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| CKLN radio program Updates | ||
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Stories you won't hear anywhere else! THE LIFE RATTLE PROGRAM BRINGS YOU
Radio program Update #39 december 30, 2011 This Sunday, we ring in the new year with a new story by Life Rattle writer Donna Kakonge Kakonge writes masterful prose. This week’s featured story, “Three Quarters,” is no exception. From the narrator’s struggle to place the haunting eyes of the woman who sits across from her on the bus, to the startling recollection of a childhood trauma, you will be spellbound. .
Radio program Update #38 december 12, 2011 This Sunday, we are giving you the best gift we could think of.... Janine Burigana's "Jesus Christ Kids It's Christmas" Almost 2 hours of rollicking, suburban family holiday fun. And, so that you can make this event a centrepiece of your celebrations, we will post this podcast on Saturday December 24th at noon. This is the funniest, droll, disgusting and heart warming story we’ve ever inflicted on our listening public. For more than 15 years, J. C. K. I’s Christmas, has been the most requested Life Rattle offering. Forget Dylan Thomas, play this one for the kiddies.
Radio program Update #37 december 16, 2011 This Sunday, Life Rattle presents two new stories by new Life Rattle writers Fong Hsiung The previous three podcasts Life Rattle has posted have brought you the whole Life Rattle library of Kwai Yun Li’s recordings, drawn from the stories you will find in her recently published collection titled The Palm Leaf Fan. Kwai introduced us to the intricate structure of the minority Hakka community in Kolkata India where she grew up. The background for her early life is this small community perched at the edge of rival national politics. This Sunday we are introducing two new authors from this very same heritage. Fong Hsiung with her story “Alfie”, takes us to Tangra, where Hakka operate many tanneries. Hsiung paints a metaphor for the striving of the whole community by focussing on one young man’s determination to overcome personal adversity. Tin Ling Chung transports us to Canada where a young woman comes to truly recognize all the sacrifices of her mother’s life in Kolkata, which have made her own life so rich with the comforts and love that “Three Brush Stokes” communicates.
Radio program Update #36 november 17, 2011 This Sunday, Life Rattle presents two new stories by Life Rattle writer Hina Najam Hina Najam writes convincingly in the voice of a child who quietly observes the world around her. This Sunday you will hear that voice in two distinct stories - both set in Karachi, Pakistan: one of a little girl who doesn’t realize, until she is in front of her classmates at school, that her beloved grandfather has passed away and she will never see him again; and one of a girl who witnesses the lives of two Sautans, the wives of one man whose joblessness and gambling obliges the women to works as maids in the narrator’s household.
Radio program Update #35 november 11, 2011 This Sunday, Life Rattle presents a new podcast with stories by Vic Gaysheyongai and Donna Kakonge “Buckeroo Bez and the Escape from the City of Lost Cause” and “Superwomon” share more than a reference to the fantastic; they also share hopeful determination. Both writers’ masterful use of subtle detail creates a dull, uncertain “here and nows” full of quiet desperation. In these bleak settings, we meet central characters who display incredible optimism and humour, and a degree of naive innocence, in their quest for a brighter future, with love and security and an ideal home.
Radio program Update #34 October 14, 2011 This Sunday, Laurie Kallis will introduce two widely divergent stories by new Life Rattle writer Donna Kakonge. “Church Sunday” has us tag along with a young girl who learns of charity, compassion and spirit when she escorts her Granny, who is visiting Toronto from St. Vincent and the Grenadines, up Davenport Avenue to a Baptist church where a one-legged woman stands outside the door and the preacher leads a raucous service where more Black people than the girl has ever seen in one place shimmy and shake in the pews. “Elephant Woman,” swirls us up in the dizzying obsession of a university student who, despite her dislike of the colour, cramps her stomach inflating green balloons, cuts her fingers stuffing invitations into green envelopes, blisters her feet hunting for the right shade of green cushions for her bed and runs up her VISA bill on a green bra and panties in a determined effort to win a gold nineteenth birthday prize—Alistar Abego—her current man of choice.
Radio program Update #33 sEPTEMBER 30, 2011 This Sunday night we are extremely proud to introduce a new writer: Kirsti Heitz. Heitz brings us a starkly emotional and honest account of the loss of a loved pet. A theme many of you will relate to. Heitz writes in an emotionally bare and honest style that lets us taste the tears and feel her mad distress.
Radio program Update #32 August 20, 2011 This Sunday night a bevy of Life Rattle Producers, led by Guy Allen will be proud as piss to strut our stuff for the last time on CKLN! We plan to go out with a bang…Good memories and Great Stories, by and about Life Rattle co-founder Arnie Achtman, all framed by a whole bunch of cuss words. The CRTC may have taken us off the air, but they can’t take the air out of our tires. Life Rattle will keep on trucking with stories from the pavement, stories that you love to hear because they are real. Life Rattle will continue to post regular shows on our own web-site at liferattle.ca till we find a new station to host the best story show in Canada. So, tune in to CKLN for the last time this Sunday night for a damn good time!
Radio program Update #31 july 2, 2011 This Sunday, July 3rd, on our CKLN Live Internet Stream, we will be airing two stories in celebration of Pride Weekend in Toronto. Norm Reynolds starts us off with a Life Rattle favourite "My Father's Birthday," a story of a son's coming out to his Father. Then, we bring you a story from new Life Rattle writer Mary Dytyniak. "My First Kiss," an excerpt from her novel, Guys Just Don't Kiss Like That, captures Dytyniak’s first lesbian romance, experienced while studying abroad in Siena, Italy in the summer of 2009. After the festivities of the weekend calm, come listen to Life Rattle's Pride Weekend offerings this Sunday evening. You won't be disappointed.
Radio program Update #30 May 27, 2011 This Sunday, May 29th, on our CKLN Live Internet Stream, we will be airing the last two stories in our Mini-Festival of Family Stories. Erika Bailey starts us off with a stroll past memories of family moments, personal regrets and acceptance, all framed by a frozen pond. Bailey’s use of the metaphoric sensory stimulation of winter will make you want to cuddle under that lap blanket you haven’t put away yet. Then you should grab an ice tea, throw that blanket on the floor, sit on it, and take in the deluge of family Jessica Outram is about to unleash with her story “Family Picnic Magic”. You’ll get a kick out of seeing all of your own family characters reflected in the Outram clan, as well as a cameo visit from Father Guido Sarducci.
Radio program Update #29 May 20, 2011 This Sunday, May 22, tune into CKLN Live Internet Stream, to hear the beginning of a mini-festival of family stories. Erika Bailey will will entertain us with a trip to Grandma’s house, where the kiddies are scullery maids, and I doubt anyone ever, even once, called the matriarch Granny. The story ends with wine glasses topped up and a pseudo-stink… (You’ll have to tune in to get that joke). Erika’s second story is a tipsy love letter to her father. An early Life Rattle Father’s Day salute.
Radio program Update #28 May 13, 2011 This Sunday, May 15, on the CKLN Live Internet Stream, Life Rattle host Rahul Sethi will feature three stories by Life Rattle Writer:
Mary Bronze writes stories with honesty. Through "The Bad Word," "A House and a Home," and "Sober," Mary sits us down, hands us a cup of coffee, and tells us about her life. Nothing is hidden in Mary's writing. She shows us her life through words written in HD. She tells us about her first cuss as a child in "The Bad Word." In "A House and a Home," Mary introduces us to a close frience, and her family. And in "Sober," Mary tells us about a relationship she is afraid is no longer organic, having become reliant on chemicals to feel connected.
Radio program Update #27 May 1, 2011 This Sunday and next, May 1 & 7, on the CKLN Live Internet Stream, Life Rattle host Guy Allen will feature new stories by Life Rattle Writer:
A writer who works between the lines, you will find Verbruggen's meaning among the beautiful pattern of details that she presents. These stories are part of the “Andrew Stories” series. When asked to describe them, Verbruggen replied: “I suppose the stories are steps in my post-divorce dating dance. Clumsy. Ill-timed. Sweet.”
Radio program Update #25 & 26 April 15, 2011 This Sunday and next, April 17 and 24 Yanique Bird will introduce new Life Rattle writer:
In his three featured stories, Racco deftly tells of a young teenage
Radio program Update #24 April 9, 2011 This Sunday, April 10, Nadeem Basaria really will introduce writer:
With two new stories from Bare Elements: A Collective Approach to Narrative Nonfiction, a recent Life Rattle Collection. With heart-rending honesty, tenderness and respect, Rachel James delves into the complexities of caregiving and the need for care. In “Diamond Heights,” Rachel pauses for a moment and reflects on her own life as her 101-year-old grandmother, coping with the limitations— both physical and mental—of her age, profoundly articulates her frustration; and again in her second piece, “The First Stop,” as she interviews Samantha, a twenty-year-old woman living in a homeless shelter. Samantha earns our admiration as shares her experiences and offers advice for other young women who face the same situation.
Radio program Update #23 April 2, 2011 This Sunday, April 3rd, host Nadeem Basara will present 3 new stories by: Yanique Bird Petura Burrows Sheila Stewart Writing through the eyes of a child: Deceptively simple. Extraordinarily difficult to accomplish convincingly.
Radio program Update #22 March 25, 2011 Hello Life Rattlers: Christine Zobniw You know, we women do like to talk about men…and Christine is no exception. She’s going to tell us about Slim, then Mark (not their real names…and who would name their kid Slim anyway? But I digress…). Tune in to hear what Christine knows about the homeless man on the corner (Slim), then even more about a gorgeous hunky guy with a shady past (Mark), who can grin and blush while drinking tea.
Radio program Update #21 March 12, 2011 Hi Life Rattle Friends, Robert Bickford and Norm Reynolds First, Robert Bickford’s sharp and spot on observations of a mother exchanging needles at an AIDS Resource Network office with her young daughter and Barbie in tow, a foodcourt conversation with Jian-Li, an engineering professor in Beijing who now works as a lunchroom and educational assistant in Canada, and the nervous tension when wedding day preparations go slightly awry will enthrall you. Bickford’s characters vibrate with life and intelligence and laugh out loud dialogue. Then, Norm Reynolds will make you laugh and then make you cry as he wraps you in the fold of his family, in their love and their pain as Dad learns of his son’s sexual orientation. Check the Life Rattle Radio 2011 page for schedule details.
Radio program Update #20 March 5, 2011 Dear Life Rattle Listeners, Mervi Maarit Salo Maarit Salo’s writing will take you to Sápmi (Lapland), the traditional lands of the Sámi people, stretching across arctic and sub-arctic Sweden, Norway, Finland and Russia. From these narratives—a nod to indigenous storytelling as a way to teach younger generations—emerges an alternative history to that found in books. If the Saami are mentioned in books at all that is...
Radio program Update #19 February 13, 2011 Hello Life Rattle Friends: Tonight, are happy to continue on the air on CKLN 88.1 FM—as we have for the past 23 years—thanks to The Supreme Court of Canada who granted a stay of the CRTC decision to revoke CKLN’s broadcasting licence. This is especially good news for those of us who appreciate fine writing, because tonight Guy Allen will be playing the first of a series of stories by new writer: Penny Verbruggen In tonight’s stories, Penny brings us to the painful world of childhood torments, a questionable high school teacher and a shopkeeper who tries to exploit a young journalist. You are in for a treat. Tonight at 9, tune in to CKLN 88.1 FM. And, Life Rattle has introduced something new — podcasts in the Radio section of the Life Rattle website. You will find recently broadcast radio programs online, and tonight, you will be able to listen to the first of three special podcasts in recognition of Black History Month. Tonight’s podcast showcases six Life Rattle classics by Selina Africaine and Kitty Molefe.
Radio program Update #18 February 5, 2011 Dear Life Rattle Listeners: Tomorrow we have a very special show for you! To mark Black History Month, Life Rattle co-founder Guy Allen will showcase two new stories, one new writer, and an interview with Kathy Grant, founder of The Legacy Voices Project, a national, not-for-profit organization formed to document, digitize and publish the stories and memories of Canadians and Canadian immigrants. In “Going Home,” new Life Rattle writer, Penny Verbruggen, writes of an ESL Teacher and a student who carries emotional and physical scars from his past in Rwanda. In “Martin Luther King Day,” Kathy Grant takes us aboard TTC Bus #32, on Martin Luther King Day. To keep the bus enroute to Eglinton Station, Grant urges an angry driver, and angry passengers, to show some love— in honour of King’s legacy. Stories you won’t hear anywhere else. On Life Rattle Radio Radio program Update #17 January 30, 2011 Our apology to all those who tuned in last week to hear Rachel James’ new stories. Technical difficulties at the radio station resulted in Nadeem playing an “emergency backup” program. The good point being that we had the chance to hear Denny Hunte’s class “Going to the Airport.”
Radio program Update #16 January 22, 2011 Happy New Year Life Rattlers:
With two new stories, the first of many you will hear in the next few months from Bare Elements: A Collective Approach to Narrative Nonfiction, a recent Life Rattle Collection. With heart-rending honesty, tenderness and respect, Rachel James delves into the complexities of caregiving and the need for care. In “Diamond Heights,” Rachel pauses for a moment and reflects on her own life as her 101-year-old grandmother, coping with the limitations— both physical and mental—of her age, profoundly articulates her frustration; and again in her second piece, “The First Stop,” as she interviews Samantha, a twenty-year-old woman living in a homeless shelter. Samantha earns our admiration as shares her experiences and offers advice for other young women who face the same situation. So tune in this Sunday, to hear stories you won’t hear anywhere else.
CKLN FundFest Update: To date, The Life Rattle Radio Program has raised $748 ! Thank you Life Rattle supporters....
Special Radio Update #15 november 13, 2010 Hi Life Rattlers:
We’re not asking you to help us…………..We’re BEGGING !!
Pledge what you can. Anything from five dollars to five thousand will be gratefully accepted. We’re not fussy. The fact that you take the time to call in and make any size pledge is an indication that you’re out there, appreciating what we do to bring you damn good stories you won’t hear anywhere else. THANK YOU
Radio Program Update #14 november 13, 2010 Hi Life Rattlers: Tomorrow night you will hear a very different story by McKenna, one about the death of a good friend. Usually, such events are described as sad, tragic, and painful. To my ear, McKenna brings us those emotions, but also a large measure of hope, dignity and love. That counts for a lot. Please listen in tomorrow night; it will be an important end to your week.
Radio Program Update #13 november 5, 2010 Hi Life Rattle Friends: Phillip Parsons will take you along with him on an anxiety ride that will leave you with a metallic taste in the back of your mouth. And Just when you think it is safe to relax back into your Sunday-night-sofa routine, Maureen McKenna will show you how, when the going gets tough, the tough get PINK. Listen in for your own personal preview of this year's Totally Unknown Writers Festival.
Radio Program Update #12 October 29, 2010 Hello There Life Rattlers: With Andrea Perera you will meet one gorgeous, tiny, perfect princess, then off on a trip to Egypt with a bevy of Sri Lankan "Aunties" and lots of baggage from home. (I meant to be cryptic there). And: Gary Markle will recall how, at a very tender age, he learned to dive in with both feet (I did it again). Tune in and find out what I'm being so coy about. You will laugh, maybe cry, and definitely hold your nose.
Radio Program Update #11 October 23, 2010 Hello Life Rattlers: Fareshta Wardak Fareshta Wardak and her family, fleeing war and the Taliban, left their home country of Afghanistan to move to London, Ontario, in 2005. Her stories tell of the challenges of adapting to a new country and offer glimpses of Afghani culture. We tag along with Wardak and Baba (her father) to a group job interview with a company that manufactures cutlery and food service equipment. While they wait, Baba whispers to her, “I think I deserve the job because I am an Afghan man and a Muslim and people will trust me in their houses when I tell them I sell knives.” We cringe behind the living room curtain and witness the heartbreak as she tells Baba that she and her sister intend to move out of the family home to attend university out of town. And finally, we fly to Vancouver, sing and dance, listen to the jingle of a daira—an Afghani frame drum—catch a few chocolates tossed from a be-ribboned basket and celebrate the arranged engagement of her brother, Afghani style. Join us Sunday night.
Radio program update #10 September 30, 2010 Hello Life Rattlers: We’ve got a brand new writer to introduce this Sunday: Kathy Grant You are about to be treated to a full half hour of Ms. Grant's reminiscences that take us from a painfully competitive 4th birthday party, to a deadly competitive corporate challenge. Kathy Grant says she's new to the writing craft, but you could fool me. Her stories carry me right into then noisy, cake smeared birthday scene, then onto a frenzied push for posthumous profits. I'm being cryptic here, but just remember...Greed Will Make You Grow and Prosper! Tune in if you know what's good for you.
Radio program update #9 September 2, 2010 Hello Life Rattlers: We’ve got another new writer to introduce this week: Jenny (Qin Chun) Zhou Jenny Zhou is working on her first novel, a series of stories that are a composite of women’s experiences she witnessed while growing up in post liberation Shanghai. The story you will hear this week is an excerpt from that novel. It shows us how a dramatic political revolution in China did little to bring any real change for woman. Kind of a “same thing…only different” scenario. So ladies, loosen your bra….and men…..I guess the equivalent is, you can undo the top button of your pants, relax and listen to a tale of suffering, determination, hope, and just a little bit of love.
Radio program update #8 august 12, 2010 Hi Life Rattlers: We’re pleased to present a new writer this week: Tamara Chandon Tamara has recorded a slew of stories based on summer work experience at a veterinary hospital. Her “Freezer Cats” series begins this week, and will entertain you with the sights, sounds and, yup…the smells of a tough job that somebody has to do.
Radio program update #7 June 27, 2010 Tonight's show has been pre-empted to allow for coverage of the G-20. Alternative media will be on the air during our usual time slot with news from this side of the big shiny fence. See you next week with Life Rattle Episode #1107.
Radio program update #6 June 19, 2010 Hi Life Rattle Sons and Daughters: Tomorrow night I will air two stories with a “Fathers Day” theme. We will hear: “Father” by Sarah Ward And “Taste of Banana” by Marie Hoy These stories take us along as two different daughters describe an opportunity they’ve had, to get to know the models of masculinity they call dad. After you listen to the stories, I’d like you to get out some note paper and jot down a quick letter to your dad. Whether he is alive or dead, missing, or you never met….just write the note. Send it off in the mail if you can, but if you can not…then keep it in a drawer and read it once a year at about this time.
Radio program update #5 mAy 16, 2010 Tonight, Nadeem Basaria will air the last two stories in Hien The Chu’s Vietnamese Refugee series. The first story, “The Secret of Boat 52 – 110 Mindanao,” is perhaps the most dramatic and frightening in the entire Life Rattle library. You will be exposed to the worst of human evil, in a calm, reasoned, observational style. Chu does not seek to impose anger, disgust, sympathy, or any other personal assessment of a very bad man. He simply tells the story, and in doing so, we glean all we need to make our own judgement. This is what makes horror useful. We personalize the experience in our own way, then go forward to more fully appreciate all the beauty that surrounds us. This is what Life Rattle is all about.
Radio program update #4 mAy 6, 2010 Hello Life Rattle MOMS and Friends: This Sunday we will celebrate Mother’s Day with the resurrection of a couple of stories by Ruth Schweitzer. These two stories last aired in 1996! We’ve been trying to lift some of these gems from the past, to make sure they survive into the digital age. Ruth Schweitzer brings us a young daughter’s view of her mothers tragic past, difficult present and uncertain future, while she, a young adolescent tries to fit into what she considers the normal life of the Queen and Spadina community of the mid 1960’s. If you are old enough to remember the Victory Burlesque, you will especially enjoy closing your eyes to remember “The Bright Lights of Spadina”, Schweitzer’s first story. Sit Mom down in her favourite chair with a wee glass of sweet sherry, rub her feet and tune in to: LIFE RATTLE RADIO ON CKLN 88.1 f.m. SUNDAY NIGHTS 9:00 to 9:30
Radio program update #3 April 21, 2010 Life Rattle Radio will showcase another new writer this Sunday, April 25th. Erika Bailey will take us on an exquisitely paced, intimate and eloquent journey through a marriage. The narrative drops by the lives of “Yan” and “Ree”, for a quick visit every now and then, exposing a snapshot of brilliantly sparse, but evocative prose….all we need to know as we peek through the curtains of their lives. So brew up a cuppa, sit still and listen in this Sunday night.
Radio Program Update #2 April 7, 2010 We will be airing a brand new writer on next week's show #1097.
Radio Program Update #1 March 27, 2010 Hello Life Rattle Friends: This Sunday, I will play a couple of stories originally aired in 1995. They are by Hien Chu. These stories are about the writer’s experiences after the end of the Vietnam War. They will take us with him to jail, then out to sea, and eventually into a refugee camp. This is riveting stuff and well worth putting up with a bit of fuzz on the recording. You will be hearing Arnie Achtman reading Hien Chu’s stories. It has been five years now since we lost Arnie. I think it is wonderful that he lives on through Life Rattle. I will send out similar e-mails to announce each new writer before we air their stories. Tune in, and let your friends know about the best bed-time stories in town. |
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