Worcester
Hello my creatures.
I am a reporter now. Interning, but I get a press pass no less. I just about shat myself when they handed that little piece of plastic to me. Sort of like He-Man lifting his sword and yelling "I HAVE THE POWER!" but without all of the homosexual undertones. I recall being suddenly overcome by the urge to do things criminal. I do not know why this is. I have quickly learned that wielding this press pass and telling albanian women you are a reporter causes them to descend upon you with food. I like food.
The staff is pretty chill. The editors are a pretty hardcore bunch of hawaiian shirt-wearing santas - except if you sit on their lap they'll likely disembowel you with leftover pizza. It can be done. I have seen it and lived to tell. Kevin brings me food, for I am broke, and college student cannot subsist on PB&J alone. He wears said hawaiian shirt whatever the weather. Interesting fellow.
The job is pretty sweet, I've been getting published regularly, and with actual, decent stories too. None of this "Lions Club Bake Sale" or "Old Woman Farts Mozart's Requiem" shit. I've been assigned the local news beat, with the opportunity to do some features if I impress the hell out of the people above me. I intend to attempt this.
Three stories published thus far.
Another is hitting press as I type this.
I will C+P them below, moreso that I have an electronic backup of them than anything else, but if you're really bored, knock yourselves out.
The apartment is grand, btw. Made quick friends with the trio of ladies living upstairs which is nice because that makes it less lonely. Last night we decided to go on a bike ride. At midnight. Through the downtown of one of the more dangerous cities in New England.
What have we learned?
-Girls are fortunate to be on bikes. Men leap at them.
-Homeless men asking you for a ride on your bike don't really want a ride on your bike.
-Ralphs is a phenomenal bar.
-Drinking and biking through downtown traffic: Frogger.
-Worcester has the best 24 hour diners on this god's green earth.
I'm back in the 'shad for a few days now, coolin my jets and making some money before I head back. Hopefully I will get to see the lovely lady at some point as well, we only get to see each other one day a week now. It's brutal.
Also, I hate that editors make up headlines.
Articles:
(this first one, if you see me ask me about johnny, the 90 year old navajo, heh)
Jun 3, 2007
Powwow rich with tradition
By Pawel Z. Binczyk
SPECIAL TO THE TELEGRAM & GAZETTE
RUTLAND- Johnny C. Sarmiento, a traditional Navajo silversmith, has been coming to the Worcester Inter-Tribal Indian Center’s annual powwow for more years than he can remember.
Born in 1916 on a reservation in New Mexico, Pail Face, as he is known here, comes every year to sell silver and beaded jewelry handmade by Indian craftsmen and to celebrate the rich legacy of his cultural heritage. “Powwow,” he explained yesterday, leaning on a large, spoon-shaped staff behind his jewelry case, “is a gathering of tribes from all over.”
The powwow at Rutland State Park is sponsored each year by the inter-tribal center and is an opportunity for American Indians of any tribe to gather and engage in the continuously evolving traditions of their community. “We’re a family here. This is a village,” said Morning Spirit, an Abenaki, and one of the volunteers responsible for running the powwow. She watched visitors admired the beaded necklaces in front of her. “There’s so much tradition.”
Tradition permeated the grounds of the powwow, which was organized around a sacred circle. To the side, traditionally dressed women wove baskets in the shade of a teepee village, which was open for public tours from noon to 12:45 p.m.
Browsing the gallery of shops set around the center circle, one could find everything from herbal remedies and jewelry to animal furs. The shops were staffed by volunteers and vendors eager to tell stories and meet visitors. An unmistakable sense of community could be found among their welcoming smiles.
“We want people to come. People need to know we’re here,” said Brenda Mason, a Blackfoot selling crafts and raffle tickets with Morning Spirit. Many of the attendees and organizers don’t have a specific American Indian background, but rather feel a deep connection to the American Indian culture.
The powwow festivities were geared to involve visitors in the American Indian tradition.
Among the bustle of the shops, men donned traditional regalia and prepared for the powwow ceremony. While vendors of all sorts dotted the area around the sacred circle, the powwow ceremony remained the central element of the gathering, and was given great dignity by all in attendance. The ceremonial dances of the powwow are considered so important to the community that they are not allowed to be photographed by visitors.
The powwow continues from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today. There is a $5 per car parking fee. Proceeds from the powwow and craft sales help fund yearly book grants to students enrolled in programs of American Indian studies.\\
Number 2:
Jun 3, 2007
Tasty Albanian flavor
St. Mary’s festivalgoers try petulla and kebabs
By Pawel Z. Binczyk
SPECIAL TO THE TELEGRAM & GAZETTE
WORCESTER- An older woman artfully lifted balls of dough out of a deep fryer and deposited them in a paper bowl. “Petulla,” is how she described them while drowning them in glaze.
Petulla are an Albanian dessert traditionally prepared to celebrate childbirth, but at the 2007 St. Mary’s Albanian Festival, they are available to anyone with $2 and a sweet tooth.
With Albanian music playing on the loudspeakers behind him, Louis Perrel, a parishioner, described the community behind the festival. “We’ve been in Worcester for over 100 years,” he explained proudly, watching people line up for traditional Albanian foods. “There are three generations working here, all volunteers.”
The three-day festival, which drew more than 4,000 guests on its first night Friday, celebrates the city’s diversity and the growing local Albanian community. The festival continues all day today at St. Mary’s Parish on Salisbury Street.
Albanian is the fourth most-spoken language in Worcester, and the festival, which began as a small gathering for members of St. Mary’s parish, has grown over the years into a celebration for the whole city, Mr. Perrel said.
In the church basement, between a silent auction and a stand selling cookbooks, a group of teenagers sat at a table selling T-shirts and other memorabilia emblazoned with the Albanian eagle. The younger generation is encouraged by the community to maintain its Albanian identity and traditions.
A portion of the festival’s proceeds goes to providing Albanian language classes to students who wish to uphold their cultural heritage.
“We have had 1,500 people immigrate here since 1992,” said Mr. Perrel, speaking of the parish. “We encourage the new arrivals to come and volunteer.”
Mary Kodra, a parishioner who arrived in the United States recently, praised the younger generation, and those born here of Albanian descent, for their efforts to uphold a cultural identity despite their geographical distance from Albania. “We became like one family,” she said in Albanian to Mr. Perrel, who translated.
The community tries hard to care for its members, he added. In addition to language classes, festival proceeds will help with the construction of 72 apartments for the local elderly, and with the recently completed renovation of the church.
All of Worcester’s ethnic communities are welcome at the festival; visitors were greeted yesterday with smiles by women working in the entrance tent. Other parishioners patiently explained food items to those unfamiliar with Albanian foods.
“We want this festival to be for the whole city,” Mr. Perrel said. //
And three:
(they butchered my lead on this one)
Jun 8, 2007
Fathers don’t need to be ‘macho’
Walk the walk against violence
By Pawel Z. Binczyk
SPECIAL TO THE TELEGRAM & GAZETTE
PRINCETON- School shootings are almost always carried out by males, according to Evan Graber.
Mr. Graber, a licensed clinical psychologist, urged fathers to provide their sons with examples of healthy masculinity that transcend culturally-fueled “macho” stereotypes.
“I always find it heartening to give a talk and see fathers in the audience,” he said during a speech at Thomas Prince School Wednesday.
As he spoke, parents filed into the cafeteria of the school and seated themselves at the same small tables and chairs that their young children sit in daily.
They came seeking ways to help their children deal with some of the most persistent threats potentially facing their children: school violence and bullying.
Mr. Graber, director of outpatient services at YOU Inc. in Worcester, came to discuss strategies for dealing with these issues when children come home.
“Sometimes it only takes one intimidator to set things in motion,” Mr. Graber said. He added, to the vocal agreement of parents, that the most difficult thing for many children in dealing with bullying was simply to be a bystander while their peers were bullied.
While claiming not to have any perfect solution, he focused on the home and the relationship between parent and child in raising emotionally healthy children.
“Walk the walk,” Mr. Graber said, pointing out that children will emulate the values that they see at home in their school and social lives. According to him, avoiding physical punishment and calmly de-escalating conflicts in the home will show children that problems are solved most effectively without resorting to physical means.
He used scenes from the documentary, “Tough Guise,” to illustrate that masculine culture is in a process of being inflated to the extreme. The result, according to Mr. Graber, is that little boys must compete among one another daily to prove their manhood, leading to emotional isolation from their peers.
Fathers can be positive masculine role models, he stressed, by being emotionally open with their children and being active parents, finding a balance between work and family time.
Mr. Graber also stressed the importance of communication with children. He cautioned parents to be open and compassionate when their children open up to them, especially when the topic can be difficult or uncomfortable.
In a closing discussion with parents in the audience, Mr. Graber also mentioned the importance of teaching self-confidence in children. “You don’t always have to intervene at the first sign of trouble,” he said, adding “sometimes kids can work things out.”
Parents took an active role in the discussion, offering concerns that they had and strategies that they use at home.
“It’s a big issue nowadays,” said Christina Rosi, a parent setting out refreshments. “You just hear about one thing after another.” //
In closing, I'm having a lot of fun and I'm learning a hell of a lot. The guys over me are good, really good, and I can definitely use their experience to help improve my copies. It's going to be a damn good summer.
Careful, I come bearing whiskey.
Kisses,
Pawel
I am a reporter now. Interning, but I get a press pass no less. I just about shat myself when they handed that little piece of plastic to me. Sort of like He-Man lifting his sword and yelling "I HAVE THE POWER!" but without all of the homosexual undertones. I recall being suddenly overcome by the urge to do things criminal. I do not know why this is. I have quickly learned that wielding this press pass and telling albanian women you are a reporter causes them to descend upon you with food. I like food.
The staff is pretty chill. The editors are a pretty hardcore bunch of hawaiian shirt-wearing santas - except if you sit on their lap they'll likely disembowel you with leftover pizza. It can be done. I have seen it and lived to tell. Kevin brings me food, for I am broke, and college student cannot subsist on PB&J alone. He wears said hawaiian shirt whatever the weather. Interesting fellow.
The job is pretty sweet, I've been getting published regularly, and with actual, decent stories too. None of this "Lions Club Bake Sale" or "Old Woman Farts Mozart's Requiem" shit. I've been assigned the local news beat, with the opportunity to do some features if I impress the hell out of the people above me. I intend to attempt this.
Three stories published thus far.
Another is hitting press as I type this.
I will C+P them below, moreso that I have an electronic backup of them than anything else, but if you're really bored, knock yourselves out.
The apartment is grand, btw. Made quick friends with the trio of ladies living upstairs which is nice because that makes it less lonely. Last night we decided to go on a bike ride. At midnight. Through the downtown of one of the more dangerous cities in New England.
What have we learned?
-Girls are fortunate to be on bikes. Men leap at them.
-Homeless men asking you for a ride on your bike don't really want a ride on your bike.
-Ralphs is a phenomenal bar.
-Drinking and biking through downtown traffic: Frogger.
-Worcester has the best 24 hour diners on this god's green earth.
I'm back in the 'shad for a few days now, coolin my jets and making some money before I head back. Hopefully I will get to see the lovely lady at some point as well, we only get to see each other one day a week now. It's brutal.
Also, I hate that editors make up headlines.
Articles:
(this first one, if you see me ask me about johnny, the 90 year old navajo, heh)
Jun 3, 2007
Powwow rich with tradition
By Pawel Z. Binczyk
SPECIAL TO THE TELEGRAM & GAZETTE
RUTLAND- Johnny C. Sarmiento, a traditional Navajo silversmith, has been coming to the Worcester Inter-Tribal Indian Center’s annual powwow for more years than he can remember.
Born in 1916 on a reservation in New Mexico, Pail Face, as he is known here, comes every year to sell silver and beaded jewelry handmade by Indian craftsmen and to celebrate the rich legacy of his cultural heritage. “Powwow,” he explained yesterday, leaning on a large, spoon-shaped staff behind his jewelry case, “is a gathering of tribes from all over.”
The powwow at Rutland State Park is sponsored each year by the inter-tribal center and is an opportunity for American Indians of any tribe to gather and engage in the continuously evolving traditions of their community. “We’re a family here. This is a village,” said Morning Spirit, an Abenaki, and one of the volunteers responsible for running the powwow. She watched visitors admired the beaded necklaces in front of her. “There’s so much tradition.”
Tradition permeated the grounds of the powwow, which was organized around a sacred circle. To the side, traditionally dressed women wove baskets in the shade of a teepee village, which was open for public tours from noon to 12:45 p.m.
Browsing the gallery of shops set around the center circle, one could find everything from herbal remedies and jewelry to animal furs. The shops were staffed by volunteers and vendors eager to tell stories and meet visitors. An unmistakable sense of community could be found among their welcoming smiles.
“We want people to come. People need to know we’re here,” said Brenda Mason, a Blackfoot selling crafts and raffle tickets with Morning Spirit. Many of the attendees and organizers don’t have a specific American Indian background, but rather feel a deep connection to the American Indian culture.
The powwow festivities were geared to involve visitors in the American Indian tradition.
Among the bustle of the shops, men donned traditional regalia and prepared for the powwow ceremony. While vendors of all sorts dotted the area around the sacred circle, the powwow ceremony remained the central element of the gathering, and was given great dignity by all in attendance. The ceremonial dances of the powwow are considered so important to the community that they are not allowed to be photographed by visitors.
The powwow continues from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today. There is a $5 per car parking fee. Proceeds from the powwow and craft sales help fund yearly book grants to students enrolled in programs of American Indian studies.\\
Number 2:
Jun 3, 2007
Tasty Albanian flavor
St. Mary’s festivalgoers try petulla and kebabs
By Pawel Z. Binczyk
SPECIAL TO THE TELEGRAM & GAZETTE
WORCESTER- An older woman artfully lifted balls of dough out of a deep fryer and deposited them in a paper bowl. “Petulla,” is how she described them while drowning them in glaze.
Petulla are an Albanian dessert traditionally prepared to celebrate childbirth, but at the 2007 St. Mary’s Albanian Festival, they are available to anyone with $2 and a sweet tooth.
With Albanian music playing on the loudspeakers behind him, Louis Perrel, a parishioner, described the community behind the festival. “We’ve been in Worcester for over 100 years,” he explained proudly, watching people line up for traditional Albanian foods. “There are three generations working here, all volunteers.”
The three-day festival, which drew more than 4,000 guests on its first night Friday, celebrates the city’s diversity and the growing local Albanian community. The festival continues all day today at St. Mary’s Parish on Salisbury Street.
Albanian is the fourth most-spoken language in Worcester, and the festival, which began as a small gathering for members of St. Mary’s parish, has grown over the years into a celebration for the whole city, Mr. Perrel said.
In the church basement, between a silent auction and a stand selling cookbooks, a group of teenagers sat at a table selling T-shirts and other memorabilia emblazoned with the Albanian eagle. The younger generation is encouraged by the community to maintain its Albanian identity and traditions.
A portion of the festival’s proceeds goes to providing Albanian language classes to students who wish to uphold their cultural heritage.
“We have had 1,500 people immigrate here since 1992,” said Mr. Perrel, speaking of the parish. “We encourage the new arrivals to come and volunteer.”
Mary Kodra, a parishioner who arrived in the United States recently, praised the younger generation, and those born here of Albanian descent, for their efforts to uphold a cultural identity despite their geographical distance from Albania. “We became like one family,” she said in Albanian to Mr. Perrel, who translated.
The community tries hard to care for its members, he added. In addition to language classes, festival proceeds will help with the construction of 72 apartments for the local elderly, and with the recently completed renovation of the church.
All of Worcester’s ethnic communities are welcome at the festival; visitors were greeted yesterday with smiles by women working in the entrance tent. Other parishioners patiently explained food items to those unfamiliar with Albanian foods.
“We want this festival to be for the whole city,” Mr. Perrel said. //
And three:
(they butchered my lead on this one)
Jun 8, 2007
Fathers don’t need to be ‘macho’
Walk the walk against violence
By Pawel Z. Binczyk
SPECIAL TO THE TELEGRAM & GAZETTE
PRINCETON- School shootings are almost always carried out by males, according to Evan Graber.
Mr. Graber, a licensed clinical psychologist, urged fathers to provide their sons with examples of healthy masculinity that transcend culturally-fueled “macho” stereotypes.
“I always find it heartening to give a talk and see fathers in the audience,” he said during a speech at Thomas Prince School Wednesday.
As he spoke, parents filed into the cafeteria of the school and seated themselves at the same small tables and chairs that their young children sit in daily.
They came seeking ways to help their children deal with some of the most persistent threats potentially facing their children: school violence and bullying.
Mr. Graber, director of outpatient services at YOU Inc. in Worcester, came to discuss strategies for dealing with these issues when children come home.
“Sometimes it only takes one intimidator to set things in motion,” Mr. Graber said. He added, to the vocal agreement of parents, that the most difficult thing for many children in dealing with bullying was simply to be a bystander while their peers were bullied.
While claiming not to have any perfect solution, he focused on the home and the relationship between parent and child in raising emotionally healthy children.
“Walk the walk,” Mr. Graber said, pointing out that children will emulate the values that they see at home in their school and social lives. According to him, avoiding physical punishment and calmly de-escalating conflicts in the home will show children that problems are solved most effectively without resorting to physical means.
He used scenes from the documentary, “Tough Guise,” to illustrate that masculine culture is in a process of being inflated to the extreme. The result, according to Mr. Graber, is that little boys must compete among one another daily to prove their manhood, leading to emotional isolation from their peers.
Fathers can be positive masculine role models, he stressed, by being emotionally open with their children and being active parents, finding a balance between work and family time.
Mr. Graber also stressed the importance of communication with children. He cautioned parents to be open and compassionate when their children open up to them, especially when the topic can be difficult or uncomfortable.
In a closing discussion with parents in the audience, Mr. Graber also mentioned the importance of teaching self-confidence in children. “You don’t always have to intervene at the first sign of trouble,” he said, adding “sometimes kids can work things out.”
Parents took an active role in the discussion, offering concerns that they had and strategies that they use at home.
“It’s a big issue nowadays,” said Christina Rosi, a parent setting out refreshments. “You just hear about one thing after another.” //
In closing, I'm having a lot of fun and I'm learning a hell of a lot. The guys over me are good, really good, and I can definitely use their experience to help improve my copies. It's going to be a damn good summer.
Careful, I come bearing whiskey.
Kisses,
Pawel