EPL Squared
This post is a combination of “downtown is where it’s at” and “Edmonton’s library is cool.”
Tomorrow – Friday, August 26 – the Edmonton Public Library is flipping all of its best parts inside out and taking the Stanley A. Milner branch across the street, and outside, to Churchill Square. It’s an event called EPL Squared.
There will be a book sale (with the profits going to help fire-ravaged Slave Lake’s library), a human library (where you borrow a person instead of a book), lots of games, stories, music, an e-reader kiosk, and Marty Chan’s Secrets of the Square.
Make the jump to find out what that’s about. (more…)
Take A Breather
What a perfect time to just pause and reflect, Edmonton.
With festival after festival after festival we’ve hit that lull in summer’s festival calendar. It’s a great time to take a few days off from running around the city, eating green onion cakes, and just enjoy summer as it is.
Perhaps you’ll take a long walk in the river valley. Or relax with a book at one of the branches of the EPL. Take the kids to a new spray park (check with your local community league). Jump into the new Queen Elizabeth Pool. Or just laze on the couch with an oscillating fan pointed at your face.
Whatever you do the next few days, enjoy it.
Because the Fringe starts later this week and that is one motherflippin’ busy festival.
Short Week Headlines
Click for more terrible front pages.
Good morning, Edmonton.
While we’re not trying to doom and gloom you, we are going to begin with homicides; stories that are most prevalent in Edmonton news right now.
Overall, Edmonton’s got 33 homicides on record in 2011. That’s the most of any city in Canada. Though, with stories like this and this from the Edmonton Sun you’d think we lived in a war zone. I doubt a death penalty would reduce one year’s higher than usual homicide rate. Let’s remember – ALL newsrooms - that our crime rate is down,down, down.
Also, I think I’ve mentioned this before in Headlines, but the Sun’s staffers should know that the highest penalty for murder in Canada is life in prison with no chance at parole for 25 years. Not 25 years and you’re out. We can also send people away as “dangerous offenders” in Canada, which means they do not have a release date at all. These tiny bits of information, usually added at the end of a story or an opinion piece, do have an impact on how people perceive crime and criminals.
After this weekend’s (and today’s) stories I am now officially pleading with Edmonton newsrooms to stop talking to criminologist Bill Pitt. “Everybody in this city is armed” sounds like the worst crime research ever.
There are connections to Edmonton’s Somali community within our high homicide rate, and within the homicide rate for the last number of years. Police continue to try and work with members of the community to solve the many murders and killings within this population. Though, the crimes reach right across Canada inside of Somali gangs. There are, of course, many Somali-Edmontonians willing to help police, and who want to see the city operate in a peaceful manner.
Detectives, and extra Edmonton Police officers brought in to help solve homicides, are busy. An excellent point made in this story that paramedics and medical staff likely help keep the homicide number down.
While police try to solve as many killings as they can, prevention of crime is going to be the key to keeping homicide rates down on a more permanent basis.
We might have started things off with homicide, though I do hope you don’t think I’ve switched to a “If it bleeds, it leads” approach with the Headlines. I mean, I don’t want to scare anyone into thinking Edmonton has a murder around every corner. It doesn’t.
Hopefully, by compiling a lot of the weekend stories (good ones, interesting ones, ones the Edmonton Sun had) we can have a fuller conversation about what’s going on in our city, and see the work of police, community groups, and individuals to bring killers to justice and keep things as safe as possible.
Now, just for criminologist Bill Pitt, let’s put away all of our knives and continue with the day’s stories. (more…)
Your Lucky Weekend
Welcome to another weekend, Edmonton. Don’t let today being Friday the 13th throw off your vibe.
This weekend just so happens to be a Make It! Edmonton weekend. The craft and design show is back at the Alberta Aviation Hangar, with all kinds of great handmade goods. You can also help out the Canadian Kidney Foundation while you shop, by bidding on the silent auction – which will include items from the Make It! designers.
Tickets are $5 at the door, but we can get some of you in for free. Would you like that? Let us know if you want to go to Make It! this weekend.
*****
On Saturday, at the Russ Barns Arena, E-Ville Roller Derby wraps up the season with the Gage Cup between the Slice Girls and Berzerkhers. Sticking with roller derby…the Oil City Derby Girls become the “Knicker Kickers” to take on the Red Deer Belladonnas (who become the Whale Tails) in an Underwear Affair on wheels.
In music…you’ve got Rammstein at Rexall Place tonight. I expect it to be roofless by tomorrow. The Bridle Party and Van Funk & The Lebarons are playing an early show at Brixx tonight. Captain Tractor has a CD release at the Roxy Theatre (they play in Permanent Records tomorrow at 5pm). Over at New City Legion it’ll be Black Mastiff with Field & Stream and Morals. Men Without Hats are at the Century Casino. Buddy Guy is at the Polish Hall. Tomorrow’s Hair of the Dog is a good one; with Caity Fisher (you may remember her from our most recent episode of television). Saturday night The Empress has Howlin’ Dan, with John Woroschuck. And on Sunday Jimmy Rankin is at the Haven Social Club.
Capital City Burlesque “Unleash the Geek” this weekend, at the Starlite Room.
Snakes. Why did it have to be snakes? (It had to be since it’s the Edmonton Reptile and Amphibians 2011 Spring Show & Sale.)
Biodiversity Week (it’s a thing) kicks off in Edmonton at City Hall. Earth Alive will be a family-friendly event, and you could learn how to increase the wildlife population in your backyard.
The third annual #yegHelp event is Saturday night at Lux. Proceeds of the event will go to La Salle women’s shelter.
If you’re into helping, you might have already known that the sixth Homeless Connect Edmonton is this Sunday at the Shaw Conference Centre. Homeless Connect is an interesting event, it provides all kinds of services to Edmonton’s homeless community; everything from mental health assessments and immunizations to haircuts and laundry.
For you fans of reading, this is a good weekend. The Edmonton Public Library’s Books to Eat fundraiser is Saturday night, while Audrey’s hosts An Afternoon with the Authors Sunday.
Sunday afternoon, The Pure Speculation Festival is holding Mini Spec!: a fundraiser for the big deal (which happens later this year).
Still on Sunday, there will be an Open House at ENTS. That’s the Edmonton New Technology Society; a cool little collective workspace in Oliver. E-mail them to get in on it and check out their space.
You can always see a movie, now that blockbuster season has begun (does it feel like it’s starting earlier to anyone else?). Oh, and get rid of your old couch at the City’s Big Bin Events.
May 12 Edmonton Headlines
There’s a lot to get to today, so let’s get to it, Edmonton.
Building a better city, one without “crap” architecture, takes time, but Edmonton is making moves to be that city.
Building a better city will also mean taking bold steps, including those of the environmental persuasion.
The City of Edmonton is trying to figure out what to do about the many electronic billboards (essentially giant video screens) popping up. Do they distract drivers? Do they cause crashes? Should they be regulated?
Daycare operations at the Edmonton Public School Board won’t be handed over to a large private company.
It’s dry. It’s windy. It’s time for fire bans.
EPCOR is looking at getting into the oilsands.
The City is looking for its next Poet Laureate (they will be replacing our current PL, Cadence Weapon).
The Edmonton Police Service is thanking apartment and multi-residential development managers who try to keep things safe for tenants.
An Edmonton river valley park is open again, after Project KARE investigated a tip on a missing person for most of this week. (Project KARE investigates the disappearance, and homicides, of dozens of “high-risk” individuals in the Edmonton area.)
A St. Alberta man is behind a new kind of bulletproof vest.
This news train is just getting rolling! (more…)
A Twitter Festival. A Twestival, If You Will (And You Will)
Hey gang, I know how much you like helping local charities. And I know how much you like winning/bidding on prizes from local businesses. Which is why I thought Twestival would be right up your alley.
That’s right, Twestival’s back! Twitter’s been asking tweeters in cities around the world to hold the (now) annual events for years. Last time out, Twestival was for a Twitter-chosen charity (charity: water) and was held in conjunction with Guru Digital Arts College’s Gala Guru. The time before that it was a local Twestival and we raised money for the Youth Emergency Shelter Society (YESS).
Edmonton’s Twitter King, Mack D. Male, was at the helm for those events. Now I’m in charge.
Actually, I’m one of a handful of people in charge, which means you’re actually going to like this and it’s not just going to be some last-minute pizza party in my basement.
Edmonton Twestival is a tweet-up AND fundraiser. (more…)
The EPL has a lot going on
When Sarah asked if we’d include a daddy and baby class she’d be running at the Strathcona branch of the Edmonton Public Library (EPL), I thought it would be a good time to plug some of their other unique programming options. I also made a joke about giving away or racing babies or something. But today we’ll just focus on the programs and not how much money you could win by choosing the fastest baby.
So, yeah, the EPL offers plenty of classes and programs, like Daddy and Baby Time (which starts this Wednesday at the Strathcona branch of the library and doesn’t even require registration), for babies, toddlers, children, teens, and their parents and families.
They actually offer a lot more than that too. The EPL has book clubs, chess clubs, helps people improve their English (not to mention learn other languages), stretch it out with yoga, watch and discuss TED talks, and even finish your novel.
While we’re talking about library events, you can come out Saturday and meet this year’s Writer in Residence, Marty Chan, if you bring a book to trade.
Some Edmonton Events
There’s some good music happening in Edmonton this weekend.
CJSR’s FunDrive benefit show is tonight at The ARTery.
Todd Snider is at the Myer Horowitz. (Thanks to hi54lofi for the heads-up on this one.) Kat Danser is playing the Arden…you know you like swamp blues. Michelle Wright is bouncing around the capital region. Homefest is also this Sunday.
Lyve on Whyte gets Old Ugly Saturday night with Doug Hoyer and Mitchmatic. Oh, and Emily is going to the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra.
Also happening this weekend…Farmfair International (kind of a precursor to the Canadians Finals Rodeo, or CFR), the Oilers host the Red Wings, politicos are trying to Reboot Alberta (3.0) at the Delta South, there’s an open house at MacEwan University, it’s a Handmade Mafia weekend, and the Edmonton Public Library (EPL) is holding a kick-ass book sale.
Thanks to Leanne for reminding us about the Edmonton Rocky Mountain Wine and Food Festival.
Don’t forget there are always new movies and November is Shop Local month.
Peace!
Post-Airport Headlines
What will that crazy Edmonton Public Library think of next?
Gee, I wonder if there’s an obvious story to talk about today…
Could be the airport petition failing and city council voting down the idea of having a question about the City Centre Airport on our October election ballot. (Even if council put the question on the ballot the results wouldn’t have been binding.)
Maybe that’s news…yeah, it probably is.
Paula Simons has a good take on why the decision not to still put a question on the ballot was a tough, but important one.
On the airport vibe, the head of the Alberta Aviation Museum is running for council.
And switching back to a council vibe, this current bunch is done. We get a new(ish) bunch on October 18. I say newish since most of the incumbents will likely win.
from the Edmonton Journal:
Lukaszuk urged to up minimum wage by two bits
Aboriginals purposely barred from juries: prof (This case may end up changing a few things about how we select potential jurors.)
Software developer wins Edmonton app competition (And his app could help you pick a restaurant.)
Stelmach making his best effort to meet with Hollywood honcho
Guinness World Records recognizes U of A’s dodge ball tournament
from the Edmonton Sun:
Mounties should get more health info: Fatality report
Province to address creation of Alberta Health Act in October
Forget where you put your memory stick? (Someone found yours on the bus.)
from Metro Edmonton:
EPS’s Flint is Canada’s top dog
from 630CHED/iNews880:
Zwosdesky backs controversial MS research
Edmonton city council overspends: CFIB
from CTV Edmonton:
One story you’re probably seeing a lot today is RCMP video of an Edson killer, talking to police about how he killed a 14-year-old girl. (The video does not start playing if you click the link to the story.)
from Global Edmonton:
ASIRT inquiry results (Two Edmonton police officers won’t be charged after shooting a woman who was walking around with a, realistic-looking, fake gun.)
from Vue Weekly:
Not quite equal (The City of Edmonton is looking for ways to get more women involved in politics.)
Housing for all (I didn’t know the Mayfair Village was going to have places available below the market average. That’s great. There’s more help for the homeless too.)
Lots of talk, not a lot of listening
from SEE Magazine:
Turning the page (More from SEE on our province’s cultural industries.)
Let’s end on a high-note. Mickey Rooney was here. Mickey. Rooney.
Explore Edmonton
Today’s event selection is not really one you could accomplish (in its entirety) in one evening, or even one full day.
You may remember me talking about the Edmonton Community Challenge (put on by the Next Gen committee and Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues) back in June.
Our scrappy little team from Strathcona Centre placed a respectable fifth, notable due to our handful of active members. While we were darn proud to have collected the most food for the Edmonton Food Bank in the sculpture challenge (King Edward School gets a lot of the credit) I think it’s safe to say the core of our team had the most fun in the city-wide photo scavenger hunt.
By checking Flickr, I would say the other top teams also had a blast with this.
We had to run all over Edmonton, taking photos of ourselves in front of historically significant buildings, on bridges, shopping in all of the Business Revitalization Zones (BRZ), spending time in our favourite parks and local haunts, high-fiving councillors, and hitting up each branch of the Edmonton Public Library.
I learned that Edmonton has WAY more bridges than one could get to in a day, or even a week. Especially if you start counting footbridges. The libraries are spread out, and it took many hours to get to all of them (the EPL Go at the University of Alberta is also the cutest little library).
Somehow we completed every task on the photo scavenger hunt, even getting to the whale at West Edmonton Mall before it was removed for the opening of Victoria’s Secret. (There may be an item or two you can’t do right now.)
Living in one of the city’s oldest, most vibrant, neighbourhoods sure helped too. Strathcona has plenty of historically recognized buildings, it’s a BRZ right now, has any type of business needed for the photo challenge, a library branch, giant trees, and plenty of people to start a parade.
Prior to this challenge, I had never been to a bottle depot. I feel more like an Edmontonian now.
So today I offer you a chance to explore Edmonton like you probably haven’t before. Take a scan through the scavenger hunt from the Edmonton Community Challenge and choose a few items to track down, or try, before the summer is out.
I bet, just like I discovered how historically significant my work neighbourhood is, you find out a few things about Edmonton you didn’t know.
(It’s a lot of fun to see how many U of A bunnies you can get into one picture. Those suckers are fast.)
Let me know if you do any of these, or have photos of them already. You can always toss them into our Flickr pool too.
—–
Keep in mind you should play safe and not break any laws. Also “team” is you.
Here’s what you could do: (more…)
It’s the weekend so let your hair down
Oh, and I don't want to brag or anything, but you should probably put this little baby in your calendar right now. I'll see you there in 2 weeks.
Let your hair down? What?! Who event talks like that?
I’ll try and up my hipster-era lingo throughout the rest of this post.
You can haz events.
Actually there are a few cool things going down this weekend in the Y-E-G.
First things first, let’s dig into the ShareEdmonton goody bag and see what we pull out.
Ooh…an Oilers game. Do people still go to those? For fun?
ShareEdmonton’s got a lot of Edmonton Public Library events, and I keep seeing this one, about gaming for teens. It’s cool that the library isn’t just about books anymore, and kids have a place to go do something fun instead of joining a gang.
You don’t hve much time left to RSVP for the Open City Workshop, but it’s a neat idea bringing developers, city staff and other people together to talk about what kinds of government information should be open and available, and what could be done with it (like build an iPhone app, or write an in-depth news story).
MacEwan University is hosting an open house, Saturday. Just don’t ask them about the pool.
If you want to drive out to Elk Island National Park there’s a Star Party. Take in the night sky without all of the city’s light pollution.
Then, you’ve got Pre/Post, The Consonance and The Madhatters playing Saturday night at the Pawnshop.
A band you might have heard of is playing the Shaw Conference Centre Sunday.
Or perhaps you want to check out the Newfoundland Screech Comedy from the Rock Tour, at the Kingsway Ramada? Yeah, I thought you might.
It’s a post-Conan world
I know that Conan O’Brien is a smart cookie and he’ll land on his feet. I also know he’ll be missed on The Tonight Show, around these parts. It’s back to Letterman/Kimmel/Lopez for the first round of late night TV.
I think my love of Carson Daly has also been noted.
For these reasons I may bounce over to Original Joe’s-Varisty Row (109 Street, north of Whyte Avenue) for the last Coco-Tonight Show. They’ll be showing it at the restaurant/bar and they’ve got specials on Red Ale and Coco Martinis (clever). Maybe I’ll see you there.
On a more serious note, there will be a march and rally in Old Strathcona tomorrow (when isn’t there?) as Canadians against Proroguing Parliament hit the streets. Let’s see if the Facebook protest transitions to the real world.
I bet this show won't be a "big wreck." (It's Monday at Union Hall.)
Edmonton’s Winter Light festival continues this weekend, with the Baba Yaga Trail Adventure.
Ice on Whyte also continues.
There are zombie-literary discussions happening Saturday afternoon (2-4pm, in the Edmonton Room) at the Stanley Milner Library. It’s about Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.
There are also ways to enjoy the party-scene of the weekend and help Haiti. Check this Metro-Edmonton story for details.
Dave Attell is at The Comic Strip this weekend.
You can take your tummy out to the second round of Fork Fest.
Maybe you’d rather try not to get trampled by brides looking for deals and other items for THEIR SPECIAL DAY. There’s an event for that.
Or you can attempt to keep your head from exploding due to an abundance of cuteness at the Edmonton Pet Expo. Aww…
The Edmonton Rush have their home opener Saturday, against the Buffalo Bandits. Hey, they’ve got more of a chance of winning than the Oilers. (Thanks for the reminder, Derjs.)
Whatever it is you do to make it to Monday, have fun.
Get your Art on
Tomorrow means Art. It’s Alberta Arts Days.
That’s a real thing. It’s the 2nd annual, you know.
Tomorrow kicks off Alberta Arts Days, as it’s a whole weekend of artsy stuff, right around the province.
One neat thing that I’ve found is the Edmonton Public Library’s “Experimental Novel.” The EPL is asking people to help them write the story, via online posts, and they’ve got an author to moderate and edit.
Oh, and CKUA is touring the province, so you can feel like you’ve been everywhere, man, without actually leaving your radio (or computer).
In Edmonton, here are some of the art ideas. They include open houses, workshops, performances, showings, author readings and book launches, concerts and performance art, food, tours, films, and, and, and…
It doesn’t matter where you are, however, since the government of Alberta is backing this (read: paying for some stuff) and you can find out what’s happening wherever you may be this weekend.
This speaks to the challenge of mankind. And why you need to find real artists to spend time with this weekend.
Edmonton Public Library’s new catalogue
Enhance.
I am the worst library patron of all time. I go through phases where I don’t go to the library for months, and then suddenly, I wake up with a burning desire to learn CSS, botany and the complete history of the tugboat, all at once. And just like that, I turn into the jerk who takes out 30 items at a time, keeping them all for weeks longer than I should, even though they’re on hold for other people.
So when I heard that the EPL (Edmonton Public Library) was revamping their catalogue, there was a moment where I dared to dream that some glitch in the matrix would cause whatever fines I had accrued (and despite my best intentions, there are ALWAYS fines accrued) to somehow magically be swept away.
Enhance.
But as you see here, no dice. There’s a better chance of us returning to the old card and stamp days than that happening. Now I’ll stop being a cheapskate and just pay the $3.50.
But I digress. I e-mailed Tina Thomas, media relations person for Edmonton Public Libraries, for some more information about the new catalogue.
The website, which has been developed in association with Ontario company BiblioCommons – who’ve also help pimp out the Oakville and Ottawa Public Library systems – is supposed to launch sometime this week to the general public. But, as all you twitter-folk already know, EPL has been tweeting the URL for people to try out, pre-launch.
The new catalogue will have “improved search capabilities,” according to Tina, who adds that it should also help users find whatever they’re looking for with a lot more ease. There’s also some new social networking elements, so users can comment, review and link to library materials.
“As a community-centered organization, we recognize that our customers have great input and opinions on our materials that they want to share,” Tina said in an e-mail. “They also want to access opinions and recommendations from users who share common interests. A social networking inspired catalogue helps achieve this.”
In the interest of science (SCIENCE!) I’ve been test-driving the catalogue myself, and in my opinion, it’s pretty sweet. The FAQ is very clear, and I found the whole site to be very intuitive. I also found it surprising, yet brilliant that you can follow people who like the same kind of stuff as you and see what they recommend..
