May, radio correspondent in training, blogging on the backburner.

Hi all,

Two posts on average per month? Ppppathetic. Have been writing a few things lately so, as always, stay tuned.

In the past few weeks I've been busy as an intern at CBC Radio One.

However, policy and my own j-ethics forbid me from talking about stories in the works, re-publishing Corporation material, or sharing my views on stories I've worked on.

I can say, that I work on a great show just now, with an amazing crew of radio experts and writers. A good education, just hanging in the newsroom, and in feedback from what I chip in from time to time.

Listen to the SHOW. It's great..

Urban Exposure Exhibit - Poverty in Our Community

For those of you in Calgary... Please mark your calendars....

Urban Exposure Exhibit - Poverty in Our Community

Thursday, 03 June 2010  Time: 18:00 - 21:30
Location: Wallace Gallery, 500 5 Ave S.W.

Please accept my invitation to an exciting Calgary photography exhibition. I have been involved with the United Way of Calgary and Area for several months now, volunteering on a photo project aimed at raising awareness around poverty in the city.  Urban Exposure has rented the Wallace Gallery on Thursday June 3, 2010, where my photographs from the project will be on display.

The photos I have taken for the project are property of the United Way, so I will be unable to post them here, or anywhere else. The only way to see them is at the event!

Before Spring had sprung

Moving Forward; Catching Up

Hello all.

Read on - an open letter if you will. 'How are things?' 'What's new?' and 'What have you been snapping and writing about lately?'

These are the questions I'm always greeted with in Calgary (and from international outposts via social media), perhaps a testament to my inability to keep up with the hundreds of people I know, my macabre/secretive nature (created by in-interest in talking about myself and never really having much good to say in 'small talk' situations), or my lack of blogging - probably some sort of combination of that and more.

Anyways, lots has been happening.

Out with the old...

Warehouse District, Calgary. DCB '10

I've slowly being putting together a photo essay on the amazing contrasts of old/new, crumbling/shiny, efficient/ridiculous of Calgary's infrastructure. Stay tuned for more, and share you photos of the town please.

As many may know, I have covered Plan It Calgary (city's long-term growth and infrastructure blueprint) for a few years through the journalism faculty paper.

Down in Mexico

Almost forgot. Had a quick adventure down in Mexico a little over a week ago. Wanted to share a few pictures.

If you should find yourself in the Riviera Maya, take the ferry to Cozumel and look up Uncle John and Aunt Grace. They'll probably take you to the beach, out for dinner, and maybe even let you couch surf (right?).

Highlights from this six-day journey include doing a job interview with the CBC from the beach (well, in the parking lot boiling alive in the truck), watching Canada take the Gold medal from a palapa pub in Playa del Carmen, where the Canadians literally drank the bar dry, finding the pristine beaches of Tulum (in rental car of questionable safety), and finding the new cafes and wine spots in Cozumel. Not to mention the great meals and shared drinks with the Gibsons of Cozumel.

D

p.s., look me up and add me as a friend on flickr. Nom: Daniel Christoper (link at right).

Interesting reads

Lots going on, and not enough dedication to the blog. That's all changing - less work, the end of university, and a blank agenda. Enjoy the links, share some more. D

A - A quick how-to on starting a wine cellar. Much cheaper and easier than you might think. Drink some, keep

B - 9,000+ grammar, spelling and syntax errors corrected in Finnegan's Wake.

Was Joyce blind, or just the stream of conscious genious we all take him for (although most have never understood or finished his most popular works)?

C - The night owl, the insomniac. Things happen in the night. There's quiet time to think.

Random short story #1

If I were a painter, and not a photographer, perhaps I would think like this.... Written in the wee hours, in a streaming flow of thoughts and words as always...

Once upon a time....jk..

THE GILDED LIGHT of morning poured in through the open window, a stifling heat coming with the slowly creeping rays of light, making uncomfortable the artist’s quaint studio perched high above the street. The late-summer sun still rose early, not enabling the artist to sleep much past the breakfast hour. He enjoyed the playful light of morning; he adored the explosion of violet and mango on the horizon, beyond the spires and towers, which came with the summer sunrise.

The doors of the terrace had been left open late on the evening prior, allowing the artist to breathe the cool air of August after sunset as he lay awake as always. The sounds of a waking city, the modern city, now played a playful background tune – a familiar tune the artist craved in the morning as he placed himself in time and place, returning slowly from dream.

Calgary, old and new contrasts

All Photos: Daniel C. Bach 2010

a day in the life; foreign reporting

I awoke this morning at a strange hour – 02:45 local time to be exact, hoping of course to catch the action of the world junior hockey final. It seemed it was intermission, from what I could make out in Czech, so I hit the iSnooze and awoke to the next digital jingle – just in time to catch the start of overtime, and the subsequent slaying of the Canadians off the stick of the young American. I went back to sleep, devastated. I had told my American journalist friends last night – over dinner at some tiny beer hall down some cobbled medieval lane - that they were sure to lose.

I remember sitting up five years ago in Granada, Spain, listening to Canada win their first in a string of five successive championships on the radio. I told the story of us celebrating the championship from Spain to a friend who was the goaltender of that championship team – we both that was pretty cool. Anyways, back to the point....

My day actually started at a more acceptable hour – 06:15 – when I awoke to get ready for a train trip into rural Bohemia. I grabbed a shower and a double espresso, and then ate my baguette breakfast at the tram stop, trying to stay warm as the snow came down again in seriously freezing temperatures.

Another new year

Hello,

First off, my best wishes to everyone at the start of a new decade.

In continuing with my tradition of beginning the New Year abroad, I’ve met up with some old friends in Prague. Photographs, travel tips, cultural nuances and dining experiences to be shared with you soon of course.

I`ve met up with two of my Parisian pals, Alex and Ben, who have taken the opportunity to tour Central Europe – Bratislava and Vienna so far – with their friend Nabil, after I suggested they join us in Prague to celebrate 2010. You can follow their exploits and adventure tales through the online travel community they operate, Hejorama.

I`m in Prague doing some reporting on Canadian-Czech relations for a magazine based here (which has proved extremely difficult with a inconsistent wireless connection at this hostel), and will be taking the opportunity to explore the town and culture a little further, while also relaxing and hopefully practicing my photography.

After a long journey to the Czech Republic via Frankfurt, and a chilly and wild New Year`s celebration, I`m settling into daily life here from a smart and stylish boutique hostel not far from the Old Town. As always, I`ll share the location with you after I`m long gone.

Gone now for more coffee, to meet some folks, get a massage, and enjoy another evening on the town – Czech beer and sushi later.

Ciao!
Daniel C.

Raising the craft of journalism; undergraduate critique

This is something I wrote recently for an in-class final exam. I thought you would like to read it, as it seems to make a little more sense now that I've quickly read it again. Maybe you'll agree, especially you journalism students out there.

 The topic is of something very important to me as a journalist, and something I'll always study further. The changing game of the journalist. I'll keep you posted on news from the field.

And so the question was posed.....What is a journalist?

Daniel wrote:

Findings, open questions.

Good day.

Questions after reading the Globe and Mail.

i - Does it matter if a professional athlete, in a team sport, is gay? Does it matter that Leaf's GM Brian Burke's son is gay?

ii - How important is eating local? No, really?

iii - why are tourists in Canada playing frugal?

iv - which wine do I pair with my cheese? White? really...

Other thoughts.

v - Happy for Amanda Lindhout. Will probably read the book.

Also. Thought I would be the first MRU student in my class to get a byline in the Globe and Mail. Close, but nice one Edward. Question: Who helped free Amanda?

I worked on a similar story from Glasgow this summer Sadly, all the captives ended up dead.

Sunday Reading

Ahoj,

On another quite Sunday, apart from brainstorming story ideas for a Czech magazine, arranging interview subjects for an upcoming trip to Central Europe, and putting together a presentation on genderlect theory (watching When Harry Met Sally for reference), I've come a cross a few articles of interest.

Photo: JLM

Thoughts on history, on the media, on war

Hey, still blogging.

Listening to Radiohead, drinking tea, and scanning the news as always.

Trying not to live in the past, but events and anniversaries of this week -mostly from the 20th Century - always lead to reflection on where we have been and where we are going. Canada, the West, the Middle East. Walls and anniversaries. It's been 20 years since East Berliners tasted some sort of freedom and the wall came crumbling down. The Iron Curtain was lifted; Poles, Hungarians, Romanians..many more, also tasting democracy.

A day of remembrance. The First and Second World wars on the mind. Afghanistan too. 71 years since Kristallnacht. Wow. Have we really come a long way? Is this really a new generation? Africa on the mind, North Korea, China, Cuba. Walls and war, Communism and oppression.

A winter chill again in the air; gloomy and dark memories of the past, events which lead us to the light.

A gripping fear of pandemic will perhaps leave me inside today. Maybe not. Ha.

a - What is a Canadian? Really, what is Canada? Not just hockey, snow, Tim Horton`s and flag-waving you see. Canada has a distinct past; a distinct people. Hmm. Well, now we will finally know what it means to be Canadian. Apparently. The government is going to tell us what that means you see.

A Tuesday of random thoughts

i- On the restaurant industry and perfect service. 100 points of great service; things I would want done in my establishment. Notice, point #7. "Do not announce your name. No jokes, no flirting, no cuteness...." Thank-you to the writer for saying this. You're here to eat and relax in the company of friends and companions, not to hear about me. Personal note, I never give my name and never will. Don't worry, I'm there when you need me and am not memorable simply because your dinner was spectacular and your guests were overjoyed.

Also, point #8. "Do not interrupt a conversation." Too much talk, no service.

A ha! Point #26. "Never assume people want their white wine in an ice bucket. Inquire." correct. If I order white Burgundy and you put it in an ice bucket, you're an idiot.

On Calgary growth and urban sprawl

--Daniel Bach for the Calgary Journal--

I’ve always been a curious citizen and witness to Calgary’s booming growth.

Recently, while combing through an archive of books and articles related to Calgary’s contemporary growth and development, looking for a work that would give me a sense of where the city is at today, I was instantly enthralled upon finding a book first published in 1974 to celebrate Calgary’s centenary the following year.

Calgary: a not too solemn look at Calgary’s first 100 years, written by Bob Shiels, a former University of Calgary professor and newspaper columnist, chronicles the city’s growth, from its beginnings as a tiny settlement along the banks of the bow, through the oil boom of the early 20th Century and into the massive refurbishment and infrastructure development years of the late ‘60s and ‘70s.

Thoughts for an autumn evening

Hello, Some things for you to think about over coffee or tea. Keep in touch. D

Feature article shared: Welcome back Polaroid. Perhaps my favourite form of photography.

IMPORTANT sidenote: My love and prayers are with a good friend as she recovers in hospital from one of life's curveballs. A fighter, an inspiration and an amazing woman she truly is...Thinking about you, cups of coffee, laughter and all our amazing conversations, Shannon Bow. Read her story.

i. The UQAM welcome wagon. 172 communications students make a music video to convince students that their college is a good one. Great initiative.

ii. What? Beijing was awarded the Olympics thanks to corrupt IOC and Chinese bureaucrats?... I would have never guessed that one.

iii. We put up a brick wall to stop the Nazis from finding and drinking all the top vintages, and in turn, forgot about the pre-French Revolution Cognacs. Wish I was bidding in this wine auction.

iv. Eat local, yet drink European in... of all places: San Francisco. The Pour.

Snowed-in Wednesday thoughts

Hello,

Hope all is well. A few things I found today, and yesterday, which made me laugh and read a little further.

Best,

D

i - Cuban blogger: One of Time Magazine's most influential people of 2008, barred from accepting journalism prize in NYC

ii - "Let me be clear..." - Obama's go to phrase

iii - Nutini, gravely-voiced Scots singer, rocks it against racism.

iv - Can anyone here speak "Glaswegian?" Hahaha, perhaps something I could easily make money at in the future.

v - Photographing the Beatles - wishing I could pop into the National Portrait Gallery.

vi - Picking, crushing and fermenting grapes for Thanksgiving, and lending a hand to make Nota Bene.

Thanksgiving - Wine, Turkey, Snow, Hockey...

Bonjour,

Slowly adding Thanksgiving-themed stories and links ahead of the weekend.

Skip the Turkey this year?

A few great tips on how to explain some generals differences between old world and new world wine to your friends - perhaps over Thanksgiving? Great 'Decanter' video here.

Sidenote: Award-winning journalist. The humble and friendly reporter who I sat across from all summer in Glasgow - the chief reporter will Herald Scotland it turned out - has done some amazing stories on human rights this year. Remembering just now that she also flew to Libya to meet with Saif al-Islam Muammar Al-Gaddafi.