2 - Go to "Random quotations" or click http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3 The last four or five words of the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album.
New High Arctic council to share concerns at first meeting CBC News North, Feb. 18, 2009
People from Nunavut's most northerly communities are set to gather next week to discuss their common concerns, from transportation to sovereignty.
The High Arctic Council will convene for the first time, with the meeting set for Iqaluit on Feb. 26. Representatives will be coming in from the communities of Arctic Bay, Resolute Bay and Grise Fiord.
Also attending will be Quttiktuq MLA Ron Elliott, who said it has been a challenge to represent three separate, remote communities fairly.
"So if we can get all three communities in the same room together, then we could actually come up with some solutions together," Elliott said Tuesday.
Elliott said the issue of transportation costs will likely dominate next week's discussions. Representatives from airlines First Air and Canadian North will attend the meeting, he added.
Council delegates are also expected to discuss the federal government's efforts to protect its sovereignty over the Arctic, as all three communities would be affected by a heightened military presence in the area.
Yahoo! Care package from down south arrived today! With all of the goodies that I requested / ordered! Wh00t! (as I munch down on some much needed M&Ms). Kennie of the North approves!
This box contained some well waited for games too! Since I own a PS2 it is sometimes a pain to find / locate games in Canada online. Futureshop tries it's best .. but meh, I really don't want High School Musical 3 Sing-a-Long ... Video Games Plus (where I usually order from) does carry a wide variety of games, but sometimes not the ones I've been looking for.
After months of scouring the net, I finally found them online at GameStop (a US based video game store that sells new and used video games). Well, I thought my search for Silent Hill 2, 3, and 4 was over. Well.. kinda. Apparently, according to their online eStore, Nunavut either a) does not exist, or b) the carrier they use (UPS) does not ship there [I'm going with option a as I know UPS delivers here... eventually]. So what is a gal who wants a couple of zombie zapping games to do? Ship them to her parents address. Well - three days later, my mama got them in the mail (wow! Amazing!) ... and soon after they were shipped off to me.
So, this now leaves me here, sitting in the dark playing X-Files: Resist or Serve (another game that came up with that batch)... and ohh.... am I ever in heaven here! For those of you that don't know me, I am a X-Philie. I lived for that show. When the new movie hit the theaters, I dragged (well.. I don't know if it was really dragged, but strongly insisted) that we all go see it and that no one was allowed to talk or make any smarta** comments through the movie. And then I ran off to iTunes to buy the soundtrack (I am proud to say that I own all of the soundtracks, plus the two movies, plus all nine seasons).. ahem.. back to the game.
So I'm here, sitting in the dark, playing the game, as Mulder zapping off all of these zombies (yeah, so Kennie, what's your point here).. well, I'm playing it in surround sound! (I'm sure Darcy is wondering what on Earth is going on over here if he's done mocking Queen Latifa saying "Nanoo" instead of "Nanook"). In this care package were the two most wonderful little gizmos that I can't believe I never bought until now (when I sent my mama on a wild search for them). RCA Barrell Connectors.
These two little connectors have allowed me to hook up the audio cords from my PS2 to a RCA-Y cable that is plugged into my surround sound speakers. It is awesome! Zombie zapping in surround sound!!! No more mono-TV output! And to make it even better, I've got the video hooked up to the projector ... which yes, means I got a freaking huge playing screen! Mwaaa-haaa-haaa!
And just because I am a geek .. this is what I'll be playing all night-long ... at least until I can't keep my eyes open anymore :-)
Nothing much to report on here on Tales from the Arctic ... just finished up my second day of Professional Improvement where I am learning about blogging and podcasting in the classroom and digital literacy. It's been a couple days of reading books so far, and three more days of reading to go. Some of these books are pretty dry and filed with American Technology Standards (why don't we have a Canadian equivalent .. and even more to the point, why aren't there any Canadian authors writing about blogging and podcasting and digital literacy??).
And of course, I'm also working away on my course work too at night ... which has been quite informative so far. Currently working on a paper / assignment about the history / origins of the Inuit and the Sami.
As Darcy has already pointed out (as he beat me to the posting race) today at school was Traditional Inuit Clothing Day (er .. afternoon) as part of the celebrations of last weeks Inuktitut Language Week.
This afternoon everyone (well, for the most part) came decked out in their favorite traditional threads for a "fashion show" that was being held downstairs in the gym.
Yet again .... all I can say is WOW .. and where was this site when I was in school? This would have made all of those boring biology classes sooo much more entertaining!
After a two year "break" from "learning" I am back in the "classroom"... well the e-classroom to be exact. Last week I began an online course offered through the University of the Arctic called "Introduction to the Circumpolar World" as part of my professional development endeavors (and to add a little more flare flair to my cred sheet :-) ).
And this is why it's been a little quiet here on Tales from the Arctic this past week ... I've got a lot of reading and researching to do during the nights, and by the time I'm done my work, I can barely stand looking at the computer any more to be able to post up a quick update.
So what have I been up to? Well, I've been enjoying the return of the sun. I've been constantly moving around in my classroom trying to stay in the sun while teaching just because it feels so good. And when I'm not teaching, I'm researching all about the Arctic - mostly all about Arctic Bay and Kautokeino, Norway (as I am comparing these two circumpolar communities for my course project).
Researching for this project would be a heck of a lot easier if a) I had more bandwidth, as it's been pretty intense so far and b) if I new how to read Norwegian / Saami - cause I think I've found an article that might give me a good portion of the answers that I need... but I only understand about every 10th word. Sigh. Oh well. All part of the research fun right??
So right now I am sitting here on my couch, surrounded by article printouts, books that I've borrowed from our library and a pot of coffee with a straw sticking out of it ... and am only about 1/2 done the assignment ... yet some how I am up to page 12 already ... go figure. Thankfully, it is not due until Saturday, so I should have plenty of time to finish it up. It's mostly just stringing everything that I've found together into some coherent form. I figure after 8 years of university I should be able to do that right?
On Friday we held a 'Welcome Back Sun' celebration/variety show down in the gym. Students and community members got to listen to some songs and skits prepared by our students welcoming back the sun to Arctic Bay.
Grade 1 sang 'You are my Sunshine'; Grade 2 presented a short skit on 'Where the Northern Lights come From'; Grade 3/4 sang 'Why Does The Sun Shine'; Grade 4/5 performed Bedouin Soundclash's 'When the Night Feels My Song''Grade 6/7 performed a drumming and shaking ditty to welcome back the sun;the Grade 8/9 boys performed a little sun rap; and the high school sang to 'Here Comes the Sun'.
It was a nice little variety show put on by the students, and a great time was had by all.
This evening, after many weeks of contemplating it and the Northern Newfie just going "will you just do it all ready??!!" and one comment of "you're too chicken to do it", I shaved my head - well, more accurately, Darcy shaved it for me as it's a little hard for me to do it myself. No worries readers, I'm not bald, I still have a nice layer of fuzz on my head. Basically, it's about as short as what my hair originally was when I moved up here to the North two years ago.
For some reason, last March, I got this insane idea that I should just let it grow out nice and long again. I haven't had long hair since grade 11 and thought that it might be a nice change. Yeah, I was wrong there. Sure it was a nice change, and it was nice to have the long hair to tie back.... but after a while, it got to the point where it really really needed a desperate hair cut, as I was beginning to feel like a shaggy hippie.
Well, after weeks of throwing the idea around of getting a hair cut, and then a couple of weeks of let's just shave it all of bald....tonight, I had it. It was time for it to go again.
Listening to our Past is an amazing site on Inuit Culture and Traditions covering many topics such as traditional Inuit knowledge, cosmology and shamanism, traveling and surviving on the land and when North meets South.
The site allows teachers to create questionnaires and other activities for their students to engage in while learning about the Iniut culture in Canada. The site is loaded with pictures of life in Nunavut and of the Inuit culture as well as audio and video segments and downloadable pdf summaries of each section.
The site includes information on a variety of NAIGs, its history, as well as online flash activities and a teachers corner that has many ideas, activities and links to information that teachers can use in the classroom.
You have provided many hours of fun entertainment in offices, where we haze n00bs to the office world
You have helped me make the best baked potatoes in the world
You have helped protect Fluffy from the brain seeking waves from above
You have helped countless millions with their fear of 'big brother' using the airwaves to track their actions
But most importantly, you have made it possible for me to sleep at night during the 'light-season' here in the Arctic where the sun never sets as you block the sun from entering through my window.
After spending six years living and teaching in the Canadian Arctic (Nunavut and Yukon), I returned to the Maritimes to work at my Alma Mater, The University of New Brunswick, as the Media Lab Supervisor with the Centre for Enhanced Teaching and Learning. At the Media Lab I help faculty and students learn how to use instructional and media technology in their classes and projects.
