culture

THANK YOU CANADA

culture, people

4 months in this country are coming to an end

@schnellapropella

♬ Die wilden Hühner Overtüre – Madita
A small recap of my time here in Canada.

I thought I’d edit together a few of my favorite memories and recordings. Starting in August up to Christmas time. From Vancouver to Victoria and Nanaimo to Tofino and even the Rockies. It wasn’t always easy, but it was worth it. Thank you Canada!

I am curious who of my German readers knows the sound 🙂

I actually use TikTok only for cutting such compilations, which is really super easy with it. Also it’s good to use different platforms as an online journalist, right?

excerpt of NourbeSe Philips book "Zong!"

M. NOURBESE PHILIP AT VIU FOR THE GUSTAFSON DISTINGUISHED POET’S LECTURE

culture, people

“I’m not performing the work; it performs me.”

the poster for the event: place, time and date as well as a picture of Philip, the title of the event and the graphic from the cover of their book Zong!

Her presence fills the room. Full of energy M. NourbeSe Philip presents her work at Vancouver Island University on Thursday October 27. “I’m nervous. I’m always nervous.” NourbeSe says before delivering her lecture as part of the annual Gustafson Distinguished Poet’s Lecture at VIU.

She thus joins a long tradition of poetry readings on campus hosted by the Chair of Poetry and the Gustafson Trust since 1998.

First, she is being introduced by the chair of English Paul Watkins, who describes her and her work as “getting to the core of things.”

As she originates from the Caribbean, NourbeSe has been concerned with issues of colonialism, slavery and traditional structures throughout her life. These realities come out again and again in her work as well. Add to that a “deep concern” with the English language, “Like an abused child loves its parents, I love the English language, my mother tongue.”, Philip says.

an excerpt from her book Zong! You can see the arranged words, the particular structure of her work, which together create the structure of a net
Zong!: no words is put directly under another which creates “spaces to breathe”

The combination of language and the political themes in her poems, essays and prose is also evident in her most recent work, Zong!. The book-length poem was created entirely from the words of the case report about a mass murder of Africans on a slavery ship in the 18th century. NourbeSe wants to “let the text breathe for those who can’t” and by that honor those who died on the ship. What she means by that becomes clear when she reads the words together with the audience, the finale of her performance. A rhythm, an energy is created that gives the impression that the text is brought to life.

References

https://www.nourbese.com/poetry/zong-3/

https://www.theguardian.com/law/2021/jan/19/the-story-of-the-zong-slave-ship-a-mass-masquerading-as-an-insurance-claim

https://ah.viu.ca/gustafson-trust

https://www.nourbese.com/

https://ah.viu.ca/gustafson-trust/about-trust

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M._NourbeSe_Philip#Awards

image

https://ah.viu.ca/sites/default/files/styles/max_size_cropped/public/what-happens-when.jpg?itok=QxV1o7HP

THE FUTURE OF JOURNALISM

culture, people, politics
infographic on the TedTalk "Fake News and the Future of Journalism" by Robert Hernandez

Infographic based on the TED Talk “Fake news and the future of journalism, Robert Hernandez, TEDxKC”

Images

https://assets.stickpng.com/images/580b57fcd9996e24bc43c536.png

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a5/Instagram_icon.png/600px-Instagram_icon.png?20200512141346

https://1000logos.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Facebook-logo-500×313.png

https://www.pcmag.com/picks/the-best-vr-headsets

CONTENT CREATION TOOL

culture

working with Adobe InDesign

One of my now favorite content creation tools is Adobe InDesign. I think it’s the same for every Adobe tool: either you love it, or you hate it. It really took me a while to figure out how to use it, but now that I’m able to handle it (at least I know the basics) I really like creating layouts and designs with it.

The special thing about InDesign is its number of tools. It has a very clear structure which makes still easy to use. No matter if pictures, fonts or graphics are most important for your style and your layouts, InDesign makes them all possible. And they all work based on the same structures. Thus, once you’re familiar with the basic commands in the program, it’s really easy to figure everything out. Once you understand the underlying patterns, the program gives you every option and possibility to create layouts and designs just how you like it.

Yet, InDesign is not only useful for conventional layouts. It also gives you the possibility to create websites, blogs and even designs for social media. There are templates you can use as well as the program gives you lots of instructions.

Unfortunately, Adobe applications are not free. However, it is worth it if you need the programs more often. Plus, it looks really good on your resume. Especially in today’s digital world, more and more content needs to be designed online. And Adobe InDesign is not only among the top programs, but is the monopoly on this field

An example for work with InDesign: an excerpt from a layout design I did last year which is about Mental Health help organizations

Here you can see an excerpt of a design I did last year for one of my projects at university. Just to give you the information, as it is in German, the magazine article I designed here was about mental health; this page is an overview of contact points and help organizations. In case you are confused, it is a double page.
(I am still very proud of this as I got 100% for it:))

I also worked with Adobe InDesign throughout this course. Most notably, this infographic on the Reuter’s Institute 2020 Report. I can honestly say this graphic took three days to complete, but I’m still happy with it. Also because it gave me the chance to take a deep look into the tool again.

infographic on the 2020 report; changes, tendencies and dilemmas of the media industry, featuring COVID
THE 2020 REPORT – wide awake (viu.ca)