October 6, 2011
Call for proclaiming International Plain Language Day October 13
Calgary will join in the global celebrations of the first ever International Plain Language Day (IPLD), Thursday Oct 13, with a request for Mayor Nenshi to proclaim International Plain Language Day October 13, 2012.
Participants will meet at the Calgary Central Library, which supports plain language and literacy, then move on to City Hall to present the request for proclaiming IPLD October 13, 2012.
“We wanted to celebrate the achievements made to date around the globe,” said Kate Harrison Whiteside, Key Advice, IPLD supporter. “But, like any initiative requiring change, it needs to be given strong, continuous support. Recognizing IPLD each year will give us an important, shared focal point.”
“It is important for cities to use language that welcomes participation and understanding,” said Druh Farrell, Alderman Ward 7, City of Calgary. “As one writer said, communicating with City Hall can be “as clear as mud in a muddy mud puddle with a pile of mud added for good measure”, and a Plain Language Policy is the first step forward.”
Plain Language Association International (PLAIN) president Bill Lutz said the board of directors ‘enthusiastically supports’ designating October 13, 2011 and urged their global members to organize activities in their communities.
Celebrations are taking place across Canada, and around the globe in Sweden, Portugal, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and across the USA.
Calgary IPLD Event Schedule
4:00 pm: Meet at Calgary Central Library foyer. Sign in support of the proclamation request to Mayor Nenshi to recognize IPLD Oct 13, 2012. – 616 Macleod Trail SE – T2G 2M2
4:30 pm: Drop off the proclamation at City Hall. Meet by the Lion statue. 800 McLeod Trail SE.
5:00 pm Downtown Meet-up and networking.
Coffee and give-aways all day at IPLD national supporters ING DIRECT Cafe –600 6 Ave SW, Calgary
Facebook.com/internationalplainlanguagedayFacebook
Twitter Thread – All day Tweet-up #iplday
Contact: Kate Harrison Whiteside
kate@keyadvice.net
Cell: 587-896-5377
Hello PWAC members and visitors!
PWAC’s membership year runs from September 1st to August 31st. This means memberships are now due. Please visit PWAC’s main page to access payment information and peruse the list of benefits of belonging to an organization like PWAC.
Our Calgary chapter has some great plans in the works for the 2011-2012 year. Stay tuned to this blog for upcoming activities. Hope you’ll join us!
Andrea
Calgary Chapter President
Andrea Tombrowski is a professional freelance writer and president of the Calgary chapter of PWAC. She can be reached at pwaccalgary@gmail.com.
Former PWAC Executive Director John Degen has an interesting post up about the possibility of Canadian Universities walking away from Access Copyright…. essentially saying that they won’t pay any more for the use of copyrighted works…
Not all that long ago, every student in a course at university was expected to buy the same textbook. Educational publishers specialized in creating these textbooks, hired scholars and writers to produce them, and regularly updated them.
Enter the photocopier, and many professors decided their students didn’t need entire textbooks — a bit here and there from a number of books would do. The coursepack, an ugly, often horribly photocopied brick of reading was born, and students everywhere bought new glasses.
This comes from our friends at WordFest
In celebration of Alberta Arts Days, please join us for a panel discussion about the unique realm of non-fiction.
If you are interested in any aspect of this genre—from journalism and freelance to historical research or memoirs—don’t miss this event!
Tuesday, September 14
Venue: 100 Wines
Start:7-9pm
This event is presented by the Markin-Flanagan Distinguished Writers Program, WordFest and The Writers Guild of Alberta.
by Christa Bedwin, Calgary PWAC member. Christa Bedwin has been a science, math, and general editor and writer for a decade and is a certified yoga instructor. She lives with her son and two cats in a cute little house west of the city.
“In yoga, ‘flexibility’ is an attitude that invests and transforms the mind as well as the body.”
— www.yogajournal.com
Adding a little unorthodox movement is a good edit to your day! Sit on the floor during a coffee break, touch your toes (with knees bent) and hang there awhile on the way to the coffeemaker, or stretch to the side while you’re in your desk chair… anything outside your normal range of movement is good. Yoga need not be complex or formal to feel good, and to be good for you. Much of it is simply a matter of listening to your own body, paying attention to your breath, and twisting, bending, and elongating your body in a way that will make you feel better. Lighter. Shinier.
It might extend your life, improve your concentration, alleviate your aches and pains, improve your digestion and immunity, and help you focus on your work. Or maybe, it will just make you feel good.
At the root of all yoga, as with all life, is breath. And as I thought long and hard about what pose to give as the first yoga gift, I realized that no pose is yoga if it does not involve your breath. So observing your breath must be the first lesson.
Pose: Breath Observation
Benefits: reduced physical effects of anxiety and stress, improved concentration and immune function, improved sleep
Though breathing may be the simplest thing of all, most people forget to pay attention to it. Simple attention to your breath can work wonders; some of the most advanced, complex yoga techniques involve the breath. You can heat up or cool down your body, heal illnesses, and change your heartbeat with ancient breathing techniques. The simplest thing to do is sometimes the most complex to master.
When we are anxious, nervous, or stressed, we breathe faster and shallower. Taking a few minutes out of your day to concentrate on slowing and deepening your breath can improve your concentration, your digestion, and your health. The more you practise this at home, the more automatic it will be to drop into this calm state when you encounter a stressful situation.
How to Do It:
Personally, I am a strong believer of sitting on the floor when you get a chance. Some yogis put rolled towels beneath their buttocks to make a simple cross-legged pose more comfortable. Allow your spine to float up straight.
When I say to sit straight, do not imagine that your mother or your grandmother or your piano teacher is observing you. In yoga, never imagine that anyone is observing you. Instead, look inside yourself. Close your eyes and examine the entire length of your spine, from the floor (or your chair) to the top of your head. Now observe how it moves as you breathe. How does your body move when you take a breath?
Watch yourself breathe from the inside for a while. If it pleases you, put on some music (no need to buy it — many nice playlists of meditation music on YouTube). Or go outside on a breezy day or a hot day or listen to the rain as you sit. Just breathe. Concentrate on the speed, the depth, the clarity of each breath. Feel your ribs expand up and out as you inhale, float back in as you exhale. As you pay attention to your body, you might notice that you want to stretch up, elongating your spine, or move your rib cage forward or back, or curve like the letter C from side to side. Listen to your body and do what it asks. After five minutes or so, ask your breath to slow down. Focus on lengthening the exhalation. Let your thoughts drift. Stop when it suits you. The more you practice, the longer you’ll be able to go and the more you’ll notice. This exercise is very healing for the body, the emotions, and the mind.
Modifications
The most important thing for any breathing observation and exercise is comfort, so if your body will not yet allow you to sit comfortably on the floor, then sit comfortably on a chair that allows you to sit straight up. I do not advise the couch, since you will want to be able to float up very, very straight with a free spine, so that you can feel the elongation of your body and the movement of your rib cage as you breathe.
Further reading:
Go to www.yogajournal.com and enter “breathe” in the search window (note that if you enter “breath” you will enter a whole ‘nother advanced world… learn how to breathe simply, first!)
Further listening:
Go to www.youtube.com and enter Deva Premal or Krishna Das in the search window.
Click play.
Listen. Breathe. Evolve.
The author looks forward to your feedback and/or questions at ChristaBedwin@gmail.com.
Wednesday, 7th October, 2009
For a plain text version for this Bulletin in PDF format, click here.
We encourage applications from members of PWAC as well as individuals external to the organization. Only those selected for an interview will be contacted.
Deadline: Monday, Oct 26th at 5:00pm. Submit CV and cover letter to hr@pwac.ca.
Summary: The Executive Director (ED) is the senior staff member of the Professional Writers Association of Canada (PWAC) which serves over 600 non-fiction freelance writers across the country. The Executive Director is responsible for the day-to-day operations and management of the organization, and supervises other staff and contract employees. The Executive Director ensures that members’ needs are met through delivery of services, mediation, professional development and communications about the industry. The ED, in conjunction with the President, is responsible for representing PWAC in the media, and within the writing and publishing industry generally.
The ideal candidate will have some or all of these qualifications:
A strong commitment to the organization’s mission, values, vision and strategic objectives;
Knowledge and experience of the writing and publishing industry; particularly the needs of freelance writers;
Strong leadership and team management skills, as well as office management experience including staff supervision, financial operations etc.;
Proven ability to manage multiple projects, deadlines, and changing priorities;
Effective communication skills in various media including superior written and verbal skills, proficiency in computer skills, and an understanding of social networking using technology;
Ability to secure support and funds from government, and non-governmental sources;
Experience in the non-profit sector and working with a volunteer board of directors; and
Ability to communicate in both official languages is considered an asset.
Hours: While this job requires some flexibility in terms of hours (i.e. occasional evening and weekend meetings) the majority of the work occurs during regular business hours.
Location: PWAC’s National Office is based in downtown Toronto. The ED is expected to maintain regular office hours. Some travel is required.
Salary: The salary is commensurate with experience – range $45,000-$55,000/year. A benefit plan is under development.
Start date: As soon as possible.
Complete position description available here.
Cushing Academy Library is now bookless.
This year, after having amassed a collection of more than 20,000 books, officials at the pristine campus about 90 minutes west of Boston have decided the 144-year-old school no longer needs a traditional library. The academy’s administrators have decided to discard all their books and have given away half of what stocked their sprawling stacks – the classics, novels, poetry, biographies, tomes on every subject from the humanities to the sciences. The future, they believe, is digital.
I don’t know about you, but I LOVE my books! I love to hold them, smell them and have baths with them! I’d prefer to not take a bath with something that plugs in, thanks.
