Personal Narrative: My EMC Life Style
EMC Lifestyle - For five years, our backyard shed has been jammed with boxes from my previous life when I was a daily newspaper reporter, columnist and editor.
A few days ago, when we were preparing for a yard sale, I decided it was time to sort through the stuff. But, after five years, the newspapers were disintegrating and damp. I tried to dig through them, but there were creepy-crawlers, cobwebs and unknown brown blotches on them.
But in one box, I could see a few papers - three-hole-punch lined paper with printing in pencil. The writing was legible - which means it wasn't mine.
Before reporters had BlackBerrys and iPads, we wrote everything in notebooks. Reporters don't have nice handwriting.
I pulled out the crumpled paper. …show more content…
20, 2004
By Jillian
Good afternoon, Mrs. Dempster and fellow classmates.
The first-ever Canadian Idol is Mr. Ryan Malcolm.
During the summer of 2003, and throughout the fall, Canadian Idol made headlines throughout Canada. Including me, many other Canadians were voting for our Ryan Malcolm. Well, our hopes, dreams and wishes came true on September 16, 2003."
That summer - 2003 - was a magical time for Kingston.
American Idol was in full swing and CTV put out a Canadian version. There was supposed to be a Top 10, but somehow, it was extended to a Top 11 and Ryan got enough phone votes to nab the 11th spot.
"Do you know the craziest thing Ryan Malcolm ever did? He tried to dye his hair blond but it turned bright orange and he wore bell-bottom pants with Doc Martens up to his knees. He said it was the 'Nerdy Bad Boy' look.
During Canadian Idol, the hair stylist and make-up artists worked on his hair (they spiked it) and also gave him a new wardrobe.
Ryan said he was different from the other competitors because he had previous singing experiences. Another thing was his glasses."
For two-and-a-half months, I went to Toronto every week to cover the story of Ryan performing in Canadian …show more content…
"Ryan Malcolm has many many fans. He devoted the song called Something More. It made charts for two weeks. Ryan loves his fans. He once said, 'They are the ones that made me.' "
After Ryan, there were other Idol winners, but you probably don't remember their names - Kalan Porter, Melissa O'Neil, Eva Avila, Brian Melo and Theo Tams.
Canadian Idol never took off like American Idol and one summer, there just wasn't a Canadian version any more.
I spent some time around Ryan and his family after his win. It should have been a dream-come-true story. Ryan was supposed to evolve into Canada's new rock star. His win made the front page of national newspapers like the Toronto Star.
"Now, let's get juicier with Ryan Malcolm. Rumour has it that Ryan has a new expensive Audi that is silver."
Except Ryan wasn't a new star for long - which wasn't fair, because he had (and still has) an incredible voice. (Many of you got to see him last year in the sold-out Buddy Holly Story at the Grand
A few days ago, when we were preparing for a yard sale, I decided it was time to sort through the stuff. But, after five years, the newspapers were disintegrating and damp. I tried to dig through them, but there were creepy-crawlers, cobwebs and unknown brown blotches on them.
But in one box, I could see a few papers - three-hole-punch lined paper with printing in pencil. The writing was legible - which means it wasn't mine.
Before reporters had BlackBerrys and iPads, we wrote everything in notebooks. Reporters don't have nice handwriting.
I pulled out the crumpled paper. …show more content…
20, 2004
By Jillian
Good afternoon, Mrs. Dempster and fellow classmates.
The first-ever Canadian Idol is Mr. Ryan Malcolm.
During the summer of 2003, and throughout the fall, Canadian Idol made headlines throughout Canada. Including me, many other Canadians were voting for our Ryan Malcolm. Well, our hopes, dreams and wishes came true on September 16, 2003."
That summer - 2003 - was a magical time for Kingston.
American Idol was in full swing and CTV put out a Canadian version. There was supposed to be a Top 10, but somehow, it was extended to a Top 11 and Ryan got enough phone votes to nab the 11th spot.
"Do you know the craziest thing Ryan Malcolm ever did? He tried to dye his hair blond but it turned bright orange and he wore bell-bottom pants with Doc Martens up to his knees. He said it was the 'Nerdy Bad Boy' look.
During Canadian Idol, the hair stylist and make-up artists worked on his hair (they spiked it) and also gave him a new wardrobe.
Ryan said he was different from the other competitors because he had previous singing experiences. Another thing was his glasses."
For two-and-a-half months, I went to Toronto every week to cover the story of Ryan performing in Canadian …show more content…
"Ryan Malcolm has many many fans. He devoted the song called Something More. It made charts for two weeks. Ryan loves his fans. He once said, 'They are the ones that made me.' "
After Ryan, there were other Idol winners, but you probably don't remember their names - Kalan Porter, Melissa O'Neil, Eva Avila, Brian Melo and Theo Tams.
Canadian Idol never took off like American Idol and one summer, there just wasn't a Canadian version any more.
I spent some time around Ryan and his family after his win. It should have been a dream-come-true story. Ryan was supposed to evolve into Canada's new rock star. His win made the front page of national newspapers like the Toronto Star.
"Now, let's get juicier with Ryan Malcolm. Rumour has it that Ryan has a new expensive Audi that is silver."
Except Ryan wasn't a new star for long - which wasn't fair, because he had (and still has) an incredible voice. (Many of you got to see him last year in the sold-out Buddy Holly Story at the Grand