17 14 Film Poems

Transcription

17 14 Film Poems

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THE UNIVERSITY OF WINNIPEG STUDENTS’ WEEKLY
Photo by: WADE ANDREW
02 ANARCHY IN THE CLASSROOM
DEFINING
GOOD
COFFEE
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20 SEND + RECEIVE
26 NASAJPOUR—
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News
Editorial
Comments
Humour
Features
Arts & Culture
Listings
Sports
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14 Film Poems
17
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BACK IN THE CLASSROOM AND BACK ON THE COURT
u n i te r @ u w i n n i p e g .c a
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News
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Contact
News Editors: Derek Leschasin & Vivian Belik
E-mail
U N I T E R S TA F F
» [email protected]
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Tele: 786-9497
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VOL.59 ISS.07
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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF A. P. (Ben) Benton
[email protected] 786-9790
MANAGING EDITOR
»
James D. Patterson
NEWS PRODUCTION EDITOR
»
02
03
»
04
Derek Leschasin
NEWS ASSIGNMENT EDITOR
Vivian
Belik [email protected] 786-9497
05
»
SENIOR BEAT REPORTER
Scott de
Groot [email protected] 786-9497
BEAT REPORTER
»
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Jacob Serebrin
FEATURES EDITOR
» David Pensato
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ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR Jo Snyder
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SPORTS EDITOR Leighton Klassen
»
COMMENTS EDITOR Daniel Blaike
HUMOUR EDITOR
» Janet Mowat
PHOTO EDITOR
» Wade Andrew
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LISTINGS COORDINATOR
Jan Nelson
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COPY & STYLE EDITOR Melody Rogan
DISTRIBUTION MANAGER
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»
»
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ADVERTISING MANAGER
SCOT T DE GROOT
Senior Beat Repor ter
T
he addition of two new Justices
to the Supreme Cour t of Ca nada
is being ha iled as a step in the
r ight di rection by both women’s groups
a nd Ca nada’s GLBT com munity.
Before a n audience of fr iends, fa m ily
a nd t he lega l est abl ish ment, Rosa l ie
Ab el la a nd L ou is e C h a r r on we r e
appointed to the nation’s h ighest cour t
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Women’s Groups, Gays Praise
Supreme Court Appointments
»
Ted Turner
THIS WEEKS CONTRIBUTORS
Nathan Sawatzky, Robert Kotyk, Dave Janzen,
Madeleine Kettner, Alexandra Cooper, Sachin
Kumar, Ed Cheung, Josh Grummett, William
O’Donnell, Micheal Banias, Paul Wedel, Jason
Brawn, William Blades, Rob Nay, Eric D. Warwaruk,
Devin King, Jonathan Davis, Dan Huyghebaert,
Damian Purdy, Leia Getty, Dave Weatherall, Rhys
Kelso, Mike Pyl, Sheri Lamb, Jon Symons,
Sarah Hauch
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in Ottawa last week, replacing for mer
Just ic es L ou ise A rb ou r a nd Fr a n k
lacobucci. As a result, women now have
greater representation on the Supreme
Federa l Gover n ment’s pla n to extend
ma r r iage to gays a nd lesbia ns, ma ny gay
r ights activists a re th r illed.
“Its ver y exciting,” sa id K im
A l l e n ,
coord i nator of
the
R a i n b ow
R e s o u r c e
Centre,
a
community
organization
that
ser ves
Ma n it oba’s gay, le sbia n , bis exu a l,
t ra nsgendered,
and
t wo - s p i r i t e d
com munities.
“It’s t he d i rection we need to be
moving in. As from province to province
the momentum for legalizing sa me-sex
ma r r iage builds, it’s impor ta nt that we
have suppor t at the national level a nd
for [Supreme Cour t] judges to come on
boa rd.”
However, Abella a nd Cha r ron also
have thei r cr itics. A lim ited number of
demonst rators – about 25 – ca r r ie d
pl a c a r d s o u t sid e t h e swe a r i ng-i n
ceremony, accusing the new justices of
a h istor y of bad judgments a nd for being
radical fem inist judicial activists.
A id a n Reid , a sp oke sm a n fo r
Ca mpa ign Life, a r ight-wing, a nti-choice
orga nization seek ing to ba n abor tion in
Ca nada, objected to thei r appointments,
a nd accused the gover nment of “ f ixing”
the cour t to push its agenda on gay
r ights a nd other issues.
Glenn Sheraton, executive di rector of
Fathercraft Ca nada, sa id he objected to
Justice Abella pa r ticula rly “because she
has a h istor y of biased judgments aga inst
men, aga inst fathers a nd aga inst sha red
pa renting.”
Abella, however, does not apologize
for t he so -ca lled “activist ” role t hat
Ca nadia n cour ts have played in recent
decades. She believes the law has gone
th rough a revolutiona r y cha nge since
she was a law-school student.
“ L eg islat u res a c ross t he cou nt r y,
encouraged by a public newly sensitized
the previous decade to the in h ibiting
p owe r of t r a d it ion , shone r ov i ng
f lashlights across our social la ndscapes,”
she ha s sa id . “ T hey exp ose d t he
inequities, both created a nd h idden…
and
responded
w it h
a
s e i s m ic
refor mulation of what constitutes the
Ca nadia n ma inst rea m a nd who gets to
join it.”
“While consequential in Canada, the
appointments also mark a mileﬆone for
the weﬆern world as a whole”
Cour t tha n ever before, holding four of
nine posts.
W h ile consequential in Ca nada, the
appointments also ma rk a m ilestone for
the wester n world as a whole, wh ich has
notor iously male-biased judicia r ies. For
exa mple, only two women sit on the
nine-judge bench of the U.S. Supreme
Cour t; only one woma n has ever sat on
Aust ralia’s h igh cour t – from 1987 to
20 03; a nd the f i rst woma n to ever sit
a mong Br it a i n’s 12 law lord s wa s
appointed just th is yea r.
“ No
other
c o m p a r a bl e
cour t,
a nywhere in the world, to my k nowledge,
has come so fa r in giving women a voice
i n it s del ib erat ions,” sa id Ca na d a’s
Ch ief Justice Beverly McLachlin dur ing
the swea r ing-in ceremony in Ottawa.
“I a m proud that … the composition
of the Supreme Cour t now approaches
a n accurate ref lection of the place of
women within the judicia r y, within the
legal profession, a nd with in Ca nadia n
society more generally.”
E choi ng McL a ch i n’s s ent i m ent s,
Jennifer Faulder, director of the U of
W’s Ma rga r et L aw r enc e Women’s
St ud ies
Centre,
descr ibed
the
appointments as “ext remely impor ta nt.”
“It’s imperative that women a re on
t he Supreme Cou r t so t hat women’s
voices a re hea rd,” she sa id. “T hey will
provide role models to young women
a nd ser ve as a n inspi ration by showing
them they ca n achieve the sa me status
a nd p osit ions of p ower a s men i n
society.”
Ca nada’s GLBT – gay, lesbia n, bisexual, t ra nsgendered – com munity was
also favourable. W h ile on the Onta r io
Cou r t of App ea l, bot h Ab el la a nd
Cha r ron wrote key decisions expa nding
gay r ig ht s a nd supp or t i ng sa me -sex
ma r r iage. A nd now that they will have
input into the Supreme Cour ts pending
de cision on whet her to endorse t he
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02
OCTOBER 14
14,, 2004
News
Anarchy in the Classroom?
DEREK LESCHASIN
News Editor
“Education
for
education’s sake” is not the
rationale for most students in
university, who generally see
education as the route to a
successful career more than
anything else. In many cases, the
costs of obtaining a degree make
said-career a necessity. However,
in Toronto a group of activists
have created something that
embraces that credo.
“Anarchist U” is a free
school operating on anarchist
principles that offers a variety of
courses, most of them related to
the social sciences or activism.
All the courses are free, and
instructors teach for free. Of
course, consistent with these
principles is the absence of any
degrees or majors.
The school is run as a
collective, meaning that all who
participate are able to have some
input and to be present at
meetings, where decisions are
made by consensus.
“I think we want to
create a high level of education
for people where neither finances
nor lack of academic achievement
bar entry,” says Erik Stewart,
»
“The school is run as a collective, meaning that all who
participate are able to have some input and to be present
at meetings, where decisions are made by consensus.”
Image by: David Tan
one of the original organizers of
Anarchist U.
Anyone can teach a
course in Anarchist U, provided
that they have prepared a course
outline and made a successful
presentation at the monthly
general meetings.
“So far, every course
that’s been proposed has been
accepted, although some people
have had to revise their original
proposals and re-propose them at
the next meeting,” says Stewart.
“We have an emphasis on
academic subjects. Within that
framework, we essentially offer
whatever courses people want to
teach.”
Because another of the
school’s founding organizers,
Alan O’Connor, is a professor at
Trent University, Stewart says
that the school has had a good
connection to the academic
community, which provides the
scho ol
wit h
exp er ienc e d
educators who want to contribute
to the project.
Anarchist U remains a
small community project. Stewart
estimates that there are about
200 people on the school’s
mailing list, though not all of
t hem
ne cessa r i ly
act ively
participate in the courses.
“We get quite a few new
people each term. Between all
the terms perhaps we’ve had 200
to 250 people going to some
classes, and perhaps 150 people
following at least one course all
the way through,” Stewart says.
Class sizes range up to about 25
people, and classes are held in
any available public or private
space.
A notable feature of
Anarchist U is that the school
has an important internet base
with a wiki website that includes
course descriptions and outlines,
events and bulletins, and a FAQ
for the un in itiated (www.
anarchistu.org).
“It enables all the people
involved with the school to easily
update the site to ref lect
information regarding their class,
or upcoming events, or answers
to questions,” says Stewart, who
acts as the web administrator.
“It’s quite an anarchist approach
to a website.” However, Stewart
does admit that the problem with
being web-based is that it
assumes that those who wish to
be involved have a web
connection.
The future of Anarchist
U is an open question.
“I think simply keeping
the school around for a few more
years would be a great success,”
says Stewart. Anarchist U is no
longer new for Toronto, Stewart
explains, and has received less
attention as of late. “Our
challenge is to find ways to keep
the school fresh and exciting for
people, and to find alternatives
to the media for attracting
people.”
However, Stewa r t is
wary about the school becoming
too large and becoming less of a
community project.
“A large school would
depend on beauracracy rather
than community, which is exactly
what we don’t want,” says
Stewart.
Canada’s Environment Gets a
Mixed Review
JACOB SEREBRIN
Beat Reporter
In a new report, released at
the end of September, the
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
has concluded that Canada has not
done enough to protect its
environment.
The 227-page report, titled
“Review of Canada’s Environmental
Performance” takes specific aim at
inefficiencies
in
Canada’s
environmental policies as well as a
failure to take environmental
concerns into account in the energy,
forestry, agriculture and transport
sectors.
Greenpeace Canada says the
report “shows that Canada remains a
loser not a leader when it comes to
protecting the planet… the report
shows little progress since the last
report issued 4 years ago in 2000
when Canada ranked 28th out of 29
industrialized
countries
on
environmental performance.”
The report describes Canada’s
priority environmental issues as
including “climate change, health
protection, nature protection, air and
water quality, waste water collection
and waste disposal.” It also cites
pollution management, protecting
natural resources, and maintaining
biodiversity as challenges for
Canada.
The report points to
Canada’s level
of air pollution,
which despite
dropping,
remains high
when compared
with
other
O E C D
countries.
A n o t h e r
problem found by the report is an
increase in Canada’s water
consumption, while at the same time
more of our water is at risk of
contamination. The report finds that
Canada needs to increase both
enforcement of endangered species
laws and the amount of protected
areas, stating that: “while 20 percent
of the world’s remaining natural
areas are in Canada, the share of
total national area protected is less
than the OECD average, and less
than the 12 percent target.” The
report also criticizes Canada for not
“integrating environmental concerns
in economic decisions” and for not
acting on sustainable development
policies.
The report also offers solutions to
the problems it describes.
“To meet these challenges, it will
charges, air emission trading),
implementing the polluter pays and
user pays principles, strengthening
compliance and enforcement of
environmental regulations at both
federal and provincial levels,
rationalising water governance as
well as water
supply
and
d e m a n d
ma nagement,
st rengt hen ing
n a t u r e
protection (e.g.
protected areas,
marine
and
w e t l a n d
ecosystems, sustainable forestry).”
The report calls on Canada to
reduce energy use, implement anticlimate change policies, cut
subsidies on fossil fuels, mining
and other environmental harmful
industries, review taxes that are
environmentally related and carry
out commitments to protect the
oceans. The report also suggests
Canada make polluters pay and to
reduce energy and water use by
making users pay the actual costs.
It also recommends passing the
costs of making drinking water
“This report exposes our
dirty little secret.”
be necessary for Canada to: i)
thoroughly
implement its environmental
policies, improving their costeffectiveness and inter-jurisdictional
co-ordination; ii) further integrate
environmental
concerns
into
economic and sectoral decisions; and
iii) pursue its international
environmental co-operation.”
According to the OECD “the
report recommends that Canada
improve
its
environmental
management by:
using more
economic instruments (e.g. water
safe on to water users.
Despite finding many faults the
report does point to several
improvements
in
Canada’s
environmental policy. The report
praises Canada’s commitment to
international co-operation and
agreements, like the Kyoto Accord.
As well Canada has reduced the
levels of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen
oxides and carbon dioxide emissions;
though the report says levels must
drop further. Canada has also
“reduced environmentally harmful
subsidies” to the agriculture, fisheries
and coal industries. The report also
complements improvements in the
management of chemicals.
Greenpeace however doesn’t buy
the praise.
“While the report optimistically
points to some “encouraging trends”
few of these trends have actually
resulted in improvements to the
environment…Canada has an image
as a clean, green country. This report
exposes our dirty little secret. We
are, in fact, world-class polluters,”
says Jo Dufay, a campaign director
for Greenpeace.
OCTOBER
OC
TOBER 14
14,, 2004
03
News
WORLD NEWS REPORT
Compiled by Derek Leschasin
Back in the House
DANIEL BLAIKIE
Comments Editor
On Tuesday, October 5, 2004, the 38th
Parliament of Canada was officially
opened. It is a parliament with a few firsts;
the first married couple in the House, the
first Japanese-Canadian, the first Muslim,
and the first quadriplegic.
The process of opening began in the
Senate the day before with a declaration by
the Speaker of the Senate. In the presence
of the Deputy Governor General, Senators,
and the Members of Parliament, the
Speaker conveys a message from the
Governor General to the MPs that it would
not be appropriate to open Parliament until
the members have chosen a speaker for the
House of Commons. The Members then
return to the House of Commons to elect
their speaker.
The election is presided over by the
Dean of the House of Commons, that is to
say, the longest serving Member of the 308
member house. In this parliament, that
member is a Winnipeg NDP MP of long
standing, the Honourable Bill Blaikie, MP
for Elmwood-Transcona. However, this time
the election was brief, as the Honourable
Peter Milliken, Speaker in the last
Parliament and a Liberal MP, returned to
the office uncontested. Milliken has since
named Chuck Strahl, an experienced
Conservative MP, as Deputy Speaker.
The day after the election of the
speaker, Tuesday, Parliament was opened in
earnest with the Speech from the Throne.
More or less, the Speech from the Throne
outlines the general direction the
government wishes to take in the new
parliament. It is not a time to present
detailed legislation, nor to discuss in detail
budgeting issues.
Some of the broad issues touched on in
the speech were: the environment, cities
and communities, and aboriginal
Canadians. Throughout the next few weeks
members of the House will be debating and
voting on the Speech from the Throne. The
Official Opposition will also be presenting
an amendment. The Bloc Quebecois’ subamendment to the Conservative amendment
has already been presented and, with a
little negotiation, passed.
Depending on how MPs vote on the
Conservative amendment, Canadians may
have a new election on their hands within
the next two months. The reason for this is
that the Speech from the Throne is
generally considered a confidence issue.
This means that if an amendment passes
that would change the Speech from the
Throne in some fundamental way – which
would thereby significantly change the
government’s agenda – it demonstrates a
lack of confidence in government by the
members of the House. At that point
Stephen Harper would be invited to form a
coalition and become Prime Minister, or
Canadians would have to go to the polls
and elect a new Parliament.
To read the Speech from the Throne, or
the debates in the House, visit
HYPERLINK http://www.parl.gc.ca www.
parl.gc.ca.
O
NRARIO—The provincial Liberal
government of Dalton McGuinty is set
to push ahead this november with a
$4-6 million plan to install video surveillance
cameras in elementary schools, the Toronto
Star reports. Up to 400 elementary schools
are to be included in the plan.
Surveillance cameras are already
in use in some Ontario high schools and
buses, but are rare in elementary schools.
Despite the presence of video cameras, staff
at the schools say that the cameras don’t
necessarily function as a deterrent, but the
tapes are often used as evidence after any
incidents. They say that staff simply don’t
have time to constantly monitor the cameras.
They say that the best deterrent against
violence among students and intruders is the
presence of more adults around school
hallways.
S
IERRA LEONE—The founder of
the Sierra Leone Lesbian and Gay
Association, FannyAnn Eddy, was
found dead in the association’s office on
the morning of September 29th, reports
Indymedia South Africa. Eddy had apparently
been working late in the office the night
before, when assailants broke in and killed
her. The circumstances of the killing indicate
that it was a homophobic hate crime.
Eddy had been a powerful
spokesperson for the largely undergound
community, lobbying the government on
human rights issues. This past April, Eddy
addressed the UN Commission on Human
Rights in Geneva, denouncing the disregard
shown by Sierra Leone authorities for the
protection of the homosexual community.
E
NGLAND—Indymedia reports that on
October 7th, federal US authorities
issued an order to the ISP Rackspace,
demanding they hand over London-based
servers that provide hosting services for over
20 global Indymedia sites. When Rackspace
complied, the sites were effectively removed
from the internet. Indymedia says that their
hard drives were also taken.
Since the order was issued to
Rackspace and not Indymedia, the reason
for the order is unknown, and Rackspace has
declined to provide details.
I
RAQ—According to a report by The
Independent, the Iraq Survey Group, set
up by the Bush administration to search
Iraq for Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD),
has come to the finding that Iraq neither
possessed nor was developing WMDs at the
time of the invasion by Coalition forces. Both
the American and British governments used
the spectre of Iraq’s weapons programs as
justification for invading and toppling the
regime of Saddam Hussein.
Over 1200 weapons inspectors
have been searching Iraq since 2003.
M
OUNT KISCO, New York—
Actor Christopher Reeve,
star of the Superman movies,
died this past Sunday at the age of 52.
The actor spent the past nine years in
a wheelchair, having been paralysed
by a serious accident during an
equestrian event. Reeve spent this time
advocating for spinal cord research
and established the Christopher
Reeve Paralysis Foundation which has
to date awarded $ 48 million to the
world’s best neuroscientists. Reeve
was hospitalized this past Saturday
due to an infection as a result of a
pressure wound, a common injury
in those suffering from paralysis.
The pressure wound, a sore that can
become ulcer-like, occurs due to lack
of sufficient blood flow to the tissue.
Reeve’s wound had become infected
and unable to combat the infection, he
went into cardiac arrest. Surrounded by
family, Reeve slipped into a coma and
died on Sunday.
04
OCTOBER 14
14,, 2004
News
The Aftermath — International
Student Fees Increase
LEIGHTON KLASSEN
Uniter Staff
It has already been over a
week since an amendment to
increase international student fees
was passed at the University of
Winnipeg’s board of regents
meeting held October 4, but that
doesn’t mean it’s resonating any
better with both international
students or the UWSA any better
now than it did the day it was
announced.
Rod Beilfuss, a third year
international student, and one of
four
speakers
representing
international students at the actual
meeting, says although the
amendment doesn’t affect current
international students, he’s still
dissatisfied with the general
increase to prospective students.
“It really didn’t work
well at all,” he said. “They’re still
raising the fees and the
international students I’ve spoken
with are not happy, and I’m not as
well -- we still lost the case.”
Beilfuss feels the board
acted in a manner that benefited
the international students in
attendance, but ignored the
i nterests
of
prospect ive
international students, which he
says is one of his primary upsets
with the discussion as a whole.
“I’m very disappointed
because it seemed that suddenly it
was o.k. (to raise fees for
prospective students), for some
reason it seemed to me they
couldn’t live with the fact of
raising fees for the students in the
room.”
That very opinion can be
echoed by UWSA president Sarah
Amyot, who also says the board
easily justified raising the fees for
the students who were not present
-- the prospective students.
“I think it made it a lot
easier to make the amendment for
the people who were not in the
room,” she said. “It just really
made it a lot easier for them.”
University
of
Winnipeg
president Lloyd Axworthy said the
board made the right decision in
both raising the fees but also
including the grace period for
current students.
“This is just part of a normal
increase,” he said. “ International
student tuition fees haven’t been
increased for over five years -- the
board made the right decision.”
Although Beilfuss’ speech,
along with the UWSA’s arguments
submitted against the amendment,
was successful in omitting current
students from the increase in fees,
he says the groups’ goal was to
eliminate an increase to all
students, not just current ones.
“I think that our speech
worked well, but it wasn’t our only
goal -- to save our own soles -- the
increase in fees still happened.”
Beilfuss also said he felt
there was a lot of confusion in
regards to the board presenting a
concrete plan on what exactly the
money would be spent on.
“I was very disappointed
at how badly informed the board
was,” he said. “They didn’t know
the numbers and about 75 percent
of the meeting was discussing
what this meant and what that
meant -- they were voting on
something they had no idea
about.”
Amoyt also agreed that
the board seemed to be ill-prepared
when
answering
questions
regarding the distribution of
money.
“I think regardless of
what people are saying they still
don’t have an actual plan,” she
said. “There is no public plan
where people can be held
accountable and therefore we still
don’t truly know whether the
international students will benefit
from their decisions.”
But confusion wasn’t the
only problem Beilfuss felt the
board offered, it was also the
reluctance to listen to the
international students, he says.
“I feel they didn’t listen
to us at any one point. When I first
heard Lloyd was coming to the
university, I was very happy, but
he sure wasn’t speaking for us on
that day.”
A lt hough
m a ny
international students feel the plan
is not concrete, one concept that
is, is the amendment itself, which
is something Beilfuss feels will
disadvantage international students
in more than one way.
“I think next year there’s
going to be this weird thing
because some of us will be in the
same position, and others will be
paying more,” he explains. “There
will be a kind of conflict in the
group -- we all come from different
countries and we try so hard to
stay together, so this isn’t good.”
Since the amendment,
has been signed and sealed, there’s
nothing Amyot and the UWSA can
do to render it, however, Amyot
says she is going to make a motion
at the next board of regents meeting
to develop a concrete plan -- on
paper -- as to how the money will
be distributed.
“I’m going to ask the
regents to strike a committee to
get a plan -- that’s a motion I will
propose.”
Axworthy says he’ll be meeting
with the international students
association to discuss a variety of
issues.
“The international students
association was not present, so I
will be meeting with them in the
coming weeks,” he said.
But Beilfuss doesn’t
think his work on the fee increase,
nor the work of the board of
regents, is done either.
“I’m pretty sure the board
will come back again and try to
bring it up for all students -- so
we’ll be back.”
OCTOBER
OC
TOBER 14
14,, 2004
05
News
GenoMed Bites Back:
New Research Promises to Rein in West Nile
NATHAN SAWATZKY
The discovery of a new
treatment by genomics research
company GenoMed, Inc. is raising
hopes that the threat of West Nile
virus can be curbed. While North
America advances into the season
with the highest yearly incidence
of West Nile – from the close of
summer through early fall –
GenoMed has published the results
of a successful trial case series.
GenoMed, a firm that identifies
the genetic pathways that cause
disease, has treated eight West
Nile patients over the past year,
seven of whom recovered at least a
day, and up to a week, before other
patients who did not recieve the
treatment, according to the May/
June pharmacogenomics issue of
Current Topics in Medicinal
Chemistry. The new treatment
uses an angiotensin II receptor
blocker (ARB), a common bloodpressure prescription drug, to
lessen the severity of West Nile’s
Image by: David C. Tan
symptoms.
How does this new treatment
beat the virus?
Dr. David
Moskowitz, GenoMed’s chairman
and Chief Medical Officer, explains
that West Nile Virus encephalitis
harms humans by triggering an
over-response of the immune
system. For most people, West
Nile brings on several days of
headaches, achy joints, and fever.
For children, the elderly, or others
with weakened immune systems,
however, the virus can cause severe
swelling of the brain, polio-like
paralysis of the lower limbs, and
death. As Moskowitz’s research
shows, ARBs gently suppress the
immune system causing the
symptoms to disappear promptly,
usually within twenty-four hours.
Three of the seven patients who
were helped by the ARBs were
over the age of seventy, an
encouraging note for seniors living
under the shadow of West Nile.
The eighth patient was already
suffering from chronic leukemia
and died despite the treatment.
Moskowitz cautions prospective
participants in his research that the
new treatment is not for the
immunosuppressed, as was the
leukemia patient.
He advises
immunosuppressed patients to
inquire with the U.S.-based
National Institute of Health about
another study this summer using
antibodies to West Nile taken from
healthy patients in Israel.
The GenoMed team is following
up their clinical trial with further
research to fill in the gaps of what
their ARBs can and cannot do. For
those who worry about the safety
of taking these drugs, Moskowitz
maintains that, “in the hundreds of
millions of patient-years of ARB
use in the past decade, ARBs have
emerged as perhaps the safest drug
class in clinical medicine.”
GenoMed’s treatment has also
been applied by two non-profit
organizations this summer to
successfully treat the West Nile
virus in birds.
Birds act as
reservoirs for the disease, which is
transmitted by mosquitoes from
bird to bird and from bird to
human.
Dr.
Rob
Anderson,
an
entomologist
and
Assistant
Professor at the University of
Winnipeg, reports that this year in
Manitoba there have only been
three reported cases of West Nile
infection in humans, as compared
with last year’s 142.
“The biggest contributing factor
is the cold weather,” says Anderson,
explaining that the most common
West Nile-carrying mosquito,
called Culex tarsalis, is a hot
weather bug. Birds carrying the
virus reintroduce it to the province
every
year
through
these
mosquitoes – this summer their
numbers dropped off quickly at the
end of each brief heat wave.
Student Council Grants Seats to
Improve Representation
Aboriginal, LGBTT Students Among Groups Given Voting Power
ROBERT KOTYK
The Manitoban (University
of Manitoba)
WINNIPEG (CUP) -- The
University of Manitoba student
union has enlarged its council
in an effort to give increased
voice to marginalized social
groups on campus, including
Aboriginal and international
students.
Five new seats have
established for these groups,
i nclud i ng
seats
for
representatives of students with
disabilities, women students
and lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgendered and two-spirited
students.
All of the seats will
have full voting power over all
matters that come to the student
council.
“It’s
definitely
a
positive step in the right
direction, as far as having
representation for groups that
are typically under-represented
on this campus and in society
in general,” said Cathy Van De
Kerckhove, vice-president of
the student union. “So that was
the whole point . . . that their
voices are heard and that they
do have a vote and a say.”
Van De Kerckhove
pointed out when international
student tuition was raised, very
06
few international students knew
the university’s board of
governors had approved the
increase.
“International students
had no voice on that,” she said.
“If in the past they had that
voice on council then they could
have raised it to council. There
are specific issues for certain
demographics
that
need
representation as a whole on
campus.”
In preparing to propose
the new seats, the student
union’s bylaws committee
looked to post-secondary
schools around Canada to see if
similar representatives sit on
their student councils.
According to a survey
conducted by executive policy
and research director Darryl
Hammond,
several
other
schools have similar kinds of
representation in their student
unions.
H a m m o n d ’ s
preliminary results show,
however, of the 34 student
groups that responded to the
survey, 20 do not have any kind
of representation for the groups
that will hold the five new
seats.
The 14 remaining
unions that do have some kind
of representation range from
institutions like the University
OCTOBER 14
14,, 2004
of Alberta, which has one
Aboriginal representative, to
the University of Winnipeg,
which has two seats for
Aboriginal students and one
seat each for an international
student, an LGBTT student and
a woman student.
Dana Gregoire, a
student representative for St.
Paul’s College and a member of
the bylaws committee, said
what’s next is to decide how
best to elect these new
representatives.
“I agree with the
changes in principle,” he said.
“All of the groups mentioned
have special concerns that are
difficult for someone who (isn’t)
a member of one of these groups
to get these concerns across.”
G regoi re
added,
however, he is not in favour of
giving students more than one
vote. He asserted students
should not be allowed to vote
for one or more of the new
representatives, as well as for
their faculty or college
representative.
“I don’t think a student
should have that many votes,”
he said. “There needs to be
some kind of system in place
whereby a student gets one
vote.”
Jason van Rooy, cofacilitator at the university’s
Rainbow Pride Mosaic and a
member
of
the
bylaws
committee, expressed his
support for the new seats.
“I’m thrilled to see that
the council recognized that
these seats are necessary,” he
said. “I’m personally hoping
that we can find some way of
making sure that the people
who elect these representatives
are also self-identified as being
from those parts of the student
body.”
Editorial
»
Contact
Editor In Chief: A.P. (Ben) Benton
E-mail
Tele: 786-9790
Letters to the Editor
B
eing both an open minded,
critically thinking U of
W student and a Jew who
has taken the opportunity to visit
the tiny country of Israel within
the last year, I admit that I was
both curious and apprehensive
when I discovered that the Canada
Palestine Film Festival would be
premiering in Winnipeg. Such
curiosity as I had, however, soon
gave way to disillusionment
when I discovered that, despite
requests to Cinematheque from
Jews potentially sympathetic to
the Palestinian cause, two out of
three days on which the films
would be airing (September 2426) coincided with the eve and
day of Judaism’s most sanctified
holiday of the year—Yom Kippur.
Kathryn Mackenzie, who reviewed
the films in the September 30 th
edition of the Uniter (Arts and
Culture) was apparently either
unaware or unfazed by the fact that
such a conflict made it virtually
impossible for me, or any other
Jew (no matter what their political
beliefs) to view most of the films
presented at the festival.
Although I consider myself to
be sympathetic to the plight of the
many
suffer ing,
civilian
Palestinians, it must also be
ack nowledged
that
films
specifically
ma rketed
as
“Palestinian” will display a bias
towards the Palestinian cause.
Whether or not Mackenzie has
taken the opportunity to attend
events/lectures/festivals which
offer education of a similar kind
from the Israeli perspective (and
they do exist) is an unknown. In
either case, I respect her right to
her own opinions and conclusions.
Some of the filmic incidents—two
in particular—which she chose to
include in her review, however,
Setting the Record Straight on
birthright
Dear Sir,
I
n “By right of birth” (Sept. 30), the
author, a McGill student, claims that
“Birthright… perpetuates a hypocrisy
seething under our understanding of the
Israel-Palestine conflict. Israel is not just
a nation of victims, but also a nation that
victimizes.”
Israel is neither a nation of victims nor a
nation that victimizes! The author has
understood neither birthright nor the IsraeliPalestinian conflict! One is a religion with a
living history stretching back over 5000
years (not victims), the other is a temporary
dispute that goes back to 1967 (not victims).
How could you compare the two, and how
were very arguably inaccurate and,
since I was unable to allow the
films to speak to me for themselves,
I wish to at least comment on her
reviews of them.
The first, and smaller of the
two, was a comment found in her
review
which
stated
that
Palestinians remembered a time
when “the people lived as neighbors
and that the geographical names
were all in Arabic, on both sides of
route 181,” (the Israeli borders
established by the United Nations
partition
plan
in
1947).
Interestingly, all geographical
names and other important road
signs and notices within the state
of Israel ARE currently written
Arabic—as well as Hebrew and
English. Israel truly respects the
rights of its Arabic citizens—which
comprise approximately 20% of
the
total
population—and,
according to Irshad Manji (an
unfortunate to confuse the two!
Birthright israel is not a political mission;
it is an exciting program, one of the greatest
cultural enrichment exercises in existence
for Jewish youth!
Within the area of Judea and Samaria
(the West Bank), the Arab population has
had autonomy at various levels since the Six
Day War. The height was during the 7 year
period following the Oslo Accords in 1993,
when the Palestinian Authority governed
most of the predominantly Arab areas, and
even had a “police” force armed with submachine guns and armored cars. They were
even given a seat at the UN.
The other offensive theme in this student’s
writing is that the young Hamasnik, his
friend, wishes to grow up to be a suicide
bomber. I quote: “His desire to be a suicide
bomber is… in direct response to an
occupation that does not give him a chance
Arabic Canadian author), is even
much more bilingual than Canada
itself. Furthermore, Israel is the
only
true
Middle
Eastern
democracy and provides voting
rights, religious rights, homosexual
rights, and women’s rights to Arab
citizens who, living in most Arab
countries, would not enjoy such
freedoms.
The second incident I would
like to address is Mackenzie’s
support of the film Jenin, Jenin.
Once again, it seems that
Mackenzie is either unaware or
unfazed by the fact that this film is
based upon a “massacre” which—
after investigation by the United
Nations—was proven to be no
massacre at all, but a carefully
executed military operation. In
2002 the Jenin refugee camp was
known to be a hotbed of terrorism
and illegal weapons manufacturing
and yet, instead of bombing from
to live.” This is a ludicrous opinion that the
author prefers to state as a given fact. He
sees that the same system that facilitated
Yasser Arafat becoming one of the richest
men alive, Saeb Erekat a professor of
political science, Ahmed Tibi a MEMBER
OF THE ISRAELI PARLIAMENT (!),
leaves this child no option but to blow to bits
of unrecognizable flesh and bone the random
commuters who will happen to get onto the
same bus as him. Does the author validate
suicide bombing as a means of expression?
There are reports of human rights abuses
almost daily. I believe, as does the State of
Israel, that each and every one should be
investigated and dealt with. However, it is
important to note that Hamas, Islamic Jihad,
Fatah, Al-Aksa Martys Brigade, and others,
are all guilty of child abuse (remember the
picture of the baby wearing the explosive
belt?), human rights violations and war
the air, the Israel Defense Forces
sent in foot soldiers in order to
decrease damage and spare as
many innocent lives as possible.
As a result many Israeli soldiers,
as well as Palestinians, were killed
in combat. After initial reports of
the “massacre” were nullified,
newspapers and broadcasting
agencies worldwide retracted their
original allegations and issued
a p olog ie s
fo r
their
misrepresentations of the event.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict
is an important issue to gain insight
into in today’s society—an issue
with many facets, perspectives,
and debates. For this reason, those
of us wishing to better educate
ourselves about it must do so
critically, sympathetically and,
above all, honestly.
MADELEINE KETTNER
crimes – and I am waiting for them to be
dealt with as such. There have been incidents
where Israeli civilians and soldiers have
been charged with certain offences, and
have been dealt with severely to the full
extent of Israeli law, rather than being
exalted as martyrs to some pseudo-religious
crusade.
Tunisian Intellectual Al-Afif Al-Akhdar
claims that … “we (the Palestinians) love
death and violence, slaughter and suicide,
and [even] call it heroism and martyrdom.”
Standing next to his young friend, a
potential future suicide bomber, instead of
praying for next year in Jerusalem, maybe
the author should just have prayed that we
all see “Next Year”!
By ALEXANDRA COOPER
ecoMAFIA
in association with Waste Reduction Week, is having the first monthly
STUFF SWAP!
in the
Bulman Center
FEATURING:
Wednesday, October 20th all day long 10:00 am – 3:00 pm
FREE FOOD: we are serving delicious vegan chilli at
lunchtime for everyone participating in the stuff swap.
... even better than the cafeteria !!!
(Not that we had to try very hard...)
Don’t worry if you don’t have a donation, the swap is free.
What is a Stuff Swap? It is a student-driven FREE trade market.
Here is how it works: bring anything (clothes, books, music,
furniture, appliances, knickknacks and whatevers) that you do
not need anymore and then take anything you like home with
you.
The whole thing is set up like a yard sale, except you don’t have
to worry about the cost! The swap is fuelled by donations of
your old stuff.
How do I donate to the Stuff Swap?
A)
Bring your stuff directly to the swap on Wednesday, Oct. 20th.
B)
Drop off your stuff any day before the swap to the ecoMAFIA room.
ORM06 (the little room at the end of the hall by the bathrooms, on the
Mezzanine level of the Bulman center)
OCTOBER
OC
TOBER 14
14,, 2004
07
Comments
Even a Well-trained Monkey can
Use a Hand from Time to Time:
Helping Bush Help the Monkey
DAVE JANZEN
P
olls suggest that there is a
50/50 chance that George
Bush will be re-elected this
November 2 to another four-year
term as President. A short list of
the policies and decisions of the
Bush administration in his first
term in office includes: invading
Iraq and lying about all the
reasons for doing so, approving
the torture of prisoners and
detainees, more or less, refusing
to participate in the International
Criminal Court, rejecting the
science of climate change and
the Kyoto Protocol, racking up
deficits larger than the GDP of
many industrialized nations, and
that’s just the short list.
One would think that after all
of this, the Democrats shouldn’t
need Bruce Springsteen and
R.E.M. fundraising to defeat the
President. Bush has done all the
work for them. A trained monkey
should be able to defeat the
guy.
In fact, the list of absurdities is
so staggering it might lead one to
believe that Bush, for the past
four years, has actually been
organizing and running one big
campaign to get himself out of
office. Maybe it wasn’t just a
gaffe a few months ago when he
said: “Our enemies are innovative
and resourceful, and so are we.
They never stop thinking about
new ways to harm our country
and our people, and neither do
we.” Maybe he hates his job and
sits up at night wondering what
he can say or do next to convince
people not to vote for him. Maybe
all he needs is a little bit of help.
Well, there’s still some time
left before November 2, so hang
in there George. We’re prepared
to give you the hand you need
(but only because you’ve earned
it). Just be careful you don’t
come to rely on our handouts,
developing a disposition to
laziness and complacency. We
don’t make any promises, since
your popular support has already
demonstrated greater resiliency
than any could have expected,
but here are a few ideas for
jeopardizing your own reelection:
:
1. Drive to work in a Toyota or a 2. Convert to Islam. Just think, you could be 3. Participate on a reality television
Honda. For some reason, people are still very born again - again. Ramadan is coming up and show. Americans are decent people for the most
nationalistic when it comes to automobiles (even
though most “domestic” brand manufacturing has
been moved to Mexico). You’ll seem like a traitor in
these dangerous times. Toyotas and Hondas in
particular have reputations for fuel-efficiency and
reliability. Even worse, you could go one better and
ride a bike, but I’m not sure how they’d install the
bulletproof glass...
what a shocker it would be if you partook. I know
that you have many good Muslim friends, mostly the
heads of oil-rich states. And although you have
convinced us that the “war on terror” is not a war on
Islam, many Americans still harbour some distrust
for and hold misconceptions about the Islamic
world. In any case, they are definitely not ready for
a Muslim president. Cassius Clay, you’re not.
part. The problem is that most of them (like most
Canadians) do not pay any attention to politics. But
they do pay attention to these television programs.
They tune in by the millions. And my bet is that
you’d be one of the first voted off the island.
4. Adjust the terror-alert level to green.
This is a pretty good bet since so many people have
made a habit of checking the terror-alert levels
before making plans of any kind (except for shopping,
in which we dutifully engage no matter what the
alert level is). People will respond to the green light
in one of two ways: 1) They will think you’ve made a
terrible error in judgment and jeopardized the
security of the country, 2) They will feel safer and
more secure. As long as people feel threatened,
they will be indisposed to change in the Oval Office.
Either way, it’s not a check mark next to your name
in November.
5. Reveal a consuming S&M fetish.
Pictures would help too. The American public is
obsessed with sex. Deviant sexual behaviour from
their head-of-state is absolutely unacceptable. Why
do you think Clinton’s lie about his relations with an
intern got the wheels of impeachment rolling, while
the smorgasbord of deception you cooked up for
the invasion of Iraq hasn’t even made an impact on
the polls? (If you need any advice about costuming,
I think I know someone you could talk to.)
6. Include a phrase in German or
French in every speech. Hell, just about
any foreign language would probably do the trick.
But I think a “Gott segne Amerika” here and there,
combined with a “Vive l’Iraq libre” would put you in
the unemployment line faster than a tax cut gets
through Congress, (I’ve read that John Kerry is
actually multilingual but doesn’t reveal this publicly
for fear of the political consequences. Well, if the
Democratic voter-base shuns foreign language
proficiency then just imagine how Republicans
must feel).
7. Admit to wrongdoing. I don’t know
whether it would hurt your re-election
bid or not. However, wild don’t-vote-for-me
scheme or not, the past four years have made us all
deserving of at least that much.
08
OCTOBER 14
14,, 2004
Comments
»
Contact
Comments Editor: Daniel Blaike
E-mail
Tele: 786-9497
The House This Week:
Questions and Comments by Our Representatives in the House of Commons
This week’s selection are some of the questions asked by each party during Question Period on Friday
October 8, at the end of the first week in Parliament.
Conservative Party
of Canada
Mr. Peter MacKay (Central
Nova, CPC): Mr. Speaker, HMCS
Chicoutimi is now being towed
to port.
Can the Prime Minister
update the House on the health
of the 54 submariners and
conditions on board? When can
we expect the submarine to
return to port and what is the
condition of the injured
crewmen?
Right Hon. Paul Martin (Prime
Minister, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, as
the hon. member has just
pointed out, the Chicoutimi is
now being towed toward
Scotland. We have been
informed that although things on
board are not very comfortable,
all is well. I should also say that
the two injured sailors in
hospital are in stable condition.
As the hon. member
undoubtedly knows, one of
them is in fairly serious
condition.
I can also report that plans
for returning Lieutenant
Saunders’ remains are being
finalized. In accordance with his
family’s wishes, there will be a
military funeral. We expect the
body to arrive on Sunday.
Mr. Peter MacKay (Central
Nova, CPC): Mr. Speaker, we
appreciate the Prime Minister’s
updated information. My
question is for the Minister of
National Defence.
An internal review from his
department of the submarine
project noted that the purchase
and reactivation was “wrongly”
considered a “low risk.” It goes
on to state that the risks
associated with this
procurement have been
underestimated.
The government has known
this for over a year and the
alarm bells were ringing, yet the
government ignored those
warnings. What was done to
mitigate the risks before the
HMCS Chicoutimi was cleared
to leave port for Canada and
cross the north Atlantic
unescorted?
Hon. Bill Graham (Minister of
National Defence, Lib.): Mr.
Speaker, what was done, as the
chief of maritime staff has told
me, was that the ship was put
through extremely rigorous tests
in predeparture sea trials, both
within the vicinity of the harbour
and then longer trials where
everything was checked, both
with the British suppliers and
with the naval staff on board.
This ship would not have left
port if it had not been
determined by a competent
captain and by superior officers
that it was fit to make the
traverse across the Atlantic. It
never would have left port in the
first place if it had not been
considered fit.
Mr. Peter MacKay
(Central Nova, CPC): Mr.
Speaker, the reality is that the
HMCS Chicoutimi was not fit.
The litany of problems with
the submarine project have
been highlighted for years. A
defence department memo
notes that it would have been
faster to build new ones. The
recent problems of the
Chicoutimi appear to have been
classwide. The delays and
additional expense have hurt
naval operational capacity for
years.
How did the government so
badly underestimate these
problems and costs associated
with the submarine purchase?
When will we see a full inquiry
on all aspects of the purchase
and repairs of these submarines
in the House of Commons?
Hon. Bill Graham (Minister of
National Defence, Lib.): Mr.
Speaker, it is clear that there
have been problems with these
submarines, but we have always
been advised by the naval staff
that they are capable of
managing these problems and
that these were the best
submarines they could get for
the purposes they wanted them.
We needed submarines. These
are therefore what the navy
wanted. This is what the navy is
pursuing to make work for the
capacity of our armed services.
If the defence committee or
any other committee of the
House chooses to investigate all
circumstances around the
purchases of these submarines,
of course the government will
cooperate completely with
parliamentary committees, as
we always do.
ѥ
Your Attention Please:
If ever a piece appears in the
Comments section – or any other for
that matter – that you feel deserves a
response, do not hesitate to pick up a
pen. Contact me, Daniel Blaikie, at
[email protected]
New Democratic
Party of Canada
Mr. Jack Layton (Toronto—
Danforth, NDP): Mr. Speaker, as
the Prime Minister prepares to
visit Russia, I would like to ask
him about the comments of the
Russian ambassador to Canada
last week. The ambassador
indicated that he opposed the
missile defence plan. One
reason he gave was that the
plan would involve the
weaponization of space and that
he had been briefed by
American officials accordingly.
The U.S. is clear on its plans.
Russia is clear on the U.S.’s
plans as well. The U.S.’s plans
are clear for all to see.
Does the Prime Minister think
that the Russian ambassador
was telling the truth about
George Bush’s plans to
weaponize space?
Minister, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, the
government has made it very
clear that we are opposed to the
weaponization of space. That is
our position and I have made it
very clear in discussions with
the President, as I know the
Minister of Foreign Affairs has
with his counterparts and as we
have through the defence
channels as well. I have also
been assured that the antiballistic missile system that is
being put in place does not
involve the weaponization of
space.
Mr. Jack Layton (Toronto—
Danforth, NDP): Mr. Speaker, it
appears that the Prime Minister
does not believe that the
Russian ambassador is telling
the truth. It is clear that he does
not want to come clean on the
relationship between missile
defence and the weaponization
of space despite all evidence to
the contrary, coming from
sources that are as credible as
can be found. The
weaponization of space is not
the only reason to oppose
missile defence.
Does the Prime Minister not
believe that this new weapon
system will cause a new arms
race, cost billions and will not
work? These are all good
reasons to say no to George
Bush. Why do we not-The Speaker: The right hon.
Prime Minister.
Minister, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, I
believe it is very important in
terms of our relationship with
any country that the record be
very clear. I know that the hon.
member did not mean to allege
that the Russian ambassador
was not telling the truth. I
certainly am prepared to believe
the Russian ambassador as I
am prepared obviously to
believe any ambassador when
they state their country’s
position or what they
understand to be the facts.
What I am saying is that
Canada opposes the
weaponization of space. The
Americans have told us that the
current anti-ballistic system that
is under investigation does not
involve the weaponization of
space.
Q&A
Bloc Quebecois
Mr. Gilles Duceppe
(Laurier—Sainte-Marie, BQ): Mr.
Speaker, Quebec’s minister for
economic
and
regional
development, Michel Audet, is
asking the federal government to
help Bombardier, which just
announced the elimination of
1,400 jobs in Montreal.
Will the Prime Minister
commit
now
to
helping
Bombardier by implementing a
clear aerospace policy, as the
Quebec
government
has
requested, so that the company
can develop the new aircraft that
it needs and create jobs?
Right Hon. Paul Martin
(Prime Minister, Lib.): Mr.
Speaker, as was announced by
the industry and international
trade ministers, we intend not
only to initiate a complete study,
but to develop a strategy for the
Canadian aerospace industry.
This is a very fundamental
industry in which Canada has
had huge success, and it is our
intention to maintain this level of
success.
Mr. Gilles Duceppe
(Laurier—Sainte-Marie, BQ): Mr.
Speaker, in order to maintain a
level of success, we should
definitely encourage exports.
Over the past three
years, Canada has funded 41
percent
of
Bombardier’s
deliveries of regional aircraft,
while during the same period,
Brazil funded in excess of 80
percent of the deliveries of
Embraer, which is Bombardier’s
direct competitor. The difference
is obvious.
When will the federal
government increase its funding
for business exports to the level
of our competition, a measure
that
would
greatly
help
Bombardier, not only with its
regional jets, but also with all its
current and future products,
since we must keep the future in
mind?
Hon. Jim Peterson
(Minister of International Trade,
Lib.): Mr. Speaker, we fully agree
with the hon. leader of the Bloc
Quebecois that the aerospace
industry is very important to
Canada. This is why, in the past,
we have supported its exports
and sales. We will continue to
work with this key industry for
our country.
and have your view represented in the
pages of the Uniter as well.
Daniel Blaikie
Comments Editor, Uniter
OCTOBER
OC
TOBER 14
14,, 2004
09
Comments
CAITLIN BROWN &
ROSELYN NKHATA
University of Winnipeg
Students’ Association
Vice President Student
Services
All right, so the stock has gone
up. More people are buying it,
more people need it, and it’s
basically become a tool for survival
and acceptance in our increasingly
segregated and informed (or
uninformed) world. No I’m not
talking about Microsoft, or Oil
and the monopoly of corporations
like Haliburton, I’m talking about
a university education. Wow, what
a promising market! And the trend
is catching on in other countries
too! Just think about it. Let’s
charge them double for an
education, and pay them half as
much or less for their labour! Now
that’s an idea!
Since the government
introduced differential fees in
2001, international students from
all over the world - countries
including Nigeria, Pakistan,
China, Japan, Malawi, and Ghana
- pay 75 percent more than the
tuition Canadian students pay at
the University of Winnipeg. As of
Monday,
new
international
students will pay 90 percent above
and beyond Canadian students at
the University of Winnipeg, and
that’s only the undergrad students.
The part of the motion that seems
to slip through the cracks is the
fact that collegiate students who
pay 55 percent currently are now
also going to pay 90 percent.
Here is the University’s
proposal for increasing the fees,
pay attention to the first factor:
According to their proposal,
increasing fees to 90 percent will
increase international student
enrolment by 20 percent in the
next 5 years. Hmm? According to a
Stats Canada survey, when
differential or international student
fees were first introduced,
enrolment dropped by 50 percent.
The other reasons for this increase
are simply good suggestions that
are not guaranteed, promised or
even
consulted
on.
These
suggestions include “development
of an international centre,
increasing recruitment activities,
creating
better
counseling
services,” and creating “bursaries
and
schola rships.” Although
these might sound like good
suggestions, where is the plan?
When is this happening? Who will
be involved in accomplishing the
goals? What will be the cost?
These are questions which the
University has no answers to.
So what does this mean?
Well, to the University it means
$98,000 more a year in their $ 70
million operating budget. What
does this mean to a student? It
means they’re paying $1,000 more
towards their degree. Doesn’t
Photo by: DAVID TAN
Comments on International Student Fee Increase
me to students?
What does the increasee mean
sound like much? Lets imagine
how it feels to be an international
student. First let’s just go over the
costs. There is the cost of a plane
ticket over here, an apartment for
4 or 5 years, food, clothing
especially for the winter, tuition at
90 percent more than the Canadian
tuition (about $7,000), and let’s
not forget
that
because the Canadian dollar has
soared, an international student
now will pay about $1000 more a
year than she or he did 3 years ago.
So currently, for a middle-class
student from Pakistan (which there
are at the U of W), a year of
University and cost of living could
cost upwards of $12,000 per year,
or probably more. Not bad? Well,
for their family this would mean
about a full year’s income, because
in Pakistan a middle-class
family would make about the
equivalent of a thousand dollars a
month here. Can you imagine your
family spending $50,000-$60,000
dollars a year on your education?
Let’s
look
at
the
University’s perspective. A Stats
Canada study from Ontario shows
that less than half of the international differential fees actually get
used
towards
international
students. Now, even though that’s
what that survey says, there are
always different factors and
circumstances. For one, the
Manitoba government and the
Canadian government have told
the University that they will not
fund international students. Sound
reasonable? Maybe, if our country
could say that we don’t support
international students because we
only support our local economy,
and a strong and educated labour
market in Canada. Yeah, then it
might make sense. But they can’t
say that. Think about how our
country and our corporate
companies exploit international
labour and cheap international
markets? What if countries across
the world like China charged us
twice as much for their labour and
products because they had the most
valued products and the most
educated labour in the world? I
don’t think we could afford it.
Here are our suggestions.
How about taking the taxes from
large corporate companies and
giving back to the countries they
have exploited? Or maybe we
should be charging them a
reasonable tax in the first place. Or
maybe we should consider charging
them a tax period. Lets see, what
else? Maybe we should just stick
with the “buy local and support
Canada” thing. Or I guess if we
are all interested
in
becoming global citizens we
could just pay people a fair wage
or price to begin with.
Let us sympathize with
our university now. They are one
of the cheapest universities in
Canada and in the world (well,
maybe not the world thing anymore).
But with all the peer pressure from
the government and all the
universities in Canada to start
acting like a real university it’s
hard, especially when you’re
caught in between all the different
levels of bureaucracy, and choices
for your university. To us there are
two ways a university can work: as
a not-for-profit institution that
works to provide the best possible
and most accessible forms of
education,
funded
by
our
government and the fine taxes we
all pay towards it, or it can work as
a for-profit corporation that is
funded by its consumers and,
because it acts like a business, will
not be funded by our government.
So I guess it’s up to you,
university. If you want to become a
global college, think about what
that means. Also, good luck when
sorting out all the different
messages from our two levels of
government, your students and the
international community.
are no excuse for stupidity. The
government has yet to offer any
good reasons for signing on to the
plan, except perhaps American
appeasement. When asked if they
will participate in the missile
defense project, they say only that
they will not participate if it means
the weaponization of space. This is
only a condition for not supporting,
not a reason to support. Moreover,
the Americans are not even trying
to hide the fact that this program is
part of a plan to establish a military
presence in space. All this is to say
that if Paul Martin and Bill Graham
are going to push Canada into this
deal – and I do believe they will then they had better grow up, stop
treating Canadians like a bunch of
imbeciles, and put some concrete
reasons on the table for why they
are supporting missile defense and
the weaponization of space.
On Necessity:
The Star Wars Conundrum
DANIEL BLAIKIE
One of the most pressing issues
on Canada’s current national
political scene is the question of
whether or not to participate in the
United States’ missile defense
program, or Star Wars, as some
call it. Two weeks ago, Canadian
Foreign Affairs Minister Bill
Graham indicated that he believed
Canada should sign on to the deal,
lest there be any negative
repercussions in our trade
relationships with the United States
as a result of not joining. However,
he also insisted that Canada’s
government would play no part in
any attempts to weaponize space.
This is a precarious position to say
the least.
In the last Parliament, a member
of the New Democratic Party
tabled U.S. government documents
in the House of Commons. These
public documents – written by the
U.S. government itself – laid out a
plan for the eventual establishment
of a fourth branch of the U.S.
military: a U.S. space corps. On
Friday, October 8, 2004, in a
question in the House, Jack Layton
pointed out that U.S. officials told
a Russian ambassador that the
010
missile defense program is part of
a plan to weaponize space. The
ambassador said as much in an
interview with the CBC.
What we have
so far is this:
The Liberal government will
not support putting weapons into
orbit.
The U.S. missile defense
program will put weapons into
orbit.
Therefore,
the
Liberal
government is engaging in
preliminary negotiations for
missile defense and seems to
support Canadian participation in
the program.
Certainly
Paul
Martin’s
conclusion is enough to aggravate
even the most inept logician.
There do seem to be some
reasons for supporting the U.S.
initiative: a feeling of obligation
after having refused to participate
in the Iraq war, maintaining a
strong influence in NORAD, and
avoiding potentially serious
economic retaliations. However,
there are plenty of reasons to
OCTOBER 14
14,, 2004
oppose as well: the financial cost,
the uncertainty of the science
involved, having space turn into a
battle ground, starting another
Cold War, and inviting attacks on
North America. In my opinion the
reasons to oppose far outweigh the
reasons to support, but I can
appreciate that the government is
in a tight spot.
However, difficult situations
Images by: DAVID TAN
Comments
Much Ado about our
Health
SACHIN KUMAR
Photo by: DAVID TAN
W
hat
do
A mer ica,
Paul Martin, and the
Pan-Am Clinic have
to do with one another? The
answer: The answer to Canada’s
healthcare woes. Confused?
Well it’s very simple. Currently
Canada’s healthcare state leaves
a lot to be desired. I’m sure we’ve
all had the pain of waiting in line
in the emergency room while we
wait for someone to treat us. It’s
ironic that we spend more time
in the waiting room than actually
being treated.
It has become so bad that even
the federal government had to
issue a special enquiry to figure
out the state of the nation in terms
of its healthcare. The Romano
report was blunt in basically
saying that we needed to fix it
badly. Of course everyone knows
this, but the million dollar
question is how. The current
method of simply “throwing
money at the problem and it will
go away” is not working. At the
risk of sounding like a cliché, that
is simply putting a bandage on a
bullet wound. Maybe, in a perfect
world, if the government was
actually fiscally responsible then
it would work. But this is the
same government that somehow
spent $1 billion on the whole gun
registry fiasco, so maybe we
should try and keep large sums of
money away from them this time.
Recently someone told me that we
should be grateful for the great
healthcare we get, considering
it’s free.
Is this free? Is this a great
value? Well sadly folks, the
answer is no. This will involve
some math, so if you’re afraid of
numbers well, good luck in your
future endeavors free from
numbers. Anyways, in the United
States, people pay around $1,000
to $1,500 per year on health
insurance. This translates to
around $1,500 to $2,250 Canadian,
let’s just remember this number.
Now, regardless of tax bracket, 33
percent of all taxes collected from
Canadian citizens go to healthcare.
So a person in the highest tax
bracket (let’s say they make
$75,000 per year) has half of their
income going to taxes. Thus,
$37,500 goes to taxes. Let’s take
33 percent of that to cover the
costs of healthcare for this family.
This amounts to $11,250 in
healthcare payments per year.
That is a lot of money. Now
compare that to the $2,250 that
this person would have to pay.
That’s a huge difference. Now
before all you reasonable readers
scream “THIS IS ONLY FOR
THE RICH!!!”, hang on. A person
in the lowest tax bracket gets 15
percent of their income deducted
for taxes. Thus, let’s say a family
who makes $30,000 per year is
paying $4,500 in taxes. Take a
third of that and that’s $1,500
which goes towards the healthcare.
Now, read up and recite me the
number for private insurance?
That’s right, $1,500 - $2,250 per
year. So you see that the family in
the lowest tax bracket would be
paying the same for what will be
better service. Notice also, that
for the person not paying for the
insurance, their healthcare will
remain the same because they
would be the ones who save more
(since there is a huge chunk gone)
thus, there’d be an increase in
taxes for those not opting for the
insurance to balance it out. This
is how America fits into the
equation that I mentioned above.
But does this mean that I’m for
an abolishment of our public
healthcare system as we know it?
Absolutely not. In fact, I propose
that Canada institute a two-tiered
health care system; one for the
folks who want to utilize the
public system and one for the
folks who do not. Now before all
you leftists get on your horse to
attack me let’s listen to reason. To
those folks who want to pay for
the insurance, they can. They’ll
pay their $2,500 for insurance
and they won’t have to pay the 33
percent of their taxes to healthcare.
This means, more money in their
pocket. Now, since most folks,
and not just the rich folks, will
want this, it will free up the
queues in the current healthcare
system. Thus, it’s win-win. The
folks who want to pay for
healthcare will get their own
services and the folks who still
want the public healthcare system
can continue to use it, and since
there are less people congesting
our over-inf lated healthcare
system, they’ll have access to it.
This is how the Pan-Am Clinic
fits into the equation. It was a
private health centre.
But I know some of you aren’t
convinced. You’ll be arguing
“How can you put a price on
life?” Well, the fact is, we already
do so. Food and shelter and
clothing are necessities in our
society as well and we have to pay
for them. So why should we expect
great healthcare service in Canada
when it’s free? Truth be told,
everything that I’ve gotten which
was free broke down a week after
I got it. The same thing is
happening in Canada. “The results
are ominous: in 1995, the average
family paid a tax rate of 48.5
percent; this would need to
increase to 58.5 percent by 2010,
74.5 percent by 2025, and 94.5
percent by 2040.” (Clemens and
Ramsay, 1996, p. 7) What does
this mean? Well, it means that by
2040, in order to support our
current system, we’d have to pay
95 percent of our hard-earned
money to taxes just to continue to
get our current service. That
means we as consumers ironically
won’t be. Thus, the economy of
Canada will slow down. If it slows
down we will get less money as
employees and there will be less
money to feed the beast known as
our healthcare system. The proof
of this happening is known as
Gammon’s Law which essentially
states that in a socialized health
ca re system, increases in
expenditure “will be matched by
[a] fall in production.... Such
systems will act rather like ‘black
holes’ in the economic universe,
simulta neously
suck ing
in
resources, and shrinking in terms
of
‘em it te d
product ion.”
(Friedman, 2001, p. 11).
Another possible solution
would be to adopt the system that
is used in Sweden. Sweden has
the number one health care system
in the world. Where does Canada
rank? Number 32. We’re behind
such nations as Egypt and
Morocco. Their model keeps the
universal health care intact, but
for people who cause their own
injuries (injuries related to
alcoholism, drug use, cigarette
smoking and people who cause
accidents) must pay for their own
treatment. This makes sense since
why would we, the taxpayer, pay
for someone’s treatment when
they incurred this on themselves?
As you can see, there are a few
solutions which are feasible. The
only person who can solve this
problem is Paul Martin and his
Cabinet. They can solve this
problem by repealing the Canada
Health Act and allowing my
solution to happen. No increase in
taxes, better service for everyone
involved, and yes, even a solution
to the problem of the doctors
traveling to America. They can
stay here and work in the private
health care centres. It’s win-win
for everyone. The only problem is
whether or not anyone will listen,
or will they just keep throwing
money at the problem?
OCTOBER
OC
TOBER 14
14,, 2004
011
Humour
»
Contact
Humour Editor: Janet Mowat
E-mail
»
Are You Funny? Do you want to be published? If YES, we need YOU!
Come on down to the Uniter office (ORM14, in the Bulman Centre), or call
Janet at 786-9497. We’d love to have your contributions!! If NO, we don’t
care! Come down anyways! Please!
[email protected] Tele: 786-9497
YOUR WEEKLY HOROSCOPE
MADAM IMADAM
Aries (March 21 - April 19): You are finally recovering from
that terrible illness. If you haven’t done so yet, this is your
last chance to go breathe on your loved ones and make
them sick. Think of this as your revenge for their never
bringing you tea or painkillers when you really needed
them.
Taurus (April 20 - May 20): Geez Louise, put some
CLOTHES on! What’s the matter with you? First of all, it’s
cold out. You’d be a lot more comfortable if you were nice
and covered up. Secondly, no one wants to know how
much skin you can reveal before being arrested for indecent
exposure.
Gemini (May 21 - June 21): Watch what you say this week.
People will take everything in completely the wrong way.
Your random comments will either make you a lot of
enemies, or a lot of unwanted admirers, depending on how
they’re misinterpreted.
A SHARK’S LAMENT
Josh Grummett
As shadows pass, the impetus to strike
Dapples shade and light across my eyes.
Yet still I pause: with mind and cue alike
In purpose, now I move; immortalize
What lies there still, pattern perfect
Creation as it stands. A shape of spheres
So close arranged – indeed, in retrospect.
An ideal form, unbow’d when pressure nears.
Alas, my sphere-destroyer moves too fast,
Bears down on matchless shape with human greed;
It shatters that which nature made to last,
And shamed, it goes to vest in dark, with speed.
This curse, I fear, will ill-become a rake:
When playing pool, my friends, I scratch the break.
Cancer (June 22 - July 22): There is someone who is always
around you and always bugs you, though you can never
express your deep loathing. Well, guess what! This week,
the two of you will have a major falling-out, and you’ll get to
relieve yourself of all this pent-up hatred. Afterwards, you
will feel horribly guilty. Tough.
Leo (July 23 - August 22): Due to a strange chemical
process unique to those born between July 23 and August
22, you can get all of the nutrition you need from chocolate,
pop, and salty, deep-fried snacks. Also, due to your
phenomenal metabolism, you will never, ever get fat from
this diet.
Virgo (August 23 - September 22): You will suddenly
become very good at singing. You may have thought you
were before, but you really weren’t. We were all just too
polite to tell you. So enjoy this new talent while you can,
because it’s only temporary. It will probably disappear on
you as you step onto the stage in front of hundreds of
adoring fans.
Rantings of a F irst Y ear Liberal Arts Student
MICHEAL BANIAS
O
ver the past few weeks, I
have heard and read several
complaints about the cafeteria
food, selection, and prices. Everywhere
I look, I see students upset about the
“crappiness” of the meals served here
at the university. Indeed, the prices and
selection do need a bit of an overhaul.
A lunch meal nears eight dollars, and
the coffee prices are geared towards the
Starbucks customer.
Now, coffee is an essential staple
here at university. How am I supposed to
lose the hangover from last night without
it? Being a heavy consumer of java (the
coffee...not that computer crap that
tastes like plastic), I am deeply concerned
with the high prices. In fact, whenever I
come to fill my travel mug with the
“Sweet Lady C,” I am shocked by the
change in prices that occurs on a daily
basis. One fill of my mug was $1.12; that
was about two weeks ago. Just recently,
I filled that same mug, and I was charged
an outrageous $1.34. At this point, I
raised an eyebrow and asked Juan Valdez
behind the counter why the inflation in
coffee prices? He just smiled a bit and
nodded. I walked away stunned. So the
next morning I returned, filled my cup,
and was charged $1.84...whaaa?
I asked Juan if he was sure, and why
did the price of my coffee inflate by 60
percent? Was there conflict in the
Columbian hills? Were the drug cartels
interfering in the production? Should
George Dubya “bring liberty and
freedom” to the enslaved coffee beans
of Columbia? I think it’s time for
Operation: Columbian Freedom; these
terrible cartels are committing coffee
rights violations, and must be stopped.
Hell, we might even find some weapons
of mass destruction.
Though the coffee isn’t worth the cup
it comes in, we must not blame the
employees of this corporate slave-driver.
The people who work at our cafeteria
every day must put up with the same
crap we do, except more so. They are
bound to the capitalist machine that is
oiled by the blood of the workers...all we
do is buy crappy coffee at Starbucks
prices. Be kind to them; they don’t need
to hear your complaining about the
crappiness! They live it! Change only
happens when the voices of the people
unite. Write letters to “The Man,”
boycott his product, throw your overpriced coffee in his face and make him
taste its horrible quality! Well, maybe
we don’t need to go that far...but I’m
sure you catch my drift, you little
protester.
As for Juan and the coffee prices, I
went back a day ago. Juan raised his
coffee cup and smiled in that same reoccurring fashion. I filled my mug, he
rang it through and a $1.67 popped up
on the till. I frowned reached into my
pocket and pulled out $1.57! I
miscounted; I should have counted that
quarter as a nickel...because it was a
nickel. Juan looked at my lack of proper
funds, and grew terribly cross. He
brandished his cup at me like an angry
drunk who was going to break it over
the counter and stab me with it. I
started to back away until a nice man
handed me some change and said, “Are
you short? Here.” I was awestruck, and
paid the angry Columbian behind the
counter. I turned back, but the kind
gentleman was gone; vanished into thin
air. I was so upset that I didn’t get to
thank him, I fell to me knees:
“JUAAAAN! JUAAAAAAAN!”
HOW TO DEVELOP A SENSE OF HUMOUR TIP OF THE WEEK:
I
f you’re about to say something funny, and you know it’s going to be well-received,
don’t act as though you’ve got something really funny to say. Be cool and do it
deadpan. Trust me; it’s funnier.
012
OCTOBER 14
14,, 2004
Libra (September 23 - October 23): A horrible catastrophe
will befall you. Hours of hard work will be lost forever, and
there will be no way to get it back. This will probably be
caused by a computer. Everyone knows that computers are
the most useless pieces of crap in the world, so you should
have known better than to trust one to hold onto your
information in the first place.
Scorpio (October 24 - November 21): Someone will be fool
enough to entrust you with something of vital importance.
Of course, you will fail them miserably. For the rest of your
life, your reputation will be marred by this colossal failure.
Bummer.
Sagittarius (November 22 - December 21): You will lose
your mind this week. Of course, you won’t be aware that it’s
happening, but I’ll decribe it to you anyway. Once you have
lost your mind, you will somehow get your hands on a Navy
Admiral’s dress uniform, complete with medals and tassles
and a hat. You will don this uniform and wander around the
North End talking to random people. Beyond this, the
details are fuzzy.
Capricorn (December 22 - January 19): How many
Capricorns does it take to screw in a lightbulb? None.
They’re too lazy, and anyways, even if one did somehow
manage to muster up the motivation, they’d never be able
to figure out how to do it.
Aquarius (January 20 - February 18): People will call you up
first thing in the morning to bitch at you about stuff that has
nothing to do with you. You will be confused and annoyed.
Perhaps this is a conspiracy. Perhaps they want you to go
insane. Or perhaps you just know a lot of aggravatingly
inconsiderate people.
Pisces (February 19 - March 20): You will grow even taller
this week. You were already freakishly tall to begin with, but
now it will be even worse. A few problems you may
encounter: Doorways will beome the bane of your existence,
your centre of gravity will be very precarious, and you will
have to be careful not to step on your normal-sized
friends.
Features
»
Contact
Features Editors: David Pensato
E-mail
Tele: 786-9497
CLASSIFICATION:NOUN
PARADIGM : COFFEE
JO SNYDER
classification: noun is a weekly column for writers to explore some or various elements of something
very specific. Possibilities include “Inﬆ rument: Tweezers,” “Abﬆraction: Culture,” and “Coﬆume:
Art Nerd.” We welcome any and all contributions at [email protected].
Image by: DAVE PENSATO
I
n the mid-nineties, when I was in high school, there
was a surge of young hip coffee drinkers. Cafés
emerged everywhere– chains, like Timothy’s, William’s
Coffee Pub, Second Cup. A couple of my friends bought
Acid Sweetness, a sixty-seater café on Princess Street in
Waterloo, Ontario. Tall tables and bar stools lined the
front of the café, while small square tables filled the rest
of the space. The whole place was painted black and white.
Amateur art on canvases clung on wire to the walls. I spent
all my free time (and most of my class time) there. We
hung around making coffee on their new espresso machine,
experimenting with strength and length of pour. We played
chess and listened to records until closing Acid Sweetness at
midnight. We would drive to Toronto then to drink coffee
served by the pros at Chez Cappuccino on Charles Street.
We were innocent and arrogant. Mostly, we were jacked
up.
So now, I am not sure if I am a coffee snob, but I do know
this: I hate bad coffee. Gas station and diner coffee has
always been intolerable at best, and yet, at some point,
drinking bad coffee became cool. I never understood this
trend. It tastes like water filtered through a dirty beard, or
melted brown crayons– Ani DiFranco’s “water dressed in
brown.”
There are a variety of things I can order at any coffee
shop or café today. Even here at the University of Winnipeg
there is mild, mild vanilla, dark roast, 100% Colombian,
100% Colombian decaf, and some other mild disgusting
f lavour. I consider all of this coffee bad.
And by bad, I mostly mean weak. I hate weak coffee. I
would prefer not to have cheap coffee, or unlimited refills,
if it means any of these horrors pollute my mouth. I like a
cup of coffee that will tear a strip in my tongue. I like to see
a fine sludge at the bottom of my cup when I tip it to my
mouth. I like to be desperately thirsty for water when I
finish a cup of coffee.
The “bad coffee” problem has two causes. The first is
Canadian culture; Canadians treat coffee first and foremost
as a drug. A caffeine injection. Not something to be enjoyed,
but something that gets us going and keeps us going. It may
also be just the drink we need to stay warm in our chilly
climate. Whenever I have travelled in Europe, I’ve noticed
one thing: I’ve always had good coffee. Even at a gas station
on the side of the autobahn between Frankfurt and Trier, I
could put a single Euro into a coffee machine and get a
perfect cup of delicious coffee. And people didn’t rush out
to their cars to drink while driving; they sat in the provided
seating to finish. Coffee, it seems, is not a drug but a
drink.
The second problem is that most people here do not
actually like this particular
drink. Therefore, crazy coffee
merchants brew the beverage
too weak to be enjoyed by
anyone but coffee-loathers.
Cream and sugar, though not
inherently bad things, are
used in unholy proportions to
mask any thin f lavour that
might be there.
These problems contribute
to the virtual unavailability
of good coffee. So, I propose
a new paradigm of coffee.
Instead of dark roast and
light roast, which virtually taste the same, I propose that
coffee is served as weak or strong. Café’s can still offer all of
their regular brews, but, with one canister of strong coffee,
double the grounds, truly all will be accommodated. There
is no reason why this cannot happen. Everyone knows the
mark-up for coffee is over 100%. From my experience
working in cafés around the city, we were commonly told
not to make the coffee too strong. So with weak coffee and
a huge mark up, café owners make a large profit off of
coffee. The least they can do is perk a strong pot.
They best way to make strong coffee in a percolator
situation is to measure one and one half scoops (a scoop is at
least a table spoon) of coffee per two cups of water. I always
like to eyeball it, fill the filter half full, or put in way more
coffee than I think is necessary. Basically, if I think I made
something ridiculously strong, then chances are I made a
good pot of coffee.
All I really want is to get a decent cup when I need one.
I am not asking to relive my youth. At Acid Sweetness ten
years ago, we would take a coffee bowl, throw in a couple of
shots of espresso and then fill it to the top with strong
coffee. In the summertime, we would add a few coffee ice
cubes and a half a can of Dr. Pepper. We called it a lava
coffee. One day, a customer took on the challenge of
drinking eight lava coffees in a row. His prize was that he
didn’t have to pay for them. But he did pay for them. After
three days of staying awake, he crashed into a near comatose
sleep, after which he woke again for several unsleepable
days. We were not sure how long this pattern played out
because he stopped coming around– we stopped serving the
lava coffee. Lava coffee is not what I’m after, just a strong
cup of fantastic tasting coffee, to go.
OCTOBER
OC
TOBER 14
14,, 2004
013
Features
Thanks for the game
ž
How a lesson in chess became a lesson in life
JASON BRAWN
The Capilano Courier (Capilano
College)
NORTH VANCOUVER, B.C.
(CUP) – A few years ago my parents
gave me a chessboard. It was a
handmade board of such quality that
chess pieces had to be purchased
separately, which my folks did a few
short weeks later on my birthday.
They somehow knew I deplored
“novelty” pieces, where players
employ legions of dragons, civil war
soldiers, or arrestingly ugly little
towers of carved crystal. The set I
was given honoured the classic
shapes, and to this day, I still marvel
at the intricately carved detail in each
piece of maple and walnut.
Sadly, my skill at the game was
(and, I must confess, still is for the most part)
painfully disproportionate to my love of its
pieces. Feeling I had a new responsibility to
send my queen into battle with a measure of
competence, I started reading chess books
secretly, to avoid the feigned interest which my
well-meaning friends would offer. After three
books of strategy and chess problems, I headed
to a community centre where I knew folks
played on Saturday mornings.
Feeling a bit sheepish, I wandered over to a
group of tables, around which were gathered
more than a dozen men, each wearing a dark
014
OCTOBER 14
14,, 2004
brown sweater and well-travelled trousers that
might render them invisible if they were to lean
up against an old building in Gastown. They
were well on in years, and each looked
sufficiently wizened to know exactly what I
was up to.
As I got closer, I could hear them speaking
with thick but unrecognizable European
accents. I watched intently – for over an hour
– as if in doing so I’d glean some insight into a
weakness I could craftily exploit thanks to my
three freshly read chess books.
A king fell to a two-pronged attack by a
knight and a bishop, and
the loser rose from the
table and shook the other’s
hand. The winner, a sturdy
man in his sixties wearing
a little charcoal grey felt
cap, looked up at me
expressionless. I asked if I
could play with him, and
after a pause, he agreed. I
lost in about 15 moves (it
may have been even fewer,
but my self-esteem refuses
to acknowledge a lower
number). He smiled at me
warmly, sat back in his
chair and drew a deep
breath while shrugging
apologetically, “Et ees . . .
a deefeecult game.”
Indeed.
Determined to improve
my game, I made my way
to the downtown library,
where I found a section of books devoted to
chess. While wearing a serious face and trying
to affect a masterful air for the benefit of those
who glanced at what I was perusing, I was
suddenly aware of someone standing beside
me. This awareness was not the product of a
sixth sense, but a rather more mundane sense:
smell.
I glanced over to see a man who was quite
obviously homeless. He was tall, a bit gangly
and every shred of his being, from hair to
clothing, was unkempt and odorous. I went
about my business, but was intrigued by him in
some way that I cannot describe. Looking over,
I offered a smile, and he returned the gesture.
I suspect my day would have been infinitely
less memorable had we not exchanged that
simple human courtesy – a lesson I have tried
not to forget. We stared at books in silence for
a long while, until in a soft, melodic voice –
barely more than a murmur – he suddenly
asked if I used the Kaporklasov opening. Okay,
I just made that up, but I can’t remember what
opening he said – but it was named after a very
clever Russian or European fellow, I can assure
you at least that much.
I said I was just a neophyte, to which he
thoughtfully nodded. An awkward silence
followed, and we went back to looking at
books. I could tell he was going to talk to me
again, and I wasn’t yet sure if I wanted him to.
He asked me another question for which I had
no answer, and then we just started talking.
We talked about chess and all things
associated. Soon I didn’t notice the smell quite
as much, and from a removed perspective,
looked down on myself enjoying a moment that
few might normally indulge.
He asked if I’d like a game. I said I didn’t
think the library had boards. He nodded, his
hand already in his jacket in anticipation of my
answer, withdrawing a very old plastic bag,
which was wrapped neatly around a small box
and secured with crumbling rubber bands of
every colour.
Methodically removing the elastics, he
opened the bag and withdrew an ancient small
box. It was flat, maybe five inches square, and
he opened it to reveal a tiny chessboard. From
the way he held it, I felt sure that he would
refuse nearly any offer for it.
We found a corner near a window, and
wordlessly pulled a dozen books from the
shelves to make a little table. Sitting on chairs
found nearby, we gingerly placed the tiny
board on the stack of books, set up the miniscule
pieces and began to play.
By the fifth move, it was clear that his talent
far outshone my own. My brow furrowed with
feature article
concentration, and I made another move to
which he responded, “Umm, you may not want
to do that,” and proceeded to show me how,
five moves later, I’d lose my queen. I took back
the move, as he insisted I do, and made another.
He smiled his approval, and we continued, just
like that. Every second move, “Umm, you may
want to reconsider that.” He’d show me why,
and then when I made a better move, he’d
earnestly nod his approval as if awed by my
cleverness.
I won in the end, but only due to his patient,
whispered tutelage. He stood and carefully
wrapped his board in the plastic, replacing the
elastics, and tucking the little package back
into one of the many pockets in his long coat.
We re-shelved the books upon which we
had played, and then walked out together,
saying little.
I knew that a moment I would carry forever
was coming to an end, and I was a bit sad. We
arrived in the atrium. “Thanks for the game,” I
said, shaking his hand.
“Thank you. It was fun,” he replied simply,
looking around a bit awkwardly.
“Look, can I . . . uhhh . . . buy you lunch or
something?” I asked, wanting to give something
back to him, knowing he might not otherwise
eat a good meal in the near future.
“No, no, I’m okay,” he said softly, before
confiding, “I had a big breakfast.” He was
hardly meaty enough to have had a big meal
anytime recently, but I acquiesced, and simply
thanked him again.
He turned without ceremony and walked
away and I watched him. Over his hunched
gait, a long threadbare coat swung listlessly,
insufficient protection for the world in which
he lived. The occasional person gave him a
disapproving glance and a wide berth, and in
his defence, I gave them dark looks, which of
course they didn’t notice.
Then it struck me. I was so damn foolish.
Of course, he didn’t want money. I had probably
even cheapened the moment for him by offering
him something of material value. He had, for
just a moment, been able to shrug the stigma
that was society’s only gift – hitherto, my only
gift – to him, and while sheltered in an obscure
corner of that grand building, had been nothing
more – or less – than a man. He had sat in a
warm place, comfortably perched on a sturdy
chair, playing his favourite game with someone
who offered him the simple gift of time and
conversation. I can’t be sure that was an
infrequent occurrence, but I suspect it was.
We had given each other the same gift – the
pleasure of the company of someone who was
friendly, and who shared an interest. There was
no tab to settle; we were both richer for the
experience. Standing in the library, I wanted
him to know I had figured it out, that I was
sorry for offering him anything. But he was
gone.
I stood a while longer in the atrium,
pondering the day’s lessons. Soaking up the
last of the moment, I pushed open the towering
glass doors and walked into the chilly spring
air.
Features
A WinnipegGer in New Zealand-05
A WINNIPEGGER IN NEW ZEALAND
 Would you Like a Taste of my Snack Log?
BY PAUL WEDEL
Paul Wedel was born in Winnipeg and has suffered through 26 Manitoban
winters without reprieve. He is now spending one year in New Zealand. Laﬆ
week, he arrived in Auckland. This week, he’s noticing that things are a little
different there– and he’s already developing a New Zealand accent.
)335%
similar but different
6"1Êx
FEATURE YOUR ART WITH THE UNITER
SEND ART/PHOTOS TO
[email protected]
Photo by: DAVID TAN
Photo by: PAUL WEDEL
I
’ve been in Auckland for a
week and I’m already losing my
Canadian accent. Today I found
myself saying, “Good on ya” and
“Pass over the Th roaties.” I guess it’s
not surprising, given the multitude
of international accents to which
I’ve been exposed here at the hostel.
Breakfast with the Germans and
tea on the sun porch with the Brits.
They are all beginning to affect my
Prairie drawl. Th roaties, by the way,
are the New Zealand equivalent of
Halls and they are not the only thing
that is similar, yet subtly, strangely
different than in Canada.
First, and possibly most startling
(to a Winnipegger at least) is that
the bus driver can make change!
Leigh and I went out of our way to
get coffee so we would have correct
bus fare. Then the man in the black
business suit ahead of us stepped up
the bus step and laid a $20 on the
little black tray, which was exchanged
for a receipt and $18.70.
Fascinating.
New Zealand money is also quite
bizarre: it’s made from plastic. That
way, when it gets tatty (that’s Leigh’s
word! I haven’t said it aloud!), it can
be recycled easily. Also, there are no
pennies here; prices are rounded up
to the nearest five cents. And no
quarters: 20 and 50 cent pieces
instead.
Another difference is the
cleanliness of the city. Auckland has
a population of about 2 million and
is nearly spotless. On Wednesday, I
walked to the 24-hour Food Town
for my Th roaties, and I saw an
upper-class middle-aged woman
bend over, pick up a discarded piece
of cardboard on the boulevard and
carry it to the refuse bin at the end of
the block. Citizens of Auckland do
not need to be reminded about
littering; if there is any garbage in
the street, they will just pick it up.
It’s probably because most
children walk around without shoes.
Leigh and I were sitting at Sierra
Café having a Flat White (Damn
I’m addicted to those!) and we saw a
gaggle of kids walking by in bare
feet. And their parents were two
paces behind. They condone this!
In the city! It wasn’t an isolated
incident either. We’ve seen it a
number of times.
New Zealanders seem acutely
aware of energy consumption too.
The toilets here have two buttons:
one for a full flush and one for a half
flush. I guess if you’re only taking a
pee, you don’t need all the water of a
full flush. Their outlets are subtly
different too: each plug has its own
on/off switch. No extra power draw
if the plug itself is switched off.
Clever.
Everything we’ve seen in
Auckland so far has been somewhat
familiar. Nothing has really thrown
us into utter confusion. Except one
thing: a particular food item located
alongside the granola bars. Snack
Log. I’m sorry that I didn’t take an
investigative survey of the box.
Otherwise I might be able to say
what they are exactly. Maybe I’ll
buy one next week and have a taste.
OCTOBER
OC
TOBER 14
14,, 2004
015
Features
THE ENEMIES OF BOOKS
THE ENEMIES OF BOOKS"
 Gas & Heat
PU BL IC DOM A I N SER IES
 Gas & Heat
WILLIAM BLADES 1888
Effects of Gas on leather.–Necessitates re-binding.–Bookbinders.–Electric light.–
British Museum.–Treatment of books.–Legend of Friars and their books.
W
hat a valuable servant is Gas, and
how dreadfully we should cry out
were it to be banished from our
homes; and yet no one who loves his books
should allow a single jet in his library, unless,
indeed he can afford a “sun light,” which is
the form in which it is used in some public
libraries, where the whole of the fumes are
carried at once into the open air.
Unfortunately, I can speak from experience
of the dire effect of gas in a confi ned space.
Some years ago when placing the shelves
round the small room, which, by a euphemism,
is called my library, I took the precaution of
making two self-acting ventilators which
communicated directly with the outer air just
under the ceiling. For economy of space as
well as of temper (for lamps of all kinds are
sore trials), I had a gasalier of three lights
over the table. The effect was to cause great
heat in the upper regions, and in the course of
a year or two the leather valance which hung
from the window, as well as the fringe which
dropped half-an-inch from each shelf to keep
out the dust, was just like tinder, and in some
parts actually fell to the ground by its own
weight; while the backs of the books upon the
top shelves were perished, and crumbled away
when touched, being reduced to the
consistency of Scotch snuff. Th is was, of
course, due to the sulphur in the gas fumes,
which attack russia quickest, while calf and
morocco suffer not quite so much. I remember
having a book some years ago from the top
shelf in the library of the London Institution,
where gas is used, and the whole of the back
fell off in my hands, although the volume in
other respects seemed quite uninjured.
Thousands more were in a similar plight.
As the paper of the volumes is uninjured,
it might be objected that, after all, gas is not
so much the enemy of the book itself as of its
covering; but then, re-binding always leaves a
book smaller, and often deprives it of leaves at
the beginning or end, which the binder’s
wisdom has thought useless. Oh! the havoc I
have seen committed by binders. You may
assume your most impressive aspect– you may
write down your instructions as if you were
making your last will and testament– you may
swear you will not pay if your books are
ploughed– ’tis all in vain– the creed of a
binder is very short, and comprised in a single
article, and that article is the one vile word
“Shavings.” But not now will I follow this
depressing subject; binders, as enemies of
books, deserve, and shall have, a whole
chapter to themselves.
It is much easier to decry gas than to fi nd
a remedy. Sun lights require especial
arrangements, and are very expensive on
account of the quantity of gas consumed. The
library illumination of the future promises to
be the electric light. If only steady and
moderate in price, it would be a great boon to
public libraries, and perhaps the day is not far
distant when it will replace gas, even in
private houses. That will, indeed, be a day of
jubilee to the literary labourer. The injury
»
016
done by gas is so generally acknowledged by
the heads of our national libraries, that it is
strictly excluded from their domains, although
the danger from explosion and fi re, even if
the results of combustion were innocuous,
would be sufficient cause for its banishment.
The electric light has been in use for some
months in the Reading Room of the British
Museum, and is a great boon to the readers.
The light is not quite equally diff used, and
you must choose particular positions if you
want to work happily. There is a great
objection, too, in the humming
fi zz which accompanies the action
of the electricity. There is a still
greater objection when small
pieces of hot chalk fall on your
bald head, an annoyance which
has been lately (1880) entirely
removed by placing a receptacle
beneath each burner. You require
also to become accustomed to the
whiteness of the light before you
can altogether forget it. But with
all its faults it confers a great boon
upon students, enabling them not
only to work three hours longer in
the winter-time, but restoring to
them the use of foggy and dark
days, in which formerly no bookwork at all could be pursued.1
Heat alone, without any
noxious fumes, is, if continuous,
very injurious to books, and,
without gas, bindings may be
utterly destroyed by desiccation,
the leather losing all its natural
oils by long exposure to much
heat. It is, therefore, a great pity to
place books high up in a room
where heat of any kind is as it
must rise to the top, and if
sufficient to be of comfort to the
readers below, is certain to be hot
enough above to injure the
bindings.
The surest way to preserve your
books in health is to treat them as
[1] 1887. The system in use is still “Siemens,” but, owing to long
experience and improvements, is not now open to the above objections.
OCTOBER 14
14,, 2004
you would your own children, who are sure to
sicken if confi ned in an atmosphere which is
impure, too hot, too cold, too damp, or too
dry. It is just the same with the progeny of
literature.
If any credence may be given to Monkish
legends, books have sometimes been preserved
in this world, only to meet a desiccating fate
in the world to come. The story is probably an
invention of the enemy to throw discredit on
the learning and ability of the preaching
Friars, an Order which was at constant war
with the illiterate secular Clergy. It runs
thus:– “In the year 1439, two Minorite friars
who had all their lives collected books, died.
In accordance with popular belief, they were
at once conducted before the heavenly tribunal
to hear their doom, taking with them two
asses laden with books. At Heaven’s gate the
porter demanded, `Whence came ye?’ The
Minorites replied `From a monastery of St.
Francis.’ Òh!’ said the porter, `then St.
Francis shall be your judge.’ So that saint was
summoned, and at sight of the friars and their
burden demanded who they were, and why
they had brought so many books with them.
`We are Minorites,’ they humbly replied, ànd
we have brought these few books with us as a
solatium in the new Jerusalem.’ Ànd you,
when on earth, practised the good they
teach?’ sternly demanded the saint, who read
their characters at a glance. Their faltering
reply was sufficient, and the blessed saint at
once passed judgment as follows:–Ìnsomuch
as, seduced by a foolish vanity, and against
your vows of poverty, you have amassed this
multitude of books and thereby and therefor
have neglected the duties and broken the
rules of your Order, you are now sentenced to
read your books for ever and ever in the fi res
of Hell.’ Immediately, a roaring noise fi lled
the air, and a fl aming chasm opened in which
friars, and asses and books were suddenly
engulphed.”
Arts & Culture
»
Contact
Arts Editors: Jo Snyder
E-mail
Tele: 786-9497
Clive Holden’s Trains of
Winnipeg: 14 Film Poems
ROB NAY
Trains of Winnipeg eschews
artistic barriers, forming a riveting,
wide expanse of work. Writer and
filmmaker Clive Holden will be
unveiling the latest addition, a series
of film poems, to his multidisciplinary
project as part of Send + Receive: A
Festival of Sound.
The film poems add another
layer to a richly textured work that
includes a CD of music and spoken
poetry released in 2001, a book
published in 2002, and a website
launched in 2001.
For Trains of Winnipeg, Holden
had a transparent intention to explore
varied forms, challenging the
divisions that sometimes solidify
between artistic genres.
“You end up with gaps between
these (art) worlds and in the gaps are
a lot of the most interesting things
because that’s where things are least
explored, outside of these walls and
fences that are built,” says Holden.
“So I thought if I designed a project
that by definition had several feet in
different worlds, then part of the
result of the project would be seeing
things in these spaces.”
The film poems present
a multitude of perspectives,
fusing musical, visual and
lyrical narratives into an
absorbing whole. On Trains
of
Winnipeg,
artists
including Christine Fellows
and the Weakerthans’ Jason
Tait provide the musical
backdrop to Holden’s images
and words.
In creating the short
films, Holden made use of a
variety of visual formats
such as 35mm, 16mm, Super
8, and video to fashion a
collection of experimental
images.
He lists two primary reasons for
the range of forms. The first is “an
interest in using all these different
textures and colour palettes to create
different effects throughout the
piece,” he says. “The other main
purpose is that I wanted to say
something about this particular time
in history when we’re moving from
film to digital, from analog media to
digital media, from celluloid to
video. A lot of the most interesting
work is coming out of both worlds at
once.”
Although Trains of Winnipeg
received its premiere earlier this
year in Toronto and has toured other
festivals since then, Holden looks
forward to the film’s Winnipeg
debut at Send + Receive, an event he
holds in high regard.
“I’m just a big follower of the
festival. I’ve gone to every one and
I think it’s one of the best media arts
festivals in the world for my money.
It’s an incredibly exciting event,”
says Holden.
Trains of Winnipeg will make its
Winnipeg premiere at Cinematheque
as part of Send + Receive on
Thursday, October 21st.
ABSURD MACHINE SOUND AND FILM
JONATHAN DAV IS
Making it in the big
world of commercial music is no
easy task. It’s hard work - striving
to be a creative and independent
entity in a scene that just gets fed
the same crap. Just ask Guerrilla
Funk Monster, the incredibly
versatile and creative funk rock
band that the documenta r y
Triptophonic is based around.
Triptophonic is a documentary
that tells the story of the band’s
first effort at a nation wide tour
- unknown, and underfunded.
Charting the band’s movements
and adventures along the TransCanada Highway, director James
Rewucki captures the essence of
“being the party” through a well
shot series of Canadian landmarks
and lots of little pubs and bars.
With the idea behind the tour
being a national CD release,
Guer rilla Funk Monster a re
riding high, and why shouldn’t
they, especially when they’ve
managed to secure a national
distribution of their not-yetreleased double CD. You would
think it gives grounds for
validation. Well that’s what Chris
Maric, Daniel Martinez, Colin
Musulak, and James Musulak
(GFM), and James Rewuck i
thought - so on the road they
went.
The film starts off with
the band’s final CD release party
taking place in a small pub with
their closest friends in their home
town of Calgary. Right from the
beginning, you can already see
the optim istic and realistic
viewpoints of each of the band
members combining to offer you
some insight into what the Indie
music world is really like.
Guerrilla Funk Monster certainly
won’t admit to an easy-going
lifestyle while in the band or
travelling for that matter, but
being four of the most stubborn
people you will ever meet makes
any situation in the group easy to
raise, but hard to resolve. As the
film progresses - from West to
East and back West again - we
see the band take part in a postwedding reception gig, several
live skate demos, and lots of
empty bars, which is unfortunate
really, because the band is super
active on stage and would be
great to see live.
Wi n n ip eg
is
fe at u r e d
prominently midway through the
film, which makes sense being in
the middle of the country, and
for those of you that might have
been around in the summer of
20 02, you may have seen
Guerrilla Funk Monster play at
the Pyramid Cabaret or alongside
Kid Koala at a later date.
The film clocks in at
just over an hour and through the
72 minute journey there are some
great cinematic shots with lots of
“oh I’ve been there” landmarks,
including Portage and Main.
Tr iptophon ic
is
a
goo d
documentary. The catch line for
this movie sums it up best NOBODY SAW THEM COMING
AND
T H AT
WAS
THE
PROBLEM.
www.guerrillafunkmonster.com
www.absurdmachine.com
OCTOBER
OC
TOBER 14
14,, 2004
017
Arts & Culture
C
D
R
E
V
I
E
W
S
Ray
Anne
(RCA)
Trouble
(EMI)
I’ll Be Seeing You
You may have seen Ray
Lamontagne reported as 2004’s “Hot
Singer/Songwriter” in the pages of
Rolling Stone’s “2004 Hot List.” Upon
first listening to this album, I was
skeptical of Rolling Stone’s claim. On the
first listen, this is a very hard album to
absorb. It seems very basic – the same
stuff you would expect from a singer/
songwriter. However, after listening to it
again, it is a much different story. This is
an album that you need to listen to
carefully in order to understand its raw
beauty. It is primarily an acoustic album,
with LaMontagne garnering many
comparisons to Van Morrison. The vocals
and guitars on some tracks, such as
“Jolene”, bear a resemblance to the slow,
sad music of Nick Drake. These are the
best tracks. There are some weaker tracks
as well, such as the title track. Other than
the string arrangements on this song,
there is not much to be desired. If you
enjoy the quiet sort of music that is
always best enjoyed next to a warm fire,
then this is an essential album for you.
Och, lassie: Anne Murray,
native daughter of Nova Scotia and of
Canada, where have ye talent gone? Anne
Murray releases her 33rd studio album
with I’ll Be Seeing You, which consists
of covers, and exists mainly for sucking
your grandparents’ money with all the
tenacity of a filter-cleaned vacuum. So
you have to ask yourself this hard
question: don’t your grandparents, with
you and your extended family plus all the
fraud artists who prey on senior citizens
circling above them like vultures, have
enough people running after their money?
The answer is yes. The sad thing is that
Murray can do so much better. Her voice,
once universally recognized for its glasslike clarity with subtle sweet notes of
fluidity, has now gone brittle and cold,
emotionless and robotic as a soap-opera
star’s acting. There is only one conclusion:
Murray has become possessed by the
devil. Anne Murray fans everywhere,
there is no time to waste: write to www.
saveannemurray [email protected] and
urge her to submit to an exorcism.
LaMontagne Murray
The Marble
Index
(Universal)
The Marble Index
The Marble Index’s self-titled
release – their first on a major label – is
quite an accomplishment. Musically, this
album bounces as if alive. The music
possesses a near dance-like quality,
resembling the music of UK-imports
Franz Ferdinand. “I Believe” is a perfect
first single for radio, encapsulating all
the fine points of the band. The other
tracks on this album are not quite as
radio-friendly as “I Believe” but are still
all great listens. An example of this is “I
Die,” a song which might not be able to
hold its weight against pop-accessible
heavyweights like Nickelback on the
modern radio charts, but ultimately
trumps its competitors on sheer talent
alone. Lyrically, they are in fine form as
well. A track such as “Not So Bright” is
reminiscent of the brooding lyricism
mastered by Robert Smith. In all, this is
a good album, but there is still room for
improvement.
-Devin King
Hateful
Huckabees
Will
Warm
Your
Kasabian Kilbourne
(No List)
(Paradise)
Kasabian
In a throwback to the heady
days of the ‘Madchester’ era, Kasabian
unleash their debut CD on an audience
that have been seeking something more
from across the pond, other than The
Darkness. And these self-confessed
stoners make a good showing. By
combining the elements of some of their
heaviest influences including Primal
Scream, the Happy Mondays, and the
Stone Roses; Kasabian makes this disc a
very listenable expercience, from start to
finish.
One of the standout tracks on
this longplayer is “Processed Beats”. It
offers up a platform for “a conversation
on meditation” while the dance-happy
bass line strums along underneath. Along
with “Club Foot” (the lead track of the
album) you’ll find it hard not to get up
and have a little dance around. Other
notables include “L.S.F.” and “U Boat,”
both giving insight into what dual
vocalists Tom Meighan, and Sergio
Pizzorno can offer up. You’ll find Tom’s
sultry and smokey voice on most of the
disc, but it’s Sergio’s strained acclaim
that gives “U Boat” a more reflective
touch.
Overall what the disc lacks in
time, it more than makes up for in the
quality department. It’s a great first
effort that will surely be remembered for
going against what other supposed Brit
rock bands have achieved. Kasabian’s
attempts at revitalizing the British Rock
scene, relying on the past rather than
striving forward in a new direction is a
great way to start.
-Jonathan Davis
DAN HUYGHEBAERT
I was going to say that
David O. Russell’s new film I
(heart) Huckabees is the first
existential comedy I’ve seen, but I
think Monty Python’s Meaning of
Life takes that prize. The
difference though is while Monty
Python’s film is a potpourri of
sketches loosely based around the
‘grand question’, David O.
Russell’s movie provides a story, a
truck load of Hollywood stars,
and Shania Twain! How can one
go wrong?
Jason Schwartzman
(Rushmore) is Albert Markovski,
an aspiring poet (“This rock
rocks”) who has a secret crush on
Jessica Lange and who’s also
leader of the local chapter of
Local Space, an environmentalist
group noted for planting trees in
parking lots of malls. It seems he
is having trouble with a corporate
lackey from the local Wal Mart
clone store Huckabees, played by
Jude Law, who wants the swamp
Albert is trying to save, in order
to build a brand new Huckabees.
But after Albert runs into the
same 7 foot Sudanese doorman
018
Measure of Health
This record almost sounds
like something from a different era. Lita
Ford comes to mind. Maybe if Lita Ford
was both inspired by herself and punk
rock. My favorite influence that I can for
sure hear is Team Dresch. All that aside,
this full-length debut is pretty packed
with ripping tunes and tight musicianship.
The lyrics are politically and socially
conscious. Overall, it has the momentum
and passion of bands coming out of the
riot grrrl era. It’s definitely an era that I
like. My favorite song is Wednesday,
When the Wall Came Down. Also, check
out their charming bio: www.
kilbournemusic.com
-J.S.
OCTOBER 14
14,, 2004
-Eric D. Warwaruk
Images by: DAVID TAN
Jonas
(DKD)
Jonas
If you like your music to be
thought-provoking, then this is not an
album for you. If you like music that
varies from mindlessly loud blues-rock to
poorly written soft semi-acoustic ballads,
then this is your type of album. Dale
Penner, who produced the album, is in
fine form, bringing the same production
that he brought to bands such as
Nickelback. This album features many
guest stars, in different ways. The final
track on the album is a brutally reworked
cover of Stevie Nicks’s “Edge of
Seventeen.” Not even Sass Jordan’s guest
appearance on “Coming Back Again”
can redeem the song. “When the Rain
Stops” is a song written by Joe Perry and
Steven Tyler (of Aerosmith) and Desmond
Child, who wrote many of Aerosmith’s
top songs anyway, as well as co-writing
many Ricky Martin tunes. This album
almost comes close to catchy, but that’s
about as good as it gets.
-Devin King
three time in one day, he seeks the
guidance of two existential
detectives to solve his
synchronicity. So he wanders the
corridors of a non-descript office
building, hopelessly lost in life,
until by chance he comes upon the
detectives’ office played with a
glee of screwball candour by
Dustin Hoffman and Lily Tomlin.
From there we are in
existential screwball comedy
territory, as we are introduced to
a dizzying score of characters and
coincidences. There’s Tommy, a
fireman (Mark Walhberg), who’s
suffering from nothingness, a
rival existential detective (Isabelle
Huppert) who could be Nietzsche
and Sartre’s illegitimate child
while trying to lure Albert over to
the ‘dark side’, and scantily clad
Naomi Watts, who plays Jude
Law’s clueless girlfriend, and
Huckabees ‘spokesperson’.
There are times in the
film where you get the feeling
-Devin King
Skye
Sweetnam
(EMI)
Noise
From
Basement
(Sonic Records)
the High Low
A native of Bolton, Ontario,
Skye Sweetnam is the typical teeny-popbobber, mixing the nasal hate-on-withouta-cause vocal stutterings of Avril Lavigne
and the na ve adolescent know-nothing,
guitar-jink-plonking immaturity of
Blink-182. Sweetnam is also known for
the 21st century rendering of Blondie’s
“Heart of Glass.” If this comment was to
be interpreted as indicative of some
futuristic, on-the-cusp vanguard musical
experiment, you thought horribly,
dreadfully wrong. Even though I am
automatically predisposed to hate any
music that falls into the very inclusive
teeny-pop-bobber category, which has
gnawed away the already-vacuous soul of
commercial music — no easy task — the
music is well-written and cleanlyproduced with some moments of
simulated originality that nearly fooled
me. It takes some skill to nearly pull the
wool over my eyes, and so I share the
same sentimentality towards this disc as
I would gaze a little wispy-eyed at the
dying bullet-riddled corpse of Lil’ Red
Riding Hood’s wolf.
-Eric D. Warwaruk
that Russell is just hitting you
over the head with a hammer with
all the philosophical jargon, or
more specifically, a pink balloon.
The film can be quite painful if
you are not the type to listen to
the ideas being bantered about.
But the film also has some great
belly laughs, especially when
Tommy and Albert exchange a
few barbs with a Christian family
over dinner. It is entertaining
enough even if the ideas fly over
your head. Be warned of some
existential sex however, for it
comes quite graphic and dirty and
is not what you would expect.
The casting is pitch
perfect, for I always felt that Mark
Walhberg had a whole lot of
nothing in him, while Jason
Nathan
Wiley
Schwartzman carries the lead with
a perfect balance of pain and
compassion. There is a scene
earlier in the film where Albert
wanders a non descript office
corridor, hopelessly lost amid the
blandness of the corporate world,
only to find the existential
detectives’ office behind one of
the doors. There is irony and
coincidence planted firmly
throughout the film as Russell
tries to show even with all his
intellectual banter, his tongue is
firmly in cheek.
Nathan Wiley, a native of
P.E.I., releases his second disc with High
Low, and expands on his singersongwriter oeuvre by playing a diverse
range of instruments on the album, from
electric, acoustic, slide and lap-steel
guitars, to bass, drums, percussion and
organ. Described as the meeting between
Tom Waits and Leonard Cohen with the
voice of a frail, lonely angel cast down to
earth and drinking away his despondency
in a bar, Wiley is one of those light-touch
songwriters moving towards soft-filtering
the down-and-out to ironically highlight
the hard lyrics. For Wiley, sometimes
this strategy works and sometimes it
doesn’t: his sophomore album shows a
mixture of originality with cliché. At his
best, Wiley uses the nomadic emptiness
of P.E.I. with the exodus of young people
to comment on his own personal and
spiritual journey in “Old Familiar
Things.” At his worst, he sounds too
much like Blue Rodeo as in “Sentimental
Fool” or even worse, like Richard Marx
as in “Fire Away.” But as the coach says
in Rocky, “That kid’s got potential!”
Nah, I made that up.
-Eric D. Warwaruk
Russell implants
philosophical debate and
conversation into everyday events,
making a domestic squabble about
pain and suffering seem a bit out
of place, showing the
pointlessness of it all, as well as
the importance of such dialogue
to self-growth. In the end, his film
isn’t really an existential comedy,
but more importantly, a
philosophical satire that really
shouldn’t be missed.
Arts & Culture
Brushes with
Fame
THE HEADSTONES
Hugh Dillon never turns it off
ERIC D. WARWARUK
O
ne year ago, I stood in
line for an autograph. It
was my first time and
my last time. The location? A&B
Sound on Portage Avenue, in
the middle of a bitter and nutnumbing chill that is typical of
a Winnipeg winter. The band?
The Headstones, whose main
member consisted of racooneyed front man Hugh Dillon. The
line I was standing in was both
long and uncomfortable, much
like three-day constipation. And
like any constipation, one both
yearns for the sweet release, and
yet suffers from the need to wait
in patient, almost tender silence.
How did I get into this line?
Was I a huge fan of the
Headstones? Naw. I was to
become even less of one.
It is a packed night at the
Pyram id
Caba ret,
one
of
Winnipeg’s few live venues for
middle-power bands of the Signed
Rock World such as the
Headstones. The floor is packed
with bodies, sweaty hands
clutching their Moosehead beer
special. It promises to be a very
good night. Besides the thought
of getting blasto, the opening
band’s cheap and extremely loud
metal delivery blows away any
protective wax left in my ears that
escaped my meddling finger.
A dude beside me casually tips
forward to vomit. He rocks back
to an upright position like a
boxing dummy. Oop, here we go
again. He leans his head over,
eyes glazed, and more liquid
brown bile gloshes on the floor.
People form a crop circle around
Mr. Clean’s antithesis, Mr. Vomit.
“Sorry dudes,” Mr. Vomit says
indifferently to no one in
particular.
Suddenly, the room falls still.
The back door creaks open.
Footsteps clink on the f loor,
followed by four shadows. Then
the light slowly illuminates their
bodies: feet, legs, stomachs and
arms, necks. It is the Headstones.
The crowd parts before them, as
the Red Sea before Moses.
Hugh Dillon’s excessive eye
make-up renders him into a
human crow. His eyes bulge
through his black pancaked
eyeliner as if he were trying to set
everybody’s hair on fire by will
alone. The band clambers onto
the stage, all cocksure and
Image by: Eric Warwaruk
The night before
“Hey there little soldier. Like feeling up the ladies in front of you, eh?”
Hugh leans over the crowd and sneers at a hapless front-row fan.
confidently bored. The bassist
slings his stick over his shoulder
with practiced ease. He nods to
Hugh. Hugh nods to the guitarist.
The guitarist nods to the drummer.
The drummer nods to the
audience.
We
nod
back.
Winnipeggers, known for their
rigid, apathetic reaction to bands
no matter how groove-inducing,
are also known for being nodders.
Hugh looks at everybody. There is
a pause. Hugh wears a look of
abject contemplation, as if he
were trying to determine the
existential meaning of a gumdrop
perched on his bellybutton.
Hugh finishes his deliberation
with a record scratch.
“Well, are we gonna fuckin’
rock or what?” Hugh cries. We
nod back.
The drummer starts the beat,
and the air begins to reverberate
against our shirts to the point that
it promises a new era in cleaning
technology. Hugh screams, the
bassist plonks on the bass strings
with his sausage fingers, and the
guitarist wails away. They do this
for the next hour and a half. Every
so often after a song, Hugh stops
to “chit-chat” with the audience.
“Hey there little soldier. Like
feeling up the ladies in front of
you, eh?” Hugh leans over the
crowd and sneers at a hapless
front-row fan. “Why dontcha give
them some room, ya fuckin
pervert!” The crowd laughs its
approval. Two adoring female
fans in front row, probably
planning to plaster little Hugh for
their photo collection, jump with
their two jouncy helpmates. Hugh
seems to take no notice — although
his excessive make-up prevents
anyone from seeing his eyes. The
bassist smiles a wide phoney
smile as the girls then jive for his
attention, sausage fingers not
missing a fatty beat in “Unsound.”
Beer cups are bounced off Hugh,
unbeknownst to him. He appears
to be lost in his own world, a
place
where
he
probably
commands a murder of crows and
squawks orders to them in their
own language.
Then I experience a moment of
glorious epiphany. There is a
masochistic to-and-fro between
Hugh and the audience that works
to each other’s mutual benefit.
Hugh’s job is to both rile and
yet soothe the emotional mob, to
play the audience like a soppy
violin. The audience thrashes out
its hatred at being excluded from
the stage, while Hugh works out
his contempt of the audience
through his songs and his vitriolic
John Lennon tongue. The result is
emotional catharsis. Hugh rips
away the impassive shield of the
audience to reveal its members’
desperate, infantile need for
daddy and mommy’s love — or in
the Freudian sense...
Together, they become reborn.
Hugh wails. The audience wails.
Hugh cries. The audience cries.
Hugh takes a piss. Mr. Vomit
pukes. It works. This emotional
barter system is what live shows
are all about.
appeal, which is a far cry from 90
percent of crappy bands that write
awful songs of no appeal. The
Headstones appear to be resigned
to the idea of commuting their
jail sentence as Canadian rock
stars, and doing all the insipid
crap that comes with that
punishment: low pay, lots of work,
and almost no coverage. And of
course, the stupid questions that
fans ask them.
Like my question. I inch closer
to the table. Nearby, the asinine
radio host of Power 97 attempts to
induce those waiting in line to
cheer for the sake of all those
listeners
out
there.
“Hey
everybody! Let me hear it for the
Headstones!” An out-thrust mike
captures the few strained wails
that are squeezed out. Cats outside
are shortly thereafter heard
yowling.
My turn comes. I pass my
Power 97 compilation album —
which is cheaper to buy than a
Headstones album — to the
Headstones guitarist. He notes
Power 97 CD with a resigned
expression on his face, signs it
politely, and sends it down the
assembly line. Quickly and
efficiently, each member signs his
name. Then I get to Hugh, raccoon
eyes and all. He glances at me. To
my relief, I do not ignite on fire.
W hile
he
is
signing,
I
spontaneously attempt some inane
banter.
“So, Hugh — what do you guys
do between now and tonight’s
show?”
Hugh stares at me, veins
jumping out his neck as if they
were live snakes, and suddenly
clenches his fist.
“We yank off, man! We yank
off, that’s what we do! We yank it
all night long!” His arm a blur, he
simulates jerking off. Everyone
heartily laughs.
I look at him with a bemused
look on my face, a look that Hugh
seems to have become used to. He
immediately sits back down, face
wiped clean of emotion, and is
already engrossed in the next CD
signing.
I notice the manager standing
by. “Is he always like this?” I ask.
He nods and smiles an aw-shuckskidswhatchagonnado smile.
“Yep. He never turns it off.”
Hugh Dillon never turns it off.
Back to the line
The Headstones once had
potential. Great ingredients, but
they never gelled to yield a good
dish. However, they are capable
of writing catchy tunes of limited
OCTOBER
OC
TOBER 14
14,, 2004
019
Arts & Culture
INTERVIEW: CURTIS WALKER AKA
BLUNDERSPUBLIK
JONATHAN DAVIS
W
ith this year’s send + receive
festival focusing on the
Sounds of Winnipeg, there is
a distinct feeling that there’s going to
be a homecoming of sorts - for at least
one artist anyway. Curtis Walker AKA
Blunderspublik will be taking centre stage
on opening night this Friday at send +
receive, instead of being behind the scenes
and on the air-waves.
“It’s bound to be action-packed!”
remarks Curtis in his email. “I moved away
from Winnipeg in 2001 [in the 5 years
prior], there were many musical
collaborations and friendships fostered in
Winnipeg.”
Having caught the creative bug from his
parents - Mom, a former U of W nursery
school teacher, and Dad, the keeper of old
guitars - Curtis was able to sample the
instruments that made their way in and out
of his parents’ garage. With the purchase
of the first family computer Curtis took an
immediate interest in sound recording as it
offered him a new way to combine and
manipulate sound.
“I was exploring both analog and digital
audio simultaneously.” A short time later
Blunderspublik was born and the legend
began.
Incorporating “real world” recordings
along with the synthetic sounds inside the
computer, Curtis likes the description of
“computer music”, but has had to come to
terms with it. “I often use the shorthand
‘computer music’ to describe my sound
because the majority of the structuring of
the songs happens [inside the computer],
but I don’t think my sound is very accurately
represented by ‘computer music.’”
Having taken the musical route through
his studies at the University of Winnipeg,
Curtis was hoping to explore the creative
potential of the listener along with artistic
subjectivity. The application of “cultural
theory to digital music in my academic life
had a great influence on my approach to
narrative and timbre.” Sounds like a clear
reflection after a heavy helping of Honours
Sociology along with a Master’s degree
from Trent University.
“It was through procrastinating on my
thesis that my 3rd CD for back of a letter
word got finished and produced so
efficiently.”
Looking ahead to his performance
tomorrow night entitled Waves of Sound
and Light, Blunderspublik will be playing
alongside fellow Montreal artists skoltz_
kolgen & nomig as well as PURE who hails
from Vienna, Austria. You can expect a
night of structured pieces seeing as that
will be the common link between each of
the performers.
“The opening night of send + receive
will offer a physical listening experience,
both in terms of timbre and rhythm; and
the artists performing [will] provide a
densely-layered sound environment that
the listener can explore.”
Catch Blunderspublik on Friday, October 15th at The Annex, 2nd floor, 290 McDermot Avenue.
Doors open at 8:30PM, Performances: 9:00PM Admission: $12 Advance $14 Door
Write for the Uniter - CONTACT US @ - [email protected] Come in Wednesdays at 12:30 for our contributors
meetings. Room 0RM14 University of Winnipeg 515 Portage Avenue
020
OCTOBER 14
14,, 2004
Arts & Culture
Matt Stone and Trey Parker Dish out the Goods
about their New Puppetry Masterpiece,
Team America: World Police.
Resident film buff Dan Huyghebaert sat in on a phone interview with two of Hollywood’s most
controversial cartoonists to talk about their temporary move to puppets.
DAN HUYGHEBAERT
Y
ou must excuse Trey Parker
and Matt Stone for showing
up for their conference call
interview an hour and a half late.
They were up until 4 a.m. the previous
morning tweaking their new comic
gem, Team America: World Police.
Rumours had it that the filmmakers
were scrambling to cut a puppet sex
scene so they can procure an R rating
instead of the dreaded NC-17.
“It’s absolutely the most
ridiculous stupid thing in the
universe. That’s because our puppets
are not anatomically correct. We put
them in sexual positions which were
obviously implied, and the Motion
Picture Association of America were
like, ‘No No No’. And meanwhile we
are taking other puppets and blowing
their heads off and filled with blood
and as usual the MPAA had nothing
to say about that. It was all about the
sexual positions that confused them,
which was basically anything but the
missionary position.”
The creators of South Park
acknowledge that the film was
inspired by many sources, one of
which was Gerry Anderson, the
creator of shows like Stingray and
Thunderbirds. “After doing a puppet
movie, I think that guy is completely
out of his mind. I would never ever
do another one again and how that
guy did this for 30 years I have no
idea. We had to do three units of
shooting a day because we were only
getting in nine scenes a day with one
unit. I don’t recommend it to anyone.
Don’t ever shoot a puppet movie, it
was the worst time of our lives.”
The film centers around
Team America, an international
police force that maintains global
stability. In order to infiltrate a
terrorist organization, the team hires
a Broadway actor to go undercover.
And it’s done with marionettes.
Parker and Stone don’t consider
themselves satirists, however.
“Satire is really important,
especially in a post Farhenheit 9/11
world,” they say with a laugh. “It’s
funny for we never really thought of
ourselves as satirists, we just sort of
do topical comedy. It’s not really a
conscious thing. I think it comes
from the fact you have to do 20
shows a year, and have to come up
with subject matter and there’s a
world around you,
so you might as
well talk about
that. You see
sitcoms
like
Friends where they will purposely
avoid social issues so they don’t
alienate anybody. Their stories
revolve around stuff like ‘Oh my
God, I gotta find a fuckin’ dress!’
That’s your 30 minutes. We don’t
have good actors like Jennifer
Aniston to pull off our shit like that,
so we have to come up with ideas.
Now while this movie is political, the
politics just became a setting, and it
really became a movie about making
fun of movies. And that is the most
satirical part of this movie. It’s a
Jerry Bruckheimer movie done with
puppets.”
Jerry
Bruckheimerproduced
films
(Top
Gun,
Armageddon, Pearl Harbour, you
get the picture) have long been
considered weak on plot and
structure, something the two are
keen on exploiting.
“His movies have a horrible
structure when you look at it. It
really is a Joseph Campbell structure,
but Jerry Bruckheimer, instead of
starting with a reluctant hero who
has to grow into manhood and
accepts his quest, he just starts with
a guy who’s fucking rad and thinks
he’s rad, and then in the middle starts
thinking he might not be so rad, but
then at the end decides he’s really rad
again. Bruckheimer tried to follow
that standard mythological stuff, but
he just didn’t quite get there.”
The movie employs your
typical action movie plot lines,
including a very trendy political plot.
But why North Korea’s Kim JongIl?
“At the time we were
writing the script, he was Public
Enemy number 3. We had already
done the Saddam thing, and what
was going to happen to Osama, so
we thought, ‘Who else is out there?’
We started reading into Kim Jong-Il
and his life, and it was obvious that
he was the right guy. The real Kim
Jong-Il is a way more fascinating
character. He loves movies, he writes
musicals, he’s completely insane and
he kills people.”
OCTOBER
OC
TOBER 14
14,, 2004
021
Arts & Culture
Winnipeg Welcomes Home Luke Doucet.
Former Winnipegger Luke
Doucet played at the West End
Cultural Centre last Tuesday.
Damian Purdy was able to
squeeze into his busy schedule a
quick peek at his plans for the
future.
DAMIAN PURDY
I
t’s been a busy day for Luke
Doucet. It’s only 5:30 p.m.
and the Vancouver singer/
song writer has already done three
interviews, recorded a segment for
CBC’s Definitely Not The Opera,
and played a full afternoon set at
Red R iver College before hurrying
to the West End Cultural Center
for another show later tonight. Of
course none of it frazzles Doucet,
one the hardest-working figures
in the Canadian music scene.
None of it, except perhaps, a
roomful of indifferent carpentry
and automotive repair students.
“The Red R iver show was
interesting. I think half of the
people were there to watch T.V.
They were kind of sitting there
looking at us, thinking ‘This isn’t
f uck ing Limp Bizk it! ’” says
Doucet, ta k ing a brea k from
setting up sound check at the
West End. He thinks for a moment
before adding, “Eventually I think
they dug it, though.”
Doucet is in town promoting
his latest solo release Outlaws:
Live and Unreleased, a new
compilation of (surprise) live and
unreleased material recorded in
t he la st yea r. A Winnipeg
expatriate, Doucet left town about
twelve years ago for Vancouver to
kickstart his burgeoning music
career. He says his roots
a re st i l l f irm ly in
Manitoba, however.
“I
love
pl ay i n g
Winnipeg. It’s my home
and my family’s all here,”
Doucet says. “I come
back a lot, maybe two or
three times a year, but
playing a show here is
always special.”
Wi n n ipeg
is
t he
midpoint of Doucet’s
current Canadian tour
wit h Ot tawa singer/
song w riter
Da nny
Michel. For Doucet, the
co-headlining bill makes
sense.
“It’s a good match.
We’ve known each other
for years and we’ve toured
together before,” Doucet
says. “The people I
respect t he most a s
musicians are people I
k now, a nd Da nny is
someone I admire greatly.
I think we have a genuine
mutual affinity for each other’s
music.”
The last time Doucet was in
Winnipeg was a month ago as
part of Sarah McLachlan’s touring
band. The gig, which he semiaffectionately refers to as his “day
job” probably gets Doucet his
biggest mass exposure. He views
it as completely different from his
other work, however.
“To me there is a significant
gap between what I do for Sarah
and myself. I have a trade as a
guitar player, and there is a gap
between that vocation and trying
to be an artist. They happen to
exist in a similar sphere, because
it’s all music. But beyond that,
they are very different things for
me,” Doucet says. “Sometimes I
really enjoy just being a guitar
player, though. I guess I enjoy
aspects of both.”
In addition to the McLachlan
gig and his own a lt-countr y
f lavoured solo work, Doucet also
fronts Vancouver rock trio and
critical darlings Veal. Doucet says
it’s important that he explore
different avenues for his music.
“I enjoy playing with different
people, and the diversity
they bring to the table. I
mean, I’m always trying
to write Johnny Ca sh
songs, or Willie Nelson
songs. But in Veal we just
play them faster. W hat
happens when the three of
us (in Veal) get together is
that we play rock and
roll,” Doucet says.
W hen pressed about
the song writing process,
though, Doucet admits
that sometimes it’s a little
bit
more
c a re f u l ly
considered than he might
initia lly let on. “Yea h,
sometimes I’ll write a song
and save it for a specific
project or record. I’m not
necessarily proud of it. I
wish the process were a
little bit more organic,”
Doucet admits with a
shrug.
Doucet says that the
ju s t-re le a s e d
O u tl a ws
record, which features live
renditions of both solo and Veal
material, is a good representation
of his diverse sound.
“Outlaws is a neat live record.
We played three shows in Toronto,
playing a bunch of dif ferent
things, and chose the best takes.
It’s got a bunch of things on it
that you can’t find on any other
release,” Doucet says. “It’s good
for the fans. You know, they’re
the ones dropping the f ifteen
bucks, and they want to hear
something new.”
A fter the tour wraps up in
Vancouver next week, Doucet’s
day job will have him heading
over to Ireland to rehearse for the
upcoming Sa ra h McL ach la n
European tour. But before he
leaves, Doucet will squeeze in a
recording session in Calgary to
lay down some new tracks for his
next studio album. One thing he
already has lined up for the new
record is a collaboration with
le g end a r y
g u it a r i s t
A mo s
Garrett.
“I’ve always loved the blues,
and I actually got to see Amos
Garrett perform here at the
Norwood when I was 14. It turns
out that he lives in Calgary now,
and he’s interested in working
with me. He’s amazing,” Doucet
enthuses. “His solo on Maria
Muldaur’s Midnight at the Oasis
is just gorgeous. R ay Charles
called it one of the three best
instrumental passages ever.”
One track already in the can,
and which may or may not show
up on the new record, is a tune
tentatively titled I Wish I Was
American. Doucet says it was
inspired by the contemptuous
politica l climate south of the
border.
“Well, I wish I was
American so I could be on a
soapbox about what’s going on
there. I wish I could participate
in that so-called democracy they
are so proud of. I mean, everybody
in this world is affected by that
fucking President. Not that we
choose to be, but we are. And,
ideally, everybody should be able
to vote because we’re all
affected,” says Doucet.
Rarely does Doucet let
his politics slip into his music so
transparently, but he sees a
particular urgency in the current
climate. If I Wish I Was American
doesn’t make the new record
Doucet says he might end up
releasing it as a free download on
his website before the November
2 presidential election.
“Pa r ticipating
in
democracy is so more than just
showing up at the polls every
four years or whatever. An
important part is deciding to
open you mouth and stand up for
what you believe in. That’s what
I’m doing,” declares Doucet.
LEIA GETTY
I
f you notice a new bench
dedicated to Larry in the
Quad, you’ll be noticing
a small tribute to an acclaimed
Canadian writer.
Friends and family of the late
Carol Shields gathered on Friday,
October 8, 2004 at 3 p.m. to both
unveil the bench and reveal a major
announcement to the general
public. Thanks to Shields’
dedication to writing, the Shield
family has donated $100,000
towards a new Writer in Residence
program for the University of
Winnipeg.
For those of you unfamiliar
with the Writer in Residence, this
summarizes a professional writer
022
in residence who is able to read
and discuss drafts of manuscripts,
prose and scripts of up-and-coming
writers in the university setting.
The city of Winnipeg also has a
Writer in Residence program, but
the program through the University
of Winnipeg will hopefully kick
off within the next academic year.
While the bench is with us now
(and gives a nice view of the
library) there will be a search for a
Canadian writer within the next
year. For those writers leaving
before the installation, (or those of
us who can’t wait), you can send
your manuscripts and creative
works to David Thorton, care of
the Winnipeg Library. If you need
more info: http://wpl.winnipeg.ca/
library/contact/writer.asp
OCTOBER 14
14,, 2004
Photo by: Jo Snyder
Larry’s Bench—Carol Shields Remembered
g
Listings
»
Contact
Listings Coordinator: Jan Nelson
E-mail
Tele: 786-9497
Fax: 783-7080
ON-CAMPUS
Events
Ongoing
CENTERING PRAYER University Of Winnipeg Chapel - 1st Floor
BRYCE HALL Monday to Thursday 12:15 - 12:45pm Friday Lectio
Divina 11:30am - 12:00pm Sept 20 - Dec 3/04, Jan 3 - April 1/05.
Everyone welcome. Sponsored by the University of Winnipeg
Faculty of Theology.
FITNESS CLASSES Get your body into gear! Noon hour total body
fitness classes – a little sweat & a little muscle packed into a
convenient 45min class, 5days a week! Lots of program variety, and
instructors teach to all fitness levels. M (Hi-Lo)/W (Boot Camp) F
(Core Body Conditioning) 12:30-1:15pm Tu (Cardio Burn)/Th
(Step/Hi-Lo combo) 12:05-12:50pm Don’t lose any more time.
Classes run Sept 13 – Dec 3/04 and Jan 4 – Apr 1/05. Register at
the Duckworth Centre Customer Service Desk.
STUDY SKILLS WORKSHOPS: Starting Sept. 29, Student
Counselling Services are offering workshops on Time Management,
Note Taking, Reading Efficiently, Preparing for Exams and Handling
Exam Anxiety. Register by phone (786-9231) or in person at the
Counselling Office (0GM06).
Announcements
‘MEET YOU ON THE HILL!’ The Government of Canada hires
bilingual students from across the country to be Parliamentary
Guides. Viviane Lentz will be on campus on Monday, October 25 in
3C27 (12:30 - 1:30) to talk about her experience as a Parliamentary
Guide last summer, and offer advice or assistance to anyone
interested in applying this year. For further information, please
contact the Career Resource Centre at 786-9863 or email
[email protected]
UNIVERSITY OF WINNIPEG WORK STUDY APPLICATIONS
NOW AVAILABLE Pick up an application in Student Services in
Graham Hall. To be eligible you must be registered as a F/T student
at U of W, completed 30 credit hours, regular status, and have
documented financial need (a Manitoba Student Loan or Student line
of credit of at least $1000) Deadline: October 18th 2004.
CAREER PLANNING WORKSHOPS: Starting Oct. 20, Student
Counselling Services is putting on a series of workshops on career
development, from figuring out what you want to do, through
developing your resume and preparing for interviews. Sign up in
person by dropping in to 0GM06, or by calling the Counselling
Office at 786-9231.
STUDYING IN AUSTRALIA OR NEW ZEALAND INFORMATION
SESSION: Representatives from AustraLearn will be on campus on
Thursday, November 4th in 3M63 to explain the services they offer.
AustraLearn represents 26 universities in Australia and New
Zealand and they are the direct admissions source for students
wishing to apply to graduate programs, teacher education
certification programs, internships and study abroad opportunities
in those countries. For more information on AustralLearn, visit
their website at www.australearn.org or contact the Career
Resource Centre at 786-9863.
Financial Aid, Bursaries, Awards
AUCC AWARDS: The Association of Universities and Colleges of
Canada, provides 150 scholarship programs on behalf of the Federal
Government, domestic and foreign agencies and private sector
companies. Check out website at www.aucc.ca Look under
programs and services. Deadlines: Various
CANADIAN CAMBRIDGE SCHOLARSHIPS: Graduate students
can apply for unique opportunity to pursue further academic work
at Cambridge University. These scholarships were initiated with the
hope that the recipients would eventually return and contribute
significantly to Canadian life. You must be a Canadian or a landed
immigrant of Canada, have an outstanding academic record and have
an all-round ability to represent Canada abroad. This scholarship is
NOT available for those wishing to study medicine, veterinary
medicine, architecture, post graduate law and business. Applications
available from www.cantabct.org Deadline: October 15th 2004.
BRIDGET WALSH SCHOLARSHIP FOR SINGLE PARENT IRISH
WOMEN: The Bridget Walsh scholarship is on the basis of academic
merit or promise as well as economic need. The value varies from
year to year depending on royalties Contact: Mary Broderick,
Chairperson, Bridget Walsh Scholarship, 205 Mountainview Road
North, Georgetown, ON, L7G 4T8, Tel: (416) 873-0873. Deadline:
October 15th 2004.
J.D.FERGUSON FOUNDATION STUDENT ESSAY AWARD: Two
awards valued at $750.00 each will be presented to winners of an
essay competition with significant relevance to numismatics such as
history of coins, tokens, jetsons or paper money, banking or
monetary history, medallic art, banknote engraving or technology
and metallurgy of coinage. ontact Awards and Financial Aid, in
Student Services, Graham Hall. Deadline: October 15th 2004.
HOLSTEIN CANADA EDUCATION AWARDS: Three scholarships
of $1,000.00 are being offered to students. Conditions: 1) must be a
member of Holstein Canada, or a son/daughter of a member. 2)
must have completed at least one year of university or college. 3)
must submit an official transcript of the two most recent semesters.
4) must be returning to school within the calendar year. Log on to
www.holstein.ca under the young adults link Deadline: October 15th
2004.
COMMONWEALTH SCHOLARSHIPS: Scholarships are available
for graduate study in a variety of Commonwealth countries,
including the United Kingdom. Applications available in the Awards
and Financial Aid Office in Graham Hall. Deadline: October 22nd ,
2004
NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL OF CANADA NRC – CNRC:
Women in Engineering, Science, and Mathematics Programs Apply
to receive substantial financial aid. Conditions: 1)be a citizen or
permanent resident of Canada, 2) be attending a Canadian
University as a Full time student with a high academic standing
enrolled in your 2nd year. Application forms available http://www.
nrc-cnrc.gc.ca Follow this path: Careers, Employment Programs, For
undergraduate student women in Engineering and Science Programs.
RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS FOR 2005: These scholarships are
tenable at the University of Oxford, England. They are granted for
two years with a possibility of a third year. Scholars are required to
go to Oxford in October 2005. Three of the eleven scholarships will
be given to Western Region Canadians. You must be a Canadian
citizen or person domiciled in Canada, born between Oct 2nd 1980
and Oct 1st 1986, and have received an undergraduate degree
before taking up this scholarship. Applications available in Awards
and Financial Aid office. Deadline: October 22nd 2004.
WINNIPEG IESNA AWARD The Winnipeg Section of the
Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA) is
offering the Winnipeg IESNA Award to students currently enrolled
in Manitoba Postsecondary institutions in a Certificate,
Undergraduate or Graduate program who wish to pursue projects
dealing with any aspect of lighting. The project must be initiated by
the student as part of the course requirements in an academic
program, on topics such as illumination design, ergonomics, interior
design involving lighting, photographic and theatrical lighting, and
human factors. The $1000 Award will assist the student in their
studies. In addition to the cash, recipients of the Award may also
receive assistance from local IESNA members in the form of IESNA
photometric reference data, product samples, or instrumentation
loans.The successful applicant will also receive one full year of
membership in the Winnipeg Section of IESNA.The deadline for
submissions is November 30th, 2004. See http://winnipeg.iesna.net.
LUMINOUS ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH GRANTS (LERG)
The Winnipeg Section of the Illuminating Engineering Society of
North America (IESNA) is offering the Luminous Environment
Research Grants (LERG). The LERG is a small grants program to
assist students in projects involving manipulation of the colour or
lighting features of architectural spaces, how people use lighting,
and light and colour in the visual and literary arts. These grants, of
up to $500, will be used to purchase materials related to the
project (e.g., wiring, circuitry, lamps, database access, paints, art
supplies, wallpapers, publications etc.). In addition to monetary
support, there is also the possibility for consultative support, as
well as the loan of specialised instrumentation. In some cases,
laboratory space might be available for experimental projects with
human participants. Eligible projects can be empirical in nature, a
review of relevant literature, or a design project. They could
include, but are not limited to: (a) research projects where colour
and/or lighting features are manipulated in an experimental design.
(b) design projects where colour or lighting features are
incorporated into an interior or exterior design and justified. The
outcome of such projects would generally be a model and/or
drawings.(c) light/colour aspects of theatre, literature, and the
visual arts. (d) the understanding of, or attitudes toward, lighting
projects in energy conservation. (e) promotion of energy efficient
lighting use in domestic and business interiors. (f) light and/or
colour effects on the perception or evaluation of architectural
spaces or visual art.(g) the role of lighting in urban safety. Accepting
proposals for student projects at any time. See http://winnipeg.
iesna.net.
FOREIGN GOVERNMENT AWARDS: Applications available for
graduate study in France, Germany and Mexico. Pick up forms in
Awards and Financial Aid office in Graham Hall. Deadline: October
22nd, 2004.
BROWN BAG LECTURE SERIES Oct. 18th 12:30 - 1pm 3C01 Dr.
Randy Kobes, Department of Physics. Please join the Research and
Graduate Studies Office for the 2nd Annual “Brown Bag Lecture
Series”. Join us for this informal gathering to highlight Dr. Randy
Kobes’ research and share in his success.
PHILOSOPHY COLLOQUIUM SERIES: Oct 22nd, 12:30 - 1:30pm
Taneli Kukkonen, UVIC, on ‘Divine Names, Human Reality: AlGhazali on Semantics and Ethics’. Anyone on campus with an
interest in Philosophy is invited to join us for a series of lectures on
a wide variety of philosophical themes. For information on
upcoming lectures, contact the Philosophy Office at 786-9878.
CONFERENCE: MANITOBA ART HISTORY Oct. 23rd 8:30 4:30pm 2M70. The Manitoba Society of Artists has organized a
day-long conference devoted to exploring issues of the province’s
art history. The conference will feature six speakers: artists Robert
Genn, Grace Nickel, and Mary Krieger; art historian Louise
DuGuay; curator Doug Lewis, and University of Winnipeg student
Kenton Smith. Diana Thorneycroft will also speak about her
current Gallery 1C03 exhibition “The Doll Mouth Series.”
Conference registration costs $25, which includes lunch. The
deadline to register is October 17. For more details contact Art
Curator Jennifer Gibson at 786-9253.
Intercampus:
COLLOQUIUM: ‘AESTHETICS AND AFFECT’ U of M Humanities
2004 Fall Colloqium Series. October 20th 2:45pm 409 Tier
Building, University of Manitoba: Dr George Toles (Film Studies)
will present a paper entitled “Double Minds, Double Binds:
Kubrick’s Fairy Tale”.
ONE-DIMENSIONAL METALS IN THEORY AND EXPERIMENT,
October 22nd, 3:30pm, 330 Allen Building, University of Manitoba.
Colloquium in the Department of Physics and Astronomy with DR.
BERTRAND I. HALPERIN, Department of Physics, Harvard
University, Cambridge MA. Theoretical analysis, dating back to
Bethe’s pioneering work of 1931, has shown that interacting onedimensional electron systems differ in important ways from their
three-dimensional counterparts. In recent years, experimental
realizations of one-dimensional metals, including single-walled
carbon nanotubes, the edges of quantized Hall systems, and
“quantum wires” in GaAs heterostructures, have led to direct
experimental tests of some of the predictions of Luttinger liquid
theory. We shall discuss some of these results, with emphasis on
electron-tunneling experiments, including recent work on tunneling
between two parallel quantum wires, and evidence for the
occurrence of “spin-charge” separation.
LOCAL HAPPENINGS
>>
GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP / SOCIAL JUSTICE WEEKEND in WINNIPEG: Social progressives will have to choose carefully
this weekend with three conferences and several other events occuring all over the city:
October 14th, 4-5:30pm WOMEN’S REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM PARTY! Outside The Health Sciences Centre, Women’s Hospital 735
Notre Dame (Anti-choice radicals may be present) It’s a party! bring shakers, drums, guitars, banners, flutes, costumes, homemade T-shirts, your
voices, kids, grandparents and friends. Friday, October 15th, 7-9pm: SPEAKERS PANEL (speakers TBA) Mondragon Cafe 91A Albert St. (in the
Exchange) Saturday, October 16th, 12pm: FREEDOM RALLY AND SPEAKERS (TBA) 350 St. Mary Ave: Outside the Delta Hotel. Please bring
bodies, signs, and noise. (There will be the opportunity to make banners and pickets at the University of Winnipeg Bulman Student Centre from 36pm Friday - pizza will be provided to sustain the painting. All materials provided for free.) These events are a counter-response to the annual prolife conference being held at the Delta Hotel. (The Delta Hotel corporation is also expanding its hotel operations on unceded Aboriginal land at the
Sun Peaks Resort in BC.) We are organizing a strong Pro-Choice demonstration, rally, and discussion panel drawing the links between patriarchy,
racism, capitalism, sexism, and homophobia. An organizing meeting will be held at the University of Winnipeg Womyn’s Centre (located in the
Bulman Student Centre) on Tuesday October 12th at 7pm. Everyone welcome. For more information email [email protected] or phone Joey
@ 786-9780.
October 14th - 16th: FOOD SECURITY ASSEMBLY 2004 Sponsored by Winnipeg Harvest and Canadian Food Grains Bank, “Growing
Together: Cultivating Food Security in Canadian Society” The 2004 Assembly is building on the “Working Together: Civil Society Working for Food
Security in Canada” Conference held at Ryerson University in June 2001. FREE PUBLIC TOWNHALLS: Thursday, October 14 from 7 pm to 9 pm, at
the West End Cultural Centre, 586 Ellice Avenue, we pose the question Do Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO’s) have a Role in Food Security?
Distinguished panelists Brewster Kneen (farmer, activist, author from BC), Gary Martens (farmer, pesticide-free researcher from MB), and Curtis
Rempel (farmer, ag biotech researcher from MB) will tackle this question; Friday, October 15 from 7 pm to 9 pm, at Crossways-In-Common 222
Furby Street, our panel discusses Human Rights and Food: What’s the Connection? with distinguished guests Carole Samdup (globalization/human
rights specialist from QUE), Graham Riches (author, Director of Social Work from BC), Don Kossick (food activist, community organizer from SK).
Parking available at Thompson’s on Broadway. For more information about the Town Halls call (204) 982-3672. Many more speakers and events,
including a symposium on Aboriginal Food Security. See www.foodsecurityassembly.ca for registration and details.
October 14th - 16th: CONFERENCE: THE NEW IMPERALISM? Organized by the Global Political Economy (GPE) Program at the
University of Manitoba. Thursday, October 14th, 7:30pm Public Lecture by David Harvey, Distinguished Professor of Anthropology at the Graduate
Center of City University of New York, Fort Garry Hotel, La Verendrye Room, ‘Neo-liberalism and the Restoration of Class Power’ (reception follows
on 2nd floor mezzanine)...Friday, October 15th 11:30am - 1:30pm Panel session at University of Manitoba, Room 122 Drake Building ‘Is
globalization the best explanation for our current political-economic environment?’: David Harvey “The New Imperialism”; Paul Bowles, University of
Northern British Columbia “ What is Globalisation? Four Views”; Tony Hall, University of Lethbridge “The War on Terror, 1763-present” Henry
Veltmeyer, St. Mary’s University “Understanding World Development: Globalization or Imperialism”...Saturday, October 16th 10am - 1pm Panel
Session at University of Manitoba, Room 122 Drake Building Topic: Trade agreements, human rights and academic freedom: Maureen Webb, Legal
Council with the Canadian Association of University Teachers, “A New Legal Landscape”; Nettie Wiebe, The University of Saskatchewan, “The
Subsoil of the Trade Landscape: Human Rights or the Right to Profit?”; David Robinson, Associate Executive Director, Canadian Association of
University Teachers, “Trade Agreements and a New Post-Secondary Education Landscape”; Rene Van Acker, University of Manitoba, “ A New
Research Landscape”. Free admission to all events. See www.umanitoba.ca for more details.
October 15th - 16th: CAUGHT IN THE CROSSFIRE: GLOBAL CITIZENS MAKING A DIFFERENCE University of Winnipeg and CBC
Radio One present a weekend exploring global issues since 9/11 --- October 15th Panel: ‘The Changing International Scene & New World Realities’
Moderator: Jennifer Rattray, University of Winnipeg, Debbie Doyle, Martine LeRoyer, Barry Lank of Women on Patrol, Gywnne Dyer, Journalist &
Historian, Lloyd Axworthy, President, University of Winnipeg/ 7:30pm: ‘Women on Patrol’ at the Ramada Marlborough Conference Centre (old
Garrick Theatre) Panel Discussion/Question & Answer Session included --- October 16th: ‘War as Entertainment/War as Education: The Catch
22 Media on the Front Lines’ WORKSHOPS: ‘What makes it news? How/Who decides what to leave out, perspective, influence, ethics’, ‘Women
of Conflict/Women of Peace’. Panel: ‘What Is A Global Citizen? Making A Difference?’ ‘Iraq & Sudan: The Consequence of Conflict’ Workshops:
‘Documentary Filmmaking: Finding A Voice’/’The Humanitarian Vocation’...an OmniTRAX/Broe Quest Documentary Film Festival will run on campus
concurrent with the Conference: Women On Patrol, NFB (55 minutes), Bombies, Jack Silberman (57 minutes), The Man We Called Juan Carlos,
Asterisk Productions (60 minutes), Reinventing The World: Cultivating Change, Asterisk Productions (60 minutes) Northern Uganda, Melanie
Verhaeghe, CBC News: The National, CBC Television (18 minutes). See www.quest.uwinnipeg.ca for details.
SEND + RECEIVE FESTIVAL OF SOUND Oct 15th - 23rd. Video Pool Media Arts Centre’s interactive, multi-venue presentation of sound art and
multimedia featuring computer musician Blunderspublik; micro sound manipulator 3x3is9; Clive Holden (’Trains of Winnipeg’); video artist Jacky
Sawatzky; media artist Ken Gregory, sound-poet Pierre André Arcand; Vancouver’s Artist Run Limousine Collective; accordionist/improviser Raylene
Campbell; sound and installation artist Peter Courtemanche/Absolute Value of Noise; the duo of Anna Friz and Annabelle Chvostek and their
Automated Prayer Machine; video artists NomIg; Roughage [aka filmmaker and musician Zev Asher]; sound artist and producer [sic]; and plurimedia
work cell skoltz_kolgen and Sound of Light Film and Video Series. Participant workshops. Radio broadcasts on CKUW 95.9FM. Details www.
sendandreceive.org
OCTOBER
OC
TOBER 14
14,, 2004
023
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Listings
»
Contact
Listings Coordinator: Jan Nelson
E-mail
Tele: 786-9497
Fax: 783-7080
ARTS
Concerts
HARVEST CONCERT Oct 14th St. Andrew’s River Heights, Dan
Beaupre & the Spirit band, Small Rooms, CF Casey, and St. Andrew’s
Choir, 7:30pm.
PIANO DNA Oct 16th Eckhardt-Grammate Hall. Jo Boatright performs
works for ‘piano keyboard and interior’ in this first of the season offering
from Groundswell. Tix avail @ McNally Robinson.
RUDIMENTAL CD Release at the WECC (West End Cultural Centre)
Oct 16th 8pm $13 @ door, $10 @ Music Trader, Into The Music, Urban
Bakery.
CBC SESSIONS @ NOON: MINI-MARIACHI, a five-piece family
band. October 18th 12:30 - 1:20pm. Eckhardt-Gramatté Hall. Hear a
recording in progress, bringing the sounds of El Salvador to Winnipeg!
Free admission.
MATTHEW GOOD Oct 20th Burton Cummings Theatre w/ Auf Der
Maur, Limblifter. Tickets $34.50 @ Ticketmaster.
SERIOUS FUN by Virtuosi Concerts: Jody Karin Applebaum, soprano &
Marc-André Hamelin, piano Oct 23rd, 8pm. Eckhardt-Gramatté Hall.
Pre-concert wine tasting in the lobby @ 7:30pm. Ticket Prices
$27/$25/$15. 24-hour Ticket Hotline 786-9000.
DJ FESTIVAL-2 Oct 22nd 9pm Empire Cabaret and Au Bar nightclub.
Local DJs and guests play house, techno, jungle, trance, breakz. $5.
SARAH SLEAN Oct 23rd WECC 8pm $15 @ Music Trader, Into The
Music, Ticketmaster.
DIMITRI ILLARIONOV presented by Winnipeg Classical Guitar
Society Oct 24th 8pm Planetarium Auditorium Tickets $20 at the
door Advance Tickets $15 ($10 students; $10 WCGS members;)
($5 WCGS students) 663-9226 or 775-0809.
‘CUPPA JO’ solo dance by Jolene Bailie, Oct 24th 8pm Gas Station
Theatre. $15 at the door or call 284-9477.
‘BORDER CROSSINGS’ Concert by Winnipeg Philharmonic Choir Oct
24th 2:30pm Bethel Mennonite Church. Includes appearances by
Arrowhead Chorale, Stanley Wold and Rembrandt String Quartet. Tickets
896-7445.
KINNIE STARR, OH SUSANNA, VEDA HILLE Oct 26th Pyramid
Cabaret
Etc.
ASPER INTERNATIONAL DEBATE FINALS Oct 14th Shaarey
Zedek Synagogue, 7pm. Teams from around the world compete in
this ancient sport of logical persuasion.
Film
NFB’s ‘WOMEN ON PATROL’ film documentary about Canadian
police in East Timor Oct 15th 7:30pm Ramada Entertainment Centre
330 Garry St. Free admission. Q&A period with special guests to follow.
2003 CANNES LIONS WORLD’S BEST COMMERCIALS Winnipeg
Art Gallery Oct 19th-24th. 7:00 & 9:15pm Sat & Sun matinees 2pm.
Parental Guidance / 100 minutes Admission $7 / $6 student, senior / $5
WAG member / $4 child 12 and under. Advance tickets recommended.
Cinematheque 100 Arthur St. Oct 15th - 21st ‘Sound of Light’
video and film series. See www.sendandreceive.org. Oct 22nd - 29th:
‘Metallica’ 6:30pm, ‘Incident at Loch Ness’ 9pm.
Globe Cinema 393 Portage Ave. Offbeat Hollywood and arthouse
films. Student prices. Call 694-5623 for times.
Towne 8 Cinema 301 Notre Dame Ave. Budget-priced first-run
flicks. For showtimes call 947-2848.
Galleries
Ace Art Inc. 290 McDermot Ave. contemporary art.
AlbertHub 200-52 Albert St. Until Oct 16th (Sats only) Rodrigo
Pradel, Oct 23rd-Nov 13th (Sats only) Cheney Lansard
Annex Gallery 2nd flr, 290 McDermot Ave. contemporary
Franco-Manitoban Cultural Centre 340 Provencher Until
Nov 14th: Paintings and sculptures by Aimé L’Heureux
Gallery 1C03, University of Winnipeg (515 Portage Ave.)
Until Oct 23rd Diana Thorneycroft: The Doll Mouth Series. Full-colour
prints of doll mouths confront and provoke viewers.
Graffiti Gallery 109 Higgins urban/street-inspired art.
Label Gallery 510 Portage across from the U.
BARS/VENUES
Platform (Centre for Photographic and Digital Arts) 218100 Arthur St. To Oct 15th: ‘Full Circle: The Circular Image Revisited’
by Bob Preston.
Plug-In ICA 286 McDermot Ave. Until Nov 13th ‘Cheap Meat,
Dreams and Acorns’ - Ken Gregory since 1993. Survey exhibition,
commission and publication, Winnipeg’s leading media artist; Also,
ongoing billboard installation at River & Osborne Sts.(parking lot).
<Site> Gallery 55 Arthur St. contemporary local artists.
Quiet Room Gallery, St, John’s College, UofM Until Oct 29th
‘Prairie Mysteries’ landscape photos by Dennis J Evans.
Winnipeg Art Gallery 300 Memorial Blvd. To Dec 5th
AMERICAN TABLEAUX - from the collection of The Walker Art Center
incl. The Factories - Film Screenings: Oct 13 & 27, Nov 3, 5:45-9 pm –
Continuous screenings of films by Bruce Bailie, George Kuchar and
Elizabeth Subrin
BLUE SKY CONFERENCE 2004 October 22nd - 24th. Tenth
anniversary gathering of the Society of Graphic Designers of
Canada. Canadian Perspectives Conference & Juried Show. This
year’s focus is on ‘What makes Canadian design unique’? Info and
registration at www.gdc.net.
MAKING PUBLIC ART WORK: The Winnipeg Arts Council
presents a Public Art Workshop Oct 23rd, 1- 5pm, Centennial
Centre Board Room #114 – 555 Main St. Artist Bernie Miller will
present an informal workshop for artists on the process of creating
proposals for public art projects. He will concentrate on first steps
in a typical two-stage process, sharing materials and experience
from projects he has worked on, and will also touch on details
surrounding artists’ contracts. Admission is free but registration
required. Space for this workshop is limited. Register by Oct 18th
w/ Tricia Wasney at the Winnipeg Arts Council at 943-7668.
Literary/Coffeehouses
Dregs Cafe & Gallery 167 Osborne St.
Oct 19th 8pm, POETRY SLAM. Don’t miss the second month of the
poetry slam season, series of high-energy competitions between spokenword artists. This month’s featured musician is Jason Boissoneault.
Maximum 12 poets, so come early to sign up. Cover charge is $3.
October 26th, 8pm, VIBES & VERSE. Stop by for a night of open-mic
improv and experimentation between poets and musicians of all styles
and genres. Featured poet is Charlene Diehl, featured musician isbass
player Steve Kirby. Free admission. Details at www.winnipegpoetry.ca.
McNally Robinson Portage Place Oct 28th: Greenpeace cofounder and photojournalist Rex Wyler presents his new book
‘Greenpeace’, 7pm.
Prairie Ink Portage Place (in McNally Robinson Booksellers)
Local jazz, folk and blues ensembles perform each weekend. Oct 29th
Romi Mayes & the Temporarily Employed, country/bluegrass, 6:30pm.
McNally Robinson Grant Park Oct 25th: Linda McQuaig reads and
signs ‘It’s the Crude, Dude: War, Big Oil, and the Fight for the Planet’
7:30pm
Prairie Ink Grant Park (in McNally Robinson Booksellers)
Local jazz, folk and blues ensembles perform each weekend.
NON-FICTION CONTEST Deadline November 1st, 2004. In
association with the Winnipeg Free Press, the Writers’ Collective
announces their annual non-fiction contest, with a total of $900 in
cash prizes to be won. Prizes will be awarded in two categories, the
open category and challenge category. Those who enter the
challenge category must follow the theme of “It felt like forever.”
Prizes in the challenge category are $300 for first place, $200 for
second, and $100 for third. Open category prizes are $150 for first
place, $100 for second, and $50 for third. All entries must be sent
with an entry form, available by calling 786-9468, or emailing writers
[email protected].
Academy Bar and Eatery 414 Academy Rd. Sundays Jazz
Composers Forum, 3pm.
Barca Club 423 McMillan Ave. Billiard hall and cabaret in Osborne
Village. Live shows sometimes.
Belgian Club 407 Provencher Thursdays Open Jam hosted by Mojo
Mechanix, 8:30pm. Swing dance classes too.
Bella Vista 53 Maryland St. Wolseley neighbourhood pizzeria w/ live
rock, roots, blues on weekends.
Charleswood Hotel 3425 Roblin St. ‘Charley’s’ live acts.
Collective Cabaret 108 Osborne St. Punk and alternative.
Club Desire 441 Main St. Two-level ‘straight-friendly’ glbt dance
club.
Dregs Cafe & Gallery 167 Osborne St. Weds Open mic/jam. Oct
20th: Tegan & Sara 9pm, Oct 30th: Dan Goldman (TO) 7pm, Dregs Film
Festival 9pm.
Empire Cabaret 436 Main St. Spacious Exchange-District nightclub
open Thurs - Sat.
Franco-Manitoban Cultural Centre 340 Provencher Blvd.
Tuesdays: Mardi Jazz - live jazz 8:30pm. Oct 19th: Paul Balcain (Salle
Jean-Paul Aubry), Oct 26th: Starlight Jazz (Salle Jean-Paul Aubry). Free
admission, doors open at 7pm.
Fort Garry Hotel Palm Lounge 222 Broadway Sun-Thurs light
piano music.
Gilroy 179 Bannatyne Ave. Restaurant/bar in the Exchange.
Gio’s 155 Smith St. GLBT club with dance floor, private patio. 1st
Saturdays womyn’s night.
Hooligan’s 61 Sherbrook St. Wolseley neighbourhood bar and
restaurant. Local cover, rock and alternative acts.
King’s Head 120 King St. English-style Pub. House bands on
weekends.
Market Avenue Social Hub 110 Market Ave. Multi-level resto/
pub/disco.
Osborne Freehouse 437 Stradbrook at Osborne Mon Jazz
Hang Nights feat. Steve & Anna, Lisa Kerby and various jazz artists.
Pyramid Cabaret 176 Fort St. Popular downtown venue, live acts.
Oct 18th: Anti Balas Afro Beat, Oct 25th: K-OS, Oct 26th: Kinnie Starr,
Oh Susanna, Veda Hille Oct 27th: Comedy night
Regal Beagle Pub 331 Smith St. Wed’s Open Mic Nights w/ Jay
Ewert (Oct): music, comedy, stuff. Oct 16th: Myron Schultz and The
Accidentals with special guest Joel Titchkosky 10pm. No cover. Singer/
Songwriter Concert Series II: Friday Oct 22nd “Guys & Songs” Nate
Bryski, Steve Schellenberg, Guy Abraham. Saturday October 23rd
“Wimmin’ & Songs” w/ Renee Claire, Romi Mayes, Serena Postel. Oct
30th: Halloween Party with The Perpetrators! Door prize and giveaways
for best costumes!!
Royal Albert Arms 48 Albert St. Punk, alternative and cheap beer
in the Exchange.
Shannon’s Irish Pub 175 Carlton St. Oct 14th Lorrie Matheson.
Times Change(d) High and Lonesome Club Main St. @ St.
Mary Blues and roots live music. Sundays: Big Dave McLean. Oct 15th:
Deborah-Lyn Neufeld, Oct 22nd: Mike Plume.
Toad on Main 172 Main St. English-style pub with good food.
Mondays comedy improv.
West End Cultural Centre 586 Ellice St. Oct 16th: Rudimental
CD Release Party, Oct 18th: Hayden w/ the Elk Lake Serenaders and Cuff
the Duke, Oct 21st: The Bills (formerly Bill Hilly Band), Oct 23rd: Sarah
Slean.
Windsor Hotel 187 Garry St. Monday night jams with Tim Butler,
Wednesday nights with Big Dave McLean.
The Zoo (Osborne Inn) 160 Osborne St. Live bands punk,
metal, industrial. Oct 15th AMF w/ Driven Nation, Railbox, and Industry
H.
Comedy/Improv
CBC LITERARY AWARDS COMPETITION Deadline November
15th, 2004. CBC Radio and Radio-Canada invite you to enter your
short stories, poetry, and travel writing. Awards totalling $60,000,
courtesy of the Canada Council for the Arts. Winning entries
published in EnRoute magazine, and broadcast on CBC Radio. All
entries must be original and unpublished works. Entries must be
written in English or French. All entries must fall within one of the
following categories: Short story (2000-2500 words) Travel
literature (2000-2500 words) Poetry (1500-2500 words) Poetry
entries may take the form of a long narrative poem, a sequence of
connected poems or a group of unconnected poems. Travel
literature entries may take the form of a personal essay or memoir,
an autobiographical essay or a travel sketch set in Canada or abroad.
More details at www.cbc.ca/literaryawards.
Toad on Main 172 Main St. Mon nights improv (two shows), $5.
Rumor’s Comedy Club 2025 Corydon Ave. Oct 26th-Nov 6th
7:45pm nightly (& 10:30pm Fri - Sat) Jay Malone.
RON JAMES coming to Burton Cummings Theatre Nov 25th.
Ticketmaster.
for the whole family! For more information or to register for
Celtic whistle or drum classes, contact the Manitoba Conservatory
at 943-6090 or email [email protected]
ENGLISH LANGUAGE PARTNERS needed at the Language Partner
Program , U of W Continuing Education Campus, 294 William St.
Language partners are native (or fluent) English speaking volunteers
who give ESL (English as a Second Language) students an
opportunity to practice their English outside of the classroom and
to learn more about the Canadian way of life. The day and time
partners meet is flexible. Time commitment 1 - 2 hrs./week.
Contact Rina Monchka, 982-1151, email [email protected].
TO SUBMIT SHOW AND EVENTS INFO HERE
Contact [email protected]
fax 783-7080, or call in 786-9497. Deadline
is usually Sundays before Thursday issue.
COMMUNITY
POLITICS OF CANCER PREVENTION: Are We Losing the War
Against Cancer? Researcher Lissa Donner (co-author, ‘Cancer
Epidemic as a Social Event’) gives a talk at Na’Amat Hall 1727 Main
St, October 18th 7:30pm, $2 suggested. Presented by the United
Jewish Peoples’ Open Forum.
POSTCARDS FROM THE UKRAINE Oct 18th 7:30pm part of HIManitoba Travel Nights Presentations at Sport Manitoba 200 Main
St. Check out the Ukraine’s new hostels and talk to two who have
travelled extensively in this country. Free admission. Register at
784-1131.
TAROT CARD WORKSHOP at the Fort Garry Women”s Resource
Centre Oct 18th 7-9pm. Join Susan and Jacinthe for a turn through
the tarot deck, discussing symbolism and how to effectively read for
yourself and friends. Free. Call 477-1123 to register.
ROLLER SKATE-OFF! Halloween fundraiser for Sugar and Splice
Feminist Film Festival. Oct 28th 9-11pm, Galaxy Skate Gallery 595
Portage Ave. Entry $6 w/ costume, $8 without. Call 982-1814.
2nd ANNUAL ABORIGINAL CAREER FAIR Nov 4th 9:30 - 4pm, at
the Centre for Aboriginal Human Resource Development (CAHRD)
304-181 Higgins Ave. Phone 989-7122, email: [email protected]
CELTIC MUSIC FOR BEGINNERS Learn to play Celtic Music at the
Manitoba Conservatory of Music and Arts. Introductory courses for
Celtic whistle and drum start Oct 30th with instructor Susan
Hammer. These 6-week courses are especially for beginners - no
musical experience is required. For ages 11 and up, it’s musical fun
024
OCTOBER 14
14,, 2004
OSBORNE HOUSE SUPPORT GROUPS FOR WOMEN offered
Monday eves 7-9pm, Weds 1-3pm through fall and winter. Themes
of self-esteem, anger, letting go. Call 942-4642 Ext 242 for more
info.
THE WRITERS’ COLLECTIVE provides help and encouragement
to new and emerging writers through various programs. For more
information contact Lindsey Wiebe, Programming Coordinator,
The Writers’ Collective, 4th flr Library, University of Winnipeg 515
Portage Avenue, Winnipeg, MB R3B 2E9 (204) 786-9468 writersco
[email protected]
Volunteer Opportunities
IMMIGRANT WOMEN’S ASSOCIATION OF MANITOBA is
seeking mentors to share their stories about first or secondgeneration immigrant life and the personal challenges and choices
faced to a variety of differente audiences. Sharing your personal
story will involve talking about specific issues such as: experiences
of childhood, school and extra-curricular activities, parental
expectations and cultural baggage, discrimination, obstacles and
opportunities. Mentors are granted a small honorarium for two
hours of their time. Car is an asset. Call 989-5800 or email
[email protected].
FRONTIER COLLEGE is looking for volunteers to read with
children who are struggling with literacy in the community. One
hour a week committment; near the University of Winnipeg.
Contact 253-7993 or [email protected] for more
information.
VOLUNTEERS WANTED FOR TEEN TOUCH Wanting to
contribute? Interested in helping youth? Teen Touch may have a
volunteer opportunity for you: problem-solve on our 24 hour
Helpline, join our Speakers’ Bureau, organize a fund-raising
campaign. Check out www.teentouch.org for more info on these
and other opportunities.
ST. AMANT CENTRE is seeking volunteers to brighten the lives of
children and adults living with developmental disabilities. Flexible
day, evening and weekend opportunities for patient, reliable people.
Call 256-4301 ext 274, or check our website at www.stamant.mb.ca.
p
Sports
The Montréal Expos are dead
»
Contact
Sports Editors: Leighton Klassen
E-mail
Tele: 786-9497
Long live the Washington . . . Poutines?
DAVE WEATHERALL
CUP Québec Bureau Chief
MONTRÉAL (CUP) -- On my
way to buy tickets for the final
Expos game, it felt like I was
riding the Métro to a funeral for
someone everyone on the train
knew. We were travelling in a
stretched hearse, carrying the soul
of nos amours to its final resting
place, the cavernous cement tomb
that is the Olympic Stadium; we
were off to bury the Montréal
Expos.
Professional baseball in Montréal
has been terminally ill for a long
time. The official announcement
they are moving to Washington
next year almost came as a relief
for most in the city; anger quickly
gave way to acknowledgment that,
under the current environment,
baseball could not survive in the
city.
An older woman in a bright red
coat, old glasses and short grey
hair said she wished a downtown
stadium was built. “It would have
saved them,” she said.
The large man sitting next to her,
wearing a shiny blue Expos jacket,
with red and white elastic around
the waist, the kind Felipe Alou
used to wear during September
away games, was happy the saga
was ending.
“I’m tired of all this, ‘They’re
going, they’re staying,’ crap. Just
go already,” he said.
No one in Montréal has to worry
anymore; the Expos have left the
city. The 36 years of memories
will exist in photographs, records
and the city’s collective sporting
consciousness, but new memories
will not be created. There will be
no more Tim Raines, Andre
Dawsons, Gary Carters, Denis
Martinez, Vladimir Guererros or
Rusty Staubs, to name a few.
After buying four tickets for $60
and thinking just how cheap it was
to see a baseball game -- compared
to a minimum $35 for the Habs,
who aren’t even playing, and
roughly the same from scalpers
for the Alouettes -- I went into the
souvenir shop while I was waiting
or my friends to arrive. For a
moment, I thought about buying a
hideous Youppi mascot doll and
waited in line for 20 minutes
before realizing I had no interest
in lining the pockets of the very
people who have caused so much
pain to Montrealers who love
baseball.
Major League Baseball owns the
Expos now, after a tumultuous 10
years that included a player strike
which cost the Expos the World
Series in ‘94, a change in
ownership in ‘99 that led to the
cancellation of plans for a
downtown stadium and several
broadcast deals which effectively
killed professional baseball in
Montréal.
A crowd of 31,395 showed up to
pay their respects to the team that
has been an integral part of the
city since 1969. One of the people
in attendance was a guy from
Washington who studies at McGill
University. He was infuriated by
the prospect of the team moving
to D.C.
“It’s so close to the Baltimore
Orioles (65 kilometres) that it’s
going to eat into their profits and
fan base,” he said, while we were
waiting in line at the concession
stand.
“What are you getting? ” he
asked.
“Hot dog and beers, you? ” I
answered.
“Poutine man! It’s the last time to
get poutine at a professional
baseball game!”
That hadn’t occurred to me, so I
changed my order and joined in
enjoying one of the last poutines
served at an Expos game.
As fate would have it, the man
who most in the city hold
responsible for pushing the dagger
all the way through Youppi’s heart
had the last laugh. Jeffrey Loria
bought the Expos in 1999, then
cancelled broadcast deals, then
cancelled the lease on a downtown
location for a new baseball park
and eventually sold the Expos for
$120 million to Major League
Baseball in 2001. With the profits,
he bought the Florida Marlins, the
team the Expos played in their last
home game.
The Marlins hammered the Expos
9-1 that Wednesday. One fan was
so disgusted in the third inning
that when another ball was hit
over the fence by a Marlins
slugger, he dejectedly threw it
back onto the field rather than
keep it as a souvenir. The crowd
roared its approval.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t the only
thing fans threw onto the field. In
the middle of the third inning, the
one fan threw a golf ball onto the
field. Pop bottles and other bits of
trash soon followed until the
announcer came on over the PA
system and warned that the game
would be cancelled if anything
else was thrown onto the field. So,
fans hurled insults and boos
instead, and the game continued.
It all ended with a teary goodbye
with music, former players and
speeches. Major League Baseball
president Bud Selig, such an
integral part of the actions that
brought this moment to fruition,
was
conspicuously
absent.
Presumably, he’ll be there for the
opening day in Washington,
maybe they’ll even have retro
poutine night for one game. I
know I’ll make the drive down if
they ever do.
Wesmen Win First Game of Converse Shootout
RHYS KELSO
I
t was evident that both the
Wesmen and Ottawa had some
rust to shake off in the first
game of the Converse Shootout,
held last Friday at the Duckworth
Centre. But the second half was
a different story -- the Wesmen
came out with a lot more energy
and speed and out-hustled Ottawa
to a 70-55 victory.
“For the first game of the
season, I think we played
excellent,” said head coach Tanya
McKay following the game. “We
went up against a tough team that
made it a long way in Nationals. It
was a good test for us.”
The first half was very even,
with both teams scoring 31 points.
First-year player Jenny Ezirim
had a strong half making two
great steals and taking them down
the court for baskets.
“Jenny played an excellent
game, she is going to develop into
a very strong player,” McKay
said.
The second half proved to be
far better for the Wesmen. They
went on a 12-0 run about 7
minutes into the half that put
them up 49-37. But Ottawa quickly
came back hitting two threes in a
row taking away the Wesmen’s
momentum. With 5 minutes 35
seconds left in the game, Uzo
Asagwara came up with a huge
block and took the ball back down
the court, got the basket and a
foul. She got shaken up on the
foul and missed the foul shot.
However, that play definitely took
the wind out of Ottawa’s sails,
and killed any hope of a
comeback.
As you might expect, fifthyear veteran JoAnne Wells could
have easily been considered the
most efficient player in scoring 16
points -- scoring at times when
the Wesmen needed it the most.
Other key players include Uzo
Asagwara, the third-year guard
who scored 15 points, and firstyear star Jenny Ezirim who
finished with 15 points and 3
steals. Don’t forget second-year
forward Stefanie Timmersman
who had a great game registering
a double double with 11 points
and 14 rebounds.
“It was a team effort out there
tonight,” said McKay, in regards
to the diversity of the points
spread. “We had many players
contribute to the win.” There were
only three players left off the
score sheet, but they only played
a combined 11 minutes.
Being that this was the first
game of the year for the Wesmen,
there are still some things that
they need to work on before the
regular season starts. They often
let Ottawa get into the paint for
good scoring oppor tunities.
Luckily, Ottawa was only shooting
32 percent from the field on this
night.
“We had problems getting back
on defence and picking up our
player,” said McKay. “We also
gave them a clear line to the
basket too many times. Rebounds
are also something we need to
work on.” According to the stats
the
Wesmen
out-rebounded
Ottawa 41-40, but they also gave
up 15 offensive rebounds, and
only had 12 of their own on
offense.
Since the Wesmen are playing
in a tournament this weekend
they only have 24 hours to prepare
for their next match, which will
be against the Manitoba Bisons,
but it’s not a concern for McKay.
“We have a good group of
players that will come out hard
tomorrow,” she said. “It doesn’t
take much to get our girls up for a
game against Manitoba.”
OCTOBER
OC
TOBER 14
14,, 2004
025
p
Sports
Making the Grade
From all-star starter to an academic dismissal -- a story of one basketball player’s
successful journey from the classroom to back to the court
himself. This provided him with an
opportunity to measure himself against
Canada’s best, as well as some world-class
conditioning. And while he was the last cut,
narrowly missing out on the World
Championships in Halifax, he is reluctant to
play the blame game.
“It wasn’t just him (Crook) that cut
me,” he says. “It was the way I played. I
don’t think I performed that well (at
tryouts).”
Or maybe because he hadn’t played
a competitive game in over a year.
Erfan Nasajpour has made it clear
he is not ready to resign to a career of pickup
games just yet. He is back in red and black,
immediately giving the Wesmen the impact
player they need to succeed.
MIKE PYL
Erfan Nasajpour could have taken the
easy way out.
A
026
OCTOBER 14
14,, 2004
Converse ShootoutWomen’s basketball
OCTOBER 8
Wesmen 70 Ottawa 55
OCTOBER 9
Wesmen 63 Manitoba 74
OCTOBER 10
Wesmen 72 Lakehead 50
Regina Inn West-East
Challenge- men’s volleyball
OCTOBER 7
Wesmen def. Waterloo 3-0
OCTOBER 8
Wesmen def. Guelph 3-0
Wesmen def. Manitoba 3-1
OCTOBER 9
Wesmen def. Waterloo 3-0
Wesmen def. McMaster 3-0
UPCOMING
AWAY
OCTOBER 15-17
Men’s basketball
Wilfrid Lauier Invitational
tournament
Erfan Nasajpour
Women’s basketball
Manitoba Invitational
tournament
Photo by: Leighton Klassen
at times, head coach Dave Crook praises the
work ethic that has allowed Nasajpour to
return.
“Not being able to play in the
winter is hard,” Crook said. “But he practiced
everyday and did all the right things. His
long-term goal was to get back playing here
and he really prepared himself to do that.”
He also followed a strict, vigorous
off-season workout featuring lots of shooting
and running, and plenty of time getting
acquainted with a personal trainer. As well,
Nasajpour spent the summer with the junior
national team coached by Coach Crook
Women’s volleyball
North Dakota State
tournament
OCTOBER 19 & 20
Men’s volleyball vs Regina
»
fter an unbelievable 2002-03
campaign that saw him average
10.9 ppg and 5.6 ppg en route to
snagging the Canada West Rookie of the
Year, the 5’10” guard was ruled academically
ineligible for the upcoming season. He could
have packed it in, retiring to the weekly
senior men’s circuit, slotted in between
pickup games at the Y. Maybe he even could
have found himself a nice junior college,
as former backcourt running-mate Aldin
Smalling did, where academic standards
were not so high.
Instead, he hit the books. And both the
Wesmen, and Nasajpour, could not be
happier.
“It feels real good,” gleams the Daniel
Mac Collegiate product.
It also looks pretty good, too.
While this year’s team is returning only
six players from last year’s beleaguered 3-17
squad, the overhaul has left the wings
unattended. As the starting point guard,
Nasajpour is being looked upon to fill that
void. The position naturally demands
leadership, something both he and head
coach Dave Crook believe he is ready for.
“Leadership from the point guard is very
important,” he says. “I have more experience
than all these guys, so I gotta lead.”
Crook agrees. “He’s basically a coach on
the floor. He determines who gets the ball,
where they get the ball, and he’s making
sure that everybody is happy. And then, the
fact that he’s as good as he is, you become a
leader from that point of view...he has the
ability to demand others to play hard around
him.”
However, many veteran point
guards can lead. Nasajpour, on the other
hand, is also slated to be the offense’s
primary weapon. Not only will he dish, he’ll
take it to the hole himself. Crook points to
his versatility as his biggest asset.
“When he creates opportunities for
other people to score, that will do two
things: one, it will get people the ball and
two, it will open up chances for him. If
teams play him as a scorer, it’ll be easier to
find his teammates and if teams play him as
a passer, his shots will fall. He averaged
about ten a game as a freshman, and I think
he will do even better than that this year.”
Defensively, Nasajpour will be
giving opposing guards migraines. In 2002,
he was fourth in the conference in steals
with 2.1 a game. His tenacious, on-the-ball
defense will, in turn, create opportunities
for Winnipeg in the open floor.
“That’s where he almost had his
biggest impact as a freshman,” says Crook.
“Teams don’t like having to bring the ball up
against him because he’s such a great oneon-one defender.”
Becoming only the second Wesmen men’s
basketball player to return from academically
ineligibility did not happen automatically. In
addition to homework, Nasajpour participated
in every practice, while also manning the
bench every game.
“It was pretty tough,” Nasajpour
says of what it felt like not being able to be
on the court. “Especially watching the team
struggle.”
As difficult as it might have been
p
Sports
Wesmen Demolish Lakehead,
Leave Tourney with 2-1 Record
LEIGHTON KLASSEN
Sports Editor
T
here’s no better way to walk
into the regular season
than exiting the preseason
with a good old fashioned ass
whoopin – and that’s exactly what
the women’s basketball team did
last Sunday afternoon verses the
Lakehead Wolves.
Posting 41 points in the second
half alone with an impressive 53
percent field goal rating, the
Wesmen hammered out a 72-50
win, finishing the Converse
Shootout with a 2-1 record – a
satisfying statistic through the eyes
of head coach Tanya McKay.
“I think we did pretty good
(over the tournament),” she said
following the game. “We got a lot
of players in and our team’s
becoming stronger and better.”
Some of those players included
veteran and all-star forward Joanne
Wells, who led the team with 20
points, Uzo Asagwara with 14, and
Heather Thompson with 15, but
also new-comers Alicia Evans and
Jenny Ezirim who also managed to
make their mark on the score
sheet.
“Jenny had a great weekend,”
McKay said of Ezirim’s productivity
which earned her four points, three
rebounds, and 17 minutes of play
time on this night alone. “But all
four kids (rookies) played very
well and I think they’re all getting
better.”
The Wesmen’s aggressive drive
was set at full flank for the entirety
of the game – resulting in taking a
12-2 early lead while holding
Lakehead’s first score to six
minutes already into the game.
Halfway through the first half,
an Uzo Asagwara steal resulted in
a basket and an extension of the
lead to 15 points with a score
reading 25-15 with 8:42 remaining
in the half.
But
the
Wesmen’s
aggression backfired and resulted
in the referees handing out
consecutive fouls – four of them
handed to rookie Jenny Ezirim
alone – and a temporal comeback
by Lakehead in lowering the
Wesmen led to two points at a
score of 27-25 with just over a
minute in the half.
And like the beginning of
the first half, the Wesmen came
out with more steam than a
locomotive in the second, scoring
consecutive points in taking a 5033 halfway through the period.
“We just took care of the
little things,” McKay said when
asked what her instructions were
during the halftime pep-talk. “I
think those spurts of 10 and 12
points were part of our veteran
players coming out hard and even
the rookies played very well – they
played like veterans.”
The Wesmen continued
to fire on all cylinders for the
remainder of the half, highlighted
Wesmen Player Joanne Wells faces off against a Lakehead University player
Photo by: Wade Andrew
by two three-pointers by Uzo
Asagwara, cranking the score over
to the 70 mark in taking a 70-47
lead with two minutes left in the
game.
Although much of the
Wesmen’s offence was the result of
explicitly aggressive attack, the
aggression was also reflected into
the personal foul department,
where the team was charged with a
total of 26 personal fouls,
constituting the submission of 20
points by Lakehead. But according
to McKay, it’s not a concern.
“We want to keep the
aggression,” she said. “Fouls are
not a problem.”
With last year’s starting
guard Sally Kaznica absent from
the team this year, McKay says the
spot is open for both third-year
Wesmen Player Stefanie Timmersman powers past Lakehead
University player Katrina Martinovic
Melanie Talastas and rookie Jenny
Ezirim, who are currently
competing for the starting spot.
“Mel and Jenny are
fighting for the position,” she said.
“But both are going to play – it’s
just a matter of who will start.”
McKay said she doesn’t
know at this point who will get the
nod, but is confident that a decision
will be made at the end of the
pre-season.
“With 9 games in preseason, it’s a good amount of time
to decide,” she said. “They’ll battle
it out.”
The Wesmen’s next match
is this weekend at the Manitoba
Invitational Tournament, held at
the Investors Group.
Lakehead University player Kristi Huff tangles with
Wesmen Rockie Jenny Ezirim
OCTOBER
OC
TOBER 14
14,, 2004
027
NFL
With Fantasy Football moving
into the colonization status of fan
friendly sports gambling, any bit
of information and resources will
give you an edge on predicting
the likely outcome of a football
game. So, the Uniter sports team
have decided to offer our voice on
what team will come out on top of
every week of NFL football. We’ve
structured it in a format where
we’ve handpicked what we think
are the top five games of the week,
which we’ll then apply our expert
opinion on who will be victorious
and why. Here are this weeks top
five games.
Leighton Klassen (11-4)
SEATTLE OVER NEW ENGLAND
-That Pat’s are indeed on a roll, but
the Seahawks will stop them in their
tracks
MINNESOTA OVER NEW ORLEANS
-The Vikings have been getting better
every week, while the Saints are a
mere mediocre team. Vikings win, no
question.
PITTSBURGH OVER DALLAS
-Dallas is washed up, the win goes
to the Steelers
TENNESSEE OVER HOUSTON
-The Titans are still a strong team
despite their poor record, they’re
crawling out of their slump in this
game.
DETROIT OVER GREENBAY
-The Pack are falling quick and the
Lions are on fire.
Jon Symons (10-2)
NEW ENGLAND OVER SEATTLE
-The Pats are unstoppable. The
Seahawks were unstoppable until last
week’s OT against the Rams. In a
possible preview of the Super Bowl,
New England will make it 20 in a row.
-Can’t go against the Vikes,
especially when they’re playing a
floundering
Saints squad. New Orleans should go
marching out of this with an L.
-The Steelers are looking better and
better every week, while the Cowboys
are struggling.The Berger will lead the
Steelers to their third in a row.
HOUSTON OVER TENNESSEE
-The Texans just about beat a tough
Minny squad last week, while the
Titans are helpless without McNair.
Houston’s finally starting to make
some noise, and if they win this one,
lookout.
DETROIT OVER GREEN BAY
-Here’s my upset of the week. Roy
Williams, the likely Offensive Rookie
of
the Year this year, should be back
from an injury and Joey Harrington
has
been looking like the last great Detroit
QB, Scott Mitchell. Detroit’s young
and exciting, while Green Bay’s old
and boring. The Lions will win this
and
put the Pack in panic mode.
)335%
PICKS
Sports
/i
6"1Êx
01
Seattle @ New England
02
Minnesota @ New Orleans
03
Pittsburgh @ Dallas
04
H o u s t o n @ Te n n e s s e e
05
Green Bay @ Detroit
Sheri Lamb (10-5)
-- New England is too much for the
disheartened Seahawks, who are
coming off a disappointing home loss
to the Rams. Patriots win their 20th in
a row.
-- It won’t be pretty, but the Vikings
should put up enough offensive
points to hold off the Saints.
-- The Stealers rookie QB continues
his improbable initiation into the NFL
with his 4th consecutive victory.
-- The Texans surprise the struggling
Titans at home and pull off the upset.
-- The roles have reversed; the Lions
are looking to keep pace with the
Vikings for tops in the NFC North,
while the Packers struggle to stay out
of the basement.
Mike Pyl (6-4)
-It is highly, HIGHLY unlikely that the
Patriots will run the table this
year. Until they drop one, there is no
way I could pick against them.
NEW ORLEANS OVER MINNESOTA
-Has any team been as consistently
inconsistent as the Saints have?
They’ve lost one, won one, lost one,
won one, lost one, culminating in a
less-than scintillating 2-3 record. The
Saints will impress, after serving
up a stinker last week.
DALLAS OVER PITTSBURGH
-This is what happens to rookie QBs:
they’ll succeed the first few weeks,
until opposing head coaches,
spending 20 hours a day studying
them to
death, figure them out. If anyone can
do it, Bill Parcells can.
-What’s the difference between
Tennessee QBs Steve McNair and
Billy Volek? About 30 points. Titans
win at home.
-Remember Week 1 when the
Packers looked so very impressive
against the Panthers? Now, they’re
an underdog to ... DETROIT!?! My,
how things have changed. Green Bay
falls to 1-5.
Rhys Kelso (6-4)
SEATTLE OVER NEW ENGLAND
-New England’s streak has to come
to an end sometime. With Seattle
coming off a tough loss look for them
to come out firing. Seahawks to win in
a nail bitter.
-Vikings offense doesn’t appear to be
slowing down. The Saints aren’t
looking very good. Minnesota to win
-Cowboys want this win after last
week’s loss to the Giants. The
Steelers don’t look like they slow
down anytime soon. Look for them to
go into their bye week with a win.
Pittsburgh to win.
-Houston suffered a heart
breaking overtime loss last week to
the Vikings, and there past three
games they have looked fairly good. I
still count them as one of the worst
teams in the league though.
Tennessee to win.
-The Packers are rolling down hill at a
fast pace. Will the Lions be able to
take advantage of a team that
appears to be falling a part. Lions to
win.
Jon Davis (3-7)
- Seattle will be licking their claws
after
their first loss of the season. Leave it
to the Patriots to go out and
do some Seahawk hunting!
- Culpepper and co. took it to
Houston last
week, expect the same if New
Orleans are feeling a little vulnerable
after allowing Tampa their first win.
- The Steelers vs. The Cowboys will
give over to
the Steelers after 3 in a row. After
getting tapped by the Giants the
Cowboys won’t go easily though.
- After losing 3 in a row before their
battle
against Green Bay, the Titans will
want a strong showing, or else
Houston will walk right over them.
- after surprising the Falcons last
week, theLions are looking strong...
let’s hope it holds out.
Fact & Fitness
BY
SARAH HAUCH
Are you frustrated by the astronomical amount ot “get in shape”
slogans out there? Don’t know what to believe or where to start?
Well, I’m here to let you know the truth about the myths and facts
of fitness. As a third year student in the faculty of Physical Activity
and Sports Studies, I have the inside info and want to show you
just how simple ‘being in shape’ can be.
Conditioning for Golf
Okay, so it may seem a little late in
the season but I am hopeful for
more great weather. I’ve had
questions concerning the best ways
to heighten golf performance. The
following article provides advice
and tips to maximize your swing.
So read on and happy golfing.
Want to cut a few
strokes off your golf game? Or
thinking about trying golf for the
first time? Whether you’re new or
experienced on the greens, a sportspecific conditioning program can
give you an edge. Even if a training
program doesn’t help your score, it
could keep you on the course
rather than on the sidelines with a
nagging injury.
A
good
golf
conditioning program emphasizes
strength and flexibility. The
conditioning goal for golfers is a
strong and flexible musculoskeletal
system that maximizes swinging
power and minimizes injury risk.
The golf swing is one of the most
complex and unnatural actions in
sports, so it’s difficult to design
sport-specific exercises. However,
research has found that improved
muscle strength and joint flexibility
can increase swinging speed and
enhance driving power. The best
way to begin conditioning for golf
is to ask your trainer to design a
program or recommend someone
who can. The following guidelines
will help you understand the
rationale for the program your
trainer designs, and enable you to
do your part in the conditioning
process:
1. Define Your Season.Your
sports training program should be
divided into pre-season, in-season
and post-season (or late season)
training. Another option is to use a
simple three-by-three schedule,
changing your conditioning
program every three months. If
you forego formal training sessions
during the season to maximize
your course time, make sure you
still follow an at-home program.
2. Avoid Common Injuries.The
explosive action of the golf swing
places significant stress on the
shoulder joints and also produces
high torque on the low-back
structures. Hence golfers have a
high injury rate in the shoulders
and back, as well as the hips,
elbows and wrists. You can reduce
your injury potential by paying
close attention to these areas in
your conditioning program and by
practicing proper swing mechanics
with a golf professional.
3. Watch Your Rotators.You
should do rotator cuff stretches on
the golf course before you start
playing, since the injury-sensitive
rotator cuffs do a considerable
amount of work during the golf
swing. Ask your trainer for a good
exercise to use before your game.
4. Keep Up Your Cardio Work.
Although
ca rdiovascula r
endurance plays only a minor role
in golf performance, it plays a
major role in your health. Strive
for at least three 30-minute
sessions per week, every week.
5.
Get
Strong.Westcott
recommends three strength
workouts per week during offseason months and two sessions
per week during the playing
season. Each session should
include 25 minutes of strength
training and 10 minutes of
stretching.
6. Train Progressively.For
example, your trainer might
recommend
the
following
progression:
• preseason: 12 repetitions of
8 strength exercises at 70
percent of maximum resistance,
with 2 minutes rest between
exercises
• early season: 10 reps of 10
exercises at 75 percent of max,
with 90 seconds rest between
exercises
• late season: 8 reps of 12
exercises at 80 percent of max
with 1 minute’s rest between
exercises. Changing your
routine will enhance the
effectiveness of your program.
7. Include All Your Muscle
Groups. Your leg muscles are
responsible for producing power
and initiating your swing; your
midsection muscles transfer force
from your legs to your torso to
accelerate your swing; your torso
muscles produce the actual
swinging action and are critical
for club head speed; and your arm
muscles help to determine both
club control and club head
accuracy. Make sure your
conditioning
program
is
complete.
8. Select the Right Exercises.
Your trainer can help create the
right program for you. A sample
program might start with the leg
press, chest cross-over, pull-over,
lateral raise, biceps curl, triceps
extension, lower back and
abdominal curl. Your trainer
might add neck extension and
flexion, and forearm supination
and pronation in the second three
months; and the leg extension and
leg curl in the third three months.
9.
Never
Underestimate
Stretching. Stretches for the
hamstrings, lower back, upper
back and shoulders are particularly
relevant to golfers.
10. Be Careful With Weighted
Swings. Performing with a
weighted golf club or trying to
duplicate the golf swing with
resistance equipment can be more
harmful than helpful. The best
practice drill for improving this
highly skilled movement is done
at the driving range under the
direction of a qualified golf
professional.
I hope this information was
helpful. And remember, fitness is
a lifestyle, not a fad. Be active
always.
If you would like to ask a fitness question, or comment on
anything related to fitness and getting into shape, email Sarah
Hauch at [email protected], or leave a message at
786-9497

17 14 Film Poems

Transcription

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