Monday, December 28, 2009

Get to Know an Edmontonian

Brittney Le Blanc is a reporter with iNews880 and avid local Twitter user. On her blog at iNews' website, she often features profiles of interesting Edmontonians. I am quite proud and excited that she featured me, in my role as a writer, editor, photographer, and social activist. Here is the profile: Get to know an Edmontonian: Paula E. Kirman

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Home For the Holidays

The last week has been filled with more holiday goodness. A couple of days after Chanukah ended, my friend Tamara hosted a party at her home, featuring a lesson in making latkes (potato pancakes). I met Tamara on Twitter, and she invited several people in the local Twitter community to come. We had a really great time hanging out. Here is a look.

Christmas fell on a Friday this year, which means Shabbat dinner with my folks. I was invited to Christmas dinner by my friend Kylee, which unfortunately I had to decline as a result. Kylee is one of my volunteers at Boyle McCauley News, where she writes and helps deliver the paper. Her father is also co-chair of the board - which makes him technically my boss. Technically. He's one of my best friends and I've gotten close with others in his family as a result. It meant the world to me that I was asked to join the family on Christmas, even though I could not go.

Speaking of Boyle McCauley News, Boxing Day saw me volunteering at a casino for the McCauley Community League. The League helps the paper with its casino, so we try to return the favour. When I wasn't running chips, I was relaxing in the volunteer lounge watching movies (Australia and Mamma Mia) and eating free food. The restaurant in the Yellowhead Casino really rocks. The prime rib was superb!

I worked off some of the calories by taking a stroll down Candy Cane Lane Saturday evening. Some of the houses were great, but it sure isn't like it was when I was a kid. Still, there was a lot to enjoy. Here is my photo set.

This afternoon, I headed to Brewsters for Torah on Tap. It is basically a schmooze with the rabbis from the Reform and Conservative congregations, on a specific topic and its relation to Jewish law. Today's discussion was on mitzvot, which are commandments. I kept quiet for most of it (yes, I can actually be quiet sometimes, especially when I am in a situation where I don't know a lot of people), but find these sorts of discussions fascinating. I expect I will attend again.

Thursday, December 17, 2009

A Cold Chanukah

We got hit by a huge cold snap over the weekend - at one point, Edmonton was the second coldest place on Earth, beaten out by some remote location in Siberia! Here is a look at what some of the windows in my house looked like: one and two. Still, I managed to head out and enjoy some holiday parties and events.

The Jewish Festival of Light, Chanukah, began last Friday evening. On Saturday, I went to a Chanukah celebration held at B'nai Chayim, a church that celebrates the Jewish roots of Christianity. The latkes (potato pancakes) served right out of the oil were delicious. Here are some photos from the party and their morning service. As well, I recently took part in a re-design of the congregation's website, along with the help of John.

The following day, I ventured out (with assistance!) to the annual menorah lighting at the Alberta Legislature. Speeches were made by Premier Ed Stelmach (yes, I behaved myself), Mayor Mandel, and other Conservative political types, as well as Rabbi Ari Drelich who organizes the event. Then, we headed out into the -35 darkness and watched the menorah be lit, as Rabbi Drelich, Premier Stelmach, and another rabbi went up in a lift. Here are some photos and the coverage from iNews880.

Since we were there anyways, despite the cold we decided to take some photos of the Christmas lights decorating the Legislature grounds. Here are my results.

Then, it was off to Temple Beth Ora's Chanukah celebration. The program featured songs, lighting the menorah, and a dramatic presentation. Here are some photos.

Chanukah is not over yet. We're lighting the menorah every evening at home. Chag sameach!

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Boyle McCauley News: December/January 2009-2010

The Dec./Jan. issue of Boyle McCauley News is now online!

Here is a look at some of the goodness that rests within:

* Hope Mission Opens Immigration Hall
* McCauley Mural Celebration
* Diversity and Inclusion
* Letters To The Editor
* AGM Highlights
* Volunteer News
* Christmas in Peru
* Homefest 2009
* Community League Updates

To download a copy of the entire paper in PDF format, click here.

Friday, December 04, 2009

December 6, 20 Years Later

December 6, 2009 marks the 20th anniversary of what has come to be known as the Montreal Massacre - the day a lone gunman walked into a classroom in L'Ecole Polytechnique and shot to death 14 women. I was a teenager when this tragic event occurred, and being a young woman heading to university, it made an indelible mark on my life. A few years later, I was at a December 6 memorial service held on my local campus, and wrote this song shortly thereafter. To hear the song, you can visit my MySpace page, and scroll down in the music player - it is the fifth song.

Today I Lit A Candle

Today I lit a candle
When I was caught in the middle
Of a service marking fourteen memories;
Most of us were crying,
Some of us were sighing
At the horror of such a tragedy;

And then the preacher sang a lesson
That was a sad confession
To the longing left within our lonely hearts;
He sang about forgiveness,
And let us all bear witness
To the changes that we would have to start.

It was a song of hope and sorrow,
A testament to follow such a crime,
Our voices joined together in the chorus;
We were all joined in spirit for that time,
We were all joined in spirit for that time.

The candle’s flame it flickered
When I blew on the wick, but it
Could not be extinguished by my breath;
Even though I would be leaving,
I could not end my grieving
Or the memories that still live on in death;

And I remembered the weeping,
The sounds that are still creeping,
When I lay down to go to sleep at night;
She stood right there beside me,
Barely conscious of me,
Singing, knowing that we had the right.

She sang a song of hope and sorrow,
A testament to follow such a crime,
And our voices joined together in the chorus;
We were all joined in spirit for that time,
We were all joined in spirit for that time.

Today I lit a candle
When I was caught in the middle
Of a service marking fourteen memories;
I barely held back my tears,
But still I could not see clear
Why so many lives had changed eternally;

And then the preacher sang a lesson,
Oh, it was a sad confession
To the longing left within our lonely hearts;
He sang about forgiveness,
And he let us all bear witness
To a brand new life that we would have to start.

It was a song of hope and sorrow,
A testament to follow such a crime,
Our voices joined together in the chorus;
We were all joined in spirit for that time,

We sang a song a hope and sorrow,
A testament to follow such a crime,
Our voices joined together in the chorus,
We were all joined in spirit for that time,
We were all joined in spirit for that time.

We were all joined in spirit for that time,
We were all joined in spirit for that time.

Thursday, December 03, 2009

He Said, She Said: Interfaith Relationships

Several weeks ago I had the pleasure of meeting one of my long-term Twitter contacts in person, @Sirthinks. John, his name in the real world, showed up with his Flickr photo group at a rally where I was singing (totally by coincidence, I have been told). Apparently, our meeting prompted John to check out some of my work online, including the two articles I have written about interfaith relationships: Single Jewish Female: Dating Within the Faith and Small Community, Big Problems: What's a Jewish Girl to Do?.

John had some very strong opinions about what I wrote, and we decided it would be a great idea if we did a "he said/she said" exchange about interfaith romance on his blog. He and I went back and forth for a while, adding our thoughts to the same post, then opened up the post to comments from others. Here is the post: Tradition v. The Heart v. Expectation.

When our thoughts started winding down, we each wrote separate summary posts. Here is John's: On compromise and the devil's advocate. And, here is mine: Straight From the Heart: Traditions and Love.

As readers can see, John and I are both very opinionated people. I am not sure that we see eye to eye on everything (in fact, Ia m sure we don't), but this exchange was definitely worth having as it caused both of us to reflect on our values and beliefs.

Tuesday, December 01, 2009

Stuffing A Bus

On Saturday, I took part in a direct action. Not the kind with which I am usually involved. I donned a green vest and helped out with the Edmonton Food Bank's annual Stuff-a-Bus event. ETS buses were located at various Save-Ons across the city. My location was at The Hamptons, way our in the west end.

Our job was pretty straightforward. We stood in the Save-On lobby and encouraged people to donate food or money to the Food Bank. Many people bought five dollar hampers for sale, and then loaded them onto the bus (or handed them to the perky ETS volunteer to do). The children really enjoyed coming on to the bus. By the end of the afternoon, the bus was indeed quite stuffed.

As an activist, I always stay focused on the reasons why people go hungry. If we don't work on the underlying causes, then food banks and soup kitchens and shelters are just band-aid solutions to a greater societal problem. At the same time, we have to help those in immediate need. This is why volunteering with a mainstream charitable organization like the Edmonton Food Bank is so important. There is tangible work done for those who need it most.

Overall, the event collected 30,683 kilograms of food, up from 20,000 last year.

Here is a photo set from the event.