BT Edmonton Blogs

I vaguely remember the first day of  kindergarten. It was at Abbott school in the north end.  I remember the colourful room.  I remember all the new toys.  I can’t remember crying or clinging to my mother’s coat as she tried to make her escape into 12 years of freedom.  But I probably did.

Change is hard

On Tuesday, in our news cast, we ran a story about the first day of school for Elk Island school division.  Most kids looked snappy in their new clothes, almost happy to be lugging the still-creased-from-the-store backpack to school.  But as I was reading the words on the teleprompter…there was one little girl who caught the corner of my eye. Watch the video and toward the end…look for the girl in pink.  It looks like she was told Disneyland burned down and she was going to identify the remains of Mickey mouse.  She looked like she was told Santa decided to cease and desist any more visits down her dusty chimney. Her tear soaked face matched her pink sweater.  Her mouth gaped as she openly sobbed.

After 5 years of being home with mom, surrounded by her favorite stuffies,  napping  in the comfort of her own bed…now she was told it’s time for her to move on.  It’s heart breaking, but  just one of many adventures she will face as she grows up.  And we all know she’ll be okay in moments after her mom or dad tears her hand out of theirs.

But will the parents be ok?  The interview with the school principal told the other side of the story.  She said there was a lot of tears…but these salty droplets were rolling down the faces of the parents.  I know that will be me.  I cry at the new Apple iPhone commercial with the new grandpa.

My own little girl is facing a new adventure in her life.  She is going to daycare on September first for the first time.   I am nervous.  The butterflies are thrashing around in a mosh pit in my stomach.  I know, like all those parents dropping their kids off at school for the first time that it’s another adventure for her.  She loves being around other kids and I know her speech will improve and she will thrive in the supportive environment.  But as a mom, I want to shelter her from the kids who will run her over with their tricycle or push her out of the way to get at the sandbox.  But, growth comes with letting go.  I am just glad my husband will have the adventure of dropping her off .  He can grow.

On Wednesday, the rumours started flying for who would face off on Season 11’s Dancing with the Stars.

Today, another name has been added to that list.

But to re-cap first, David Hasselhoff, international singing superstar Michael Bolton, Jersey Shore’s “The Situation” (imagine the outfits, my friends), and “The Hills” reality star Audrina Patridge have been said to hit the ballroom.

Bristol Palin.

And so, apparently, is Bristol Palin! Oh boy. Meanwhile, the father of her child and ex-fiance Levi Johnston is filming a reality show to become mayor of Wasilla, Alaska.

The true stars of “Dancing with the Stars” will be announced during Monday’s “Bachelor Pad” which airs on Citytv Edmonton at 9 PM.

Lindsay and her mom.

Rumour has it, a New York-based radio station is prepared to offer Lindsay Lohan and her mother Dina $1 million to co-host its nationally syndicated morning show!

The station, Party 105, is located on Long Island in Lindsay’s hometown of Merrick, New York.

According to a rep at JVC Broadcasting, they’d pay Lindsay and her mom would cover trendy fashion tips, entertainment news, and evem have an advice hotline.

It is not yet known if she’s accepted or turned it down.

This- less than 48 hours after she’s been released from rehab.

Despite the fact I have a blog, I can’t say I’m a blogger.   I have a blackberry.  I use it for texts, emails and phone calls.  That’s it.  Oh, and the occasional game of crib.  I have an ipod shuffle that someone had to load for me. A techie I am not…much closer to a luddite.

To be honest, I’m not sure if anyone cares what I have to say or if anyone is reading my blog..it’s only 3 weeks old.   I know I have the freedom to write what I want…so long as it’s not spewing hate or inciting violence.  As I muddle my way through the blogosphere, I find this article fascinating.  The Oilers and other NHL teams do not accredit bloggers and they want the teams that do…to stop. Read this…it’s a great talker.

http://yhoo.it/9QTHSz 13

What is a blogger?  Someone who has a website and rambles personal thoughts? Are they a journalist?   Is everyone with a ‘blog’ allowed a free pass to an Oilers season?  Are there more qualified bloggers than others? I’m not sure if every Tom, Dick and Harry with a blog should be allowed in the locker room, having access to the players.  I think the team and its officials should be held accountable for their actions but I think there are already a lot of qualified people there to do it.  Most bloggers comment on what they read in the media anyway.

The Oilers probably want more control on the people who comment on their performance.  The bloggers are not accountable to anyone, but their readers. Team management doesn’t have a general manager or publisher to call if they don’t like what they hear or read.

Not everyone who applies for accreditation to Oilers games gets it.  Should the big bloggers like David Staples be allowed and the smaller ones forbidden?  My colleague Ryan brings up a point. He says if someone tapes a news event on their handicam…is that video of less value, less legitimate than video taken by a traditional news organization?

From sports to theatre…these bloggers know how to make waves. That brings me to the big blogger vs actor blowout of last week.  A local blogger posted theatre reviews on her site. An actor got upset  about what he read and posted an ugly response, saying (among other things) the blogger is not trained to write reviews and shouldn’t.  That response was then blogged and tweeted and facebooked. The actor got death threats.

A blogger should have the freedom to write about sports teams and the things they see on stage.   The blogger, in question, didn’t get free tickets to get into the shows (she bought season tickets). And honestly I can most times relate more to a layperson’s review than a trained professional who can talk above my head.

Blogs are relatively new…I guess when you compare them to traditional newspapers, TV and radio. By my mumbled thoughts, you can see I’m struggling with this.  I have a few blogs i follow.  My favorite is Perez Hilton. Redneckmommy makes me laugh, gasp with shock and often cry.  David Staples has a good sports blog.  As with everything, we will struggle with this new form of technology until it becomes even more mainstream…a day that the Oilers and a certain actor are not looking forward to.

Everyone is talking about the bison roaming the streets of Camrose.  They must have needed to work on their short game, as they took over the local golf course. Golfers were shocked (who wouldn’t be?) and one took video.  There was fear slash laughter in his voice. 

 But these bison are not small.  They weigh about 2000 pounds.  They have the ability to run 48 kilometers an hour.  That’s not funny. 

Bison are the most dangerous in rutting or mating season

According to the book Nature on the Rampage, bison are like freight trains with hooves.  “Its battering-ram skull is topped with horns specially designed to hook and gore its foes”.  Park wardens say bison are at their most dangerous during rutting season (which runs through September…which is now).

Here’s some tips if you encounter a bison on the street (that sounds funny to say, and it’s even odder to think we might actually need them)

-If you see a bison with its head lowered, snorting and pawing the ground…start running.

-Running is a good idea, but they can outrun you so get a head start.  Bison run three times faster than a human.

-If you can’t run…lie down. Bison have a hard time getting its head and horns down to gore you.

Having a bison walk down main street past city hall is way different than the docile animals you see on the side of the Yellowhead in Elk Island Park.  Let’s just hope you don’t have to look one of these beasts in the eye and wonder if you should drop or run.

Well, that was a first (for me, anyway)! For what felt like five straight minutes, millions watched a kissing competition unfold between grown adults on Monday night’s episode three of Bachelor Pad here on Citytv.

Before our Tuesday morning BT Bachelor Pad panel, I asked Jennifer, Charity and Trevor to sum up their viewing experience in just one word. “Creepy” topped the list, followed by “uncomfortable,” “trainwreck” and “icky.”  Of course, some of the participants were easier on the eyes than others. But still, I couldn’t help but feel I was peering in the window of a high school party gone rogue.

I suppose that’s the point of Bachelor Pad. Every time you lose focus and start to look for budding romance on the show, something happens to snap you back to reality. Some reminders come in the form of relationships born, nurtured and busted up over the course of 24 hours. Others, in the form of back-stabbing, flirting and alliance-building. This is not The Bachelor or The Bachelorette. This is not a noble search for love. This is reality TV’s most loved/hated stars pulling out all the stops in competing for $250,000.

Just when you think you’ve figured out each competitor’s game plan, there’s a twist. Sometimes, it’s one of the Most Dramatic Twists Ever. Good thing we’ve got our panel to sort out all the drama. Click here for this week’s installment!

Don’t miss next week’s panel Tuesday morning at 8:10. We’ll have details on how you could rub shoulders with some of your favourite bachelors…up close and personal!

rpj.

It is definitely cool to have a dinosaur named after your city.  There’s no Hong Kongasaur, or Chicagosaurus.  It makes you wonder what you might find in your back yard if you dug deep enough.

How do you wake up your kid for school?

School time is just around the corner.  While my girl is too young to go to school, she will be going to daycare for the first time in September.  The rare time we needed to wake her up…we just opened the door.  She heard the morning commotion, the sound of our voices and she woke up. That is not going to last forever.  I know there will be a time that she pretends she doesn’t hear me when I plead for her to get out of bed.   

Here’s some suggestions I hope to try out when I need to pull them out of my arsenal.

- Be funny. Do a Friday morning dance.  Make faces.

- Be sweet. Showering your kids with kisses may work up until they turn into a teenager.

- Be annoying.  Tickling may tick them off.  But they won’t hate you for it.

Here’s what some of my twitter friends said

@Lynnoil says singing 80’s songs always works.

@hurtinalbertan says have an understanding with your kids.  If they miss the bus and need a ride to school..the gas money comes out of their allowance.

@mommagrocks says she yells “wakey wakey rise and shaky” and then gives them a good toss.

@debraward does what alot of people do…a spray of water works everytime.

@dheuman says he starts with gentle talk.  When that doesn’t work then drums, pots and pans, then cymbals and last resort cold water.

@donnalives says she wakes her child up asks them when they will be ready to get up.  She sets a timer and waits for the beep, 3 to 5 minutes later.

@difabs says his mom always tore the blankets off him.

And lastly, if you want to get aggressive with a sleepy teen…lift the mattress up…just high enough to get them to roll out.

Let me know what you do to make kids rise and shine.

 r

Fantasia Barrino.

Fantasia Barrino has cleared the air. After being hospitalized for an overdose of aspirin and sleep medication, she admits she intended to commit suicide.

Her sobering sentiments are revealed in an episode of VH1’s Behind the Music, airing Tuesday night.

The 26-year-old singer says, “I just sat in the closet and looked at the mirror and took all the pills in the bottle. I wanted to go to sleep and just be at peace. I knew exactly what I was doing. You can’t accidentally take a whole bottle of pills.”

“At that moment, I wanted out. I wanted it to be over with — all of it,” she adds.

“I remember waking up in the hospital,” the singer tells VH1, according to People, and thinking, “‘It didn’t work, I’m still here in this hellhole. Still here with all this drama going on.’”

The incident followed Barrino being named in court papers alleging she had an affair with a married man.

She’ll be back at work Tuesday. The American Idol star will perform on Good Morning America to coincide with the release of her third album Back to Me.

Alexander Skarsgard, Anna Paquin, and Stephen Moyer on an upcoming issue of Rolling Stone.

On and off screen couple Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer said I do this weekend.

The True Blood stars were married Saturday at a beach side villa in Malibu.

A reported stop on their honeymoon: the 62nd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards.

The newlyweds have been added to the roster of presenters for the Emmys in L.A. this Sunday, Entertainment Weekly reports.

They’ll be joined by a third True Blood star, Alexander Skarsgard.

For the record, HBO’s True Blood is nominated for the best drama Emmy, and in the categories of casting, art direction and sound editing.

Courtesy 20th Century Fox.

I’m sorry, I need to roll my eyes here. Avatar hits theatres Friday. Again, you ask? James Cameron is inviting movie-goers to take an extended tour (9 minutes to be precise) of Pandora.

Cameron says the new footage in “Avatar: Special Edition” is sprinkled throughout the film. A special-edition DVD with the new footage will be released in November- just before Christmas.

 I feel like I’m in a dream sequence…you know like in movies.  Things are hazy, kind of out of focus…but I usually don’t smell like campfire in these scenes in my head.

 Edmonton is enveloped in smoke.  The perfect storm of weather systems trapped the B.C. haze here in Alberta.  It’s worse in Red Deer and Calgary where air quality is very poor.  As I’m writing this, Edmonton is listed as fair.

Some people are finding it harder to breathe, others are losing their voices.  Here at City TV, we turned off the air conditioning to keep the smoke out of the fresh air intakes.

 Alberta Health Services warn people with respiratory conditions to stay indoors.  I have found that’s easy to do.  I drive from my attached garage to the underground CityTV lot…I could go days without going outside and smelling like roasted marshmallow.  That indoor isolation may be great in this circumstance, but obviously not in others.  People living suburban lives, like me, often miss out on the new birds who move into their yard, and greeting neighbours with a smile and a wave everyday.  But that’s a different blog.

Will using a mask help in the smoke?

I’ve seen a few people continuing their exercise routine despite the fog. Some are wearing masks. Do they help?  Well I did some research.  The Alaska Public Health Department says most don’t. “It must be able to filter very small particles (around 0.3 to 0.1 microns), and it must fit, providing an airtight seal around the wearer’s face.   Paper “comfort” or “dust” masks commonly found at hardware stores are designed to trap large particles, such as sawdust. These masks will not protect your lungs from smoke. “  Wet towels and bandannas also don’t work well. Respirator masks can filter some particulate, but they have issues as well.  For more information, here’s the website.  Hopefully the smoke settles before we need to go out and buy one.

http://www.epi.hss.state.ak.us/eh/wildfire/FAQ_FireSmoke.pdf

The gorgeous Miranda Kerr.

Victoria’s Secret model Miranda Kerr has confirmed she’s four months pregnant with new husband Orlando Bloom’s baby!

The Australian beauty confirmed it all to Spanish Vogue just one month after her secret wedding to her longtime boyfriend.

Those two will have THE most beautiful baby.

Madonna's "Material Girl" line in Macy's.

Madonna is being sued over the name of her new junior clothing line.

Clothing company “L.A. Triump Inc.” filed the law suit claiming Madonna used its “Material Girl” trademark which its used since 1997.

It wants her to drop the name and hand over all of the profits the line has made- which is in the millions of dollars.

This is just the beginning I’ll bet.