Storm clouds

Oh good, more good news for my industry.

And while I'm feeling cheerful, I want to link to this Dan Gardner blog post on how the economy sucks, but it isn't as bad as the 80s. The following made me giggle:

And if you think I'm sitting securely in my feathered nest -- I get email to that effect now and then -- think again. I have three young kids and a mortgage. And I work for a newspaper. I feel about as secure as the people on the assembly lines in Oshawa.

Somehow I never thought anyone would consider a journalist to be in a safe job.

Separation anxiety

I'll be meeting S. in Egypt in less than two weeks! Plans are finally coming together too, although they're completely different from what we'd originally had in mind. I should have immersed myself in the Lonely Planet guidebook sooner, but at least I've got a couple of weeks left to confirm the details.

We were talking the other day about how hard the separation has been. We've done longer - the summer we got engaged, I lived on the West Coast and he lived in Toronto for five months. We only saw each other twice in that time. The previous summer we lived apart for three months. All that to prove that we aren't just being big babies about this. But I think the reason why this has been harder is that it's come on the heels of all the wedding madness. First we had a crazy summer getting things organized (which coincided with a rather crazy summer at work for me), then the actual event itself. We went straight from our honeymoon to the federal election, so seamlessly that the prime minister made the call while we waited at the airport to leave the Caribbean. Then S. had his conflict reporting training, followed by another work trip. Five months into our marriage and we've spent less than three months of it together.

So Egypt will be like a second honeymoon, which I somehow feel is deserved, even though it's less than half-way through our first year together. Here's hoping for a much calmer February through August - no more elections, please, your excellency.

Meditation on women's buddy flicks

I'm home sick with a bad cold and watching whatever bad movies are on tv. Today I chose First Wives Club, a movie I'd seen a few times, over Rocky and The Legend of Zorro.

The great thing about the movie is that it's driven by the women's performances. The men don't feature much in it, unless they're interacting with the wives or the girlfriends. Plus, look at the cast: Stockard Channing, Bette Midler, Diane Keaton and Goldie Hawn (who's done a couple of movies about women getting older, so must have a sense of humour about it).

Seeing such a funny movie about women bonding made me wonder why it took another 12 or so years to get movies like Sex and the City and Mamma Mia made. Those are both adaptations from other things, but they were wildly popular and show the demand for funny films about women.

First Wives Club was made in 1996. To give you some idea of how old it is, the much-younger women who are the reason for the First Wives' divorces are played by Heather Locklear, Sarah Jessica Parker, Elizabeth Berkley and Marcia Gay Harden. Heather Locklear is now only four years younger than Goldie Hawn was when they made the film.

Can you think of any movies made in between that I'm leaving out? Summer of 2008 seemed to me to be the first time in a long time that anyone put out a movie made just for women that wasn't a romantic comedy. Why do you think it took so long?

So early for a broken promise

I don't recall whether Stephen Harper ever specifically promised not to go into deficit, but he certainly indicated it was a) unnecessary and b) something those wasteful Liberals would do.

My how things have changed.

Last Inaugural fashion post

If you want to see some of the celeb outfits, check out the Fug Girls. While we differ on the formal gown they agree with me on Michelle Obama's outift.

Inaugural ball fashion

Pardon me while I convert into girly talk.

OMG! LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the gown! Eeeee!

Ahem.

This is going to be the hippest White House ever.

[UPDATE: See the dance link! And cry!]

Seeing the Obamas dancing together in the spotlight, my cold black journalist heart grew three sizes.

I still found room in my brain to find it totally tacky that Beyonce sang an Etta James song, since she is currently promoting her Etta James movie. So maybe my heart only grew 2 and a half sizes. But the little affectionate, intimate, deeply emotive looks the Obamas exchange in big moments like this remind you that real love exists, even for politicians.

Rogers offering 4-day workweek

Staff at publications like Maclean's, Chatelaine and MoneySense are being offered a 4-day workweek, and a 20 % pay cut, according to this article on j-source.ca (yes, we have a navel-gazing industry magazine online, and yes I read it. Shut up).

It's hard not to be suspicious of what it could mean - for those who don't sign up, do they move up the list of potential job cuts? Are they able to move back to a 5-day workweek if they don't like the 4-day one? Is this a test to see if Rogers can simply mandate a 4-day workweek and still get the magazines out, leading to a standardized 4-day week?

When everyone else is cutting jobs, this seems like a happier alternative than laying off 600 people. Some people may even prefer it (it's something I would have seriously considered as a working journalist, and it's likely something a lot of parents would enjoy). But not everyone wants to (or is able to) volunteer for a paycut like that, and I imagine it'll be an unpopular idea.

Inaugural discussion points

There are many people far smarter than me who will speak eloquently about the significance of today's inauguration. But I am comfortable in at least one area: inaugural fashion.

1. That's a lot of mustard yellow on a very tall woman. I much preferred Michelle Obama's election night outfit, although I appreciate that today's outfit looks much more first lady-like. My favourite part of today's outfit though are the olive-green gloves and shoes. VERY nice accessory in a great contrasting colour. The lack of a bag so far makes me wonder who's carrying around her lipstick though. The new president: always well-dressed, but never as interesting as his wife. I'm sure his suit is very expensive though (see, it's just harder to comment on men's fashion. The tie is fine. The coat is fine. Everything fits. He appears to be wearing a bracelet like the one President Palmer wore on 24. That's it.).

2. Malia and Sasha, aka Radiance and Rosebud, look fantastic - classy and age-appropriate.

3. The George H. W. Bushes are wearing matching purple scarves! Way to bring some fun to the inauguration. I love it. Mrs. Bush's hair is such a beautiful shade of white.

4. Aretha Franklin can wear whatever damn thing she wants.

5. If I were a first lady, there's no way anybody would call me Mrs. The woman's got degrees from ivy league schools, was VP of a major hospital, and now she's just "Mrs. Obama"? Argh.

Discuss. Michelle Obama: better dressed today or on election night?

I'm having trouble finding photos right now but will update as they're posted.

More bad media news

I don't know that anyone's surprised, but this is more bad news for CanWest.

This part in particular caught my attention:

By contrast [to falling conventional tv revenue - ed.], CanWest's specialty TV and digital media division fattened its operating profit to $44-million from $37-million, as revenue rose by nearly $9-million to $106-million.

I'm not sure it's good news that it's the channels that carry Til Debt Do Us Part and Rich Bride, Poor Bride that are making CanWest their money. It would be nice if Global, which produces an actual drama or two (okay, maybe just one) plus excellent news programming, did better. Although my 2008 vice was Slice.

Meditation on press releases

I think I'll make this into an occasional series on press releases and press relations people. There are certainly enough stories.

Note the workplace is on Smyth Road. It seems odd not to just come right out and say it.

Then again, it's not so much the Ottawa Police Service's job to publicize news-worthy details. Just the arrests.

-----

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, January 14, 2009 4:35pm

(Ottawa) – The Ottawa Police Service initiated an
investigation on January 13, 2009 in regards to a complaint
that an Ottawa man had made threats towards co-workers at
his workplace on Smyth Road.

As a result of this investigation, Uwe SCHWARZ, 46-years-
old, of Ottawa was charged with two counts of uttering
death threats.
...

------

This one (the part in bold) cracked me up over the holidays. It may just be me though.

Update: Stabbing in the West end of the city
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, December 31, 2008 1 pm

(Ottawa) - A 16-year-old male is charged with attempt
murder, robbery and weapons related offences in relation to
two incidents that occurred in the area of Baseline and
Monterey Drive at about 5 p.m. yesterday.
...

The incidents occurred about 10 minutes apart. The accused
and the first victim are known to each other. Aside from
involving the same suspect, the incidents are not related.
...

Mid-winter blahs

January hit me like 350lb linebacker today. S and I are more than half-way through his assignment in Afghanistan, but this morning we fought before I'd even had breakfast. I'm tired. I had a bag of salt and vinegar chips for lunch. I spent the entire day covering meetings in French, which is entirely what I signed on for with my latest freelance gig but which was enough today to make me want to jump off the inter-provincial bridge. I missed a scrum I should have been at. My wi-fi wasn't working where I was, so I couldn't check my e-mail or fact-check my story all day and essentially lugged my laptop on a 70-minute return walk for no reason. Of the 10 or so people presenting at the meeting I was covering, none of them brought documents for the media, so all I had to refer to were my hastily-scribbled notes, taken as they raced through their presentations. In French. My apartment's a mess. The past two nights I haven't finished working until 7:30 p.m.

Tomorrow's a new day. A -39 day, but a new day nonetheless. Let's hope the sun shines brightly in Afghanistan too.

Stuff Journalists Like

Thanks to another Citizen writer for passing this on.

A few samples:

On using jargon:
Since journalists are increasingly covering a little bit of everything, they can usually hold a casual cocktail party conversation on almost any topic for about 10 minutes. Go past 10 minutes, though, and they'll most likely try to change the subject.

On drinking:
Nothing takes the edge off after a day of reporting on the scene of drug bust, shifting through six years of financial papers at city hall and stressing over deadlines like a nice shot of low-shelf whiskey or a pint. Interns and journalists just out of school have all heard the stories of the days when journalists kept flasks in their back pockets and handles of Jim Bean in their filing cabinets. But today, newspapers and their corporate owners shun such habits. But go to any veteran journalist and he'll show you were he keeps his bourbon. And if journalists don’t like to drink because of having to interview a widow who just lost her husband in Iraq, then there is always job security. As one journalist after another exits the newsroom with their severance check in hand, journalists flee to their safe haven – dive bars.

And finally...on dating other journos:
Journalists like dating each other because only fellow journalists understand the phrase: “Not tonight dear, I’m on deadline.”
Attempts to date people outside of the newsroom who cannot name gubernatorial candidates, have a limited vocabulary and who don’t know who Hunter S. Thompson is will only lead to a return to dating journalists.

Good stuff.

Perfect hair every time

OMG, how have I never heard of Bump Its before? The ad is amazing. Let's face it, especially in these difficult economic times, we all need to be able to go from flat to fabulous.

Another life

I spent the day at the courthouse in Gatineau today at preliminary inquiries (sort of like a grand jury, without the jury, if you're a Law and Order fan). Rather than navigate the murky worlds of publication bans and how-to-avoid-trouble-in-blogging, I'll just link to the story.

While they were changing witnesses, another lawyer came in with his client. If you've never been to a court, you'd probably think of it as a rigid, formal place. Instead, sometimes the scheduling for simple matters is as easy as asking who's in the room and whether their lawyer is there. I think this was one of those cases. The judge had handled a few cases before this inquiry started but maybe the client hadn't been available earlier. Anyway, in the midst of the hearing for charges of prostitution, alcohol and crack abuse, this other case is a harassment charge. And the complainant is dropping the charge. The judge explained to her that essentially, this means it never happened. If she charges the guy again, she can't provide this incident as evidence, she can't take this back, etc. etc. Has she been threatened or intimidated into dropping the charge? No. And by the way, she's looking into self-esteem courses.

I saw a similar case in j-school and it made me wonder how long you'd have to sit in a courtroom before seeing it each day. In the j-school-era case, the crown got the woman on the stand and was doing her best to to get the story out of her. So your door ended up broken? Yes. How did it break? There was pressure applied to it. Pressure? Yes. What kind of pressure? Well, he applied pressure with his foot, and the door just broke. The crown gave up and dropped the charges.

I had been happy to get out of my apartment for the first time all week, and excited about covering a relatively big trial. But all of this certainly reminded me that there's a whole other world out there that's very real to the people involved.

Entrance exam

I like surveys. They let me give my opinion! It's like voting, but more regular. I have volunteered for a couple of different polling groups' online surveys so that I can exercise my democratic right more often. And sometimes because I feel like it gives me a heads-up on certain trends, or at least on what people are researching as trends. Once in a blue moon I get a survey on politics, like the one that asked me to choose my favourite off a list of potential federal Liberal leadership candidates, and had two surprise entries. Then I wondered which of those two had paid the polling firm to do some research on their chances.

I started filling out a monthly survey tonight. And stopped when I got to this preamble to a question (emphasis added):

In talking to people about elections, we often find that a lot of people were not able to vote because they weren’t registered, they were sick, or they didn’t have time. We also sometimes find that people who thought that they had voted actually did not vote. Also, people who usually vote may have trouble saying for sure whether they voted in a particular election.

If somebody can't tell whether they walked to the polling station, stood in line, walked behind a paper cubicle, filled out a ballot and handed it to a grumpy volunteer, I really don't mind that they *aren't* voting. If you think you voted in the election when you were actually calling in your vote for Nico, I don't mind that you missed the election.

It's a Monday

Right. So it's been a day.

My night, in descending order of awesomeness:

1. eating a bowl of ice cream with chocolate chips and watching Gossip Girl;

2. discovering the cat, who is a sensitive soul, has been peeing on my bed all day, unbeknownst to me. Oh, and not just peeing, but peeing blood, which actually doesn't worry me because it's happened three times before and at this point I know the vet is going to run a lot of tests and discover she is a stress case but with nothing physically wrong and offer to put her on prozac for me;

3. discovering smoke coming out of the washing machine because I tried cramming a queen-size duvet into it rather than going to the laundromat;

4. realizing I'm one of "those people" I read - or even write about - in the paper. "Well, what did she THINK would happen?!";

5. trying to wash the detergent out of the duvet, in the bathtub, and then losing my balance and falling backward into the brand-new metal shelving unit I put into the bathroom this weekend to keep the place tidier. And now I have a sopping wet queen-size duvet in the tub. And an aching back.

On the bright side, my landlord is possibly the nicest man in the entire world. "Oh, I guess I'd better go check that out," he said, from his home, where any normal human would at that time have been getting ready for bed, upon hearing I had possibly set the building on fire and could have set the alarm off, evacuating the building. "It sometimes does that if you try to wash a really big blanket. Maybe next time try the bathtub."

Small mercies.

I have been informed that this blog isn't updated frequently enough for those of you who are sitting in the middle of a warzone. But my brain is still mushy from holiday over-eating so this will be brief.

My mom left this morning after a nice, nearly week-long visit. It was fabulous.

Highlights/thoughts from the holidays:

1. Introducing my mom to Sephora, TMZ.com (the tv show, not their website) and my friend visiting from Cairo. Mom didn't take as much of a shine to Gossip Girl but I'm still working on that.

2. Why doesn't someone on Larry O'Brien's staff comb down his right eyebrow, or trim it, or gel it or SOMETHING? There needs to be some man-scaping there. It looks like it's permanently cocked, and makes him look like he's smirking throughout interviews. I've always thought that he and Sam Sullivan, former mayor of Vancouver, would make the perfect comic book evil mayoral duo, and the raised eyebrow effect only reinforces that.

3. OKAY. ALL RIGHT, CBC. I will watch your damn Erica show tonight. The tv ads, reviews and web ads were bad enough. But a full-page ad in today's Globe? You're putting way too much money into this for me to avoid the show. But you should know that 24 starts next week, and House moves to Mondays the week after, and I will not be moved from a Hugh Laurie/Kiefer Sutherland lovefest. As awesome as Michael Riley was on This is Wonderland, he's no Kiefer. And this just reminds me THAT YOU CANCELLED THIS IS WONDERLAND. After changing its timeslot three times over three years and being surprised when viewers didn't watch (perhaps they couldn't FIND it). Which just makes me not want to watch Being Erica. Hmm, we may have come full circle.

4. Michael Riley did a tv movie called Strauss: King of 3/4 Time? How did I miss that?

5. New Year's Eve involved a night in with lots of wine and Mamma Mia. Meryl Streep rocks.

6. The news. Bah. I'm glad to live in Canada.