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The Degrassi Digest # 27 June 14th,1998
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NEWS: We've held you in suspense long enough! Degrassi Legacy:
Honouring the Cast and Crew of Degrassi High and Degrassi Junior
High is now officially open.
We apologize for the long delay, but trust us it will be worth
the wait. Mark Aaron Polger and Natalie Earl are pleased to pay
homage to this very
special television show. Explore our Degrassi empire at http://www.degrassi-junior-high.org
UPDATES: The Degrassi Junior High/Degrassi High Final End
Still Frames are being updated.
Please visit the page frequently at http://www.degrassi.org/DFS/index.html
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Check out Degrassi World Fan Fiction Episode #8 after this weeks
posts,
written by Natalie J. Earl, natalie@degrassi.org
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THIS WEEK'S POSTS:
Pat Mastroianni in Godzilla
Joeys Hat
Degrassi Appreciation Collective
Re: Joeys Hat
no subject
I LOVE Degrassi!
Why are the Degrassi Kids neglected so much?
question/comment
more questions & comments
I have more comments to make
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From: "Allie"
To: <post@degrassi.org>
Subject: Pat Mastroianni in Godzilla
Date: Mon, 8 Jun 1998 23:49:01 +1000
Hi!!
I saw Pat Matroianni in Godzilla, today. I knew to look for
him, he was one of the Apache pilots, the first time the
helicopters chase Godzilla. He's also listed in the credits.
Allie P.S By the way, does anyone know if Degrassi is going to be
shown again in Australia? They used to show it every two years.
*Mark* Are you sure it was him, THE Pat Mastroianni form
Degrassi? AJ Taylor (aj@degrassi.org)
told me he could not find him at all in film. About Degrassi in
Australia....We have a great deal of Austrialian fans on this
list, and they have posted that on ABC, Degrassi has not been
renewed to be broadcasted.
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Date: Mon, 08 Jun 1998 13:16:23 -0400
From: Mortimer Gumbolt
To: webmaster@degrassi.org
Subject: Joeys Hat
Hi there. I was recently looking for a hat like the one Joey Jeremiah wore. Do you know what those kinds of hats are called? Are they fedoras? I'm sorry to be asking you, I know this isn't your area of expertise but I thought it might be a start.
Thanks
*Mark* Does anyone know? I think they are fedoras...but I am
not quite sure. I have responded to this person privately, and he
has found what he was looking for.
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From: "Effie Karageorgos"
To: post@degrassi.org
Subject: Degrassi Appreciation Collective
Date: Mon, 08 Jun 1998 18:13:34 PDT
Greetings
I am feeling popular - if anyone wants to contact me - don't
hesitate - just email... at halkahalka@hotmail.com I
didn't actually discover the degrassi appreciation collective
just am
a part of it. Basically what the founders did was advertise,
advertise,advertise - our uni was covered in degrassi posters. It
was impossible
not to know about the DAC. So now, thanks to them, we are a fully
affiliated club at uni. It's that easy. I was devastated when I
read that the ABC don't have the rights to show Degrassi in
Australia. One of our members has every single episode of the
junior high and high series except for the very first one though.
Lucky us, I guess. hope to hear from everyone soon
Effie
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Date: Tue, 09 Jun 1998 22:59:48 -0400
To: webmaster@degrassi.org (Mark Aaron Polger)
From: Mortimer Gumbolt
Subject: Re: Joeys Hat
I did a field trip of sorts myself and hit the downtown hat
stores in Toronto. These stores are the last of their kind to
deal in quality hats and I found out that the fedora comes in
many
varieties and Joey's hat is just one of those.
Mortimer Gumbolt, MBA
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Date: Wed, 10 Jun 1998 11:07:08 -0400
To: post@degrassi.org
From: Russtopher AX
Subject: no subject
Hey Everybody!!
My wife and I are both Degrassi fans from way back when, we
used to watch the show on WGBH in Boston (we live right outside
of Cape Cod in Mass.)
Actually, just a little clarification-we just got married last
week, and we were Degrassi fans loooooooooong before we met. In
fact, for the past year
or so we have been scouring video stores for a copy of School's
Out.
Anyway, it had been about 4 or 5 years since either of us had
seen an episode of Degrassi, and we were on our honeymoon in Nova
Scotia. I was in
the bathroom of the hotel while my wife was flipping through the
Canadian TV stations. Suddenly I heard Sue call out to me to come
see what was on
TV. I figured the hockey game had started early, and to my
surprise, what was on??? The beginning of Degrassi Jr High!!!
Seeing as Degrassi is a
rare commodity for us, we figured that if we weren't out at
night, from 8-9pm we could catch at least one episode of
Degrassi. And now that we're
back in the States, we are now undergoing Degrassi withdrawal!!
Just a little tidbit from a first time poster
-Russ
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From: Tina McKenzie
To: "'post@degrassi.org'"
Subject: I LOVE Degrassi!
Date: Fri, 12 Jun 1998 09:26:33 -0700
My name is Tina McKenzie, I LOVE Degrassi! My sister taped
over the first half of my cop of "School's Out". I was
never so mad in my life. I would
love to subscribe to the Degrassi Digest. I just got hooked up to
the internet last week and just found this site this morning.
Please include me on your mailing list. Thank you. I love Snake!
*Welcome to the Degrassi Digest Tina. Your welcome letter has
been mailed to you, and for any information about the
newsletter/mailing list, please refer to
http://www.degrassi.org/Degrassi-Digest/index.html
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To: post@degrassi.org
Date: Fri, 12 Jun 1998 19:39:09 -0700
From: "Madaline Hunter"
Subject: Why are the Degrassi Kids neglected so much?
Why don't you write more articles and fan fiction stories about The Kids of Degrassi Street? Everybody talks about the junior and senior high days but the Kids get neglected.
*Mark* I agree with you, but it was rather difficult, becuase
not all of us have seen the series, ans we do not know it as
well. It was filmed in the early 1980's, and I was quite young. I
recently acquired the complete Kids of Degrassi Street series,
and along with Natalie, will also write fan fiction stories. I
will try to write about the Kids of Degrassi Street, because that
series was very special to some, as it was about elemetnary
students growing and dealing with problems that affected 8-12
year olds. Thanks for your suggestions.
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Date: Sat, 13 Jun 1998 00:21:57 -0400
From: Ravi Malhotra
To: post@degrassi.org
Subject: question/comment
I realize that you personally may not be responsible for
everything on the site but I was curious, as a disability rights
activist and Degrassi fan, about the character
Maya. I honestly cannot remember where I read this but I could
have sworn that she *is* really disabled in real life but that
she doesn't use a wheelchair. I recall somewhere reading a
comment on how the producers decided that putting her in a chair
would make it easier but she really does have a disability. I
have spina bifida for example and don't use a chair. Do you have
any idea what she (Levy) is doing these days?
And I have no idea who wrote that story for the DeGrassi
University but I was a bit taken aback about the whole
stereotyping and Maya marrying a non-disabled guy. I agree people
should date/marry whoever they want but the way it is written it
makes it sound like there would be something wrong if she dated a
disabled guy. In fact, people with physical disabilities
frequentlly, by *choice*, date others with disabilities just as
some (not all) Black people choose to date other Black people. I
realize you may have not even written the scenario
but I wanted to give you my cents.
Ravi
*Mark* Thanks Ravi. This is the 1st of a three part e-mail
that I think everyone should look at.
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Date: Sat, 13 Jun 1998 19:33:34 -0400
From: Ravi Malhotra
To: Mark Aaron Polger <post@degrassi.org>
Subject: more questions & comments
The other thing I wish to add (thanks Mark for the opportunity!)
is the whole issue of having a disabled child. If the disability
in question is spina bifida (as the web site claims), the fact is
there may
be an increased risk that Maya's child *will* be disabled. It's
not a definite thing but there is the possibility. The point that
the disability rights community has made is that having a
disabled child (like Maya herself!) should not be seen as a
positive or negative thing. Seeing the birth of Maya or other
disabled children as a bad thing can lead to dangerous policies
like sterilizing teens and adults with disabilities, something
that was common in the past. So while I support everyone's right
to free expression blah blah, I do find that part of the story
problematic/offensive as well as the whole notion that Maya would
obviously prefer a non-disabled boyfriend. None of these views
are, in my opinion, perspectives within the DeGrassi tradition of
progressive values and social justice that the website has
brilliantly noted.
Indeed, for all its depth and significant accomplishments, DeGrassi really did not use Maya's character much. In fact, the horror of 90210 notwithstanding (and I fully agree with the critique of 90210 on the website), the sad irony is that wheelchair access is so poor in Canada without civil rights legislation like the ADA that Maya could probably not have attended most of the Toronto's high schools whereas all the schools in 90210 *must* be wheelchair accessible under the ADA. Is the real DeGrassi wheelchair accessible? None of this is to detract from DeGrassi's significant accomplishments; the very inclusion of Maya in the cast was a great step forward. But I felt obliged to present another perspective. Thanks.
Ravi
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Date: Sun, 14 Jun 1998 01:08:16 -0400
From: Ravi Malhotra
To: Mark Aaron Polger <post@degrassi.org>
Subject: I have more comments to make
While I respect Natalie's views on her Degrassi World Fan
Fiction episode of Caitlin and Snake, I think the (small) part
about Maya is deeply flawed and well outside the DeGrassi
tradition. The rest of the story is quite good. If I may ask,
which episode in DeGrassi mentions spina bifida? I only recall
two or three where she even has many lines but maybe I missed
this. I do *not* want to pester people, especially actors, but if
you do find Levy, please let me know. I wonder if she has
made any other films?
As I say, I am quite sure she is disabled and possibly even
has sb. You see, while I will always love DeGrassi, if she
didn't, it would seem as if DeGrassi
copped out and it would (slightly) ruin the show for me. This is
not to say that non-disabled
actors can *never* play disabled people but the film industry, in
Canada and the U.S., has had a
tradition of discrimination against disabled actors. So it is
important for me to know
that she really does have a disability, wheelchair or not.
Ravi
*Mark* On our (Natalie Earl and myself) Degrassi Legacy Site, we
will try to fins Kyra Levy and try to interview her. I also
e-mailed a Degrassi actor to find out if she did have the
disease. Thank you very much for all your comments. I hope this
stimulates a lot of discussion. It is only mentioned in the Maya
book that Kyra's character has Spina Bifida. I am not sure if it
is mentioned at all in the show.
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End of Degrassi Digest #27,
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The Degrassi Digest is archived at
http://www.degrassi.org/Degrassi-Digest/archive.htm
AND
http://www.escribe.com/tv/degrassi/
This "E-SCRIBE" service will archive future Digests,
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DEGRASSI WORLD #8: PATRICK MUST CHOOSE LIZ OR A MUSIC CAREER
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[Natalie's note]: After an unsuccessful relationship with Spike, Patrick starts dating Liz. This episode is the sequel to "Nobody's Perfect" and "Just Friends" of Degrassi High]
When Patrick was dating Spike, he wrote a love ballad called
"Oh,
Christine". He send that song to the band U2 and they asked
to buy the
publishing rights. U2 added several versus and recorded a
polished version.
It became an international hit and Patrick made royalties each
time the song
played. At first Spike felt used and exploited that her private
love song
was being shared with the world. However, she couldn't help but
feel
special for being immortalized by U2. She even wanted to get back
with
Patrick.
Spike tried very hard to win Patrick's heart away from Liz.
The next day
she wore her prettiest dress and generous dabs of Channel #5. Liz
happened
to be sick that day so she could taunt Patrick all she wanted.
Spike
slipped a love letter in his hand and kissed him on the cheek.
For a
fleeting moment Patrick trembled and was covered in goose bumps.
His wish
had finally come true: Spike was pursing him. Spike was very
aware of how
to push his button. She baby talked to him and played with his
hair. She
asked to go to his house after school so they could "make
up".
Patrick was very, very tempted, but he had to turn her down.
He was ashamed
of himself for being untrue to Liz, even for a few minutes. He
told Spike
that it was over between them and that he now loved Liz more than
life
itself. He even lectured Spike about double crossing her best
friend.
Spike was truly insulted, but she had to admit he was right. They
made a
promise to never reveal this incident to Liz, for the sake of
their
friendship. From then on Spike and Liz resumed their friendship
and Patrick
was completely loyal to Liz.
Now that Patrick was dating Liz, he decided to compose a song
about her.
This time it was a fast paced, punk song entitled "Liz, My
Punk Rock
Goddess". It went like this: "Prom queens are a dime a
dozen, it's like
trying to kiss your cousin. They look alike and hang in packs,
frizzy perms
and fanny sacks. Preppy girls are boring and bland, I'd rather
shoot pool
or sing in a band. But punk rock chicks turn me on, my baby Liz
is why I
wrote this song. I dig chicks with savoir-faire, quadruple
pierced ears and
bleached blonde hair. Wears a dog collar around her neck, paid
for it with
a bad check. Sneaks into bars with a fake ID, slam dances from
dusk till
three. Reads comic books in study hall, shops at the thrift store
instead
of the mall. Says that she's not wild, but believe me she is. She
is my
punk rock goddess and her name is Liz."
Patrick recorded this song on a demo tape and submitted it to
several
independent record label. Eventually he was signed by Toxic
Pollution
Records. Patrick promoted his album by touring small night clubs
around
Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal. Once his album took off he had to
make the
decision of quitting school to pursue his career or stay home and
be with
Liz. Liz was aware that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity
for
Patrick. She did not want him to miss this opportunity and then
resent her
later. So she made the decision for him.
Patrick spend the next two years as a minor rock star. He even
had several
guest appearances on Much Music. Despite the fame, he never go
caught up in
the stereotypical rockers lifestyle: drugs, alcohol, groupies,
wild parties.
Instead he stayed focused on his music and on maintaining is
long-distance
relationship with Liz. Unfortunately his second album flopped and
the
record company did not renew his contract. However, he was
secretly
relieved. Patrick was tired of life on the road and looked
forward to being
a regular kid again. Once reunited with Liz, they became closer
than ever.
Patrick continued to write song but not for himself. He made a
career out
of producing songs for other bands. And of course, all the money
he made
was spend on Liz. THE END
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