Capilano Courier Vol. 45 Issue 11 by Capilano Courier

The Capilano Courier Pushing Buttons since 1968 // North Vancouver // Vol. 45 Issue 11

Status Quo since 1968 // North Vancouver // Vol. 45 Issue 11

The Capilano Courier

TABle of contents Vol. Fourty-Five | Issue 11

Pushing buttons since 1968

Contac t u s Praise? Damnation? Let us know what you think:

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TUESDAYS at NOON in MAPLE 122 Caveat lector

The Capilano Courier is an autonomous, democratically run student newspaper. Literary and visual submissions are welcomed. All submissions are subject to editing for brevity, taste, and legality. The Capilano Courier will not publish material deemed by the collective to exhibit sexism, racism, or homophobia. The views expressed by the contributing writers are not necessarily those of the Capilano Publishing Society.

News

Quidditch is actual sport played by real people all over the world! LOL!

Sta f f

C al e n d a r

The Capilano Courier is brought to you by the following people ...

Special jazz edition! editor-in-chief

editor-in-chief

Samantha Thompson

Sarah Vitet

Fe a t u r e s

So “little things” do nothing to save the planet. That’s why I eat meat, and litter.

Ar t s

production mngr.

a rt d i r e c t o r

f e at u r e s e d i t o r

news editor

Shannon Elliott

JJ Brewis

Adélie Houle-Lachance

Gurpreet Kambo

It's the page with a huge photo of Teen Daze on it.

Columns

Really sad about not seeing Bieber on Maury. a rt s e d i t o r

opinions editor

Claire Vulliamy

Marco Ferreira

humor

fiction editor

Kevin Murray

copy editor

Celina Kurz

O pi n i o n s

Female politicians need to implement a 100% raise in the amount of sandwiches being made

s ta f f w r i t e r

Evelyn Cranston

events mngr.

Jonty Davies

C ab o o s e business manager

web editor

Ricky Bao

Natahsha Prakash

Obama chia pet incredibly racist, LOL!

the cove

Arin Ringwald Arin Ringwald is an IDEA 2011 alumni. He likes attaching impressionable attributes to his name because of an illogical desire to impress. It is said that Arin lives in Mexico now, where he worries about the lack of an electrical ground for his iMac and writes a blog about his life there, complete with current illustrations, at www.mexpants. wordpress.com.

{ WORLD* } This

WEEK in the

What’s got us all riled up in the office this week?

Rebecca Black has a new music video!

Municipal elections happened, you dummy! Look up who won!

Lady Gaga pees in trashcans! Buy her old apartment!

Things in other countries getting worse and worse!

* According to Marco Ferreira

from the editor //

You say you want a revolution

am a good student. At least, I try to be. And while my professors may tell you otherwise (I don’t attend as many classes as I’d like, I always cram for exams, and I’m not one of those people who writes a paper a month in advance and than edits it 50 million times before handing it in), one of my goals is to do well in school. Unfortunately, although I am technically a “full-time” student, being a student is only one of my commitments. I am the editor-in-chief of a student newspaper, and at the end of the week I head off to work 5am shifts on weekends. With any perception of whining aside, trying to keep up with these commitments and simultaneously aiming to do well in school is hard for anyone who is not a robot. Given the choice, I would probably choose to avoid working while completing my degree. However, like many other students, not working is not an option. School is expensive, and I need to pay for my education myself without the assistance of my parents. I have used up any scholarship money from high school, and my GPA isn’t high enough to get scholarships from the university. I live with my parents, and although we are a low-income family, I am not considered to be “in financial need” and thus am not eligible for bursaries. So, I work two jobs and pay for school that way. School doesn’t need to be this expensive. Tuition doesn’t need to increase by the legislated maximum amount every single year (something that has been happening consistently at Capilano), but universities are left in a financial crunch when the province is not prioritizing funding for post-secondary education. Quebec, for a time, was a province that saw things a little differently. Their universities were boasting some of the lowest tuition fees in Canada, and the fees were not going to increase because the government had legislated a tuition freeze – a freeze that has been in effect for the last 40 years. Recently, Quebec Premier Jean Charest announced that the tuition freeze would be no more, and that tuition would be increasing $325 per year until 2016. This increase will bring average annual tuition in Quebec to $3,793, up from the current average of $2,168. Charest has said that, despite the increases, Quebec students will still be paying the lowest tuition in the country. He has also said that universities need the money, especially after the 40-year tuition freeze. However, the fact that universities are short on money is not a problem students should be responsible for. Quebec should be reallocating its funds to ensure that universities are being adequately funded, particularly as having low tuition and renowned universities only helps their economy in the long run. That Quebec’s tuition fees will still be the lowest in the country is not a solid excuse to make such rapid, steep increases to the cost of post-secondary education. Students in Quebec have responded to the tuition increase announcement in a way that you would hope any group of well-informed individuals would – they have spoken up, and said that the increases are unfair. Protests have been occurring across the province, most notably on a march that boasted numbers of approximately 20,000 students heading to Charest’s office. Their efforts should be applauded, because they are demonstrating the impact that students can have when they work together, and are speaking out against something that is unjust.

The Voicebox

with JJ Brewis Look for the Voicebox on Tuesday afternoons in the Birch cafeteria, to anonymously “voice” your “opinion” on any “topic.” Introverted alternatives include emailing your opinion to voicebox@capilanocourier.com, or texting (778) 886-5070. “Nude photos are awesome, especially pictures of your but [sic].” This is true roughly ten per cent of the time. How many awful photos of rear ends have you seen? Probably many. The legacy of the internet? Millions upon millions of people’s tasteless ass pics. All of the asses! Well, except mine. I refuse. Even on the rare occasion someone feels compelled to send me a filthy photo, I always fail to do the “right thing” and follow suit. And why would I? I’m no prude (duh), but come on. Most people’s asses just aren’t cute. If you consider what their main function is, then, well, it completely makes sense. “I hate when people say “irregardless” and “unthaw”. Those aren’t words!” I don’t like it when people say the word doily. Isn’t that gross? In grade four when these two dumb girls and their two dumb mothers were trying to get my PE teacher kicked out of the school for perving on them, their

Tuition fee increased aren’t limited to Quebec. In BC, for example, tuition fees are some of the highest in Canada, and they continue to increase because there is no freeze on fees. In addition to high tuition fees, BC is also the only province without needs-based grants. Combine this bundle of joy with severe underfunding for many universities, and you’re left with a bleak future for post-secondary education. Capilano University, for example, has seen its tuition increase by 181 per cent in the last ten years, but funding has only increased by 39.3 per cent - resulting in tuition contributing 33.6 per cent to Capilano’s budget, compared to 9.5 per cent a decade ago. While our tuition fees are not increasing as rapidly as Quebec’s, Capilano’s per credit fee has increased from $42.50 in 2000 to $113.40 in 2011. And although tuition has been increasing at a rate of around two per cent for the past six years, in both 2002 and 2003, tuition fees increased by 40 per cent. Underfunding for post-secondary education is a problem in many places, but it seems that no matter how much students cry out against the increase, the costs are on their way up. It doesn’t matter that today’s policy makers “made it out of the system okay” with minimal debt, and are of the opinion that today’s students should figure it out and do the same. The reality is, tuition has been rapidly increasing without the funding to match it. Students today are graduating with more debt than students even ten years ago, and that they are doing so is not because they are lazy or haven’t “tried hard enough” to get funding. Students should be allowed to focus on being students. By balancing work, school, and a social life, we are not getting the full experience from what should be the years of our lives where we push our brains and discover things that change our perceptions on the world. Yes, having access to post-secondary education is a luxury, but that doesn’t mean we should be prevented from getting everything out of it that we can. More funding will result in more students having the opportunity to obtain the post-secondary education of their choice, and our society will become one of a higher intelligence whose members have been taught to think critically about their world. Students should continue to speak out against high tuition fees and a lack of grants. They need to demonstrate to politicians that they are a body worth reckoning with, and won’t stand to be pushed around. Students need to assert that they’re worthy of attention. The post-secondary education situation is in a precarious position. Push too much harder, and students will finally wake up and notice that they’re being screwed. When that happens, you can guarantee that they will push back; they will fight, and then there truly will be a revolution. Bankruptcy party, anyone?

— Samantha Thompson // editor-in-chief

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mothers kept using “irregardless” in the debates. My mom, who is cool and smart, stood up and said, “Irregardless is not a word. It’s regardless.” I lol’ed, and that was long before I knew what loling was. “Are Jedi allowed to have sex? I feel I may have made the wrong career decision.” Why do I get so many Star Wars questions? Can’t someone just ask me about The Wizard Of Oz for once? I’ll tell you what: that wizard got plenty of tail. That was before the news broke that he was a scam. You know, Wizardgate. I have no clue if Jedis have sex. I may own a great Empire Strikes Back sweatshirt, but I’ve never seen any of them! I don’t even know what a Jedi is! In my world, it’s some sort of hybrid of Stone Cold Steve Austin, Criss Angel, and Jiminy Crickett. “If you don’t vote, you have no right to complain about what decisions our elected officials are making.” That’s true! In all seriousness, it is legitimately obnoxious when someone who was too lazy to go out and do their democratic responsibility then complains about that very issue when they aren’t satisfied with their elected official. So always vote, people! I hope everyone voted for their new/new again mayor this past weekend so that they can complain about the winner, no matter if their choice won or not! Regardless. Without regard.

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EDIT OR // Gurpreet Kambo // ne w s @ c api l ano c o uri e r. c o m

You’ve Got Something On Your Face Movember allows men’s upper lips to stay warm By Ben Spieler // Writer

the capilano courier | vol. 45 issue 11

apilano University is no stranger to facial hair. The North Shore campus has a veritable smorgasbord of facewhiskers, from Fuzzy Peaches to Karl Marxes. In November, however, you might notice a decided increase in Tom Sellecks and Yosemite Sams. On Nov.1, thousands of men shave off what facial hair they have and begin the arduous task of growing a moustache. The reason for this is to support a movement called Movember, a charity event which supports different types of cancer research, mainly prostate cancer, in the hopes of finding a cure. The event was conceived in 1999 by a group of Australian men from Adelaide, and it caught on like wildfire until it eventually became an official charity in 2004. The Movember Foundation is now an internationally recognized group and runs events all over the world. The system is pretty simple. On “Movember 1st”, the participants shave off all their facial hair and sign up on Movember.com. They can make a profile for free, and even create a team with friends in a matter of minutes. The profile is not unlike the Myspace pages of yonder internet past – hence the nickname “Mospaces” – and all you need to do with it is post a picture of yourself on it regularly so that people can see your fine moustache in the works. All donations can be given directly to the website through links on the participant’s profile. Around campus, it is evident that many Capilano students are also participating in the event: “It’s an awesome way to raise awareness, everyone can chip in even if they’re broke! But it’s really itchy,” says Ryan, a first-year Motion Picture Arts student sporting a furry upper lip. Although the onslaught of upper-lip hair is meant to raise awareness in a humourous way, for some participants, the cause hits close to home. Andrew Fergusson, a first-year acting for stage and screen student, has a very personal reason for participating in the event. In 2006, his grandfather Ian Allen was diagnosed with colon cancer, which he subsequently recovered from. Tragically, the cancer later came back, and this time he did not recover. “He passed away while my mom was holding his hand. I slept in a chair that night, not even two feet from where he died,” says Fergusson. At the funeral, Andrew’s uncle Tim Allen noticed he was having unusual stomach pains. One week later, he went to get x-rays, and the doctors discovered that not only did he have stage three pancreatic cancer, but also that it was terminal. He chose to get chemo regardless, to show his son Travis, ten years old at the time, that one should never give up in the face of adversity. These two deaths in Fergusson’s family are what prompted to embrace Movember so wholeheartedly. “My uncle had a very iconic moustache. My brother has been doing Movember since 2009, and I’ve been doing it since 2010 in order to show support in our family and to other men who are at serious risk,” says Fergusson. While anyone can support the cause, the moustache has clearly fallen out of favour since

its heyday in the 1970s. Many of the women on campus have strong feelings about the whiskers their male classmates are sporting. Diana Beairsto, also an acting student, says, “I really didn’t know too much about Movember before today, and I wouldn’t even know where to begin supporting it, but I won’t cringe every time I see a half-grown moustache now. Well … try not to.” When asked about her feelings towards moustaches in general, she replied in good humour, “I don’t really like them on most guys. I think my boyfriend can pull it off, but that’s about the only person I know that can do it. Moustaches just look goofy on most guys, and they’re much better off without them.”

Another student, who declined to give her name due to fear of furry retribution, had this to say on the subject: “Moustaches are … no, ew, just, ew, but guys with full beards are okay; but only full beards. Not that patchy stuff, ick.” An informal poll was conducted by the Capilano Courier in order to get a greater idea of how the ladies feel about those gents on campus with their dapper facial hair. Out of those polled, 11 thought moustaches are “awesome”, a whopping 32 thought they are acceptable only for Movember, and one person felt moustaches were a no-go for any reason. Resident “Mofessor” Jackson Davies had this to say: “Obviously, it’s a fabulous charity, and the awareness is a very important part of it. I’ve

always been a Movember kind of guy. Once you become follicle-ly challenged, you get as much hair as you can.” While the annual event is one that is quite humourous in nature, Movember Canada, the organization officially sponsoring the event, is quick to note that prostate cancer takes a real toll on individuals and families. The website notes that 1 in 7 Canadian men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer – and that 90 per cent of cases are curable if detected in their earliest stages. Andrew Fergusson, reflecting on how it has affected his family, says, “Cancer can hit anyone. Prostate, pancreatic; the below the belt cancers are usually only found at stage three, and by then it’s usually too late.”

// Samantha Thompson

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QUIDDITCH: NOT JUST FOR WIZARDS Magical sport makes its way into the Muggle world By Jenny Boychuk // The martlett (University of victoria)

ICTORIA (CUP) — It’s raw. It’s rough. It’s gaining momentum faster than Usain Bolt in the 100-metre dash. It’s Quidditch. The world’s newest sport, inspired by the Harry Potter franchise, hit the University of Victoria last November and started off with a mere eight members. Almost a year later, the club exceeds 90 players – 12 of whom will be attending the Quidditch World Cup in New York City on Nov. 12 and 13. Anna Jessop, founder of Quidditch UVic, said the creation of the team was somewhat of a fluke. “Last November, I was a community leader in residence, and the [Harry Potter and the] Deathly Hallows movie was coming out – so we thought we’d have a Harry Potter weekend,” says Jessop. “We had a movie marathon, a potions activity, and we thought it would be really cool to have a Quidditch match as well.” At first, Jessop wasn’t sure how to mimic a sport that’s based on magic. After some research, she was shocked to find it’s played seriously in more than 300 universities and schools around the world. “I looked online to find out how to play and I found the International Quidditch Association [IQA]. I found out that Quidditch is a worldwide sport, really popular in the United States: they have the World Cup, they have an official rule book – all of that,” says Jessop. “I was like, okay, let’s see what we can make out of this.” This year’s World Cup will draw over 2 ,000 athletes to New York City and will feature teams from Finland, Argentina, and New Zealand. The event is hosted partially by New York University, the IQA, and Middlebury College in Vermont – where the game first originated in its nonfictional form.

low and has a tennis ball in a sock which dangles out the back of his pants,” said UVic team member John Robertson. “He gets a head start – so at the beginning of the game, the snitch just books it in one direction. He already has the huge advantage of not having the broom – it’s really hard to run and only be able to use one arm to move.” However, unlike in the movies, the snitch does more than simply fly around. “He can push people over or interrupt plays or push over hoops – until someone catches him,” says Jessop. “As long as he consults with the referee before, then he can do whatever he wants.” Catching the snitch can be a challenge. “He keeps to inside [a roadway boundary], that’s the limit. He’ll tell us if he has ideas of what he wants to do,” says Jessop. “Our first practice this year, he had a unicycle. Surprisingly, a seeker caught him while he was on the unicycle.” Brooms

Swiffer Sweepers, mops, walking sticks, tiki torches – almost anything goes as a broom, as long as it abides by the length requirements. Seem a little dangerous? “If we don’t have brooms, it’s not Quidditch,” says Jessop, “but people do get speared by them.” “Surprisingly, not very often though,” adds Robertson. “I anticipate it happening a lot more because now we’re stepping up the intensity – now it’s almost like a requirement that all of us wear mouth-guards, and some of us, especially those who are going to the World Cup, will be getting goggles,” says Jessop. “There’s a website that sells Harry Potter novelty, and they are one of the big sponsors of the hoops and harder dodge balls. We’ll have to World Cup. [Brooms are] about $35 to $75. Our get used to that. Right now, they use a volleyseeker has an awesome broom,” said Jessop. ball as a quaffle, too, but actual quaffles are being developed – with the actual indentations,” Balls and Positions said Jessop. “The beaters throw dodge balls at each other and The keeper defends the three hoops on their if you get hit with one, it’s the knockout effect, so side while the seeker, who must be extremely athyou have to dismount your broom because you letic, chases the snitch until he or she is caught. The Snitch ‘fell off.’ Then, you have to run back to the hoop The Future of Quidditch In the Harry Potter books and movies, the golden and touch it,” explained Jessop. snitch is a small gold ball with wings that flies Chasers score through the hoops with a Jessop wants to heighten the Quidditch about as it pleases. Each team has a “seeker” who quaffle – which, in Jessop’s case, is a red spray- presence locally. tries to catch it, and when they do, the game ends. painted volleyball. “We just submitted an application to become How does that work in real life? “The World Cup will be providing top-of-the a sports club, so we’re really excited about that,” “The snitch is a person who dresses up in all yel- line Quidditch equipment, such as brooms, she says. “I’d really like to host an International

// Camille Segur Quidditch Association Western regional tournament because right now, Canada is considered a region.” The club does face challenges, though. “We want to find sponsorships, grants, and fundraisers – but when we tell them we’re Quidditch, that’s not always taken seriously,” explains Jessop. She adds that no one has been rude – they just want to know more because it’s different from traditional sport. “It’s a sport that if you don’t fit into any other sport, you can play this one," says Jessop. "Which I think is the key thing. It’s an alternative sport – plus it’s fully co-ed, which if you think about it, no other sport is offered as only co-ed."

the capilano courier | vol. 45 issue 11

Students from a Communications class set up a display last week to bring awareness to the issue of homelessness. The display featured pieces of cardboard with facts and sentiments about homelessness, hung on string in the library courtyard. Many students stopped to read the messages on the cardboard as they journeyed to and from class.

➼

news

Pioneering Political Blog Public Eye Shuts Down Sean Holman, independent journalist, 'unable to sustain himself'. By Mike Conway // writer

n what many claim to an enormous blow to reporting of BC politics, the well-regarded online journalistic publication Public Eye has suspended its regular daily coverage. The independent journal, which has been in operation since 2003, announced on Nov. 1 that it would immediately stop its daily publishing schedule. The journal was considered a reliable breaking news source for not only journalists, reporters, and politicians, but also for the more than 200,000 people who read the publication in its last year alone. The website has an impressively in-depth archive of stories it has built up over eight years. Sean Holman, founder and primary journalist, says that “the coverage now amounts to an archive of more than 6,000 stories – many of which have had a substantial impact on public policy and governance.” Despite having found success and recognition in both the field of journalism and politics, Holman said, in a statement on the Public Eye website, that the stoppage of the journal is due to the fact that "on a long term basis it's not financially sustainable … There are a lot of barriers to breaking into the industry as an independent journalist." He states that the kind of quality that he expects of his research takes 100s of phone calls, countless freedom of information requests, along with “twelve, fourteen hour days, seven days a week.” He says that because of the high standards that he maintains for himself, he is unable to sustain himself, “so long as it's principally me, a computer, a camera and a telephone line. … There was just no more money, the donations and the advertisements just weren’t enough.” However, putting aside the reasons for its closure, the impact of Holman’s work is deeper than most people know, and is far from over. Tribute pages have sprung up on social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter and, in addition, many local media and political figures have expressed their gratitude and admiration Holman's work.

In a story on the Tyee, numerous media figures give praise to Holman’s hard-nosed investigative journalism. One such person, Times Colonist legislative reporter Rob Shaw, said, “[Holman has] broken countless stories that I've seen turn into blazing-hot issues on the floor of the legislature or dominate scrums with cabinet ministers and premiers.” He adds that Holman's work is “required reading for anyone interested in BC politics.” Bill Tieleman, columnist for the Tyee and 24 Hours Vancouver, said that the closure “will leave a hole in the province's political media.” Other public statements were also issued from other journalists, and at one point Public Eye briefly became the top trending topic on Twitter in Canada. One of the many stories that Holman broke concerned a 2004 scandal involving Doug Walls, the CEO of the Interim Community Living Association. The investigation took five months of full time research, and uncovered that Walls was awarded $63,823 in untendered contracts over a six-month period from public funds. Further investigation, Holman said, “revealed that the government wrote off a $484,939 bill owed by a consulting group run by Mr. Walls, Premier Gordon Campbell's cousin-in-law,” said Holman. “It resulted in the resignation of Children and Family Development Minister Gordon Hogg and the firing of his deputy Chris Haynes. Mr. Walls also resigned.” Holman, a Victoria native who graduated from the UVic in 1999, believes his relentless zeal for justice and accountability stems from childhoold experiences. “When I was growing up, I wasn’t the most popular kid, nor were some of my peers, or some of my teachers for that matter,” he said. “I saw some of the most popular people getting away with things. I suppose that reinforced in me a desire to hold the popular people, or powerful people, into account.” What started as a desire to hold people, and politicians accountable, turned into a passion, then into a full time way of life. “Investigative journalism is really at the core of the media’s central mission, which is to hold power, hold authority, hold public officials, hold public institutions,

private officials, private institutions to account. I think investigative journalism is very important, and I think the Public Eye demonstrated this importance.” Despite the closure of the website, Holman's involvement in journalism is far from over. He will continue to broadcast his Public Eye radio show on CKNW. He also teaches Journalism courses at the University of Victoria, and is currently working on a documentary about provincial politics.

In reflecting on his journey as an independent journalist, Holman has some advice for younger people who aspire to enter the field: “Journalism is one of the most exciting careers that you can have. There are very few careers that allow you to make a difference on a daily basis. And in fact, that is how I often lead off in my basic journalism class; I call it 'Writing 215 – How to Change the World', because that’s what journalism is.”

// Caitlyn Neufeld

Man Vs. the Mountain the capilano courier | vol. 45 issue 11

Cap Alumni make extreme biking documentary

By Claire McGillivray // writer

“W

e do it for the fun of it and the rush. [It’s] scary, it’s all about the next big thing,” states Kyle Norbraten, on why him and his friends have such a passion for mountain biking. An alumni of Capilano's Mountain Bike Operations program, Norbraten is now seeking to bring the excitement and intensity of mountain biking to everyone, with his new documentary on the topic, From the Inside Out. The film is a collaboration that brought together several generations of mountain bikers, a fact that Norbraten is particularly proud of. “A lot of the riders are actually some of our friends who we used for the film. We grew up looking up to

those guys. Being able to shoot with [them] and ride with [them] was a huge deal for us.” They set out, not only to expose the world of extreme mountain biking to non-bikers, but also to show the rugged natural beauty of British Columbia, where the entire documentary was filmed. On the website, the film is described as “our adventure to the places we've always wanted to ride, and our expression of the lines and styles that have influenced us.” “[The film] is more behind-the-scenes of what goes on, so you get to feel like you’re a part of it. You get to see more than the average film shows you. You can feel what the riders are feeling and what the [filmmakers] are feeling,” said Norbraten. The film is currently being premiered all over Canada and the US, and many locations around

the world, including the United Kingdom, Germany, and South Africa. “The feedback has been super positive, everyone’s very stoked on the film.” For those interested in the feats of athleticism presented in the film, Norbraten explains that a Vancouver film premiere is still in the planning stages, but will definitely happen. In terms of distribution, enthusiasts can anticipate a release date of Dec. 1. SecondBase Films is planning to have DVDs made available for purchase on iTunes as well as at local bike shops in and around the Lower Mainland. One of the more daring feats on display in the film is a death-defying jump over a moving train that Norbratren performed himself, a personal goal that was ten years in the making for him. Some might question Norbraten’s sanity with

regards to the stunt, but there is no doubt that much careful planning went into the execution of Norbraten’s leap of faith over a moving train. “With something like that, you pretty much figure out every risk, to avoid them. The scariest part was jumping it for the first time, once it was ready for the train it was all good.” Norbraten believes his experience in Capilano's Mountain Bike Operations program as something that continues to be relevant for him. “I owe a lot to taking that program. A lot of the things I observed there I apply still to what I do.” The filmmakers and mountain bikers are very excited to have their first film finished and ready to be presented. Norbraten says they’re planning to do “more films down the road. We’re going to keep the momentum going for sure.”

the ca p ca l e n da r C e l i na W i th

Kur z !

C O P Y @ C A P I L A NO C O U RIER . C O M

m o n d a y n o v. 2 1 JAZZY MONDAY Today is Courier-syndicated Jazz Week at the calendar! For some reason, I just put a lot of jazz in the calendar this week; I guess it's just that time of year: jazz time! For Jazzy Monday, you can celebrate by listening to some jazz, such as Ella Fitzgerald, Bill Evans, or The Weather Report. So many different sounds, but all jazz! A truly magical genre. Everywhere! Free!

BLOOD BROTHERS From JJ: Apparently this play is about two brothers who grow up in separate families, but meet up when they fall for the SAME GIRL. What?! That would never happen! Oh well, I love a good Broadway soap opera. The press release for this says their “destiny” leads them to “untold truths”. Scandal! 8 PM. The Arts Club Theatre, Granville Island Stage. $29 – 54.

t u e s d a y n o v. 2 2 SHINDIG SEMI-FINALS #2 Remember Shindig? I used to put this in the calendar every week but then I forgot about it because it wasn't showing up on Facebook. It's the semi-finals already! Who are the semifinalists? Continue reading to find out! Sleuth, Philoceraptor, and Man Hands. Ch-ch-ch-check it out! 9 PM. The Railway Club. $8.

w e d . n o v. 2 3 JAZZ NIGHT @ PRESENTATION HOUSE This weekly jazzvent, hosted by Dr. Jared Burrows, features the West Coast Art Trio. It will definitely be good if you like jazz! I don't know who is in it because it isn't on the internet. I promise that next semester I will actually start going to these, no more Wednesday night Fest Chor! Ch-ch-check it out! 8 PM. Presentation House in North Vancouver. $10.

t h u r s d a y n o v. 2 4 JAZZ NIGHT @ EL BARRIO Ch-ch-ch-check out some jazz! This week the Kevin Elaschuk 4tet will be gracing the stage, featuring Kevin Elaschuk, Tony Wilson, André Lachance, and Dylan van der Schyff. If it doesn't start slushing I might go to this for real? I'm so bad at leaving my house and doing stuff other than sleeping and going on Facebook, especially when it's slushing. 8 PM. El Barrio. By donation!

COURIER BOARD MEETING Nothing to do this Tuesday night? Show up at our board meeting at the Old Spaghetti Factory! We will make fascinating conversation about the newspaper and its finances. Meet the famed Ricky Bao, business manager! You are in for a treat. You can see his picture if you look at the mastheads on the first page for a preview. 7 PM. The Old Spaghetti Factory in Gastown. Cost of pasta (very affordable). FOR OUR DAUGHTERS SPEAKING TOUR “An inspirational evening that will make you feel like the world is changing for the better.” Aw, awesome! Including performances by The Boom-Booms and The Reckoners, this evening also feature four girls from Ghana talking about how education has changed their lives, as well as musical performances by them. All proceeds donated to girls school fees in Ghana. Magic! 7 PM. The Vogue Theatre. $30/20.

THE MUPPET MOVIE COMES OUT Who wants to go see this with me! Everyone, let's go together! I'm going to start crying almost undoubtedly. I have so much faith that this movie is going to totally be the perfect Muppet movie that we've all been waiting for. I have absolute faith. I'm so excited. Whenever, the movie theatre, $12.99.

THURSDAY NIGHT BAR NIGHTS WITH MAC Mac Fairbairn, ex-Courier opinions editor, wants to see YOU at the bar every Thursday night. He is a handsome man; tall, brown hair, enjoys sports – according to two women in the office, he is a “real winner”. This evening will be hosted at the Narrows, the finest bar in North Vancouver. 8 PM. The Narrows. Cost of beer – or maybe not?

NEVER GO TO GOSSIP MONDAY According to the Courier's Co-Editor-in-Chief Sarah Vitet, she could “just go on and on about Gossip. They always over-hypte the events so it's always packed; every five minutes someone asks you for gum; the staff is hostile and aggressive. I feel like I'm in danger when I'm in Gossip.” Production manager Shannon Elliot agrees: “I feel like I'm always about to get stabbed or robbed.” Never. Gossip Nightclub. Free.

POETRY BREAK! I want your hair to cover me with maps of new places, so everywhere I go will be as beautiful as your hair. Email copy.capcourier@gmail.com if you know the author/title of this short poem!

THE SOUNDS WITH GUESTS The Sounds! I saw these guys at Warped Tour '06. It was a hot day; they were giving out free Monster drinks, so I was bouncing around everywhere, getting hella free swag (ie. stickers, sunglasses? Did anyone else get those Vans sunglasses?). The guests at this show are The Limousines and Kids at the Bar. Anyways, The Sounds are awesome. 7 PM. Commodore Ballroom. $31.75.

TOY STORY ON ICE TUESDAY I know it was Toy Story On Ice Sunday just two days ago, but today is special! Today (Nov. 22) is the 11th anniversary of the release of the original Toy Story movie. Not only is this one of our generation's greatest films, it was also notable in that it was the first full-length film to be done entirely in CGI. So, go see Toy Story On Ice; maybe see it for the second time? 7:30 PM. The Pacific Coliseum. $15.80 – $81.55.

YOUNG LIBERALS AGM Samantha Thompson, Co-Editor-in-Chief, reports that she has “been receiving propaganda nonstop” about this event. “It's going to be really boring,” she confides. “There might be food.” Apparently it's partially at UBC and partially at Uvic, and it's not an open meeting. So if you want to, just show up to crash their party! Dress up like the sexy sax man and play Careless Whisper as they try to discuss things that are “important”.

SARAH SLEAN @ THE RIO From JJ: Canadian chanteuse and oddball piano tickler plays art house movie theater. Obviously going to this. With my mom. Life is cool, I love my mom! 7 PM. The Rio Theatre. $39.50.

CSU SPECIAL GENERAL MEETING What is more exciting than student politics? Gurpreet Kambo, resident student politics buff, says this on the matter: “I dunno. I'm so excited I peed my pants.” I had to pester that quote out of him. He's an unwilling, but brilliantly shining, star. 11:30 AM – 2:30 PM. CSU Lounge (Maple 116). Free!

149 WEST – SFU STUDENT DANCE SHOW This grand event “features a mixed bill of new works created, choreographed, and performed by dance students at SFU's School for the Contemporary Arts” and runs from Nov. 24 – 26. My friend Gina is an amazing dancer and she is performing a piece in this; you should go just to see her because she's fantastic. It's exciting! 8 – 10 PM, Nov. 24 – 26. Fei & Milton Wong Experimental Theatre at SFU Woodward. $15/12.

f r i d a y n o v. 2 5 K-OS WITH SHAD Crabbuckit? That's the only song I remember by k-oS! I've heard of Shad but I've never listened to it. Is it a boy or a girl or a band name …? Shad. I think k-oS might have also been on that Olympic song. Man, I'm the worst. I'm literally too lazy to even Google k-oS and copy/paste something. W/e. 8 PM. Commodore Ballroom. $32.25.

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s u n d a y n o v. 2 7 CAT SUNDAY Mrrrrrrraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaoooowwwww.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO … Joe DiMaggio, famous American baseball player! I'm really not crazy about sports, but I kind of love baseball. Baseball is just totally representative of the American Dream, and I know everyone hates on the American Dream, but I think it's fantastic. How can you hate fairy tales? Here's to you, Joe DiMaggio; you're one of a kind. Special birthday mention to: Percy Sledge.

MAKE IT: THE HANDMADE REVOLUTION Another craft fair! Craft fair season is the best. “Make It is devoted to creating positive opportunities for artists, crafters, designers & musicians.” I'm totally down for that; I love buying things from people who make things! It's just such a joyful experience; totally win-win. Runs all weekend! 11 AM – 8 PM. The Croatian Cultural Centre. Visit www.makeitproductions. com for more information.

INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR THE ELIMINATION OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN This day was created to invite “governments, international organizations, and NGOs to organize activities designated to raise public awareness of the problem on that day. Women around the world are subject to rape, domestic violence and other forms of violence, and the scale and true nature of the issue is often hidden.” Represent.

ANDREW W.K. AT THE RICKSHAW The king of parties is coming to Vancouver! I have an extremely legitimate excuse for not going (I'll tell you why soon), but anyone who loves parties needs to go to this! I was listening to Andrew W.K. on the bus this morning and it totally pulled me out of a funk. In one song he just yells “Puke” over and over again at the end and it's so awesome. 8PM. The Rickshaw Theatre. Price unlisted (around $20 I think).

VERTICAL VOICES WITH GUESTS You know who the guests are? Capilano's premiere vocal jazz group, Nitecap! I'm in that, that's why I can't go to Andrew W.K. Anyways, if you hate partying but love vocal jazz, be sure to hit this up. Vertical Voices are a professional group from the States and are sure to wow. I'm actually pretty excited; I love partying, but I also love vocal jazz. 7 PM. Seymour United Church. $10.

HARD RUBBER ORCHESTRA: LEGENDS OF CANADIAN JAZZ This evening features the music of Canadian jazz greats Oscar Peterson, Maynard Ferguson, and Kenny Wheeler as well as the world premiere of a new work entitled “Floorshow” by Ian McDougall, fantastic Canadian trobonist. The Hard Rubber Orchestra features some of Vancouver's best musicians, so check it out! 8 PM. Studio D, SFU Woodwards Goldcorp Centre for the Arts. $20/15.

THE DEEP DARK WOODS WITH GUESTS The guest are The Sumner Brothers, which I believe my friend Mike plays in! He goes to Cap! Support your fellow students! The Deep Dark Woods are a Sasketchewinian band who play experimental pop. I heard one song by them and it's really nice! 7:30 PM. The Biltmore Cabaret. $14.

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BUFFY: THE MUSICAL – RESURRECTED! Ahhhhhhhh! Freaking out! Pacific Cinematheque will be making a single screening of the classic Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode “Once More, With Feeling.” Audience members are invited to sing along. I used to have the soundtrack to this episode on my iTunes; me and my sister would listen to it on repeat. This is the best thing ever. 1 PM. Pacific Cinematheque. $14.

CITR FUNDRIVE FINALE This is always a great event! CITR is the student radio station of UBC and they always play great local and eclectic music from everywhere. Check out some great bands, and check out the silent auction as well! This year's Fundrive features Womankind, Shimmering Stars, Synthcake (members from Cap!), Worldclub, Love Cuts, Shearing Pinx, and Defektors. So sweet a lineup! 8 PM. The Biltmore Cabaret. $10.

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EDIT OR // Ad él ie Houl e- Lachance // s pe c i al fe ature s . c apc o uri e r@ gmai l . c o m

“IF THIS PLANET DIES, WE’LL JUST BUILD SPACE COLONIES” As the World Burns: A book review By Luke Warkentin // Writer

s the World Burns: 50 Simple Things You Can Do to Stay in Denial is a darkly comical, satirical, and simply illustrated graphic novel that critiques “eco-friendly” consumerism, the environmental movement, governments, corporations, and the systems in place in our society that, as the book argues, are destroying life on earth. Author Derrick Jensen and illustrator Stephanie McMillan use plenty of humour and cynicism to carry their story, which helps ease the intensity and heaviness of the material. BROWN GOLD

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Central to the novel is the rejection of the idea that consuming differently and making other personal changes are all that we need to do to halt the environmental degradation and inevitable destruction of the planet. The book draws attention to direct exploitation of organisms, such as factory farming and logging, habitat loss, pollution, and global warming. Conversely, actions such as recycling, buying fluorescent lightbulbs, carpooling, keeping your tire pressure up, buying low-flow shower heads, planting a tree, adjusting your thermostat, eating fewer french fries, and using concentrated laundry detergent, are critiqued by the book as insufficient efforts. The narrative centres around two girls: Bananabelle, who is convinced that these simple things will solve the environmental and social problems humanity faces, and Kranti, who is passionate about the health of the earth, and believes that Bananabelle is being simple-minded. More drastic action, Kranti feels, is necessary to make real, meaningful change. Eventually, Bananabelle realizes this to be true, and their conflict and its resolution is central to the story. Here's a conversation between Bananabelle and Kranti, regarding a list of things to do to save the earth:

// Samantha Smith thus sends his hired politician to the president, to deliver the message that “aliens aren't supposed to eat the planet, Mr. President. Corporations are. … You've got to get those permits back.” THE SHOW MUST GO ON

Benzene, a known carcinogen, and other toxic substances such as methanol and lead, were all present in the report results. These chemicals are mixed with massive amounts of fresh water, averaging 3 million gallons per well, and a large percentage of the fluids remain underground where “their migration is not entirely predictable,” according to the 2011 report. Ironically, there are cases in Alberta where water from wells located near drilling operations become flammable from contamination. In 2010, Alberta Health and Wellness refused to release well water data to the public, many of whom were at risk of having contaminated drinking water, and wanted to investigate the issue further. The Canadian National Energy Board released a document entitled “Understanding Canadian Shale Gas” that stated, “It is very early to make any conclusions about how developing this resource will impact the environment.” What one must understand when considering environmental crises is that the earth is a closed system, meaning that what is released inside, stays within. Radioactive particles released by a nuclear plant do not only stay in that vicinity, they migrate freely within the Earth's ozone layer, along with greenhouse gases. Pollution runs down streams and into the ocean; rain and soil acidification spread from their source and into large areas of land, destroying soil and flora. As the World Burns urges that one cannot simply view these issues as existing in another place and time, unseen and unworried about, and also, that one cannot remain blissfully ignorant of these realities. The book paints the picture that eventually, if there is no halt to our market economy and its commodification of natural resources, this system will continue to abuse and destroy the ecological diversity and functions that our lives, and the lives of all things, depend on.

The alien robots are a metaphor for the seemingly unstoppable bureaucracies, governments, corporations, and armies that are complicit in the destruction of natural systems. These are comparably complex and have procedures in place that put their own survival above all other matters. The book illustrates that the system must go on: perpetual growth is essential because the economy and the bottom line are at stake. Our freedom, security, and control are at stake. The suffering of any living thing, human or nonhuman, is deemed as justified for it is of little concern; it is only an externalized cost. Kranti: I don't like these lists. They're worse One does not have to do much digging to than useless … find that Canada is not an exception, but in fact Bananabelle: But if we all did everything a prime example of collusion between governon the list … ment and the corporate sector. Hydraulic fracturing is a process in which pressurized fluid is Kranti: It wouldn't be enough. And that's directed at underground rock formations, often why the lists are harmful. They give people shale, fracturing the rock, and releasing natuthe illusion that the problems we face are ral gas, petroleum, and other fossil fuels such easily solvable … Fifty simple things … The as methane. book should be called 50 Simple Things You This can occur naturally in the form of dikes, Can Do to Stay in Denial While the World is or via industrial machinery, in which case it is reDestroyed. It's not that simple. ferred to as “fracking”, a process carried out in BC, The main antagonists in As the World Burns Alberta, Saskatchewan, and in the United States. are a pair of alien robots that descend to Earth in On April 18, 2011, the U.S. House of Representaorder to consume it. Their guidebook says that tives Committee on Energy and Commerce rehumans will do anything for gold, and since gold leased a report listing 750 chemicals and comis what these robots excrete, they have an endless ponents present in the fluids, used by 14 oil and supply. The robots eventually bribe the president gas companies from 2005 to 2009. of the United States and obtain permits to eat the Two of these companies, Calfrac Well Services whole earth, and consequentially start eating and and Sanjel Corporation, are based in Calgary. copulating as fast as possible. Soon, the earth Among these, there were “29 chemicals that are fills up with baby robots and the consumption (1) known or possible human carcinogens, (2) BIODEGRADABLE CUTLERY WILL NOT SAVE of rocks, trees, and animals alike, skyrockets. As regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act for THE WORLD robots continue to consume valuable resources, their risks to human health, or (3) listed as hazthe corporate big-wig finds himself at a loss. He ardous air pollutants under the Clean Air Act”. The ending of As the World Burns leaves the

reader impassioned, but struggling to find meaningful action. The risk is to become pessimistic and disillusioned; however, a part of what the writer is urging us to do is to educate ourselves concerning the systemic problems that are contributing to the destruction of the planet, instead of believing in the mainstream media and advertisements that offer only feel-good solutions. The book argues that the first step towards a sustainable world is to understand the systems that are in place, and that buying a Prius will not stop them. As the World Burns portrays characters making violent acts against property and robots, such as Bunnista the one-eyed bunny, who blows up a dam and an animal testing lab (no humans are injured). The animal characters see that destroying the robots is necessary for long-term survival, and the animals are willing to sacrifice their lives doing it. Few of the human characters feel the same, but the novel supports the belief that civil disobedience, and actually impeding or disrupting the procedures that are currently degrading the planet, is essential to making meaningful change. As the World Burns suggests that the current systems are by definition exploitative, and thus change must come from outside them. In parallel, Canada's Office of Energy Efficiency's latest report in 2008 showed that just under 35 per cent of greenhouse emissions at that time came from residential and passenger transportation. Approximately 64 per cent came from commercial/institutional, industrial, freight, and agricultural sources. It may then seem unlikely that individuals alone can solve this disparity by only making conscious consumer choices. Essentially, what Jensen and McMillan are calling out for is an end to idleness and apathy, and for a new culture of direct action that is to take place outside of the population's comfort zone, the shopping isle, and the internet petition. This may, however, appear as a tough sell to a society so accustomed to comfort, convenience, and instant gratification.

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LEARNING TO HEAL YOURSELF Using hallucinogen drugs to treat addiction patients to overcome their addictions by using ayahuasca, as he had seen first-hand the benefits that it had for the addicts at Takiwasi. He began with a small group of people, who stated their intentions before they began. They underwent regular treatment sessions in a safe environment together, with varying results. The situation that Maté was working with was very different than in Peru, and it was difficult for the patients to change their lifestyles on their own. “The use of the plant in the context of people living on the Downtown Eastside, the two just don't mix. I mean Takiwasi doesn't do this,” explains Maté. “People come from wherever they are and they stay there for nine months, they don't just do a ceremony and then go back to living in a drug-dominated ghetto. To really demonstrate what this process can do, we need to get the broader picture. I guess what we do is we show the possibilities that are inherent in the process, because people do have these breakthroughs, and some of them have made a real change in their lives.” One of the ingredients in ayahuasca is a controlled substance under Canadian law. The release of the documentary alerted Health Canada, and Maté was ordered to stop sessions with ayahuasca, or face criminal prosecution. “Naturally I will have to comply with the regulations as I received them, and I intend to," Maté said, as quoted on The Jungle Prescription website. "It's not a big personal loss for me because it's a small part of what I do. But it's a loss for the people who can benefit from this work and we have people whose lives could be saved by it."

By Sarah Vitet and Marco Ferreira // crime-fighting duo

“Addiction is a typically western pathology. It didn't exist in traditional cultures until Westerners arrived. The Western pathology transformed and profaned the use of these sacred plants, by taking them without context, ritual preparation, or intention. The result was that the effects of these medicines was twisted, even reversed.” —Dr. Jaques Mabit

ince the discovery of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) in the early '40s and the adoption of it and other hallucinogen drugs by the hippie movement of the 1960s, hallucinogens have been present in Western culture. As a result of the United States war on drugs, in Canada, most hallucinogens are illegal, falling under the Schedule III classification in the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. According to the Canadian Department of Justice, simply possessing a Schedule III substance is punishable by a maximum sentence of three years in prison. As a result of their illegality, LSD, psilocybin mushrooms, salvia, and ayahuasca are introduced to society through the lens of popular media. From the fantastical and fictitious writings of Hunter S. Thompson in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, to the Miley Cyrus salvia YouTube video, hallucinogens carry the label as recreational: a cheap, but illegal, thrill. However, many of these drugs or medicines were used in traditional cultures to transcend the self. Whether a search for spiritual guidance or mental healing, hallucinogens were treated and used with respect. Their usage was accompanied by ceremony; the preparation and setting were as equally important as taking the drug itself. The depictions on YouTube of modern salvia users show them sitting in groups, laughing at one another as they inhale; a far cry from salvia's tradition usage by Mazatec shamans. When taken so far out of context, these drugs are not able to fulfil their traditional purposes, and our understanding of them becomes perverted.

✖✖✖

Dr. Josep María Fábregas conducted the world's largest study of ayahuasca. Over the course of several years, regular users were put through a series of standardized tests in order to measure ayahuasca's effectiveness on decision-making

“Therapeutic research with hallucinogens pursues tantalizing evidence from studies begun in ✖✖✖ the 1950s that collectively involved thousands of participants,” explain Roland Griffiths and When Dr. Maté returned to Vancouver, he wantCharles Grob, for Scientific American. “Some of ed to find a way to help his Downtown Eastside

✖✖✖ While Maté's work may threatened, hallucinogen-based addiction therapy is well-rooted on the West Coast. The Iboga Therapy Society is based in BC and helps administer ibogaine to addicted participants in order to change their lives through healing. Ibogaine is a psychoactive substance found in plants, and is used to treat opiate addicts in countries all over the world, though the prohibition in the United States has slowed the research into its anti-addictive properties. The Iboga Therapy Society strives to legitimize ibogaine therapy, and works within the established medical boundaries in order to prevent harm and further the understanding of iboga treatment. “Ibogaine detoxification therapy is very successful in significantly preventing painful and difficult withdrawal symptoms from those who are chemically dependent,” says their website. “It can also help to reduce cravings and improve energy, mood, and outlook on life for a period of time afterwards.” Due to lack of funding, the Iboga Society had to close in 2006, but re-opened in 2010 and are functioning today. The therapy costs thousands of dollars, however, as the Society does not have any outside sources of funding. Currently, hallucinogenic therapies face a crossroad. Some, like the Iboga House, are working to push medical science forward, thereby submitting to the slow process of legitimization this often entails. Some, like Maté, continue to administer treatments, regardless of legality. It is clear that perception-altering drugs will have a more integrated role in treating addiction in the future. In the words of one of Maté's patients, “What the medicine [ayahuasca] gave to me was the ability to accept that I'm hurting. And that’s ok.”

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As documented in The Jungle Prescription, Vancouver doctor Gabor Maté recently helped administer ayahuasca to some of his troubled and addicted patients in order for them to fully understand the origins of their suffering. Dr. Maté was frustrated with the Western approach to treating drug addiction as a substance abuse problem, without recognizing the root cause of the addiction itself. In search of alternative treatments, Maté travelled to Peru and met with Dr. Jacques Mabit, a French doctor who founded a treatment centre for addicts called Takiwasi. Ayahuasca therapy is used in conjunction with community living at Takiwasi in order to help patients understand and heal themselves. The healing is done by revealing traumatic memories, which are considered to be the roots of addiction, and to help stop self-medication through substance abuse, which is how addicts numb their emotional pain.

and reasoning. He found that ayahuasca, like other hallucinogens, was not addictive, and that ritualized use had no detrimental effects on healthy subjects. In certain cognitive tests, the long-term ayahuasca users actually scored better than the control groups. “For some problems, it's a very good solution,” says Fábregas. “For example: post traumatic stress [and] sexual abuse in young people. Sometimes psychiatry is not the solution for this but only changes the symptoms. But with ayahuasca, you have the possibility to revive the situation with the same feeling, and the same pain, but with the capacity to change the situation … If at 35 we re-experience something that happened when we were five, it might be the same situation, but now understood through the capacities, the structure of a 35-year-old. That might give us a chance to re-position the experience.” Takiwasi uses ayahuasca tea in ritualized ceremonies in order for the patients to re-experience the roots of their addictions and suffering, so that they can learn how to fix themselves and cope with their past experiences. According to The Jungle Prescription, which was showcased on CBC's the Nature of Things, “Standard detox treatment centres in North America have an effective long-term success rate of about eight per cent. Takiwasi's follow-up studies report 60 per cent of those who finish the nine-month treatment remain drug-free three years after leaving.”

// Sarah Vitet these studies hinted that hallucinogens could help treat substance addiction and relieve the psychological distress of terminal illness. This research came to a halt in the early 1970s, as recreational use of the hallucinogens, mostly LSD, grew and garnered sensationalistic media coverage. The field had also been tainted by the widely publicized dismissal of Timothy Leary and Richard Alpert from Harvard University in 1963 in response to concerns about unconventional research methods using hallucinogens, including, in Alpert's case, giving psilocybin to a student off campus … New limitations were placed on human research, federal funding ceased, and investigators involved in this line of research found themselves professionally marginalized.” More comprehensive studies do exist, though. As the ceremony and setting were crucial when hallucinogens were used traditionally, the substances require the same respect when they are being studied scientifically. “Researchers who appreciated the importance of 'set and setting' and who provided better support to patients tended to see better results,” explain Griffiths and Grob. More scientific research is evidently needed before it is possible to fully understand the best application for hallucinogens; however, the illegality makes further research difficult. Not all hallucinogens have the same effects, and the same drug may have different effects on the same person in different scenarios. When they are made illegal, however, this complexity is lost and it becomes even more difficult to research the medicinal usefulness of hallucinogens.

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he halls of colleges and universities are populated with students, most of whom are youth. The tuition they pay for the classroom they sit in for hours at a time, the professor who lectures them, and the notes they are writing down, however, are not organized by these students – laws, policies, and procedures inside post-secondary institutions of Canada are determined by the provincial and territorial governments. The world of academia is one avenue of learning, but there are alternate routes and communities of education and action that coexist with, or in some cases outright oppose, the dominant institutions; some might call these venues radical. “Radicalism is just trying to get to a place where people have a voice,” says Robin Pickell, an activist in the Food Not Bombs movement. “It’s funny that this seems radical in this day and age. It’s nearly impossible to have a say in what is actually happening in terms of where tax dollars go and what happens to poor people, marginalized groups, and food waste.” By taking direct action in their own learning, food, and organization, these communities are pursuing freedom from consumer culture, authoritarian structures, oppressive behavior and stereotypes, and the freedom to live and grow collaboratively, rather than by any determined law and structure. This do-it-yourself, or DIY, philosophy offers a broader spectrum of engaging with the world, one that invites people to make art, self-publish, grow their own food, and run their own operations.

lounge area where meetings, discussions, and sometimes bluegrass jam sessions occur; as well as a textile room, computer lab, dark room, sound booth, recording space, silk-screening studio, small kitchen, and bike-fixing station. The space, resources, and tools are open for anyone to use during drop-in hours from 4 - 10pm, Monday to Thursday; and 2 - 6pm on Fridays.

A variety of workshops and classes are offered throughout the year, which anyone can attend for free. Dream Seeds, a full-time paid training program for young women, is also run during the day. In addition to in-house projects, the Thistle hosts events for other organizations and often participates in festivals and conferences.

, THAT S SO RADICAL Exploring anarchism

and radical organizations in Vancouver

UNSCHOOLING THE POPULATION: THE PURPLE THISTLE Located in Vancouver on the corner of Parker and Vernon (near Venables and Clark), the Purple Thistle Community Centre is a hub for arts and activism. The space consists of an open

By Tiare Jung // Writer

// Illustrations by Arin Ringwald Independent groups who are interested in collaborating with the Purple Thistle regularly approach the youth collective, which meets every Monday night at 7pm. “If you and your friends have an idea but you’re lacking funding, come to the collective meeting, and we’re always open to doing new and exciting things, and there’s money to work with,” invites Carla Bergman, co-director of the Purple Thistle. Several pods function out of the Purple Thistle, including the Eat the Rich Community Kitchen and the Radical Gardeners of the Purple Thistle, which both focus on issues of food security, and the Rain Zine Project. Eat the Rich hosts events throughout the year such as concerts, gallery nights, and poetry readings, where they serve food by donation. All proceeds are put towards food-related workshops and the development of a community kitchen space at the Toast Collective at 648 Kingsway. Eat the Rich Collective meets every Monday at the Purple Thistle at 5:30pm. The Radical Gardeners of the Purple Thistle have claimed three spaces in the industrial area of Strathcona for gardening, one of which is in the process of being transformed into a food forest – literally a forest of edible plants. The Rain Zine Project is an independent micropublishing project for youth to make DIY magazines, film, and art. Carla Bergman wears many hats at the Purple Thistle including co-director, mentor, alternative counsellor, and spokesperson, but defers all decision-making power to the youth collective that runs the space. “I don’t think it would be an exaggeration to say that the expertise, the people who run things in our society and have the most power, are between the ages of 30 and 60. We aren’t that good to our young people and we definitely aren’t good to our elderly; both groups are often oppressed and silenced. People trying to engage with the Thistle default to me, and I have to tell

f e atu r e s them to organize with the youth collective, not me. It’s linked to ageism. It is important to have some adults around to reverse youth oppression and break down barriers. It is part of being really public and legitimate in a way that we can have a true impact in the city, secure funding, and really be able to have a solid alternative to school and not just be a subculture project.” “Unschooling,” as Bergman describes, “is a way of approaching learning that is about owning your learning and not waiting for others to tell you what, when, or how to learn. It isn’t mitigated in a school system where everything has parameters around it and you have to fit it into these rubric boxes. It goes beyond institutionalized learning – it is life learning, learning while doing.” A phrase coined by John Holt in the 1970s, unschooling is a spectrum of educational philosophies and practices that encourage learning through natural life experiences such as play, games, domestic responsibility, work experience, social interaction, and direct-impact community projects. A mentor or collaborative community may facilitate this process. It differs from traditional education primarily in that it does not standardize curriculum or conventional grading methods, for these frameworks are believed to be restrictive and counterproductive to maximizing the potential of each individual. This process can take place in our school, for it essentially boils down to “taking learning into your own hands,” Bergman emphasizes.

sharing food, reducing food waste, and supporting social movements. For example, in collaboration with the Food Committee at Occupy Vancouver, Food Not Bombs has been running a full-tilt, seven-days-a-week community kitchen at the Vancouver Art Gallery, literally providing sustenance for the movement. Food Not Bombs Vancouver does weekly food preparation and sharing in the community, and has made appearances at events such as the Women’s Housing March and the Tent City that resulted from the 2010 Olympics. Partnering with local grocery stores, volunteers have developed relationships with retail outlets and arrange pick-ups of food that will not be out on the shelves and sold, but is still edible. The Good Samaritan Act addresses charitable food donations, alleviating the donor of liability issues. Large-scale cooking takes place at the Toast Collective at 648 Kingsway, the same kitchen used by the Eat the Rich Community Kitchen. Food Not Bombs was born in 1980 as a result of the successive events that began May 24, 1980,

on the table. So while you’re sharing food with people, you can tell them why you’re doing it,” describes Robin Pickell, a volunteer for Food Not Bombs. Food Not Bombs is a cooperative collaboration of volunteers who self-organize without leaders, in an effort to provide essential needs of food and advocate for housing, education, and healthcare. “It’s not a charity thing,” Pickell explains, “it’s an awareness action. There’s also a lot of support for other social movements, so if something is happening, Food Not Bombs will be there feeding people.” In addition to human struggles, Food Not Bombs is an advocate for vegetarianism and veganism. Feedings are used as opportunities to inform people of the conditions of factory farming and environmental issues linked to consumption of commercial meat. “It’s actually really good outreach talking to people about the interconnecting oppressions of keeping animals in horrible conditions, killing them, and eating them, and the oppressions that

SEEKING CHANGE AND A ROOF: 12TH AND CLARK

surrounding the protests of the Seabrook Nuclear Power Station. Food was diverted from the waste stream and shared in protest of war and poverty. The movement became a criticism on government spending on military while ignoring the fact that basic nutritional needs are not being met for all people. Up to 40 per cent of produce in Canada and the US is discarded because they do not meet the “grade” or cosmetic standards of supermarkets, according to Waste: Uncovering the Global Food Scandal by Tristram Stuart. GOING FULL CIRCLE: FOOD NOT BOMBS “The mandate of food not bombs is tackling Food Not Bombs is an international movement this waste culture, this consumer culture that happening in over 1,000 cities world-wide to we’re in. It speaks very much about wealth and build communities geared towards making and disparity. There is always meant to be literature

ANARCHY: NO RULERS – NO MASTERS

we experience and are fighting against. A lot of people haven’t made that connection yet, so having Food Not Bombs be that kind of organization to spread the word has been really informative,” says Pickell. People interested in helping can check out the Food Not Bombs Facebook Page for postings. There is also the option of showing up on site when Food Not Bombs is taking part in an event, sharing food, and asking how one can be of service. RESHAPING THE PYRAMID STRUCTURE A “vertical organization” is characterized by hierarchical structures such as workers, supervisors, and managers, or members, executive

No uniform definition can be assigned to anarchism, because each group or individual that carries the banner does so in a different fashion. As described by a 12th and Clark member, anarchism is a tension that exists against the dominant system; it is not a solution. Core values of anarchism are horizontal organizations, anti-oppression, anti-capitalism, and radicalism, and it is these shared values that create solidarity between The Purple Thistle, 12th and Clark, and Food Not Bombs. Though not politically homogenous, these sub-communities criticize issues in the dominant systems of our society and seek to offer alternatives, and change behaviours. The anarchist revolution can have many faces – some are more radical, some build anarchist values in practice. While not strictly anarchist, these alternative communities are self-identified radicalists – seekers of political liberation and dramatic changes in social behaviour. Subsequently, groups lobbying for direct participation processes can also be considered radical. “Radical literally means to get back to the roots,” states Bergman. “Radical, direct, participatory ways of engaging. If we’re going to have a sustained viable and lively social change we need lots of things happening … I mean an alternative, counter institution. Things in place where we can come together and socially organize together that is not the dominant culture way of organizing, where we really take care of each other, where we’re outside of capitalism, we have a radical generosity, we have themes of hospitality that really move beyond the notion of tolerance and go for friendship in a meaningful way.”

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In July of 2009, three friends with similar ideas came together to carve out a space at the corner of 12th and Clark. The first event was held September 2009: Lucio, a Story of a Bank Robber. This documentary followed the life of a Spanish man who produced passports for people escaping civil war and forged money orders, nearly bankrupting a bank. As part of the anti-development café series, the collective organized an event called No Olympics, held at Britannia Community Centre. Community organizers of the neighbourhood spoke about anti-Olympic history in the Commercial Drive/East Vancouver neighbourhood and described the details and consequences of Olympic developments in the city. The presentation was followed by a discussion of anti-Olympic organizing and its possible impact on community and neighbourhoods. The 12th and Clark collective was an expressly anarchist space that existed to address issues of social control, the prison system, the institution of the police, capitalist development, indigenous sovereignty, and to purposefully ally with any communities in struggle against capitalism. Recently displaced by the loss of their lease, the collective is in search of a new location. Formerly, the space was intended to bring people of similar values together and develop affinity. Activities housed at 12th and Clark were movie nights, discussions, reading groups, the occasional cabaret, and monthly dinners, so long as the purpose or nature of the event was to challenge the existing order of exploitation in society. Unlike the Purple Thistle, 12th and Clark was not a drop-in centre, or an introduction to alternative communities, but a place for already like-minded people to congregate. Collectively interviewed, members of the 12th and Clark collective refused to give their names or speak as individuals on behalf of the collective.

committees, department heads, and presidents. By contrast, “flat organizations” do not operate on any level of management, but by the direct participation of collaborators. In this sense, they practice direct, participatory democracy or selfgovernance. That is not to say that people do not have roles or responsibilities: individuals are expected to take direct ownership for their involvement rather than have their actions dictated by an authority. “Horizontality gives us more flexibility than organizing anarchists – or it’s less ideologically charged,” says Bergman. “The Thistle is explicitly anti-capitalist and anti-colonial. We’re really politically overt, but we are not ideologically pure. You don’t have to be an anarchist to be a part the Purple Thistle.” Using The Thistle as an example, it does not attach itself to one “ism”, but claims anarchist principles of consensus decision making, collective processes, and anti-oppression, greatly influenced by the Zapatista movement in Argentina, called the first “post-modern” liberation revolution by the New York Times. Consensus and organizing by collective decision-making may be criticized as slowing down processes, for it can take quite a bit of time and energy for a group to all agree. “Collectives can be contentious if good relationships are not in place,” Bergman acknowledges, “but less bureaucracy is always a good thing. I think that it is a misdemeanour to say that consensus slows things down, because in my opinion, bureaucracy weighs things down a lot more, and usually dispirits people.” When working within a consensus structure, it is important to keep in mind that the goal is not to unanimously agree on one thing, but rather to find a compromise that everyone can live with, and that best represents the varied opinions of the group.

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EDIT OR // Cl aire Vul l iamy // arts @ c api l ano c o uri e r. c o m

SILENT PLANET AND BEYOND Pit stops on Teen Daze’s electro journey

Arts S hort s

By JJ Brewis // art director

the capilano courier | vol. 45 issue 11

“P

eople can think Teen Daze is whatever they want.” Indeed, the Fraser Valley artist doesn’t care to have his real name attached to the project at all, instead going singularly as Jamison. However, one-onone, the twenty-something bespectacled young musician is fully relatable, gushing over the newest Real Estate record, sipping on a Dr. Pepper in a downtown dollar slice parlour. “I wanted a separation from Teen Daze and me, personally. Even if it's keeping my full name out of it, then that's mine – it’s one thing that I get to keep.” “For the longest time, I'd been making music and releasing it, and nobody had been paying attention,” he says. And then one day, everything fell into place. Nearing the end of his college life, Teen Daze recorded a fresh batch of songs, quietly put them online, and the next thing he knew, things were happening. “It was harder to reach that bigger audience, but as soon as I started getting lots of emails from labels and press agencies and blogs, I thought, 'Maybe I'm actually onto something with this.’” A year and a half later, he’s embarked on three tours, released five EPs online, and is awaiting the release of his first full LP. In spite of wanting to be known only for his music, Teen Daze is comfortable to talk about his ideologies. He’s up front about his Christian roots, but brings discussion back to the music. He says that his faith is part of his artistic process, but not the whole picture. “I can’t see myself writing an oblique Christian record. It's a tough situation because I don't want the music to be a vessel for that.” He points to artists like Sufjan Stevens who are very to-the-point when merging their religious views with their music. But for Teen Daze, the separation of church and art is important, despite both meaning a lot to him personally. “I'd much rather sit in a room with someone and have a conversation than have a song that tries to get across my own ideologies,” he says. “If I went to make a song that was very straight forward and evangelical and preaching, it's like the equivalent of me handing you a track that says, ‘If you don’t pray for forgiveness, you’re going to hell,’ and walking away.” Though he says the two facets aren’t married, his history of playing live in a church has affected his live show. “I can’t help but let [Christianity] influence the music. It does come through subconsciously,” he says. As someone who grew up with a violinist father and listening to the Beach Boys, Teen Daze feels like he is living out a natural destiny. “Music was always important in my house,” he says. “I always had this really healthy fascination with records. It always just sort of made sense to be involved with it somehow.” After playing in his first band in freshman year, he moved to the Prairies and back, and began working in electronic-based sounds. With a rough five or six records’ worth of unheard material, Teen Daze is used to home recording, something he fully embraces. “I have some younger friends, some guys just out of high school that want to do music and that think, 'Oh, I need to go to Vancouver to record a proper album,' and I'm like, ‘No you don't, you can record an album in your bedroom and that'll be a great first record.’”

// Katie So

Local Artists Host Huge November Birthday Party! Nov. 26 Yactac Gallery, 7206 Ontario St. November is the month in which Whoopi Goldberg, Billy Idol, Bjork, Sean “Diddy” Combs, Leonardo DiCaprio, and various other great people were born. Neat, eh? That’s what Peggy, Karen, and Dennis think. They love birthdays, and they want to honour all the wonderful souls birthed in the month of November by throwing them a big ol’ birthday bash! These three birthday lovers and Emily Carr graduates made an open call early in November for any individual with a birthday within the month of November to join them in celebration.

// Author photo In describing his upcoming album, Teen Daze announces a definite departure. “I become a little bored with just doing the same thing. I tend to be listening to a lot of new stuff very quickly in succession, and I tend to digest all of these different influences quite quickly.” Whereas his first few releases were quite focused and themed, like the summer-envisioned Beach Dreams, his new work will be more true to his genre-hopping nature. “It's definitely an electronic record but it's over many sub-genres,” he explains. “There's some really summery pop electronic stuff, and some darker sample based stuff … it’s sort of a collection.” Teen Daze also finds inspiration beyond music. His most recent release, Silent Planet came from his appreciation of the 1938 C.S. Lewis novel Out of the Silent Planet. “One review said, ‘This is more comparable to Gregorian chant than a pop record.’ And I took huge compliment to that!” he says, explaining that the album was

based on his personal interpretation of the book itself, much like how the cover artist revisits the work visually. “I read this novel, and I had to make music that sounds like the way that it made me feel and see,” he says. “The images it evokes to me are very clear and colourful. I read it when I was studying in Switzerland a couple years ago and it just stuck with me.” Teen Daze emphasizes that in spite of the work’s personal resonance, it’s always about the music and not about himself. “There was something fun about doing it under anonymity,” he says, finishing off the crust of his dollar slice. For a guy who seems to think of himself as a regular person, Teen Daze has certainly captured audiences with a unique sound – but that is all part of the plan. “If I wrote songs about my day-to-day life, it would be like, ‘Here's a song about how I woke up and ate a bowl of Reese Puffs, watched Breaking Bad and went for a run.”

The party will take place at the Young Asian Canadian Twin Artists Collective (or Yactac) Gallery. Every birthday girl or boy who signed up will have an art performance, a cake, and a song dedicated to them, and gets to celebrate their birthday amongst various other November babies and friends. Peggy, one of the organizers of the event, explains that the three recently “got interested in baking and we wanted to do something with food,” and thought that they might host a birthday party as an excuse to make a big cake. Another motivation to create this even was to “connect people together.” Peggy says that everyone is welcome to attend, whether you are there as a birthday guest of honour, there for your friend’s special day, or just a birthday enthusiast like the trio of artists. As for what to wear, don’t stress out; there’s no specific birthday dress code. “Our plan is that the three of us will wear birthday hats, but it is not mandatory that others have to,” Peggy says. If you’re a cool person, however, you probably will. By Leanne Kriz // Writer

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Videomatica Rises From the Dead But abandoned Blockbusters lie in strip mall graves By Colin Spensley // Writer

ideo rental store closures have become increasing more frequent in the last few years. Canadian-owned Rogers Video is noticeably struggling, with various locations in Richmond, North Vancouver, Surrey, and Whistler all shutting down in the past year. This August, after seeking bankruptcy protection only months before, Blockbuster threw in the towel and closed all remaining Canadian stores. Even local companies have been affected: Main St.’s Happy Bats Cinema shut its doors for the last time on Mar. 25, 2011 due to rising rent and a drop in rental demand. Fans of cinema must now turn to smaller independent stores which specialize in niche films, or to HMV, which has recently converted more than half its stock to cinema and video games. It’s unclear, however, whether or not these two specialties are enough to save a market that once dominated home entertainment for the past twenty-odd years. As consumers look more and more towards an online marketplace for shopping and entertainment purposes, many local Vancouver businesses in the music and video market have had to either scale down or close completely. Iconic Kitsilano movie store Videomatica shocked the public in May of 2011 by announcing they would be closing that summer. Videomatica had reached a cult status similar to that of the movies they rented out for almost 28 years at their location on West 4th Ave. "More foreign films than in New York or Los Angeles,"

Jodie Foster, one of Videomatica’s many celebrity guests, was quoted as saying on the store’s website. The Videomatica store on West 4th Ave. was as much a part of the community was it was a retail store. Sadly, Videomatica locked its doors and taped up the drop-off slot for the last time on Nov. 9, 2011. However, all hope is not lost for Videomatica and fans of obscure titles like I Bought a Vampire Motorcycle. In an effort to change with the times, Videomatica has reduced its stock to sales only and moved in with fellow media legend Zulu Records with business beginning on Nov. 13. The two stores have shared the same block of West 4th for approximately 20 years. Although Videomatica will occupy only a third of one side of Zulu’s massive storefront, they will still continue to provide quality DVD and Blu-Ray films for sale. The destiny of the rest of Videomatica’s huge collection of VHS tapes and DVDs is still up in the air. Videomatica has been accepting donations in order to send titles to one or more yetto-be-determined universities. They accept any dollar amount, but for $25, cinephiles can select a specific title to save. Following the model of many large retail chain closures in the last few years, HMV, Canada’s largest DVD and Blu-Ray retailer announced the closure of its flagship store on the corner of Robson and Burrard early November. “The last thing that we want to do is leave Vancouver’s downtown … but a store of that magnitude unfortunately does not fit into our long-term real estate strategy,” explains Nick Williams, Pres-

ident of HMV, in an interview with the Vancouver Sun. The colossal 50,000 square foot, three-story mega-store couldn’t keep up with the times, or the staggering $100,000 monthly rent. While larger companies flounder, a few small local businesses are looking to change the way people view a movie rental store. Black Dog Video maintains two successful locations: one on Commercial Drive, and another on Cambie Street. They have been quite successful in overcoming the digital media hump, staying ahead of the game with a few clever ideas. Manager Jessica Delisle explains, “We have a sense of community in our store. It’s kind of like a bar, people come in and hang out and never leave. People get something social out of it.” Black Dog shows a movie every Wednesday after their

// Stefan Tosheff Cambie store closes at 10pm as part of a series called Unthank Cinema. Local video stores like Cinephile, Black Dog, and Videomatica have managed to stay in business throughout the various technological renewals of music and film. By maintaining a strong stock they are still able to fill a niche market: “We have a huge cult, horror, and foreign film selection,” says Delisle. “We have music documentaries and rare films you could just never find at Blockbuster.” Indeed, the stock of these smaller video stores often dwarfs their counterparts. It’s not always enough, though: Videomatica’s full collection was five times as large as the 7,000 titles offered by Netflix. If all goes well, their full rental archive will live on in the hands of academics.

Who Married Amanda Palmer? Cabaret singer honeymoons in Vancouver with husband Neil Gaiman

guys have gotten the most of the lovey-dovey bullshit this tour!” Thematically and stylistically, their art is almost spookily harmonized. However, moments of sharp contrast in stage presence between the two artists created a dynamic and meandering performance. The steady rhythm of Gaiman’s recitations punctuated by Palmer’s vigorous, unbridled songs had the quality of an unpredictable adventure. Both are dealers in fantasy tinged with horror, and neither shy at the exploration of sensitive subject matters such as murder, paedophilia, stalking, or any number of taboo behaviours. The evening included a brief “Ask Neil & Amanda” session, during which the couple answered fan-submitted questions. Neil, when asked if he felt uncomfortable scripting such dark things, replied that fiction is fiction, and when constructing a character one has to go all the way. Though Palmer did not directly respond to the question, her appearance in music videos such as “What’s the Use of Wondrin’?” seems to reflect this philosophy: In the beautifully filmed performance, Palmer sings as a dedicated housewife, smilingly trying to affirm her relationship with her husband, a character who is implied as being guilty of wife battery. Though unflinching in their choice of controversial material, the sardonic nature with which they deliver seems to confront humanity in a manner that is pointed and moving, if at times disturbing. The show continued late into the evening de-

spite the fact that the pair had already whirled through two so-called Ninja Gigs, a style of impromptu performance adopted by Palmer, one at a the Fluevog shoe store in Gastown, and the other at the Occupy Vancouver camp. It is notable to say that in every city the couple landed in for the tour, they have been at the corresponding Occupy site, with Amanda adding fuel to the movement with her ukulele. Gaiman joined his wife for several songs, providing vocals for “Makin’ Whoopie” in addition to reciting several pieces of poetry and short stories from his notebook. Borrowing characters from every source imaginable, including Maleficent of Disney’s Sleeping Beauty and a living statue, Gaiman’s deep voice and hint of an English accent likely left the audience jealous of the bedtime stories Palmer might enjoy. When Palmer took the stage, she doesn’t so much play her instruments as unleash herself upon them. Sitting down on her piano bench, she said, “I can’t play the piano, I just use the force.” Her songs ranged from the frantic and halting number “It Runs in the Family”, to an ode to Judy Blume. The final piece of the night was a ukulele rendition of Death Cab for Cutie’s “I Will Follow You Into the Dark”, sung in honour of the young woman who passed away the Occupy Vancouver camp. This rallying song for humanity and the simplicity of art brought the night to its climatic end.

the capilano courier | vol. 45 issue 11

collaboration, with the pair holing themselves up in a room with Ben Folds and Damian Kulash of // writer OKGO to create eight songs in eight hours. Remanda Palmer has been all over the cently, they embarked on the ultimate collision of map lately. After rocking the cabaret- their art and set off on a tour called An Evening punk duet The Dresden Dolls for sev- with Neil Gaiman and Amanda Palmer, which eral years, the piano-and-ukulele-player extraor- rolled through Vancouver on Nov. 6. dinaire split from her musical partner Brian With stage decorations donated by Bard on Viglione in 2008 and unleashed her solo project the Beach, the Vogue Theatre was transformed Who Killed Amanda Palmer? The project un- into an intimate environment, which may have ravelled into a 12-track album accompanied by had some influence in the amount of public 12 music videos and a book composed of artful displays of affection. As Amanda reported, “You photographs of a dead Palmer, accompanied by // Tiaré Jung short stories written by renowned fantasy writer Neil Gaiman. The internet community was fascinated with the pairing of two such eccentric personalities, and many followers entertained the possibility of the two pursuing a relationship. And in a case of rumour becoming reality, Palmer and Gaiman announced their relationship in the summer of 2009, and were wed in January 2011. The two have many things in common, aside from the fact that Palmer hates Vegemite, which Gaiman reportedly enjoys. The British TV show Doctor Who is one example. Gaiman in fact wrote an episode for the most recent series and Palmer sang a song about her love for the programme with Reggie Watts – a performance that almost aired as part of a Doctor Who special, but ended up on the cutting room floor. They have also plunged headfirst into musical By Amita Marie and Tiaré Jung

columns

E DIT ORS // Samant ha Thomps on + Sarah Vit et // e di to r@ c api l ano c o uri e r. c o m

The fallout files

Selling the Spirit

With Kevin Murray // Columnist

"When you confer spiritual authority to another person, you must realize that you are allowing them to pick your pocket and sell you your own watch." —Alan Watts

the capilano courier | vol. 45 issue 11

ive in the moment. Embrace the now. We’ve all heard these pithy little pearls of wisdom; they’re broadcast across the media landscape like late-night infomercials selling you Slap-Chops for the soul: “If you call in the next five minutes, you too can have an aura of enlightened awareness like Oprah and Eckhart Tolle. We’ll even throw in a free quartz crystal!” It’s great advice if you can pull it off, and there are several thousand years of yoga, prayer, and meditation history as a testament to why living in the present is important, even crucial, for your happiness and well-being – but you have probably already heard that one by now. Chances are that you’re experiencing a vague type of consumer suspicion about these product promises. Maybe you are feeling jaded by the spirituality and self-help industry, or you have noticed how the “now” has become a kind of rallying call for baby-boomer moms who have suddenly taken an interest in aromatherapy and tribal drumming. Perhaps you’re feeling dogmatized to distraction by the endless barrage of globalization gurus promising peace through the present moment: “Forget the future, ignore the past, be here, now …” But wait, there’s more! The fact is that the “moment” has been monopolized, but not just by your mom. Selling the “present” is one of the greatest marketing tricks ever perpetuated. The product costs nothing, yet TIME reports that the self-help industry is worth over $10 billion dollars; yoga clocks in with $6 billion. The trick is in supplying the consumer with the mechanics of the problem, but not the solution. It works like this: the mind is a chaotic place. It is filled with out-dated survival protocols, like fight or flight responses. It ebbs and flows with hormones, song lyrics, and to-do lists; it sparkles with hopes and warbles with fears. It does a jitterbug of jealousy and then, a moment later, becomes preoccupied with the soft skin on the inside of our cheeks. The mind is mad, and our corporate masters exploit that fact for profit. After all, a distracted, stressed-out citizen makes a much more pliable consumer than one who is centered and self-sufficient. Add the endless barrage of stimulants, ranging from caffeine and sugar to the supercharged sitcom, mix that with a healthy dose of paranoia from the evening news, shake, and there you have it: one exhausted and overloaded citizen – a perfectly pliable consumer who has been conditioned to satisfy every compulsive whim. Humans are also habitual. We tend to build a set of responses to events in our lives, mostly based on childhood and formative experiences, and for efficiency’s sake, we continue to run those same programs. So, when we get stressed out over exams, we may emulate our childhood coping patterns that we learned from our parents. Breaking these patterns is substantially more difficult than we might imagine, and despite the old cliches about leopard spots and dog tricks, it turns out that it’s true: we are capable, but mostly unwilling, to do the hard work of changing our behaviour. Why should we, when our senses

// Jason Jeon admit so much gratification? There’s masturbation, ice cream, Starbucks, the internet … it’s easier to justify acting badly than it is to change. This is precisely why the self-help industry is so effective: just like a cheap microwave that breaks down after a year, the current blockbuster of mind-blowing cosmic insight is designed to fail so we buy again, and again. The secret is that we are being set up to fail. In The Power of Now, Eckhart Tolle asks his reader to "direct your attention inward … If you get the inside right, the outside will fall into place. Primary reality is within, secondary reality without." He makes this all sound so easy, like it’s simply a matter of re-orienting the compass of our consciousness a little. When we read his teachings, a part of us responds positively; after all, if we take the time to look, we all recognize that our minds are machines which form hopes, fears, conceptions, and expectations in endlessly ordinary ways. Promises of some kind of transcendental release usually strike us as attractive offers, and if we try for a while, we often notice interesting results, like relief from anxiety, a sense of well-being, and even inner peace. However, it does not last. This is because our habits are so strong that they will be reasserted when our vigilance fails, and in almost every case, those flowery, spiritual little maxims will simply be slotted in with every other sensorial gluttonfest that we indulge in on a daily basis. Still, modern science, technology, and a century of American positivism has left us hopeful and personally empowered, confident that we have the correct tools to carve out a better tomorrow “right now.” Today, as we verge on 2012, Western society is poised to abandon organized religion, to dispel duality, and to embrace a kind of personal “spirituality” that bears all the marks of individual agency and freedom from tyrannical authorities. While this may be attractive when we consider the horrors of Islamic terrorism, Catholic child molesters, and the Pope who eats from golden plates yet preaches about the poor, we must be careful not to throw the baby out with the bath water. Our abandonment of these ancient traditions leaves us hopelessly dependent on the market forces that drive the self-help industry, and blind to one thing that your average New-Age novelist bent on the power of positive thinking cannot claim: devotion.

While Tolle urges us to have a look inside and change your life, he is advocating for an intellectual interjection based on our belief in the power of reason and rational thought. On the other hand, the world religions have inspired confidence, faith, and commitment to such an extent that 11 Tibetan monks set themselves on fire last year in protest against the Chinese occupation of their country. While this and other fanatical acts of faith may be extreme, and I am in no way advocating for this behaviour, they point towards the power of devotion-inaction. While we can imagine people buying all of Tolle’s books and practicing his methods diligently, few can imagine this kind of commitment arising from the weekly bestseller bins. Can we really achieve the self-help promises of total mind over matter without the devotion of dogma?

while a pro skier may win gold at the Olympics. In the former case, a monk may keep his job and his monastery may be sustained. In the latter case, the skier may find glory, but the true win may go to the ski-brand behind her training. Based on these findings, we must be increasingly skeptical of the self-help movement with its claims of health, wealth, and enlightenment. We must remember that, hidden in our cultural unconscious, we are sinful beings who have been conditioned to please a great bearded man on a cloud. We are culturally wired for submission – I offer the ubiquity of the phrase “Oh, my God” as an exclamation for evidence. As we come to the stage of history where we begin to finally reject and reinterpret the old religious dogmas, we must also question what shall be left when the old world falls. If Amazon. com has anything to say about it, we will have a Yertle the Turtle tower of self-help scheisters telling us to believe them, explaining what’s wrong but offering no real way to fix it. Instead, like in The Secret, they offer advice on how to use our incredible human potential to, say, manifest a new TV, or maybe find a nice mate, all in the service of the new go: industry. Yet behind this, the urgings from the mystic traditions still echo, saying: Practice the present. When you become distracted, start again. You are already perfect. While we may have much to learn about time, wholeness, and happiness from the New Age writers and thinkers, we must never forget the power of devotion and discipline that has driven spiritual technology up to this point. The new enlightenment movement seeks methods that are adapted to our society’s time and place, something suited to our cybernetic, globalized state, but it is our adherence to ancient spiritual ideals that will keep us evolving.

“

The fact is that the “moment” has been monopolized, but not just by your mom. Selling the “present” is one of the greatest marketing tricks ever perpetuated.

”

Compare professional athletes to meditation masters. Buddhist monks who had spent more than 10,000 hours doing compassion meditations were measured by EEG and compared to novices and were found to have increased gamma wave activity during and after the session. This suggests that these monks had changed their brain functioning substantially, but this followed a lifetime of devotional activity to a religious ideal. Professional athletes practice intense visualization techniques as well, under the idea that the mind does not differentiate these tricks from reality; it rewires itself accordingly. However, the length of time it takes to make these shifts is substantial, and the goals are radically different: a monk may carve patterns of compassionate activity for all beings by their practice,

So, as we survey the landscape of liars, gurus, and fools, we must seek a spirituality that constantly questions its own intentions, and remember the power that devotion has played for the past 3,000 years. In the case of all the world religions, and if the testament of time is any kind of litmus test, it is certain that without devotion to an ideal – be it God, Tawhid, unity, or Nirvana – we are moving into a time of spiritual bankruptcy. Without this act of “spiritual” criticism, our cutting-edge transcendental methods will only serve to fill the corporate coffers. After a year away, past editor Kevin Murray is back at the Courier to make us all think deeply and squirm in our seats. His column is an exploration of religion and enlightenment.

C o lu m n s Records, rain + Recreation

Neo-hyphy rap fail

nlike the current trend of shock rap from artists like Tyler the Creator and his crew of angry teenage miscreants, Lil B has gained fame through songs that make you scratch your head wondering what happened. In an effort to push California’s “hyphy” rap music genre to new extremes, artists like Lil B and Soulja have relied heavily on social media to gain attention on a national level. What first seemed like a strange inside joke about the hyphy movement between a few Berkley California boys has, unfortunately, turned into a worldwide phenomenon. Though some people might be unfamiliar with the hyphy movement, most people are probably familiar with one of the founders, MC Hammer. Artists like Hammer and Keak Da Sneak started a style of rap that focused primarily on partying and dancing, unlike many of their peers who chose to rap about violence or political issues of the time. Hyphy exploded in the Bay Area, which included cities like Berkley, Vallejo, and Oakland in California. What came out of this subgenre of rap music was a distinct attitude towards the music and lifestyle of its listeners in the late 1990s, including energetic dance styles. The best things to come out of hyphy were rapper Mac Dre and the jawdropping act of “ghost riding the whip”. Ghost riding the whip is basically driving your car down a street in the Bay Area and then getting

out and dancing beside, on top of, or behind the still moving vehicle, with no one having any control of the wheel. It’s incredibly dangerous, but also really, really cool. Although often parodied and mocked, ghost riding the whip was a meant to be a statement about individuality, and was about as legit as it got for many of the original fans of the hyphy scene. More often than not, the songs blasted from the driver-free vehicles would be rappers like Mac Dre and Too $hort; rappers who gave hyphy a defined sound. Short for hyperactive, it’s pretty easy to imagine what that music would sound like: beat-heavy and fast-paced rap with booming synthesizers and chants. Mac Dre’s classic track “Get Stupid” is a perfect example of the hyphy sound, and his first studio album Young Black Brotha is hailed as a rap classic by many. The hyphy movement was also heavily influenced by the introduction of MDMA and ecstasy in the United States in the early-to-late ‘90s. Just like all other aspects of hyphy, it was given an obscure and often-referenced name: thizz, thizzin’, or thizzle. Mac Dre became a heavy user of the drug, often taking it while performing and encouraging the audience to do the same. The high of MDMA certainly lent itself to the faced-paced, physical dance style of hyphy. Ecstasy quickly became as large a part of the movement as “getting stupid” or ghost riding

With Colin Spensley // Columnist

the whip. Mac Dre even created a record label laughingly entitled Nation of Thizzlam. He continued to release amazing hyphy records until his untimely death at the age of 34 by an unmotivated drive-by shooting while on tour in 2004. In 2006, Bay Area rap group The Pack released the track “Vans”, which was named the fifth-best song of 2006 by Rolling Stone. The Pack had a very obvious hyphy sound and quickly picked up where Mac Dre had left off, becoming one of the most well-known groups in the scene. Lil B, founder of The Pack, would soon emerge as a solo artist, with a huge presence on social networking sites like Twitter and YouTube. Lil B’s alter ego Based God is a name supposedly referencing being “based”, a term which refers to getting high, usually on ecstasy or cocaine. Although Lil B often had some of the best verses in The Pack, his new solo career saw a drastic decline in lyrical content. Whether a clever rouse or too much “thizzle”, Lil B released a string of mix-tapes in 2010 and 2011 mostly consisting of stream-of-consciousness-style rap. Usually, that’s called free-styling, but this would be more closely related to the ramblings of a lunatic. Undoubtedly, a few tracks did shine through, such as “Pretty Boy” and “Paris Hilton”, but for every one solid track, Lil B released about 20 pieces of incoherent garbage. In what seems like an attempt to gain more

fame, Lil B entitled his newest album I’m Gay, a truly shocking and controversial act for many people in the rap community. Although Lil B claims that the title was chosen in support for the gay and lesbian community, that seems a bit ridiculous when one considers the lyric “Hoes on my dick ‘cause I look like Paris Hilton” as sung by Based God. On Nov. 13 of this year, Lil B released a new track called “I Have Aids” which he feels is his effort to inform youth about safe sex. “I lie about having sex with 40 girls. I’m not doing that, and I want people to know, if you are doing that, you are at high risk of getting AIDS,” Lil B said in an interview with MTV. Whether it was a publicity stunt or a well-meaning message, “I have AIDS” caused quite a stir across the Internet. With many of the original supporters claiming that this is the end of hyphy, everyone seems divided over Lil B. He certainly exercise hyphy’s ideals of being an individual, doing whatever you feel and getting stupid: "I'm not gonna stop and I'm not scared of anybody on earth," Lil B said of the backlash. "That's why I [titled the album I'm Gay] and nobody gonna stop me." Colin is a music journalist who is, put simply, Tom Wolfe without all the acid. After spending a summer in an isolated mountain valley he feels like getting back in touch with reality through writing.

People watching

It’s a fling thing

“F

// Columnist

haired Australian guy still about?” one girl asked me. “I can’t find him anywhere and he was supposed to be meeting me at breakfast!” Tracey Cox, love and sex expert for the Guardian, wrote an article entitled, “How to have a holiday romance: the five golden rules”, in which she states that “the person you meet on holiday does not necessarily bear any resemblance to the person they are at home.” She adds that “all the normal rules of dating are put on fast forward on holiday.”

turn off and libido switch on, and this is what drives the confidence out of otherwise quiet travelers. “I don’t usually do pub crawls, but hey, I’m on vacation!” one guest told me after signing up for my hostel’s weekly drink fest around downtown watering holes. “It’s not like I’ve got anything better to do tonight; do you think there’ll be many single people on it?” The same girl woke late the next afternoon and came to report that she had somehow spent $100 buying everyone rounds. She was the most popular girl on the crawl, but in being that girl, she was probably the least like herself. Cox’s advice also suggests that you should “forget about subtle flirting. The gorgeous person you spot at a bar could disappear in seconds if you don't act now.” As Cox’s advice recommends, groups of travelers gather together, and I watch them sizing each other up quickly before stealthily making a move. This sizing-up could also be synonymous with flirting, and is evidently a vital stage in beginning a holiday romance, or any relationship for that matter. Joann Ellison Rodgers wrote about the science of flirting for Psychology Today, and noted that it is “the coquettish behavior indulged in by men and women alike is actually a vital silent language exchanging critical – and startling – information about our general health and reproductive fitness.” So, when guests toss their hair, sway their hips, and giggle, while others arch their back, flick their tongue over their lips, and clasp the back of // Britta Bachus their neck, they may actually be signifying more The man who has so many stories to tell about than just sexual attraction. his wild lifestyle back home may well be the quiet She makes it clear that flirting is nature’s soluone who wants to live out his fantasy in the only tion to the problem of choosing the “right” mate: way he knows how – to fake it. Being on vaca- “We all need a partner who is not merely fertile tion turns cynics into hopeless romantics; brains but genetically different as well, and healthy

enough to promise viable offspring, provide some kind of help in the hard job of parenting, and offer some social compatibility,” she explains. Steven W. Gangestad, a psychologist at the University of New Mexico studied how people choose their mates: “Flirting is a negotiation process that takes place after there has been some initial attraction … Two people have to share with each other the information that they are attracted, and then test each other on an array of attributes. Simply announcing, ‘I'm attracted to you, are you attracted to me?’ doesn't work so well. It works much better to reveal this and have it revealed to you in smaller doses," explains Gangestad. "The flirting then becomes something that enhances the attraction." Evidently, the life-mate part of this theory doesn’t apply to travelers who are just looking for some short-term fun. But the way in which one guest will choose another guest or local is still affected by these reasons; it’s just that in a strange new country, with weeks and weeks of free time ahead of you, hooking up with the French guy with the cool hair suddenly seems like a good idea. He’s going to leave for home in a week, so if he’s a bad kisser, you’ll never have to tell him, and in the meantime, you have a partner to explore a new city with. The best part for me is watching the stupid, successful, and unsuccessful mating rituals unfold right in front of my desk. Heather Welsh is from a quaint little town in England surrounded by fields and sheep. She drinks tea and eats Marmite on her crumpets and once partied with Prince Harry. Her column is a documentation of her experiences working at a Vancouver youth hostel.

the capilano courier | vol. 45 issue 11

ancy going for a drink tonight?” one tall, dark, and handsome guest coyly suggested to a girl sitting next to him, flipping through a magazine one afternoon. “Sure, I was thinking of going to this show at the Commodore downtown if you fancy it?” And just like that, the holiday fling has begun. The following night I hear about how they’re going to the cinema, and the one after that, he cooks her a meal. Most recently, two guests hooked up right before my very eyes; wining and dining in our shared kitchen and dining room, hiring out bikes for day trips together, even moving into a private room for more alone time. The guests were both from Germany and looking to live and work in Vancouver – and now they are searching for an apartment together. I am fairly certain that if these two had met in Germany they would have been taking things a bit slower, so arguably it has something to do with the shared circumstances, or the romance of meeting someone who is also traveling and happened to cross paths with you. “We met on the slopes in Lake Louise,” said a couple who had just checked in to the hostel, “and we’ve been traveling North America together ever since!” With a fling abroad, there are usually little to no consequences if the dating period doesn’t end well: the two lovers can part ways without ever having to see the other again. The sense of a shared connection is heightened by the vulnerability of traveling alone and experiencing new things at the same time. Quite often, I get asked to take notes for or pass on email addresses to a guest who obviously decided they didn’t want to stay in touch with their fling and conveniently left before they could swap details. “Is the brown

With Heather Welsh

columns Popcourt

Bieber daddy

the capilano courier | vol. 45 issue 11

With Kevin Murray // Columnist

or 17-year-old pop music heartthrob Justin Bieber, it seemed nothing could hold him down. Quite literally a rags-toriches story, Bieber captivated the world by becoming an A-lister overnight, selling millions of albums and starring in a major motion picture as himself. Bieber has it all, including a massive fanbase loving his every step, a celebrity romance with teen pop star Selena Gomez, and accolades untouched by some long-term music industry moguls. It’s going to take a lot to pull someone of his status down, and when that does happen, the media circus and PR junket runs the gamete of saving face. The public has shown that they’re far more willing to take a celebrity’s word over the word of an unknown person. Although the public does not actually have a personal

then-16-year-old Bieber and 19-year-old Yeater had intercourse for roughly 30 seconds in a Staples Center washroom. Nine months later, Yeater gave birth to a child, and now she’s asking Bieber to pay up for child support and some expenses she accrued surrounding the pregnancy. According to Yeater’s lawyers, she isn’t seeking “fame or fortunes”, just child support. But naturally, since the news was presented, Yeater has been all over the media, including a video interview on celebrity news program The Insider. Yeater says she has no doubt the child is Justin Bieber’s. However, after the allegations were raised, another individual came forward with some news that could turn this whole situation on its head. The grandmother of 18-yearold John Terranova, Yeater’s former boyfriend, revealed that long before Yeater pinned Bieber

behaviour, Bieber looks cool and “honest”, whereas Yeater is making herself look even guiltier. Yeater is undoubtedly in the line of fire. The reactions from Bieber’s massive fan base towards her have, not surprisingly, been unpleasant. Several death threats have been sent to Yeater from the “beliebers”, leaving Yeater terrified, as she told The Insider. At this point, based on a fairly weak case and an unconvincing performance on television, Yeater is not looking very honest, but only time will tell whether her case holds any clout. Interestingly, Bieber hasn’t been quiet on his end either. Generally when a celebrity is under fire, they undergo a “duck and cover” method, but Bieber is using his Twitter and recent press appearances to respond to the situation. He has been upfront about the situation and is thus fur-

his side. The public only felt further justified in their side-taking when last week it was revealed that Yeater had sent text messages to a friend asking them to cover up evidence that a third gentleman was actually her baby’s father. After the friend released this information to the press, it was only a day before Yeater’s lawyers announced the claim was now going to “settle out of court,” but in light of the evidence regarding the texts, it is clear Yeater has been telling some lies. There are already dozens of articles circulating about Yeater’s need for a psychiatric examination. Nobody has any concrete evidence that she has any mental issues, but given that she has taken aim at someone as well-loved

relationship with Bieber, a recent scandal has shown the public going to bat on his behalf, largely due to his role as a celebrity, and the power of his team working through the case. Justin’s integrity has recently been pulled into question. With a nasty paternity suit thrown in his face, Bieber and his team are up against what is arguably their first major hurdle in his career. His squeaky clean image is now being questioned, facing this news that has startled his fans, and Bieber and his publicity team are left at a standstill with a woman claiming that Bieber has fathered her child. With no concise evidence being presented, it’s essentially a verbal standoff with a virtually unknown woman pitted against the biggest star on the planet, backed by a massive marketing team. The public has a natural favourite here, adding fuel to the fire for Bieber to come out on top in this, his first legal battle. This October, 20-year-old Mariah Yeater of Los Angeles came forward with allegations that Bieber was the father of her child, declaring a testimony that presents the “facts” in a way that coincides with her proposed timeline of events. Yeater’s claim states that the two met backstage at one of his LA concerts in October 2010, and that after some flirting occurred, Bieber asked her for some personal time. Then, she says, the

as the father, she had come to Terranova, claiming he was the child’s father, and asked him to pay up. When asked by The Insider about these claims, Yeater replied she had “no comment”. Throughout the entire interview, Yeater repeatedly refused to answer questions, and often stood up and left the taping, crying at the drop of a hat. This type of response to hard-hitting questions isolates Yeater as someone scrambling at what her true story is. With as much money and fame as he has, Bieber has the opportunity to come off cool and collected, regardless of what the actual truth of the matter is. He came forth on The Today Show, publically addressing the subject at hand. “I know that I’m going to be a target, but I’m never going to be a victim,” he told the live audience, followed by an enormous squeal of approval by his fans. Bieber, under these events, has certainly been groomed and prepped for the camera; his management has hired a crisis management team to help in diffusing the situation. Matthew Hiltzik, a representative for Bieber, has claimed that not only will he take the paternity test, but he will also file a counter-suit against Yeater once the tests come back negative. Counteracting Yeater’s erratic seeming

ther adding credit to his side of the story: he says he has nothing to hide, and is being completely available in the fact of the claims. Additionally, given that the incident in question is said to have occurred in the state of California, the Los Angeles Police Department may get involved if the claims are in fact true. As Bieber was 16 years old at the time in question, he was under the legal age of consent, which is 18 in California. When The Insider asked Yeater about the fact that she may be charged with a misdemeanour, she said she has “concerns, definitely yeah, especially when he came onto me.” Yet Bieber claims that the entire thing is a scam, and he’s “never met the woman” responsible for the claims. The two stories conflict completely, and something has to give. While Yeater says she has “nothing to hide”, Bieber's denial of the claims seems plausible. His management insists that due to the insane crowds following his shows, he literally moves from the stage to the bus ride post-performance. Yeater has no definitive proof of her story, and due to her role as a non-celebrity, her word is viewed as less legitimate than Bieber’s. Bieber has an entire team backing him, and his role in the media as a recognizable figure with no

// Author illustration as Bieber, she is a natural enemy for millions. Naturally, the response is going to take an even harder comeback than she dished out in the first place. Yeater’s team say that they may re-open the file at “any time” and in the end, the paternity test is going to be carefully guarded, as the results will be the tell-all. If Bieber is proven to be the father of this child, he will look like a liar to all his fans, and have to scramble for a new story in order to explain himself. But if the tests come back negative, Yeater will be up against the LAPD on statutory rape charges, in addition to suffering from a counter-suit from Bieber’s team – and Bieber will walk free. Really, it’s more of a lose-lose for Mariah Yeater than anyone. Sending out the allegations was one thing, but perhaps she didn’t consider the consequences of her actions before pursuing legal action. Yeater, as the underdog in the situation, was destined to fall apart in the light of her likely untrue claims against a teen mogul with a huge business backing him. If she had thought about possible repercussions, she may not have continued with her claim. As she told The Insider, even before the text message scandal came forward, “I don’t know what I’m getting myself into, really. This is a lot.”

previous record of bad behaviour makes the public more likely to take

Opi n i o n s

Edi tor // Marco Ferreira // o pi ni o ns @ c api l ano c o uri e r. c o m

The Political Gender Imbalance Keeping up appearances imperative for female politicians By Calvin DeGroot // writer

ormer MLA of North Vancouver David Schreck created quite a stir with his comment on Twitter that premiere Christy Clark was showing an inappropriate amount of cleavage. Liberals, feminists, and New Democrats flooded his twitter account with hate mail; NDP party leader Adrian Dix called for an apology, but none was given. Do we as Canadians still view women differently than we do men in the political arena? Unfortunately, this appears to be the case. The political analysis of Canadian female politicians goes way above that of their male counterparts. They are often heavily scrutinized on fashion, physical appearance, and character traits. When examining the recent criticism female political actors have been facing, it is evident that sexism is alive and well in the both the media and the political arena. Unfortunately for Canada, political culture is often indicative of a country’s culture as a whole. Although Clarke easily dismissed the comments in a recent interview, saying, “I’m used to stupid criticism. I get it,” she admitted she has routinely faced this kind of scrutiny. The United States election in 2008 was historic: Barak Obama’s victory will always be remembered. However, equally as memorable was the way that the two prominent female politicians were treated in Canadian media. CBC’s Heather Mallic wrote that Sarah Palin looked like a “porn star” trying to win “white trash votes”. At the same

time, the Globe and Mail writer Leanne Delap accused Hillary Clinton of wearing a “dumpy pantsuit” and comparing her “bee-hind” to a truck. The trend continues against Canadian female politicians. Author Jenn Goddu studied Canadian newspapers and magazines for 15 years, observing that they tend to “focus on the domestic aspects” of female politicians rather than their positions on political issues. Second term M.P. Jody Sgro says her male colleagues have been known to shout things such as, “Why don’t you go home to take care of your kids?” across the Legislature. The cases are endless, whether it is Vancouver’s mayoral candidate Suzanne Anton being criticised for not being photogenic, or Ontario’s Liberal Finance minister Sandra Pupatello’s “nice legs”, women’s superficial qualities are constantly being given extra attention in our media. Interestingly, in the majority of these cases, it is women attacking our female politicians. Even in the Christy Clarke cleavage story, David Schreck claimed it was his wife who brought it to his attention. According to filmmaker Jean Kilbourne (Killing Us Softly, Miss Representation), this recent girl-on-girl sexism is largely an effect of the mass media influencing women. Women are generally not the ones deciding how they are represented. Only three per cent of clout positions in telecommunications, entertainment, publishing, and advertising, and just 16 per cent of all writers, directors, producers, cinematographers, and editors are women.

The media is the single most powerful engine for influencing the way people think. The end product is women who grow up thinking that their sole value lays in how they look. This explains why, according to author Paul Campos, when women and power mix, “cosmetic considerations manage to become matters for the strictest scrutiny.” When the media focuses on the personal attire and style over public policy, it dehumanizes both the politicians and the audience. Furthermore, it has been over 80 years since women have been able to work in government (1929), yet women currently only occupy 25 per cent of government positions. The 2011 election saw a record number of females elected; however, this is directly correlated to the record number of NDP seats won. Canada still ranks 52nd in the world for the percentage of women elected. In the Conservative party, female representation is scarce. The percentage of elected Conservative women is up from 11 per cent in 2008 to 17 per cent in 2011, but the numbers are still embarrassing. In Stephen Harper’s cabinet, there are only 5 women out of 27 postions, with none of them holding senior posts such as Health or Finance Minister. Author and Political Studies professor at the University of Toronto, Sylvia Baskevkin argues that the Harper government is “closer to organized anti-feminism than any regime in the country's history.” While that may be a slightly hyperbolic claim, former Prime Minster (Cana-

// Kailey Patton da’s only female PM) Kim Campbell argues that if women are never seen in prominent political roles, we will begin to believe that it is “unnatural for them to be in those roles.” It is important to note that equality of women has come a long way in Canada, and we are blessed to be one of the few countries in the world where, constitutionally, women and men are equal. However, as has often been said, good is the enemy of great, and Canadians have been satisfied with “good” for far too long.

The Battle for Your Mind Big media's bias and intent should be apparent By Brittney Kroiss // writer

“I

and blurring the boundaries between these two distinct worlds. The local events of Occupy are not a result of the movement itself, but of the underlying issues in our city and society that still need to be properly addressed. Putting a stop to the movement on the street and cleaning up the art gallery won't make problems such as homelessness and drug abuse go away. According to Gough, as quoted by the Vancouver Observer, “She [Ashlie Gough] went to Vancouver basically as a tourist with her

boyfriend. She was there for one day, and spent one night there visiting friends who happened to be down at Occupy Vancouver.” The media’s glorification of Ashlie’s suburban life and positive traits without speaking about what really brought her to the Occupy camp – being homeless, and taking a “street” drug like heroin – directs the reader to the assumption that without Occupy, she may still be alive today to fulfil all of her potential. Ignoring the issues brought forth by the Occupy movement and the events that have unfolded here in Vancouver leaves our society in denial.

// Stefan Tosheff Getting both sides of the story can be a challenge, and at best we can just aim for as many biased perspectives as possible in the hopes of creating as balanced and neutral a story as possible. Unfortunately, it’s hard to tell if this is really what our popular media is striving for, or if they are intentionally framing their articles to fit the view of corporations and their major sponsors. Perhaps the intention is to actually sway the public, who are without a concrete opinion on an issue or lack the background knowledge to fully understand the situation. What we need are real discussions, and a news media that isn't afraid to provoke and challenge us in our views. Without challenge, there is no growth. If we can facilitate the conversation, if nothing else, then maybe we can actually begin approaching the underlying issues that plague our city.

the capilano courier | vol. 45 issue 11

n Occupy Vancouver, a young homeless woman is dead of a suspected heroin overdose, and the camp has become an unsanitary eyesore strewn with refuse and drug paraphernalia,” read an article in The Daily Beast. Sound familiar? The majority of newspapers have continuously referred to Occupy Vancouver as dirty, ugly, and likely to be violent. Because of biased reporting, many of the issues brought forth by the movement have been consciously side-stepped. The tragic death of 23-year-old Ashlie Gough at the Vancouver protest has been highly politicized. Many politicians and commentators have been eager to speak up, encouraging the immediate dismantling of the camp in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery. Ashlie’s father, Tom Gough, speaking to the Globe and Mail said, “This has nothing to do with the tent city or Occupy Vancouver. She just happened to be there. It’s just another bad thing that happened in downtown Vancouver.” Drug-overdoses, unfortunately, are nothing new to our city. According to the Canadian Press, in 2010, there were 125 fatal drug-related overdoses in the Downtown Eastside alone. East Hastings has overflowed into Vancouver’s clean, touristy downtown core, bringing attention to

opinions

Capilano University comes up short on rankings But you probably shouldn’t care By Michael Bastien // writer

“T

hat movie was a 7/10.” “I’m only 70 per cent done my homework.” “How much fun are we having? 7!” It doesn’t make sense to give some things an arbitrary number. Every year around the world, companies and organizations rank universities to determine which one is best. Two of these groups are Maclean’s magazine and Times Higher Education (THE), a British magazine. Unfortunately, Capilano University has fallen completely under the radar. Not only was Capilano University not one of the 49 universities ranked by Maclean’s, it also failed to place in the top 400 of THE’s list. Is this due to Capilano failing as a university, or are biased ranking criteria to blame? At the end of October, Maclean’s magazine released its annual list of the top Canadian universities. Maclean’s takes into consideration a school’s quality of students, faculty, libraries, and finances. Canadian universities are ranked into three groups: primary undergraduate, comprehensive, and medical doctoral. This year, Mount Allison University topped the chart for under-

graduate schools. Simon Fraser ranked #1 this year in the comprehensive category, and McGill took the top spot for medical doctoral. Every March, Maclean’s also releases its Guide to Canadian Universities to help inform students trying to pick the right university. THE also released its own list. There were only five Canadian universities in the top 100, the highest being the University of Toronto at 19 and the University of British Columbia at 22. These two universities ranked 2 and 3 respectively on Maclean’s medical doctoral list, with McGill at 28. Some universities have issues with the methodology used by Maclean’s to make its rankings. In 2006, 22 universities refused to give information directly to the magazine in protest, believing that the relationship between universities should be friendly, not competitive. The criteria used to rank universities have been scrutinized, because it’s hard to tell what’s objective, subjective, pertinent, or irrelevant. Another issue is that each country, province, and university has different // Katie So grading criteria so comparing the marks of every student on earth makes no sense. cover price than most magazines, as well as an One of the reasons these magazine issues are extended shelf life. made is because they sell really well. Maclean’s The likely reason why Capilano University Guide to Canadian Universities has a higher didn’t rank on any list is because most lists fo-

cus on research-based schools over art-focused and teaching-focused ones. Emily Carr University, one of the most prestigious art schools in Canada, also didn’t place on Maclean’s or THE’s list. Kris Bulcroft, the president of Capilano University, shouldn’t be too concerned about Capilano not placing on any lists. If the school was to change in order to appeal to these critics, tuition fees would increase, and other classes would have to be sacrificed. The slight increase in students that the publicity would bring would not be worth sacrificing the school’s identity. Most people only care about the top ten, and Capilano could never realistically be able to compete against Ivy League schools. Ranking universities can be fun; a way of seeing whose school is better outside the realm of sports. Yet with all things considered, it is a pointless effort. Institutions have different strengths, and aggregated rankings diminish those differences. When selecting a school, do you go to the school with the higher rating, or the school that suits your individual learning style? The Capilano Courier’s list of top universities ranks Capilano University five penguins out of yellow.

E-Cigarettes “Vaporize” Nicotine Making quitting easier, you baby By Colin Spensley // writer

the capilano courier | vol. 45 issue 11

uitting smoking is hard. Really, really hard. Ask any sullen faced person who has four days of nicotine withdrawal, and they’ll probably spit in your face and call you an asshole. For many people, it takes more than willpower to beat their addiction to tobacco; hence, the various forms of nicotine replacements, such as nicotine gum and the nicotine patch. However, nicotine gum is old school, and we’re modern smokers and who need modern technology to help us quit. Thank god for the Electronic Cigarette, am I right? Not surprisingly, many people are skeptical, not least of all Health Canada. The e-cigarette is a hand held device that looks like a cigarette, albeit a bit larger and with a fake glowing tip (like the real deal!). A battery and a heating element take up half its mass. The user inserts a cartridge housing a nicotine chemical formula, then inhales a vaporized mist of nicotine, propylene glycol, and other chemicals. Yum! There is no actual smoke, as the nicotine oil is heated and released into your lungs as a vapour, and is thus touted as much healthier. The vapour, when exhaled, does look and smell like tobacco smoke. If that’s too bad-ass for you, nicotine free cartridges are available, so you can puff away on a piece of plastic for no fucking reason at all! Smoking is as much of a social activity as it is a drug delivery system. One of the biggest excuses a smoker will give for not kicking the habit is that they worry their social life will decline. “But what will I do at the bar when I’m bored and want to go outside?” they will often tell you. “What will I do

with my hands?” they will say. “I have busy hands and I need to be using them all the time.” On the surface, the electronic cigarette does seem to be a great option for people to lessen the health risks of tobacco while maintaining their hand to mouth habits. It’s a bit more believable then the previously marketed nicotine inhalers that looked like tampons, and in the dark, thanks to that glowing tip, all your smoker buddies may even forget the fact you're switching teams. “The main issue currently with e-cigs is quality control,” says Dr. Carl Phillips, a professor at the University of Edmonton in an interview with Daily Planet. Phillips claims that most e-cig brands are made in China, and over a dozen counterfeit factories have been created in the blossoming industry. You may believe you’re inhaling a fairly standard mix of nicotine, water, and propylene glycol, but without regulations on these products, it’s impossible to tell what is in the nicotine cartages. Additionally, as with many breakthroughs in technology, the long-term effects are not currently known. The Health Canada website states, “Although these electronic smoking products may be marketed as a safer alternative to conventional tobacco products and, in some cases, as an aid to quitting smoking, electronic smoking products may pose risks such as nicotine poisoning and addiction.” So are e-cigs a good alternative to normal tobacco products? Many researchers and users would have you believe so. The vapour is much less harmful than smoke, and the chemicals used in the nicotine gel are by far less hazardous than the extra chemicals added to tobacco, which in-

// Alexandra Gordeyeva clude formaldehyde and arsenic. However, with are a very social and inclusive group of people. any new “health” product, a good amount of re- They want you to be one of them, but take one search is required to make an informed decision. step outside of their circle of respectability and Although you may feel like you’re making the that’s it, buddy. One of the main reasons that nicswitch to a cleaner form of nicotine inhalation, otine inhalers have never become popular was it is possible you’re simply sucking back a new because they make you look like an idiot suckform of toxic sludge instead. ing on a plastic tampon. If you’re willing to stand How far are cigarette addicts willing to go be- outside in the rain huffing on a battery powered fore biting the bullet and just quitting? Smokers cigarette, you may as well just smoke.

Ca b o o s e F e at u r e d F i c t i o n

Edi tor // KEvin Murray // c abo o s e . c apc o uri e r@ gmai l . c o m

The wake

By Reza Naghibi

Audio File No. 54

// Writer

This place could be several acres, but I’d say no more than ten. Am I trapped here? There’s Audio File No. 1 literally nothing living here. Not a squirrel. I am back with you at the cabin now. It’s freez- No birds at the wharf. No little crabs under ing here. Always winter. I want to say everything rocks. Nothing. I can in case something happens to me. SomeMy joint mobility is quite poor so I can’t move one has been using the empty drums outside too fast. When I was about twelve hours into my to burn something … more than just for fires to walk out east, the cold and the snow really started keep warm. Last fire went out ninety days before affecting things. My clothes were wet. I can feel I woke up. How do I even know that? I just re- the cold in my head. member. Without someone to talk to, my sanity Audio File No. 150 is waning. I can’t see myself. Can’t bend my head. Think my head is wired solid. I’ve seen my legs I weighed myself using the scale in the cabin and chest and arms, but not my face. again. I am about two hundred and eighty pounds. If my calculations are correct that placAudio File No. 2 es my body mass index at just over thirty – I’m They left me prepared. I’m wearing gumboots, obese. But the problem is that I’m not eating. It is though I can’t see any higher than that. When I extra cold today. Negative forty degrees here. My lift my arms up I see the coat-sleeves are tucked headaches from this cold get bad … I can’t even into leather gloves. I’ve been freezing since the see out of my one good eye. I touched my face … start. I’m glad to have found this recorder, and I’m so glad I found you. wish I had it a long, long time ago. Audio File No. 216 Audio File No 6. I woke up, but I haven’t gone back to sleep. I have I have a spoon, it’s my mirror. You don’t really tried. I just lie there. I read Dorian Gray, over and know how much you want to see yourself until over; it’s my only book. you can’t find a single mirror within a hundred Audio File No. 392 miles. And it’s still freezing. I can’t walk much. I freeze up. Have to wait for the sun to come back. The book is Picture of Dorian Gray. Read it too I can’t take off my clothes. They’re stuck. Stuck to many times now. I can read it in about fourteen me. Like I was a burn victim. It feels like there is minutes. Every three seconds I can read a page. some prostheses about my head. Only my right It’s really hard to see in the dark. There’s not much eye works. My face … I’m scared to touch it. What light here. On the western edge, the water is frohappened to me? zen solid. What is this place? There’s been daylight for over a week. Audio File No. 14 Audio File No. 437 I make fires to keep myself from getting too cold. I have to wait for sunrise if I get myself stuck. I I feel. But why? What man goes this long without freeze easily. I have the fires going with the drums eating? I haven’t felt hungry, but isn’t the absence near the cabin; I can walk about if I stay close. of feeling still feeling? Audio File No. 15 The mirror from the cabin’s lavatory was clearly ripped out, as was the one seated above the operating table where I woke up. I’m pretty sure I spotted shards of glass piled at the bottom of the empty drums outside. My bed is a stainless steel table under a pod of halogen lamps. It is where I woke up. Audio File No. 53

Audio File No. 1084 I felt uneasy when I got into the shed. Just some shelves in there. The kind of shelves rich people have in their attic, full of dingy old manila covers, burlap bags. Sixteen canvases all measuring twenty-six by thirty-nine inches. Bound with something that might have been rope. I can tell it’s been … well, exactly how long it’s been … since they were left here. I had to leave after taking a look at some of the art. They weren’t much good. More like diagrams and geometric forms.

Audio File No. 1088 I saw myself. That’s what’s important. I had been waiting for it. Whatever I am, I’m not human. Then what part of me has been talking to you if I’m not human? Where did my compulsion come from? Is this my proof of humanity? What brought me to say this to you: my ear? Video File No. 1

Audio File No. 1085

When it burst out of the shed still clutching the mirror, the daylight was a muted, overcast white veil. It glanced about in panic at the anatomic drawings. It looked at the chest in the drawing and saw nothing but gears and circuitry where its heart and stomach would be. It leaned back to look up at the sky, lost balance, and fell. No emotions, yet aware of emotion missing. Feelings interpreted from the contrast of having Audio File No. 1086 no feelings … what is expected. A priori anxiety Audio File No. 582 I assumed it was art. One piece was wrapped and delivery system. Looking at its reflection. A godThe shed has been the toughest location to reach. shelved almost too high. It was by chance that damn walking web-cam. It sits at a part of this island where the birch trees I noticed it. Several layers of covering had to be – how I know the tree names escapes me – are torn off … it was smoother than the canvases. It rooted too tight for me to walk through. I get felt delicate. wedged between anything narrower than two Beneath six layers of manila paper, under the feet, three inches. I need to see if there is any- soot and ash, the mirror was … just waiting for thing useful in there; I have nothing else left to me. I knew the shed had something I needed. explore, nothing more to do. The shed has to have Audio File No. 1087 an answers. Wires, cables, ribbon connecters, and computer Audio File No. 719 ports. Circuit boards slotted into my skull. Some I’ve managed to fall about thirty of the trees with sort of fibreglass, maybe. A lot tougher. Just as a hatchet from the fire-kit in the cabin. Cathar- lightweight. Somebody got carried away with a sis: hacking at the tree gave me some relief; I felt soldering iron. alive. I wonder what my face looked like when I It’s not that I only have one good eye. The left was like that … The spoon. My goddamn mirror. part of my head seems to be computer; the rest I’ve managed here so long alone. I should have starved to death. I shouldn’t have woken up. At least I’ve had you to talk to. If I don’t see anyone, maybe this recorder will be found … some day. I took a closer look at the paintings. With some proper day light I saw the art was more like schematics or diagrams. Anatomic diagrams.

// Thomas Ward

the capilano courier | vol. 45 issue 11

I took a full day’s trip out to the eastern edge. It could be an island, but I don’t know for sure yet. Tried to glimpse myself in the water except it’s more like mud. No reflections. There are trees. There’s a copse of birch trees growing so close together I cannot walk through them. I’ve used two for firewood. There are a few closer to the cabin.

Alone here, forever; I could go crazy. I could die here … and not naturally.

// Author illustrations seems to be an observational tool. A camera. Audio receivers. Microphone. Com-sat communicator. GPS. Someone watching me? The flood of questions would have made me vomit. A human would vomit.

C a b o o se

n u g t o ! s Sh w e i Rev

World Leader Reviews

Obama Beni Spieler

Harper Beni Spieler

Sarkozy Jonty

Wizard of Oz Beni Spieler

Dear Obama: Did you know you’re a Chia Pet, now? I bet you do. I bet if I visited the White House you would have hundreds of your own Chia Pet likenesses all around you, grinning that manic-yet-warm pearly smile… except not, because Chia Pets don’t actually have teeth; that’d be frightening. I wonder if you get those Chia Pets to help you with your diabolical scheming? You, in a dark room with but a single candle, posing like Hamlet, the Chia Pet in your hand, whispering sweet nothings about health care and internal police actions … then you realize it is you who is speaking. Or, maybe not; maybe you just have one Chia friend that you like to water on a sunny day; maybe play a little ukulele for it! Maybe you launch the Chia heads at Occupy protesters from the White House roof. Maybe you ARE a Chia Pet who just become self-aware. If so, who waters you? I want a turn!

Oh Harpey, how I love the sweet, illustrious sound of your robotic voice. You take the harp out of Harper and put the “errrr” in everything you say and do. Remember that time your son hurt himself and you shook his hand to make him feel better? Classic. And that time you wanted to get rid of health care? Hilarious. Everything you do makes me feel superior as a human being. I’m serious, you’re wonderful; never change. Your smile makes me feel violated in every single one of my orifices, which is ironic, because if you had your way that would be illegal. But why would you ban something you’re so good at? Fucking people in their asses has been your forte since day one! Now, I’ll admit, you’re not as bad as the other parties have been with our money, but that’s like saying eating shit is better than eating shit with green stuff in it, and you do spout a lot of shit – none of it green though. Never green. I love you, Harperbot 2011, here’s hoping version 2012 is just as much fun.

Sacre bleu! Eurozone is about to collapse and Europe's second largest economy is being run by a caricature. Seriously, have you ever seen someone so French? This guy couldn't look more French if he was an Impressionist masterpiece. He couldn't act more French if Jean-Luc Godard directed him. He couldn't sound more French if Serge Gainsbourg sang him. I've seen Bond villains with more cultural subtlety. He's like Pepe Le Pew without the misguided charm. If Spain somehow got a white stripe painted on its back he would mount it, swear his love, and still pull a French exit. Do you know who his wife is? His wife is a model. His wife is a smokin' hot model. This guy is the rockstar of the G8. Even Burlesconi asks to share a room with him at summits. It's like French elections are really a contest to see who can personify the most stereotypes and my boy Sarkozy's got the biggest baguette. Only a guy this French could be President.

Dear Wiz: Are you really magical? Because I met this well-built, kind-of-stocky farm girl with weird shoes the other day, and she told me you were just some goofy old man behind a curtain. This makes me a bit uncomfortable: when you consolidated the thrones of Oz you did it on a platform of great and powerful wizardry. It was very frightening, but at the same time comforting to know that our fair land of Oz was going to be kept safe from harm through omnipotent magical means. Now, normally I’d dismiss the stupid girl – as I judge people by the company they keep, and she was shacked up with an idiot, a heartless robot and a wussy- but you have done very little to keep our munchkinland safe from Wicked Witch. Can’t you just blow her up with a fireball, or waterboard her, or something? Should be easy, no? Unless you’re not a wizard … which would mean you lied to us, like some two-bit politician from Earth. In Oz, we don’t take too kindly to politicians, savvy? Start running, bitch. Sic him, Toto.

the capilano courier | vol. 45 issue 11

Piratical Crossword

// Kevin Murray