Thursday, June 22, 2006
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
City Hall and Fountain
This is just to show the Early Birds the fountain that someone put soap in last night. The deer looked like it was eating suds I guess.
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
A Word on Friendship and History
This is a copy of what a friend has written. She speaks so well about what a number of us think and originally posted this to the Creating Keepsakes Message board. I am proud to pass on her message.
"I don’t know how many folks remember me – I started on this mb in 2000, and used to be a real high-numbers poster – I practically lived here. I left, unofficially, about six months ago, and haven’t seen or heard of a ‘whatever happened to…’ post about me since. I do keep up with the goings-on over here, and have tried to tentatively step back in a time or two, but it is with great regret that I find that this is no longer a place I want to be associated with, much less spend time with.
In the coming months, “Chicken Soup for the Scrapbooker’s Soul” will be published, and in it will be a story from me about this mb – a story about how we pulled together as a group to help someone in need. That’s the mb I will remember and miss – the one where we had Early Bird coffee together, played on the beaches at the Cabana Boy parties, met for afternoon coffee, chatted with the night owls, scrapped all day in our jammies, and partied all day when QVC was on and we were spending tons of money – together. We saw each other through marriages, moves, illnesses, births, and deaths.
It seems that CK has created a new message board that is totally devoid of history and that history was HUGE for many people. In CKMB's quest for a new beginning, they have wiped the board clean and started over and created a whole new environment and it seems that is exactly what they wanted. In doing this, they have disbanded former bonds that had been created that were very important to people and made new rules and guidelines for their new "city". It IS very apparent that CK is after new blood. Yes, they are providing some nice new attractions like the gallery, contests, spotlights, etc, but in doing this, they didn't ADD to what they had but seem to have deleted all the old, for the new. They have created a totally new board and I think that is what they wanted.
The people who have been on this board 5+ years in some cases and thousands of posts, have been swept aside and they were the people who made this board what is was and who promoted this board, CK products and its' projects. Scrapbooking is about history, first and foremost and they have recreated the history to their satisfaction.
The layouts being picked for POTD, although mostly very good work, seem to come predominantly from new members who aren’t very involved in this community and seem to be from more professional-type scrappers than true newbies who have just now joined the mb for fun and companionship. If they are going to spotlight someone, I don't think it's too much to expect them to CONTRIBUTE to the MB so that people can learn to do some of the things they do and get to know them. Members of other message board communities are putting their LO's out there for one reason- to have CK pick them up for publication. Period. That is their goal. Is it wrong? I don't know but again, I think CK will drive away others if they continually do this and never recognize people that are faithful to the ck community at large. Also, many of them are not the type of scrapping that the "average" person who buys CK, does. What is wrong with sometimes picking LO"s that are just pretty or have techniques that people might want to try that don't involve going to 10 classes to learn or spending a lot of money in extra embellishments?
I think the "hostess" needs to be more tactful and I also think the board should not revolve just around her, which it seems to do now. The relentless banning of anyone who speaks, even mildly, against this mb, or questions the guidelines or CK authority figures only enforces the feeling that a whole new board with all new members is the goal. The guidelines have been tossed aside and members are being banned with no warning, nor are they given an explanation as to why they were banned. If those in authority don't follow their own guidelines, they can't expect their membership to know what is and is not allowed from one day to the next. If this continues, the board will be in the same boat a couple of years down the road, and the search will be on once again for what made this community the family it used to be. When will they see that it's not the moderators or the hostess or the guidelines, but the members who posted here that made it a warm and welcoming place. Many of those family members were banned, and those who weren't banned have left home. The CK board will never be the same again.
Frankly, I think ck could care less what people think as long as their revenues are up." Va Scrapper (Kath)
Thanks Kath!
"I don’t know how many folks remember me – I started on this mb in 2000, and used to be a real high-numbers poster – I practically lived here. I left, unofficially, about six months ago, and haven’t seen or heard of a ‘whatever happened to…’ post about me since. I do keep up with the goings-on over here, and have tried to tentatively step back in a time or two, but it is with great regret that I find that this is no longer a place I want to be associated with, much less spend time with.
In the coming months, “Chicken Soup for the Scrapbooker’s Soul” will be published, and in it will be a story from me about this mb – a story about how we pulled together as a group to help someone in need. That’s the mb I will remember and miss – the one where we had Early Bird coffee together, played on the beaches at the Cabana Boy parties, met for afternoon coffee, chatted with the night owls, scrapped all day in our jammies, and partied all day when QVC was on and we were spending tons of money – together. We saw each other through marriages, moves, illnesses, births, and deaths.
It seems that CK has created a new message board that is totally devoid of history and that history was HUGE for many people. In CKMB's quest for a new beginning, they have wiped the board clean and started over and created a whole new environment and it seems that is exactly what they wanted. In doing this, they have disbanded former bonds that had been created that were very important to people and made new rules and guidelines for their new "city". It IS very apparent that CK is after new blood. Yes, they are providing some nice new attractions like the gallery, contests, spotlights, etc, but in doing this, they didn't ADD to what they had but seem to have deleted all the old, for the new. They have created a totally new board and I think that is what they wanted.
The people who have been on this board 5+ years in some cases and thousands of posts, have been swept aside and they were the people who made this board what is was and who promoted this board, CK products and its' projects. Scrapbooking is about history, first and foremost and they have recreated the history to their satisfaction.
The layouts being picked for POTD, although mostly very good work, seem to come predominantly from new members who aren’t very involved in this community and seem to be from more professional-type scrappers than true newbies who have just now joined the mb for fun and companionship. If they are going to spotlight someone, I don't think it's too much to expect them to CONTRIBUTE to the MB so that people can learn to do some of the things they do and get to know them. Members of other message board communities are putting their LO's out there for one reason- to have CK pick them up for publication. Period. That is their goal. Is it wrong? I don't know but again, I think CK will drive away others if they continually do this and never recognize people that are faithful to the ck community at large. Also, many of them are not the type of scrapping that the "average" person who buys CK, does. What is wrong with sometimes picking LO"s that are just pretty or have techniques that people might want to try that don't involve going to 10 classes to learn or spending a lot of money in extra embellishments?
I think the "hostess" needs to be more tactful and I also think the board should not revolve just around her, which it seems to do now. The relentless banning of anyone who speaks, even mildly, against this mb, or questions the guidelines or CK authority figures only enforces the feeling that a whole new board with all new members is the goal. The guidelines have been tossed aside and members are being banned with no warning, nor are they given an explanation as to why they were banned. If those in authority don't follow their own guidelines, they can't expect their membership to know what is and is not allowed from one day to the next. If this continues, the board will be in the same boat a couple of years down the road, and the search will be on once again for what made this community the family it used to be. When will they see that it's not the moderators or the hostess or the guidelines, but the members who posted here that made it a warm and welcoming place. Many of those family members were banned, and those who weren't banned have left home. The CK board will never be the same again.
Frankly, I think ck could care less what people think as long as their revenues are up." Va Scrapper (Kath)
Thanks Kath!
Monday, June 12, 2006
Reverse the first two dragonboat pictures
Somehow I got the pictures reversed and didn't notice. Top one has the "mixed" crew and the second one is the"real" team.
Dragonboats
Lately I have been talking about dragonboats and trying to go see them race (and not finding them for some reason) and some people wanted to see what all the fuss was about. So here are a few pictures of a dragonboat that is owned and raced by a local team of breast cancer survivors. Many dragonboat teams are survivor teams. Paddling a dragonboat has been found to be great exercise, requires teamwork, and great for a sense of accomplishment. The first picture shows the boat at the wharf in Shediac, NB, where they practice, with the team of 20 rowers, a drummer and a steers-person. The second shows the boat out in the water with some "guests" in with the regular crew. These pictures were taken at an event in September 2003 to thank the various sponsors who helped them put the boat in the water and who continue to support this team. As my husband's radiology group was a sponsor, we got to go and picture 3 shows me (in blue shirt) and Marcel (just behind and to the right of me with the white hat) ready to take off for our turn in the boat. Lastly there is a close-up of the dragon's head. We also attended a ceremony in spring 2003 where the eyes were painted in on the dragon to "awaken it".
Saturday, June 03, 2006
District 2 Drama Festival
Okay, this is a bit behind-the-times, but in April my daughter Alix performed in 3 plays in the School District 2 Drama Festival and then did 2 of them again in the Provincial Drama Festival in Fredericton. Two of her roles were major ones and one was a small part. I thought I'd show you a few pictures from the plays. The first 3 are from "Women and Wallace" which explores the relationships of Wallace, a boy whose mother kills herself when he is 6 years old, with the women in his life from the age of 6 to young adulthood. Alix played his grandmother and appeared in 3 sections of the play. I have the pictures in reverse. In the lower one Wallace has just lost his mother, in the middle one (Alix in green shirt) he is a young boy and in the top one he is a university student.
The next 3 are from the play "A Night Like No Other" which was written by their teacher, Micheal McArdle and deals with a rich family on the Titannic on the night of the captain's dinner. Alix played the motherwho is anxious for her younger daughter to be as socially well-connected as the older daughter is, while the younger daughter wants adventure and has befriended a young woman from the lower class. We only find out at the end that they are on the Titannic and so all the plans are likely to go wrong for them. Note the elaborate set. Every other high school shows up at this festival with a table and a chair - Moncton High brings a whole stateroom off the Titannic! Alix had this dress made for her by someone who sews better than I do. Isn't it gorgeous!
Thes last 2 are from S.P.A.R. which is hard one to describe in a short paragraph so I won't even try! Alix was "in the audience" with 3 other people and at one point they "discovered" there were walls surrounding them and you can see them leaning up against the wall. They had a couple of lines to say as well. The whole thing was about the play's author having control over the people in the play only they didn't want to believe it . They thought they were "real". Second picture is the curtain call just so you can see all the cast members and the set a bit. Anyway that's it. I can't imagine why I didn't post these earlier except maybe that was when I was having computer problems.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
