first streeter

so this morning we had our first streeter of the second semester and our first journalism assignment since Remembrance Day.

For those of you who do know what a streeter is. Well, you are given a list of a few topics. Then you must leave the campus and find 2 strangers, interview them, hustle back to school, and writer a "news story" involving your topic and sources all within two hours. It is stressful. 

I braved the elements at a brisk 8 a.m. and managed to find two people to interview. I, and as it turns out, and many other people decided to talk about Target shutting its Canadian doors for good.

I think it turned out alright and here it is. (I've removed the peoples names that I interviewed)

Target Corporation decided to shut its Canadian doors for good Thursday morning. The perception amongst some Winnipeggers was that of indifference.

“Believe it or not, the only time that I’ve shopped at Target was in Victoria (British Columbia),” said Lady A, Exchange District resident. “Truthfully, I haven’t been to any of the stores in Winnipeg.”

Brian Cornell, Target Corporation chairman and CEO, issued a statement saying that, “after a thorough review of our Canadian performance and careful consideration of the implications of all options, we were unable to find a realistic scenario that would get Target Canada to profitability until at least 2021.”

Target Canada, which opened to the public in March of 2013, had a rocky start from its inception. Having empty shelves and higher than expected prices, Target drove many potential repeat customers away.

“I shopped there twice and was disgusted,” said Lady B. “The prices weren’t competitive with those in the US, and there was a poor selection of items and often had empty shelves.”

Target currently has 133 stores operational in Canada and employees roughly 17,600 people. Target Canada has said it hopes to offer its employees a minimum of 16-weeks of severance. According to social media, many people found out that they were out of a job through Twitter, Facebook and local radio.

“I think it was handled poorly,” said Lady A, who works as a human resource manager. “Local management should’ve brought its employees in and told them what was happening, because this decision wasn’t made over night.”

Lady B, who enjoys shopping at Target in Grand Forks, feels that the business plan in the States is strong and works well but is confused as to why it was not able to transfer into the Canadian market.

When the stock market opened yesterday, Target (NYSE:TGT) stock price had raised $3.01 per share to $77.21 but has since fallen back to $74.20. Management believes that it expects to lose approximately $5.4 billion of pre-tax loses on discontinued operations in the fourth quarter of 2014. Earnings-per-share is expected to come in at $1.43 to $1.46, about six cents higher than anticipated despite the failings above the border.

In like a lion out like a lamb

All good things come to an end, or that's what I've always been told. However, this year though, the break came in like a lion and left like a lamb. I was excited to rest my mind and body as the final stretch was gruesome and rough. That being said, come the final few days before the break ended I was jonesin' for class to come back. It was cold and unpleasant outside and I was bored and going through the motions at home and at work. It was time to start thinking creatively and critically again, I was excited for the new semester and what it had in store for me and the rest of my peers.

This is not to say that the break wasn't enjoyable, but that is far from the case. I had fun going to parties, eating lots of food, being with family (who I don't see enough with my busy life as a CreCommer and a bartender) and relaxing.

I ate more food than I should have and probably drank more than I should have, but it was worth it. I helped out with Christmas dinner and the preparations, not a big deal as I usually help out. I even got a couple of cool gifts such as: An intervalometer (a fancy automatic timer for taking pictures on my DSLR), some more Canadian Tire money to get my Car Starter finally (still haven't gotten it, but soon hopefully), a nice blanket for my couch, a French Press which I have been using everyday thus far. And wait for it.... Cat-Opoly yes, it is exactly what you think it is. Monopoly, but in cat version. I haven't played it yet, but am looking forward to it! I also got other little things here and there.

The break wasn't all peachy though. I had car issues. Rant time. I picked up some friends and we went to a friends place for a bday/going away party. Upon arriving, I noticed that I had a flat tire. No biggie I thought, i'll just pop it off tomorrow and put some air into it at a local station. The following day, I got a ride to my car, not too far from my place but far enough, and jacked up my vehicle, popped off the tire and noticed that it was shredded on the inside. Suffice to say, I wasn't thrilled. I took my dead tire home with me and began calling all the tire shops in the city, and apparently tire shops either close early or aren't open on the weekends...I don't know why that's the case, but I digress, I managed to locate a tire way out at the McPhillips Kal Tire(I live in Osborne). I called a friend, she picked me up and we drove out there. The serviceman replaced it in 15 mins and all was well.

That is until I was driving someone home from work that evening. On the way home I noticed that my car felt uneven, so being paranoid, I pulled over and looked and noticed that I now had a second flat tire is as many days.FML.

I apologized and said she'd have to walk the rest of the way home (only a couple of blocks) and I parked my car on the side street and walked home (also only a couple of blocks). The following morning I went to my car, jacked it up, took the tire off, examined it and felt like it was just a leak that needed to be filled up, no biggie. I wheeled it to the Shell station and plugged in my Loonie to start the compressor, air came out and into the tire, the tire began to swell but wasn't filling after that. I stopped filling and heard a hiss, i found the hissing sound and realized that maybe the tread was screwed. I knew that wouldn't be a hard fix, so I wheeled my tire across the street to my apartment and began calling Canadian Tire. The man said it would take about an hour to fix and cost me roughly $35. A big relief, or so I thought.

I took a cab to Canadian Tire and somehow there was a huge influx of people wanting to retread their tires at the same time as i wanted. He said it would take 2.5-3 hrs. I decided the most logical decision would be to go see a movie at the Cineplex. The Imitation Game just came out and I had some interest in going to it, so I figured I would check it out. It was a good movie, I enjoyed it. Had a strong story line and better than average acting.

I came out of the theatre and immediately got a call from Canadian Tire, they told me my tire was screwed and unrepairable. FML X2.

My sister came to pick me and my wheel up (left the tire there) and went to my parents. My dad suggested that I return my first tire and go through MPI and do their Winter Tire Program . It was a good idea. The following morning I made a call to Kal Tire on Pembina, (much closer) and they told me that they would have to order the tires in and should be good to go the following day.

My car was still stranded on the side street where I had left it the other night BTW.

I hopped on the bus and was dropped off right across the street from the Kal Tire and brought my rim into the store. Explained my story again, which for some reason the service person didn't understand though it was pretty clear. He popped on the tire and I bussed back to Osborne, wheeled my new winter tire to my car and put it onto my car. However, I noticed a ticket on my window for illegally parking on a snow route, bastards. My car was jacked up missing a tire, how would I move it? I'm going to fight it, and I feel like I have a strong case to overturn this slight.

I took my car with 3 different tires on it back to Kal Tire to get the remaining ones sorted out. There was a new person working who clearly had no idea what was going on. It took a solid 20 minutes for her to grasp what was happening, but it all worked out in the end. Now I have 4 winter tires on, a full spare (my spare was flat before all this happened, should've mentioned that earlier) and an extra tire for the next issue that arrises.

That was my shitty weekend all wrapped up in a nice $1200 bill.

Stuff I've done this week

**Not about the kitties**

This week I handed in a few assignments, one for Media Pro and one for Ad. The Media Pro assignment, The Extra Mile, was completed by Neil and me. We were really proud of the work that we put into it and hope that we get a decent mark. I posted it on YouTube and here is the link. Let me know what you think, good or bad.

The Extra Mile

For ad, we were tasked with creating a personal brand that best represents who we see ourselves as. It was fun and interesting to see what I came up with. After that, I created a Prezi, something I had never used before. It was frustrating at times, but I managed to get through it!

PREZZZI

And last but certainly not least, the Live Hit Derby... Well, let's just say that it was fun to watch, not so much fun to be part of. Haha.. But really, I had a good time even if I chocked and froze up so hard.
I have a new found respect for our newscasters who do that on the regular. I guess that is why they are so good (Or the majority of them are) is they have done it a million times. One of my mottos fits well with this theory, "It's all about the reps." Just gotta do it and do it and do it some more.
Everyone did a good job though and it was a lot of fun. I can't wait till April when we get to redeem ourselves, or at least I get to redeem MYSELF.

As an aside (Not a caveat, thanks Melanie), there are a couple of guys who come into my work frequently for a Kokanee or two. I've gotten to know them a little bit over the years. They work in the production studio for CTV next door. Needless to say, when I told them about my live hit, they had a good laugh about it. Who knows, maybe i'll be able to get an internship or at the very least a tour of the building someday, that'd be cool.

I may or may not have a blog post coming next week, we will see...I'm going to keep the streak alive though.

End of semester stresses + some goodies

So it's the end of the semester, and the stress levels are at their highest. But, I can't forget about the kitties... The kitties need lovin' too.

The kitties are great at helping to relieve stress; they are cuddly, warm, and fuzzy.

Even if I'm having a rough time with the copious amounts of homework that my teachers are throwing down upon me (us), the kitties will, sometimes annoyingly, come over to see what I'm doing. And if it's The Cakes, she'll more than likely sit down on one of the papers that I'm trying to read...

It reminds me that the simple things in life should be appreciated, if you do, it'll help to get you through the tough times, such as the four deadlines that I was dealing with on Wednesday/Thursday.
                                                      -The Projector article
-PR research project
-Personality profile edit
-Shoot video at Siloam Mission
-2 memo's





But I did it, I did it all! I was even able to go to my sisters' engagement dinner...yay! congrats!


Oh, and I dropped my iPhone and the screen cracked...awesome..add it to the list of problems that I have to deal with... And if you aren't in CreComm you just won't get it...UGH!





Next week it doesn't get any easier...
we have in order:
Monday-Radio final project
Tuesday-Radio analysis of final project
Wednesday-Media Pro The Extra Mile edited
Thursday- Creative Writing-Assignment 5
                 Ad- Personal Brand
Friday- Journalism- LIVE HIT DERBY DAY *Shout-out to Joanne for reminding me*
                                                              I'm not considering this school work, because it should be fun!

OH and it doesn't get any better after that week...final exams, papers, final media production assignment, etc.

Buuuuut, Dec. 17, we are done...till the January 5th.









On a completely unrelated note, two awesome trailers were released this week,
Jurassic World

and today
Star Wars VII : The Force Awawkens

and a shameless plug for all my TV and movie info, check out Screen Rant

Christmas Cheer!

Now that Christmas songs are played on the radio, I can officially say, it's Christmas time.

With Christmas time, there comes parties, snow, skating, frostbite...and PRESENTS! 🎁

I look forward to all of the above, minus the frostbite, because really...who wants frostbite?

As you may or may not know, I live in a one-bedroom apartment in Osborne Village with two free loading roommates.

Even though I "live alone" I enjoy the feeling/tradition of setting up a Christmas tree and decorating my apartment, even if I don't have any visitors over the holidays.

I like the cheap holiday scented candles at Bath & Body Works and if you do also....Boy do I have an early gift for you! Use the promo code WILDVANILLA at the checkout to receive 20% off your order (online only) by December 31, 2014.

It may be lame and corny, but the kitties have their own stockings set-up that I usually fill with little snacks, usually Temptations, and before you jump all over me for allowing the kitties to eat that garbage. I don't give them out too often, like a cupcake or treat, every once in a while it's nice to indulge a little bit.

In years past I have given the cats Christmas themed collars, but they usually aren't the biggest fan of them. I can understand their resistance to them, but the kitties look prettier, which is nicer than just being plain-jane.

I don't want you to think I dress the Cakes up like this poor guy.
She would probably scratch and claw my eyes out, so I would never dare trying to pull something like this off.

But, you would have no heart & soul if you told me you didn't think this guy was the cutest thing you've seen in a while. It's not flashy, it's quiet simple..but it's elegant.

I love getting Christmas gifts, I love giving Christmas gifts, even to the kitties. This year, however, I don't quite know what to get them.
I've been keeping an eye out for awesome gifts when i'm cruising the aisles of Walmart, Target and Petland.

I recently took to the Internet, Amazon has great gifts for not only cats, but dogs also! Treat the furry family members like you'd like to be treated I say. But them some gifts, and they shower you with coodles and kisses.






Some families go to extremes with their cats though...making Christmas greeting cards. Don't get me wrong, this is awesome and I love it, but I don't know if I could pull something like this off...




Christmas time is about cheer, love, and family so I encourage you, spread a lil' cheer, donate some time/money/clothing to a good cause, because everyone deserves a warm meal and a jacket-Especially true here in "Winterpeg".

Don't be like this grumpy bastard this Christmas!

CreComms night at the theatre

**Sorry to all of you wanting to read about the adventures a CreCommer and his two black beauties, Pancakes and Meisha, this week's blog post will not be about them.**

This past week the CreCommers were sent to Rachel Browne Theatre on the coldest night of the year (yet) to watch Michael Healey's play Proud.

Proud is a funny, sexually charged, politically incorrect and at times an awkward play. It first premiered at Toronto's 26 Berkeley Street Upstairs space in September 2012, and is making its home in Winnipeg from November 6-16.

The play, which takes place after the 2011 election when the Conservative party won a majority government, but instead of the NDP Orange Wave winning 56 seats in Québec, those seats were won by the Conservatives. It depicts Prime Minister Stephen Harper as an unmarried, quick tempered, sexually awkward, economic theory loving, (true), calculating politician who's only goal while in power is to build a Canada that allows its citizens to become 'self-reliant'.

The set (Prime Ministers Office)

The play begins with Harper (Ross McMillan) addressing the crowd (or his new MPs) telling them what he expects of them and how to conduct their business. McMillan's mannerisms and speech patterns are very close to that of the real PM.

In the next scene, Harper is joined on stage by chief of staff, Cary Baines, played by Eric Blais. Baines and Harper are deciding where to seat new Mps in the House of Commons and with every suggestion Baines gives Harper, each is rejected, citing past transgressions/disobedience as a reason why not to have them sit opposite of Harper in the House.

In walks a busty, scantily clad woman who turns out to be the new MP from Cormier-lac Poule, Québec, Jisbella Lyth, played by Daria Puttaert. Lyth needs a condom and as she says, "...you told us to come to you if we needed ANYTHING. So here I am, in need of a condom, do you have one?"

After Harper reams her out for acting inappropriately he tells Baines to get resignation papers for Lyth as she is going to resign from her position. But the quick-thinking Lyth creates a backstory that would do greater damage to the party than her sleeping with a reporter, Evan Solomon. Harper buys it, so Lyth stays.

The calculating Harper hatches a plan to "distract the media" as he is trying to cut down the size of the Privy Council Office by instructing Lyth to table a private member's bill in the House during a session regarding abortion. Lyth originally rejects as it comes out, she's had two in the past, but later agrees as she wants her image to improve back in her riding.

From there the play unfolds as Lyth's bill gains momentum and will soon be tabled and brought to a vote, something that catches Harper and Baines off guard. Baines and Lyth begin an "office" romance which is relevant to the recent incidents by the Liberal Party . Baines later tells Harper that he should sleep with Lyth to persuade her to take her proposed bill off the docket. 

The scene where Harper and Lyth sit in a room sipping (or chugging in Lyths case) scotch feels as cheap and unsavoury as the Ballantine's they are drinking. Eventually the sexually awkward Harper 'agrees' to have sex with Lyth but doesn't have any condoms, cue Baines entering the room with a strip of Trojan condoms.

Off to the side to main stage stood Jake, played by Kevin P. Gabel has a few scenes with a reporter, Evan Solomon, in the year 2029. The Conservatives and Stephen Harper are still in power, but there have been substantial cuts to CBC and Jake goes to an empty building with no producers to conduct his interview. These scenes did not add to the value of the play, only hindered it as it took away from the action of the main characters.

There is no real force driving the play forward and relies on sexual innuendoes to keep the audiences attention.  It felt as if the play ended in a hurry without any real resolution or closure, so that was disappointing. For what it was worth, it was entertaining and enjoyable. McMillan and Puttaert brought forth strong performances individually, but together, something was missing. Blais's portrayal of Baines was good, but felt like that character could be played by most anybody as his character had no growth throughout the play.

Following the play there was a rushed Q & A with the actors and the director, Ardith Boxall. There were the normal "How did this play affect how you view politics? Was it hard to find this character's personality? " questions, but there was one question by a guest questioning the directors views of how the media behaves regarding "distractions" put forth by the government which the audience could see hit a nerve with the director. Following the guests question, the Q & A quickly ended and the actors hurried out of the studio. 

Proud delivered a play that was on par to other plays you would see at Winnipeg Fringe Fest and is worth seeing if you are a left-leaning political supporter who wants to see a farce involving the prime minister.

My Call to Action

Hello once again, this week I figured I would post something relevant to both my kitties and to CreComm . I had to write a call to action about something I cared about, and then record the video in front of a camera. It was a pretty cool experience. Maybe future news anchor? probably not likely, haha. Let me know what ya think.

“Stop! Turn around! Run away!” People believe that you cannot let a black cat cross your path.

The British Columbia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals gathered statistics for feline adoptions rates and found that the average time it took for a cat to be adopted was 50 days. Black cats however, take on average 12 days longer to be adopted. These statistics are troubling.

My name is Clifford Fewings and I am proud to say that I am the owner of two beautiful black cats, Pancakes and Meisha.

Unfortunately, in society a certain superstition surrounds black cats. People are under the impression that black cats are the bringers of bad luck and misfortune. In Great Britain black cats are often given to new brides as a symbol of good luck.

Dr. Lorie Huston found that owning a cat can reduce the risk of heart attack by 30 percent. She also found that owning a cat can both reduce stress levels and the risk of developing depression.

Cats are fantastic companions. They can be moody at times, but they are great at cuddling.  It is true, they are moochers, they do not pay rent, buy their own food and we clean up after them. But I cannot picture my life without them in it.

So I implore you, go to the Winnipeg Humane Society. Look around and play with a few kitties or even a more seasoned cat, they need loving homes too.  However, do not forget about the black cats, take a chance. What do you have to lose?

Call the Winnipeg Humane Society at (204) 982-2035 or visit them online at winnipeghumanesociety.ca for more information.

Remember, black is beautiful.