Some of you may know that I am interning at the Association of Ontario Health Centres in Communications. I have started blogging about my experiences, so please check this out!: http://ashleyashbee.posterous.com
I am going to help prepare and attend the AOHC's great conference on community health innovations. This is all very exciting for me. If you'd like to learn more about what community health centres are doing, join #CHCchat on Twitter on Thursdays at 3. I hope to see you there!
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Monday, April 25, 2011
A Complicated Memory
How many of us go through our lives pressing an imaginary "Record" button? It's a way of trying to memorize the past while it is still present, so one can learn from it later on or just enjoy the memory.
I read this great article in Rumpus, "The Heroic Lie: A Brief Inquiry into the Fake Memoir," about what constitutes lying in creative non-fiction. The answer is unclear because memory is based on perception. We don't necessarily remember things as we actually witnessed them and we probably witnessed subjectively.
For example, for years I remembered my family's Christmas tree from when I was really young as this huge, twinkling thing. Then a few years ago I saw a picture of it. A picture of a small, sparsely branched fake tree that didn't glow or twinkle. I had remembered it differently for all of those years because it did look huge to me, a small child, and I was so excited about Santa and presents that the tree seemed magical. Also, I seemed to be confusing our simple tree with the tree from a Nutcracker animated production.
If I had described my old tree as I remembered it, before I saw that picture a few years ago, would I be lying? By some definitions, yes, because it wasn't big. It didn't glow. But that's how I saw it. And if I wrote about the simple tree as the glorious one I apparently imagined, who could accuse me of lying?
What makes it even more complicated is that now I remember the tree from the picture, not the tree I saw as a child. Photographs and other artifacts that hold the past can change our memories. I recently realized that I hold onto these artifacts because a part of me thinks they will transport me back in time. These objects seem to make my memories tangible. They are a way to literally hold onto the past.
This creates huge ethical issues in creative non-fiction because the facts can't really be verified. And they aren't really facts, as much as testimony is valued when history is logged. Truth becomes a subjective term dependent as much on sentiment as on facts.
I read this great article in Rumpus, "The Heroic Lie: A Brief Inquiry into the Fake Memoir," about what constitutes lying in creative non-fiction. The answer is unclear because memory is based on perception. We don't necessarily remember things as we actually witnessed them and we probably witnessed subjectively.
For example, for years I remembered my family's Christmas tree from when I was really young as this huge, twinkling thing. Then a few years ago I saw a picture of it. A picture of a small, sparsely branched fake tree that didn't glow or twinkle. I had remembered it differently for all of those years because it did look huge to me, a small child, and I was so excited about Santa and presents that the tree seemed magical. Also, I seemed to be confusing our simple tree with the tree from a Nutcracker animated production.
If I had described my old tree as I remembered it, before I saw that picture a few years ago, would I be lying? By some definitions, yes, because it wasn't big. It didn't glow. But that's how I saw it. And if I wrote about the simple tree as the glorious one I apparently imagined, who could accuse me of lying?
What makes it even more complicated is that now I remember the tree from the picture, not the tree I saw as a child. Photographs and other artifacts that hold the past can change our memories. I recently realized that I hold onto these artifacts because a part of me thinks they will transport me back in time. These objects seem to make my memories tangible. They are a way to literally hold onto the past.
This creates huge ethical issues in creative non-fiction because the facts can't really be verified. And they aren't really facts, as much as testimony is valued when history is logged. Truth becomes a subjective term dependent as much on sentiment as on facts.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Dog Food
Tip:
If your dog won't eat his dinner, lean over it and make chewing noises. You don't actually have to eat the food, but I suspect this might be a more effective tactic. I don't think this works on children, though, so it's hard to say. I don't think the "Here comes the airplane" technique works on kids either. But it might work on dogs. I'll let you know. When my dog Pounce was a puppy, he wouldn't eat his kibble until I took it from his bowl and put it on the floor. I'd try that again now, but it would be too messy as we give him tripe now with his kibble. He won't eat the kibble without the tripe. You might say he has me whipped.
He is almost finished his dinner. I don't have a camera to take pictures to prove this to you, but even if I did provide pictures, you could say that I ate the food myself. Or threw it out.
If your dog won't eat his dinner, lean over it and make chewing noises. You don't actually have to eat the food, but I suspect this might be a more effective tactic. I don't think this works on children, though, so it's hard to say. I don't think the "Here comes the airplane" technique works on kids either. But it might work on dogs. I'll let you know. When my dog Pounce was a puppy, he wouldn't eat his kibble until I took it from his bowl and put it on the floor. I'd try that again now, but it would be too messy as we give him tripe now with his kibble. He won't eat the kibble without the tripe. You might say he has me whipped.
He is almost finished his dinner. I don't have a camera to take pictures to prove this to you, but even if I did provide pictures, you could say that I ate the food myself. Or threw it out.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Florence and the Machine, I'm speechless
I still can't stop playing Florence and the Machine's album "Lungs," a year and a half after I bought it. Florence has a huge, gorgeous voice. I fell in love with it and with Florence during a cold and patch of asthma. I admired her for celebrating her lung capacity and I wanted to sing along with her. The harp, drums and of course the lyrics on this album are all fantastic too. Death, love, it's all here.
I saw Florence live at the Kool Haus in Toronto a year ago and let me tell you: she sounds just as amazing live as she does on the album. Here's proof if you want it. This is my favourite live Florence performance of one of my favourite songs by her. Cosmic Love on David Letterman. Watch her face. She sees things. And as one Youtube commenter so brilliantly put it, "I can almost hear her smiling."
I saw Florence live at the Kool Haus in Toronto a year ago and let me tell you: she sounds just as amazing live as she does on the album. Here's proof if you want it. This is my favourite live Florence performance of one of my favourite songs by her. Cosmic Love on David Letterman. Watch her face. She sees things. And as one Youtube commenter so brilliantly put it, "I can almost hear her smiling."
Thursday, April 7, 2011
I Adore Radiohead
I still haven't heard Radiohead's new album. I'm so out of the loop that I don't even know when it will be sold in stores. I don't have a credit card to buy from iTunes and I like CDs anyway - great sound quality. I love this band so, so much and their other albums will tide me over. This is my favourite song, "Like Spinning Plates," from their Amnesiac (2001) album. It still haunts me every time I listen to it.
The looped synthesized music sounds backwards, as does the first chunk of vocals. I'm not sure how Radiohead achieved this eerie, atmpospheric effect. That scratching reminds me of a plate spinning, which, unlike the looped music, will stop and crash. There is so much pain and truth here.
The looped synthesized music sounds backwards, as does the first chunk of vocals. I'm not sure how Radiohead achieved this eerie, atmpospheric effect. That scratching reminds me of a plate spinning, which, unlike the looped music, will stop and crash. There is so much pain and truth here.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Sensationalizing Disability and Difference
The Woman with Giant Legs, The 600 lb Virgin. Why are so many documentary titles written as promotions for modern day circus freak shows? So much for dignity.
It could be that these titles represent narratives from the people who bully/are ignorant/hateful. In this case, the titles would be written to highlight the insensitivity and ignorance. People tend to describe others by what makes them visibly different from other people. This is especially true of people with disabilities. I have often heard of people I've known with disabilities described as "the guy in the wheelchair," or "the girl with no arms and legs."
When I watch documentaries with these kinds of titles, I don't feel that I'm watching a freak show. They usually depict the person as more than a disability or difference and highlight issues of accessibility, stigma, etc. These titles are an obvious shock tactic. What do you think is the purpose of the shock tactic? To quote the ignorant or to reinforce attitudes about those who are different?
The woman with the Giant Legs... by kterrl
I leave you with a quote by the title character, John Merrick, from The Elephant Man, "I am not an animal. I am a human being. I am a man."
It could be that these titles represent narratives from the people who bully/are ignorant/hateful. In this case, the titles would be written to highlight the insensitivity and ignorance. People tend to describe others by what makes them visibly different from other people. This is especially true of people with disabilities. I have often heard of people I've known with disabilities described as "the guy in the wheelchair," or "the girl with no arms and legs."
When I watch documentaries with these kinds of titles, I don't feel that I'm watching a freak show. They usually depict the person as more than a disability or difference and highlight issues of accessibility, stigma, etc. These titles are an obvious shock tactic. What do you think is the purpose of the shock tactic? To quote the ignorant or to reinforce attitudes about those who are different?
The woman with the Giant Legs... by kterrl
I leave you with a quote by the title character, John Merrick, from The Elephant Man, "I am not an animal. I am a human being. I am a man."
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