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Two teams from Okanagan College's School of Business have made it into the final round of the prestigious Inter-Collegiate Business Competition (ICBC) to be held at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario Jan. 3 – 5, 2013.
The Management Information Systems (MIS) team and the Finance team will be the only college-based teams taking part in the national competition, up against top-level competitors from Canadian universities including Simon Fraser University, Calgary, and Concordia.
"Whatever the outcome of the final competition, I have no doubt that our students will represent Okanagan College very well, just as they have in previous years," said Okanagan School of Business Professor Derek Cook, who is coaching the finance team for the second year in a row.
Last year Okanagan College students put on an outstanding performance, returning with a first place finish in the ethics competition, plus top-three placements in the finance, debating and accounting categories.
Business Administration students Josh Widman, 22, and Daniella Hallam, 22, are studying at the Kelowna campus and are both on the Finance team.
"Our case involved working on monetizing Twitter, and we focused on coming up with creative ways to add value," said Hallam. "We're very excited about going."
The Management Information Systems team, with Vernon students Nicole Hamming and Adria Couch, is being coached by Okanagan School of Business Professor Glen Coulthard.
"I'm consistently amazed by our students and their ability to compete at the international level," said Coulthard, who attended the ICBC alongside one of the Okanagan College teams two years ago. "We have some of Canada's best and brightest students and it's very rewarding to witness their personal growth and successes in these competitions."
The ICBC competition is now in its 35th year and is considered to be Canada's premier undergraduate business case event.
Participating students spend a month completing their analysis and written presentation of a business case in order to get into competition. The cases are distributed to faculty members of the Queen's School of Business faculty for evaluation. Only the top six teams reach the final round in each category.
During the final round, students are given 5.5 hours to review, analyze and prepare a 15-minute presentation before the judges, many of whom are business leaders.


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College courses can be a demanding experience for even the most well-prepared students—and those are the courses that are held in a classroom on dry land. Now imagine that your course is held more than 100 feet below the surface of the ocean.
In December, a group of students and faculty from Rochester Institute of Technology traveled to the South Caribbean island of Bonaire, known for its accessibility to divers and its incredibly diverse marine life, for an annual study-abroad course in advanced underwater imaging.
The seven-day trip was an opportunity for the students to learn about diving and underwater photography and videography. The students performed a variety of dives and techniques, including night, deep and wreck dives, and as a result, many of them earned advanced diver certifications. Rene Piccarreto, an adjunct professor at RIT, says that the opportunity to learn advanced diving techniques and photography skills simultaneously is a unique one.
"There's a steep learning curve, but by about the middle of the trip, everything comes together," says Piccarreto, who leads the course. "The students' diving abilities quickly get to a point where they can fully integrate their photo and film skills into the dives."
This was the fourth time Piccarreto has led the course, and it has grown in size and scope with each subsequent year. Twenty-two people went on the most recent trip, including 12 new divers and seven who had gone in previous years.
New this year, the students created a website with an interactive PDF that contains a series of articles, photos and a video documenting various aspects of Bonaire and diving. Additionally, a blog was set up through the website for students to document their experiences.
Mike Norman, a fourth-year information technology major, was one of a growing number of students from programs outside of the College of Imaging Arts and Sciences to take the course. Norman created the website and assisted with many technical aspects that have helped to add a more technology-based dimension to the course.
"I think it's great to include people with different skill sets," says Norman. "Taking a course outside of your major and your comfort zone really opens your mind."
The course has gotten students hooked on diving. Piccarreto notes that some of the students from past years have gone on to become dive masters and instructors. "Of course there have always been talented photographers, but there are also some really talented divers at RIT. It's kind of a hidden community," he says.
Nicholas Mancuso, a fourth-year biomedical photographic communications major; Timothy Tiebout, a biomedical photographic communications major who graduated in February; and Myles Crawford, a third-year film and animation major, all contributed extensively to the creation of the PDF and video. The video will be entered in RIT's School of Film and Animation Honor Show.
The trip also afforded the group many opportunities to interact with an abundance of marine animals, including octopuses, eels, turtles and lionfish, among many others. At one point, a group of students spent approximately 20 minutes with an octopus. "It was incredible the way it blended in with its environment. You could barely discern it from a rock," Mancuso recalls.
Despite the thriving aquatic life of Bonaire, debris pollution is a major environmental issue on the island. On previous trips, the group has focused on issues such as underwater pollution and the overpopulation of lionfish. This year, the group spent time helping to clean the coasts by collecting garbage to fill large mesh bags provided by Dive Friends Bonaire.
Piccarreto is planning to return to Bonaire next winter, and many of the students have eagerly expressed interest in going back. Nearly every student had something positive to say about the experience.
"It is one of the best things I've ever done," says Mancuso.
To view the blog, photo gallery, video, and to download the PDF, go to http://bonaire.cias.rit.edu/.

subset: commoncrawl


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Beaumont/Port Arthur
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) issued an Ozone Action Day for the Beaumont-Port Arthur area for Monday, May 7, warning residents to be aware of the dangers associated with the event.
More than $2 million has been awarded to Southeast Texas to help local agencies assist victims of crime, according to South East Texas Regional Planning Commission (SETRPC) Executive Director Shaun Davis.
Hurricane Rita devastated the Gulf Coast and caused billions of dollars in damages in Texas when it swept through in 2005. Beaumont and Jefferson County were hard hit with hundreds displaced, and it has cost millions locally to repair damages and to rebuild Southeast Texas.
The South East Texas Regional Planning Commission (SETRPC) has announced that Jefferson County is conducting a test of the functionality and accuracy of the Southeast Texas Alerting Network (STAN) on Thursday, August 6, as a part of the region's hurricane and all hazards preparedness efforts.
A fight that has raged on for years between the Beaumont Housing Authority (BHA) and fair housing advocates over hurricane funding meant to replace public housing units on Concord Avenue continues to drag on, and now new opposition threatens to derail
When a natural disaster strikes a community, it does not discriminate – wreaking havoc on the rich and poor, just and unjust, people of every race, religion and social status. Southeast Texas was ravaged by two killer hurricanes in the past decade – Rita in 2005 and Ike in 2008.
In a meeting Wednesday, May 10, the Southeast Texas Regional Planning Commission (SETRPC) met to discuss a potential grant for the Lamar Institute of Technology (LIT) Regional Police Academy and an update on Ike Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Housing Program, among other agenda items covered at the meeting.
Standing next to her budding winter garden of lettuce, collards, turnips and banana peppers, Ethel August pointed to the blue tarp on her roof and lamented.
"The roof is leaking real bad in the kitchen," said August, whose home on Forrest Street still bears a sun-worn blue tarp more than four years after Hurricane Ike damaged her roof in September 2008.
While we harbor no disrespect for the Wall Street Journal who called us "that scrappy little paper from Southeast Texas," we prefer to think of ourselves as simple seekers of the truth. We're of the opinion that headlines and sound bites never tell the whole story. Our readers demand all the facts, facets and flavors of every story or event. And, they expect to be informed, educated and stirred to action.
For this week's New York Times crossword puzzle, pick up a copy of this week's The Examiner on newsstands now.


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It was kind of scary.
But the only means of getting to this …
and this …
I must agree with Vreni and Melch, life is indeed too short to eat bad cheese.
The friend I'm visiting is all about nature: she studied geography and geology, and now she's back getting her teaching certificate. So I learned lots about slimy stuff and why it's slimy, in her best field-trip manner.
There was a waterfall, the remains of a 12th-century hermitage, and flowers.
Then it was back to the car and home, with muddy boots and tired feet.


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Reviewed By Craig H (OAK VIEW, CA) Reviewed for a 2009 BMW X5 —6/21/2016 1:35 PM
Very happy with my Thule Force Cargo Box. The delivery company did a great job delivering the order timely, the customer service was excellent making sure there was no damage in the shipment before leaving. Everything looked great. The rack & cargo box was easy to install & fits like a glove on my BMW X5. Now we can vacation & our 2 golden retrievers have more space in the back of the car.


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For January 13, 2016
"Many of us don't think about our careers beyond our next royalty cheque," said CANSCAIP President Sharon Jennings as she began the January meeting, "but tonight we're here to talk about what happens to our work in the long term—about how we can control and protect our careers even after we are gone."
Our guest for the evening was Marian Hebb, here to talk about Estate Planning for Creators.
The NEWS is here!
Sharon directed us to the latest issue of CANSCAIP NEWS, which includes her column on being in despair as a creator, Marsha Skrypuch's "Meet the Professional" interview with Forest of Reading director, Meredith Tutching, and VP Lena Coakley's article on "Worldbuilding for Fantasy Authors." The featured creator is two-time GG winner, Caroline Pignat.
Having an book launch or event?
In the interest of supporting each other, the CANSCAIP office is now announcing events like book launches through the CANSCAIP email. Tell the office about your upcoming events and we would happy to spread the news! We'd like to support each other. (Email email@example.com)
Canadian Writers' Summit
Helena, our administrative director, informed us that CANSCAIP will be part of a new multi-organization conference that will take place June 16-19. There will be sessions on writing craft, aboriginal writers, cover design, copyright issues etc. Kenneth Oppel will be CANSCAIP's keynote speaker on the 18th and Jean Little will be the Writers Union keynote.
Packaging Your Imagination
Our annual conference will be back at Humber in November. Dates to be announced.
Writing for Children Competition
We had a record number of entries this year which has resulted in a few delays. Winners will be announced in February.
Volunteers Needed!
Are you interested in volunteering for CANSCAIP? We need help in the following areas:
Email Helena if interested. Volunteers do not need to be local to the Toronto area.
Teresa Toten's novel, The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B, has won ALA's Schneider Family Book Award, given to a book that embodies the disability experience.
The legendary Paulette Bourgeois took the floor. "It's been a long time since I stood up with a new book," she said. Paulette told us that after her success with the Franklin series, she went back and did an MFA in creative writing for screenwriting. Though many of her screenplays have been optioned, none were made. However, she was asked to write a novelization of producer Anne Tait's film, Iron Road. Her new book Li Jun and the Iron Road is is a historical novel for young adults about a Chinese girl who dresses as a boy and joins thousands of Chinese men blasting a path for the new railway through the "impassable" Rocky Mountains. From Dundurn Press.
Vice President Lena Coakley told us about her new book, Worlds of Ink and Shadow. The book is a YA portal fantasy based on the fantasy worlds created by the famous Bronte siblings. Lena did quite a bit of research for the book including traveling to the Bronte parsonage in Yorkshire twice, where she was allowed to study in the parsonage archives.
Jennifer Maruno was delighted to announce that she had completed the third book in her series about Michiko Minagawa, a girl of Japenese heritage living in Canada around the time of the second world war. Cherry Blossom Baseball was launched this month to a large crowd. In this installment Michiko must once again adjust to a new situation as the only Japenese student in her school—until Eddie Adams, seeing her amazing baseball skills encourages her to try out for the all boys local team. When the truth comes out, there are consequences to face. She has to make a decision: Play ball amid all the harassment, or pitch like she's never pitched before. From Dundurn.
Paulette Bourgeois introduced our speaker, saying, "I have known Marian Hebb since 1986. A publisher was interested in my new book, then called The Turtle They Called Chicken. I joined the Writers Union and saw they had a brochure called "Help Yourself to a Better Contract." I turned it over, saw Marian's name, and decided then and there to hire her to negotiate my contract.
Since then Marian has worked tirelessly for authors. If you have received an Access Copyright payback, you should thank Marian because she was instrumental in securing those rights for authors. She is a founder and past chair of Artists' Legal Advice Services, a governor of the Canadian Copyright Institute, and a member of the joint copyright legislation committee of the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada and the Canadian Bar Association.
There is now an Access Copyright research grant in the arts in her name (The deadline has been extended to February 16th if you are interested!), and she was the lawyer for the heirs of the LM Montgomery estate.
"You own copyright," Marian began. "This distinguishes you from many others who make wills."
Marian went on to advise us that in Canada, everyone should have a will. However, she told us a surprising fact. Many writers and illustrators who DO have wills, forget to mention copyright! Often a lawyer may not know to advise you on this important consideration. Remember to bring this up when making a will.
If you will be making a will soon, here are some things to consider thoroughly:
1) Figure out what is part of your literary estate. Keep good records for your heirs. Upon your death your executors should have all your contracts and other information such as lists of where your work is published, your latest royalty statements, your agency contract, etc. DON't give your current contracts to an archive because they won't be able to find them when needed. DON'T rely on your publisher to have copies of contracts. This is not their responsibility.
Keep in mind that your copyright assets also include stories in anthologies, joint authorship, and sound recordings of your work.
2) Do you need a literary executor?
Some people will name a literary executor in addition to their executer. This person would handle all matters regarding your works under copyright.
Family members are the first place to look for a literary executor. They have an interest in keeping your work alive. Young family members such as a grandchild might be a good choice as your heirs will own copyright for many years into the future.
If you don't name a literary executor, your general executor will take on the task of dealing with your copyrighted work. This may be fine for you as well. A middle-ground option would be to name a "literary advisor" who wouldn't have legal rights but can advise your executor.
3) Consider: What happens when those executors are gone? If you appoint a literary executor and they die, their executor becomes yours. Do you want that?
4) Consider: Do you want the work you haven't finished destroyed? Kept? Continued by someone else? If you are an artist/illustrator, what do you wish to happen to your unsold work?
Because you don't know how publishing will change after you die, it's sometimes better to leave some of these decisions to your executors and heirs. Often it's preferable to find an executor you trust than to try to lock-in your decisions in your will. You can direct your executor with a letter that is not legally binding but which spells out your wishes.
About Your Copyright
Marian ended with a wrap-up of what she considers her three most important points:
Have a will!
Have the word copyright in your will!
Keep copies of current contracts!
Our next meeting will be on February 10th and will be in Illustrators' Night with Gary Clement!
Wednesday, December 9,2015 7:00 PM
Minute Notes taken by Saumiya B. Pictures by Debbie Ohi.
Our president, Sharon Jennings began by with an anecdote (from Facebook) that said, 'People who engage in artistic activities are 73% less likely to suffer from memory decline'.
She then informed the members about her many efforts and letters to the Toronto Star to improve and include children's books in the best-sellers list. CANSCAIPers on the list include Robert Munsch, Eric Walters, Linda Bailey and Lorna Schulz Nicholson.
Sharon also mentioned CANSCAIP authors who were winners at the 2015 TD Canadian Children's literature awards gala.
Marthe Jocelyn for What we Hide, Amy Mathers Teen Book Award.
Jonathan Auxier for The Night Gardener, Monica Hughes Fantasy and Science Fiction Award
William Bell for Julian, John Spray Mystery Award
Marsha Skrypuch for Dance of the Banished, Geoffrey Bilson Award
Kira Vermond for Why We Live Where We Live, Norma Fleck Award
Cybele Young for Nancy Knows, Marilyn Baille Picture Book Award
Jonathan Auxier for The Night Gardener, TD Canadian Children's literature Award
Sylvia McNicoll : Survival, Grades 6-12
Sylvia paid tribute (in Swedish) to the late Paul Kropp, then translated the same from her book Survival. Her dedication to Paul will read:
For Paul who launched a thousand reading and writing ships
and this one small airplane.
Brooke Kerrigan: Fisherman Through and Through, Picture Book by Red Deer Press
Kathleen Gauer : High in the Sky, Picture Book by Skipping Stone Press
Kate Blair: Transferral, Young Adult Sci-fi by Dancing Cat Books
Helen Alto, CANSCAIP Administrative Director, spoke about the success of PYI . The registrations increased from 118 in 2014 to 140 in 2015, with virtual PYI numbers soaring to 44 from 23 last year. The art show numbers also exceeded 2014 figures.
Sharon informed us that the executive board is approaching publishers asking them to let CANSCAIP know of their events, so it is easier for our members to be aware of ongoing programs.
Patricia Storms, programme committee chair, said the special potluck night of delicious goodies was a great opportunity to learn how to produce best-selling Christmas books. She then introduced Lisa Dalrymple who has lived with chickens in South Korea, lizards in Thailand and two sisters in the U.K.
Lisa, who is well known as the "skink lady" for her book Skink on the Brink, said that she would rather be known (suited to the occasion) as the A-Moose-Goes-a-Mummering lady.
Lisa's first book was If It's No Trouble…a Big Polar Bear, which according to her did not do as well, in spite of being a Christmas book that Quill and Quire featured it in its Fall 2012 preview alongside Robert Munsch's Finding Christmas.
At this book's launch in Newfoundland, while standing right in front of tall shelf stacked with multiple copies of A Porcupine in a Pine Tree, her publisher expressed her views. "We need a 12 days of Christmas in Newfoundland book," she said. At first Lisa did not think she was the right author for this project, not being a Newfoundlander, but her publisher was persistent.
Lisa learned that the history and heritage of Newfoundland was very different from her own home province. For a Newfoundland Christmas book, Lisa figured there had to be a moose, a moose in a spruce. It was by chance that when she was talking about her work-in-progress that an acquaintance said, "Oh, a Newfoundland Christmas book. Is it about mummering?" At first, Lisa didn't know what mummering was.
She discovered that mummering is a Christmas-time house-visiting tradition practiced in Newfoundland. A group of friends or family dress in disguise and visit homes within their community or neighbouring communities during the twelve days of Christmas. If the mummers are welcomed into a house, they often do a variety of informal performances that may include dance, music, jokes, or recitations. The hosts guess the mummers' identities before offering them food or drink. They may poke and prod the mummers or ask them questions. To make this a challenge for the hosts, the mummers may stuff their costumes, cross-dress, or speak while inhaling – ingressive speech. Once the mummers have been identified, they remove their disguises, spend some social time with the hosts, and then travel as a group to the next home.
When asked (by someone in the audience) about the challenges in producing Christmas books, Lisa said that a Christmas book has the potential to sell very well every year, but it's a big risk for the publisher. Some won't take that risk.
The second half of the evening was informative and inspiring, as Werner Zimmerman discussed the visual aspects of creating Christmas books. He is a life-drawing instructor at Seneca and Humber Colleges and an award-winning illustrator.
Werner shared slides of his rough drafts and thumbnails for his bestselling book written by Helaine Becker, A Porcupine in a Pine Tree.
His process is to first break down the story into storyboards. Then he doodles for a while, creating character sketches and playing with colours.
Werner often draws real-life animals. He visits places such as the zoo and the ROM where he spends several hours drawing beavers, puffins, dogs etc.
Werner talked about how where the eye naturally falls when looking at a picture. Artists can learn to play with this to subvert expectations and to create a sense of motion through a narrative. As with words, there is also that rhythm in pictures.
As Werner progressed through his Porcupine in a Pine Tree slides, he spoke about breaks in "picture frames" – where the illustrations begin to go in and out as opposed to back and forth. This adds variety. For the puffins' spread, he broke down the picture frame, making the birds seem to pop from the page. (Werner said he'd love to literally do this with a pop-up book, but Canadian publishers find them too expensive to produce.)
Werner concluded his presentation with a picture of him in the Scholastic office where he was given a desk to work at. Even after all the work he does at home, there are many comments from editors and art directors to be addressed, and his art is covered with many sticky notes.
Sharon was curious about what was on the sticky notes. Werner said that those were tiny missing or extra details, or something like a character not looking consistent throughout the work.
Sharon then asked the industry lead time. Werner and Lisa both agreed that it was 2-3 years from acceptance to publication.
Lisa was asked if she went through an agent. She said she did not and that it was harder in Canada to find agents that would represent picture books.
Helena asked if it were true that authors and illustrators rarely met. Lisa and Werner said that this is not unusual, but it was not true in Lisa's particular case. Werner said that as an illustrator he preferred not to have an author looking over his shoulder, but Lisa said that her illustrator for Skink on the Brink found Lisa's input useful for biological accuracy, as Lisa had become something of an expert on skinks and their habitats.
The evening ended with merry holiday socializing and delicious treats and desserts brought out by members. Sylvia McNicoll and Debbie Ohi won the raffle for the evening – prints of Werner's lovely paintings.
January 13th
Marion Hebb—founder and past chair of artists' legal services at TWUC will conduct a session on legal services at the CANSCAIP meeting in January.
Books For Young People with Disabilities and Silent Books: Final Destination Lampedusa
Wednesday, November 11, 2015 7:00 PM
Meeting notes taken by Saumiya B.
Our president, Sharon Jennings (dressed like a poppy) began by welcoming visitors and members. She held out Linda Granfield's In Flanders Fields—a story of the famous poem by John McCrae—and highlighted the growing statistic of increased children's attendance and participation in Remembrance Day commemorations. Sharon rightly pointed out that we (as writers of children's books) are doing a wonderful job of producing those books and living up to our mandate of 'teach and delight.'
Helena Aalto announced that a couple (literally) of spots were available for registering for the upcoming PYI conference this weekend, November 14. She thanked the conference committee for their contributions to organizing this wonderful event: Lena Coakley (One-to-One Coordinat
or), Heather Camelot (Speaker Coordinator), Jean Mills (Communications), Melanie Fishbane (Social Media), Jenny Watson (website) and Nicole Winters for taking on the huge job of coordinating virtual PYI. Helena also thanked Humber College who host and provide support for the conference. Melanie Fishbane asks that PYI participants tweet at #PYI2015.
Tied in to PYI is an amazing art show featuring over 20 great artists including Michael Martchenko, Holly Main, Barbara Reid, Ruth Ohi, and Oleg Lipchenko to name a few. Helping with the mountings is Jennifer (who writes under the nameJ M Filipowicz) and coordinating the art show is Holly Main.
Caroline Pignat for The Gospel Truth
Sydney Smith and JonArno Lawson for Sidewalk Flowers
The Jock and the Fat Chick by Nicole Winters, a debut YA romance from HarperCollins
Speechless by Jennifer Mook-Sang, humorous middle grade from Scholastic
Theo Heras (retired children's librarian from Toronto Public Library) introduced Leigh Turina, librarian for the IBBY Collection for Young People with Disabilities and Mariella Bertelli, children's librarian and storyteller.
Leigh is a children's librarian of over 25 years who now oversees the IBBY collection of books for young people with Disabilities. She said the IBBY collection (in over 40 languages) is open 7 days a week and is an excellent opportunity to see what amazing work people are doing in other countries.
From over 159 submissions (across 27 countries), an outstanding collection of over 50 books is summarized into a catalogue available online through the Toronto Public Library website.
Leigh talked about the 3 main categories and the wonderful books in each classification.
1) Specialized Formats (such as books in braille, specialized fonts, or pictograms)
These include wonderful books like Off to the Park, My first Braille ABC, and Klaus Vogel and the Bad Lads.
2) Universal Access (These books provide universal access to all young people, especially those with learning, intellectual or developmental disabilities.)
e.g The Great Big Book of Families
3) Portrayals of Disability (general books that portray young people with disabilities).
Leigh told us that the ALA once did a study and reported that most productions tackling disabilities were orthopedic or visual.
She then went into more detail, recommending wonderful books in this third category, Portrayals of Disability. Teresa Toten's The Unlikely Hero of room 13B tackles the mental issue of OCD in a way that sets tough issues in a realistic way. Sharon Draper's Out of My Mind is the must-read story of a brilliant girl who cannot speak or write. Wonder—an inspiring story of a boy who is born with a facial difference—proves that you can't blend in when you were born to stand out. Maggot Moon is an unforgettable story of courage, friendship and rebellion. Mallko y Papa is a book about a father's initial struggle and ultimate acceptance of his son's Down's syndrome. Writing with Grace is an inspiring and informative story that delves into what it takes to face one's own prejudice, and what it means to live a full and worthy life.
Our second speaker, Mariella Bertelli, is a children's librarian, storyteller and a longtime member of IBBY who promotes Canadian children's literature abroad—so much so she hosted a pancake party with Canadian maple syrup that she carried in her luggage to Lampedusa- a tiny island that looks like a stone in the midst of the Mediterranean Sea.
We heard first-hand about IBBY Italia's activities in Lampedusa. Mariella shared the stories of the many Africans who try to escape poverty, terrible work conditions, and wars who die at sea or as soon as they make it to the island. Although European laws welcomed refugees, the reality told a different story. But when bodies began to wash ashore on Lampedusa, the islanders (about 6000) of them wanted to help the surviving refugees.
Mariella and Deborah Soriah wanted to bring books to the locals and the refugees. A library would provide a wonderful public space for the wellbeing of all children living on the island. IBBY International supported the project, and many IBBY sections from around the world donated wordless picture books. The Silent Books Collection and Exhibit became a reality.
Mariella said that they hope to expand the project to build a special study center to further reach out to the refugee kids.
Theo Heras thanked Mariella and Leigh and urged CANSCAIP members to visit the IBBY website and join/support online for the work they do internationally.
Before we dispersed to walk down to the concourse level to view the exquisite collection, Sharon Jennings concluded the meeting by reminding us of the Seasonal Potluck meeting with speakers Werner Zimmerman, Lisa Dalrymple on December 9th. All are encouraged to bring in books and goodies for the December Party!
Minutes for Oct 14th, 2015 CANSCAIP Meeting
Notes by: Anne Laurel Carter
Our new vice- president, Lena Coakely, chaired the meeting and began by welcoming visitors and new members.
Lena announced our delight that Eric Walters has been honoured for his many contributions to children's literature by his recent admission to the Order of Canada. She also congratulated the nominees for the 2015 Governor General Awards and The Canadian Children's Book Centre Awards.
Ann Dublin: 44 Hours or Strike!, historical fiction for ages 12+ from Second Story Press.
Nadia L Hohn: Music and Media, non-fiction for Grades 5 and 6, in the Sankofa series from Rubicon Publishing.
Barbara Reid: Sing A Song of Bedtime, Illustrated Mother Goose rhymes for ages 3+ from Scholastic Canada.
Helena Aalto announced that illustrators should email her immediately if they wish to submit their work for the artists' show at Humber College Nov 10 - 20 and at PYI. There is still time to register for PYI Nov 14th at Humber College. Call or email Helena at the office for more information.
Patricia Storms introduced our speaker Sydney Smith who hails from Nova Scotia and recently moved to Toronto. Sydney has received numerous awards and has just been nominated for a Governor General Award for the picture book, Sidewalk Flowers, from Groundwood Books.
Sydney began his presentation by showing us some of his childhood favourite books that made lasting impressions on him, in particular: the illustrations of Edward Gorey; those of Juan Wijngaard in Jelly Belly (very scary); Where the Wild Things Are; and The Church Mice by Graham Oakley. Sydney loved that darkness was allowed in these books.
Sydney also loved the panelled art of comics. Astrix and Tintin and Calvin and Hobbs are probably responsible for his career interest in illustrating for kids. These comics gave him permission to go crazy with his imagination. He was in Gr 7 when he moved to a small town where he was the "left-out outsider" and filled the void of friendship with drawing and painting. He drew lots of bullies and super-heroes.
After high school he attended NSCAD in Halifax and focused his work in his sketchbook where he didn't have to worry about making mistakes. The sketchbook was a forgiving place and fun to show friends and family. Being in Halifax there were plenty of musicians/bands around and he began to do the underpaid artwork for covers and posters around town. He even taught himself how to do stop-motion animation.
After trying editorial illustrations for the Globe & Mail he landed his first book illustration contract for Mabel Murple, which lead to There Were Monkeys in my Kitchen and then Toes in My Nose, all written by Sheree Fitch. With each book he felt his style become looser and he realized he could give up on his artistic "darkness" for something more whimsical. He illustrated Pit Pony by Joyce Barkhouse using his nephew as a model which, happily, made drawing much easier. He started illustrating children's books for Maritime publisher Nimbus, and now does work for Groundwood Books. This move, like those of his childhood, gave him a chance to reinvent himself again: he left behind his careful cross-hatching and let things bleed in his sketches for a much freer style.
Grant and Tillie Go Walking is an homage to the artist Grant Wood done in splattered water colour and stencil. Sydney has just completed a book with Jo Ellen Bogart, illustrating her short text that follows a cat through a cathedral. He's currently working on a Canadian history book for kids called Canada Year By Year and a chapter book by Esta Spalding called Looking Out for the Fitzgerald-Trouts.
Wednesday, September 9th, 2015
by Sylvia McNicoll
Raucous laughter and animated conversation delayed the start of CANSCAIP's first Toronto get together since last June. Finally Kevin Sylvester shouted out, "Hey, we're trying to start a meeting here!"
At that point our president, Sharon Jennings, jumped in, welcoming everyone with a dictionary definition of society, reminding us that CANSCAIP is a society of children's authors, illustrators and performers.
The meeting enjoyed a full house, lots of society, and several new people introduced themselves:
Saumiya Balasubramanian, who is looking for a start in the writing industry
Anita Rotenda, a teacher, who writes poetry and illustratesGeena Grant, who is working on YAAnitha Robinson, a children's author with a published YA novelPatricia Faithful, who is writing MG fictionLinda Browne, a YA authorJames Blackstone, a picture book writerAnn Peacock (Oshawa), who is writes poetry and short stories.Mike Vance, a writer, cartoonist, and singer-songwriter
On a sadder note, Sharon also shared details of Past President Paul Kropp's recent death, speaking about his many years of service to CANSCAIP, his love of teaching and children, and his lifelong work to encourage the reluctant to read. Sharon told an anecdote about him butting heads with the minister of his local church. They ended up best friends and Paul ended up on the board of directors. We will miss his deep commitment, his energy and his humour.
Flipping back to a celebratory mood, Vice President Lena Coakley talked about how most of the work of a CANSCAIP president is behind the scenes, thanking Bill Swan for his outstanding work both on the scene and behind as our Past President. Some of Bill's most notable achievements were his creation of new CANSCAIP bylaws and his development of a strategic plan to lead CANSCAIP through the years to come.
(PAUL KROPP pictured on left)
CANSCAIP celebrates its own
Congratulations to these members who have been nominated for the 2016 Rocky Mountain Book Awards. This is the Alberta equivalent to the tree awards, where students will vote for the ultimate winner.
Beck Citra, Finding Grace; Charis Cotter, The Swallow; David Smith, If; Elizabeth Macleod, Secrets Underground: North America's Buried Past; Kathy Kacer, The Magician of Auschwitz; Kenneth Opel, The Boundless; Margriet Ruurs, A Brush Full of Colour; Sylvia McNicoll, Revenge on the Fly
Helena Aalto, CANSCAIP's administrative director, asked for volunteers to serve in one-hour stints at our Word on the Street booth September 27th at the Harbourfront. Email firstname.lastname@example.com.
Also, September 30 is the registration deadline for CANSCAIP's Children's Writing Competition. Member Lisa Dalyrimple won this competition with her first book Skink on the Brink, and Jennifer Mook-Sang of newly released Speechless, is also a past winner.
Packaging Your Imagination, our conference on writing and illustrating for children, has an amazing lineup this year! Check it out. Humber College, Saturday November 14, 2015. A welcome reception the evening before will showcase our illustrators' work to enjoy and buy. A new item at the Saturday conference will be a One-to-One for published authors with industry experts critiquing your author website and social media skills.
Karen Krossing spoke about a BC authors' fundraising campaign initiated by Robin Stevenson and Sarah Harvey (inspired by author Patrick Ness's project which raised over a million pounds) called Canadian Children's Authors Illustrators support refugees. At the time of the meeting, over $16,000 had been raised with generous donations by Kenneth Oppel, Susin Nielsen, Orca Book Publishers and many other writers and illustrators. Anyone can donate to Doctors without Borders at this link to the fundraiser.
Past President Nancy Hartry stepped up to announce her election to the Canadian Children's Book Centre Board of Directors. The hottest event of the year is their gala on November 18. Join the CCBC to guarantee yourself of an invite. Only $35 for professional creators.
New Creations
Patricia Storms, illustrator of The Ghosts Go Spooking written by Chrissie Bozik, sang and played the ukulele to introduce this picture book published by Scholastic Canada. Available for $7.99 She will be presenting at the Telling Tales Festival, Sunday, September 20 hosting TD Children's Literature Table at Word on the Street, and presenting from 5:20 to 5:40 on September 27, 2015.
Lucy Falcone, aka LM Falcone, talked about her detective mystery series in which young Max Monroe solves crimes with the help of his dead grandpa. She then introduced her third book in the series. The Ghost and Max Monroe-Case #3 The Dirty Trick, Kids Can Press, illustrated by Kim Smith. Max helps his favourite writer in this one. Lucy will be presenting at Word on the Street, Sunday, September 27th Harbourfront, at 3:00 p.m.
Trudee Romanek introduced her YA in the Orca Book Publishers, Limelights performing arts series. Raising the Stakes follows Chloe and her high-school improv team as they struggle to get the national level of competition in the Cross-Country Improv Games. This is Trudee Romanek's first full-length work of fiction. Priced at $9.95 for ages 11-14, it will be available October 13, but is being launched November 8 at an improv celebration and launch in Barrie, ON. Details will be up soon on www.trudeeromanek.com
Frieda Wishinsky introduced two new books:
Avalanche, Scholastic $6.99
In matter of seconds, Alex's world is turned upside down. What started out as an epic day to build a snow fort turns into his worse nightmare. He's caught in an avalanche! A fast-paced read for kids in grades 3 and up and the first in the "Survival" series.
Avis Dolphin, Groundwood, illustrated by Willow Dawson
$16.99. 12-year-old Avis sails on the ill-fated Lusitania at the start of World War 1. The power of friendship and stories help her survive the harrowing ordeal. Beautiful graphic art tells a "story within a story" in this historical fiction based on true events.
(PATRICIA STORMS pictured on right.)
In addition to being a published author, Anitha Robinson is also a Chartered Accountant. She will be giving a tax talk for writers on Wednesday September 30th at 6:30 at the Hamilton Public Library, Sherwood Branch at 467 Upper Ottawa Street in Hamilton. Anyone interested in attending should contact the library at 905 546-3249.
Anitha is also available to put on a tax talk for any interested group. Fees are similar to rates charged by authors of CANSCAIP to speak at events. Specifically, $250 for a 60-minute session. Participants are welcome to bring along questions and a copy of last year's income tax return.
The "Secrets" Panel: Five authors with moderator Kevin Sylvester
Sharon Jennings introduced Kevin Sylvester, broadcaster and writer/illustrator of the Neil Flambé books, which include murder and poison right from the first pages.
Kevin said as long as he didn't include detailed recipes he was safe from legal action.
Kevin in turn introduced five of The Secrets author/panelists: the award-winning and bestselling authors Kelley Armstrong who wrote The Unquiet Past, Vicki Grant, Small Bones, Marthe Jocelyn, A Big Dose of Lucky, Norah McClintock, My Life Before Me, and Teresa Toten, Shattered Glass. The other two writers were unavailable. Kathy Kacer, Stones of Grace, was presenting in other countries and Eric Walters, Innocent, was in a plane over Amsterdam. The Secrets is Orca's new series of linked YA novels set in 1964. In it an orphanage burns down and seven girls are sent out on personal journeys involving racism, homosexuality, birth control, and mental illness.
Kevin asked the panelists to tell us about their characters.
Teresa Toten described Tony, who has nightmares about fire. The backdrop of the story is Yorkville in 1964, and the book includes a drug and café scene, where the reader will discover Toronto-the-not-good. While none of the girls have family, they are all on a journey to discover who they are and what makes family.
Kelley Armstrong's character Tess sees people who are not there and believes there is mental illness in her family. She must follow the sole clue of a phone number and address, which turns out to be an abandoned house in Quebec.
Martha Jocelyn's Malou is the only brown-skinned girl at the orphanage, and she receives a child's hospital bracelet that takes her to Parry Sound, Ontario.
Vicki Grant's Dorothy, aka Dot, was a premature baby who wasn't expected to make it through the first night. She was wrapped in a man's grey coat with a tiny mustard spoon with a family crest. Her clues lead her to a fictionalized cottage country where she encounters class distinction--and a boy. Her story has a World War II connection.
Norah McClintock's character Cady was twice adopted and has no interest in her past as a result of these abandonments. She was planning to leave the orphanage anyway when the fire happened. She does have a "burning" ambition to be a reporter, though, and, in the course of a murder investigation, she closes in on the truth of her own origins.
First question from Kevin: Why 1964?
The short answer was to incorporate orphanages—they disappeared after 1968 when foster parenting became the norm. But the writers enjoyed getting rid of cell phones (and parents through the orphanage theme!) and also enjoyed the retro feel.
Most of the panelists would have preferred 1968 for various reasons (Kelley said at least she was alive then) but Kathy Kacer needed 1964 for her storyline involving the last DP camp. Martha explained that her character needed to be 16 in 1964 because 1948 was the first year sperm was frozen.
On doing the research
Kelley spoke about digging up photos just to describe what her character would see coming out of the subway. Kelley's daughter, a master's student in library science, fact checked the story, adding various interesting details that she discovered along the way.
Vicki had already done a lot of research for a novel set in wartime Halifax. "It was inspired by my dad's story. He was just 17 when he enlisted. He became a bomber pilot, meaning he had only a 50% chance of surviving his tour of duty. I thought, there's a great situation to throw a teenage protagonist into. Researching THAT book led me to a bunch of ladies in their late 80s and early 90s who were in Halifax during the war. Their stories about love and dating all those gorgeous young men were so fabulous, I convinced CBC-TV to let me do a documentary on them called "Dancing Was My Duty."
"All that turned out to be great background for the Secrets series. When I heard it was going to take place in 1964, I did the math and realized there was a very good chance my character's father would have been in the war. My dad survived his tour of duty more or less intact, but I realized long after he died that he suffered from what we'd probably call PTSD today. My older brother told me our Dad woke up screaming all his life. I put a bit of Dad in all three veterans in my book."
Norah McClintock picked up on the war theme in her book, too. During WWII, her dad trained for two years with the 761st tank battalion before the soldiers went overseas. Cady's clue is a newspaper clipping of a tombstone. Thomas Jefferson, the man buried beneath it, turns out to be a black former soldier accused of murdering someone.
How did you coordinate?
Teresa and Eric did much of the organizing. The group met a number of times to discuss the common characters in the novel. They downloaded pictures from the Internet for reference.
Teresa says she always wanted to write with a group of writers, and from time to time in meetings she would pinch herself at the amount of talent around the table, "Fighting, arguing, laughing (with them) is an absolute joyous thing."
They had a "bible" on series details that they routinely disregarded. Kelley has co-written before, but this series involved even more meetings and emails going back and forth to discuss which characters were going to be in the orphanage, because, for example, Kelley did not want her character on site. Sara's boyfriend bullies Malou (Marthe Jocelyn's character), and while those two stories feature identical dialogue, the thought processes described are different. One discussion changed the race of the cook at the orphanage because Martha needed no brown people to be around for her character.
And what about the authors not present? What did they write about?
Kathy's character Sara discovers she is Jewish through a Star of David left at the orphanage, and this leads her to a DP camp. The love of her life ends up being a jerk, and, as with all seven books, there are painful but ultimately joyous happenings. Sara ends up in an okay place.
In Innocent, Eric's character's clue leads him to Kingston where her father is in prison for murder.
(MARTHE JOCELYN pictured on left.)
Questions from the audience
Sharon was interested to know if the trend of a multi-author series will be the wave of the future, but Teresa answered that such a project required enormous amount of effort by the publisher (in their case Orca). The corroboration efforts were largely based on good will, and good faith. No sequel is currently planned.
Mabel's Fables Bookstore offered the book for advance sale. The actual publication date for the Secrets series is September 29.
We hope all meetings are this packed!
October is Illustrators' Night with Sidney Smith and a guest appearance by IBBY's new Artist in Residence, John Martz. See you there!
Social media friends: Would you kindly tag your photos on Twitter with @CANSCAIP using the hashtag #Canscaipmeets
Or post them on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/canscaip.official
Recording Secretary: annelaurelcarter.com
Our new president Sharon Jennings chaired the meeting. At our creative May meeting, over fifty members attended the field trip to hear Susin Nielsen and Susan Juby at the North York Library,which made it a great success, not only for the library but for the authors and the bookstore selling their books.
Details for the CANSCAIP Writing for Children Competition have been announced. This year there will be two winners of $1,000 each:
See the CANSCAIP website for more information.
Helena Aalto, CANSCAIP's Administrative Director, announced that details will soon be on website for CANSCAIP's Packaging Your Imagination conference in November. This year, One-to-One manuscript and portfolio critiques will be available on the same day. And we'll also have something new--website/social critiques. We will again have Art Show in November where pieces can be sold.
The conference will be held on Saturday, November 14th so SAVE THE DATE!
TD Book Week Call for Applications
Want to be a book week touring author, illustrator or storyteller? Information is on the CCBC website. Deadline is June 30th.
Call for Applications
Toronto Public Library's Young Voices has a call for an e-writer in residence with a June 26th deadline. Remuneration is $10,000.00.
Anne Laurel Carter will be leading a YA Novel writing course this summer, July 13-17, at the University of Toronto, School of Continuing Studies (details at: learn.utoronto.ca)
TWUC Survey
Sharon Jennings announced TWUC's disappointing results from their recent national survey: we are earning 27% less from our creative work than we were in 1998.
TWUC considers this an emergency. Sylvia McNicoll encouraged us to attend TWUC's annual meeting next year and join the discussion table.
Catherine Rondina recently published a piece, A Famous Egg, in the anthology on food "Dear Tomato", edited by Carol-Ann Hoyte, and published by CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.
Nominations and award winners will be announced at our September 2015 meeting.
Patricia Storms introduced the speaker, Julie Kraulis, an artist, author and illustrator.
Since completing her Bachelor of Design in Illustration at OCAD, Julie spends most of her days in her studio with a pencil or paintbrush in hand, working on a wide range of projects from fine art to illustration to picture books.
Her dream (since high school) came true when Tundra Books published her first two books, Whimsy's Heavy Things and An Armadillo in Paris.
Julie has worked as a freelance artist full-time for 5 and 1/2 years and finds it a demanding beast, but one worth the challenge. Work ebbs and flows and no day is like the last.
She incorporates moving - a walk or run - into her days because it helps her sift and unravel things in her mind. Her work includes fine art, illustration, house & people's portraits, logos & corporate work.
Music, books, conversations, podcasts and Instagram inspire her.
There are Meccas of inspiring ideas around the world and Instagram is an excellent place on the web to find them. In particular, she's inspired by French artists.
In terms of her technique, Julie loves working on a soft wood panel, usually pine. She covers it with gesso, then paints thin layers of oil paint, and works with a graphite pencil.
She uses varying degrees of sandpaper to create varying degrees of texture.
When she was 28 years old, Julie signed her first contract as an author-illustrator with Tundra for Whimsey's Heavy Things which has a slightly autobiographical theme - how to cast off the heavy things that weigh you down.
An Armadillo in Paris (also Tundra) concerns Arlo who is humble, covered in armour, and hates the cold ( a little like Julie).
It's the first book in a series about Arlo who explores cities, looking for a monument.
How did Julie get her lucky break? She was introduced to a freelance designer who works for Tundra and to whom she showed her portfolio. The designer's important advice:
Fill your portfolio with work that exemplifies the work you want to do.
Julie pitched her stories to this freelance designer and Tundra called her in for a meeting. Her third book Arlo in New York will be out next year.
From the time she signs a contract to seeing the book on a shelf takes 2 years. The art itself takes 2-3 months of full-time work.
In terms of process, words and images happen simultaneously for her. She does small thumbnails to figure out where the text will go and the graphic design of the book.
Then she goes to black and white linears, to size. Then she moves it to final art work which is the real joy.
Our next Toronto CANSCAIP meeting will be held on September 9th.
Bill Swan took the podium for the last time as CANSCAIP President. Earlier that evening, we CANSCAIPers held an Annual General Meeting to vote in a new board of directors. (Drumroll, please!) Your new board is:
President: Sharon Jennings (pictured)
Vice President: Lena Coakley (one year)
Treasurer: Maureen McGowan (one year)
Member at Large: David J. Smith
Friend at Large: Lorna Poplak
Bill Swan will now become our Past President—an advisory position—and will also take on a new role of investigating grants and sponsorships for CANSCAIP.
Many, many thanks to Past President (or is it Past Past President now?) Karen Krossing, who headed up the nominations committee. In addition to the slate above, Karen also made recommendations to the new board regarding the appointed positions. These will be announced next month. (Note that Recording Secretary is now an appointed position according to our new bylaws.)
With that we rolled right into the meeting. The afore-mentioned Karen Krossing had a new work:
Punch Like a Girl by Karen Krossing, YA fiction, Orca Book Publishers, ISBN 978-1459808287, $12.95.
When 17-year-old Tori shaves her head in the middle of the night, her parents are stunned. When she punches a stranger at the mall, even her friends are shocked. Nobody understands why she's become so moody and violent. It takes one small girl's bravery to show Tori the value of speaking up rather than lashing out.
It was a night for Past Presidents, because our other new creation was by Gisela Sherman:
The Farmerettes, by Gisela Tobien Sherman, Second Story Press, ISBN 978-1-927583-64-7, $12.95.
The Farmerettes follows a group of teenage girls over the summer of 1943, as they work on Highberry Farm in Winona, to replace the men who have left for war. Their stories are woven together with fun and friendship, the hard work and simple pleasures of farm life, romance, tragedy, history, self-empowerment, and hope.
(There is a correlation here: volunteer for CANSCAIP=Get published. Just saying.)
Jennifer Maruno introduced the evening's speakers, remarking that she was leaving the programming committee on a high note.
Kathy Kacer has won the Silver Birch, Red Maple, Hackmatack and Jewish Book Awards, and was a finalist for the Geoffrey Bilson and Norma Fleck Awards. She has written many unforgettable stories inspired by real events, many of them about the Holocaust. Her books have been published in many countries including Germany, China, Slovenia, Thailand, England, Japan, and Belgium.
Her son, Canadian actor Jake Epstein, made his professional theatrical debut in a Soulpepper Theatre Company production of Our Town. He became well known after being cast in a lead role as Craig Manning on the television show Degrassi: The Next Generation. Epstein attended the National Theatre School of Canada in Montreal and graduated in 2008. He made his Broadway debut in Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark and originated the role of Gerry Goffin in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical.
These two talented people have come together to write a new play, Therefore Choose Life, which will open at the Harold Green Jewish Theatre on April 18th. Based loosely on a true story, the play is about a Holocaust survivor who remarries and starts a new life in Canada. When a letter from the past arrives unexpectedly, he is faced with a heartbreaking dilemma about leaving his wife of thirty years, or returning to his first and true love.
Kathy: The project started for us about six years ago. I was in between writing projects and Jake had just finished touring the play, Spring Awakening.
Jake: I had come back to Toronto and didn't have an apartment, so I was living with my parents. My mother and I had talked in the past about writing something together. She had already written one play, an adaptation of her book The Secret of Gabi's Dresser, which had toured Canadian schools.
Kathy: Then I heard a story about a man who gets a letter from the wife he thought he had lost in the Second World War. For some reason, I thought it would work better as a play than as a novel. Jake and I spent about four months writing the first draft.
Jake: In our play, the man who has lost his first wife has moved to Toronto and married again. Twenty-five years have passed. He gets a letter saying that his first wife is alive and has been living in communist Russia. She is coming to Toronto to find him. His second wife, his son, and his son's girlfriend all become entangled in the choice this man has: stay with his second wife, or return to the first.
Kathy: I was interested in the Holocaust element. What is the impact of that journey for this elderly man?
Jake: I was interested in telling the story of the second generation, of the children of survivors. In a way it's my mom's story, which is something that, for all her writing, my mom has never told.
Kathy: A lot has been written about the effect of trauma on the children of survivors. We inherit the trauma of our parents.
Jake: Once we were done with the draft, the question was, what do we do with it? I called a bunch of actor friends and we had a table read. You cringe through your first draft. We started applying for grants and festivals and found help with the Harold Green Theatre's In the Beginning: A Jewish Playwright's Festival, which has a mandate to encourage and discover new Jewish Canadian playwrights.
Kathy: We have access to actors because Jake is an actor, but we also cold called actors we admired. I was surprised to learn that actors love to be in these kinds of projects. They want to be the ones considered.
Jake: The main reason I got Beautiful was that I was in on the ground floor. Ideally, the writers start rewriting the part with you in mind.
Kathy: We revised. We received a grant, and with the funding, we approached the Harold Green Theatre again to do a joint workshop with us.
Jake: We did a weeklong workshop with Harold Green. We got to try out some casting.
Kathy: In terms of the writing process, we started by talking. A lot. In the beginning, we had days of conversations about the themes that interested us.
Jake: Then we started mapping things out. We had to be on the same page about what each character's emotional journey would be. Then Kathy and I took ownership of different scenes.
Kathy: We started out by saying I would write the older voices and Jake would write the younger.
Jake: We'd email each other scenes and then start to revise and rewrite each other's writing.
Kathy: Then we would merge our work. The pattern was: Go away and work—Come together and merge. Once we had a draft, we'd sit together and duke it out.
Jake: What was really fascinating was that once we started table readings and getting feedback, we'd both take a scene away to revise and sometimes we'd independently come up with the same lines. We really both got on the same page.
Kathy: Each time we brought our scenes together we would get closer and closer to what we both thought the story was. I just want to mention the phenomenal cast. Jake is acting in the play…
Jake: Hey I need to write a gig for myself!
Kathy: …and we were thrilled that Sheila McCarthy asked to audition for a role. She wasn't what I had in mind but she turned out to be fantastic. I learned that in playwriting, the more you give away the more space you leave for others to bring something to your work.
Jake: Also in the cast are Lisa Horner, Amelia Sargisson, and Avery Saltzman. It's directed by Rachel Slaven.
Kathy: We wanted to end by asking each other the following question: Jake, what was it like to work with your talented mother and would you do it again?
Jake: Well. I'm kind of on the spot here, Kathy. Actually, it's been great. When this started, I knew that the idea of writing with my mom sounded a bit disastrous, but it's been such a joyful experience. I was the first reader of a lot of my mom's books. As a young writer to have a mentor who is also your parent has been a gift.
So I guess I should ask the same question of you.
Kathy: I always said that whatever happened with this play, the opportunity to write with my child was a golden opportunity. We came to it with great respect for other's writing and thinking. I learned that we share the same kind of work ethic, which is so essential when you have a writing partner. We came to this as equals, and we had to work at that, but it's never felt within the writing process that one was an authority figure. I'd do it again in a heartbeat.
Q: How much rehearsal time do you get?
A: For this play it was 3.5 weeks, which is longer than some. That's because this piece has never been done before. There is no blueprint.
Q: What's the impact on the rest of your family.
A: They've been quite involved. They've been at every table reading and feel a part of it.
Thanks so much for joining us, Kathy and Jake!
Our next meeting will be held on Wednesday, May 13th. Keep an eye on the CANSCAIP website for more details.
(Past President, Sylvia McNicoll and our guest, Jake Epstein)
President Bill Swan opened the meeting by congratulating those nominated for the CLA Young Adult Book Award, The CLA Book of the Year Award for Children, and Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Award! Have a look at these fabulous lists, which include many CANSCAIPers.
The CCBC has increased fees for book week, and CANSCAIP has played a role in this decision. The standard Canada Council rate is $250, and we supported raising fees to this amount. Past president of CANSCAIP, Sharon Jennings, also on the board of the CCBC, brought up this issue and collected letters of support from many CANSCAIP authors and illustrators and many professional organizations including our own. All visits will now be $250 per session.
Cathy Rondina will again be teaching her Creating Non-fiction for Children course in Toronto, beginning April 6th. More info here.
Sean Cassidy took the podium to tell us about Access Copyright and the changing landscape of copyright protection.
Canadian content is an important part of teaching in our country. In the past publishers and creators have been compensated when teachers use our materials in the classroom. Now, some are saying this material should be free under an interpretation of the "fair dealing" clause of new copyright legislation. This is disheartening to creators whose work is important enough to share in the classroom. We can educate ourselves by checking out the Access Copyright website to learn the following:
What is educational "fair dealing"?
The Value of Access Copyright's Repertoire
Not registered with Access Copyright? You should be! Learn more here:
Registering with Access Copyright
Six years ago Sharon Jennings published Home Free, which was nominated for a Governor General's Literary award. Though Second Story always wanted a sequel, she didn't know what the story was. Now she's found it.
In Connecting Dots (Second Story Press) we find out the true story of Cassandra Jovanovich, (a secondary character in Home Free.)
Sharon's dedication says, "With gratitude to CANSCAIP," and she told us at the meeting that she doesn't know where she'd be without the friends she has made here.
Helena Aalto has announced the date for the upcoming Packaging Your Imagination conference! PYI will be Saturday, November 14th at Humber College, Lakeshore Campus! Pitch Perfect, one-on-one sessions will take place on the same day.
We were joined by Nancy Davidson, who is the dynamo behind Kid's Lit Quiz in Canada. The quiz was started in 1991 in New Zealand by Wayne Mills, a teacher who was tired of the hype around children's sporting events. He wanted to celebrate kids who read in the same way. For two decades, Kids' Lit Quiz has been inspiring youth to become lifelong readers by channeling knowledge of children's books into a fun and challenging tournament.
Today, the competition continues to thrive despite distractions like video games, cell phones and computers. In fact, participation rates have continued to rise amongst girls and boys in recent years.
In the style of popular learning competitions like the Scripps Spelling Bee, Kids' Lit Quiz is a highly spirited and intense team event for students around the world. Now over 1000 schools participate.
Nancy has seen the enthusiasm for reading grow as schools take on the program. Kids don't know categories of the quiz in advance, so they must read widely and depend on their team members. A lot of kids who love to read find it hard to work as a team and communicate with their team members. Kid's Lit Quiz helps them develop an important life skill.
How well would you do? (Answers at the very end of this post.)
Some of these questions Nancy asked at the meeting, some were taken from the Kid's Lit Quiz website. Test your knowledge further with more practice questions.
Each year each country generates its national champion. The finals are held in a host country. This year, the finals will be in Connecticut, USA. In 2016 they will be in Aukland, NZ and in 2017, they will be in Canada, the city to be announced.
Kid's Lit Quiz is a life-changing opportunity for many kids. Thanks so much to Nancy for all her hard work.
(CANSCAIP President Bill Swan and Admin. Director Helena Aalto)
After CANSCAIP President, Bill Swan, welcomed us all, Sylvia McNicoll leapt up to introduce her new book with Tundra, Best Friends Through Eternity, which was inspired by the true story of a teen who was killed at a railway crossing.
Charis Cotter, visiting from Newfoundland, also had a new book, a first novel, which is already garnering praise, including a Kirkus star! The Swallow is a ghost story that takes place in 1960's Toronto.
Jennifer Maruno introduced the evening's speaker, who she had the pleasure of meeting at TD Book awards.
Catherine Mitchell is a publishing consultant in Rights, Sales and Marketing. She was the Director of Foreign and Special Markets for children's book publisher Tundra Books from 1998-2010, and was previously involved with sales, marketing and promotions at Tundra. Prior to her career in publishing, Catherine was an elementary school teacher. Catherine has served on boards and committees for many organizations, including the Montreal Children's Literature Roundtable, the Canadian Children's Book Centre, the Association of Canadian Publishers, and the Fun of Reading International Forum on Children's Literature. She is a post president of IBBY Canada.
One of the initiatives of ACP is a program called Top Grade, and this is what Catherine came to tell us about. There are fewer and fewer school librarians in Canada and this is a major concern. For years, Catherine and Liz Kerr were co-chairs of the Canadian Coalition for School libraries. They worked on ways to connect publishers with schools in order to get Canadian books into the hands of Canadian children.
Catherine was very passionate about her quest to get OUR books into schools. Canadian children should be reading Canadian books, she believes, but with budget cutbacks, a greater onus is now on teachers, who do not always have information about building a collection and culling a collection.
We, the authors, are "foot soldiers" in the classrooms and can have an influence. Publishers have the books, but are not always the ones in the classrooms.
The objective of Top Grade is to reach key educators in school boards in all Canadian provinces and territories through a book sampling program which brings them new and recently published, ACP-member books suitable for use in classrooms and libraries in kindergarten through high school.
Top Grade also serves to connect to school boards to key cultural institutions and to promote the authors and illustrators creating the books.
Catherine believes in a simplified process. She doesn't want to make things difficult for teachers. The program happens in the fall and spring. Boxes of books go out to educators in 10 provinces and 3 territories. Each box contains:
ARCs, F&Gs or finished books
-Publishers' catalogues
-Promo material
-A Top Grade catalogue
-Order sheets
-Canadian Children's Book News
(CCBN is an important inclusion, Catherine told us, because this is where teachers should be getting this info, but they might not know about it.)
So far, Top Grade has been a big success. High School teachers were particularly thrilled with the initiative, which tells Catherine that A) they don't see enough of this sort of program, and B) they have the will to support Canadian books.
Want to know if your publisher is involved? The Top Grade page of the ACP website lists participating publishers and includes downloads of flyers, catalogues and order forms.
Minutes for the January 2015 CANSCAIP Meeting
CANSCAIP President, Bill Swan, began the evening with big news about Brenda Clark and Eric Walters. They join CANSCAIPers Barbara Reid, Robert Munsch and Jean Little as members of the Order of Canada! Congratulations Brenda and Eric!
Second Story is holding a contest for contemporary writing for young readers that reflects the modern experience of Canadian Aboriginal – First Nations, Métis, and Inuit – people. The jury will be particularly looking for stories with an urban setting.
Canadian writers who identify as Aboriginal are invited to submit their original, previously unpublished, manuscripts by March 31, 2015. The winner of the contest will be announced in April 2015 and will be offered a publishing contract from Second Story Press. Further info.
Bill asked newcomers to introduce themselves. We met and welcomed Randy, who wants to get into children's illustration; Linda, who writes and illustrates; and Cathy and Anita, who are both children's illustrators.
Anne Dublin took the podium to tell us about Helen Drazek, who was born in the Warsaw Ghetto in Poland in 1941. She and her parents were the only survivors of a large, close-knit family that was entirely annihilated during the Holocaust.
In Odyssey through Hell, Helen (with Anne as co-author) tells the harrowing story of her parents' desperate attempts to survive in the ghetto, their narrow escape into hiding, and their ultimate journey to freedom in a new land.
Our speaker for the evening was the lovely Patricia Storms, who began her talk by telling us about IBBY Canada's Illustrator in Residence program, and later when on to talk about children's book covers.
Patricia was very honored to be this year's IBBY Canada Joanne Fitzgerald illustrator in residence. This is only the second year of the program. It is hosted by the public library, administered by IBBY Canada, and funded by the family of Joanne Fitzgerald. Patricia found out about the program through CANSCAIP and the CCBC. She is a great fan of Joanne Fitzgerald, the GG-winning illustrator of Plain Noodles, Dr. Kiss Says Yes, and Emily's House. Patricia didn't know if she was good enough to apply, but her friend, author Helaine Becker, said "Apply for everything! Make them decide if you are good enough!" Patricia applied in 2013 and didn't get it. (Martha Newbigging did.) However, she was encouraged to apply again and got it the next year. Martha turned out to be a great support.
For those interested in applying, you must be a Canadian citizen with a minimum of four children's books illustrated. You must have a vibrant online presence and experience with presentations. Patricia's application was seven pages long and included two references. She was asked to suggest activities for kids and adults. Patricia got to have a launch at the Northern District Library with her own work on display.
Some of Patricia's workshops for adults were:
How to Illustrate for Publishers
Building a Professional Illustration Portfolio
What Makes a Good Picture Book?
Creating a Successful Book Cover
With kids she often created characters. She asked them, How do you recognize a character like Bart Simpson? What makes him unique and interesting? She told them a little bit about how a book is made, explaining the relationship between illustrator and art director. Then she told them THEY would be the art director and THEY would tell her what to do. She did this for every class. As Patricia drew, the kids told her what sort of hair, clothes etc. to draw. (Unicorn horns were very popular.) Here is some of the art they came up with:
Then she turned the tables, getting the kids to draw what she told them to.
Part of her duties as Illustrator in Residence was to do portfolio reviews one-on-one. She tried to be realistic, telling attendees what they needed to work on. She encountered people who were very talented and was struck by how many talented people are afraid to take the next step. She wanted to tell them, You know, you're going to DIE one day! (Something we should all remember when we avoid risk taking.)
The application process for this program will be starting again soon. Sign up for the IBBY Canada Newsletter to get the call for submissions.
Patricia studied graphic design and started out by designing book covers. She got freelance work from her blog, eventually freelancing for Scholastic. She was asked to redo the Gordon Korman classic, Liar, Liar Pants on Fire, updating the cartoony font.
Her connections at Scholastic helped her to get her first illustration job, a Halloween counting book that came out in 2007.
In terms of her technique, Patricia still hand draws her work, then colours in Photoshop. She did the cover for 13 Ghosts of Halloween first, because the cover is the first thing marking folks need. Because she used watercolour for her original version of the cover, some online versions look washed out. For the final version, she used Photoshop and is much happier with the vibrancy of those colours.
What makes a great cover? Patricia says one important factor is simplicity of title and message. You can see this in the two rough concepts she created for Joel Sutherland's Be a Writing Superstar.
And now the final version:
Patricia feels that certain colours sell better, noting that the blue background of Be a Writing Superstar is very popular.
Patrica gained fame with her books, The Pirate and the Penguin, and especially, Never Let You Go. Now she says she is starting to have more confidence. She was very insistent about the cover for Never Let You Go, feeling that it was an iconic image and that nothing else would communicate the mother-child bond so well. She says it was one of the few times she got her way.
Q: What illustrators inspire you?
A Patricia is having a "Mary Blair love fest." Mary Blair worked for Disney and did backgrounds for Song of the South and Alice in Wonderland. Patricia wants to experiment more with bright, bright colours. She admires the cover of Oliver Jeffers new book, which is a gorgeous bright orange.
Q: Hardcover or softcover?
A: You have to be a big name to get hardcover. If you're really good, a paperback will come out after that. Numbers are crunched.
Q: How did you get started in cartooning?
A: Patricia is mostly self-taught, although she was trained in graphic design and has taken classes here and there.
Q: Other than developing your skill set and having a professional attitude, what do you recommend for aspiring illustrators?
A: Develop a thick skin. Rejection is inevitable.
Neil Gaiman says that there are 3 secret keys to success: Be nice. Do good work. Show up on time. You only have to do 2 but three is better. Immerse yourself in world of picture books. Devour everything. Study the illustrators of the past. Who were Maurice Sendak and Robert McClosky? Then find out how the game has changed.
Author and storyteller Kari-Lynne Winters piped up with the last word: And don't leave it on your computer. Submit it!
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Where Can I Find My Perfect Prom Dress?
Whether you prefer a short prom dress, a long prom dress, or a high-low dress, finding your ideal length is easy with such a variety of prom dresses. Long prom dresses and knee-length dresses create an elegant and glamorous look. Short prom dresses and high-low party dresses tend to look more youthful and fun. This assortment of designer gowns for prom also features a variety of necklines. There are strapless sweetheart dresses, sexy halter gowns with daring low cut necklines, open-back dresses, and elegant one-shoulder short dresses. There are delicate lace dresses with sleeves, dazzling sequin ball gowns and opulently beaded mermaid dresses. Whether you're going for a fun and flirty look or prefer a more refined classic look, you'll find plenty of breathtaking prom dresses to choose from here.
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Photography emphasizes originality, self-expression, creative thinking and experimentation within the discipline of photography. This focuses on creative image making; while also emphasizing technical skills, which can be applied in the commercial field. Our students' portfolios are highly original and technically perfect, making them successful tools in promoting their work.
The BFA in Photography offers the largest and most diversified menu of Photography Electives, permitting you to customize your photographic curriculum. This program is for the true individualist: do your own thing, and combine your interests to develop a program that is right for you. The majority of our students choose this track.
Program Overview
- Bachelor of Fine Arts: 36 credits Photography Core plus 24 credits minimum Photography Electives
- Bachelor of Arts: 36 credits Photography Core plus 3 credits minimum Photography Electives
What is the Difference between the BFA and the BA?
Photography Core (36 credits minimum)
- 2-D Design
- Basic Photography
- Intermediate Photography - Film
- Computer Imaging I
- Intermediate Photo - Digital
- Color Photography or Color Processes
- Advanced Digital Imaging
or Advanced Computer Imaging
or Digital Fine Art Printing
- Lighting Techniques or Studio Lighting
- History of Art: Photography
- Senior Seminar
- Art History
Photography Electives
(Choose 24 credits minimum for BFA degree / 3 credits minimum for BA degree)
Choose from:
- Digital Photography I
- Special Topics in Photography
- Pinhole Photography
- Photojournalism
- Independent Study
- Photography Practicum I
- Color Photography
- Color Processes
- Advanced Photography
- Advanced Digital Imaging
- Advanced Dig. Photo. Imaging
- View Camera
- Large Format Photography
- Lighting Techniques
- Studio Lighting
- Influences of the Masters
- Manipulative Photography
- Digital Fine Art Printing
- Hist. of Photo, Film & Art
- Fine Art Digital Portfolio
- Independent Study
- Photography Practicum II
- Photography Internship (Biomedical does not count towards BFA)
- Underwater Photography
- TV Production
- Studio Practicum
- Advanced TV Production
- Studio Practicum
- Other Art courses


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Local Students Use Solar System to Help Village in Sudan
This event occurred in the past
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
NBC San Diego -- Solar energy panels are popping up everywhere in San Diego. They power home lighting systems, heat water, even charge our electric cars. Four local engineering students are now designing a solar energy system that will hopefully change hundreds of lives, half way around the world.
"This allows us to speak to a lap-top computer, so we can monitor the system real-time," said University of San Diego Enrique Rayon, as he demonstrated a prototype of the system on the university's rooftop. (Full Story)


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Life is good again _ and death is looking better _ for animal lovers in New York who want to be buried with their Persians, Pomeranians or potbellied pigs.
The state Division of Cemeteries has issued regulations that once again permit pet owners to have their ashes interred with their beloved animals in pet cemeteries.
"My wish has been granted and I will be able to be with my furry family forever," said Rhona Levy of the Bronx, who has planned for years to have her ashes buried with her dog and four cats at the Hartsdale Pet Cemetery in the New York City suburbs.
"This was one of the best moments of my life," she added.
Under the new rules, approved Thursday in Albany, the interment of human ashes at pet cemeteries is permitted under certain conditions.
The pet cemetery must not advertise that it takes human ashes, and may not charge a fee for doing so. The cemetery also must tell customers who ask about human interment that they would be giving up some protections, such as mandatory record-keeping and restrictions on removal.
The 115-year-old Hartsdale cemetery has been adding human ashes to pet plots since 1925, and an estimated 700 people have joined the 70,000 animals there. But on Feb. 8, the cemetery division ordered a halt to the practice. Three days earlier, Hartsdale, 20 miles north of Manhattan, had been featured in an Associated Press story about the increase in human burials in pet cemeteries around the country.
The ban was issued statewide in April. The state said then that only not-for-profit corporations can take in human remains, even if cremated, and charging a fee violated not-for-profit law.
The state's declaration angered some animal lovers, especially those who had prearranged their burials at pet cemeteries.
"Suddenly I'm not at peace anymore," Levy said at the time.
Hartsdale asked the state for permission to at least accommodate those who had prepaid.
Taylor York, an attorney and law professor at Keuka College in Penn Yan, went further. She undertook to persuade the Cemetery Division that since pet cemeteries are private, they're not covered by nonprofit corporation law.
York's uncle, Thomas Ryan, had died in April. He had arranged _ and prepaid _ to join his wife and their two dogs, B.J. I and B.J. II, at Hartsdale. But the state ruling prevented that, and Ryan's ashes remained in a wooden box at the home of his sister, York's mother.
The Cemetery Division's new ruling means Ryan can finally be buried, and York said a ceremony is scheduled for Friday.
"This new compromise gets my mother what she wants and my uncle what he intended," she said. "It's a Christmas gift of a kind, but this was agonizing and it's a real shame that the state leaped before they looked."
Just as the Hartsdale cemetery was the first to be told it couldn't accommodate humans, it's the first to get permission to resume the practice. The state and the cemetery signed a "Memorandum of Understanding" that permits the immediate burial of human ashes at Hartsdale. The cemetery resumed human interments Friday.
Ed Martin Jr., president and director of the Hartsdale Pet Cemetery, said Monday he has no qualms about the restrictions. He said the cemetery dropped the $235 fee it used to charge to open an animal's grave for its owner's ashes.
"It's not that it was a big moneymaker. It was a courtesy more than anything else," he said.
York said she took some satisfaction that during the meeting last week, Cemetery Board Chairman Dan Shapiro acknowledged using private property as a cemetery himself.
"I spread my uncle's ashes under a peach tree in my backyard," Shapiro said.


text:
The Central Building on Main Street has received a temporary reprieve from the wrecking ball. The Historical Commission tonight unanimously rejected a petition from the building's owner for a waiver to the city's demolition-delay ordinance.
The Central Building on Main Street has received a temporary reprieve from the wrecking ball.
The Historical Commission tonight unanimously rejected a petition filed by the building's owner for a waiver to the city's demolition-delay ordinance.
Commission members said the owner, 332 Main St. Associates, a group controlled by the Krock family, did not make an adequate case to support the need for a waiver based on the grounds that keeping the building up for another year would create an undue economic hardship.
As a result, the eight-story office building, which was built around 1925, will remain standing at 322-332 Main St. for one year from the date when the application for the demolition delay waiver was filed (November 2012) with the Historical Commission.
After that time, the owner will be able to raze the building.
The demolition-delay ordinance puts a one-year hold on historic properties to give owners time to find a buyer who would be able to preserve the building or come up with another reuse for it.
The ordinance allows owners to seek a waiver to the one-year delay based on the grounds of economic hardship or that the demolition would not be detrimental to the historical or architectural resources of the city.
Gary S. Brackett, a lawyer representing 332 Main St. Associates, said the owner is facing an economic hardship because the building is vacant and is not generating any rental income. In comparison, the building took in more than $431,000 in rental income in 2010 when it had tenants, he said.
Meanwhile, the owner still has to pay more than $150,000 annually to maintain and heat the building, as well as preserve its fire suppression system, in addition to more than $90,000 in property taxes.
The building, which has nearly 84,400 square feet of space, is assessed at $2.9 million; it had been assessed at $1.4 million two years ago.
At its January meeting, the Historical Commission asked the applicant to present additional financial information to support its claim for an economic hardship.
It also wanted to know the owner's future plans for the property, as well as what the projected demolition costs were and the cost to remove asbestos from the building.
Mr. Brackett said tonight that no final determination had been made regarding the future use of the property.
He said the applicant also made a concerted effort to sell or lease the building.
He pointed out that the building owner had filed a demolition-delay waiver request with the Historical Commission in 2011, but subsequently withdrew it and invested in upgrades to the building to enhance its response to a request-for-proposal for office space that had been issued by the state.
But the owner was not successful in getting that contract.
Regarding demolition costs, Mr. Brackett said the building owner had not made any arrangements for demolition or secured any bids. Also, no information was provided regarding efforts made to actively market the property.
Without any of that information, commission members said they could not support a request for a waiver.
"An adequate case hasn't been made for an economic hardship," said Commissioner James Crowley. "Nothing has been presented to us to show there would be an undue economic hardship to wait one year."
City planning officials and a representative of Preservation Worcester also weighed in against the waiver.
They argued that no substantive proof of economic hardship had been made and that razing the building would be detrimental to the historical and architectural resources of the city.
Contact Nick Kotsopoulos at firstname.lastname@example.com


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this is a discussion within the Saints Community Forum; It's no secret that I've been in favor of dumping Haslett since last season. Yes, yes, I know that it isn't going to happen, but I thought I would see if my logic that if a coach doesn't do it ...
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It's no secret that I've been in favor of dumping Haslett since last season. Yes, yes, I know that it isn't going to happen, but I thought I would see if my logic that if a coach doesn't do it in his first three to four years, he probably won't ever do it reasoning held any water.
Going through all the NFL records forever would just be too time consuming. What I did do was take a look at the coaches from the teams in the playoffs this year. Of the 12 coaches to lead their teams to the playoffs this year, only Jeff Fisher didn't make the playoffs in his first four season. OK, sure Haslett made the playoffs in his first four years. Of course, Fisher's team never regressed in those first four years (their record was never worse than the year before) and have been pretty successful since.
Holmgren at Seattle is the only guy who has numbers similar to Haslett's. Again, he may get a little bit of a pass b/c he did take GB to 2 Super Bowls and the playoffs in 6 of his 7 years there. Anyway, here's the list.
Baltimore - 6-10.
Enter Billick. Year 1, 8-8. Year 2, 12-4 Won Super Bowl. Year 3, 10-6 went to playoffs. Year 4, 7-9 - were in the race for the playoffs until last week of the season (they got in this year by the way at 9-7). 42-27 record, 2 playoff appearences, 1 Super Bowl in 1st 4 years.
New England - 8-8.
Enter Belichick. Year 1, 5-11. Year 2, 11-5 Won Super Bowl. Year 3, 9-7. Year 4, 14-2?, number 1 cede in playoffs. 43?-25 record, 2 playoff appearences, 1 Super Bowl in first 4 years.
Denver - 7-9.
Enter Shanahan. Year 1, 8-8. Year 2, 13-3 won division title. Year 3, 12-4 Won Super Bowl. Year 4, 14-2 Won Super Bowl. 47-17 regular season record, 3 playoff appearences, 2 Super Bowls in first 4 years.
Kansas City - 7-9.
Enter Vermeil. Year 1, 6-10. Year 2, 8-8. Year 3, 13-3 playoffs, number 2 cede in the AFC. Of course, Vermeil did also win a Super Bowl in his third year at St Louis.
Indianapolis - 6-10.
Enter Dungy. Year 1, 10-6, playoffs. Year 2, 12-4, playoffs, one playoff win.
Tenessee - 2-14.
Enter Jeff Fisher. Here's your one exception Billy. He was 1 game under .500 in his first four years. Since then, 13-3 Super Bowl, 13-3 Division Champ, 7-9, 11-5 playoffs, 12-4 playoffs.
Dallas - 5-11.
Enter Parcells. Year 1, 10-6 playoffs. Of course, in his last three jobs - he took the 1-15 Jets and made them 9-7 in year 1, and 12-4 in their second - went to the AFC championship game. At New England he made a 5-11 team a 10-6 team in his first year and took them to the Super Bowl in his third year. At NYG - 3-12, 9-7 Wildcard, 10-6 Wildcard, 14-2 Won Super Bowl, 6-9, 10-6, 12-4 Division Title, 13-3 WOn Super Bowl.
Philly - 3-13.
Enter Andy Reid. Year 1, 5-11. Year 2, 11-5 Wildcard. Year 3, 11-5 Division Champ. Year 4, 12-4 went to NFC Championship. Regular season 39-25, three playoff appearence.
Green Bay - 9-7.
Enter Mike Sherman. Year 1, 12-4 Wildcard. Year 2, 12-4 Division Title. Year 3, 10-6 Won Division. 36-16 in first three years including playoffs.
Seattle - 8-8.
Enter Holmgren. Year 1, 9-7 division title. Year 2, 6-10. Year 3, 9-7. Year 4, 7-9. Most like Haslett's numbers and the Seahawks did make the playoffs in their fifth year. Of course, prior to coming to Seattle Holmgren was 75-37 regular season, made the playoffs in 6 of his 7 years, two Super Bowls, and won one.
St Louis - 13-3.
Vermeil leaves after a SB. Enter Martz. Year 1, 10-6 Wild Card (lost to Saints hehehe), Year 2, 14-2 went to Super Bowl, Year 3, 7-9, Year 4 12-4 Division Title and first round bye.
Carolina - 1-15.
Enter John Fox. Year 1 7-9. Year 2, 11-5 Division Title, in NFC Championship already.
So, I guess that Fisher gives us some hope, but this doesn't exactly make me feel good about Haslett. Like Billy said, I'll hope the guy picks it up, but I doubt he will. I've thought Holmgren should at least be on the hotseat in Seattle the last two years or so, and so I don't feel bad about putting Haslett in the same boat. Both teams should cut ties if you ask me. Either way, I'd say next year is make or break for both.
One other thing... anyone care to comment on Delhomme? Billy? Billy? ;) (2nd Best QB rating in the league when his team is trailing. 7 comeback wins, 4-1 in OT, and in the NFC Championship - will probably be in the Super Bowl (they look a whole lot like Baltimore of a few years ago to me).
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Join Date: Apr 2004
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That\'s a good post WhoDat. Somehow, I overlooked it. At this point, I feel the same way as you on the coaches. I understand that many factors are involved in a coach being successful, but, I can point specifically at coaching for a lot of the Saints problems.
So, for now, we see eye-to-eye on the coaching. That\'s scary ain\'t it?? I figure if we both agree on something.............It\'s gotta have some truth to it.
As far as Delhomme..... He\'s impressed me to a certain degree. But, it wouldn\'t surprise me if he had a bad year next season and the Panthers missed the playoffs. He\'s in a great situation for a young experienced QB. Also, he\'s not in a passing offense that goes down field very often. I don\'t think he would have thrived in the Saints offense. He certainly would have had to run around more and get rid of the ball quicker with the Saints.
[Edited on 12/1/2004 by BillyC]
Join Date: Sep 2002
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Why hasn\'t the universe as we know it ceased to exist? Billy and I wholeheartedly agree. What\'s going on here?
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