I had four stories in this week's Charlatan publication. Here are the reasons I didn't sleep this week:
http://www.charlatan.ca/content/water-polo-starts-strong
http://www.charlatan.ca/content/cu-misses-cut-rankings
http://www.charlatan.ca/content/frosh-week-tragedy-queens
http://www.charlatan.ca/content/uwo-strike-unlikely
*I'm trying to make the links connect automatically, but that function appears to be broken (hopefully temporarily)
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Profiling a Magician
nMagician
By Jane Gerster
Due: Sep. 30, 2010
Rob Milne, 21, said he remembers his first magic gig vividly. “It was a little girl’s birthday, I remember all the kids there, they were watching me and I was sweating buckets, I was so nervous,” he said.
The long-time magician, based out of the Beaches neighbourhood in Toronto, Ont. Smiled and laughed, via Skype, as he recalled his early onstage blunders. “I remember the birthday girl saying, ‘when is it over?’” He said, raising his voice an octave to mimic a little girl.
As a kid, his stepfather used to bring home magic kits, Milne said. “He always performed them for me... then he gave them to me and I figured out how the trick works.”
Milne said his favourite genre of magic has always been cards. “I find a lot of magicians, when they do card tricks, there’s a lot of gimmicks involved... what I do has nothing to do with gimmicks.”
Milne said he always uses a regular card deck and let’s people look over it before and after to ensure it’s not rigged. “It builds the trick more than if you’re trying to hide a gimmick,” he said.
When he hit grade seven, his mother suggested he make money off his love for magic by doing shows, he said, adding that he didn’t really get a choice in choosing his stage name. “One day she got business cards made for me... it said ‘Robert the Magnificent’, so I didn’t really have a choice.”
Milne, who graduated in the spring from George Brown College with an Advanced Diploma in Graphic Design and currently works as a freelance graphic designer, said he used his early love for design to create a website and flyers to get him started.
The business picked up straight away. He said he attributes that partly to his low cost, saying he charges between 30 and 75 dollars per show. “I try and keep it cheap because a lot of magicians out there are charging like 500 dollars, especially in the Beaches.”
He would mostly perform at parties, for parents with kids, Milne said. Often he would do several shows in a row and then go awhile without performing. “Sometimes I didn’t even do a show at all, five in one week, and then a break.”
At home, Milne said his family remained supportive, but eventually got tired of his tricks. “I practiced whole shows in front of them and they helped me... but then everyone got sick of me saying, ‘pick a card, pick a card’... and they starting knocking the cards out of my hand.”
In high school, Milne said he still got a lot of attention for showing his tricks to friends. “It was all about Rob and his magic, I was the David Blaine of the school.”
He said he’s entirely self-taught. “DVDs and books taught me,” he joked. When he was younger he would take the smaller, individual tricks in the book and combine them into new tricks, he said.
Still, Milne said he isn’t so sure he likes the increasingly widespread distribution of instructional videos and DVDs. “It’s made it so many people can now get access to how the trick is done and it hurts the quality of it.”
He pointed to television magician Criss Angel’s levitation trick as an example. “All of a sudden it was posted on YouTube and everyone was figuring out how it was done,” he said.
Milne said he isn’t sure where magic is heading in the near future. “It’s not like its typical magic anymore where it’s Houdini and everyone goes to a show and enjoys real magic.”
Criss Angel would be his favourite magician, he said, if he performed live. “You can’t really judge his magic when you’re watching it through TV.”
This October, Milne will have come full circle. On Oct. 8, he will perform his first show in nearly a year, (after a hiatus to focus on graphic design) for the eighth birthday of a little girl who he also performed for when she was just eight months old.
-30-
By Jane Gerster
Due: Sep. 30, 2010
Rob Milne, 21, said he remembers his first magic gig vividly. “It was a little girl’s birthday, I remember all the kids there, they were watching me and I was sweating buckets, I was so nervous,” he said.
The long-time magician, based out of the Beaches neighbourhood in Toronto, Ont. Smiled and laughed, via Skype, as he recalled his early onstage blunders. “I remember the birthday girl saying, ‘when is it over?’” He said, raising his voice an octave to mimic a little girl.
As a kid, his stepfather used to bring home magic kits, Milne said. “He always performed them for me... then he gave them to me and I figured out how the trick works.”
Milne said his favourite genre of magic has always been cards. “I find a lot of magicians, when they do card tricks, there’s a lot of gimmicks involved... what I do has nothing to do with gimmicks.”
Milne said he always uses a regular card deck and let’s people look over it before and after to ensure it’s not rigged. “It builds the trick more than if you’re trying to hide a gimmick,” he said.
When he hit grade seven, his mother suggested he make money off his love for magic by doing shows, he said, adding that he didn’t really get a choice in choosing his stage name. “One day she got business cards made for me... it said ‘Robert the Magnificent’, so I didn’t really have a choice.”
Milne, who graduated in the spring from George Brown College with an Advanced Diploma in Graphic Design and currently works as a freelance graphic designer, said he used his early love for design to create a website and flyers to get him started.
The business picked up straight away. He said he attributes that partly to his low cost, saying he charges between 30 and 75 dollars per show. “I try and keep it cheap because a lot of magicians out there are charging like 500 dollars, especially in the Beaches.”
He would mostly perform at parties, for parents with kids, Milne said. Often he would do several shows in a row and then go awhile without performing. “Sometimes I didn’t even do a show at all, five in one week, and then a break.”
At home, Milne said his family remained supportive, but eventually got tired of his tricks. “I practiced whole shows in front of them and they helped me... but then everyone got sick of me saying, ‘pick a card, pick a card’... and they starting knocking the cards out of my hand.”
In high school, Milne said he still got a lot of attention for showing his tricks to friends. “It was all about Rob and his magic, I was the David Blaine of the school.”
He said he’s entirely self-taught. “DVDs and books taught me,” he joked. When he was younger he would take the smaller, individual tricks in the book and combine them into new tricks, he said.
Still, Milne said he isn’t so sure he likes the increasingly widespread distribution of instructional videos and DVDs. “It’s made it so many people can now get access to how the trick is done and it hurts the quality of it.”
He pointed to television magician Criss Angel’s levitation trick as an example. “All of a sudden it was posted on YouTube and everyone was figuring out how it was done,” he said.
Milne said he isn’t sure where magic is heading in the near future. “It’s not like its typical magic anymore where it’s Houdini and everyone goes to a show and enjoys real magic.”
Criss Angel would be his favourite magician, he said, if he performed live. “You can’t really judge his magic when you’re watching it through TV.”
This October, Milne will have come full circle. On Oct. 8, he will perform his first show in nearly a year, (after a hiatus to focus on graphic design) for the eighth birthday of a little girl who he also performed for when she was just eight months old.
-30-
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Monday, September 27, 2010
Music I Love
WONDERFUL MUSIC THAT ALL PEOPLE SHOULD LISTEN TO
Most people know I have a crazy, head-over-heels in love type obsession with Zooey Deschanel. I also feel the same way about her music and M. Ward and so should YOU!
Check out their website: http://www.sheandhim.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TBcBPCkEes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZ3cTwI9bIw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpiI2ab6trU
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Bic Ad
So this is totally unrelated to journalism, but I find this whole debate really interesting and I'm pretty sure that I don't find it sexist, but I'm curious. What do you think?
http://www.shamelessmag.com/blog/2010/09/in-defence-of-the-bic-legs-that-beckon-razor-ad/
reporting assignment one
It's a tad bit dull...
nScienceCafe
By Jane Gerster
The Faculty of Science kicked off this year’s Science Café with an informative presentation on the differences between males and females. The presentation, by Dr. Root Gorelick, Associate Professor in the department of biology and mathematics, was held early Wednesday evening at Wild Oat Café.
At issue was whether there are any differences between males and females. Audience members were quick to point out anatomical and hormonal differences, with one woman calling out, “it’s who’s carrying the offspring.”
According to Gorelick, however, “There’s no clear difference... between the sexes.”
The small Café was at capacity for Gorelick's talk, which started as an in-depth explanation of the anatomical differences between males and females, but quickly digressed when the crowd proved to be more interested in the social implications of the research.
Gorelick challenged the idea that the difference between males and females is hormonal, arguing that both males and females have the same hormones, just different levels of them.
He argued against anatomical differences by citing research from Anne-Fausto Sterling, a professor of biology and gender studies at Brown University. Gorelick said that in cases where a baby’s gender is not immediately obvious, medical professionals measure the child’s genitalia to decide.
“If it’s more than two and a half, boy. If it’s less than one centimetre, girl. Anywhere in between and they recommend surgery.”
This occurs in one in 60 babies, Gorelick said.
On a cellular level, he said it is possible to distinguish between males and females. “When we talk about gametes, it looks like there’s a true dichotomy,” he said. However, Gorelick is quick to point out that for more developed male and female organisms, it’s not so clear-cut.
“Sociologists have said biology doesn’t predetermine sex, but somehow contributes to it.”
He said he believes that individuals must integrate the different aspects of sex, including biology and cognitive gender, in order to choose for themselves.
“We should let people self-identify on sex, and if they want to self-identify on multiple sexes, well okay.”
Gorelick was criticized by a member of the audience for his use of blue and pink to distinguish between the sexes. He said it was deliberately provocative and intended to raise the issue of appropriate terminology.
“The wording matters... it ends up influencing how we think politically and socially,” he said.
As if to prove his point, an audience member raised the issue of professional sports. Who should be competing where? Gorelick reinforced the idea that people should be allowed to self-identify and that, saying that while he’s no sports expert, it’s interesting to note that “for any other job in the world, nobody will actually question you.”
The bi-weekly Science Café returns Sept. 29 to pick apart the sex lives of turtles.
-30-
nScienceCafe
By Jane Gerster
The Faculty of Science kicked off this year’s Science Café with an informative presentation on the differences between males and females. The presentation, by Dr. Root Gorelick, Associate Professor in the department of biology and mathematics, was held early Wednesday evening at Wild Oat Café.
At issue was whether there are any differences between males and females. Audience members were quick to point out anatomical and hormonal differences, with one woman calling out, “it’s who’s carrying the offspring.”
According to Gorelick, however, “There’s no clear difference... between the sexes.”
The small Café was at capacity for Gorelick's talk, which started as an in-depth explanation of the anatomical differences between males and females, but quickly digressed when the crowd proved to be more interested in the social implications of the research.
Gorelick challenged the idea that the difference between males and females is hormonal, arguing that both males and females have the same hormones, just different levels of them.
He argued against anatomical differences by citing research from Anne-Fausto Sterling, a professor of biology and gender studies at Brown University. Gorelick said that in cases where a baby’s gender is not immediately obvious, medical professionals measure the child’s genitalia to decide.
“If it’s more than two and a half, boy. If it’s less than one centimetre, girl. Anywhere in between and they recommend surgery.”
This occurs in one in 60 babies, Gorelick said.
On a cellular level, he said it is possible to distinguish between males and females. “When we talk about gametes, it looks like there’s a true dichotomy,” he said. However, Gorelick is quick to point out that for more developed male and female organisms, it’s not so clear-cut.
“Sociologists have said biology doesn’t predetermine sex, but somehow contributes to it.”
He said he believes that individuals must integrate the different aspects of sex, including biology and cognitive gender, in order to choose for themselves.
“We should let people self-identify on sex, and if they want to self-identify on multiple sexes, well okay.”
Gorelick was criticized by a member of the audience for his use of blue and pink to distinguish between the sexes. He said it was deliberately provocative and intended to raise the issue of appropriate terminology.
“The wording matters... it ends up influencing how we think politically and socially,” he said.
As if to prove his point, an audience member raised the issue of professional sports. Who should be competing where? Gorelick reinforced the idea that people should be allowed to self-identify and that, saying that while he’s no sports expert, it’s interesting to note that “for any other job in the world, nobody will actually question you.”
The bi-weekly Science Café returns Sept. 29 to pick apart the sex lives of turtles.
-30-
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Charlatan Sports, May 2010-present
Sports links:
http://www.charlatan.ca/content/simon-fraser-compete-ncaa
http://www.charlatan.ca/content/carleton-player-lead-guyanese-soccer-team
http://www.charlatan.ca/content/ravens-hockey-vet-joins-coaching-ranks
http://www.charlatan.ca/content/world-cup-review-year-underdog
http://www.charlatan.ca/content/persichino-back-game
Charlatan National, February 2010-present
National links:
http://www.charlatan.ca/content/mcgill-abandons-take-out
http://www.charlatan.ca/content/post-secondary-funding-reform-proposed
http://www.charlatan.ca/content/upei-brings-veterinary-care-north
http://www.charlatan.ca/content/u-o-drops-trespass-charges-against-teaching-assistant-activist
http://www.charlatan.ca/content/young-women-ignite-social-change-national-front
http://www.charlatan.ca/content/post-secondary-aboriginal-students-lack-financial-support
http://www.charlatan.ca/content/toronto-students-get-discount-transit-pass
http://www.charlatan.ca/content/online-universities-validity-questioned
http://www.charlatan.ca/content/mcgill-abandons-take-out
http://www.charlatan.ca/content/post-secondary-funding-reform-proposed
http://www.charlatan.ca/content/upei-brings-veterinary-care-north
http://www.charlatan.ca/content/u-o-drops-trespass-charges-against-teaching-assistant-activist
http://www.charlatan.ca/content/young-women-ignite-social-change-national-front
http://www.charlatan.ca/content/post-secondary-aboriginal-students-lack-financial-support
http://www.charlatan.ca/content/toronto-students-get-discount-transit-pass
http://www.charlatan.ca/content/online-universities-validity-questioned
Charlatan News, November 2009-present
News links:
http://www.charlatan.ca/content/building-fifth-estate
http://www.charlatan.ca/content/carleton-stays-seventh-place-maclean%E2%80%99s-rankings
http://www.charlatan.ca/content/cusert-under-new-management
http://www.charlatan.ca/content/29-councillor-candidates-disqualified
http://www.charlatan.ca/content/eleventh-rez-set-2011
http://www.charlatan.ca/content/charlie-taylor-mayor
http://www.charlatan.ca/content/science-brain
http://www.charlatan.ca/content/cu-students-advance-engineering-contest
http://www.charlatan.ca/content/building-fifth-estate
http://www.charlatan.ca/content/carleton-stays-seventh-place-maclean%E2%80%99s-rankings
http://www.charlatan.ca/content/cusert-under-new-management
http://www.charlatan.ca/content/29-councillor-candidates-disqualified
http://www.charlatan.ca/content/eleventh-rez-set-2011
http://www.charlatan.ca/content/charlie-taylor-mayor
http://www.charlatan.ca/content/science-brain
http://www.charlatan.ca/content/cu-students-advance-engineering-contest
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
All about Journalism
In the first week of class my reporting professor, Andy, was adamant that we all start blogs. I wasn't really paying attention (I was busy reading the syllabus and groaning inwardly at the high volume of work), but it had something to do with how we all need to get feedback on our work.
Being the j-school keener that I am, I waited a solid two weeks and for him to repeat the advice a few times before I actually got around to it. Mostly I'll put links to old stories (from the Jarvis Jargon), old and new stories alike (from The Charlatan), I'll put up some class work (journalism related of course, I know nobody actually wants to read my lengthy essays), and if something newsworthy catches my eye, maybe even some original Jane ramblings.
Enjoy (or not).
Being the j-school keener that I am, I waited a solid two weeks and for him to repeat the advice a few times before I actually got around to it. Mostly I'll put links to old stories (from the Jarvis Jargon), old and new stories alike (from The Charlatan), I'll put up some class work (journalism related of course, I know nobody actually wants to read my lengthy essays), and if something newsworthy catches my eye, maybe even some original Jane ramblings.
Enjoy (or not).
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