say that's a bust for now. She is leaving as she has had just about as much as she could take, of a life affected by too many supernatural beings (supes). With a new hairdo, off she drove into the night.

Lafayette is a few steps closer to his destiny, but these are baby steps it seems, we are still left in the dark as to how or when he will realize his purpose. Hopefully Jesus, his new love, will not prove to be as shady as suggested by Lafayette's newly awakened visions.

Russell Edgington is gone (for now) but we all no this is not the end of him.  I would miss him if he were gone for too long.  He is a most entertaining man...uh vampire. Even charred to a crisp, he exudes charm and a healthy appetite for the unattainable ; sunwalking and world domination.

Eric...Oh Eric, with his razor wit, did not disappoint,he threw Bill under the bus (rightfully) but if not for him Sookie would never have known the depths to which Bill had sunk to infiltrate her life.  I still cannot believe that I could dislike Bill more. As for Jason, well we saw that he is not as shallow as we may have thought.  He stepped up in major ways, showing that he is really not just a hot body with a pretty face.

The Great Revelations...



My next few postings will be an introduction to the characters that impact the show the most, in my opinion anyway. Pictures, brief bios and brief updates on the characters’ will be detailed. Spoilers are included so, please be warned. This show is so well written, that even the minor characters draw you into their stories. I will hopefully entice you into watching the last two seasons, but if not, that’s okay… the books are always there for the people who prefer to go that route.


I barely know where to begin, as I am so anxious to pour it all out onto the page. I guess I could start with Sookie, the lead female character. But that would be too obvious. Bill’s not a bad choice either, but despite him being her would be chosen suitor, he is not in my good books right now so, we’ll leave him for later. Eric?? OOhhh…Eric…yes, let’s start with Eric. I hope once you get to know him, as I do, that you can appreciate the arrogance and the ruthlessness that he embodies with a startling panache. But, I digress, and drooling is so very unattractive. Definitely, not for the faint of heart this man, but for the fierce of heart? The line starts behind me!!!

No Sparkling Vamps Here!!!

I am eagerly awaiting the final episode of the 3rd season of my favourite television show ‘True Blood’. Will Russell Edgington, Vampire King of Mississippi, survive his forced meeting with the sun? For that matter, what will become of Eric? The vampire who shackled himself to Russell to mete out his punishment, potentially at his own demise? When will Sookie finally see the light about Bill and his shady intentions? Will Jason ever really use more than 1/4 of his brain? How will Lafayette’s story unfold? What about Tara? Will she and Sam (the shape shifter/bar owner) finally find love together? Hopefully all these questions will be answered in the season finale.





Oh, I am not just tossing out random names here. Walk with me as I delve into this superbly casted variation on Charlaine Harris’s, Sookie Stackhouse book series. While not all of the people previously mentioned are central characters in the show, they are all essential to the hugely popular series as they each play a role in making the show the success it has become. They are its life's blood, if you will. Although Charlaine’s books are set in the early part of the last decade, a lot of her central themes are definitely relevant to our current times. Alan Ball, creator of the television series, is a cinematic genius,  who wields his talents superbly, and seemingly effortlessly. I was half way through the 2nd season before I had the chance to read any of the books, but that did not detract in any way from my utter enjoyment in my True Blood experience.




Charlaine Harris definitely hit the jackpot as the reigning author in this genre with her simply written series, which still manages to lead the way in a market that is currently flooded with all things vampire. Her books however, stand out in that she does not seek to glamorize the ‘afterlife’ of the immortal beings. But rather, she chooses to humanize them, equating them to mortals with similar desires and problems. They yearn for love, for acceptance in a world that’s anything but tolerant. Her vamps deal with many similar issues that everyday people deal with on a normal basis. In some ways her books pay tribute to the Civil Rights’ movement with the struggle of the non-human races to find a place in society. A society so wrapped up in fear of anything different, that it resorts to inhumane acts to preserve their way of life, that they feel is being threatened. Her books bring a sense of legitimacy to the myth that when one is immortal life is perfect. No sparkling vamps here!!