Field Trip Reflection !

 Last week we went on a field trip for Library Studies. We went to Granville Island to see two sessions for the Vancouver Writer's Festival. It was a rainy day, pouring, in fact. That didn't stop us from skytraining like 45 minutes and then walking around the island. Although, we did have to Uber there. The first session we saw was one about 'Haunted Writing' and it was really interesting because horror is one of my favorite genres. I did wake up on the wrong side of the bed, you could say, so like I was kiiiinda trying not to fall asleep the whole time. But I still enjoyed it, it was just like a right place wrong time kinda thang. I still was able to like understand the whole thing and I know I really connected with Aden Polydoros' gothic fantasy novel "The City Beautiful." See? I even put in in italics to prove how intriguing it is.

After the panel ended, we got to buy some books for the library from the authors who spoke, (I obviously chose The City Beautiful who do u think I am seriously?) and then got them signed, we even got to ask questions one-on-one. Before we left to go to the market, we had a conversation with Robert outside and even took some pictures. Turns out I should really fulfill my lifelong, big-time dream of being an author. They basically make their own schedules, and they get to write, for a living. They're like Uber drivers, but cooler.

We ventured to the market and sampled pickles (which made my mouth water) and delicious goat cheese. Then we split up, and I sampled some NUTZ. They were soooooooo good, and SOOOOOO overpriced. I wish I could at least say the amount you pay for is worth the amount you get, but I'd prefer my pants don't set ablaze for my lies. I got a honey garlic pepperoni stick and it was really good. I love food. And then I cried in a bathroom because I was so tired that it just made me break down and I was really moody. I had to just go home because I was just such a mess, and I didn't get to see the second session. I couldn't find my way to the bus stop to the station, which turned my breakdown into p a n i c and I just kinda gave up and cried at a picnic table in between two elderly men just trying to enjoy their lunches. You can laugh btw this is like rlly funny.

I ended up figuring out the way, but it still took me like a solid 10 minutes to fully stop crying. So many mothers and their children judged me. Like don't pretend this was never you, Kathy. This is gonna be ur kid too in 14 years. hah.

The bus ride and the skytrain back was actually quite nice and I read my brain book while listening to Lana Del Ray, Weezer, Deftones, Fleetwood Mac, and Rihanna. I was in a weird state of mind, okay? 

Looking back on my whole breakdown/panic attack/mind freak, it's really funny to me even though it just wasn't at all in the moment. But I have those moments quite often, and I always bounce back, so why waste time dwelling on it? The good parts of the day was really good, and super fun. I enjoyed the nap when I got home too, 9 whole hours of non-interrupted slumber.

Selina and I were both given the privilege of choosing 4 books to buy for our library. I can't remember the names of all my choices, but I know one is Rouge and the other is The City Beautiful (in italics again) and I'm pretty sure one of them was a graphic novel or comic type of thing. Idk. Not all of them are in the back office so. OOpsie.  

The Wonders of Writer's Festivals

The Vancouver Writer's Fest

An annual week-long literary festival that is held in late October on Granville Island, Vancouver, which was first introduced in 1988 by a founding artistic director called Alma Lee, later to be named 'The Best Large Literary Festival in Canada" by the Canadian Tourism Commission in 2010, then gaining it's current title in 2012. At  this event, writers from all over the world, including Canada,  perform readings, interviews, and panel discussions.

If I could have gone to two of these past VWF events, I would say;

💭 For sure the event that happened October 18, 2022, "14: Ali Hassan in Conversation with Brent Butt." I know I chuckled at Brent's name today, but it's not even just that. I love stand up comedy and I follow so many comedians online. They usually, if not always, have some sort of rough past that made them funny. Hearing people who literally make people laugh for a living talk about their own pasts and real shtuff, is truly inspiring.

 👈Ali Hassan 👈 Brent Butt

💭 "42: Don't You Want Me Baby?: Authors Do 80s Lyrics" - As a big fan of 80s music myself, I think this even would have been hilarious and so cool to attend. Like imagine one of the authors uses Creep by Radiohead and make it some deep, thrilling poetry.

(I couldn't find pictures from this event and too many people were included in this event so I'm just not gonna put any for this lol)

Of course, there are many other writer's festivals that happen in Canada besides just this one. Here are a couple that I would have loved to go to;

Kingston Writers Fest

Where: Kingston
​What it's about: A five-day festival with approximately 50 events, hosting some 70 authors. The festival offers author readings, interviews and discussions, writers' studio master classes, food and beverage events, and more.
When: Sept. 27 to Oct. 1, 2023

I like that it's 5 days long and has so many different events. Even for food. Love food. Also, they hold events where (from the looks of it, their website was a little bit confusing ngl) you go on a field trip? Like I'm pretty sure with the author/writer/whoever is presenting/holding the event? I love field trips as I don't travel very often, like anywhere. It just overall looks like a fun experience.

Edmonton Poetry Festival
Where: Edmonton
​What it's about: A celebration of poetry and spoken word, featuring a wide range of artists and poetic styles.
When: April 22-30, 2023

Honestly this one looks like most of the other poetry festivals I saw, this one is just in Edmonton, and I've always wanted to go there, so it's really just about killing 2 birds with 1 stone. And they even held an open mic, which I would so be way too much of a wuss to do, but watching other people just get up there and share poetry they have written themselves can be so inspiring and helpful to anyone like me, who would love to perform if their social anxiety and FELS (fear of looking stupid) didn't squander their potential.

Author's We Will Be Seeing:

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Aden Polydoros - A transgender author known for their work in the YA genre. Since coming out as trans after a decade of repression, they have used their platform to support trans youth, raising awareness and promoting inclusivity. Their book, "The City Beautiful" is a historical fiction novel set in Chicago during the 1983 World's Fair. The main character, Daniel navigates the darkness of the fairgrounds while he tries to solve a series of brutal murders.

I love a good murder mystery, and this book sounds like an intriguing and suspenseful read. And it seems to explore themes such as love, obsession, and secrets, all in a historical context, which overall I think would make for a good read.

Naben Ruthnum - He is also known as Nathan Ripley (sounds like he's from Scott Pilgrim or something lol) and has written crime fiction and thrillers that are known for suspenseful and exciting storytelling. I couldn't find anything about A Hero of Our Time, however, Helpmeet is his horror novella about a woman who becomes entangled in a dangerous and mysterious relationship.

The novella is definitely something I would watch, as I will quite literally sit my butt down in front of any horror/thriller film. Also I love when romance is incorporated with horror and mystery. That's all. 

Joel A. Sutherland - Known for his enthralling storytelling and has written books among numerous different genres. His work has gained praise for the imaginative selection of plots and characters. His writing often delves into the theme of human nature, relationships, and even the impact of one's past. He is the author of a collection of books called "Haunted Canada" which is about different regions of Canada, and local ghost stories, legends, and paranormal activity.

I'm particularly interested in this one because I'm such a big fan of paranormal and supernatural kinds of literature and history and all that jazz. Sometimes I fall asleep to the Netflix series "Haunted" or Sam and Colby on youtube. I would so purchase and read Joel's entire book series and read it in like 2 weeks max. So excited.

Robert J. Wiersema - Known for his work in thriller and suspense genres in literature. He is the author of several award-winning novels such as "Before I Wake," which I have read myself. He is also the author of a novella, three novels, and a non-fiction book.

I don't really know which of his works he will be talking about, but Before I Wake was a good novel so I can predict that if his other works are even nearly as good, it will be a fun experience. I don't know what else to say for this one honestly lol.

25

Cherie Dimaline - Known for novels and short-stories that often explore the resilience and strength of Indigenous communities while also recognising important social issues. Her debut novel "The Marrow Thieves" is set in a dystopian future where people hunt for their bone marrow, because it is believed to hold 'the key to eternal youth.' The story explores themes of survival, identity, and the power of storytelling.

I'm like 90% sure that I read like a few of her short stories last year in EFP, and I know for a fact that I read After 'While. Her debut novel seems so powerful and the story overall would be a really good read judging by what I read about it. 

Jen Ferguson - She has a PHD in English and Creative Writing. She believes that writing, teaching, and beading are political acts. She is an author of a debut young adult novel, "The Summer of Bitter and Sweet" which won a 2022 Govenor General's Literary Award. Her most recent book, "Those Pink Mountain Nights" is a Junior Library Guild Gold selection and has four star reviews overall thus far.

I didn't find too much about Jen, but I'm excited to learn more about her and her work.

Canadian Current Events

Visit to Fashion Mogul's Office Ended in Rape, Woman Testifies

💬

I'm a New York Times nerd, so when I went to play the daily crossword, I found this article about the Canadian Fashion Mogul, Peter Nygard, and his recent sexual assault and rape accusations. A woman- who's name, of course, remains anonymous due to a court order to protect sexual offence victims- came forward to a Toronto jury that Nygard sexually assaulted her when she was 28 after a Rolling Stones concert he had invited her to. She afterwards found herself stuck in the lavish bedroom of Peter Nygard's office building, where she was then allegedly raped by him after rejecting his sexual advances towards her. She was the first of five victims to appear in the court trial with similar accusations. Nygard, who is now 82, was accused of this all 2 years ago, which also include charges in Winnipeg and Manitoba. Federal prosecutors in Manhattan have since stated that Peter used his company and it's aspects to recruit both adult and minor female victims for the sexual gratification of him and his own associates. As expected, Nygard has pleaded not guilty to these charges and denied all accusations through lawyer statements.

💭

This article quickly gathered my attention. I have no clue who this Peter Nygard douche is, but I do know that it's very common for filthy rich, successful business owners to use their company and it's assets, such as money or social influence, to their advantage. More commonly, to their own perverted or just downright greedy advantages. And I know that being old, like withering-away-old, on top of being stinkin' rich, like could-relieve-poverty-in-at-least-two-or-more-cities-rich, can help some people get away with some pretty hardcore effed-up stuff. Like look at this man;

Bro's practically just a really fresh corpse. The people of the court will either dismiss everything because of the fact that he could be in his death bed any day now, and there would be little to no point in going through with these charges. Or, they will at the very least make him physically pay the victims. I don't know that much about Canada's laws, but I don't think Nygard would be taken into law-enforcement custody simply due to his age. Possibly even due to his net worth alone. 

👇

Which is so wrong to me. These women deserve justice, and with accusations like these I don't think it would be served without the offender locked up, or facing some sort of brutal consequence. There's literally nothing worse, as a victim of a sexual offence of any kind, than having to suffer the consequences of what someone else did to you. Staying silent, being turned down in court, having them plead not guilty, is the kind of suffering I'm talking about, on top of the suffering you endure all while just trying to recover from the pain and discomfort and humiliation that somebody else inflicted onto your life. Too many offenders get away with these things, or at least get an easy way out. The system has been rigged for too long.

Here are some other NYT articles on the trial;

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/26/world/canada/peter-nygard-toronto-sexual-assault-trial.html?searchResultPosition=2

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/05/world/canada/peter-nygard-denied-bail.html?searchResultPosition=4

(Ugh pls god if ur real u'll make the next blog post fun n cute n exciting)

(if ur real u'll also give me the ability to teleport. and shapeshift. and superspeed and ultra-intelligance)

FH Library Resources

Pt.1 I picked out some of the many databases from our library's digital resources that I think would be useful to students here at Fraser Heights;

1. Gale: Canada in Context 

This site provides regularly updated research material, such as magazines, articles, etc, on various Canadian topics from a Canadian perspective.

Some examples for how this database could help out students are;

- Law 12 students could use an article about the Canadian criminal justice system to help prepare for a mock trial.

- Social Studies 9 could use this database to research for an essay on Canada in the war of 1812

- Creative Writing 11 could do research on Canadian Literature and be assigned to write a paper on a Canadian author of their choice.

2. Discovery Education Math Texbook

A digital math and science textbook.

- This could be used in an 8th grade math or science class. Students have access to text books on both subjects and can then complete assignments on the website. Pretty much just makes text book work digital, might be easier to complete homework if students have accessible technology outside of school. Plus, during school I find that younger kids work better digitally because it's more fun I guess? I mean that's why I worked better I know that for sure lol.

3. Gale: Science in Context

- Provides information on science and how it connects to real world issues like hereditary diseases and chemical reactions and so on.

- Physics students could use this site to research for a paper on the theory of Schrodinger's Cat.

- Earth Science 11 students can read an article about biodiversity to prepare for a unit test.

4.  Know BC

A literary database that includes encyclopedias, literature, and even blogs that include various information on our Beautiful British Columbia.

- Social Studies students can use this site to research BC & Indigenous history using the articles and blogs provided. They could use this information for many possible assignments.

5. EBSCO Green File

This database covers all aspects of environmental impact caused by human life.

- Environmental Science 12 students can use this database to research for assignments about global warming, sustainable agriculture, technology, habitat loss, and various other aspects of environmental issues.

- Earth Science 11 students can study for a research paper about invasive species.

Pt. 2 I also found a couple video streaming databases I'd like to share as well;

1. CBC Curio

CBC Radio's online streaming service that contains news, documentaries, children's programs and other streamable content.

- I found this video through the website titled "Boys Will Be... Themselves" published by Absolutely Canadian. "A strong and sensitive look at the ways expectations around “what it means to be a man” are changing in the 21st century." Is what they wrote in their description. This video seems to be a social experiment done on boys and men of various age groups being asked what it means to 'be a man.'

Boys Will Be.. Themselves

2. Gale: Global Issues in Context

Along with print resources, this database also provides video clips and documents on international topics.

- I found a clip in the Gale Video Series' under the section Government, Politics, and Law that pretty much just explains what identity theft is and how to avoid having your identity stolen.

Identity Theft