Durham Chronicle Volume XLIV, Issue 11

26 The Chronicle April 10 - 16, 2018 chronicle.durhamcollege.ca Community
Durham Storytellers: Folklore in action
Tiago de Oliveira
The Chronicle
Durham Storytellers is fighting
to keep the flame of oral tradition
burning hot in a culture plagued
by mass media distraction.
It’s an organization that, in short,
tells stories.
It operates in the region as a
non-profit and spends its time
entertaining and educating audiences.
Kathleen Smyth is chair of Durham
Storytellers, which changed
its name from Durham Folklore
Society in July of 2017.
“More than anything, we would
like those traditions to continue in
a younger generation,” said Smyth.
She said storytelling is not limited
to legends and curiosities of
Germanic fairie tales.
She says it applies to the everyday
anecdotes and water cooler conversations
regular people incorporate
into their daily lives.
Durham Storytellers offer workshops
to help people improve their
storytelling and public speaking
abilities.
The group also does presentations
and shows for audiences both
for the purpose of maintaining the
spirit of oral tradition and to inspire
and give hope to people who,
according to Smyth, “need a good
story.”
Smyth said Durham Storytellers
go to women’s shelters and hostels
to inspire with stories of strong
women.
“They will talk to us afterwards,
‘Oh, those were fantastic stories. I
loved those stories,” she said. “It
really made me feel a little bit better.’
We’re taking away the things
they deal with on a day to day basis
and taking them to another place.”
The group held its first meeting
in September of 1990 when it was
founded by George Blake, who
passed at the of 95 in January.
Blake was an active member of
the community who also founded
Storytellers of Canada and was
recognized with the 2014 Lifetime
Achievement Award from the
African Canadian Achievement
Awards.
Smyth said Blake had an incredible
passion for storytelling and always
walked into meetings excited
about what stories the organization
Kathleen Smyth, chair of Durham Storytellers.
would be working on next.
Blake was born in Jamaica.
Smyth said a large part of what
drove him to start the Folklore
Society was his upbringing in an
oral tradition based culture.
“That’s where he decided, ‘I’d
like to do this here, I’d like to tell
my own stories. Folklore from
where I came from,’” said Smyth.
“With three or four friends they decided
they would get together and
tell stories…I think the first place
they started up was a bar.”
The stories the group tells today
are varied.
Usually the theme or central
message of each story coincides
with a specific event they are catering
to, for example, World Storytelling
Day which occurs annually
on the March equinox.
This year’s theme was the ‘Wise
Fool.’ Stories the organization
shares during this event will use
that character archetype in their
tellings.
Durham Storytellers meets on
How to get your crush in 10 days
Photograph by Tiago de Oliveira
the third Thursday of every month.
Volunteers and visitors take part
in the art of storytelling and tell
stories from a host of backgrounds,
languages, and eras.
However, members are concerned,
as the group is lacking in
interest from young people.
“We have an aging demographic,”
Smyth said.
“There are more older people
than there are younger people.
I think the challenge for us is to
maybe become a little more involved
with the college and the university,
and branch out that way.”
Smyth said the current digital
age and the lack of personable skills
is in part why they see fewer young
people at their meetings.
Currently, Durham Storytellers
is bringing its web presence and
online presentation up to date.
Members hope an increase in
traffic will encourage people to
get off their smartphones and start
building interpersonal communication
skills.
Claudia
Latino
“If you want something you never
had, you must be willing to do
something you’ve never done.” An
old saying by Thomas Jefferson
is the approach you want to have
when it comes to getting the guy
you want – especially in 10 days.
Although today’s society is all
about using dating apps to meet
people, it would be nice to meet
someone the old-fashioned way,
right?
Here are five psychologically
proven ways to get your crush to
like you in 10 days.
KEEP HIM CLOSE BY
According to Dr. Joe Fanelli, a
human sexuality and love professor
at the University of Syracuse,
“If you are attracted to something,
the more often you see it, the more
attracted you will become.”
So walk by that crush of yours.
Twice. Or even a third time. Eventually,
introduce yourself.
MAINTAIN EYE CONTACT
Author and life enthusiast Mark
Manson created an e-book called
The Levels of Eye Contact in Attraction
in 2011. According to
Manson, gazing into someone’s
eyes can create intimacy between
two people.
“Hold the gaze for 2-3 seconds
without breaking it. If undesired,
this level is known as the infamous
“creep stare”, so make sure both
parties want it,” writes Manson.
Hopefully your crush has piercing
eyes like Zac Efron or Brad
Pitt, Megan Fox or Amanda Seyfried.
This will make gazing into
them a more worthwhile experience.
LAUGH AT ALL JOKES
Eric Bressler, a grad student at
McMaster University studying
‘The role of humour in personal
attraction’, believes men are attracted
to a woman who laughs at
their jokes.
His 2005 study of 150 male students
confirmed that laughing at
your crush’s jokes will grab their
attention.
The next time they try to be
funny, give the joke credit with a
laugh.
SMILE… A LOT
Smiling at your crush can launch
the ‘mirror neuron effect’. According
to Neuroscientist Marco Iacoboni,
when it comes to smiling the
neurons in your brain react to another
person’s actions. Try showing
off those pearly whites when you
talk to your crush. That kind smile
of yours will get noticed.
FIND A COMMON
INTEREST
Opposites attract, well, maybe
not that much. According to Dr.
Amy Muise, a relationship and attraction
assistant professor at York
University, similarities between two
people can reduce any conflicts of
interest.
So, try and see if you and your
crush have common interests. The
one for you will appreciate it.
There’s no rule or limit of what
you should do to get your crush to
like you. You could easily just say
it, but, that can be a little too scary.
But remember, as someone once
said, “Decide that you want it more
than you are afraid of it.”