Remember when I posted about how Facebook didn’t have a “Medicine Hat” network? Well, it’s been quite a long time since then, and somewhere between then and now, a Medicine Hat network has been created on Facebook. I remember updating mine about 2 months ago and seen that there was now a Medicine Hat option instead of the Calgary one I had been using earlier.

The main reason I bring this up is because, like me, a lot of people used Calgary as an alternate – and still continue to use it! Most of them probably don’t know about the new Medicine Hat network, so hopefully this post will spread the word.

I’m sure we are all familiar with this Australian (or possibly New Zealand) innovation in footwear that comes in the form of a sloppy sheepskin boot that has somehow passed for fashionable for the past few years. As a nineteen-year-old university student I am the perfect target for this atrocious accessory, but I have so far managed to avoid its sloppy and shapeless grasp. Although I realize that many people will read this post and continue to wear Uggs, I hope that some Ugg wearers will see the light and put their boots away in the closet forever.

The ultra-sloppy "tucked-in sweatpants" style.

Uggs appear to have originally been used by aviators in the First World War to keeptheir feet warm in their unpressurized planes, however the boots have also been identified with sheep shearers in the 1920’s and surfer’s and swimmer’s who used them to keep warm out of the water, before finally becoming a fashion trend in the USA in the early 2000’s. In my opinion, until Uggs became fashionable they seemed to be very practical, so the fact that their reputation has been tarnished is very unfortunate.

A few months ago Sean and I performed a stakeout at the mall to photograph these monsters in their natural environment; in a mall being worn by fashionable young women (but many middle-aged women were caught too) as part of a carefully calculated “carefree” and messy look that is so popular these days. In a perfect demonstration of the popularity of the Uggs, Sean and I happened to be at the mall on one of the most dead weeknights in history, but we still managed to get a dozen pictures due to the fact that every second person that walked by was wearing them. My all-time favourite Uggs were definitely the pair with the illustration of some kind of character, as if that adds some kind of originality to an otherwise completely unexciting boot.

An attempt to make a hopelessly ugly shoe prettier.

In short, I hate Uggs. I think that no man, woman, child, or anyone in between should ever have to gaze upon these shapeless shoes that should have stayed in the cockpit in World War One. Although I’m sure they are the most comfortable article of clothing on the planet (next to the sweatpants that people also insist on wearing in public)  they are only appropriate as a slipper in one’s house, or as a therapeutic shoe for someone with trenchfoot. Please do yourselves a favour and open your eyes to the brainwashing the fashion industry has done: just because Sarah Jessica Parker wore them, does not mean anyone else should.

As described in a recent Medicine Hat News article, distracted drivers in Alberta could now be fined under a new law introduced by the Alberta Government on April 21, 2010, if their driving is deemed to be suffering from distraction.

The fine, which is set at $172, applies to anyone who is talking on a handheld cellphone (a headset may be passable), texting, reading, writing, grooming, etc. The aim is to lower vehicle collision rates and force people to drive safer. Many people will jump at the chance to agree that talking and driving is not safe. But what about talking to passengers, especially with all the hand gestures usually involved in talking to someone face to face? I have even seen people driving wearing Alain Mikli Shutter Shades, and if there is one thing Kanye West has taught me, it is that you do not look cool wearing Shutter Shades, plus your vision is probably reduced by like 25%. Who needs to see more than 25% of the road anyway?

Previously the only fine the Police could doll out was a hefty $402 for “Driving without due care and attention” plus 6 demerit points to your driving record. With a law being passed to enforce driving without distractions, we can either expect the average driver to be safer, or for people to hide their phones between their legs while texting. Now all we have to worry about are those police officers who often use their laptops while driving. Wait a minute! Are laptops not an even bigger distraction than cellphones and texting? Not to mention the fact that those police radios are kind of like cellphones too. Maybe they should pull over or come to a complete stop while using them, or maybe police officers are infallible, and unlike the rest of us they can safely do two things at once.

We all dislike left turns, especially left turns without advanced green lights, better yet, left turns without advanced green lights during heavy traffic.

In addition to these left turn dislikes that make them even more intolerable is drivers who do not advance into the intersection to wait for their oppourtunity to turn left. Instead, they wait at the stop line while the light turns yellow and proceeds to red, declaring the lost opportunity to get at least one vehicle through and advance the left hand turning traffic.

It is in this rant that I want to tell readers that the way to execute a left turn at a controlled intersection is to pull ahead to about the middle of the intersection to wait for your oppourtunity to turn left. The most important aspect to doing this properly is keeping your wheels straight until you are actually turning. Disobey this commandment and you run the risk of rolling into oncoming traffic if you get rear-ended. One time shortly after getting my license I waited at a busy intersection for 3 consecutive red lights before pulling out during the solid green left turn yield to wait for my turn after finally realizing the logic in this simple act.

As a teacher, I am fond of quotes that inspire or force us to view an issue from another perspective. One of my favorites is credited to Henry Adams, “A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops”. Forgiving the gender bias in the quote, I read those words and realize that the smallest gesture, word spoken or moment in a classroom may have an impact beyond the walls of my classroom. Bearing the quote in mind, as many readers may be aware already, the University of Alberta is more than likely discontinuing the Collaborative Elementary Education program offered at the MHC campus following the 2010 intake. You may have had the (mis)fortune of being subjected to my letter to the editor where I unashamedly quoted from one of the many teacher-related movies. In any case, here is a brief background: the program began in 2006, with 28 students graduating in 2008. Thirty-three students will graduate this spring, with 65 undergraduate students currently applying for the 32 possible spots for the 2010 program. The program relies upon both local and University of Alberta instructors to provide instruction over the final two years of an Elementary Education degree completion program, with a minor in rural education. Students in the program apply for one of 32 spots, with admission being highly competitive and based on GPA. Students pay University of Alberta tuition and fees and purchase textbooks from the U of A via the MHC bookstore. Several of the courses are compressed courses, meaning that you complete 16 weeks of course work in anywhere from 4-6 weeks, with U of A instructors flown in to offer instruction. Courses taught by local instructors are generally standard length, except for the first and final semesters.

It would be easy for me, as a beneficiary of the program, to say that its potential loss doesn’t affect me, since I am two weeks away from completing my degree. However, as a teacher and member of my community it is a matter of concern. I am sure most people have personal circumstances that make the idea of pursuing postsecondary education difficult at best. Issues such as expense and the time commitment greatly impact the feasibility of any pursuit. For someone who is a parent or needs to work while attending school, the option of being able to complete a degree while learning in your home community, where you have support and decreased expense, is important. With respect to the Collaborative Program, I was able to continue my education, an option not available to me otherwise. I am not alone. Looking at the current cohort, many of us would never be able to proudly say that we are teachers. Just this past weekend, I reserved my graduation apparel and planned my convocation trip to collect my hard-earned degree, only to hear the news on Monday that the program was in jeopardy. What saddens me is the fact that there are students on the MHC campus, writing exams this week, whose future is uncertain; they very likely will not enjoy the same experience that I have had, an experience now relegated to luxury status. They have already invested time and money into courses that will only transfer to the University of Alberta. Having spoken with several of these students recently, I know for a fact that without the U of A/MHC Collaborative program, they will not be able to continue their education. THE JUMP – Read the rest of this entry »

Things are going down in downtown Medicine Hat, as Amy Gervais of Rapscallion Design discusses on the Rapscallion website.

Some time ago, Medicine Hat Media discovered duplicate, but vastly different designed content for The Monarch, which we blogged about under the title “The Monarch Identity Crisis?“. Soon after we learned that The Monarch Theatre simply was not paying their bills or being thankful for the hundreds of hours of volunteer work that it took to get the theatre up and running.

The duplicate content can be found at http://themonarch.net/, which according to Amy Gervais’ story, was commissioned by the City Centre Development Agency with complete disregard to the design continuity and branding.

Medicine Hat Media, with the help of Ashley Meller, was behind The Monarch Theatre’s revitalization project from the get go. We advertised every show that was in Kin Coulee and even came out to support the events. We advertised movies that were playing and many of us behind Medicine Hat Media have regularly attended their screenings.

Medicine Hat residents and businesses should be supporting each other, not selling each other short. Who cares about a “historical downtown” if it just becomes derelict? Some of us at Medicine Hat Media are now going to withdraw all support from the theatre as we do not want to be a part of such a disappointing situation. If you are also concerned about the happenings and the state of Downtown Medicine Hat, please contact the city council.

After starting into counselling around age 30, the same time I left the now-defunct Glass Factory in Redcliff and attended Medicine Hat College, I have been on a journey that resulted in being diagnosed with PTSD at age 49.

Not that the PTSD occurred anywhere in that time period, just that the diagnosis slipped through all the counsellors, doctors, psychiatrists I met with through the years. My PTSD started anywhere from a very early age due to being the youngest child of 5 born into an extremely violent alcoholic family system.

To skip over the gory details, my oldest sister is the only other sibling to also seek counselling and her psychologist said to my sister that our home environment was quite similar to that of a concentration camp; never knowing when or who was going to die next. THE JUMP – Read the rest of this entry »

My wife and I purchased a 2007 Kia Rondo (a crossover vehicle) from Johnson Kia in Lethbridge, and the dealership included a Command Start in the deal. We requested a two-way Command Start so that we would know from the handheld starter if the vehicle was running or not.

Tim Rissling at J. D. Auto Electronics did a great install job, and Metro Kia service completed the part of the install which involves making the vehicle run without a key in the ignition. We don’t know the cost of the job since it was negotiated into the vehicle, but we definitely would recommend J. D. if someone is looking for a quality remote car starter.

J. D. Auto Electronics Ltd.
501C North Railway St SE
403-504-1499

On my way out from the last film I saw at the Monarch, I was handed a business card with the statement, “Our new website is up with showtimes”. Which I thought was weird at the time since I have already used the “new” websites for viewing showtimes… but then as I wondered, I realized that, the website had not been updated in a while. I didn’t really think about it, until I was linked to themonarch.net which seemed weird. I didn’t remember it being a .network domain? Wait a second, what is this? It looked like the website took a step back in web design by 8 years. What’s with nothing lining up, what’s with the color scheme, why is there a tab-style menu not being used as tab-style navigation?

I was perturbed by this a bit, so I went to the Monarch’s twitter page (which also has not been updated in awhile), but it linked to themonarch.ca from there. Phew, the old site is actually still there. Wait a second… did I just get a new Twitter notification? @monarchmedhat is now following me. What? The Monarch is already following me… wait a second, this is a second Twitter account now, the original seemingly left behind just like the site, the original being @monarchtheatre.

When the re-brand was completed for The Monarch, I was a fan of the logo and color scheme presented on the site which showcased it in a consistent manner. It was definitely a throwback to many elements found in design in the 1950’s and even earlier which worked well with the idea/image of The Monarch. The website matched this aesthetic and as far as I know, Rapscallion Design was wholly responsible for the identity, branding, and web design. So what’s going on here exactly? I already have stated a little bit to why this is a huge step backwards for The Monarch brand, but let’s visualize it…

New site/old site

I didn’t post this solely for the reason of bashing the design, but I can’t understand why this would be happening? Say there was a falling out between two parties, you would expect the one party to release the website to them if they need it updated for themselves. They could take it and host it somewhere else and update it as they see fit. At the very least, there shouldn’t be two websites for the same business operating at the same time, let alone, two domains, two Twitter accounts, and next, maybe two Facebook fan pages?

Today we have something a little different for you. This story was submitted by David Walks-as-Bear, Author of Shamus Ghillie U.S. Secret Service In Medicine Hat.

Yes, indeed, the Crow Moon. For the Shawnee, this time arrives when the cawing of crows signals the beginning of the end of papoonwi (winter). And, indeed, early March is the time of ‘wakening’… when the Earth Mother first begins to stir, eh. Like a slowly waking beautiful woman, she gradually rouses; the days begin to warm, and the ground begins to thaw. Um-hmm, and like the lovely languid sleeper, she murmurs in the coo of budded awakening, too. Yep, but as any guy knows… who’s ever gotten too close to one who is first arousing… appearances can be deceiving. Get too beguiled and that sweet and gentle subtleness may just get’chu a pillow or… a huge wad of snow… whipped smack-dab… into your goofily naive face.

You know, some of the more northern Indians know this time of the year as the Crust Moon. That’s because it’s the time when the snow cover becomes crystallized and is thus ‘crusted’ from thawing by day and freezing by night. Sure, and to some of the early white Catholic settlers, it was known as the Lenten Moon. That’s because it arrived with the Catholic observance of Lent. But, for the Shawnee, this has always been the time of the Crow Moon.

THE JUMP – Read the rest of this entry »