With the stroke of a pen...

I've always wanted to try my hand at writing a book. Specifically a novel. Non-fiction is great, and I read a lot of it, but I don't think I'm enough of an authority on anything to write a non-fiction book.

It's been something that's been sitting in the back of my mind for years, but I've never really done anything with the idea. My mother sometimes says I should write a book, and maybe build a career like Michael Patterson in "For Better or For Worse." He started out as a journalist, worked his way up to a magazine editor, and eventually had a novel published. Sure, he's just a character in a comic strip, but that doesn't mean I can't do the same thing.

I want to write something for myself. Not necessarily drawn from my own experiences, although that would certainly be part of it.

So I'm going to start posting some ideas on here, just as a way to get feedback. Later on, I'll post some samples of what I come up with.

All of this is hopefully going to lead to participating in National Novel Writing Month, which takes place every November. It's another of those things I look at every year and think "I should do this." This year, it's going to be "I'm doing this."

I should be posting the first ideas in the next week or so. I've got a few written down, and I'm going to flesh them out a bit, and then post them here. I'm sure many will be garbage, but that's the nature of writing. Much of it ends up being worthless, but buried in all the detritus can be something mind-blowing. Time for me to find that something.

-BT

Out of that rut

Ever feel like you're in a rut? I mean, the kind of rut that takes forever to get out of, and often requires a boost.

I'm in that kind of rut right now. Stuck in a job I hate, stuck in a town I desperately want out of, and seemingly no way out.

It's weird how people get into these positions in life. Quite often, you don't see it coming. You're just cruising along, when all of a sudden...BANG!...There's that rut I mentioned.

Although, sometimes, you don't notice you're in the rut. Sometimes there isn't an obvious sign of the rut. You only notice when you try and change direction.

I went along like that for awhile. The signs were there. I started to hate getting up and go to work. That's the worst part. This was my career choice, and I haven't been at it for a year yet, but I hate it and want out.

There have been several times over the past few months that have led me to this point. Just things at work, little things, that have gradually piled up and become a monster. I've reached the point where I've circled a date on the calendar, and written "new job by today."

My job has sucked the will to write out of me. It's a chore for me to write anything, whether for work or for myself. I had to force myself to write this post, as I've had to do with many of the posts on this blog.

But today, something gave me a boost out of the rut. I don't what it was, but I came home from work in a foul mood, which has got me thinking, and got me planning, which is more than I've done in awhile.

I took this job because I was desperate and this was the first place that offered to hire me. The next one won't be that way.

-BT

Circle those bandwagons

When's the right time to jump on a bandwagon? Are there different levels of bandwagon jumping? Why do people take so much grief for jumping on and off a bandwagon?

Sports fans can be a fickle lot. They get behind the hot team, but disappear as soon as the team struggles. With a snap of the fingers, they'll turn on the team.

This phenomenon has been especially prevalent in various markets over the years. The New England Patriots, the Boston Red Sox, the Boston Celtics. Actually, let's just say the Boston sports market except for Bruins fans. The other teams have definite jumpers, both on and off. There are some who follow the Montreal Canadiens. There are definitely many, many jumpers who followed the Tampa Bay Rays on their magical run to a berth in the World Series last year.

There are also those who don't jump on and off, but support their team through thick and thin. The best example would have to be Chicago Cubs fans. Last championship for the Cubbies? 1908. Not many people still alive who saw them win their last title. Cubs fans are the most die hard of die hard. Die hard fans are those who follow a team through long droughts, like the Cubs, the Chicago Blackhawks, and my beloved Toronto Maple Leafs. Of course, within those groups there are bandwagon jumpers and/or sheep who follow for no good reason, but for the most part, these teams have fans who live through the bad times with boundless optimism, and uttering over and over the mantra, "Just wait 'til next year."

Some hardcore sports fans can't stand the ones who jump on the wagon when the team suddenly starts doing well. And some hate the ones who jump off when the team begins to under-perform after a period of success.

So is there a good time to jump on or off a bandwagon?

Obviously, if you're just getting interested in a particular sport, it can certainly be okay to jump on a particular team's bandwagon. If you've never followed a team or sport before, it's certainly a unique situation. Some people start following a team because of a relative. My grandfather has been a fan of the Maple Leafs for much of his life. I began following the Leafs when I was a little kid. That situation is an acceptable one for bandwagon jumping. Or if it's just a case of suddenly following a sport because you saw a game and start following one of the participating teams, I couldn't really fault you for that either. I've done it myself.

It's nothing that's ever going to change. There will always be people jumping on and off when their local team suddenly becomes the hot ticket or implodes into mediocrity. That's the nature of sports. I just want people to admit it, rather than say they've followed a team for years, meaning they occasionally check standings and bitch/cheer because the team is winning/losing.

-BT

Employed in a dying industry

It's a terrifying thing, wondering if or when you might lose your job.

The Halifax Chronicle-Herald recently laid off two dozen reporters and editors. Two dozen. I'm not sure how big the staff at the paper is, but two dozen sounds like a lot to me. I work at a paper where there aren't even two dozen employees between all the departments. There are six people in our newsroom, half of them editors.

I compare the paper I work for to the Chronicle-Herald simply because of similar situations. The Chronicle-Herald lost its competition, the Daily News, last year. My paper lost its competition, the Carleton Free Press, in the past few months.

On a story from The Coast the stories of a few laid-off reporters from the grand ole Halifax daily are told. And it was heartbreaking. Some of these people are like me. Relatively new to the journalism industry. Just brushed aside by the corporate honchos. It's shocking.

Now the word comes down that CBC is planning on dumping some 800 employees. So when even the national broadcaster is cutting people loose, what chance does someone at a community-based, twice-weekly paper have?

People want to save the media, particularly newspapers. The print media is struggling to stay afloat. The Rocky Mountain News closed, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer shut down the print operations, San Francisco almost became the first city in North America without a major daily newspaper.

Newspapers have failed to evolve with the rest of the media. Some have figured out bits and pieces, putting together multimedia packages for websites. In fact, the Rocky Mountain News produced a fantastic video detailing the death of that historic publication. But many papers have yet to learn their lessons. This is the 21st century. When the internet provides 24-hour, up to the minute news, why would you read a paper, particularly a weekly? Why not get your news online?

I'm all for the salvation of newspapers. I enjoy having the physical product in my hands, but why should I pay for information I can get online for free? It makes no sense.

The other problem is a newspaper that essentially ignores the internet. Like the one I work for. The website for this paper, and every paper owned by this company, is utter garbage. It's simply the print edition stories posted online, in a difficult to navigate, ugly interface. We just got an award for having the second best website in Canada for a paper this size. Which suggests to me at least we're not alone in not having a clue about the website.

Like I said, a terrifying thing.

-BT

Comedian extraordinaire

I'm a big fan of Colin Mochrie, the Canadian comedian probably best known for his long-running gigs on the American and British versions of the improv comedy show "Whose Line is it Anyway?"

Well, a friend of mine apparently saw Colin doing the weather on CP24, the local news program in Toronto. The man is the Canadian answer to Samuel L. Jackson. He pops up in everything.

So in honour of Mr. Mochrie, I present a version of the classic game "Hoedown" from the British "Whose Line", which was performed in honour of him. Colin is well known for his skill at the game, and often finishes his verse with an excellent pun.

Enjoy.

Crazy Motherf***ers

Just a short post on the stupidity of a certain demographic.

Transport truck drivers.

Sunday evening, I was making the drive from Woodstock to Quispamsis, in what would charitably be described as a blizzard. Poor visibility, slick roads, not really a good night to be driving.

So imagine how I felt, seeing this giant truck coming up in my mirror, doing normal highway speed, or above.

I realize these trucks are a little more secure than a small vehicle, but they also don't exactly stop on a dime, and they certainly don't handle like a small vehicle. So if I can only manage 70-80 km/h on a four-lane highway, these idiots shouldn't be going any faster than me, never mind 40 or 50 more.

So how about our law enforcement officials maybe take a stand against this kind of dangerous behaviour? I know it's a bad idea to drive in bad weather like that, but sometimes it's necessary. So for those of us forced to share the road with these maniacs, do a little to protect us.

-BT

Six more weeks? Or is it just a month and a half?

Groundhog Day is more than just a comedy classic starring Bill Murray. It's an annual tradition where we gather around various holes in the ground to see if the furry forecasters will doom us to another six weeks of winter or not.

This year, many of the more famous prognosticators, including Nova Scotia's own Shubenacadie Sam, were spooked by their shadow, so we get another six weeks of winter.

Now, I'm all for tradition, and I've always thought this one was kind of cute. But let's not kid ourselves. Winter ends when it ends. Officially, that'll be March 20th. But I live in Canada, which means winter ends sometime in April or even May. Tradition or not, unfortunately, the little guys can't really relieve the misery that is a Canadian winter any sooner.

Although, if there's any scientists out there, maybe you could find some way to actually link the end of winter to the groundhog's shadow?

Just a thought...

-BT