PPR with Jenn: Missing Portage Place

PPR with Jenn: Missing Portage Place

I share with your 'love' for downtown. It's such a lively place. It's the hub for arts & entertainment--who can't resist it? It has so much to offer. All those shootings and stabbings happen in other places, too. Only that in downtown, it's big news already. Maybe, it just got sensationalized to some degree. Downtown is still downtown and people will keep coming back for more.

Adventures In Radio Drama

Today’s generation hardly listens to radio dramas anymore nor do a majority of children even know what a radio drama is. These past years, my children have grown to like listening to radio dramas particularly the Adventures in Odyssey.


Back in 2005, I listened to one of its episodes and began to discover how useful it can be in creating a positive influence to my children. For almost five years, listening to Adventures in Odyssey is a staple in my children’s entertainment.

Adventures in Odyssey provide character-building stories kids love. As an example, I listened to its Christmas 2009 episode entitled, “Snow Day”—an AIO radio drama episode written by John Fornof.

The story focuses on Alex’s mission to bring a cookie tin full of chocolate macadamia nut cookies to his grandmother—only to be stopped by another kid named Rodney along the way. In his quest to reach his grandmother’s house with some help from his friends Cal, Nathaniel and Mandy, Alex persevered and enjoyed the sweet smell of victory.

This radio drama’s creative team includes Rob Jorgensen as the sound designer who creatively captured ‘real’ sound effects. Jorgensen revealed in an interview that he spent one day just to make the sound of a sled going down the hill. Jorgensen went to Home Depot and bought a garbage can and went on top of the hill. He placed a recorder on his chest and held a microphone above and launched himself down the slope. In the end, he got the sound effect he wanted for the episode.

Writer John Fornof said that he also based the story from his real life experience when he was a kid. Living north of Pittsburgh, Fornof recalled the fun memories he had sledding down the snowy hill. He then took a moment in his life and puts it in the story creating a very visual show.

Listening to this radio drama/comedy stirred up my imagination. The story when listened to was as vivid as an open storybook, with scenes painted right before my eyes. The use of words especially in the narration, appealed to my senses—I can see, feel, taste and even smell the different aspects of the story as unfolded in the drama.

The use of background music was very vital in creating the right moods in the story. Not only did it advanced the timeline of the story, the music also created a sense of anticipation for the listeners whether an air of suspense or excitement is coming our way.

At the most part, I really like the sound effects. Some of the sound effects which I think were creatively executed were the sounds of paper bag being folded; snow being scraped from the ground; snowballs being thrown; the sound of ‘sniper snowballs’; running on snowy ground; and even the ‘slow motion’ sound effect done by lengthening the actors’ dialogues weaved with special sound effects (by the way, Jorgensen is a great fan of Chariots of Fire—this served as an inspiration for him to create the slow motion sound effect).

Overall, the sound style is very ‘cartoony’—there’s a lot of imagination involved and surely, the creative team amped up on the effects to show its fantastic side.

In as much as my kids enjoy listening to Adventures in Odyssey, I too, can say that this is wholesome family entertainment where discussions are encouraged after listening to every episode. Adventure in Odyssey is aired in Winnipeg through CHVN 95.1 FM on Saturday mornings from 8:00-9:00 a.m.

Radio dramas need not be a thing of the past—it still does have a place in the household. By listening to it, your mind creates vivid images that stir up your imagination and sense of creativity.

In The Chamber 2010: Last Men

The lights turned down, signalling the start of Theatre Projects Manitoba’s “In The Chamber 2010: Last Men”. The crowd of around 65 CreComm students from Red River College quieted down, turned-off their phones and gazed their eyes through the darkness. In The Chamber 2010 was divided into two one-man plays—two different stories which revolved around two men’s struggles to break-out from a crippling system.

Part One: Last Man in Krakendorf: 

Doug an agricultural engineer played by Gordon Tanner, paced around his motel room dressed in a business suit. He set-up his camcorder and made a startling confession to his employer Warren Buffet, who runs a hog farm business. Doug was emotionally overwhelmed and had a change of heart after he learned of a recent barn fire which killed all the pigs in it.

Through this lengthy once-act play, I got the notion that this was all about the different issues we’re facing. Using the cruel treatment of pigs in hog farms as an example, the play attempted to create a picture of injustice. Tanner did a stellar job portraying the character of Doug. His acting was undoubtedly of high-calibre and he did an amazing job mastering his lines that lasted for an hour. Although I already understood the very essence of the story right from the beginning, it could have been shortened and probably saved the actor from dragging on to make a one-hour play. I would have to admit that I dozed-off at least a couple of times but at the moment I opened my eyes and shook myself to regain my senses, I can say that I didn’t miss much after all.

I had watched so many plays before including ones that portrayed an unjust society. As what Doug said in the play, “Why did the choice that led to disaster made sense at the time?” The ever-growing capitalism and industrialization paved the way to human disaster. The hog farm business was used to make that point clear as well as depict the actual conditions of pigs in the province’s hog farms.

Part Two: Last Man in Puntarenas: 

Hugo played by Steven Ratzlaff was a man struggling to get out of a system that crippled his very soul. Set in a dimly lit restaurant with three tables and four white balloons tied onto the seats’ backrests (which represented his guests), Hugo used his retirement dinner to awaken his colleagues from a discovery he made in Puntarenas, Costa Rica.

Hugo described to his colleagues how easy it was to invest on this side of the world—great for its medical (and even sex) tourism. Visibly, Hugo was taken aback and crushed by his own personal experiences on how a failed heart surgery claimed the young life of his son, Manolo who was born with Down Syndrome. Hugo also recalled the time when his former wife Juanita refused to undergo a pre-natal testing, and only to discover that their newborn baby Manolo was suffering from Down Syndrome. As Hugo put it, “...she made a choice.”

This play like the first one was undoubtedly long, too. Hugo’s dialogues were spiced up with a lot of vulgar words which I think were better off omitted without affecting the story’s integrity. On the part when Hugo read a languishingly long letter, surely saved the actor from memorizing its many lines.

In conclusion—

Both plays touched on issues that were both societal and personal in nature. The artistic abilities of the actors have brought justice to those issues by drawing a big picture. But in its grave attempt to awaken the senses of the audience is a totally different story.

In The Chamber 2010 was undoubtedly a treat for the intellectual because of its litany of dialogues but was a disappointment to anyone who wishes to be entertained and served up with a good spread of weekend specials.

Mars Attack

As a kid, I have always enjoyed eating Mars chocolate bars. I remembered when my aunt from the U.S. Air Base would bring assorted chocolate bars and Kellogg's cereals for me and my siblings to enjoy. At least during those times, so called imported goods (like my Mars) were not sold or made available at local stores but can only be bought from the U.S. military bases.

When I reached my twenties and became an aerobics buff, I tried to cut down on eating chocolates including my favourite Mars. But when I reached my late twenties and started working out at a gym on a regular basis, my craving for this tempting chocolate bar began to find its way back.

Many years have I been successful trying to avoid eating sweets. But lately, my hectic schedule both in school and at home gives me every reason (or rather, ‘excuse’) to give myself a special treat. And so just today, I ate two bars of Mars. On its packaging it says, ‘energy bar’. Well, it surely helped my craving but my body isn’t happy about the calories nor the tons of sugar in it!

Turkey, Anyone?

Turkeys! Wouldn't you be so pleased or even be more impressed if you see our own prime minister serve turkey on a platter to the men and women who are sacrificing thier lives in Afghanistan?

One particular publicity stunt that I can recall is when former U.S. President Bush surprised 600 troops of the First Armoured Division in 2003 when he arrived in Iraq as they were about to begin Thanksgiving dinner. Troops had no idea of the president's visit and accompanying journalists were warned beforehand not to report the visit until they had left Iraq on Air Force One.

President George W. Bush was photographed serving turkey to smiling U.S. troops. The Washington Post said the bird had been roasted by a contractor to use as table decoration. But other reports surfaced and said that the turkey carried by the president was just plastic.

The New York Times printed a retraction which said,
Correction: July 11, 2004, Sunday. An article last Sunday about surprises in politics referred incorrectly to the turkey carried by President Bush during his unannounced visit to American troops in Baghdad over Thanksgiving. It was real, not fake. (from the New York Times).

Although there were people who debated on the turkey issue, former President Bush and his administration planned this event to boost the U.S. troops' dwndling morale as concerns continued to rise in the U.S. over the high numbers of casualties in Iraq.

As a result, soldiers expressed their enthusiasm towards Bush. Many had expressed thanks to his presence in Baghdad (even after his Thanksgiving visit), despite of his busy schedule. On the other hand, there were also people who criticized his Iraq visit and said that this was just a ploy by the Bush administration to stir his popularity and win in the 2004 elections.

What propelled this publicity stunt to work is the administration's effort to make the president's visit to Iraq unannounced and make it very special to the U.S. troops serving in Iraq. The very idea of having then President Bush carry the golden brown turkey to the U.S.Troops on their Thanksgiving dinner, made it a special experience for everyone. Also, the warning given to journalists to not report the president's visit until they had left Iraq on Air Force One, made sure that the news will hit the media at about the same time as everybody else.

This publicity event was all over the papers, radio, television and even on the internet. It created buzz and enthusiasm among the public and even among  political critics. It even came to the point as stated earlier that the turkey carried by President Bush was fake. This turkey issue even resulted to more discussions and ongoing media coverage.

In November 2, 2004, Republican Party candidate and incumbent President George W. Bush defeated Democratic Party candidate John Kerry by 50.7% of the american votes during the 2004 presidential election.

Overall, this event worked for former President Bush at a time when the public's trust towards his administration was challenged. Again, Bush and his constituents pressed on their resolve to crush terrorism with the continued presence of U.S. military troops in Iraq.

So going back,...wouldn't you be impressed to see Prime Minister Harper serve turkey to Canadian troops next Thanksgiving? Probably not and it's still a long way ahead. I think the government can come up with a better and more 'golden' plan to help boost the morale of Canadian men and women in uniform, who are serving in war-torn countries and are on peacekeeping missions.

Keep Moving, Winnipeg!

Winter is such a wonderful season and it’s definitely here to stay. For us Winnipeggers, the coming of winter wasn’t bad after all. We experienced a mild transition from fall to winter and even enjoyed warm, wintery days before Christmas. But the scene changed when temperature plunged down, and we have to scurry ourselves around looking for thicker scarves and fleece sweaters to help us keep warm.


There are some people who admit that winter isn’t their favourite time of the year. For those individuals, bouts of depression hit them with no warning at all. Days are certainly shorter and nights are longer at this time of the year. The gloomy skies you see once you step outside of your front yard might make you feel gloomy, too.

Adults in general have ideas on how to cope with this wintery season. We might opt to stay at home and curl-up in our beds and get an interesting read. For others, going outside to ski or skate, will be a much better alternative rather than soaking up in the couch to keep them fit and active.

In general, different people have different ways on how to keep healthy and active during these cold months. Once you decide on what to do this winter season, let’s say, take up a class in skating, pottery or painting, don’t forget to get your children involved or at least enrolled in a special class. Children can also get bored easily if they don’t have anything to do at all. It will be a good idea to engage them in some outdoor activity like tobogganing at the Assiniboine Park or skating at The Forks on weekends. It’s not necessary for you to spend in order to get your kids active this winter. Even in your own backyard, you can let your kids build snow forts and snowmen. With you participating in their activity, you can be reassured that your kids will have so much fun and they will relish the time you spend with them.

On the other hand, if doing an outdoor activity is impossible for you, you may choose to create some cool crafts. Go get those old tissue boxes, old bottle caps, buttons and coloured paper, and build an alien or monster out of it. With some ingenuity, you will create masterpieces worthy of the space at The Winnipeg Art Gallery.

So even before you sulk in misery and think that there’s nothing else to do, go visit our city's Winter 2010 Leisure Guide for some cool things to do this winter.

Here's a video which I think is very entertaining and shows a lot of snow.

A New Term, A New Challenge

Today marked the start of our winter term. I was welcomed by both new and familiar faces. Although the premises of our school aren't new to me, I was thrilled by the thought that 'yes', I made it through the first term and I did well, but at the same time, I also feel challenged by the very idea that this winter term poses a new set of challenges that are meant to hasten and improve my skills to the next level.

I was at my 8 a.m. class this morning and 'though I felt like sleeping through (I have to admit that I just can't get enough of my holidays), I was alert and sitting up straight on my chair listening to my new instructor who talked about our big project this term- magazines.

Apart from our creative writing class, our public relations, advertising, journalism, and electronic publishing classes, will also have a big part to play in the conceptualization, production and promotion of our original magazines. I am excited over the fact that we will do something very creative but at the same time, it will require a lot of technical skills on our part especially in the areas of design and layout.

During our last class in Electronic Publishing 2, we were at the Mac Lab and were introduced to our tech 'buddies'. Here is a pic of the Mac I'll be workig on.

Last fall term, we used PC as our platform when working on Adobe Photoshop and InDesign but starting from now on, the Mac computers will be our bossom friends.

 I greet the new term with  a 'warm hello'.  I am hoping that I will get all the inspiration I need, the abundant energy to do my stuff, and the encouragement to make it through the term successfully. For all my co-CreCommers, all the best and remember- if we made it through the first term successfully, there is no doubt that we have what it takes to meet our goals.