Uniter #8- final.qxd

Transcription

Uniter #8- final.qxd
Wesmen
Leave
UofM
Tourney
Undefeated
Athlete
Goes
Postal!
Page
Page 20
The High
Lonesome
Sound of
Fred
Eaglesmith
Page 14
Page 19
Uniter
october 23, 2003
T HE
Volume 58, Issue 8
T H E OF F IC I A L W E E K LY S T U DE N T N E W S PA P E R
OF THE
UNIVERSITY
Happy Halloween!
OF
WINNIPEG
the
the
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uniter
Volume 58, Issue 8
October 23, 2003
S T A F F
Jonathan Tan
Editor In Chief
[email protected]
Michelle Kuly
Managing Editor
[email protected]
A. P. (Ben) Benton
News Editor
[email protected]
Cheryl Gudz
Features Editor
[email protected]
Jeff Robson
A & E Editor
[email protected]
Leighton Klassen
Sports Editor
[email protected]
Stu Reid
Production Manager
[email protected]
Julie Horbal
Listings Editor
[email protected]
Chandra Mayor
Copy Editor
Ted Turner
Advertising Manager
[email protected]
Scott deGroot
Beat Reporter
Kent Davies
Diversions Coordinator
M.D.Cohen
Diversions Coordinator
Daniel Larsson
Guest Photo Editor
THIS WEEK’S CONTRIBUTORS
Teresa Falk, Andrew Wiens,
Joshua Gaudry, Sheri Lamb,
Laura White, Jeanne Fronda,
Dan Hughebaert, Jon Symons,
Julie Horbal, Leia Getty, Jeremy Hull,
James Paskaruk,
The Uniter is the official student newspaper of the
University of Winnipeg and is published by the University
of Winnipeg Students' Association. The Uniter is editorially autonomous and the opinions expressed within do not
necessarily reflect those of the UWSA. The Uniter is a
member of the Canadian University Press and Campus Plus
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Deadline for submissions is noon Friday (contact the section's editor for more information). Deadline for advertisements is noon Friday, six days prior to publication. The
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The Uniter
Room ORM14
University of Winnipeg
515 Portage Avenue
Winnipeg, Manitoba R3B 2E9
uniter
october 23, 2003
n e w s
Missing “Persons”
A . P .
( B E N )
B E N T O N
News Editor
October, like so many of
our months, is an eventfilled extravaganza of celebratory and commemorative days and weeks. Every month is packed
with commemorative days, or weeks, either
provincially, nationally, or internationally to
recognize something or other. For instance,
October is not only Thanksgiving, but has
also been declared Life Sciences Week (5th11th), World Teacher’s Day (5th), Mental
Health Awareness Week (6th-10th), Co-op
Week (12th-18th), School Bus Safety Week
(19th-25th). Have our governments never
heard the adage “Less is more?”
Almost lost in the mix are worthy causes
such as Breast Cancer Awareness Month,
Women’s History Month, and a particularly
important day in Canadian women’s history—Persons Day.
While it’s a noble cause to dedicate parts
of our precious calendar to assorted campaigns, the cramming of so many “this and
that” months, weeks, or days around other
important dates is a disservice to their function. With so many “goings-on” one tends to
ignore all the clutter in an already busy
schedule, and the significance and reverence
for important dates becomes lost. I can recall
a time when it was poor taste to give any consideration to Christmas before Remembrance
Day, for it would dishonour the Veteran’s
contributions. Now, in any given department
store, alongside the Halloween decorations
you can find Christmas ornaments. It was
also verboten to sell anything on
Remembrance Day. Now most corporations
eschew even the reasonable 9:00 a.m. - 1:00
p.m. cessation of business.
The veterans have a fitting anthem—one
that I feel applies fittingly to the eroding, or
absent, importance of Persons Day—Lest We
Forget.
Women’s History Month is an occasion
to reflect and recognize the contribution that
women have made to our society, in many
cases writing women’s contributions into the
history books for the first time. I didn’t know
we had an entire month dedicated to Women
in History, nor did I know that October was
such a significant month in women’s history.
But I discovered that I am not the only one to
have been overlooking the contributions of
this segment of society. Furthermore, it has
been a mistake perpetuated in antiquity.
Women’s History Month was established
in honour of the famous Persons Case of
1929, when five women created legal history
in women’s rights by contesting the notion
that legal definitions of persons excluded
females.
Born in 1868, Emily Murphy became the
first woman magistrate in the British Empire
in 1916. When a lawyer successfully challenged her ruling, claiming that by the terms
of the British North America Act of 1867 she
was not legally defined as a “person,”
Murphy decided to challenge the definition
and in 1927 led the legal process to reform
that became known as the Persons Case.
Four other prominent Canadian Women—
Nellie McClung, Irene Parlby, Louise
McKinney, and Henrietta Muir Edwards—
rallied with Murphy to bring attention to the
issue.
Just around the corner from the
University of Winnipeg, an important landmark of the city and of this chapter in
women’s history still stands. The Walker
theatre (now the Burton Cummings Theatre
for Performing Arts) hosted the event—a
Mock Parliament. The satirical drama was
staged in 1914, the day after Premier
Redmond Roblin turned down a delegation
of several hundred men and women demanding votes for women. Acting in the play
were several leaders in the Manitoba suffrage campaign. With humour to emphasise
the flaws in the Premier’s arguments, the
mock parliament reversed roles, McClung
starring as the Manitoba Premier. The show
was an overwhelming success and consolidated support for the suffragettes. Their
efforts were soon rewarded, and in 1916
Manitoba became the first province to grant
women the vote.
While the other provinces and federal
government followed suit, Murphy had still
not accomplished all that she wanted—an
appointment to the Senate. Women could not
be appointed to the Senate, a position of real
power from which real reform for women’s
rights could be spearheaded. In spite of the
support of Prime Ministers Arthur Meighan
and William Lyon MacKenzie King, her
appointment could not succeed due to the
language in the BNA Act which set out the
powers and responsibilities of the provinces
and of the federal government. The argument
that had undermined Murphy’s efforts was
that the term “persons” as used in the Act,
did not seem to include women. This federal
act used the term “persons” whenever it
referred to more than one person, and “he”
whenever it referred to one person. Murphy,
McClung, Parlby, McKinney, and Edwards
brought the issue to the Supreme Court of
Canada in 1927. It took five weeks for the
court to decide that the word “person” as
applied in the BNA Act did not in fact
include women. In 1929, eight years after
the five women had begun their campaign,
the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council
in England, the highest court of Canada,
officially pronounced women “persons”
under the law.
The “Famous Five” achieved not only
the right for women to serve in the Senate,
but they and their many contributions paved
the way for women to participate in other
aspects of public life, advanced the cause of
equality for girls and women, and opened the
doors to the feminist movement. Secondwave feminists of the 1970s actually adopted
“personhood” as a symbol of women’s legal
personality. In 1979 Governor General
Edward Schreyer chose to commemorate the
50th anniversary of the almost forgotten
Persons Case and the efforts of the Famous
Five by announcing a series of five awards.
These, in addition to one Youth Award, are
presented each October to candidates chosen
from across Canada who continue the tradition of courage, integrity, and hard work.
In honour of these events, on March 9th,
1992 the then Honourable Mary Colins, minister responsible for the Status of Women in
Canada, declared October to be Women’s
History Month. To annually coincide, several Canadian governments give “Persons
Awards” honouring prominent women in
their communities.
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Menno-Simons Students Hungry
for World Food Day Awareness
B Y
S C O T T
D E
G R O O T
Global hunger is not a new problem.
For decades, international organizations,
governments, and NGO’s have been fighting a losing battle against starvation and
chronic hunger in the developing world. But
this predicament isn’t limited to the
Southern Hemisphere; it’s estimated that
hunger affects the lives of 840 million people across the globe. Here in Canada, we
like to think that hunger is not a major issue
within our borders, and ignore the thousands
of Canadians who are unable to meet their
basic nutritional requirements.
Despite the scope and magnitude of
these problems, they receive scant coverage
in the popular media. While channel surfing,
chances are news flashes on “Bennifer” will
appear twenty times before you’ll see anything on famine and food security. The
newspapers are no better; when was the last
time you read anything about food shortages
in Eritrea or looming famine in Tanzania,
these days?
Responding to the need to build a dialogue and increase awareness of global
hunger, World Food Day was established by
the Food and Agriculture Organization
(FAO) of the United Nations in 1979. The
event has a mandate of raising awareness of
these problems, and although its success in
this area has been limited, World Food Day
is observed in over 125 countries each year.
On October 16th last week, the
Menno-Simons
College
Students
Association (MSC-SA) observed World
Food Day at the U of W. The group held an
“international potluck” to draw attention to
World Food Day and global hunger.
Cory Bellhouse, program assistant of
the Conflict Resolution Studies Department
and member of the MSC-SA feels that supporting this event is a worthy cause, but
more needs to be done on a macro level.
“Having a day to symbolically draw
attention to the fact the majority of the world
doesn’t get enough nutritional food to live a
good life is important,” said Bellhouse. “But
it’s also important to continue this dialogue
and thought process year round. Calling
attention to it one day is not going to alleviate the problems of the world. I don’t think
that hunger is given enough profile by governments or the mainstream media. It’s really inadequate at this point—especially in our
country. We hope that people will adopt this
type of action year round into their lifestyle.”
Throughout the week, the MSC-SA
collected non-perishable food items from
students at Menno-Simmons College in the
student lounge and at the potluck dinner.
Two hampers were created, and on the fol-
lowing day, Friday, Oct. 17th, they were
donated to the UWSA Foodbank in 1C12.
The MSC-SA aided in the packing of
the food, and subsequent distribution to
needy students, alumni, and community
members. “I think that the UWSA food bank
is a really important thing to support
because it’s literally right here in the university,” said Bellhouse. “It’s operating for low
income students, or for people in our city
who can’t even afford their groceries each
week. There is a vauge sense that we are
well-off compared to the rest of the world,
but we have such immense hunger and
poverty problems in our own backyard that
we just can’t keep on ignoring it.”
World food day events were also held
at the University of Manitoba and across the
country last week by organizations such as
the Canadian Foodgrains Bank and Oxfam
Canada.
New Study Examines
North End “Fringe Banking”
B Y
S C O T T
D E
G R O O T
Twenty years ago, most residents of
Winnipeg’s North End could walk down the
street to their local bank branch. Traditional
financial institutions such as the Bank of
Montreal and Scotia Bank lined street corners.
They offered convenience and accessibility to
a hard working North End clientele. Those
days are long gone now. Currently, fringe
banking services such as payday loan, rent-toown, and pawnshops far outnumber traditional banks, and they are fast becoming the
neighbourhoods’ “banking” service of choice
– despite exorbitantly high interest rates. But
what led to this situation and how does it
affect the North End’s residents, who are
among the poorest in Winnipeg? A recent
study by Dr. Jerry Buckland of Menno-Simons
College and Dr. Thibault Martin of the
University of Winnipeg examines such questions.
Entitled The Rise of Fringe Financial
Services in Winnipeg’s North End: Client
Experiences, Firm Legitimacy & Communitybased Alternatives, the study was conducted
over a one year period and interviewed fortyone fringe bank clients in a qualitative survey.
Its findings generated quite a buzz when
they were released to the local media last
week. Press conferences were attended by
local media organizations such as the CBC, AChannel, the Free Press, and the Winnipeg
Sun. Offers were also made by local radio station CJOB to interview Buckland and Thibault
on their findings.
Funding for the study was provided by
the Winnipeg Inner City Research Alliance
(WIRA), which is a partnership between academia and community organizations seeking
to develop stronger inner-city neighbourhoods. The project was assisted by a number
of student researchers from the U of W as well
as community researchers.
The study found that the growth fringe
banking services has occurred for a multitude
of reasons, one of the most important being
branch closures at the mainstream banks,
according to Dr. Buckland.
“The heart of our concern in the study is
that mainstream bank branches are being shut
down. In 1980 in the Winnipeg telephone
directory, we found that there were twenty
credit union and bank branches in the North
End, and today there are only five - and they
are all on the periphery,” said Buckland. “On
the other hand, in 1980, there was only one
fringe bank, but today there are 19 fringe
banks such as pay-day loans, pawn shops, and
rent-to-owns. There has been an interesting
inverse relationship over time. What it means
is that low-income people in the end face
higher fees for lower quality services, and
these are exactly the people who have the least
flexibility in their spending.”
Other reasons for the proliferation of
Fringe Banks include that they have extended
hours of operation. This is important to the
working poor of the north-end who often work
late or have irregular shifts. As many North
End residents don’t have cars, convenience
was also a major factor.
It was also determined that some clients
did not feel respected at mainstream banks and
believed that fringe banks gave them greater
control over their money. While cheques are
withheld and processed at mainstream banks,
fringe banks provide immediate cash.
Despite these benefits to Fringe Banks,
it’s clear their services come with a high cost.
Fees at Fringe Banks often involve complex
formulas and annualized interest rates that
range from 200 to 1000 percent. Cashing a
$100 cheque at Money Mart costs about four
dollars, whereas a mainstream bank would
likely charge 50 cents or less. Moreover,
unlike mainstream banks, fringe banks cannot
provide clients a means to improving their
credit and savings position.
However, Buckland and Thibault do not
condemn fringe banks, something they are
quick to point out. “If the Fringe banks were
shut down, people would be in an even more
precarious position than they are now. We
don’t want to bash fringe banks because we
see that they do offer a service,” said
Buckland. “We believe there are a lot of people who want to improve their financial situation. We’re not saying let’s kick the fringe
banks out, we’re saying let’s open new pathways and new opportunities for people to
improve their financial situation by offering
some new services in the North End.”
The study calls for efforts to more effectively meet the financial needs of low-income
consumers through a combination of provin-
cial regulation and federal policy requiring
banks to address the needs of low-income
communities. The study also calls for the
establishment of a community financial service centre in the north end with a central
locale, which would provide micro loans, as
well as some “fringe services.” The centre
would provide access to special savings
accounts and give clients a means to improve
their credit rating.
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Worms and the Single Girl
One Woman’s Search for True Love and a Reduction in Harmful Greenhouse Gases.
BY
AMANDA
MCMILLAN
Episode I
It all started when I decided to purchase
my very own automobile. Like single women
before me (think Bridget Jones and Mary Tyler
Moore) I crave independence and self-sufficiency. For me that means being able to go
where I want, when I want. In the end I decided
on a Honda Civic, which meets California’s
Ultra-Low Emission Vehicle (ULEV) standards. Still, I was wracked by guilt as I thought
of my contribution of greenhouse gases out into
the atmosphere. In an attempt to (in a very small
way) balance this out, I decided to start composting.
As an apartment dweller I wasn’t sure
quite how to do this, until a friend introduced
me to vermicomposting. The idea of a whole
bunch of wiggly worms hanging out in my
apartment, eating up my leftover veggies, was
strangely appealing. Before too long my friend
provided me with my very own Red Wrigglers.
My first impression? Gross! This teeming
mass of red wiggling worms was going to be
living in my apartment? Yuck, yuck, yuck. But
because I am an independent, self-sufficient
single woman, I forged ahead. I purchased my
Rubbermaid container and punched holes in the
roof. I tore strips of newspaper to make a comfy
new home for my worms. I found an unobtrusive place to keep them in my kitchen. And I got
a little bit excited about purchasing the pretty
stainless steel composting pail from Lee Valley.
Luckily
Resource
Conservation
Manitoba has tonnes of tips for composters and
I referred to it often. I had to remember to keep
the container moist, and once a week I would
put in the scraps I had saved up. It really didn’t
seem that hard, and I was ready to proclaim my
foray into vermicomposting a success.
Episode II: The Great Escape –
Early Adventures in
Vermicomposting
I’d had my worms for a day, and was very
proud of myself for successfully building them
a home, and for not being too squeamish about
the fact that there are now worms living in my
apartment.
My feelings of pride were short-lived. I
woke up the next morning to find several dried
up worm corpses on my kitchen floor. The poor
things! I instantly felt like a terrible mother. The
home I had made for them was so inhospitable
that they were clambering to get out. I pictured
them struggling across the massive expanse of
my kitchen floor (a desert to a worm) – an epic
escape – only to die trying to reach . . . where
exactly did they think they were going?
I looked into the container to check the
fate of the others. They were all huddled near
the roof, obviously very upset. So I fluffed their
bedding, poked a few more holes in their roof,
and made sure the lid was on securely.
It worked, because there were no more
dried up worm corpses on my kitchen floor. The
struggle of those early pioneer worms had not
been in vain – their efforts alerted me to the
conditions in the bin, and in the end made me a
better vermicomposter.
Episode III: “My daughter is a
hippy!” – Tell me what you really
think Mom
“Worms? In your kitchen? Where?”
My mom’s first inclination was to provide me with the number for an exterminator. I
assured her that I put them there.
“Why?”
She’s skeptical, I can tell. Even after I
explained, the dubious expression on her face
told me that the gross factor of creepy-crawlies
in the kitchen out-weighed any environmental
benefits. Not that my mom doesn’t love the
planet, she just can’t shake the feeling that
worms in the kitchen are not entirely hygienic.
My sister Becca doesn’t help. “Mom and Dad,
you’ve raised a dirty hippy!” she gleefully told
them at a family dinner hosted by me. My
grandmother, the coolest member of the family,
is remarkably nonchalant about almost everything. “They’re cute,” was her only comment
when I picked out one of my Red Wrigglers to
show off. My aunt and uncles refused to look.
To be fair, they had just discovered that they had
eaten a meal prepared in the worm-infested
kitchen.
Bailey, my cat (every single woman
worth her stereotype has a cat), is fascinated by
them. Every time I have the bin open he is right
in there, peering over the edge to check things
out. I think he’s smart enough to realize that
they aren’t as cute and furry as he is, and therefore not likely to replace him in my heart.
I have also shared my worm stories at
work. Aside from my new nickname (Worm
Girl), my co-workers are all quite supportive. At
work one day we discussed the worms at length,
and everyone had lots of questions.
“What do you keep them in?
“A Rubbermaid container.”
“What
do
you
feed
them?”
“Mostly fruit and veggie scraps.”
“Don’t you have problems with fruit
flies?”
“I don’t put banana peels in because veteran vermicomposters think that’s what lures
the flies.”
As the conversation continued I dazzled
them with my worm knowledge. Each one of
my worms eats half of his or her weight every
day. The resulting castings (a polite word for
worm poo) makes fabulous fertilizer for your
plants. They enquired about worm babies. It
was at this point that the conversation degenerated. My informative talk on the benefits and
how-to of vermicomposting became wild speculation on worm romance. Did their
Rubbermaid home come equipped with mood
lighting and Barry White? Is their home furnished with comfy beds? I hadn’t put a lot of
thought into how my worms make babies. I
made a mental note to look into it.
The next morning I arrived at work to
find worm-sized IKEA-style furniture on my
desk. Bunk beds, a chair and a giant double bed,
all made from Popsicle sticks, courtesy of a coworker and her daughter. The worms’ home was
complete.
For more information visit www.resourceconservation.mb.ca/cap/index.html
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Art:
By the People, For the People
B Y
V I V I A N
B E L I K
There’s nothing like art to remind citizens that their city is more than just a centre
for downtown buildings and sprawling suburban settlements. At the end of September, the
city of Winnipeg released its plan to innovate
the city’s landscape by injecting half a million dollars into public art. The purpose,
according to City Council, is to give a voice
to Winnipeg communities via artists who will
reflect our city’s individuality while simultaneously breathing life into its many corners.
A task force was created in May 2002
under the direction of the Winnipeg Arts
Council and Mayor Glen Murray. It began as
a volunteer group surfacing out of the arts
community with the purpose of creating a
public art policy for Winnipeg. Its mandate
was to research cities such as Toronto,
Vancouver and Seattle, which are known to
have good public arts programs, and speak
with experts in the field of public arts. It was
an opportunity for professionals in the field
of arts, city administration, planning and
development and architecture to come together and share their ideas and proposals for
public art in Winnipeg. The Winnipeg
Committee on Public Art, which has taken
over the work of the task force, represents a
diversity of interests by involving members
from all communities and walks of life.
Tricia Wazny, coordinator for the
Committee on Public Art, assures that the
project will “reach out to different parts of the
city,” and not just downtown. The communities that will receive funding for public art
will be “represented by people in the arts
community that are from the regions in question.” As well, a separate jury will be put in
place to oversee the development of each
piece of art. In this way, the project will
reflect the interests of the public and not just
the politicians. In reference to this the mayor
has stated that, “politicians endorse the need
for public art and also respect that there can-
not be political interference in the creation or
subject of the work.”
In addition to the $500,000 received in
2003, the Committee on Public Art is expected to receive $1 million in the following year
in an effort to carry through with its plans.
The money is not a grant and will make its
way into the hands of the Committee each
year for an indefinite period of time.
An open-door policy will be used to
recruit artists for the project. Local artists, of
course, will be essential to the initiative
although artists from different cities will be
welcome to take part as well. This, in
Wazny’s opinion, would allow artists to “give
an outside perspective to Winnipeg.” Wazny
also states that artists from other communities
in Manitoba will be encouraged to participate
in Winnipeg’s public art project.
No definite projects have been created
at this time but the Committee hopes to incorporate such things as the city’s new environmental policy into the artwork. Other possi-
bilities are renovations to civic buildings and
further development of our city’s river-ways.
When asked whether money would be spent
on such projects as the “Moose in the City”
display in Toronto (a collection of more than
300 moose designed by different Toronto
artists), Wazny was quick to note that our
public art policy would “offer a lot more to
the city than that.” This may answer the question of whether our own city will be invaded
by the likes of large, unattractive bison, but it
will still leave people wondering what exactly we can expect to see in the way of public
art.
The implementation of the Committee’s
plan will most likely begin in early 2004 but
it is unknown as to when the citizens of
Winnipeg will be able to experience the fruits
of its labour. Although somewhat vague at
this point, the plan to implement public art
into our city could potentially change other
Canadians’ views that Winnipeg is one of the
least attractive cities in the country.
The
Plight
of
the
Rally Highlights
Rural
Student
Poverty Issues
B Y
Activists Aims to Give
the Poor a Voice
B Y
G I N N Y C O L L I N S
Central Bureau
REGINA (CUP) — Anti-poverty
activists in Regina are determined to
make poverty an issue and give the
poor a voice in the upcoming provincial election.
A Rally Against Poverty was
held on Oct. 17 to coincide with the
United Nations Day for the Eradication
of Poverty. Activists were there to send
out the message that poverty is a long
way from being eradicated both in
Regina and around the world.
“We’re in the middle of an election campaign. Poverty issues are often
not in the forefront of political debate
in this province,” said Peter Gilmer,
spokesperson for the Regina AntiPoverty Ministry. “The timing of this
is important to us.”
The day before the rally, consultations were held with several antipoverty activists over questions they
would direct to politicians during the
rally. Their main concerns include
affordable housing, increases in minimum wage, new job creation strategies
and high social assistance rates.
Gilmer says that although the
cost of living has gone up 80 per cent
since 1982, social assistance rates have
remained the same. He also says minimum wage in Saskatchewan would
have to go up to at least $7.75 for
someone working full time to reach the
poverty line. Currently minimum wage
is $6.65.
“People should not have to
choose between paying the rent and
feeding their kids,” he said.
Mike Lamb has been a volunteer
with the Regina Anti-Poverty Ministry
as well as a welfare recipient for many
years. As a person affected by poverty,
Lamb believes both the provincial and
federal governments are not doing
enough for the poor in Canada.
“Mike Harris fills the streets
with people when he cuts back welfare
by 25 per cent,” said Lamb, referring
to poverty and homelessness in
Ontario.
According
to
anti-poverty
activists, another main cause of poverty is the current workfare programs in
place. Gilmer says the current plans
operate under a system called “trickle
down economics”.
“They believe if you give enough
to the rich they will invest it and they
will create jobs for the poor.
Unfortunately this strategy is not meeting the need and actually making the
gap between rich and poor even wider.”
The rally itself had approximately 75 people in attendance. The crowd
was composed of community groups,
anti-poverty organizations, labour
movements and people affected by
poverty. The crown heard from representatives from all these groups.
“I found something deeply
important to me as a person from
Saskatchewan, as a Canadian,” said
Mike Lamb in an interview before the
rally. “I will always be here, I will
always be doing this, because this will
not go away overnight.”
Saskatchewan voters go to the
polls on Nov. 5.
L E I A
G E T T Y
University’s expensive for everyone—
unless of course you’re one of the few who get
full paid scholarships. For most of us who live
here or who have relatives who live in the city,
rent is one of the few things that we don’t have
to worry about while we’re worrying if we’ve
got enough for tuition, how the job’s going or
if you’re in my chordates class, how we’re
going to remember the muscles of the dogfish
shark.
However, for rural students they don’t
always have the option of living at home to
save money. Even those who carpool from
their rural homes are subject to hours on the
road before coming into the city limits and
fighting traffic and paying the ridiculous costs
of parking downtown.
Most dormitories offer subsidized rates
for students, but rent is only one of the few
things they have to worry about. Electricity,
food, and telephone bills add up. From problem roommates to noisy neighbors, those of us
who live at home sometimes can’t imagine
what these out-of-towners go through.
If that wasn’t bad enough, a lot of us take
course-loads where we can barely work during
the week, two nights on the weekends tops,
and while city dwellers are probably using that
money to have a good time, the rural student is
probably using it to make ends meet.
When summer rolls around, rural students typically go home to be with their families. That means they can’t take summer courses. When time comes to get books for next
semester, they can go to the Petrified Sole, but
can only check for cheaper books during the
few times they’re in the city. And going to the
University is a day trip, not a quick bus ride
that so many of us are accustomed to. And
when it’s back to Winnipeg for another school
year, they either have to find a new apartment
or keep paying the rent throughout the summer
in a place they’ve barely been to.
However, thanks to recent technology
the more popular courses are offered in the
more rural and northern parts of Manitoba.
We’ve all been enrolled in a telecourse or
online course that we’ve switched out of once
the waiting list narrowed down. These courses
allow those who can’t get to Winnipeg to work
on a degree while they get on with their lives
away from the city. However, these courses
are limited and it’s not easy to learn stuff if
one can’t see the professor in person, and it’s
easy enough to slack off and tape the telecourses with the promise, “I’ll watch it later.”
Although more expensive for the rural
than the urban (or suburban in my case; the
part of Charleswood where I live may have
more than its fair share of forest fauna but at
least I’m on a decent bus route), the experience of University is quite different than for
those of us who still sponge off their parents.
Although rural students have to live
independently, this real-life training is setting
them up for a time where they will live independently indefinitely. People like me, however, assume all the bills will get paid on time,
and if all my laundry is dirty my little sister
and I are the same size so I don’t really have
to worry about it.
Independent students have to cook their
own food yes, but how often will it be something they dislike? Although the rural student
and I may take the same course, our experience
through university will be totally different.
Meanwhile, we both have to get back to
that dogfish. Oh it’s a long way from
Amphioxus…
FOR SOME OF THE BEST
USED VEHICLES IN MANITOBA
Visit us on the web at
www.manitobacarfind.ca
the
pa g e 6
uniter
october 23, 2003
editorial
The (neo) -Conservative Party
and Canadian Democracy
J O N A T H A N
T A N
Editor In Chief
W
ith the past week’s
announcement, of
a deal between the
leadership of the federal Progressive
Conservatives and the Canadian Alliance that
could merge the two parties into a single entity called the Conservative Party of Canada,
many political commentators are heralding a
renewal of Canadian federal politics. The
return of the two-party state is how some have
termed it, but this political marriage is not
exactly a match made in heaven.
It’s more like an arranged marriage
between a confused, and possibly senile old
man who no longer commands the support he
once did, and his estranged western lover-boy
who can’t get any more popular on his own.
I’m guessing they’d prefer the term civilunion. It’s all a bit premature really, they’ve
already named the baby but the marriage
license is far from signed. Both their respective families are sure to have objections. One’s
family is fundamentalist Christian, holding
hard-line far-right views that would bring
Canadians back to the 1950’s and the other has
a more moderate Protestant background with a
strong work ethic. There are definitely points
of conflict where the two parties common
ground of fiscal conservatism breaks down.
For me the possible merger will at least
end some conceptual confusion I’ve had with
both parties names. The Progressive
Conservative party’s name was particularly
confusing. As the definitions found in the
Oxford Canadian Dictionary illustrate, the
terms Progressive and Conservative can easily
be construed as conflicting or at least selferasing terms. Progressive is defined alternately as A: a political party favouring or
implementing rapid progress or social change
or B: holding liberal views. Conservative on
the other hand is defined as A: averse to rapid
change or B: A party promoting individualism
and non-interventions by the State. So clearly
dropping the Progressive from PC will make it
clearer that they are not liberal, the question is
can those that are averse to change accept this
one. The Canadian Alliance is also a confusing
name since I’ve never been sure who it was an
alliance of. Despite the fact that the Alliance
has been able to branch out slightly from
Reform’s western voter base the fact that past
unite-the-right efforts failed to get the PC’s in
the fold has meant that the Canadian Alliance
was little more than Reform with a name
change.
Substantively there are sure to be conflicts between the two party’s memberships.
Even though the PC’s have traditionally
advocated fiscally conservative policies, past
federal PC governments have also increased
spending on a number of social programs and
run deficits. The Alliance has always advocated for a much smaller conception of governments meaning that those in the PC party
who viewed it as an alternative brokerage
type party to the Liberals may be inclined to
support Paul Martin instead of accepting the
more fundamentalist views of the new party.
Again this is all speculation at this point.
There will likely be a legal challenge to
the merger from the David Orchard camp of
the PC party since Peter McKay has clearly
violated the written agreement not to merge
that made him party leader in the first place.
Despite this and other obstacles the merger
will likely go through, after all what other
options do they have. This deal was born out
of desperation, both parties have realized that
alone they face being pushed further into the
margins of Parliament. The new party will
not necessarily earn the number of seats that
they would like. It is still unclear which side
will have more influence on policy formation
and the new party lacks any appeal in
Quebec.
All of this uncertainty hasn’t kept the
media from salivating over every twist and
turn in the plot. The national papers want a
race in the next election, something they
haven’t had for awhile and they are willing to
play up the prospects of this new party in
order to get one. It seems funny to me that
during the past decade when the political
right in Canada has been fragmented and
filled with in-fighting, the left has failed to
garner greater amounts of support. The
Liberal party in its current situation has managed to be both the government and the
opposition. By this I mean that criticism of
the current Chretien regime that come from
the incoming Martin camp are taken more
seriously than anything that Steven Harper
has to say. All of the other parties in
Parliament seem to be viewed as increasingly marginal. A new Conservative party may
help re-invigorate democratic debate in this
country but my fear is that it will shift the
realm of what is deemed as legitimate debate
further to the right.
Already we are bracing for a Liberal
government that will be more neo-liberal
than in its current incarnation, with Paul
Martin promising tax and program cuts as a
top priority. With a neo-conservative
Conservative party as the opposition the
debate in Parliament may become a matter of
where and how deep to cut, rather than if we
should be cutting programs at all. Citizens in
this country need to start remembering that if
we’re talking about smaller government,
while at the same time proposing policy harmonization with the U.S. in order to keep the
border open, and negotiating away legislative
power in multi-lateral trade deals like the
FTAA, pretty soon there really won’t be a
Canada left worth speaking of.
the
october 23, 2003
uniter
pa g e 7
D I V E R S I O N S
Straight Faced
Tales From a Muirite
BY M.D. COHEN AND KENT DAVIES
B
G
Stream of
Consciousness
Y
Y
J
.
J
.
S
ou bastards!! What have
you done with Jimmy?!
Oh, wait, there he is. Sorry,
I'll just let myself out.
No one believed I could do it.
No one supported me, they all
scoffed. But I've finally done it. I
have created a weapon so powerful,
nothing could withstand it. An
unstoppable harbinger of death, the
pinnacle of weapons technology,
my own apocalypse. And
now..NOW!! They shall all suffer!
I'll, um, throw stuff at them or
something. Maybe sneak up behind
'em and whack 'em upside the head.
Then they'll regret the day they
laughed at Virgil T. Pinkmeyer.
Note to self: finalize name change.
Sometimes I wonder if ants
are smarter than we know. Maybe
they have a whole society, with art,
and social events. Maybe they're
plotting the annihilation of the
human race so they can claim the
top of the food chain. Ha! Fat
chance! We can just step on them.
Stupid ants.
I think the stupidest subject
in school is geography. I mean, it's
not like I plan on living in the
world anyway. One subject that I
think is really worth paying attention in though, is history. Cause
you never know when that crazy
scientist guy who lives on your
street is gonna succeed in creating a
time machine, in which you unwittingly become the test pilot, and
have to use your knowledge of history to survive in the new era until
you can find your way back. No
matter what the class though, it's
always good to pay attention,
.
M
C
L
E
O
M
D
um is a gateway candy. I’m addicted to gum.
It all started innocently enough. I used to
have a family dinner every other Sunday
where my Aunt would give me a package of gum. I
loved this for two reasons. Firstly, you can never go
wrong with free stuff. Secondly, I was the most popular kid in my class on Monday mornings.
Everybody wanted a piece of me... and my gum. The
same holds true today but I find it weird giving out
gum in playgrounds so that Billy and Jane will be
my friends. I guess that explains the restraining
order. It all started out innocently enough. I’d have
a stick or two to take the edge off: cinnamon, mint,
cherry. One day my friend brought a chocolate bar
to school. I figured it couldn’t hurt. Like I said, gum
is a gateway candy. Pretty soon I was hitting sugar
highs that I’d never reached before. I remember
doing a couple of lines of pixie sticks back in ’87. I
saw the face of God, man. The lows were pretty bad
too. You never realize how bad off you are until
you’re sniffing fun dip and sucking cock for pop
rocks. Of course there are those who can handle
their addiction. They’re the ones walking around
with all the bling bling. You know the type. A giant
ring pop on their right hand, the candy necklace, the
Popeye cigarettes. It really brings new meaning to
the term sugar daddy. They’re also the ones who
Dr. Muire is a publicly traded company.
B
Y
D
because you never know when
some day, far in the distant future,
you might end up needing to
remember one single piece of information, to use at an appropriate
time. Especially with the wacky
adventures I have. Like this one
time, I spilled grape juice all over
mom and dad's new couch, and the
Beave's like "Oh man, what are we
gonna do?". But I was like, "Wait a
minute, science class, vinegar and
baking soda!" Yep, that was certainly a close shave. The baking
soda didn't work, but we turned the
cushion over.
When young Tommy asked
me where the sun went at night to
make things so dark, I told him it
was because the sun was flickering.
We never used to have dark nights
at all, but the sun's almost burnt out
now. Probably in the next few
weeks, the sun'll die completely,
and the earth will grow completely
cold and dark, and every living
thing will quickly die. Kids love
stories like that.
Sometimes, just for laughs, I
like to walk down a busy sidewalk,
and then, for no obvious reason,
stop suddenly, causing a disturbance. It can be really funny.
Sometimes when I'm in my car I
like to do that too. And this one
time, it was sooooo funny! This
guy had a big load, and he couldn't
stop, and he rear ended me and
snapped my third vertebrae. So
now I have to wear a neck brace.
When I think back on it, it still
makes me laugh. Then I grab my
neck cause it really hurts when I
laugh.
C
O
H
E
N
push the higher end candy that most of us can’t
afford: the gummies. This is usually the choice of
the elite candy crowd in New York and Milan. The
closest a guy like me will get to that is a package of
candy valentine hearts and a bottle of ginger ale.
Willy Wonka is the biggest sugar daddy of them all
though. His purple oompah men really lay down the
law when it comes to territory disputes. They may
not be big but they’re scrappers. So what is the reason I’m telling you this? I feel it is my public duty
to protect today’s youth. This is a precautionary tale
to tell you two things: Trix aren’t for kids and the
Eatmore cowbody is a glorified Malboro man. They
say that candy rots the teeth. Well, it rots the mind as
well. Too many lives have been lost to the hands of
M & M’s and Skittles. I see today’s youth walk into
a convenience store and come out with a dime bag.
How can we let our future leaders do this? Stick to
the safer candy: the dried fruit and, to a lesser
extent, the granola bar. It may not be as exciting but
at least you’ll live to see another day. I was five
when I had my first fix and look where I am now. I
owe My Wonka five grand and I have to pawn five
of my ring pops to make my first payment.
You can contact either Matt or Kent at [email protected]
What are
the
students
saying...
...In the
Halls?
Time: 1:34
Place: Centennial
Male: I was trying
to go back to my
junior high days.
Male 2: If you want
to go back to the
junior high days let
me give you a
wedgie and put you
in a locker.
Time: 2:38
Place: Bulman
Male: What’s it like
working for
McDonalds?
Male 2: McShitty.
Time: 11:14
Place: Ashdown
Male: If I were a
superhero I’d be
called the
dispenser.
the
PA G E 8
uniter
october 23, 2003
D I V E R S I O N S
u n i t e r
ON CAMPUS COMMOTION
WORK STUDY PROGRAM
Jobs on campus for full-time
students with 30+ cr. hrs. and a
Canada Student Loan/line-ofcredit of $1000+
Applications in Awards Office
Deadline October 20
COMMONWEALTH
SCHOLARSHIPS
Graduate study in a variety of
Commonwealth countries
Applications in Awards Office
Deadline Oct 24
RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS
For graduate study at Oxford
Applications in Awards Office
Deadline Oct 24
FOREIGN GOVERNMENT
AWARDS
For graduate study in various
countries
Applications in Awards Office
Deadline Oct 24
STUDY SKILLS WORKSHOP
Studying & Test Prep
October 24
1L04
5:30pm
EcoMAFIA DUMPSTER DIVING
Clean up trash for a trophy and
a good cause
Thursday Oct 25
Sign up in the atrium this week
LUCILLE CHUNG
Virtuosi Concert Series
October 25
Eckhardt-Gramatte Hall
8pm
Call 786-9000 for tix
EcoMAFIA STUFF SWAP
Trade your old stuff for new
stuff and enjoy food and
entertainment (bring your
own plate, cup, etc.)
Friday Oct 26
Bulman Student Centre
STUDY ABROAD
OPPORTUNITIES INFO SESSION
Wednesday October 29
12:30-1:20
Contact International Office
for more info
CANADIAN FEDERATION OF
UNIVERSITY WOMEN
Information & application form
for a variety of graduate awards
Applications in Awards Office
Deadline November 1
MY MANITOBA MOMENT
NON-FICTION CONTEST
Winnipeg Free Press & Writers
Collective Annual Non-fiction
contest
Write a 1500-2000 word story
with the theme "My Manitoba
Moment"
Call 786-9468 or email
[email protected]
for applications
Deadline Nov 5
FULBRIGHT STUDENT AWARDS
($15, 000 US)
For graduate studies in the US
Applications in Awards Office
Deadline November 15
FULBRIGHT OAS ECOLOGY
INSTITUTE
Scholarships for graduate
studies in US in area of
environmental studies &
sustainable development
Applications in Awards Office
Deadline November 15
If you have something you want included in our listings, visit www.newwinnipeg.com and fill out the Uniter
Listings form.
Or fill out the form at the Info Booth.
Or feel free to stop by and see me the
C o m p i l e d
b y
J
U
L
l i s t i n g s
Uniter Office on Mondays from 8:3010:30 or 3:30-4:30.
eyes and run your index finger along
this page until I say stop.
If you don’t have anything you want to
include in the compilation and you find
yourself sitting at home with no homework to your name, simply close your
STOP!
I
E
H
O
R
B
A
What event did your finger land on?
Quit sitting and go check it out!
L
, Listings Coordinator
Halloween Horrors
Here are some of the Uniter’s picks for the spookiest Halloween events
Events leading up to the
spooky evening...
BOO AT THE ZOO
Assinaboine Park Zoo
Until October 30
Tix $7 @ Safeway
$8 @ door
HALLOWEEN CORN MAZE
Boonstra Farms
(Highway 67)
Fridays 6-10pm
Saturdays noon - 10pm
Sundays noon - 6pm
Admission $7.50
SKALLOWEEN 5
Feat. Greg (Milka) Crowe
Band, Subcity Dwellerz,
Solar Powered Rocket Car,
Hot Off the Girdle,
Lackadasical
Riverview Community
Centre, 8pm
Wednesday October 29
Tix $4 @ Sk8, Music Trader
ONTARIO GRADUATE
SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
Scholarships for study in
Ontario graduate universities
Applications in Awards Office
Deadline November 17
TOTAL BODY NOON HOUR
FITNESS CLASSES
Mondays: Hi/Low, Wednesdays:
Athletic Moves, Fridays: Core
Body Conditioning
12:30-1:15pm
Tuesday: Step & Hi-Lo combo,
Thursdays: Tae-Box
12:05-12:50pm
Register at the Duckworth
Centre Customer Service Desk
ROUND THE 'PEG PURSUITS
PANDEMONIUM
A Kiss Tribute
Silverado's (CanadInns
Garden City - 694-SHOW)
Tix $5, call 694-SHOW
Ian McCulloch from
Echo & the Bunnymen
Halloween
night
at the
Pyramid
SKALLOWEEN 5
Feat. The Afterbeat, Ten
Too Many, Happy Nipple
Project, Bailey's Car
West End Cultural Centre
(586 Ellice Ave - 783-6918)
Thursday October 30
8pm
Tix $6 @ SK8, Music Trader
THE MAIN EVENT...
Sounds
DEATH BY STEREO
W/ Himsa & Undecided
West End Cultural Centre
(586 Ellice Ave - 783-6918)
8pm (doors @ 7:15)
Tix $13/$15 @ Ticketmaster,
SK8 & WECC
BOYFRIEND w/FANNY, not half,
ABSENT SOUNDS & duul_drv
Collective Cabaret
(108 Osborne - 475-2239)
Tix @ door
MOSES MAYES,
BLUE QUARTER & IO
Pyramid Cabaret
(176 Fort - 957-7777)
9pm
Tix @ door
UNIFUNK
Moses Mayes
Rudimental, the Viberiders,
DJ CO-op and Dr.P
Unicef Fundraiser
The Zen Lounge 253 Portage
tix $8, $10 at the door
SKALLOWEEN 5
Feat. The Brat Attack,
The Barrymores, JFK and
the Conspirators,
The Wedgewoods
West End Cultural Centre
(586 Ellice Ave - 783-6918)
Tix $6 @ SK8, Music Trader
ECHO AND THE BUNNYMEN
Pyramid Cabaret
(176 Fort - 957-7777), 9pm
Tix $20 @ Ticketmaster
Movement
DANCE AND CHAT
WCD Studio Theatre
(211 Bannatyne)
8pm
Film
THE LAST ROUND:
CHUVALO vs. ALI
Cinematheque
(100 Arthur - 981-5379)
9pm
Tix $4.50-$6 @ door
JERRY TWOMEY COLLECTION
Winnipeg Art Gallery
(300 Memorial Blvd. - 786-6641)
Gallery 1
Sights
TWITCH
by David Rokeby, Garnet Hertz,
Nicholas Stedman, Kevin Yates
aceartinc. (2nd floor,
290 McDermot Ave. - 944-9763)
STATES OF BECOMING
Winnipeg Art Gallery (300
Memorial Blvd. - 786-6641)
Galleries 2&3
CHANGING COLOURS
by Libby Weir
Upstairs Gallery
(266 Edmonton - 943-2734)
MY MAD SKILLZ
by Paul Butler
Plug In Gallery
(286 McDermot - 942-1043)
COOKIN IN THE COOKERY
MTC Mainstage
(174 Market - 942-6537)
Tix $10.70-$49.22
NIGUHUS SOONHIGAN
by Shirley Bear
Urban Shaman Gallery
(91 Albert - 942-2674)
MIMI AND BRUMM
MTYP (CanWest Global
Performing Arts Centre)
Tix $11 by calling 942-8898
MINIATURES de BARACHOIS
by Hermenegilde Chiasson and
Francis Coutellier
Franco-Manitoban Cultural
Centre
(340 Provencher - 233-8972)
BLUE/ORANGE
Prairie Theatre Exchange
(3rd Floor Portage Place)
Tix $20-$25 @ 942-2400
TOM THOMSON
Winnipeg Art Gallery
(300 Memorial Blvd. - 786-6641)
Galleries 6/7/8
FRIDAY OCTOBER 24
ENCAUSTICS
by Marcel Lemay
Wayne Arthur Gallery
(186 Provencher - 477-5249)
Drama
WINNIPEG IMPOV FESTIVAL
Gas Station Theatre
Call 284-9477 for tix
KEN MCGOOGAN
Reading of Ancient Mariner
McNally Robinson Grant Park
8pm
TRAILER TRASH
HALLOWEEN BASH
Royal Albert Hotel
(48 ALbert - 943-8433)
Tix @ door
THE TALE OF THE
ALLERGIST'S WIFE
Winnipeg Jewish Theatre
(Warehouse Theatre - 477-7478)
THURSDAY OCTOBER 23
Words
ANGELA NARTH
Launch of Fergus,
Prince of Frogs
McNally Robinson Grant Park
7:30pm
MISFITS TRIBUTE
Collective Cabaret
(108 Osborne - 475-2239)
Tix $7 @ door,
$6 in costume, $5 in full
Misfits getup
AFTERVIEW
<Site> Gallery
(55 Arthur - 942-1618)
CLOSER DISTANCES
by Keith Wood
<Site> Gallery
(55 Arthur - 942-1618)
Movement
DANCE AND CHAT
WCD Studio Theatre (211
Bannatyne)
8pm
Sounds
MATT THE ALIEN, DIALOG
Pyramid Cabaret
(176 Fort - 957-7777)
9pm
TOM DOWDEN TRIO
McNally Robinson Grant Park
8pm
DOUG SMITH DUO
McNally Robinson Portage
Place
6:30pm
Drama
WINNIPEG IMPOV FESTIVAL
Gas Station Theatre
Call 284-9477 for tix
COOKIN IN THE COOKERY
MTC Mainstage
(174 Market - 942-6537)
Tix $10.70-$49.22
MIMI AND BRUMM
MTYP (CanWest Global
Performing Arts Centre)
Tix $11 by calling 942-8898
BLUE/ORANGE
Prairie Theatre Exchange (3rd
Floor Portage Place)
Tix $20-$25 @ 942-2400
THE TALE OF THE
ALLERGIST'S WIFE
Winnipeg Jewish Theatre
(Warehouse Theatre - 477-7478)
Sights
INTIMATE REFLECTION
5 on Third Gallery
(3-290 McDermot Ave -949-0274)
7pm
DORA HUMPHREY'S EXHIBITION
Medea Gallery
(132 Osborne - 453-1115)
TWITCH
by David Rokeby, Garnet Hertz,
Nicholas Stedman, Kevin Yates
aceartinc. (2nd floor,
290 McDermot Ave. - 944-9763)
CHANGING COLOURS
by Libby Weir
Upstairs Gallery
(266 Edmonton - 943-2734)
ENCAUSTICS
by Marcel Lemay
Wayne Arthur Gallery
(186 Provencher - 477-5249)
MY MAD SKILLZ
by Paul Butler
Plug In Gallery
(286 McDermot - 942-1043)
NIGUHUS SOONHIGAN
by Shirley Bear
Urban Shaman Gallery
(91 Albert - 942-2674)
MINIATURES de BARACHOIS
by Hermenegilde Chiasson and
Francis Coutellier
Franco-Manitoban Cultural
Centre
(340 Provencher - 233-8972)
AFTERVIEW
<Site> Gallery
(55 Arthur - 942-1618)
CLOSER DISTANCES
by Keith Wood
<Site> Gallery
(55 Arthur - 942-1618)
JERRY TWOMEY COLLECTION
Winnipeg Art Gallery
(300 Memorial Blvd. - 786-6641)
Gallery 1
STATES OF BECOMING
Winnipeg Art Gallery
(300 Memorial Blvd. - 786-6641)
Galleries 2&3
TOM THOMSON
Winnipeg Art Gallery
(300 Memorial Blvd. - 786-6641)
Galleries 6/7/8
SATURDAY OCTOBER 25
Words
STUART LAIDLAW
Panel Discussion on Secret
Ingredients - The Brave New
World of Industrial Farming
McNally Robinson Portage
Place
2:30pm
Movement
DANCE AND CHAT
WCD Studio Theatre
(211 Bannatyne)
8pm
the
october 23, 2003
uniter
pa g e 9
D I V E R S I O N S
Sounds
WECC 16th BIRTHDAY PARTY
W/ Rudimental, BenWah &
the Mistakes
West End Cultural Centre
(586 Ellice Ave - 783-6918)
8pm (doors @ 7:15)
Tix $5 @ door
SUNDAY OCTOBER 26
MONDAY OCTOBER 27
Words
ALISON PRESTON &
CATHERINE HUNTER
Mystery, Madness & Mayhem
Coles Polo Park
6-9pm
Words
JULIAN THORSTEINSON
Launch of Edda: Myths &
Legends of the Viking Age
McNally Robinson Grant Park
DAN THE AUTOMATOR
Pyramid Cabaret
(176 Fort - 957-7777)
9pm
Movement
DANCE AND CHAT
WCD Studio Theatre
(211 Bannatyne)
2pm
NIGHTFALL JAZZ ENSEMBLE
McNally Robinson Grant Park
8pm
LEATHER & LACE PIG ROAST
Feat. Looks That Kill,
Malice Cooper
Tix $10
Drama
WINNIPEG IMPOV FESTIVAL
Gas Station Theatre
Call 284-9477 for tix
COOKIN IN THE COOKERY
MTC Mainstage
(174 Market - 942-6537)
Tix $10.70-$49.22
MIMI AND BRUMM
MTYP (CanWest Global
Performing Arts Centre)
Tix $11 by calling 942-8898
BLUE/ORANGE
Prairie Theatre Exchange
(3rd Floor Portage Place)
Tix $20-$25 @ 942-2400
THE TALE OF THE
ALLERGIST'S WIFE
Winnipeg Jewish Theatre
Warehouse Theatre - 477-7478)
Sights
TWITCH
by David Rokeby, Garnet Hertz,
Nicholas Stedman, Kevin Yates
aceartinc. (2nd floor,
290 McDermot Ave. - 944-9763)
CHANGING COLOURS
by Libby Weir
Upstairs Gallery
(266 Edmonton - 943-2734)
ENCAUSTICS
by Marcel Lemay
Wayne Arthur Gallery
(186 Provencher - 477-5249)
MY MAD SKILLZ
by Paul Butler
Plug In Gallery
(286 McDermot - 942-1043)
NIGUHUS SOONHIGAN
by Shirley Bear
Urban Shaman Gallery
(91 Albert - 942-2674)
MINIATURES de BARACHOIS
by Hermenegilde Chiasson
and Francis Coutellier
Franco-Manitoban Cultural
Centre
(340 Provencher - 233-8972)
AFTERVIEW
<Site> Gallery
(55 Arthur - 942-1618)
CLOSER DISTANCES
by Keith Wood
<Site> Gallery
(55 Arthur - 942-1618)
JERRY TWOMEY COLLECTION
Winnipeg Art Gallery
(300 Memorial Blvd. - 786-6641)
Gallery 1
STATES OF BECOMING
Winnipeg Art Gallery
(300 Memorial Blvd. - 786-6641)
Galleries 2&3
TOM THOMSON
Winnipeg Art Gallery
(300 Memorial Blvd. - 786-6641)
Galleries 6/7/8
Sounds
WINNIPEG JAZZ ORCHESTRA
Pennies From Heaven feat.
Gary Grosvenor
Muriel Richardson Auditorium
(Winnipeg Art Gallery,
300 Memorial Blvd. - 786-6641)
Tix @ WAG and McNally
Robinson
LOVE LIFE MOVIE PREMIERE
W/ Dan Frechette &
One Hundred Fold
West End Cultural Centre
(586 Ellice Ave - 783-6918)
8pm (doors @ 7:15)
Tix $10 @ SK8
MANITOBA CONSERVATORY OF
MUSIC & ARTS HALLOWEEN
RECITAL
Conservatory Recital Hall
(211 Bannatyne Ave - 943-6090)
2pm & 3:30pm
Drama
COOKIN IN THE COOKERY
MTC Mainstage
(174 Market - 942-6537)
Tix $10.70-$49.22
MIMI AND BRUMM
MTYP (CanWest Global
Performing Arts Centre)
Tix $11 by calling 942-8898
BLUE/ORANGE
Prairie Theatre Exchange
(3rd Floor Portage Place)
Tix $20-$25 @ 942-2400
THE TALE OF THE
ALLERGIST'S WIFE
Winnipeg Jewish Theatre
(Warehouse Theatre, 477-7478)
Sights
TWITCH
by David Rokeby, Garnet Hertz,
Nicholas Stedman, Kevin Yates
aceartinc. (2nd floor,
290 McDermot Ave. - 944-9763)
ENCAUSTICS
by Marcel Lemay
Wayne Arthur Gallery
(186 Provencher - 477-5249)
MINIATURES de BARACHOIS
by Hermenegilde Chiasson and
Francis Coutellier
Franco-Manitoban Cultural
Centre (340 Provencher 233-8972)
JERRY TWOMEY COLLECTION
Winnipeg Art Gallery
(300 Memorial Blvd. - 786-6641)
Gallery 1
BLUE/ORANGE
Prairie Theatre Exchange
(3rd Floor Portage Place)
Tix $20-$25 @ 942-2400
STATES OF BECOMING
Winnipeg Art Gallery
(300 Memorial Blvd. - 786-6641)
Galleries 2&3
Sights
TWITCH
by David Rokeby, Garnet Hertz,
Nicholas Stedman, Kevin Yates
aceartinc. (2nd floor, 290
McDermot Ave. - 944-9763)
TOM THOMSON
Winnipeg Art Gallery
(300 Memorial Blvd. - 786-6641)
Galleries 6/7/8
WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 29
ENCAUSTICS
by Marcel Lemay
Wayne Arthur Gallery
(186 Provencher - 477-5249)
MINIATURES de BARACHOIS
by Hermenegilde Chiasson and
Francis Coutellier
Franco-Manitoban Cultural
Centre (340 Provencher 233-8972)
AFTERVIEW
<Site> Gallery
(55 Arthur - 942-1618)
CLOSER DISTANCES
by Keith Wood
<Site> Gallery
(55 Arthur - 942-1618)
JERRY TWOMEY COLLECTION
Winnipeg Art Gallery
(300 Memorial Blvd. - 786-6641)
Gallery 1
STATES OF BECOMING
Winnipeg Art Gallery
(300 Memorial Blvd. - 786-6641)
Galleries 2&3
TOM THOMSON
Winnipeg Art Gallery
(300 Memorial Blvd. - 786-6641)
Galleries 6/7/8
TUESDAY OCTOBER 28
Words
DEAN NEU
Launch of Accounting for
Genocide, 8pm
McNally Robinson Grant Park
Sounds
FAR FROM HEROES
W/ Complete, Pegasus & Nagoya
West End Cultural Centre
(586 Ellice Ave - 783-6918)
8pm (doors @ 7:15)
Tix $5 @ SK8 & Music Trader
AFTERVIEW
<Site> Gallery
(55 Arthur - 942-1618)
CLOSER DISTANCES
by Keith Wood
<Site> Gallery
(55 Arthur - 942-1618)
BLUE/ORANGE
Prairie Theatre Exchange
(3rd Floor Portage Place)
Tix $20-$25 @ 942-2400
JERRY TWOMEY COLLECTION
Winnipeg Art Gallery
(300 Memorial Blvd. - 786-6641)
Gallery 1
Sights
TWITCH
by David Rokeby, Garnet Hertz,
Nicholas Stedman, Kevin Yates
aceartinc. (2nd floor,
290 McDermot Ave. - 944-9763)
TOM THOMSON
Winnipeg Art Gallery
(300 Memorial Blvd. - 786-6641)
Galleries 6/7/8
CLOSER DISTANCES
by Keith Wood
<Site> Gallery
(55 Arthur - 942-1618)
Drama
COOKIN IN THE COOKERY
MTC Mainstage
(174 Market - 942-6537)
Tix $10.70-$49.22
Drama
COOKIN IN THE COOKERY
MTC Mainstage
(174 Market - 942-6537)
Tix $10.70-$49.22
STATES OF BECOMING
Winnipeg Art Gallery
(300 Memorial Blvd. - 786-6641)
Galleries 2&3
AFTERVIEW
<Site> Gallery
(55 Arthur - 942-1618)
ENCAUSTICS
by Marcel Lemay
Wayne Arthur Gallery
(186 Provencher - 477-5249)
MINIATURES de BARACHOIS
by Hermenegilde Chiasson and
Francis Coutellier
Franco-Manitoban Cultural
Centre (340 Provencher)
Words
CATHY CAMBELL
Launch of Stations of the
Banquet
McNally Robinson Grant Park
8pm
Sounds
DANNY MICHEL
West End Cultural Centre
(586 Ellice Ave - 783-6918)
8pm (doors @ 7:15)
Tix $12/$15 @ Ticketmaster &
WECC
Drama
COOKIN IN THE COOKERY
MTC Mainstage
(174 Market - 942-6537)
Tix $10.70-$49.22
BLUE/ORANGE
Prairie Theatre Exchange
(3rd Floor Portage Place)
Tix $20-$25 @ 942-2400
Sights
TWITCH
by David Rokeby, Garnet Hertz,
Nicholas Stedman, Kevin Yates
aceartinc. (2nd floor,
290 McDermot Ave. - 944-9763)
ENCAUSTICS
by Marcel Lemay
Wayne Arthur Gallery
(186 Provencher - 477-5249)
MINIATURES de BARACHOIS
by Hermenegilde Chiasson
and Francis Coutellier
Franco-Manitoban Cultural
Centre
(340 Provencher - 233-8972)
AFTERVIEW
<Site> Gallery
(55 Arthur - 942-1618)
CLOSER DISTANCES
by Keith Wood
<Site> Gallery)
(55 Arthur - 942-1618)
Drama
COOKIN IN THE COOKERY
MTC Mainstage
(174 Market - 942-6537)
Tix $10.70-$49.22
BLUE/ORANGE
Prairie Theatre Exchange
(3rd Floor Portage Place)
Tix $20-$25 @ 942-2400
Sights
TWITCH
by David Rokeby, Garnet Hertz,
Nicholas Stedman, Kevin Yates
aceartinc. (2nd floor,
290 McDermot Ave. - 944-9763)
MINIATURES de BARACHOIS
by Hermenegilde Chiasson and
Francis Coutellier
Franco-Manitoban Cultural
Centre
(340 Provencher - 233-8972)
AFTERVIEW
<Site> Gallery
(55 Arthur - 942-1618)
CLOSER DISTANCES
by Keith Wood
<Site> Gallery
(55 Arthur - 942-1618)
JERRY TWOMEY COLLECTION
Winnipeg Art Gallery
(300 Memorial Blvd. - 786-6641)
Gallery 1
STATES OF BECOMING
Winnipeg Art Gallery
(300 Memorial Blvd. - 786-6641)
Galleries 2&3
TOM THOMSON
Winnipeg Art Gallery
(300 Memorial Blvd. - 786-6641)
Galleries 6/7/8
UP IN THA CLUBS
BLEACHERS
(308 Fort - 942-4010)
Sun: Rock Jam Sundays
BLUE AGAVE
(335 Donald - 943-5538)
Thurs: Keep It Thuro feat. Spitz
& ICQRI
Fri: Grant Paley & Dr P
Sat: DJs Joe Silva & Gus
Sun: Industry Night w/ DJ Joe
Silva & Sherry St Germaine
BUFFALO BILLS
(826 Regent - 224-1681)
Tues: Industry Night
w/ DJ Chuck
Thurs: Weekly Twist & Shout
Party
Fri/Sat: DJ Vance Jr
Sun: Cruisin the Peg
BRAEMAR VILLAGE BAR
(349 Wardlaw - 949-7200)
Mon: Del Paxton
JERRY TWOMEY COLLECTION
Winnipeg Art Gallery
(300 Memorial Blvd. - 786-6641)
Gallery 1
COLOSSEUM
(CanadInns Windsor Park 253-2641)
Mon: Neon Nights
Wed: Popes Hill
Fri/Sat: DJs Walker, Shami
& Skittlez
STATES OF BECOMING
Winnipeg Art Gallery
(300 Memorial Blvd. - 786-6641)
Galleries 2&3
EMPIRE CABARET
(436 Main - 943-3979)
Wed: DJ Gus
Thurs: Cleopatra Nights
TOM THOMSON
Winnipeg Art Gallery
(300 Memorial Blvd. - 786-6641)
Galleries 6/7/8
MARDI GRAS
(CanadInns Garden City 633-0024)
Tues/Thurs: DJ Wizzard
Wed: DJ Skittlez
THURSDAY OCTOBER 30
MIRRORS
(1975 Portage - 338-8777)
Wed-Sat: Top 40
Words
JANE DRAKE & ANN LOVE
Presentation of Cool Woods:
A Trip Around the World's
Boreal Forest
McNally Robinson Grant Park
8pm
MONTY'S
(2280 Pembina - 261-4808
Wed-Sat: Top 40
PHARAOH'S
(CanadInns Windsor Park 474-2582)
Wed: Elite Urban Wednesday
SAFARI CLUB
(CanadInns Transcona 474-2582)
Monday Night Football
Wed/Fri/Sat: DJ Jess
Thurs: DJ Chuck & PWR 97's
Wheeler
SILVERADO'S
(CanadInns Garden City 633-0424)
Thurs: Live Country
Fri/Sat: 2 Clubs 1 Cover
TIJUANA YACHT CLUB
(CanadInns Polo Park 775-8791)
Mon: Jaret's Juice Jam
Thurs: Ladies Night
Fri: Lingerie Love Jam
Sat: DJ Steve Adams
VERTIGO
(291 Bannatyne - 943-3979)
Thurs: Hip Hop/R&B
Fri: Shared Cover w/Empire
ZEN LOUNGE
(253 Portage - 944-8881)
Thurs: Rinsed Drum & Base
Fri: 4-7:30pm - Beni. D Quintet
Fri night: Platinum Fridays
Sat: house/techno
LOUNGIN' IT
ALLEY CATZ
(1824 Pembina - 474-4263)
Thurs-Sat: Alley Catz Players
CHOCOLATE SHOP
(268 Portage - 942-4855)
Nightly Karaoke
EDDY'S GARAGE
(61 Sherbrook - 783-1552)
Fr/Sat: DJ Dubez
FINN McCUES IRISH PUB
(The Forks - 888-6900)
Mon: Open Jam Night
Wed: Trivia Night
Thurs-Sat: Live Celtic Music
GILROY
(1794 Bannatyne - 943-1700)
Fri - Sat: Live Jazz & Blues
KINGS HEAD
(120 King - 957-7710)
Thurs: The Knights of Jam Band
Battle w/ Airfoil
LATIN GARDEN
(500 Portage - 774-8440)
Fri: Oscar y su Grupo Sabor
RED CACTUS
(691 Corydon - 453-4616)
Wed: Rack the Cack feat.
Swivelhip
Thurs-Sat: Live Bands
PSAs
WINNIPEG FOLK FEST USED
RECORD SALE
October 20 - 26
Polo Park Shopping Centre
Call 231-0096 for info
ON THE HORIZON
DROPKICK MURPHYS
November 3
Pyramid Cabaret
(176 Fort - 957-7777), 9pm
Tix @ Ticketmaster & Soul
Survivors
DAVID USHER
November 5
Colosseum (Windsor Park Inn)
Tix $17.50 @ CanadInns
SAM ROBERTS
W/ Matt Mays & El Torpedo
Thursday November 13
Burton Cummings Theatre
Tix $22.50 @ Ticketmaster
the
pa g e 1 0
uniter
october 23, 2003
F E AT U R E S
H
A
to
BY CARY SCHWARTZMAN
T
he movie industry has and continues to
thrive on people’s fears. Filmmakers
have been scaring movie-watchers for
years in every way imaginable: monsters, zombies, ghosts, goblins, gremlins, possessions,
demons, almost every conceivable form of
supernaturalism, and then just plain suspense.
This Halloween, if you want to stay in
and cuddle with that special someone as you
get your wits scared out of you, perhaps I can
offer a few suggestions on what to pick from
the local video store.
The term “scary movie” is extremely
broad – some people like movies that are full of
blood and guts (The Texas Chainsaw
Massacre); horror (A Nightmare on Elm
Street); disturbing elements (House of 1000
Corpses); and good old-fashioned suspense
(The Haunting). The kind of scary movie you
select really depends on exactly how you want
to be scared.
Personally, I’m a suspense junkie – I love
the feeling of watching a movie and realizing
I've been literally holding my breath, anticipating what comes next. Movies such as What
Lies Beneath, Alien, and in particular the original version of The Haunting released in 1963.
The Haunting was remade in 1999, but does do
justice to the original, which I consider a true
work of art.
There are some movies which are just
scary, through and through. Stephen King’s IT,
The Exorcist, and Candyman were all, without
a doubt, some of the scariest movies that I’ve
seen. Movies that draw on supernatural circumstances will get under your skin and stick with
you long after you have put it away.
L
L
O
W
E
Scary Movies
That Really
Scare
If blood and guts more up your alley,
there are a plethora of generic movies where
teens get turned inside out. The Halloween
series, as well as the later Friday the 13th
movies follow this pattern. So if a high body
count is what you’re looking for, you can be
sure lots of teens bite the proverbial dust in
these movies.
And then there are the “scary” movies
which are intentionally disturbing. Rob
Zombie’s House of 1000 Corpses, for example,
is sick, twisted, and gory. You see people do
horrible things and actually enjoy it. Watching
somebody get pleasure from the agony of
someone else is just twisted. A friend of mine,
Jon, thinks that House of 1000 Corpses is the
best movie he’s ever seen – check it out only if
you have a strong stomach.
However, there are a number of gems
from the 70s and 80s that are worthy of note.
And, in some cases, they are scarier then anything you will see a studio put out today. The
Exorcist, The Haunting of Hell House,
Sleepaway Camp, and Children of the Corn
were all recommended by Kevin from the
Osborne Movie Village. "Night of the Living
Dead, Day of the Dead, Invisible Dead, and
pretty much any other movie with 'Dead' in the
title,” are good rents according to Kevin.
My friend Tim -- who doesn't seem to be
frightened by anything -- mentioned that there
were only two films that genuinely frightened
him: The Exorcist, because he found the lighting and sound very effective and the subject
matter serious, and Requiem For a Dream,
which we both agreed was frightening for a
very different reason.
Requiem is a film by Hebert Shelby Jr,
who wrote the screenplay based on his bestseller Last Exit to Brooklyn. Requiem for a
Dream shows us the lives of four people living
in Brooklyn who are all seeking happiness. The
film focuses on their drug addictions (heroin
and speed), and follows their downward spiral
E
N
from happiness to misery, pain, frustration, and
sadness. Requiem for a Dream is scary, not
because people get hacked up or things surprise
you. Rather, it is scary because the emotions are
very raw and powerful. It gets under your skin,
and stays there long after it is over.
Realistic horror movies seem to be the
scariest; films like The Exorcist, 28 Days Later,
and The Blair Witch Project are all believable
stories. And some, like the Texas Chainsaw
Massacre, are even based on real life events.
So if scary movies disturb our peace of
mind with frightening thoughts why do we
watch them? Perhaps it's because when you’re
scared, your body immediately launches into a
“fight-or-flight” response that gets the adrenaline pumping. That feeling can be addictive,
which could explain why some people love to
be scared.
This Halloween, grab some popcorn, a
movie, and a friend or two and watch innocent
teenagers get slaughtered. Happy Halloween!
Halloween Trendsetters
Youth "Trick or Treat" for Winnipeg Harvest
B Y
E
J O S H U A
G A U D R Y
ach Halloween night, thousands of
children run from driveway to
driveway accepting candy handouts from people who have purchased
large amounts prior to the occasion.
Parents splurge on store-bought costumes. Home-owners buy decorative
garbage bags and lawn ornaments.
Music, television and movies, provide the
soundtrack for this one-evening holiday.
All the hype has a few young Fort Garry
residents asking “why?”
This year, Halloween might just
bring a few new visitors to your door.
Although these new visitors may appear
frightening (in their costumes), there is
no need to fret, unless of course you are
scared of door-to-door canvassers for
charity. The spirit of Halloween is uniting
a small group of Winnipeg youth to
dress-up and venture from house-tohouse asking for donations to support
Winnipeg Harvest with the hope that others will follow cue in years to come.
Halloween is a tradition clad in
ghosts, ghouls, horrors and most importantly it seems, candy. But candy is the
least of the group’s worries; instead, this
posse is worrying about those who don't
have enough to eat, let alone binge on
sweets. “I believe that people don’t focus
enough on the unfortunate,” explains
David Wright, the crew’s most enthusiastic member. “I think it’s important to the
community to respond to the community’s needs.”
Elizabeth Madden, another group
member, sees only positives about their
initiative. “We’re feeding empty stomachs instead of sweet-tooths,” says
Madden. “Since all the kids are going by
anyway, how much trouble would it be to
grab a can of soup or condensed milk or
applesauce?”
“On an occasion such as Halloween,
it is important to focus not only on the trick
or treat, but to focus on those less fortunate
because everyone is entitled to a surprise
on Halloween,” says Wright.
Adam Rumble, the gang’s more
playful member, explains his position on
the upcoming night. “It helps people in
need. It’s a good deed, I like doing good
deeds…. Plus I like dressing-up. If you’re
too old to trick or treat, it’s a good excuse
to go out. You might get a free chocolate
bar.”
The group sees the Winnipeg
Harvest as a worthy cause to fight for.
Winnipeg Harvest’s mission statement,
“To collect and distribute food to feed
those in our community who struggle to
feed themselves and their families, and to
maximize public awareness of hunger,”
stands as the group’s focal point and purpose. They plan to do the collecting,
Winnipeg Harvest plans on doing the distributing, and together they will raise
public awareness of hunger.
So far a dozen people have committed to the campaign, but they cannot
cover the city of Winnipeg alone. This
trailblazing group encourages students to
follow suit and start their own Halloween
collection for Harvest. Even an hour of
door-to-door food collecting can make a
big difference in someone’s life. Maybe
one day in the not to distant future when
the youth of today turn into parents they
will teach their children to ask for canned
goods instead of yelling, “Trick or
Treat!”
the
october 23, 2003
uniter
pa g e 1 1
F E AT U R E S
H
A
L
L
O
W
E
E
N
All Photos: Cheryl Gudz
Adam Fuchs, dressed as the Joker
here, is an ambitious 22-year-old
novelist and short-story writer in
the horror genre. Visit this
Winnipeg writer's website at:
www.apfuchs.com
Indulge Yourself:
Dress Up This Halloween
C H E R Y L
G U D Z
Fe a t u r e s E d i t o r
RAGPICKERS
ANTIFASHION
EMPORIUM
216 McDermot Ave., 942-7992
Locally owned and operated since 1984,
Ragpickers is the place to find quality vintage
new and used costumes and accessories.
Kristen Andrews, owner/store manager, says
that the average costume rental is $25-$45 and
won't exceed $50. Present your student card at
the counter to receive a discount. Ragpickers
will also give discounts to groups and theme
parties, which they enjoy catering. "We rally
around that," says Andrews, "We encourage
people to give birth to a character inside themselves." Their specialty is vintage clothing from
the 1900s to the 1970s but they carry antique
theatrical, masquerade, fetish wear and more.
Hours: Open late this month for Halloween and
will stay open later for customers.
Weekdays 12:00 pm - 7:00 or 8:00 pm;
Sat. 11:00 am - 8:00 pm; Sun. 12:00 -5:00 pm
.
W
hy is always so hard to come up with a costume idea for Halloween? If you don’t
know what to wear, start by looking in your own closet or family basement. It's
amazing what you can put together with a little imagination. Many of the costumes
pictured here are the results of such creativity and thriftyness. Since buying a costume for
one night is not always an option for the cash-strapped student, making use of what you have
at home is ideal (and environmentally-friendly). But, if you're looking for something specific or you want to indulge, maybe renting or buying is for you. Here is a list of businesses in
the city that may be able to provide you with what you're looking for.
VALUE VILLAGE
1560 Regent, 942 Jefferson, 1725
Pembina, and 1695 Ellice
Karen from the Ellice store says Value
Village is the best place to go for Halloween
stuff and she's "not just saying that." You can
choose between their new and used costumes or
put together your own from the vintage racks.
Used costumes go from $2.99 and up, while the
new costumes are for sale from $12 - $40.
Karen says every Value Village should have the
same amount of merchandise, depending on
how much has sold already in the last month.
They also carry plenty of accessories such as
pirate hats, feather boas and sunglasses.
Hours: Monday to Saturday 9 am - 10:00 pm
(usually open until 9:00 pm); Sunday 12 - 6:00.
HARLEQUIN COSTUME AND DANCE
375 Hargrave, 943-6400
This outfit has over 22,000 costumes.
You probably won't find a larger selection in
the city - unfortunately, if you're only looking
to rent a Halloween costume, you probably
won't find a steeper price either. Rentals
range from $69 - $200 plus a $50 refundable
deposit, and they do not offer a student discount. So why is Harlequin so expensive?
They carry complete theatrical productions
and most are made of heavy fabrics.
Harlequin usually opens its doors by appointment only, but is open to the public in
October for Halloween.
Hours: Monday to Saturday:
10:00 am - 8:00 pm.
MALLABAR APPARELS
931 Wall St., 943-4506
Rental or retail, Mallabar has approximately 5,000 costumes (but advertises 10,000)
-- everything from vampires to period costumes
to full body mascots. They also carry a wide
selection of wigs, make-up and accessories.
Costumes rentals are between $45-$75, but you
can keep them for 4-5 days. Plenty of time to
get up to no good.
Hours:
Monday to Saturday: 9:30am - 9:00pm;
Sun. 12:00pm - 4:00pm
Gags Unlimited
209 Osborne, 453-0133
A fun place to shop, if you don't mind the
occasional practical joke played on you, the
customer. Although this store is festive all year
'round, Gags pulls out all the stops for
Halloween. Costumes to own range from $24 $150, however most are currently 25% off.
Rentals are $50 - $100. There is a wide selection for adults and kids.
Hours:
9:00 am - 9:00 pm.
the
pa g e 1 4
uniter
october 23, 2003
F E AT U R E S
H
A
L
L
O
W
E
E
N
Witchy Women, Witchy Men
B Y
J E A N N E
W
F R O N D A
itches are not the old, green-skinned
women with warts on their noses, but
rather everyday women and men; some
with successful professional careers.
David Alpert, a witch and a computer technician, says he discovered the term Wicca about five
years ago. “I’ve always been fascinated by ritual,”
he says. “I was looking for a nature-based faith.”
Susan Hurrell, who has been practicing
Wicca for over 20 years, is the regional marketing
manager and corporate sales manager for Chapters
Polo Festival, near the Winnipeg Arena. “I’ve
always been a person who asked questions about
how the world was,” she says.
Wicca is a modern religion that is rooted in
Western European, pre-Christian shaman views. It
doesn’t have fixed rules, so Wiccan rituals or practices are considered personal and aren’t decided by
any one individual, text, or hierarchy. Because
Wicca honours individuality, it can be practiced
solitary or with a coven of witches.
There are two general laws shared by most
Wiccans. The first law states that if your actions
harm no one then you can do as you please. This
law is based on the fact that consequences follow
all our actions. The second is the "Three-fold
Law,” which states that any energy you send out
will return to you, although the energy may be
modified. Some Wiccans believe the energy will
return to you three times as strong as when the
energy was released.
Wicca is a polytheistic religion, which
means it involves worshipping more than one
deity. Some Wiccans choose only to worship a god
and a goddess, while others acknowledge several
deities. Because the religion stresses individualism, the choice of worship depends in part upon
the person.
Alpert says the difference between the terms
witch and Wicca is that a witch is someone who
practices witchcraft, while Wicca is an identifiable
movement. He says a witch uses magic to change
the state of mind,
which can then
alter the world
around him or her.
Hurell is
also one of the
operators of a
website
where
Wiccas can connect. She started
the Spirit-Haven
site with two other
people ten years
ago. Spirit-Haven
is a Winnipegbased website that
focuses on pagan
traditions.
It
serves as a link to
online discussion
groups and it provides information
about upcoming
pagan
events.
Hurell says it was
difficult
for
Wiccas to find
each other and
hoped the website
would help. “It’s
not like you can
look up the word
witch
in
the
phonebook,” she
says.
But even
with all the information on the
Web, there are still
misconceptions
about witches and
Wicca.“We’re not green-faced hags that
ride brooms,” says Hurrell. “There’s a lot of
fear, but prejudice or bias or fear is an individual thing. People think that we want to
have power over others when we really
want to have power over ourselves.”
Although there are many misconceptions about Wicca, Alpert says he hasn’t
experienced negative feedback from people
because he is a witch.“I’ve had only positive
interest and excitement,” he says.
Another common misconception
applied to witches is the association with
animal companions --usually cats—that are
believed to have magical powers. Hurell
dismisses this allegation, but admits that the
witches she knows have close connections
with animals. “Many of us have pets we
love, but they don’t talk to us,” says Hurrell.
Witches are also often depicted as
melancholy, but Hurrell says that the Wicca
are actually the opposite. “We as a people
are not dour,” she says. “There is fun within
it.” That fun could include music, singing,
and dancing depending on the Wiccan ritual
performed.
Another misconception is that
Wiccans define magic as either black or
white. Black magic uses spells with the
intent to control or harm, while white magic
uses spells with the intent to counter evil or
to produce a good outcome. Many Wiccans
don’t classify magic in black or white terms.
Hurrell says the focus of magic is determined by whether the person who is performing the spell has positive or negative
intentions rather than the spell itself. For
example, she says if someone were to perform a spell that would attract the perfect
mate then this involves a positive intention,
but if someone were to perform a spell to
make a specific person to fall in love with
him or her then this involves a negative
intention.
“People that find Wicca are generally
looking for an interactive and tangible
faith,” says Hurrell. The type of person
attracted to Wicca isn’t necessarily different
from a religious follower of non-pagan tradition. “We’re just people on a spiritual
journey. We are your children, your neighbours, your co-workers.”
If you want to celebrate Hallowe’en
pagan-style, the Living Tarot Samhain
Social is on November 8. It’s a drug and
alcohol free masquerade. Those who want
to dress up as a Tarot card for the Living
Tarot Photo project must register their costume. Tarot cards are used for meditation or
spiritual purposes and for divination or to
tell the future. The cards depict vices,
virtues, and forces as characters, numbers,
or as a scene. For more information about
the social go to www.spirit-haven.com
the
october 23, 2003
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Coen Brothers Film Uncharacteristic
A Review of Intolerable Cruelty
B Y
Catherine Zeta-Jones
and George Clooney
Young Winnipeggers
Dance Up A Storm In
Local Tournament
B Y
J E R E M Y
W
S T R U B
hen one thinks of dance competitions, one often envisions people in
formal wear with numbers taped to
their backs. An entirely different competition,
and the first of its kind in Winnipeg, took
place at Northgate Cinema City 8-movie theatre on Saturday October 18, 2003.
What you have is a video game called
Dance Dance Revolution, which has been
around since the late 1990’s. It’s a game that
has two metal pads, with four squares that
have coloured arrows on them, which you step
on to the music, and a u shaped bar at the back
of each pad for support. You read the beat/
steps off of the attached video screen and try to
follow along. It’s sort of like the power pad for
the first Nintendo Entertainment System,
which was a mat with 8 large buttons on either
side that plugged in to the console system,
only this one’s much better, and greatly
improved. Two people can play against each
other at once and here is where the competition aspect enters in.
The competition started with a round of
preliminaries, which determined by performance the rank that each player was seeded in.
There were 25 players, 16 of which were in the
heavy category, and 9 were in the
standard category. Each player/ pair
chose a card with 5 songs out of
some 250 in the game. Each player
got to eliminate one each from that
card and play the remaining three
songs. The players were then graded by the game in that their steps
were marked as perfect, great,
good, ok, miss, and boo. The person
with the most amount of perfects
and O.K.s was declared winner.
The competitors ranged from about
16 to 21, and the atmosphere was
very relaxed as they cheered on
each player/ pair.
That said, it was quite a competition
with the battle for who would advance to the
final round. Finally, it came down to Jason
Jimena and Ryan Gladstone. They played the
songs “Groove,” “Butterfly oni” (oni being a
different system of dance steps), and “I’m In
The Mood For Dancing.” Ryan Gladstone won
and advanced to a thrilling showdown with the
top ranked Michael Strub. They played the
songs “Gentle Stress,” “Sana Morette Ne
Ente,” and “Irrestiblement”. The results had
Jason Jimena coming in third place, Ryan
Gladstone in second, and Michael Strub in
D A N
H U G H E B A E R T
The new Coen brothers film Intolerable Cruelty is a good
example of how a trailer can completely mislead the audience as to
the nature of the film. When I first saw the trailer, my first impression was that the film was yet another clichéd Hollywood romantic
comedy. The brilliant montage at the beginning of the trailer had
my hopes up, but I was completely surprised to find out at the end
of the trailer that it was indeed a Coen brothers flick.
I am happy to report though, that this is indeed a Coen brothers screwball comedy. It has the benchmarks of a Coen film: oddball characters, double crosses, dark humor, wit, and a keen Coen
brothers insight. Of course, they did not show any of these qualities
in the trailer (what can you expect from Imagine Entertainment?).
The film follows George Clooney as Miles Massey, a top
notch Hollywood divorce attorney who has a little obsession with
his dental work. He soon realizes that there is more to life than
white teeth and winning cases. His soul is empty, and unless he
does something about it, he will become lifeless - much like his
invalid boss living intravenously. He soon falls in love with a
smouldering gold digger played by Catherine Zeta-Jones. Clooney
is quite convincing as a plastic quick talking lawyer - an insult perhaps, or just good acting skills? He does have that conniving
charm. Zeta-Jones’ demanding presence shows why rich old men
would fall for her (sorry Michael Douglas, perhaps this is all too
real for you).
The credits show that the Coens weren’t the only ones
responsible for the screenplay, and it shows. The Coen traits are
few and far between and I got the feeling they were more an afterthought rather than a cohesive part of the screenplay. The oddball
bits were the best part of this film, for they were quite brilliant and
downright hilarious, including the Scottish wedding to the asthmatic hit man Wheezy Joe. I did notice that the film was produced
by Brian Grazer (A Beautiful Mind), which leaves some suspicion
over some creative aspects of the film. The direction is quite uninspired, and it seems the Coens are dialing this one in, but even a
halfhearted Coen brothers movie is worth at least three Michael
Bay flicks (I do not look forward to seeing the rehash of Texas
Chainsaw Massacre). No, this is not Miller’s Crossing, Fargo or
Crimewave (“Hey baby, why don’t you come back to my place for
a scotch and sofa”), but I will take a film with characters like Heinz
the Baron the Kraus Von Espy and Rex Rexroth any day of the
week. Oh yeah, look for a cameo by Bruce Campbell for those who
know who he is.
first. The prizes were a hat, free fries from
Burger King, and five dollars in gaming
tokens for third place. For second place it was
10 dollars in tokens, 2 kids’ meals from Burger
King, and a bag from the movie Tomb Raider
2. First place received a black tote bag and a
Samsung CD MP3 player. The great thing
though was that regardless of where they
placed, all players got prizes which consisted
of free fries from Burger King and dog tags
from the movie Basic with Samuel L Jackson
and John Travolta.
Such tournaments are commonplace
through out the United States, Japan, and other
parts of Canada. The thrill for the organizers
was finally getting a tournament in Winnipeg,
with sponsorship coming from the Cinema,
Rogers Video, and Burger King, so that they
could meet and compete in Winnipeg. Already,
Ruckers Amusements has suggested a similar
idea for a tournament around the Christmas
holidays given the strong demand for tournaments of this nature throughout the city.
For more information on the game, visit
www.ddrfreak.com.
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e
Eaglesmith Fans of All Sorts Get Their
Fred-Head Fill at Manitoba Concerts
B Y
I
J E F F
R O B S O N
f you’ve ever seen Fred Eaglesmith live,
chances are you’ve heard this story before.
But, no matter how many times you’ve
heard it, you probably laughed just the same.
Eaglesmith is one of the funniest storytellers
you’ll ever run across. His between song banter is the stuff that legends are made of. He can
go on and on about just about any topic with
hilarious results. And you always kind of wonder just how much truth there is lurking behind
some of his fabulously entertaining tales. Until
this weekend, I thought that the Freddy story
was just that. But Freddy and a few of his buddies showed up at The West End Cultural
Centre on Saturday night, to crash the party at
the Back Up The Mountain Bluegrass & Old
Tyme Music Fest.
On the other hand, I know all about the
FredHeads, because I’m one of them. We religiously attend Fred’s shows when he comes to
town, and often travel to see him in other
places as well. Every year, there are entire
weekends held in his honour in places like
Bellows Falls, Vermont and the annual Fred
Eaglesmith charity picnic is held in Southern
Ontario. FredHeads travel from miles around
to attend these events. I know of people from
around the U.S. who make the trip to Bellows
Falls each year, and I have a friend in Victoria
who’s now a regular there.
I know this friend, and so many others,
through Fred’s rabid online community of
FredHeads. There are two main communities
online, there’s the more laid back and quiet
Yahoo group, and the active list of passionate
regulars on “the digest,” found at www.fredheads.org. It’s a pretty diverse group of folks,
but they’ve all come together around a common love of Fred and his music. The diversity
makes for some rather interesting and often
explosive exchanges, as people express their
opinions and passions in rather vocal manners
at times.
And the same is the case for the live concerts; a wide variety of people attend, and
many of them react in very different ways. On
Friday, October 17, some FredHead friends
and I travelled to Pinawa, Manitoba, to catch
Fred and his band in action. The Eastern
Manitoba Concert Association books a series
reserved for when The Toronto Maple Leafs
win. By the time I get to town, he’s waiting
in the parking lot and as soon as I step out
of the bus, he’s like “FREDDY! FREDDY!”
“After every syllable, I sing, he’s like
“FREDDY! YOU ROCK! FREDDY!” Then
he passes out. Misses the entire show. Gets
up for the encore. “FREDDY! FREDDY!”
Then, just when the most beautiful woman
is standing in the autograph line looking me
over, she’s thinking of taking me home and
keeping me living in a manner I am not
accustomed to living for the rest of my life:
wealthy, widowed, 26, he shoves her aside.
He looks me in the eye and says, “You
changed my life, man. I just love you man.”
of concerts every year in Pinawa, which are
held at the Pinawa Community Centre, which
doubles as the high school gym/auditorium.
By the looks of things, the whole town was out
to attend the show, almost every seat in the
gym was occupied, and the crowd spanned the
ages from young children to senior citizens.
Many of the kids fidgeted and fought nervously, oblivious to the music onstage and to those
of us who were attempting to
enjoy it. Many of the parents and
grandparents looked bored or
uninterested. But the majority of
the crowd hung on Fred’s every
word, and rocked along with the
band throughout both sets.
The first set was mostly
bluegrass and comedy. In 45 minutes, Fred and the band only
played 6 songs, but nobody could
have been disappointed. The songs
were great, and the stories between
had many of us aching with laughter. After an intermission where we
filed down the hall to the school’s
home economics room for punch
and baked goodies, the band got
right down to business and played
a music heavy set, featuring 10 songs that
ranged from rock and roll, to country, to more
bluegrass. There were songs about dogs,
trains, tractors, women, and relationships. For
the most part, the crowd was very appreciative
and respectful, and the evening was a big hit.
But in Winnipeg on the following night,
Freddy would be the one to steal the show.
This was to be an all bluegrass affair, complete
with spiffy bluegrass suits and lacking in extra
instrumentation like drums and steel guitar
that were part of the previous night’s show.
The West End Cultural Centre was packed to
capacity, and obviously many in the audience
were enjoying trips to the bar, since the energy
level in the crowd was a little higher than in
Pinawa, and the noise level was greater, even
though twice as many folks attended the previous night’s show.
Early on in the night, a group of 4 or 5
very intoxicated young Freddies took to standing at the side of the stage and dancing in a
manner unbecoming to their abilities and creating an unnecessary amount of noise and
Photos: Stu Reid
W
ell, I have two kinds of fans, you
know. I have the FredHeads. The
FredHeads are good fans to have.
The FredHeads follow me around. People
think they’re white trash, but they’re not,
they’re usually middle class to upper middle class white trash wannabes. And they
live vicariously through me. They come to
my show, and they’re pretty glad that I don’t
get too famous, which kind of pisses me off,
but they like to see me in the small venues.
They go to my table and buy all of my stuff.
I know they don’t need it, sometimes they
buy 5 or 6 copies, they think “oh, let’s help
Fred out, buy another friggin’ CD,” and
they put in a drawer and give it to somebody for Christmas or something. I like the
FredHeads, you know. They’re nice fans.
“Then I have this other guy, and he’s
called The Freddy. And The Freddy usually
quits his job the Monday before I come to
town. He takes his holiday pay straight to
the liquor store. He cashes his cheque in
exchange for all the booze he can buy. And
he gets the small change in the small bottles; he doesn’t want to waste any. Then he
gets back in his pick-up truck and goes back
to his house. He puts 6 of my CDs in his CD
changer. He plays every one of my CDs
while he’s drinking in the back of the truck.
Whenever one of the CDs is over, he goes
and honks the horn, a ritual usually only
Fred Eaglesmith
in Pinawa;
The Pinawa
High School/
Community
Centre/Library
where the
Pinawa concert
was held; the
Home Ec room
with between
set snacks for
all.
interruptions. At one point, about halfway
through the show, Eaglesmith stopped and
said, “I tell you what, boys, shut the fuck up,
now.” They did, although they later moved to
the other side of the stage in some logically
distorted move designed to confuse Fred, I
guess, only to resume the carrying on.
But the drunken boys could not take
away from the magic happening onstage. The
show, once again, was solid, and very well
received. I was a bit worried at first, as the
band started off both nights with the same
three songs, but from there, there were almost
no repeats. It’s a rare performer that has such
an extensive and impressive catalogue of
material that he can put together countless
numbers of drastically different setlists and not
disappoint anyone by not playing “hits” or
standards. For the FredHeads, every song’s a
classic, and the only way we could be disappointed is if Fred didn’t come back for a whole
year.
Fred Eaglesmith and his Flat Head
Noodlers play over 250 shows a year in big
city concert halls, small town gymnasiums,
and everywhere in between. It’s a hard working and incredibly talented group of musicians
that inspires fans of all ages and classes to
become FredHeads. And, as we filed out of the
West End, many of us stopped to pick up one
of Eaglesmith’s dazzling array of souvenirs,
ranging from t-shirts and hats to tire gauges
and frisbees to the ever growing collection of
CDs that bear Fred Eaglesmith’s name. Then,
like good little FredHeads, we rushed home to
write reviews or just check in with our friends
on the digest, and start thinking of ways to
pass off Fred Eagesmith items as Christmas
gifts again this year.
www.fredeaglesmith.com
www.fredheads.org
the
october 23, 2003
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pa g e 1 5
a & e
Bluegrass Bands Take Happy
Fans Back Up the Mountain
B Y
J A M E S
PA S K A R U K
&
J E F F
R O B S O N
Fred Eaglesmith & Willie P. Bennett play the
WECC in their high falootin’ bluegrass duds.
Left: Winnipeg’s own Uncle Louis.
Photos: Stu Reid
Winnipeg bluegrass fans had a bonanza
last weekend as the West End Cultural Centre
presented the Back Up The Mountain
Bluegrass & Old Tyme Music Festival. The
weekend featured acts both local and distant,
and we can only hope it becomes a yearly
event that grows in the years to come.
Friday night featured some great local
talent. The evening kicked off with a new
quartet, led by the D.Rangers’ Jaxon Haldane
called the Hamiota Hams. Besides Haldane,
the quartet featured D.Rangers’ fiddle player
Don Zueff, bassist Anthony Kost and Jeremy
Hamm on mandolin & guitar. They played a
short set, one or two tunes chosen by each
member, and set a casual, “kitchen” vibe for
the evening.
Following that was a minimalist set
from Fred Redekopp and Al Popowich of the
Keystone Bluegrass quartet, who played a set
of tunes featuring guitar and mandolin. The
tunes varied from gorgeously executed standards to their own original compositions, and
it was a great set by two guys who really love
to play.
However, the biggest treat of the night,
from my perspective, was the discovery of
locals Doug and Jess Reimer. Bluegrass, it is
widely known, is a tradition as much as it is a
style of music, and family acts have abounded
in bluegrass and old-time for as long as
they’ve been around.
Doug and Jess, a fatherdaughter team on guitar
and mandolin respectively, continue this tradition with aplomb. The
lineup also includes
Chris Werner on bass
and, augmenting the
family tradition, Jess’s
boyfriend
Jeremy
Hamm(doing double
duty earlier on with the
Hams) on guitar and
banjo. Their set featured
some great original material as well as some
older material, and their vocals and harmonies
were outstanding. I really can’t say enough
great things about this band, and if you’re a
fan of bluegrass, you do not want to miss them
when next they take the stage. Keep your eye
out.
Saturday’s festivities included a free
open jam from 2-5 P.M., and being a bit of a
player as well as a fan, I schlepped my
Takamine down to the WECC in the afternoon, fighting down a belly full of butterflies,
and took part. A number of the folks that were
onstage the previous night were there, including several D.Rangers as well as Doug and
Jess, and the atmosphere was very welcoming.
It was a distinct pleasure to play with such a
great bunch of pickers, and it is also a distinct
pleasure to live in a city with such a vibrant
bluegrass scene.
Saturday evening’s show was the most
highly anticipated, although it promised the
least bluegrass. The only band on the line up
that could be considered truly bluegrass was
the local opener, Uncle Louis. Their set of
high-energy bluegrass numbers was a big hit
with the crowd, and it left many wondering
why they hadn’t heard of this talented group
before. Next up was supposed to be the
Winnipeg debut of Po’ Girl, a band fronted by
former Winnipegger and current Be Good
Tanyas member, Trish Klein. Po’ Girl’s debut
CD of dark and haunting blues and jazz influenced old tyme numbers has been a huge critical success, and many couldn’t wait to see
what the group would do live. Sadly, we didn’t
get the chance, as apparently the Girls’ bus
broke down in Saskatoon or something. Too
bad, really. But, it meant more of the man that
most came to see, Fred Eaglesmith, who is
known more for his rockin’ country, humour,
and great songwriting. But Fred and his Flat
Head Noodlers lived up to the bill nicely, giving the drummer the night off, and packing up
the pedal steel in favour of all acoustic and
mostly bluegrass numbers. They donned their
best bluegrass suits to present a large selection
of numbers from their latest CD Balin, and
mixed in many tunes from Fred’s early work,
which is largely comprised of bluegrass and
old tyme country farming songs. The nearcapacity crowd ate it up, and responded very
vocally and enthusiastically (see Eaglesmith
Fans elsewhere in this issue.)
If you’re keen to see more bluegrass but
can’t seem to find any, you might consider
joining the Manitoba Old-Tyme and Bluegrass
Society. Yearly memberships are $20 and get
you an electronic or paper copy of The Dill
Pickle Rag, the MOBS newsletter, in your
mailbox. It’s the best way to keep up on all
bluegrass happenings in our fair city. To join,
pick up a copy of the DPR at a local music
shop and send in the form you’ll find in it, or
get further info at www.manitobabluegrass.ca,
or just look for the dark blue MOBS shirt at
the next show you’re at and walk up and introduce yourself – there’s usually at least one or
two members flying the colours.
Prost Works Hard at Being Unique
B Y
T
J U L I E
H O R B A L
he bands that set themselves apart are
the bands that are set to stick, or at
least that’s the story according to the
members of local musical act Prost. As a
group, in fact, Prost is pretty much banking
on that statement being true. “The last thing
we want is for someone to hear our songs
and say, ‘Hey – that sounds like Nickelback
or Default or whomever,” says guitarist Jeff
Roy, 18. “The bands that stick are the bands
that break the norm.” So that’s exactly what
they’re trying to do.
Roy, along with fellow guitarist Adam
Rossi, 19, vocalist Jonathan Ball, 23, bassist
Dean Gamvrelis, 18, and drummer Alex
Sotiriadis, 19, combine to make an act that
has spent the last little while concentrating
on setting themselves apart from the rest of
the Winnipeg scene. Nearly two years ago,
the five strangers found themselves talking
about music at a party in a mutual friend’s
basement and thus began a beautiful friendship, or at least it was the beginning of a
band that could make a beautiful sound.
“We were all in the right place at the right
time,” says Rossi with a smirk. “And we
didn’t totally hate each other, so we decided
to play together.”
From the time they first practiced
together, the band had high hopes for the
individuality and uniqueness of their sound
– which wasn’t a hard thing to do. Their
musical backgrounds were so diverse that an
unheard of sound was unavoidable. “I basically was into heavier music like Tool and
Rage Against the Machine,” comments
Rossi, smirking. “Now I’ve gone into
Opeth, which is a Swedish progressive death
metal band.”
“Alex is all about Metallica, and I had
classic rock roots,” says Roy, “plus 80’s
metal. I like to party and I’m all about the
80’s metal.”
Says Rossi with a laugh, “We all have
so many different influences that we couldn’t
fall into any title. We can’t be pigeon-holed.”
“We play our own brand of metal,”
says Roy. “It’s not alternative metal, not
heavy metal. It’s just our metal, with a
twist.”
And their own brand of twisted metal
is working for them so far. Prost has worked
past the initial, awkward, every-memberfor-himself stage and what started as a group
of individuals has turned into a real cohesive
group, which shows in their music. “It used
to be that we’d each bring in a song that
we’d written and then we’d all learn it,” says
Rossi. “Now it’s a collaborative creative
process, we write together and we totally
come together as a band.”
A few of their songs are currently
available for download at their website
(www.prostx.com), and that’s the only place
you can hear them, aside from live shows.
The hard-working university students concentrate on school and don’t have much time
or money for recording. “Recording is an
expensive, expensive process and we’re all
busy and poor students,” says Roy. “We’re
not at a point where time or money allows us
to do a big studio recording.”
Adds Rossi, “We’re the kind of band
that doesn’t want to settle for recording in a
basement. So until we get a whole pile of
money, we’re not going to do anything.”
Prost also doesn’t want to compromise the kind of music they play, recorded
or live, even if it means fighting themselves
to get the best product out there. “We like to
challenge ourselves,” says Roy. “We won’t
write a song unless it’s challenging and different - otherwise we’re no better than
everyone else that’s coming out right now.”
“None of us settle for listening to
what’s on the radio all the time,” says Rossi.
“So we’re not going to settle for playing that
kind of music. We’re playing what’s going
to get people out to shows.”
Despite the fact that those fans who
are coming out to shows want to take Prost’s
music home, the band currently has no plans
for recording, but doesn’t rule it out for the
distant future. “Musically, we’re at the point
where we’ve developed a style that’s all our
own,” says Roy with pride. “We’re musically ready to record, but we’re somehow not
ready. We’ll all know when it’s time.”
Catch Prost opening for Red Seed at The
Zoo on November 7 or check out their website www.prostx.com
the
pa g e 1 6
uniter
october 23, 2003
a & e
Danny Michel’s a Rising Star
Try to Interview Him and You’ll See
J E F F
R O B S O N
Arts Editor
Danny Michel
has got to be one of the
most engaging and entertaining solo performers
ever. With only a guitar, a microphone, some
neat techno-guitar gadgets, and a rum and coke,
Danny can captivate an audience for hours.
I remember vividly the first time I saw
him do his show. It was at the Winnipeg Folk
Festival in 2000, Sunday afternoon, stage 3.
He had the stage stripped; all that was left on
stage was a microphone for him, and one for
his guitar amp. He stepped up, plugged in his
guitar amp and a few pedals, and got to work
doing his thing. And what a thing it is. It’s
hard to say what makes Danny so entertaining.
Of course there are great songs. He can tell a
story in song that is funny, sad, strange, fun, or
whatever he chooses. He packages that with
some incredible layered guitar parts that leave
you wondering where the rest of the band is.
The performance is no less perfect; he moves
around and makes faces that are endlessly
entertaining. He’s also got some of the funniest between song banter you’ll ever hear. And,
as if that weren’t enough, every girl I know
thinks he’s to-die-for cute.
I rushed out and bought two of his CDs
that day, 1999’s Fibsville, and 2001’s In the
Belly of a Whale. But, I must admit, I was a
little disappointed. The heavily produced CDs
left me kind of longing for the intense energy
that Michel can create all by himself. That’s
funny to say, since his CDs are truly do-ityourself projects; Michel plays almost all of
the instruments on his albums and records and
produces them himself, at home. But after the
memory faded of his incredible live performances at the festival, I kept going back to the
CDs for the great stories and melodies, and
eventually, I fell in love with them as well.
They’re a whole different side of his talents,
but well worth delving into. But nothing represents Danny Michel quite like his live show.
Earlier this year, Michel released a new
CD, Tales From the Invisible Man. It’s got a
bit of a different sound, it’s a bit fuller and
more upbeat than much of the previous CDs,
and it sounds as if it were constructed with a
band in mind for the live show, even though
Michel again plays all the instruments and
handles the production. It seems fitting, then,
that Michel is about to embark on his first tour
with a backing band. That tour stops in
Winnipeg at The West End Cultural Centre on
October 29.
As soon as I heard about the show, I did
what I’ve done a couple of times before, I sent
Danny an email and asked if he was up for an
interview. I figured he’d have a lot to talk
about with the new album, the tour, and the
changes that have taken place. You see, this
new CD is being released on Maple Music
Recordings, the first time that the fiercely
independent artist has had a label doing his
dirty work. I contacted him directly, as I’ve
always done, and asked if he’d appear on my
radio show (Sundays at 2:00 on UMFM) as
he’s done in the past. He replied:
From: d a n n y * m i c h e l
To: Jeff Robson
Cc: sarah publicity
Sent: Monday, August 18, 2003 7:40 AM
jeff. I am away on a vacation till wedish.,..I’m actually on an island with no power
& phone...I’ll call you when I get back & we’ll
do something for sure. Thanks for the interest.
danny
(Like me, you may wonder how he was
sending that email with no power and no
phone, but I wouldn’t put much past the
guy) Note the cc: on the message. I wish I
had. The call never came; instead, Maple
Music publicist Sara Mclaren stepped in.
She emailed to say that she was handling
Danny’s interview schedule, and that she’d
try to set something up. I told her that I
could do an interview on my Sunday show,
or I was also hosting on Monday nights
during the summer (now on Thursday
nights.) Now, I should say that Sarah is a
great lady, and has been very helpful with
other interviews in the past. But, for some
reason, I’ve been unable to get a moment
of Danny Michel’s time. Instead, I’ve
worn myself out with the run-around I’ve
been through just trying to confirm a convenient interview time. None of what follows is at all Sarah’s fault, she really is just
the messenger here:
From: Sara McLaren
To: ‘Jeff Robson’
Cc: d a n n y - m
Sent: Tuesday, August 19, 2003 12:12 PM
Any chance we could set up the radio
interview sometime soon and then hold the
piece for the Uniter until just before Danny
comes to Winnipeg on Oct.16th? [This date
was later changed to October 29]
From: Sara McLaren
To: ‘Jeff Robson’
Sent: Thursday, August 21, 2003 9:25 AM
It’d be best if we could set up your interview with Danny in September. We could likely do it on Sept.14 or 15th if that works for
you. Please confirm your show times again
and let me know what time would be best for
you. Then we can set up a definite time.
If you could just run a review now and
the feature closer to the show it would be great
Jeff.
thanks Jeff.
From: Sara McLaren
To: ‘Jeff Robson’
Sent: Tuesday, August 26, 2003 12:07 PM
We’re going to have to wait until
October to do this. Does Oct.6th at 6:45 CST
(7:45 EST) work for you. If so, what number
should Danny call?
From: Jeff Robson
To: Sara McLaren
Sent: Wednesday, August 27, 2003 3:00 PM
I won’t be hosting on Monday nights
come October. I’m a frequent part of an
ensemble that will be hosting Thursday
nights 6:30-8:00 CST. My first choice
would be to chat with Danny on a Sunday
afternoon. My Sunday show will be on
every Sunday 2-4 central starting
September 14.
From: Sara McLaren
To: ‘Jeff Robson’
Sent: Friday, September 19, 2003 2:19 PM
Touching base re: Danny Michel.
Sundays aren’t really working out for us. Is
there any chance we can do a taped interview?
Say on Monday, Oct.6th?
From: Jeff Robson
To: Sara McLaren
Sent: Friday, September 19, 2003 7:41 PM
Are Thursday nights any better? I’m
sure we could do something now that I’m cohosting every Thursday night 6:30 - 8:00 pm
central. If that’s no good, then yes, taping will
be sufficient.
Let me know if that works any better.
Thanks for not forgetting about little old me.
From: Sara McLaren
To: ‘Jeff Robson’
Sent: Tuesday, September 23, 2003 8:24 AM
Thursday nights are actually bad for the
next month as Danny is playing shows. Taping
during the day would be better. Are there any
week days / times that work best?
From: Jeff Robson
To: Sara McLaren
Sent: Friday, October 03, 2003 7:38 PM
Sorry to say, no can do. I have a class at
university 2:30 - 3:45. I hope this is a good
sign that Danny’s star is rising, it used to be
quite easy to get an interview with him. Oh
well.
label - much more bureaucracy. You were one of
the first people to contact me about an interview
with Danny so I’d really like to make this happen for you. If you’re still interested, could you
please give me a list of times you’re available
this week and I’ll try to set something up.
Sadly, that’s as far as we got. So,
instead of a charming first person profile of
Danny in his own words, we are left with a
profile of a guy who’s suddenly become a
whole lot busier and a whole lot harder to get
a hold of. I’m hoping that’s a good thing, and
it means that Danny’s set for the much bigger
things that he so rightly deserves. The reaction to the new CD has been very positive, and
the first single, “Perfect,” has managed to
make it onto the radio in many places. With
the upcoming tour and the added exposure that
a record company can provide, it will only be
a matter of time before Danny Michel is an
even bigger star. And that can only be a good
thing, even if it means that he’ll never have
time to chat with me again.
The moral of the story: Go see Danny
Michel in concert, just don’t expect to interview him any time soon.
From: Sara McLaren
To: ‘Jeff Robson’
Sent: Monday, October 06, 2003 1:08 PM
Well I’d love to blame it all on Danny’s
rising star however I believe it may be partly a
result of Danny now having management and a
Danny Michel and his band, along with special guest Nathan Wiley, play The West End
Cultural Centre on October 29 at 8 pm.
Tickets are $12 at Music Trader and
Ticketmaster, and $15 at the door. Visit
Danny’s website www.dannymichel.com.
From: Sara McLaren
To: ‘Jeff Robson’
Sent: Friday, October 03, 2003 1:51 PM
So sorry - it’s been crazy here. I know
this isn’t ideal for you but the only time we
can do the interview is Monday at 3:10pm
CST (4:10 EST). Does that work for you? If
so, what number should Danny call?
thanks for your patience
the
october 23, 2003
uniter
pa g e 1 7
a & e
The Return of Moses Mayes
B Y
P
J O N A T H A N
T A N
ut your dancing shoes on people, homegrown funk is about to return to a dance
floor near you. After taking nearly a
year off Winnipeg funk heroes Moses Mayes
and the Funk Family Orchestra are back in
action this week at the Urban Groove festival.
The band whose first album won a
Prairie Music Award for best Dance/ Urban
record, hasn’t played live since their surprise
return at this year’s Winnipeg Jazz Fest. The
Uniter’s Jonathan Tan sat down with Moses’
DJ Grant Paley to find out what the band has
been working on.
JT: Has the time off been good for the
band? How has it changed what you’re working on, what the goals are as a band?
GP: “It seems like everything is back to
normal. It’s a fun playful atmosphere. Everyone
has acquired new commitments and interests
since the band took a break. But everyone’s
enthusiasm for the band is growing again and
people are looking to put more time into it.”
JT: With percussionist Scott Senior touring with the Duhks how does that affect his
ability to play with Moses?
GP: “Scott won’t be able to play with us
on the 23rd at the Pyramid but he will be with
us on Halloween at the Zen Lounge for
UniFunk. Scott’s a big part of the band and
playing without him won’t be fun but it’s a
reality of the situation now, because he’s touring with the Duhks. Maybe when we’re touring again we can get him back full time.”
JT: Speaking of touring, you guys head
out to Saskatoon this weekend after the Urban
Groove show, Saskatoon is sort of second
home for Moses isn’t it?
GP: “Oh yeah! We’ve always played
sold out shows in Saskatoon, being only eight
hours away we play there a lot. We have
friends and family members there and it’s
always a pleasure to go there.”
“As for full length tours, we won’t be
doing that until we’ve got a new album out,
which we’ll be working on over the winter.
It’d definitely be nice to get back on the Jazz
fest circuit.”
JT: So aside from Scott not always being
around what are the changes in the band itself?
GP: “It’s the same dynamic except now
we’ve got a new Alto Saxophone player, her
C
STEREOLAB
Instant 0 In the Universe
D
R
name is Laurie Smith, she used to play with
Burnt and it’s cool to have a girl in the band
for the first time.”
“Jams have been really fun lately, everyone is getting pretty excited for these upcoming shows.”
You can catch Moses Mayes this
Thursday the 23rd of October at the Pyramid
with Blue Quarter and I/O. The band’s shows
E
V
I
E
at the Pyramid have usually sold out, making
the dance floor extra hopping but also leaving
some fans out in the cold. If you can’t catch
them at the Urban Groove festival be sure to
check out Halloween’s hippest charity event
UniFunk, Friday the 31st at the Zen Lounge.
The proceeds go to Unicef and the line-up is
stacked featuring Moses Mayes, Rudimental,
the Viberiders, DJ Co-op and Dr.P.
W
S
A short review for a short CD, since there are only 5 tracks here, each about 4-5 minutes long. There is a definite 70s influence on this Stereolab EP,especially with the track “God is Me” and its prog-rock influences. Stereolab has more tricks up its sleeve, however, and this disc runs the gamut, from some great simple catchy
electronica to the last song, “Mass Riff,” the last half of which could have easily been stolen from The Fixx. The real treat here is Lætitia Sadier’s simple and sweet
vocals, which give Stereolab its own unique sound. I’ve heard comparisons to Kraftwerk and tales of Tim Gane’s love of Brian Wilson, so you can see how genre bending Stereolab is. The disc is at times hypnotic, danceable, catchy, simple, complex. and quite inventive. Stereolab remains to be uncategorizeable.
(Elektra, www.stereolabonline.com www.stereolab.co.uk)
BY DAN HUYGHEBAERT
THE DANDY WARHOLS
Welcome To The Monkey House
BY JEREMY STRUB
NICKLEBACK
The Long Road
B Y M AT T C O H E N
Well, here is a first for me; I am reviewing an album by a band I have only heard of vicariously. One look at the cover painting (done by Ron English) told me that
this was no ordinary rock group. The tie-in is that on the cover of Nico by The Velvet Underground (a group that used to be fronted by Lou Reed, before they disbanded) is a banana done by the late artist Andy Warhol (who also did the original Campbell’s soup logo). He also designed the original cover of The Rolling Stones’ album
Sticky Fingers, which featured blue jeans with an actual working zipper (promptly banned, highly sought after, and replaced with just a painting).
With that in mind I sat down to listen to this album. It is very well engineered and flows smoothly with little sameness saturation. It starts with “Welcome To
The Monkey House,” which is a short, chilling song that looks at what would happen if musical radio became unfamiliar to the listener. It got my attention, and I
was hooked from then on. Swaying back and forth from rock to electronic, and merging the influence of artists like Beck, Cake, Thomas Dolby, Stone Temple Pilots,
AC/DC, and The White Stripes, this album presents catchy songs with enough rock to keep it up, and just enough electronic sounds to keep it interesting and fresh.
I liked how even on songs with entirely electronic effects, it still managed to keep a rock air about them, while the more guitar driven songs weren’t entirely inundated with effects. The Dandy Warhols manage to achieve a delicate balance. My only beef with the album is that the lyrics really don’t say much beyond the first
song, as quirky as they are. I recommend Welcome to the Monkey House as one of the best albums I have heard this year.
(Capitol, www.dandywarhols.com www.capitolmusic.ca)
The new Nickleback album, The Long Road, has come out and I was given the opportunity to review it. I would really like to, but it’s hard to put my finger on
why I didn’t like the CD. I’ll give you an analogy. You know the kids show Play Along with Lambchop? There was this puppet called Lambchop and they used to
sing this song called “The Song That Never Ends”. Somebody wrote it, well some people started singing it not knowing what it was and they’ll continue singing it
forever just because, but I digress. Nickleback must have watched that show a lot when they were young. They’ve managed to write a couple of hit songs that get a
lot of radio play, but they’re basically the same song. The Long Road plays out like this. When I get a new CD I usually put it in my car stereo and push play. It takes
me a day to get through the whole CD. I went through the album seven times before I realized that the entire album was pretty much the same song. Lead singer
Chad Kroeger would come in and lament about something. The guitar would come in. Same song. The drums. Same song. The bass. Same song. The best part of the
CD was a green sheet inside for www.keepmusiccoming.com. They thank you for not downloading the songs and buying the album. Hopefully I’ll end up doing the
same thing as the green sheet with this review. Don’t download this CD. Don’t buy it either. The Lambchop show isn’t on the air anymore, but Sponge Bob
Squarepants has a pretty catchy theme song.
(Roadrunner Records, www.nickelback.com, www.roadrunnerrecords.com)
the
pa g e 1 8
uniter
october 23, 2003
s p o r t s
Ode to the Baseball Fan
B Y
A V I
B R A M E R
As I am writing this, I am getting ready
for the biggest event of the year. Game Seven:
Yankees versus the Red Sox. For anyone who
knows anything, a game seven played
between these two teams is something very,
very sacred. I, as both a baseball fanatic and
a lifelong Red Sox fan am overcome with
excitement. I hardly slept last night.
I am going on pure adrenaline right now
as the game is drawing nearer and nearer. In
this moment of joy and angst ridden tension, I
want to address something that really ticks me
off. I can't stand it when people tell me that
baseball is not a sport and that it is boring.
Never has an injustice this grand been
believed by so many people. Baseball is not
boring, baseball does not suck and baseball is
a sport, just as gymnastics and lawn bowling
are.
I don't understand why North
Americans have been blinded by the belief
that in order for things to be a sport they need
to be exciting. This is so false, and it makes
me laugh. Sure the end-to-end action of a
hockey game is exciting, but do you think the
Pakistani cricket team cares that you find
hockey exciting? Just because something is
fast doesn't make it more of a sport than something else. If you take away the excitement
concept in people, maybe they will be able to
understand the true beauty that is in baseball.
The excitement in baseball begins from
when the first fans start to pile into the stadiums and it doesn't end until the final out.
Inside each game of baseball, the coaches play
a game of chess, trying to exploit the other
teams weaknesses, by planning the game out
ahead of time and making decisions on the go.
This excitement is no more evident than in the
playoffs. Each pitch holds the potential for
something big to happen. Each swing of the
bat can leave you breathless with anticipation.
There is a real sense of history and
respect that goes along with baseball.
Everyone, from the fans to the players, to the
coaches respect the history of baseball. And
the history plays a key role in baseball today.
As we speak the Boston Red Sox are trying to
break a curse of never having won the World
Series since they traded Babe Ruth to the New
York Yankees.
But the one characteristic that separates
baseball from all the other sports is its fans.
Baseball fans have a gift. We have the ability
to look past the outer shell and appreciate
what is on the inside. Baseball flows like a
great poem. From beginning to end, the game
moves like words flying out of a poet's quill:
The rhythm of the pitcher releasing a ball, to
the sound of that ball making contact with the
opposing players bat, the laws of science that
accompany the game, the screaming fans, and
the psychology that is involved. Socrates
would have loved this game. It’s weird.
Thousands of people would never flock to a
stadium to watch a chess match. But that is
what baseball is. Baseball is chess, but
instead of pawns and rooks you have shortstops and outfielders. The chess master, the
baseball manager, plays his pieces with a different strategy at every bat, deciding when to
be defensive and when to begin an all out
attack.
Baseball is like a relationship. It picks
you up and at times it throws you down and
breaks your heart. There are moments of
boredom and their are moments that you wish
could last forever. It can be frustrating yet at
the same time you wouldn't want to change a
thing. This roller coaster ride; baseball, with
it’s up and downs and it’s twists and turns is
what makes the game beautiful.
With every pitch your world can be
turned upside down or taken to heights you
have never seen before, all with the sound of
a simple ball hitting a simple bat.
n the night of October 14th 2003,
the sport of baseball was fronted
with an event so devestating, the
history of the sport and a team- The
Chicago Cubs will be scarred forever. The
place was Wriggly field, and the game was
the sixth in a series between the Chicago
Cubs and the Florida Marlins. Up 3-0 in
the eighth inning, 3-2 in the series, Moises
Alou of the Cubs ran towards the foul wall
to catch a ball that was destined for foul
territory. As he jumped and reached up in
perfect alignment with the ball, Steve
Bartman, a self proclaimed Chicago Cub
fan, stopped the ball in its tracks and sacrificed what would be an out for the Cubs,
for a souvenir for his bed shelf. But it
wasn’t just a sacrifice for an out, an
inning, or even a game. It was a sacrifice
for a season. The Florida Marlins went on
to win the game, and the series, eliminating the Chicago Cubs from the playoffs.
The Uniter’s Mike Pyl isn’t writing about
the incident, he’s writing to the incident;
the offender, the Cub fan, Steve Bartman.
O
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Fri. Oct. 17
Sat.Oct. 18
Sun.Oct.19
Wesmen 72
Wesmen 62
Wesmen 75
Alberta 61
Concordia 58
Wilfrid Laurier 68
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Fri. Oct. 17
Sat. Oct. 18
Waterloo 77 Wesmen 62
Toronto 68
Wesmen 64 (OT)
UPCOMING
Home
October 23rd- Men’s & Women’s V-ball vs Manitoba
October 24th- Men’s B-ball vs McGill
October 25th- Men’s B-ball vs Mary
Away
October 25th- Men’s & Women’s V-ball vs UofM
COMPILED BY
LEIGHTON KLASSEN
SPORTS EDITOR
Michael Fishberg was the winner of the 8-ball pool
tournament, held by the UWSA on October 14th.
Tom Reid finished in the ranks of second place.
The single knockout event featured a total of 24
contestants that battled it out on the tables for
nearly three hours. The annual event is conducted
to promote awareness for the Canadian Federation
of Students, and to expand on-campus activity that
supports both activity and fun.
The Men’s Volleyball team’s record of 12-0 earned
them a number one ranking in the CIS (Canadian
Interuniversity Sport)
The Women’s Volleyball team currently sits at 3rd
place in the CIS rankings
Dear Asshole,
It’s your fault the Chicago Cubs will not be headed to
the World Series.
It’s your fault outfielder Moises Alou could not catch a
foul ball with one out and the Cubs up 3-0 in the 8th inning,
consequently sparking a chain of disastrous events to send
Wrigley Field fans home shell-shocked and winless, anticipating a game 7 victory which would not come. As a result,
the Florida Marlins clinched the National League pennant.
Sure, the impediment did not even get batter Luis
Castillo on base. It was Mark Prior, seemingly invincible for
7 1/3, who eventually walked him en route to giving up five
runs that inning. The bullpen, upon relieving Prior, was
equally enigmatic as Kyle Farnsworth and Mike Remlinger
combined to give up another two hits and three runs to push
the Marlins’ lead to 8-3.
And so what if shortstop Alex Gonzalez, who had only committed ten errors all season, bobbled a routine
double play that would have ended the eighth with the score 3-1. It’s still your fault. It’s own your fault you’re
now Public Enemy #1 in Chicago. You rightfully deserved the treatment you received at the hands of disgruntled
Cubs fans after the meltdown in game 6. Most of us would still show little remorse about chasing you out of the
stadium with projectile beers and chants of “Kill him!”.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, you’ve been a lifelong Cubs fan, whereas most of us, including myself, are just trailing
behind the bandwagon, hoping to see the ultimate underdog, ring-less since 1908, become champs. And you apologized, in a written statement the next day, from ‘the bottom of this Cubs fan’s broken heart’. A real fan would
have let Alou catch the ball (Just ignore the eight others who were also reaching out to grab the souvenir).
Game 7’s your fault too. You’re obviously to blame that ace Kerry Wood had his worst outing of the season
the night after your idiocy. Coming off of five days rest, the perennial All-Star, in the biggest start of his life, gave
up seven runs in 5 2/3 innings. The Prior-Wood combination hadn’t lost on back-to-back days all season. It’s also
your fault rookie Miguel Cabrera drove in four runs to pace Florida to a 9-6 victory in game 7. I mean, a rookie?
How else would you explain it?
What’s that? You couldn’t possibly have cost the Cubs game 7, as you watched the game from your living
room with a police officer standing guard. That sounds like quite the stretch. And don’t even think about whining
how you can’t go out in public because the media has leaked your name, photos of your house, and the place of
your work following game 6. So I hear Florida governor Jeb Bush offered you asylum in South Beach for the next
few months. If you accept it, your legacy will not only live on in Cubs infamy, but talk about traitor! Why don’t
you just go and marry Pudge Rodriguez? Hey, and just think, you will have already given him a ring.
The Marlins became only the sixth team to rebound from a 3-1 playoff deficit. The Cubbies had a chance to
close the deal in game 5! And what were you doing? How about wasting your time coaching kids baseball. You
might as well have blanked the Cubs with an 11 strikeout, two-hitter masterpiece, not Florida’s Josh Beckett.
In fact, not only did you cost the Chicago Cubs this series, but you could also be the reason behind the franchise’s 95-year-old drought. Don’t even mention the Curse of the Billy Goat. Shut up about the fact you are only
26 years old. All I see is a headphone-toting, Cub cap-wearing Marlin fan who’s ecstatic tears of joy were hidden
only by the sweater you used to protect your face as you were escorted out of Wrigley for your own safety.
While we’re at it, just admit you caused the Hindenburg to explode. I bet you were the one who shot JFK, too.
Clearly you, Steve Bartman, are to blame.
And you know what the sad thing is? People agree with me.
Sincerely,
Mike Pyl
the
october 23, 2003
uniter
pa g e 1 9
s p o r t s
Wesmen Leave
UofM Tourney
Undefeated
B
Y
B
R
A
D
P
E
N
I
N
G
T
O
Sally Kaznica
shaves some
time off the
clock to hold
the Wesmen
lead. She
finished the
game with
13 points
N
On Sunday October 19 the Wesmen women’s basketball
team capped off an undefeated round robin tournament with
a win against University of Wilfrid Laurier at the Universiy
of Manitoba Invitational Tournament.
With wins on Friday and Saturday against Alberta and
Manitoba, the Wesmen carried on and beat Laurier 75-68.
In the first half of the game the Wesmen found themselves in a
very tight match in playing catch up with Laurier.
The Wesmen were constantly struggling to tie the
game and grab the lead. With a last second basket by
JoAnne Wells at the end of the first half, both teams
were tied at 39 points.
After a halftime talk from coach McKay on
defense, the Wesmen opened the scoring
on a three pointer by JoAnne
Wells, eventually building
up to a fifteen point
advantage at one
point of the
game.
With
a
more defensive mind
set, the Wesmen held off Laurier in an
intense back and forth game in jockeying
for the lead. With the entire starting line
scoring over 20 points, and the rest of
the team on the scoring board, the
Wesmen ladies went on to win the third
and final game of the tournament.
The high scorers in the game
were JoAnne Wells with 25, Sally
Kaznica with 13 points, and Stefanie
Timmersman with 12.
Jae Pirnie who unfortunately was
unable to play in this tournament due to
an injury suffered in their last tournament, played here at the Duckworth
Center and is recovering very well. She
is expected to return to the hardwood by
sometime next week.
Coach Tanya McKay says that her
and the team are looking forward to kicking off the regular season in three weeks
with hopes of grasping their hands on a
shinny new gold medal at the CIS nationals.
A mid game toss up
with Wesmen Rookie
Stephanie Timmersman
Photos: Leighton Klassen
Back in action! Val
Carson dishes out a
pass in the Second
half. It was her first
tournament back from
an early season knee
injury
the
pa g e 2 0
uniter
october 23, 2003
s p o r t s
JAE
PIRNIE
#14
Sport
Basketball
JOCK TALK
Jock Talk gives the guys and gals in red and white the
chance to sit down off the playing field and air it out.
B Y
L A U R A
W H I T E
Age
19
Hometown
Winnipeg
Year on Team
2nd
Position
Post
Studying
Education
ae Pirnie’s first name is an acronym,
short for Jane Alice Elizabeth. She has
never been just plain Jane: that name
belongs to her Mom. “As it is, it’s complicated to figure out who people are talking to,”
she says.
As you’ve probably figured out, Pirnie
is the person I’m talking to for this week’s
Jock Talk. When I catch up with her for this
article, she has more spare time on her hands
than usual. She has sprained her ankle playing against Regina in the Converse Shootout,
and is out of the game for about a week.
When she is on the court, she plays the
position of post. “I’m the one who’s down
low, getting the rebounds,” says Pirnie. The
person on her team that she can’t do without
is point guard Sally Kaznica, “If there’s
something going wrong, she’ll let you know,
and she’ll do it in such a way that you won’t
feel bad about it,” she says.
Off the court, Pirnie’s parents are her
inspiration. She and her mom share not only
the same first name, but a love for basketball
as well: “Both my parents are athletes, my
mom played five years (at U of M), so I
decided that’s what I wanted to do.”
In fact, basketball has been a part of
Pirnie’s life since before she was born: “The
day before my mom went into labour she was
at a basketball tournament. So, it’s kind of
been a joke that there’s no way I couldn’t
have been a basketball player.”
For Pirnie, being 6’0” tall may come in
handy on the basketball court, but it’s more of
a handicap when she’s at the mall. “It’s pretty awful. You have to look for ‘tall’ sizes anywhere you go, and you wear pants lower than
J
most people wear them. And you buy boys’
jeans.”
Or she could try to swipe them from
her boyfriend of almost one and a half years.
The two met in high school, and share an
interest in sports. “He coaches a lot and he’s
playing intramural flag football and he’s
playing minor league basketball.”
Pirnie’s interests also span outside the
world of basketball. “In high school I was in
band, jazz band, vocal jazz and choir. I was
kind of a music nerd,” she says. Her musical
talents are wide-ranging: she played flute and
tenor saxophone, and sang tenor in the choir.
She also loves to read. “It’s hard to read
what you want to read when you’re in school.
So once Christmas comes, and once summer
comes, I grab whatever novels I’ve been saving and just read,” Pirnie says.
Another thing in Pirnie’s life that is put
on hold ‘till the holidays: making money. “I
work basketball camps during the summer,
and that’s about it. And you work hard to get
scholarships, and that pays for school. It’s
very, very hard to have a job in [basketball]
season,” she says.
And though basketball is a main priority in her life, school never takes the back
burner. “I think athletes in general have to
fight the stereotype that we’re all dumb
jocks,” she says. “Over half the players on
our team were academic all-Canadians last
year. Everyone takes school really seriously.”
Not only is she serious about her own
studies, Pirnie is planning a career in teaching
others. For now you can find her on the basketball court, in the future: teaching a high
school English class near you.
P I R N I E ’ S
B O O K
The Final Confession of Mabel
Starck by Robert Hough. “It’s the
story of the first female tiger
trainer.” (Particularly relevant in
the light of the tiger attack on Roy
Horn of Siegfried and Roy during
their Vegas show.)
TV
Buffy the Vampire Slayer, X-Files
(but it’s off the air now),
The Family Guy and The Simpsons.
“But I don’t see them very often
anymore because I’m doing
homework.”
F I L M
Death to Smoochy. “It’s so funny.
I enjoy the dark comedies.”
M U S I C
The Beatles, progressive rock
bands (Pain of Salvation and
Dream Theatre) “They try to do
things that no one else has, like
crazy time signatures.”
Photo: Leighton Klassen
F O O D
Extreme Pita, Subway
P I C K S
COLOUR
Brown “I think it’s warm and it’s
earthy. There’s nothing overly
spectacular about it, but it’s
beautiful in it’s own right.”
N U M B E R
20 “When I was little, my Barbies’
age was always 20.
And throughout high school my
number was always 20.”
A N I M A L
Whale shark. “It’s the largest fish
in the ocean. It’s ugly and
gorgeous at the same time.
They’re pretty neat.”
S T O R E
Mc Nally Robinson. “I just really
like books. Any place with books
and journals that I can just be for
as long as I want, and they won’t
bug me, is great.”
T I M E O F T H E Y E A R
March (playoff time)
“The pressure’s on,
but it’s a good pressure.”