Don’t throw Out The Baby …
For some odd reason, this idiom has popped into my head several times in the past weeks: “Don’t throw out the ‘baby’ with the bathwater.”
Rat-a-tat-tat … I Smell A Rat
What does a rat even smell like? Well, I have no idea … even though I’ve seen a rat or two in my lifetime…
Christmas Comes But Once A Year
So, remember that Christmas comes but once a year … and embrace that thought and whatever meaning this humble idiom holds for you.
On Thin Ice
I have fond memories of strapping on skates to glide over the deep-blue, almost-black pond ice on our Saskatchewan farm.
Bite The Bullet
The first mention of “bite the bullet” was, according to Wikipedia, in Rudyard Kipling’s late-1800s novel The Light That Failed.
In A Moment … ‘In The Twinkling of An Eye’
In the blink of an eye. That is how quickly this idiom of biblical origin (from 1 Cor. 15: 51–52) has been changed, as it describes a mysterious and wonderful moment, at the trumpet sound, when everything will change.
Fly Straight Like a Honeybee
The idiom make a beeline for is a bit of a mystery as we watch the erratic dance of bees – So, what’s with bees and beelines?
A ‘fish’ called (insert your name here)
Living in your comfort zone feels better than feeling like “a fish out of water.” Do you know the idiomatic origins of the phrase?
Idiomatic Origins: Bye-bye, birdie!
Never would a canary be seen in a coal mine, unless under duress. Find out what canaries under duress have to do with “bye-bye, birdie”
Idioms that irk me (and I’m not easily irked)
There are two idioms that have been bothering me for weeks, months even. But let’s talk about something more pleasant—cookies.
It’s raining, it’s pouring (but it’s still all right)
If it’s right as rain, it’s as it should be; it’s normal and expected; it’s right on track, exactly as anticipated. It also refers to a congenial frame of mind, or even a state of physical comfort.
Crossing your fingers is more than just child’s play
A promise made is a promise kept, as they say. However, as a child, promises that were made were not always kept. And sometimes, shamefully, promises were made with fingers crossed behind our backs, a move that rendered the promise null and void.
If Bob’s your uncle …
The idiom Bob’s your uncle is commonly heard in Britain. Perhaps you’ve heard it watching British mysteries or British sitcoms.
Should auld acquaintance be forgot?
Truth be told, I had always thought that “Auld Lang Syne” was some saintly old soul and it was just this year that I realized and appreciated, for the first time, the depth of meaning beneath these lyrics.
The writing’s on the wall…
They’re ookey and they’re spooky … and perhaps one of the ookiest and spookiest of the household was Thing T. Thing, the disembodied hand affectionately known as “Thing” on The Addams Family. (Baby boomers reading this now have The Addams Family finger-snapping theme song playing in their grey matter). “Thank you, Thing” was heard often as Thing was …
Not my circus…
Josephine explores where people started giving up their circus Send in the … elephants. I can’t help it; as a little girl I disliked clowns. And I didn’t trust them. What child doesn’t love a clown? I think it had something to do with their makeup and that I really couldn’t “read” them. And while …
Three letters that could save your life…
SOS. Many of us know (or think we know) what these familiar letters stand for. We may have even sent out an SOS, a time or two, when life or limb warranted it. Some (myself included) think that the trio means “save our souls.” Others say it means “save our ship.” Well, it’s neither. Yukoners may have …
Here’s mud in your eye…
I had cataract surgery; you know, where they pop out your lens and pop in a new and improved one. Out with the old, in with the new and all in a matter of minutes. The thought of a scalpel in my eye was a bit unnerving—heart-pounding, actually—as well it should be. After all, we’re …
Not new, but still brave
What’s it like to share the heart and soul of something you’ve written? Peter Jickling, the new host of Brave New Words, said, “It’s right in the title of the event. It’s brave.” Jickling’s goal is to take what can be intimidating—the “pouring out of your soul” and “to create a venue where people where …
For those who answered the call …
“Yukon soldiers are buried in more than 50 cemeteries on four continents.” –Michael Gates Lest we forget … This is why Michael Gates (Yukon historian and Yukon News columnist) and D. Blair Neatby (military historian, Yellowknife) have co-authored the memorial book, Yukon Fallen of World War I, a collection of more than 100 biographies that …
Extra! Extra! Read all about it!
How do you like being told what to do? (Wait a minute … let me tune in to me telepathic powers …). You don’t? I thought not. Me either. How about being told what to feel? (This time, I’ll use my Spidey senses …). You don’t like that, either, do you. I am in fine …
Extraverts and Introverts
There are extroverts and there are introverts—equals in life, just with different ways of having their “batteries” recharged. The extrovert is energized in social gatherings of larger groups and may mistakenly be thought of as “the life of the party.” Well, they may indeed be, but no less than the introvert who is energized in …
Crossing borders with jazz fusion
Jennifer Scott has several loves—wine tasting, reading, cycling—and one in particular that brings the Vancouver-based artist to Whitehorse for the first time: her love for Latin music. Scott is vocalist/pianist for the international jazz group, Crossing Borders. “Crossing borders refers to not just the fact that two of us are Canadian and two of us …
For starters, try eavesdropping
Rude? Normally, yes. Eavesdropping is never in vogue, unless, of course, you’re a writer. Eavesdropping involves observing, listening and perhaps inhaling details, without being obnoxious. In public buildings, on buses, on the street … any venue could provide inspiration. It may be a conversation you’re in or one you’re listening to … What’s he saying? …
Musing about the muse
The muse is a mysterious woman, pursued then waited for, enticed then pleaded with; until she is loosed in our imagination. She is sometimes elusive and sometimes bold, declaring her presence. She is in what we see and hear and smell, and in what we taste and touch. The muse is our inspiration. She is …
A ‘little something special’ in the Rotary Music Festival
For the past 40 years, the Rotary Music Festival has been as dependable and as anticipated as the advent of spring to the Yukon. “We wanted to put in a little something special,” says Edith Belanger, the Festival’s first coordinator in its 40-year history. And, that little something special that Belanger is speaking of is …
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Metaphorically speaking, it’s like this …
In the days of LPs, when groovy was used to describe a wonderful feeling, Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel were also singing about a rare kind of comfort in “Bridge Over Troubled Water”. Similes and metaphors are powerhouses in writing: similes use the helpers like or as to create word pictures. Metaphors dispense with the …
Fred Astaire, meet the street dancers
It’s Boys in the Hood and “Singin’ in the Rain” combined with what Nicolette Little describes as a “Sinatra-y feeling.” Little is an instructor for the Northern Lights School of Dance where she’s teaching her students a fusion of jazz, hip hop and street dance. Her Jazz & Street Dance class is percolating with isolations …
Turbulence
She unscrewed the cap on her Coke and it “fff’ed” as air escaped. Inflight turbulence, she reckoned. The captain had warned them at takeoff. People were unusually silent; each, no doubt, finding their own way to relax. They had descended early to fly under the turbulence. The relief was almost tangible, as tangible as the …
Vain jangling, a lullaby for readers
At about that time, Jack was learning that a stitch in time, saves nine. Although it’s an extreme example, the above sentence will no doubt leave readers scratching their heads in confusion: At about what time? And, what was he learning (poor Jack)? When decoding a sentence becomes labour-intensive, the ghost of fresh-brewed goodness rises …
Relay for Life celebrates, remembers and fights back
“It’s one day, one night; one community, one fight,” says Donna Hogan, co-chair of the Relay for Life steering committee. “It’s the largest cancer fundraiser event in the world,” adds Scott Kent, regional manager of the Canadian Cancer Society. There are 52 relays in the Yukon and B.C. and over 300 across Canada. Hogan has …
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A musical journey through time
Two weeks: that’s all Hank Karr came for, and that’s when his love affair with the Yukon began. But, as a clock chimes (his wife, Pam, likes clocks), the Saskatchewan-born singer/songwriter rewinds just a bit, to an earlier time — to his musical journey “before Yukon”. “I guess it really started in about 1955 … …
Easy as 1, 2, 3!
At What’s Up Yukon, it’s as easy as one, two, three. That’s right, this one’s about numbers. And … it gets complicated. Again, this is where your publication’s House Style trumps everything else. Most Canadian newspapers and magazines follow The Canadian Press Stylebook (CP Style), and that includes What’s Up Yukon. Numbers one to nine …
There’s a party goin’ on!
Here’s a taste of how Yukon communities, from B to W, will be celebrating Canada Day on July 1: Beaver Creek festivities will kick off with a parade, then volleyball, children’s games and a community barbecue at the RCMP. Carcross festivities will include a community barbecue, as well as a petting zoo and horseback rides …
It’s better to give than to receive
Why is it that some people have an insane amount of money while others have very little? This question popped into my head when I heard about a man who paid millions for the elite privilege of being a space tourist. There are no pat answers to questions like this. But, if I were to …
Write around the Globe
A 75-year-old flees from his home and now lives in a refugee camp. Children disappear, some as young as seven years old, and are later dropped off after being mistreated or even tortured into making some confession that vilifies their family. Refugees cross borders hoping to find sanctuary, but find bullets instead. And women who …
Seeking joy and finding peace through song
“What if I cannot play my guitar?” Nicole Edwards has asked herself that. In a voice as gentle as her eyes and the movements of her hands, she explains: “In my life, one of my challenges is health issues. “I have a chronic condition … Scleroderma … an autoimmune disease.” Her questions are heard in …
Go where the music takes you
From the gritty, primal rhythms to the lingering, sweet slide of steel guitar; and from the soulful roots of jazz to the vintage romance of classical guitar – and so much more – the music of Fathers & Sons takes you places you never thought you would go. “Sometimes it sounds like you’re kind of …
The long and the short of it
“Jesus wept.” That is the shortest verse in the Bible and one of the most powerful. It has a subject and a verb, and that’s enough. If this were the only verse you ever read, you would know something about the subject: He was human. He felt things deeply. He cried. What you wouldn’t know …
Hearts on the move
She removes her glasses, needle between thumb and forefinger, lifting another translucent gold bead from the white dessert dish in front of her. Suzanne Picot, office administrator for Hospice Yukon, is stitching another “Feelie Heart”. Her purple sweater and red-wool jacket mirror the colours of the palm-sized heart she holds with her fingers. “I love …
In the ‘language’ of belly dancing, Raqs rocks
It’s not I Dream of Jeannie—not even close. “The North American image of I Dream of Jeannie is so ‘Hollywood’,” Nita Collins chuckles, but acknowledges that, yes, belly dancing is sensual. “I Dream of Jeannie is a combination of Turkish and Eastern and Hollywood.” But, she says, it did help introduce the whole concept and …
Seeing what you don’t see
What is behind this curious display? What thoughts or intentions are these objects meant to communicate? What part of the larger whole do they play? Jessica Vellenga is interning as a community curator and programming at the Yukon Arts Centre. As an artist, herself, she is eager to illumine the meaning of Residue, the KIAC …
It’s ‘sick’ to be healthy
Adrienne Marsh is pumped. The interview takes off like a sprinter from the starting block. In a voice charged with enthusiasm, Marsh explains SOGO Active, a program presented by Coca-Cola Canada in collaboration with ParticipACTION, for youth aged 13 to 19. “It’s to get the spirit of the Olympics going [the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics] …
What a difference a day makes
What difference can one day possibly make? To the homeless, to the poor, to those who have fallen on hard times, a day can make quite a difference. That is what Debbie Thomas and Julie Ménard wish to communicate and why the Yukon Anti-Poverty Coalition is organizing Whitehorse Connects. Thomas, a coordinator for the event …
A balancing act
In a world where imagination is the only contender and where the laws of physics are hotly contested—in the circus world—the act of balancing rivals even the act of breathing, both are essential for survival and success. The world of writing includes balancing acts, as well. One such balancing act involves parallel construction. If something …
Music talk in surround sound
The Whitehorse United Church basement is filled – amidst chatter and laughter – with the sounds of setup. Somewhere a guitar is being tuned; elsewhere the “Check one, two; check, ch eck, check one, two” is heard as microphones are readied for the Folk Society night. What an appropriate setting for an interview about the …
Take the lead
Nothing says “lead” like a top hat, white tie and tails, a walking stick and leather-soled taps. Nothing says “lead” like Fred Austerlitz (Fred Astaire). And, of course, nothing says “follow” like a black chiffon gown that floats just above the dance floor in effortless grace. Nothing says “follow” like Virginia Katherine McMath (Ginger Rogers). …
A tsunami of love
How do we stem the tide of AIDS in Africa? Linda Hallet of Victoria, B.C. is working with the Stephen Lewis Foundation (SLF) and with groups, Canada-wide, to do just that. Hallet works with a group called Grandmothers to Grandmothers: “A tsunami of Canadian grannies helping a tsunami of African grannies.” Audrey McLaughlin co-ordinates the …
These are a few of my favourite things …
Before your vocal chords burst into the chorus from Julie Andrews’ “My Favorite Things” (dash it all, I hate to spoil your fun), I’m not talking about those kinds of things Something better. Some wonderful resources for writing and editing, which include books and websites. Now, wait a minute … I saw those fingers over …
Spring is on the move (in trunks)
Georgi Pearson says she’s “a Mom with a serious sewing problem,” a stay-at-home mom and part-time seamstress with “spring and a little bit of Mother’s Day on her mind.” The budding idea of a Spring Trunk Show came into full bloom with Pearson. “I got the idea from a woman in Toronto who was doing …
An invitation to ‘Come and See’
From somewhere nearby, bird songs are heard along with the continual soft shushing of wind through trees and the sounds of water trickling in streams or rushing over rocks – in an art gallery. As Marten Berkman describes his exhibit to the 30 or 40 gathered around him, his three-year-old daughter, Willow, dances around his …
Putting hope in the hands of children
Imagine children, some as old as 17, who have never held a book – never read a book in their own language … Liesel Briggs and her daughter Rosemarie have handed books to children in Nepal and India. Their passion is to provide “books and basics”. Where did this passion come from? Liesel has volunteered …
You are invited … to a ‘no-troublesome-thoughts’ evening
Serenity is set in subdued mauves and pinks as the sun sets above the Yukon River in a mural where trees and plants are alive with birds and butterflies. Serenity is the purpose of the Serene Room – a fulfillment of the vision Linda and John Lemphers-Fenton had for the Serenity Centre. “It was a …
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Reaching out, at home and abroad
It was a proud moment for 17-year-old Mauricio Ruaz, Grade 12 student at Vanier Catholic Secondary, when someone said, “I’m glad you put Colombia’s name up high … where it belongs.” That’s where his journey began, in Bogota, Colombia. In 2003, the family relocated to Whitehorse. On May 7, at Château Laurier, in Ottawa, Ruaz …
Her mountain glories; Her alpine angels
They are not mountain goats to Shirly Ambrose, who, in her own words is an “amateur professional photographer”, they are her “Mountain Glories”. “All of my life I’ve admired the mountain goat. I find them beautiful … bright-whit e, long shaggy coats … “Glorious,” completes Ambrose with a somewhat dreamy expression in her eyes and …
A week jammed with jammin’
Yukoners are an inclusive bunch and the Yukon Summer Music Camp is no exception. According to Steve Gedrose, camp coordinator for his second year, the camp is for all ages, “from three to 93”. Last year, they offered classes for children as young as 18 months old. This year, they’re starting at age three. Gedrose, …
An extraordinary way of living with the ‘ordinary’
This isn’t about an extraordinary family—not even about an extraordinary child (because all children are extraordinary). Rather, it’s about living with an “ordinary” disease in an extraordinary way. Nathalie Dugas and her husband, Sean Mather, are parenting Liam, 8, who wa s diagnosed with Juvenile Diabetes (Type 1 Diabetes) when he was five. Nathalie says …
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Take a walk on the wild side
Imagine taking a roller coaster ride and then writing about it as if you were still on the ride. That is an example of the journalistic for which Hunter S. Thompson was famous. Simply put: He lived it, then wrote about it. This style of journalism often leaves objectivity at home, seeks new adventures, finds …
The view from the ‘terminal’
Laying out the paper is like a controlled plane crash,” my editor said across the table from me at A&W, pausing with a knowing-turned-quizzical look that seemed to say, You do know what I’m talking about, don’t you? No, I don’t, was the only realistic, albeit mute choice as my expression struggled to remain neutral …
Down by the riverside
Throughout history, rivers have been associated with life. It seems appropriate, then, that those who create would celebrate alongside the Yukon River. The Yukon Riverside Arts Festival, in Dawson City, is going into its ninth year and Jenifer Rudski shares festival highlights over the phone from KIAC, in Dawson City. She is coordinating this year’s …
For the love of Mexico
Keith and Betty Dye describe the face of need in Lagunitas, Mexico. The couple, Yukoners for 31 years, are coordinating fundraisers through a Whitehorse-based organization called Jerusalem Evangelical Ministries (JEM), a “ministry of helps” – no strings attached. “All participation is by volunteers; nobody gets paid,” says Keith. “One-hundred per cent of everything we raise …
Smoke that serves us well
Where there’s smoke, there’s fire: an idiom seen this summer around Whitehorse. While it seems obvious, it’s amazing how frequently we miss the “smoke signals” in our lives or see them only in hindsight. And so, we have this saying that teaches a lesson … one to pass along to our children and our grandchildren …
Walking to make a difference
What difference can 20 minutes make? Patricia Bacon, executive director of Blood Ties Four Directions (which hosts the Scotiabank AIDS Walk for Life) says, “It’s our single biggest fundraiser that we have each year.” Her tone is relaxed but serious. “Money raised at this event stays in the Yukon. This year we have set an …
All about band
Interruption after interruption—welcome ones—grab Bruce Johnson’s attention as students seek him out. One student strides in, snapping her chewing gum while looking confident and comfortable in an “I feel right at home” kind of way, to which Johnson, the band teacher at F. H. Collins, responds, “You can take your theory and go work.” She …
Your first thought is …
I say, “Fall.” You think … ? OK, hard to play that game here, but I would guess that your word associations may include such things as school (school supplies … freedom!), Thanksgiving, family … maybe even that dreaded word – snow. Now that your head is teeming with fall thoughts, I’ll tell you the …
Blue Christmas
Blue is more than a colour. And that is why Whitehorse United Church minister, Beverly Brazier, is planning another Blue Christmas service. “Often when your life isn’t at all like a Hallmark Christmas card … the conclusion that you draw is that there is something wrong with you,” begins Brazier, resting her chin in one …
Little hands are ‘Kreative’ Hands
Take one child or a group of children, add some art supplies and mix it with limitless imagination and what do you get? Kreations. One Sunday, each month, children create at the Yukon Arts Centre. Jessica Vellenga’s role is visual-arts engagement, precisely what Kidz Kreate is about, engaging kids of all ages in exploring artists’ …
The editor’s Christmas Wish List
Over a mug of root beer, the editor of What’s Up Yukon, Darrell Hoo key, extols his particular Christmas Wish List. Topping the list, Wish No. 1, is what he calls his “Steve Martinian” wish: “For all of the children of the world to join hands and sing together in the spirit of harmony and …
Lights of Life … for everyone
A four-foot-something tree, adorned with angels, captures my attention as I enter Hospice Yukon. The lighting is soft and I am greeted warmly as I step through the door. Evelyn Kaltenbach, a volunteer who is finishing her training in Compassionate End of Life Care and Bereavement Support, smiles as she offers her hand, then leads …
Dance to sounds of the Big Band
The hallowed halls of learning are hushed, today. “It’s exam week,” Rebekah Bell, band teacher for Porter Creek Secondary School, says, explaining the surprising silence. There are none of the scuffling sounds of students scrambling to get to wherever it is they are going. No chatter, no laughter, no cellphone beeps. The halls are almost …
Celebrating hockey and love
Hockey and Valentines. Although it doesn’t have quite the same ring to it as “love and marriage” and it doesn’t seem to go together like a “horse and carriage,” the two have come together in a Learning Disabilities Association of Yukon (LDAY) fundraiser. “This is a very unique event – the masterpiece of many creative minds,” …
The ‘Brave New Words’ of filmmaking
Creative magic—the kind that turns charcoal-pencilled drawings into animation—that’s the magic of KINO (the German word for “film”). Edward Westerhuis says he’s the “official unofficial organizer” of KINO. He’s also the momentum behind KINO Returns, after boasting a sold-out audience last December. “It’s a movement that originated in Montréal, Québec, an incentive to help filmmakers …
Just how far does friendship go? As far as it takes.
Darcy Laliberty is living proof that friendship goes as far as it takes. The Yukon Brewing Company sales rep is organizing the Jessica Frotten Mobility Fundraiser. “A gathering of friends and family,” Laliberty says, to help offset the cost of renovations that will be required following his friend’s injuries from her Dec. 14 automobile accident. …
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Travelling hearts
What is it that keeps a heart going? Well, aside from the obvious flesh-and-blood answers, it’s spirit … spirit that lives on when loved ones have passed on. And that is why a former Yukon Quest musher, Michelle Phillips, is preparing, once again, to carry Feelie Hearts in her sled basket as she races for …
Protecting our fine feathered friends
Who among us hasn’t, at one time or another, gazed upon a bird in flight and marvelled at it … or even wondered what it would be like to fly? Ducks Unlimited calls us to do more than just wonder — to become actively involved in caring for and protecting Canadian wetlands. Kevin Bowers, who …
What comes after ‘Squeak & Squawk’?
Face plants in spaghetti, snow wars and, in “more peaceable times”, snow angels … It’s all part of the fun at the band retreat for F.H. Collins and Porter Creek secondary schools Grade 8 students. Rebekah Bell, band teacher at Porter Creek Secondary School and her husband, Bruce Johnson, band teacher at F.H. Collins Secondary …
Three deadly letters
“Three letters that will change your life forever: ALS. “And that’s what it does,” says Donald C Watt, world-class snow carver and walk coordinator for the Whitehorse Walk for ALS. ALS: Three letters that carry with them a death sentence. Most of us do not know how we’re going to die. We wouldn’t want to. …
All I ever need …
Sometimes the muse doesn’t just find you; sometimes she follows you, haunts you, tracks your every move and invades your quiet moments, ticking away inside that clockwork brain until you know it’s just no use—she’ll never leave—not until you’ve written that story, that song, that poem … and so it goes. So here it is, …
Christmas treat sales help seniors
Finnish sweet buns with finely ground cardamom, shortbread, chocolate-chip cookies and Finnish sugar-cinnamon cookies — Ann Dibbs’ husband Al delivers a plateful to the table and pours cups of sweet and spicy tea. “He’s my English butler,” Ann laughs. Ann Dibbs, a.k.a. the Lions Club Cake Lady, has a penchant for sweet treats and a …
The legacy of legends
There are legends – those men and women who left their mark on the Klondike – and that is the theme of this year’s Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous: Legends of the Klondike. Tiffany Duncan, executive director of the Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous Society, is organizing for her first time, yet her enthusiasm is contagious as she describes …
Ode to ‘Of’
How do I love thee, Of … There are so many ways … gee, let me count them I love thee about as deep and wide and high (Higher than I can reach whilst standing on my tippy toes) Indeed, you are the one my heart’s been dreaming of Of this, I am sure In …
Mining for missions
When it came time to retire, Yukoners Keith and Betty Dye decided it was time to start the hands-on work of placer mining. For six months of the year the Dyes search for gold at their Amigo Mining operation located near Dublin Gulch, north of Mayo. For the wintry six months of the year, they …
Begin, then begin again!
That’s right; the beginning (where else to start?). Let’s look at some creative, perhaps unconventional ways to begin sentences:
Speed bumps 101
Our neighbourhood has speed bumps (and more than a few potholes) that make slow driving an easy choice. As annoying as they may be, at times, they are important to keep us all safe. The comma is not vital to our survival, but it is vital to our success as writers. Commas can have a …
Knowing when to begin again
If you were to write about the northern hairy-nosed wombat, each paragraph would reveal something new about it. A paragraph contains one facet of a subject and it may consist of one word, one sentence or be much longer. What kind of creature is it and what does it look like? (first paragraph). Where does …
It’s not just a part of it; it’s the heart of it
The heart continues to inspire us: it is the cornerstone of religious thought, the muse for artistic expression and the stuff—practical and otherwise—from which love stories are born.
; (No, I’m not winking at you.)
The semicolon has three major functions: to link thematically related thoughts, to introduce conjunctions or transitional phrases and to avoid confusion in lists.
Immigrants remind us of Canadian values
I’m reading the newspapers and the magazines and I see that many Canadians have only qualified support for immigrants. I ignore the bigots, pretty much automatically, and I listen directly to Canadians who value our willingness to accept those from other countries. Yet they feel only X number can come each year and only those …
The colon: Abracadabra!
Rising just above the horizon, the moon appears larger than it actually is, much larger than when it’s overhead. The colon is like that—abracadabra!—appearing in a way that has a sometimes-magical affect.
