Today, we had some salty language on our news cast.  NDP Peter Stoffer called Conservative MP Rob Anders a “dickhead”.  Many argue Anders was acting like one when he suggested NDP leader Thomas Mulcair may have “hastened the death” of now deceased Jack Layton.

Of course, dickhead isn’t a word heard often in newscasts.  More people might watch them if it was.  Some might think it’s pretty offensive language…but we adults know that there are worse words.  Where do TV/radio stations draw the line?  Do we beep it?  Do we leave it? Which words are acceptable? Which ones aren’t? It’s definitely a balancing act.  We are a morning show.  Kids watch us, but at what point do we censor the news?

I admit my reaction to this wasn’t typical…but often I find news stations don’t engage their viewers/listeners enough and ask them what they think.  So I put it out on Twitter and Facebook.  Most people agreed that we should not beep it. Here are some of the comments.

@bigJMcC: Absolutely not! Stoffer’s simply saying what every Cdn. is thinking this a.m. If he was my MP I’d be starting a recall vote.

@jMacPhail81: do not beep it out. it is far less offensive then Anders’ comment

Tom Pura: no need to bleep that out…worst case scenario just warn that stoffer uses a derogatory phrase that may be offensive to some

Robert Firlotte: He does resemble a penis. So no don’t bleep it. LoL. CRTC has different rules however.

On Facebook, we heard from people who were pro-beep.

Candice McDonald: I think it’s a no brainer. A lot of families watch BT in the morning and even if kids aren’t paying attention to the tv, they are still listening. Please bleep it.

Thomas Roberts: : Rather than the media censoring, how about public figures talking in public have the responsibility to do it. The media has been doing too much erring on the side of caution, i.e. blurring over Justin Bieber puking onstage. The public, in general can handle the media content. As for children, those exposed to news probably will benefit from it intellectually and academically. But, I do wonder about parents who would get uptight over the kids hearing ‘dickhead’ but never paused for thought over the kids seeing far worse in the news such as human bodies ravaged by war or genocide, disease, famine, etc.

Scott Malo: FOX news aired a car chase ending where a guy shot himself in the head. I’m sure “dickhead” won’t corrupt my kids anymore than seeing *gasp* a bare breast, or all the filth that’s on the tube these days. Also I can’t believe they blurred Bieber’s puke…I wanted to know what he ate that gave him ‘Bieber fever’.

Scott Mitchell: I think we’ve become “desensitized” to words like that

Peter Shaw: Oh, no question in my mind that Stoffer should watch what he says. But that’s no reason to repeat it on air. Beeping or quieting it shows class, IMHO. Stoffer’s superiors should reprimand him, as should Anders’. The “hastening the death” comments used no foul language but were inappropriate and crude in tone.

Brian Fletcher: The individual said it, it is not the job of ther media to sensor Politician’s comments. The Media did not edit what Rob Anders said and they shouldn’t edit what’s said about him!

Even  Pat Kiernan, former Edmontian and now New York morning anchor weighed in on  Facebook.

Patrick Kiernan: Evening news ok. Bleep it for morning news when kids are watching with parents.

Did news organizations go to far fuzzing Justin Bieber puking on stage?  I saw it…wasn’t offended.  It was dark and it just wasn’t that graphic.  Back to the dickhead debate, as a mom of a 3 year old I know that my little girl wouldn’t capture the word for her repertoire and cuss out the class. For older kids, there may be a bigger problem. But in a perfect world parents might be able to use this as a teaching tool.  A. Teach your kids not to use the word. B. Politics can be ugly. C. Sometimes strong emotions can get the best of us and gentlemen rules are tossed out the window.  However in our story,  Stoffer’s clip was juxtaposed with Layton’s widow Olivia Chow’s lovely and forgiving words.

Robert Hawn on Facebook summed it up the bad choice of words on Ander’s and Stoffer’s parts.

Robert Hawn: Neither individual is being bathed in glory during this episode.

Often strong language adds to the story…takes us there..demonstrates emotion.  Other times it is gratuitous and can be beeped out or should at least be prefaced by a warning.  We know we can’t make everyone happy all of the time. It is a responsibility news organizations take on these issues and ultimately suffer the consequences of the decisions they make.   We take that responsibility seriously.  Because, like politicians you are our ultimate boss…not by ballots on election day…but by simply holding a remote control in your hand.

I was propositioned by Keith Richards. I have flown in countless helicopters. I have seen things in the Eskimo’s  locker room that still make me blush today.

One of many hairstyles over the last 15 years. Not sure when this was.

This week marks 15 years for me at CKEM-TV. We have changed names twice and changed owners 4 times over my tenure. I’ve been here so long I made up my own name: Day One’r.  I walked into this building days before A-Channel launched.  And today when my shift ends I will walk out of the same building…now with a City TV sign.  I’ve covered a lot of stories. Met a lot of people, including my husband. Worked with a lot of talent. Laughed a lot. Cried a lot.  If you will indulge me, here’s a few of the highlights and low-lights.

Propositioned by Keith Richards in 1997

1. In 1997 at 2:30am, I sat waiting, along with other media, at a private landing strip for the Rolling Stones to touch down. Mick Jagger refused to stop for an interview. He went into a waiting car. Keith Richards did come over when we called him. In a scrum…I asked Richards what he planned to do while he was here.  In a playful tone, which I’m sure has worked on hundreds of women…he sexily sneered “Why don’t you come over and find out.”   The next day, I took him up on his offer. A cameraman and I staked out the Hotel MacDonald the whole day…but he stood me up.  Once again…I’m sure I’m not the first one.

2. I have covered many trials and crime stories over the last 15 years…but the one that stands out is the case of Liana White, a pregnant mom murdered by her husband, Michael. It seemed like I  lived in front of that Castle Downs house that week.  Before his arrest, I was there when Michael held a press conference outside his home.   But, it was his trial that sticks with me.  It was photos of Liana shown in court. A pale body partially hidden by the long emerald green grass. Dumped in a ditch. Her pregnant belly forever protruding my mind. I can still see it as plain as day if I close my eyes.

3. The story that still haunts me with olfactory hallucinations is the Park Allen cat house.  It was an unassuming home, in a nice area, owned by two women. Their elderly mother lived there.   There were hundreds of diseased and dead cats there. They were wild and really sick. Many carcasses were stuffed in garbage bags all over the property. There were no kittens…officials say they were likely eaten by the bigger cats. There was at least 2 feet of feces on the floor and the smell of ammonia could knock you out.  In terms of stink, there is no comparison. ITV reporter Sandra Blaikie went in and did what we call in the biz…a ’stand-up’. Basically, it’s when you see the reporter on camera. I am a competitive woman and I knew I couldn’t go back to the station if I didn’t walk through that door. An ITV camera man, Hank generously lent me his rubber boots.  Thank goodness because a little blue mini dress isn’t really appropriate attire for cat hell.  I was in the home for 8 minutes…and I gagged from the stench for 7 and a half of that. Thanks to Rod (my camera man who is also celebrating 15 yrs) for trying to help me get through it.   If you can stomach it..here’s the raw footage.

There are countless other stories that stick out. My trip to the Philippines. Visiting the Oiler’s and Eskimo’s locker rooms where I saw way more than just the play books (blush). Breaking down in tears doing the story of a couple married for 60 years who died within 24 hours of each other. (for which I received an AMPIA award)

As many characters as I have interviewed…I have worked with just as many. Sadly, I must admit this TV station has been a revolving door of talent. There are only a handful of original employees.

Drew (now a Mountie)  used to sing the A-Team theme song when passing cars on the highway.

A few of my fantastic former co-workers. Drew is in the yellow jacket. Rob is next to me.

Brian (CTV Edmonton) was outside taping a live hit when he clotheslined a thug being chased by police outside the station.

Frank (Franh-k), a German camera man was sent to get shots of Peter Pocklington at the court house during his legal problems a few years back. Frank didn’t know who Peter Pocklington was, but he saw a photo before he left.  He went up to a grey haired man, and in his best Arnold Schwarzenegger he said  ”Are you Peter Pocklington?”  The man said no. But the 5 seconds of video Frank took…said yes. It was indeed the wily Peter Pocklington.

Rob (CTV Vancouver) was reporting on a minimum wage increase.  In an attempt at humour Rob said at the end of his taped stand-up, “minimum wage is going up and A-Channel employees couldn’t be happier.” It was not for public consumption. Mistakes were made. It made it to air. Bosses were not happy. However, it still makes me laugh.

Erika Linder, Big Breakfast traffic host, was killed by drunk driver in August, 1999.

We also lost a few people over the last 15 years. Erika Linder was a young, beautiful traffic reporter on Big Breakfast. In 1999, she was killed by a drunk driver while on vacation with her husband.  Who knows where her talent would have taken her. And there’s Rick Taylor, a short camera man with the biggest heart.  He always had a smile and routinely came in with sundaes for the weekend crew. He passed away from a heart attack while on a shoot west of Edmonton.

A-Channel on strike in 2003

There was the bomb sent to the station in 1999 that went off right next to me. You can read more about that here.   Also there was a six month strike in 2003. I was out on the picket line with most of my co-workers.  But many of my friends stayed inside and continued to work. That was one of the toughest times for this station…and led to huge changes that eventually gutted our news programming.

We have had our challenges. Like many media outlets, we have gone through many layoffs. But I must say, I have loved working here over the last 15 years. I guess that’s why I am still here.  You just hope, like with any job, you made someone’s…anyone’s life better.  I know my life has been shaped by the people I interviewed, the stories I covered and the people I worked with.  To all…thanks for 15 years of memories.

Finally, I want to leave you with a laugh. This building has heard my annoying, loud cackle more than a few times over the past 15 years. Here’s a few bloopers of my CKEM experience. I start with my first stand-up at NAIT, go through a couple of hair styles and shoulder pads and end with my stint as host of Breakfast Television six years ago with Bill Welychka.  Just a warning, while none of the salty language made it to air…I can sometimes curse like a sailor.

It’s been 13 years.  I almost died.  The person who tried to kill could be walking the streets right now. I don’t know.

I keep newspaper clippings from the day after the bomb under my bed. This is my foray onto the front page of the Edmonton Sun

13 years ago this week,  I was doing a word find puzzle from the paper and chatting with our assignment editor Garnet Lewis. I was waiting for my camera man to take me back to the infamous Park Allen cat house.  The day before, hundreds of sick and dead cats were found living in a small house along with an elderly woman. The smell of that place covered in a foot of feces and that penetrating scent of urine still gives me olfactory hallucinations to this day. I was going back to do a follow-up story from the day before.  The camera man was late.

I was just there waiting.  Passing time. Chatting.  In between my word searches…I saw Garnet with a big vanilla envelope. You know, the type used in every office. It was addressed to the Trouble Shooter.  We didn’t have a specific consumer reporter so Garnet, the man who filters all story ideas, opened it.  I remember a tape case was inside.  I just remember a flash.  I remember Garnet closing the box. I remember him throwing it out in front of him.  I remember the noise.  It sounded like a fire cracker. I remember something hit my eye…and bounced off. I remember thinking “why would someone send us one of those Christmas crackers?”  Inside, I must have known it’s wasn’t something innocuous as a cracker.  I ran to a nearby office to call 9-11.  I dialed the numbers and I put down the phone.  I couldn’t believe what I saw…why would police? I went back and saw Garnet lying on the floor.  His glasses askew on his face. My co-workers who didn’t run away like me but ran towards him told me later he kept asking “Where’s Stacey? Where’s Stacey?”

Another clipping. Photo of Garnet with our former boss Chris Duncan

We all hurried out of the station…and it’s a bit of a blur after that.  The building was evacuated. The whole busy area around Jasper Avenue and 102 St was completely shut down.  Emergency crews started to show up. And so did the news vans.  We were now the news and I didn’t like it. Garnet and I were taken by ambulance to the Royal Alexandra hospital. Police took photos of me. Doctors checked me out. I was fine. Garnet lost some of his hearing that day.  And all of us at the station lost our innocence.  We didn’t find out until later exactly what happened.  A bomb was sent to the station.

A bomb? I wasn’t a soldier. I wasn’t a cop. I was a young reporter on my way to investigate the stinky house of a couple of  cat hoarders. Why were we targets of a bomb? What did we do to deserve that?  Turns out we would never learn the answer to that question. Police told us the bomb was filled with razor blades. It would have killed or seriously maimed us had Garnet not attempted to close it when he realized something was wrong. He didn’t allow it to detonate fully or things in my life, if I still had one, might be very different.  I dubbed Garnet my ‘bomb buddy’ after that.  He was back at work the next day.  But he left A-Channel less than a year after the bomb.  He’s a Facebook friend. I wish we were closer than that. I will never forget him and how he followed his instincts.

Turns out an Edmonton man was behind the bomb.  He had sent others.  One went  to Calgary Police chief. That was safely detonated. And turns out he also shipped a fake one to the Edmonton Police chief.  The crown prosecutor of the case filled us in on how they caught him. It was amazing police work, the kind you see in TV cop shows, that led police to his door.  I went to court when he was charged with attempted murder.   Justice was quick in this case. He pleaded guilty. He stood up in court and apologized. The judge said this was an act of terrorism and he was sentenced to 12 years in jail with no possibility of parole. He had to serve his full 12 years.  It’s been more than a dozen years now, I have no idea if he is out of prison.  I did see him in the courtroom, but I don’t know if I have ever passed him on the street. Or if he watches me on TV.

Cover of the Edmonton Journal. The bombing made headlines around the world.

I don’t think about it much but recently a young mother died in Innisfail after she was sent a bomb and a man was caught with explosives in Mill Woods. Those headlines brought it back. And just a few months ago a former co-worker who was in the station but nowhere near the bomb when it went off reached out to me. It was still haunting him all these years later.  It surely left its mark on me. But I had to ponder…how?

- I think about death a little too much.  Occasionally, I can close my eyes and see bad things happening to my loved ones.  I immediately open them to stop the macabre show. But, I am a news anchor and read about death and destruction all the time so I’m not sure if the bomb is the only thing to blame.

- You do not want to sit next to me at a scary movie or walk up behind me when I am not expecting you.  I am unreasonably jittery when it comes to unexpected loud sounds. I will scream at the top of my lungs usually freaking out everyone near me.  They don’t know why I do that. People laugh.  So do I. But I know the bang I heard that June day is the reason everyone is staring at me in the theater shaking their heads.

- I also am very careful about the mail I open. The station bought a scanner checking all of our packages shortly after the bomb.  Anything dicey-looking I am very careful with.

Truth be told, I’m not sure how this experience has affected me. Self analysis has never been a strong suit of mine.  I know this man’s crime gave me perspective. After something like this happens, it gives you pause…you slip into trite musings. “Hug your children.” “Never leave the house without telling your loved ones how much you care”. Those are powerful and important words.

But sometimes I do go to bed mad. After a while that ‘life-affirming’ perspective slips away, falling victim to  mundane life.  I know every minute is precious. And life should be lived.  Believe it or not,  I hope the man who sent the bomb has a great life as a free man and finds happiness. I don’t want him to ever again feel the anger and desperation he must been mired in when he packaged up those razor blades to indiscriminately kill. Saying all this if he passes me on the street…I hope he walks right on by.

Today we welcomed Adam Beach to Breakfast Television. I enjoyed him on Law and Order: SVU. He’s been in 60 TV and movies including Flags of our Fathers and Windtalkers.  He’s a handsome man, but I didn’t know much about his background. He grew up on a reserve in Manitoba.  At an early age, he lost his mother to a drunk driver.  Shortly after his alcoholic father drowned.  He and his two brothers were raised by a couple of family members.  Something he said struck me…Ryan asked him about how he overcame such tragedy to find such success.  I loved his answer.  He said he was dealt “a pretty crappy set of cards”…so he said he just had to “reshuffle the deck.”  He credits his culture for helping to do that.

Adam Beach on Breakfast Television with my favorite quote of the day.

He’s now working on building an acting school for aboriginal youth. He is now set to inspire.   Beach is here in Edmonton promoting his new movie “Path of  Souls. It will be airing at the Dreamspeakers festival.

I have a few incredible friends. One of them is Hal Spelliscy.   Hal was the first person I met when I left home for the first time and moved to Kelowna for a full-time TV job back in 1994.   My former boss, Tim Spelliscy had asked his brother to show me around.  The last time I had been to Kelowna was at the height of Flintstone land popularity…meaning about 2 decades before. I was just a few years out of diapers.  Hal took this overwhelmed cub reporter under his wing and helped me get adjusted to the beautiful Okanagan city.  During my stint in Kelowna…Hal introduced me to his family.  Tim, I already knew from my ITV days.  Irene, his sister is fabulous. And I was also honoured to meet another sister,  Anne.  Anne has ALS. Also known as Lou Gehrig’s.   She had a supportive husband and a young son.  When I went to her house for dinner one day she was learning how to speak using a computer.

Anne Spelliscy with her husband and son

I learned ALS is horrific.  It doesn’t affect your mind. But destroys your body…turning it into a prison.  You may remember Sue Rodriguez from B.C.  She also had ALS…she fought for the legal right to end her life because the option of living and eventually dying from ALS was just too painful for her to imagine.  She lost that battle…but chose to end her life in 1993 with the help of an anonymous doctor.

Anne is not like Sue.  Anne was given 2-3 years to live.  She is now one of Canada’s longest survivors of ALS having lived with it for 23 years. I can’t imagine her life.  I’m almost scared to imagine it. She’s been eating through a tube since the early nineties. She’s been on a respirator since 1995.  She hasn’t left her home since Hal’s wedding in 1996.  But yet she helped raise a son.  That little boy I met so long ago is now a world class triathlete. Her son learned to walk when she lost the ability to move around on her own. He was learning to talk when her voice was waning.

I didn’t know Anne very well…in fact I lost touch with Hal and I wasn’t sure she was even still alive.  But every time I heard the acronym ALS, I thought of Anne. I was delighted when I heard she was still alive.  Recently, Hal told me a few stories about her.  He talks about a Christmas letter she sent out in 2009…in it she said “I have now been on the ventilator for 13 years and besides having ALS, I am in good health.”  She says she is not dying from ALS…she is living with it.  Thousands of Canadians and let’s not forget their families are also living with Lou Gehrig’s disease.

With that kind of inspiration, Hal is tackling a journey of his own.  He is planning to ride his motorcycle across Canada in 90 hours in early June. Sounds crazy. But he has a plan.  Here it is  ”We are going to use a “tapering” approach where we ride more early in the trip and early in the day. As the trip progresses, we’ll add one more hour of rest and one less hour of riding.  All riding will follow sunrise/sunset so [almost] no night riding.  Sleep and pace are the common themes we’ve heard from the two dozen or so others who have completed this trip.  We do expect 6-9 hours of rest each night.”  Day one has him going from the Maritimes to Quebec. Then from Quebec to Manitoba for day 2.

Catching up with an old friend after Hal Spelliscy spoke about his ride on Breakfast Television

Hal is undertaking this epic ride for Anne.  For other families who live with ALS everyday.  Please give if you can. I hope he raises a lot of money for research and support for families dealing with ALS. Here is the website http://ironrideforals.ca/als/ .  I am inspired by Anne’s fight.  I wish Hal safe travels. I am proud of my friend. 

If you are bored, raise your hand. Can’t? Too busy trolling the Internet looking for post-election post-mortem?  Looking for articles by pollsters trying to explain away what went wrong?  It’s been a week since #abvote ended and well…it’s a little slow.

Don’t get me wrong; the negativity was overwhelming. The misinformation and visible hatred was horrific to watch.  But, as much as I cursed the negativity and the drama, it was exhilarating and in a masochistic way… kind of fun.  I know I am not the only one.  I see you out there one week later…sharing articles. Writing blogs. Trashing your opposing political parties. You still have those twibbons on your twitter avatar and your party’s colours on your Facebook profile. You miss it too.

This was the (seemingly) closest race we have had in a while. After 41 years of the same government a lot of people and especially the media were looking for a change or even just a real horse race.  I’ll let you in on a little secret…media like drama.  Ok..not sure if that’s a secret. They like conflict. And they devour polls that..as we found out…that have no apparent basis in fact.   Lest I forgot about 2008.  Pollsters back then were also calling for a tight race.  But the Liberals were the ones doing the heel nipping.  Deep down I think the bulk of Albertans will never be able to vote in a Liberal government…not until all memories of the NEP are bred away.  My husband tells the story of the last election…as the results came down in 2008.  It was looking like another Tory majority.  He heard a reporter yell out…”FUCK. I can’t believe it!”  Was this reporter a NDP supporter? Did he have ties to the Liberals?  He may have even voted for the the PC’s. Not sure..but odds are they were pissed because they wanted a change.  Another story. Another challenge. Not the same old government. With the same old predictable characters.

Oh well…it is what it is.  Now, election junkies will have to immerse themselves in the run off election in France. Or apparently according to pollsters the Federal Conservatives and the NDP are neck in neck in the latest polls.  With Wilfred Laurier coming up not far behind. Wink.

Yesterday was ‘Change your PIN day’. Police say you should change it every couple of months to prevent criminals from skimming your banking information and stealing your money. You don’t change it because you will forget? Here are some tips.

1. Pick your favorite number and then pair it up with the month. eg. Fav. number 30. Month (march) 03. PIN 3003
2. Use words and then translate them into numbers. ‘Word’ is 9673
3. I like this one the best. Put a fake contact in your phone. Sapin Smith 856-7890. The last four digits can be your pin. Just back up your phone to the computer in case it goes down and keep your battery charged if you want to go to the bank machine.

We also heard from our viewers….

4. Peter Fairhead suggest password keeper in Blackberry.

Elaine Wilson warns…if your pin is longer than 4 numbers you may have problems when travelling. “Many countries will not accept bank card pin numbers greater than 6 digits. It’s a good idea to change it before you go and then again when you get home.”

“Mama..climb up my hair.” Mama…don’t call me Olive. I’m Rapunzel.”  ”When I grow up I want to be a mermaid.”  Just a few of the funny quotes I hear everyday from my little princess who thinks she’s real royalty.  She has to pretend to touch a spinning wheel before she goes to sleep.

How bad is it? We went to the grocery store about 6 months ago.  She grabbed an apple from the pile.  Pretended to take a bite.  Carefully placed her self on the ground in the produce aisle.  Peeking through her half-closed eye lids she murmured….”kiss me prince.  I’m sleeping”.  My kid is dramatic.  I accept that.  Insert joke here. (Apple doesn’t fall far from the tree is an easy one) I have heard the stories about girls who love princesses who grow up to be spoiled, obsessed and materialistic.  I think there is a check and balance in parenting,  so we have indulged her obsession up until now.  I hear they suffer princess overload after a while and it will burn out.

I care about the women my girl looks up to.  Yep…I’m going to be cliche…but I want them to be strong, independent women who’s self worth doesn’t hang on the whim of a man.  I don’t want her to be a princess waiting in a tower for her true love’s kiss.  Gag.  I want her to fashion a rope with leftover dental floss (environmentally friendly and thrifty).  I want her to scale down the tower (athletic). I want her to navigate her way over to the nearest registry,  get a business licence and open up a self help company to aid aspiring princesses kick the damsel-in-distress habit.  OK. That’s over the top.  She is only 3.  But seriously like most moms…I want to make sure she is surrounded by positive role models.  Disney has changed as the times have. But really…bottom line is that the moral of their story is money.  Let’s judge for ourselves.

How does your favorite princess stack up?

Sleeping Beauty: She seems nice. Humble as she is raised as a peasant.  There’s not really an opportunity to save herself.  She is locked in a tower asleep and can only awake when a prince plants one to break the spell.  At least she spent an afternoon with her prince before deciding she loved him. See Snow White.

Role Model rating:  5.

Snow White:  I dislike this Disney standard the most.  She is to women’s lib like Kim Kardashian is to long term relationships.  When Snow White has her first chance encounter with the prince, she giggles and runs away without saying a word.  But yet she loves this complete stranger and she is carted off to his castle in the clouds. At the end, she totally abandons her 7 new friends who risked life and limb to save her from the witch.  Unless there is some back story we are all unaware of…that is weak. Plus that voice is just down right grating.

Role model rating: 0

Belle: I like Belle.  She wants much more than this provincial life.  She wants out of her small french town and rejects the town hunk, Gaston.  She is brave, kind and smart.  She loves her dad and sacrifices herself for him.  Here’s where Belle goes off the rails…she never learns the name of the man she loves.  She just calls him Beast throughout the movie.  That doesn’t seem right.

Role Model rating: 8

Ariel: I’m gonna put it out there. Ariel is a stalker.  She watches Eric from the sea. Collects his stuff.  Talks to his statue. Even when she gets legs, she can’t engage in an actual conversation with him because the witch took her voice. This doesn’t reflect kindly on Prince Eric who must have fallen in love with her looks.

Role model rating: 3

Mulan: Not a princess.  But she’s my favorite.  Like most girls, Mulan struggles with finding her place in the world.  She feels the pressure of being a girl in a stifling male-dominated culture. She wants to please her father so much that she disguises herself as a boy to fight in his place. Mulan is the one saving the men on the battlefield. Go girl!

Role model rating: 9

Cinderella: She is a bit of a door mat, bucking to every whim of her step-mother and step-sisters.  But she really is kind to animals.  Name a princess movie that doesn’t have an animal in it.

Role model rating: 4.5

Tiana: Tiana knows what she wants and she is working hard to get it.  She’s not wishing on a star hoping her own restaurant will fall into her lap.  She falls in love by accident while her prince is an amphibian.  She also proves that not all princesses have to be white and blond.  I wish she was more mass marketed.  Plus the music in the movie based out of New Orleans is quite catchy.

Role model rating: 9

Rapunzel: I like that she has freckles.  Little girls can see themselves in her.  The man Rapunzel loves is flawed.  Sounds realistic because really…aren’t they all?  Her machiavellian mother pulls her strings until she finally gets the courage to strike out on her own…after 18 years.

Role Model rating: 7.5

Pocahontas: It’s tough to judge a character based on a real person. Pocahontas is brave. Beautiful. Respects nature.  The movie doesn’t end with the happy ending like most Disney flicks do.  I admit I am a sucker for a love story and I wanted the two to stay together despite all the inherent challenges.  Gotta respect Disney for mirroring actual history at the end.  Kind of.

Role Model rating: 8

Yes. I have not been kind to these beautiful, fragile, animals-loving females our little girls admire so much.  But like most moms, I want the highest standard of role models for my kid. Saying all this…if princesses are a drug…I am my daughter’s pusher.  I am the one buying the dolls, the games, the dresses.   I like the smile it puts on her face.  I like the imagination I can see blooming when she puts on her Rapunzel dress. No matter the princess of choice…it’s really up to us moms to be the best role model in our children’s lives.  We are the ones they mould themselves on.  Now if only I could grow my hair 70 more feet so she can climb out the third story on it.

We won the prize we sought.  The Shameless Self Promotion prize.  What logos?  ha ha.

Our team. Producer Jenna, Ryan, Bridget and me. Thanks Christmas Bureau for inviting us.

There were other entries.  Really good entries.  Check out the Edmonton Sun’s.

The Edmonton Sun's entry was very creative. Really liked it.

The CBC team…bless their wonderful newsy hearts…cheated like no body’s business. They recruited Brett Roy from Sweet Lollapalooza , a chocolate shop from Commerce place to put them over the edge.  They won most festive.

This team won most festive. But brought in a ringer...a professional chocolate maker.

We all had a lot of fun and left on a sugar high.  But we all left knowing that we, in our little way, helped the Christmas Bureau.  You can help make a difference in some one’s life by donating on line, at local malls, or any fire hall.

Icing in hand. Gingerbread man. Check. We are ready to decorate.

Another year.  Another sticky fingered, icing covered debacle.  We along with other media teams decorated gingerbread houses for the kick off of the Christmas Bureau.  It’s an institution here in Edmonton.  This year they are raising 1.8 million dollars to provide a proper, festive Christmas to those who might do without.  70-thousand this year.

Go Shameless self promotion. Or go home!

Our goal is simple.  Go BT or go home.  So we painstakingly cut out dozens of BT logos and pictures of well…ourselves to use to decorate.  We also went with the breakfast theme.  Coffee for the roof shingles.  Bacon siding.  And chocolate eggs for good measure.  Not a nutritious breakfast but a recipe for success.