For tonight's writing class we wrote our author bios. Here's mine. I'm envisioning it at the end of my first published article.
Katherine Langdon lives in Ottawa with her husband Jeremy, dog Addy, and 10 month old son Jack. After a short maternity leave, she recently returned to work as a visual designer for IBM. She spends the majority of her free time watching her son discover the world and coaching her husband on the tricks to being a stay-at-home parent. While Jack sleeps she moonlights as a writer and freelance graphic designer. Her inspiration and ideas often come to her while spending countless hours rocking a squirmy baby, making up silly songs to sing , and sitting on the floor while reading nursery rhymes. Katherine is currently taking a non-fiction writing class at Algonquin College and is working on a few stories soon to be published. You can read more of Katherine’s writing on her personal blog at www.katlangdon.blogspot.com
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Thursday, October 21, 2010
[i'm writing] why the world is a happy place
We're going through some tough family stuff lately, and we've been dwelling on the sad. So I thought I'd write about some of the things that make the world a happy place. To uplift our spirits.
Babies
It's a pretty obvious one. But babies just make everyone smile. When they are newborns you can get lost for hours in a snuggle and a nap. When they get older and start to discover the world, you can have hours pass by while you explore with them. From the tiny clothes they wear to the way they laugh, babies just make you smile.
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| Jack exploring the park, 9 months |
Eating pizza in Italy
Or eating any local food from the place that made it famous. Wether it's beavertails on the Canal, or sushi in Japan, eating something fresh in the place it's made best always tastes so good.
Another good option in Italy is gelato... or wine. A croissant in Paris is divine, even if eaten in the not so clean train station. I'd never eat a salted pretzel at home, but when purchased in New York it's delicious.  |
| trying out the gelato in Italy... can't believe it's been 5 years |
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
[i'm designing] Zabava logo
I recently designed a logo for a local fund raising event: Zabava 2010. This event will be raising funds for Ottawa's Svitanok Unrainian Dance Society.
I based my designs on traditional Ukrainian colours and symbols. I originally proposed 3 designs. The chosen logo includes a graphic representation of the ribbons worn on the traditional dancer headpieces (vinoks).
This logo will be used on promotional material including posters and tickets. The best part is that this design has lead to the Dance Society asking me to design their official logo.
If you'd like to find out more about Zabava 2010, head to their facebook page
I based my designs on traditional Ukrainian colours and symbols. I originally proposed 3 designs. The chosen logo includes a graphic representation of the ribbons worn on the traditional dancer headpieces (vinoks).
This logo will be used on promotional material including posters and tickets. The best part is that this design has lead to the Dance Society asking me to design their official logo.
If you'd like to find out more about Zabava 2010, head to their facebook page
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
[i'm writing] homelessness assignment
This past week we were giving the assignment to write about homelessness in 3 different formats. Here's what I came up with.
1. Short story
Search for a story ‘homeless person found dead’ and write a short story (2-3 paragraphs) how I would have written it. Answer the 5 Ws.
His Dogs Found a Home, But He Could Not
Shadow and Spike, Paul Giesbrecht’s 2 dogs were found wandering the streets of Vancouver without him. This was an odd occurrence because the mother-and-son collies never left his side. His body was later found washed up on a shore in Stanley Park. The 32-year-old man died on September 15. His friends are now grieving his loss and approaching his twin brother, Michael, to offer their condolences. Paul’s friends are all homeless. Paul himself had been living on the streets for the past 11 years.
Police are now investigating the case, and Paul’s brother is waiting for the coroner’s report to figure out how and why his brother died.
Before he died, Paul had been waiting for a spot in supportive housing. But this day never came. The only government organization that had been able to help Paul in the past was the SPCA. They had provided a home for Shadow and Spike while Paul had been hospitalized. Unfortunately nobody had been able to provide a home for Paul.
Who: homeless man, Paul Giesbrecht
What: found dead
Where: Vancouver
When: September 15th 2008 (recent)
Why: show a side of homelessness that people can relate to (pet owner)
................................................................................................................................................................
2. Larger Feature Article
Write a larger feature article on homelessness in Ottawa/Canada/Ontario. About 5 paragraphs. Find a case study, hook it to somebody.
Homelessness Unseen
The person sitting next to you as you read this story could be homeless.
It has to affect you personally before it really hits home. I'd seen the people on the corner of the street. Those asking for money, those wishing you a 'nice day' even after you've said 'no sorry' under your breath. I'd think about them for a few minutes as I continued to walk to where I was going. I'd wonder how they got there, wonder why they were sitting on that street corner. But I'd never continue to think about them once I was home.
Not until that one day I met one of Ottawa's unseen homeless. I was walking around downtown with a new friend. We bumped into someone he knew, a friend from high school named Mark. My friend introduced us, and we chatted for a bit. They caught up on the last few year, and I listened in.
After we said good-bye and walked away, my friend told me the story.
“Mark lives here,” he said.
“He lives downtown? That's lucky for him – he's so close to all the good stores and restaurants,” I replied.
“No, he lives here... on the streets.”
I was shocked. I had so many questions. Where? Why? How did that happen? It never occurred to me that someone I know could easily end up on the streets. I wanted to know Mark's story. I wanted to know how this could happen to someone that was my age, someone who grew up in the suburbs and went to a good school. The simple story was that he couldn't live at home anymore, but he didn't have anywhere else to go.
A 1992 study by social service agencies in the Ottawa-Carleton region indicated that 75% of the street children interviewed had left home because of sexual assaults or physical and/or psycho-emotional abuse.
Many of these people don't make up the visible homeless. Those you can see everyday on the street corners, those that approach you for money. The Salvation Army Outreach Van reported that in 2007, an average of 64 different homeless individuals were counted living on the street each month. However, an average of 932 people stayed in emergency shelters in Ottawa per night.
Mark didn't have anywhere else to go. He's not invisible, but he's part of the unseen.
................................................................................................................................................................
3. Sidebar
Part of the story you are working on, but separate. A statistic, or something that doesn't fit into the main story, but is closely related.
There are three essential components in the Raise The Roof plan to solve youth homelessness.
My 3 stories all include references that I have not cited here.
1. Short story
Search for a story ‘homeless person found dead’ and write a short story (2-3 paragraphs) how I would have written it. Answer the 5 Ws.
His Dogs Found a Home, But He Could Not
Shadow and Spike, Paul Giesbrecht’s 2 dogs were found wandering the streets of Vancouver without him. This was an odd occurrence because the mother-and-son collies never left his side. His body was later found washed up on a shore in Stanley Park. The 32-year-old man died on September 15. His friends are now grieving his loss and approaching his twin brother, Michael, to offer their condolences. Paul’s friends are all homeless. Paul himself had been living on the streets for the past 11 years.
Police are now investigating the case, and Paul’s brother is waiting for the coroner’s report to figure out how and why his brother died.
Before he died, Paul had been waiting for a spot in supportive housing. But this day never came. The only government organization that had been able to help Paul in the past was the SPCA. They had provided a home for Shadow and Spike while Paul had been hospitalized. Unfortunately nobody had been able to provide a home for Paul.
Who: homeless man, Paul Giesbrecht
What: found dead
Where: Vancouver
When: September 15th 2008 (recent)
Why: show a side of homelessness that people can relate to (pet owner)
................................................................................................................................................................
2. Larger Feature Article
Write a larger feature article on homelessness in Ottawa/Canada/Ontario. About 5 paragraphs. Find a case study, hook it to somebody.
Homelessness Unseen
The person sitting next to you as you read this story could be homeless.
It has to affect you personally before it really hits home. I'd seen the people on the corner of the street. Those asking for money, those wishing you a 'nice day' even after you've said 'no sorry' under your breath. I'd think about them for a few minutes as I continued to walk to where I was going. I'd wonder how they got there, wonder why they were sitting on that street corner. But I'd never continue to think about them once I was home.
Not until that one day I met one of Ottawa's unseen homeless. I was walking around downtown with a new friend. We bumped into someone he knew, a friend from high school named Mark. My friend introduced us, and we chatted for a bit. They caught up on the last few year, and I listened in.
After we said good-bye and walked away, my friend told me the story.
“Mark lives here,” he said.
“He lives downtown? That's lucky for him – he's so close to all the good stores and restaurants,” I replied.
“No, he lives here... on the streets.”
I was shocked. I had so many questions. Where? Why? How did that happen? It never occurred to me that someone I know could easily end up on the streets. I wanted to know Mark's story. I wanted to know how this could happen to someone that was my age, someone who grew up in the suburbs and went to a good school. The simple story was that he couldn't live at home anymore, but he didn't have anywhere else to go.
A 1992 study by social service agencies in the Ottawa-Carleton region indicated that 75% of the street children interviewed had left home because of sexual assaults or physical and/or psycho-emotional abuse.
Many of these people don't make up the visible homeless. Those you can see everyday on the street corners, those that approach you for money. The Salvation Army Outreach Van reported that in 2007, an average of 64 different homeless individuals were counted living on the street each month. However, an average of 932 people stayed in emergency shelters in Ottawa per night.
Mark didn't have anywhere else to go. He's not invisible, but he's part of the unseen.
................................................................................................................................................................
3. Sidebar
Part of the story you are working on, but separate. A statistic, or something that doesn't fit into the main story, but is closely related.
There are three essential components in the Raise The Roof plan to solve youth homelessness.
- Prevention: addressing the key triggers of youth homelessness, which are tied to family-related issues and systems reform.
- Emergency response: addressing the immediate needs and stabilizing situations.
- Transitions out of homelessness: affordable accommodation and an array of supports.
My 3 stories all include references that I have not cited here.
Monday, October 4, 2010
[i'm here] my blog
I've recently started taking a non-fiction writing course once a week. I'm loving it since I get a whole night out to myself! I'm also getting motivation to write; something I've been wanting to do for a long time. I'm using this blog as a place to keep all my writing assignments, and to post other topics I'm inspired to write about. There will most likely be a lot of posts about design, and about my son Jack.
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