Capilano Courier Volume 46 Issue 7

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caught in a cult

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north vancouver

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haley joel osment

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october

29 2012

Reader beware

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N o . 07

you're in for a scare

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CAPILANO Courier TABLE OF death news

The Staff 4

of this haunted university newspaper

THE CUCKOO CLOCK OF DOOM

columns

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HOW I GOT MY SHRUNKEN HEAD

arts

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JJ Booorewis Wizard-in-Chief

Viles Roy Managing Predator

Samonster Thompster Creepy Editor

NIGHT OF THE LIVING DUMMY

features

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WHY I'M AFRAID OF BEES

Opinions

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Lindsay Howl Bruise Editor

Natalie Carbomb Creatures Editor

Celina Curse Candy Eater

SAY CHEESE AND DIE

calendar

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THE BARKING GHOST

CABOOSE

Leah Sheet Ghost Bloodpinions Editor

Scott Morose CaBOOse

Ricky Boo Business Medium

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GHOST BEACH

Ka†ie So Scary Fart Director

Connor Corpse Staff Infected

the capilano courier

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Stefantology Stefantologist

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 Courier Publishing Society.

Shannon Hellliott Web Crawler

Colin Suspensley Away in a Manger

Leanne Griz Fads & Evil Manager

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× Letter from the editor ×

× ON the Cover ×

Stefan Tosheff & katie So

Katie and Stefan are good friends. They make art together.

Sometimes they make nachos and watch Adventure Time.

Online at: Stefantosheff.com and Katie.so

THIS WEEK IN THE

WORLD This stuff happened No Doubt and Obama appear on same episode of Leno. Can this get any more legit? × Hockey fans buy cheese to go with whine × Ubyssey bros tastefully tell Salvation Army to shove it

FRIEND FOR YOURSELF “We accept the love we think we deserve” – Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower I tend to be over-analytical. I am constantly processing the details of every aspect of my world. In particular, I am most concerned with my own life and the things, events, and people that it involves. This doesn’t make me unique, not at all. But the way each of us thinks about various aspects of our lives is what separates us from each other. Take friends for example.

A recent conversation provided a very interesting insight about myself that I wasn’t really aware: I care more about other people than I do about myself. In my head, this feels perfectly normal to me. I spend so much time thinking about my friends that I sometimes forget about myself in the process. A recent group dinner conversation where someone made a homophobic slur prompted me to responsively feel bad for how uncomfortable all my friends at the table felt before I even really checked in to realize I was personally offended and marginalized.

I suppose the way I feel about the people in my life doesn’t feel strange to me because my friends are, in short, really fucking cool. I have no problem investing so much time in them because it feels worth it. But the friendships I have today are different, in dynamic and by a general who’s who, than the friends I had five years ago, or even five months ago.

Friendships change every day. This may sound rudimentary, but it’s probably not something many of us take that much time to truly think about. For me, it’s something I think about in great detail on a daily basis. Each day, we are exposed to new people, by chance, through mutual acquaintances, online, or wherever. It’s important to realize that the people we choose to keep in our lives are there for a reason. Meeting someone at a party is one thing. Going out on a limb to hang out with that person for the first time is awkward. Making and maintaining that friendship over a length of time is nothing short of impressive.

Friendships take a great deal of maintenance. Sometimes, it doesn’t matter how much you care about someone or how badly you want them to be your BFFF (BFF forever). As my high school guidance counselor Pat Sidey once told me, when I told her in grade eight that I wanted to be a professional wrestler, “It’s not gonna happen.” Not every friendship is meant to last forever.

I know that I, for one, have a very hard time letting nature take its course with my friends. This summer, an old classmate who I had lived with and traveled with through the course of our five plus-year friendship dropped a bomb on me by officially telling me that we had grown apart and she wanted to sever ties. Completely. No more casual coffee dates. No more bi-monthly sushi dinner. Just each completely acting as though the other has ceased to exist.

At the time, it hit me like a brick wall. “This isn’t something that people do,” I told myself. Not only was it hurtful, it just felt unnatural.

But in time it occurred to me that maybe this is something that shouldn’t seem so bizarre. As humans, we are prone to specifically identify the

beginning and ending of our romantic relationships, but our friendships become more of a loose leaf blowing in the wind, forever searching for a place to land.

What’s hard for me is accepting when a friendship moves from one phase to the next. Just like romances, new friendships have a likely sub-conscious honeymoon phase in which a new friend can seem like the epitome of your existence. And then, the friendship either burns out, or takes you for a wild ride of charming dinners, hilarious road trips and the occasional snarky verbal exchange. It’s hard not to read into it when a daily “Just writing to say I love you” text stops coming. But I’ve come to realize it doesn’t mean that person doesn’t love me anymore, it just means they’re busier, and more comfortable in the friendship to a point of not needing to do that anymore.

Friendships are like any other relationship, be it a romantic partnership or that of with a family member. Each day is a whole new ball game. Last week’s overpriced birthday gift can easily be forgotten about with one inadvertently rude comment.

We’ve all lost friends and cut ties with people who, at one point, were the centre of our universe. Much like the high school sweethearts that get married and divorced, we need to realize things will run their course, whatever that may be. I, personally, need to lower my expectations and just take each day at face value. We should all aim to accept the natural evolution and progression of my friendships.

Friendships die. It happens. But it’s important not to beat ourselves up over it. It’s okay for things to change. It’s entirely healthy to just take a step back sometimes, let things fade out, and be able to bump into someone that you used to tell your deepest intricacies to and casually say “let’s meet up some time,” with absolutely no intention of following through. It’s not a matter of replacing people; it’s a matter of letting life’s path dictate. Things change: people become uninterested in the same things as you, they get busy, they get new jobs, they get new partners, and you grow apart.

Everyone has a different gauge for what constitutes a true friend. My friend Cheetah told me once that a friend is “someone you can hang out with during the week.” It’s important to know which friends are the ones you can call at four in the morning when your cat dies, and which ones you can go dancing with and drink your face off, but not really tell your personal life to. It’s not black and white, and yes, the greatest friendships are likely the ones where you can have both of these things.

Grandpa probably said it best: “If you have one friend at the time you die, you’re doing okay.”

By JJ Brewis × Editor-in-Chief

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× Axl Rose buys burgers for everyone ×

× RIP Dime Watch, TTYN

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Publishing Society, which grants you voting priveleges at our Annual General Meeting and as many free copies of the paper as you want. Did you come to the Annual General Meeting? We voted on this stuff and ordered pizza using student money.

“Today I riding the bus and I saw a cute boy wearing the same exact outfit as me! I tried to talk to him but ignored me. I hate boys.”

“Why isn't there a bus directly from Cap to the Horseshoe Bay terminal? Myself and my fellow islanders believe this to Please proofread your texts to the voicebox. be just silly!”

“The low quality of toilet paper at this school is unacceptable. My ass hasn't hurt What do you mean “fellow islanders?” Anyway, it's Translinks' this much since I was forced to watch Twilight.” fault. Fuck Translink!

Wow, zing!

“Voicebox. Why does the Courier say 'free' in the top left corner. It's not free. I pay for it even when I don't read it.”

Technically, you're paying for membership to the Capilano

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Maroon 5 is coming to town!!!

You GUYS!!!

The Voicebox gives you the chance to have your opinion heard, no matter how irrelevant or uninformed. Just send a text message to (778) 235-7835 to anonymously “voice” your “thoughts” on any “subject.” Then, as long it’s not too offensive, we’ll publish it! It’s a win-win-win, unless you’re a loser.

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Featuring: giles Roy

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Taylor Swift’s Red breaks records, hearts

THE VOICE BOX

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Ann Coulter casually calls Obama “retard.” Time for a second pie attempt?

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NEWS

News Editor ×

Lindsay Howe × n e w s @ c a p i l a n o c o u r i e r . c o m

101 Disguises for Doggies Pet costumes more popular than ever before Victoria Fawkes × Writer It’s that time of year again. Everyone’s favourite spooky holiday, in which you get to inhale as many fun-sized candy bars as possible before you have to hand them over to trick-or-treaters. And while the influx of sexy Halloween costumes is something to be expected, it’s also the season in which pet costumes come back into stock at your local costume shop. To some, disguising pets as devilish dachshunds and spooky schnauzers may seem like a frivolous pursuit, but surprisingly, pet costumes are quickly becoming one of the largest emerging markets of the Halloween season.

According to a recent survey done by the National Retail Federation, Americans are expected to spend $370 million on costumes for their pets this year, almost $60 million more than last year. While the most popular pet costumes last year were pumpkins and devils, it’s also appealing to some owners to give their pets an identity crisis-themed costume, by dressing their dog as a cat, or vice versa. The Halloween season itself is one of the most expensive holidays, second only to Christmas. On average, a person will spend about $72.32 on Halloween, including costumes, decorations, and Halloween candy. The total cost will factor out to about $6.8 billion spent nationwide during the season, with Halloween costumes made for dogs being one of the fastest growing spending traps.

Nancy Jelenic, owner of Vancouver dog outfitter Barking Babies, has noticed the recent

spike in dog costume popularity. “Over the last two years there has been a significant jump. Eight years ago we only carried a couple of styles, and this year we have at least a dozen,” she says. She’s also noticed the trends in the types of costumes that owners are buying their dogs. “This year it’s the Big Bad Wolf and Little Red Riding Hood and dragons. Last year the trends were animals, like the giraffe, panda and tiger.” On Barking Babies’ website, costumes range from Playboy bunny and matching Hugh Hefner costumes, to an elephant or killer whale.

Pricy Halloween costumes for pets are nothing new to seasoned dog dressers. Some of the most outrageously expensive dog outfits on the

market are things like cashmere turtlenecks, diamond-encrusted coats, and even fur-lined vests, from high-end brands like Gucci and Philip Lim. For the Halloween season, your furry pal can be a velociraptor, Snooki, a wooly mammoth, or an elaborate peacock, as long as you’re willing to shell out upwards of $75. All for a one-use costume that your dog could quite possibly despise wearing.

On the other hand, there are also some ridiculously cheap costumes for your pet out there. For under $20, your pet can dress up as the wise Yoda from Star Wars, or perhaps the elusive Waldo from Where’s Waldo. If you prefer a creepier costume for your pet, you could also go

with a miniature headless horseman that attaches to your furry friend’s back. And if your pet hates wearing anything that resembles clothing, a hat is always an option. Unlike with people, a tiny topper can totally make for a complete dog costume. A pirate hat, a beret, or even a sombrero can transform your pet into being party-ready.

While some see pet costumes as an innocent pastime, concerns have been raised in recent years over the safety of store-bought costumes for animals. But Jelenic has no trouble reassuring concerned pet owners that pet costumes are made to be safe. “There are no pins, and the costumes must be securely fastened, either with Velcro or snaps.” She also reminds owners to always supervise their dogs while they are wearing their costumes, not that anyone could really take their eyes off a dog disguised as a mermaid, anyway.

So while it’s fun to dress up as an alternate version of yourself for one night a year, the real costume that you should be concerned about is the one for man’s best friend. After all, while you may look a little strange reusing your costume on a day that’s not Halloween, your pet will look adorable in its costume anytime.

×× JJ brewis

FINDING THE GEMS IN THE AGM CSU general meeting short but productive Lindsay Howe

the money for which comes out of the fund created by the building levy.

× News Editor

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The Motions

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The Capilano Students’ Union held their annual general meeting on Oct.25, for the first time in the brand new student lounge located in the Library building. The meeting informed students of the CSU’s financial status, as well as other important considerations that the CSU had on deck.

The Financial Statements The CSU garners funds in three different ways.

All students at Capilano pay a general membership and building levy fee based on how many credits they are enrolled in. Students also now pay a set rate for the CSU’s health and dental plan.

Two of these income sources, the building levy and the health and dental plan, are collected and then allocated immediately to their respective funds, but the general membership fees remain in the fund until spent. As of May 31, this number was at $346,427.

Among other smaller costs, which include insurance, office expenses and professional services, the CSU has spent a significant amount of money on the new CSU Lounge in the Library building. The 30-year lease of the new student lounge cost the CSU approximately $ 1 million,

Following the presentation of the financial statements, the meeting began debate on the various resolutions that had been put forward.

Resolution 9.3: The motion stated that the executive committee must include on its agenda for annual and semi-annual general meetings, every agenda item that was either approved by the executive committee by a vote of two-thirds; was submitted by a CSU member 21 days before the meeting and included 50 signatures from general members; or was recommended by the electoral committee. The executive committee must also give a minimum of 14 days notice of the submission deadline for items to be included in the general meeting. The resolution passed.

Resolution 9.4: The motion stated that the Union’s signing officers will be directors or employees of the union and are to be appointed by the executive committee. The signatures of at least two signing officers, one that must be a director of the society, will be required for the execution of legal documentation, or the disbursement of the Union’s funds. The resolution passed.

Resolution 9.5: The motion called for a change in the dates of the CSU’s meetings. The semi-annual meeting will now be held between Feb. 15 and Mar. 31 each year and will be set by a majority vote by a quorate executive committee meeting. The AGM will now be pushed back, as the executive felt it was very rushed to prepare a general meeting between September and October. The AGM will now be required to be held somewhere between Oct. 15 and Nov. 30 each year. The resolution passed.

This year’s AGM was able to meet its quorum of 40 members for this meeting showing that students are getting more involved and interested in how their student fees are allocated.

The CSU’s next large meeting, the semi-annual general meeting, will occur mid-way through the spring semester.

Resolution 9.6: This motion deals with the responsibilities and duties of the Board of Directors.

All members of the Board must be knowledgeable with the practices and comply with the provisions of the Society Act of British Columbia. The Board will be responsible for receiving, budgeting, administering and ensuring the auditing of any money, property or security that could be placed in the custody of, or that may in the future, become property of the Society. The Board of Directors would also be responsible for preparing and presenting an annual budget to the membership of the Society during a Society meeting. Financial Affairs Coordinator Saam Nasirpour put this motion in layman’s terms at the AGM by explaining that it would mean the budget would no longer be approved by general members at the AGM but rather by a vote from the Board of Directors. After some debate, the resolution was defeated.

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Faultin' Dalton McGuinty’s resignation could have an impact on education Christina Lamanes × Writer After 16 years as leader of the Ontario Liberal Party, Dalton McGuinty, premier for the last nine years, resigned. There was much secrecy concerning his decision, only his closest staff were notified just 36 hours before the announcement.

An emergency caucus meeting was held on the evening of Oct. 15, during which McGuinty alerted the press of his plans for “renewal.” He will still serve as MPP of Ottawa South until the next general election, and hold his position at the head of the party until the Ontario Liberals can find and swear in a new leader. Although there was speculation that he may turn to the federal Liberals in the race against Justin Trudeau, in a recent inter view with the Canadian Press, McGuinty made it clear that he will not be running for leadership in federal politics.

While it’s true he was declining in popularity, being elected to a minority government in the last election, Twitter has been a-buzz with mixed feelings regarding his resignation. Those who were definitive in their opinion however appeared to be post-secondary students.

Ontario has the highest tuition in the country and it has been on a steady rise for the last two decades. It has increased by 71 per cent since 2006, all while McGuinty was leader of the province. The average student debt at present for a four-year degree has escalated by about three

times as much. The Ontario Liberals did introduce a new plan aimed at aiding those who have been out of high school for less than four years and are still considered dependent on their parents. To qualify, their parents combined income must be less than $160,000 per year. The Office of the Premier’s website boasted, “To help create the best-educated workforce in the world, Ontario is moving forward to help families with a 30 per cent cut in average college and university tuition, starting in 2012.”

However as stated by Canadian Federation of Students-Ontario Chairperson, Sarah Jayne King, “In the process of making new grants, the government has been cutting funding for other grants.” The Student Analysis of the Ontario Budget and Tuition Fee Announcement, done by CFS-Ontario, illustrates that the postsecondary funding increase for the 2012-2013 academic year is only 2.29 per cent. There are also motions to change the required four-year degree to three-year degrees, as well as transitioning to compete with online universities such as Athabasca. Both of these changes are worrying Ontario post-secondary students and faculty at the prospect of education not only being unaffordable but also the quality of education in the province deteriorating. Amongst this, in an interview with the Toronto Star, McGuinty notes that these increasing figures have not turned students away from enrolling in post-secondary institutions.

This is similar news to that of the

B.C. Minister of Advanced Education, Innovation and Technology, John Yap’s announcement of a trades spending increase just weeks ago. The provincial governments in both the east and west are introducing plans that appear to advance post-secondary education and funding, but after examining the fine print, are harmful for both B.C. and Ontario students as far as tuition rates go. Neither provinces look to be headed towards a tuition decrease anytime soon, even though both have seen drastic increases in the last 15 years or so. Both governments are still neglecting the one thing university students have been asking for: lower tuition.

King made it clear that Ontario students are under no illusion as to the harm McGuinty’s government has done to current and new post-secondary students alike. According to King, as far as Ontario students are concerned, the main thing they’re hoping for with this transition is post-secondary education becoming more affordable and accessible.

FOOD IS A RIGHT, NOT A PRIVILEGE Vancouver Food Policy Council talks change Rebecca MacMurchy × Writer

"largely dehumanizing to go to food banks and give out tons of information ...

I want to see people being able to access food without doing cartwheels"

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pointed and simple – welfare rates need to increase, it’s the only option. Jerry Caston of Vancouver Local Health suggests, “We not only need to increase welfare, we need to index those rates to children within the family. If one kid is three months old and one is 17 years old, they receive the same amount of money.”

The Council was very pleased to see such a high turnout of community members, the highest they had seen to date, many of whom were students. Bruce reminded the group that, “working at the community level is so, so very important.” The Council is revamping their website and believes this will draw more outward attention to their goals. They hope to see the

website act as an “info hub” by which they can develop new content strategy through vehicles such as podcasts; they hope to be able to communicate the information that comes from their reports to the public. The VFPC realizes that the Welfare Challenge is not fitting for everyone, but the community can still make a huge difference. An act as simple as writing an email to the provincial government can aid in drawing attention to often ignored issues.

The ultimate goal is to see a healthy, equitable and sustainable food system in place in Vancouver.

However grave much of the subject matter may have been, spirits were high around the table. All members of the Council are actively working to change the system and are very excited with the direction they are headed.

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almost impossible to find housing this cheap.

Housing is expensive and it’s also sparse. Many of the members are adamant that the issue of public housing in Vancouver needs to be addressed; it’s central to the issue of poverty and plays a huge role in hunger. The message of the meeting was

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Over 500,000 people in British Columbia live in poverty, and 136,000 of those people are children.

These are, and continue to be, the worst poverty rates in Canada for the past eight years.

The Vancouver Food Policy Council met last week at City Hall; their meetings are oriented towards discussing the delicate issue of hunger in British Columbia. It was a fitting time to meet, falling just after World Food Day and the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. The meeting was “themed” towards incorporating these issues and the phrase “Right to Food – moving from charity to justice” made frequent appearance during discussion. The VFPC is rooted in analyzing policy that plays a role in explaining why B.C.’s poverty and hunger rates are so devastatingly high.

Currently comprised of 21 members, the Food Policy Council meets 4 to 10 times per year to discuss how our food is produced, processed, distributed and purchased. Member Kimberly Hodgson works to address the Food Policy Landscape. “Our mandate is to identify key policies: locally, regionally, provincially and federally that are directly and indirectly impacting the Vancouver food system,” she says.

Several of the members are participating in the Welfare Food Challenge, a social experiment and political statement during which participants will live as if they are on welfare for a week. Launched

by Raise the Rates, a coalition geared towards raising welfare rates in British Columbia, the Food

Challenge asks participants to spend only $26 on food for seven days. Why $26? Current welfare rates sit at $610 per month per person. After paying rent, bills and transit, an estimated $109 is left for food: $26 per week. The challenge has received a fair amount of media buzz. Those who have participated can attest to the daily struggle of hunger, not to mention malnourishment.

Physical health declines quickly and raises question towards the consequences of living in prolonged hunger.

Ted Bruce, co-chair of the B.C. Poverty Reduction Coalition maintains that in addition to physical ailment, mental health takes a huge toll. “It’s not just a b o u t t h e f o o d , i t’s t h e s t re s s associated to it … that’s the pathway to chronic illness.”

Council member Paul Taylor reiterates the stresses of living on welfare, adding on a personal note that he personally was raised living in poverty.

Taylor suggests that it’s “largely dehumanizing to go to food banks and give out tons of information… I want to see people being able to access food without doing cartwheels.” Taylor also points out that B.C. is one of two provinces that lack a poverty reduction plan.

Much of the discussion was geared towards the topic of housing in Vancouver. Welfare allots $375 towards housing when in reality it’s

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Columns

Columns Editor ×

JJ Brewis × E d i t o r @ c a p i l a n o c o u r i e r . c o m

Cover to Cover

Brian Pascual × Columnist

I ain’t afraid of no ghosts Curling up to a good book in recent years has probably meant reading about teenage wizards and post-apocalyptic survivalists, melancholy vampires who just want to be hugged, power hungry and incestuous rulers and their fantasy kingdoms, or the BDSM-curious set. All due respect to you if you didn’t once pick up a copy of a Harry Potter, Hunger Games, Twilight, Game of Thrones or 50 Shades of Grey in the last 10 years, but if you did, you were grossly in the minority.

The unfortunate by-product of books from very specific genres becoming so huge is that they completely take the spotlight and callously shove other classic genres into the shadows to be forgotten. So in the spirit of Halloween, let’s see what’s been up with the lost art of the horror genre.

On the surface, it seems to be in a quasihibernation state, probably waiting out the situation. Horror may seem like it’s laying low for the time being, but if you look more carefully, you’ll notice it has actually been undergoing a subtle but quite fundamental shift.

Some of the classic pieces of the horror genre have been modernized and don’t actually seem scary anymore. With her very successful “Sookie Stackhouse” series, Charlaine Harris amped up the sexuality of vampires, drew focus to their romantic relationships, and then stuck them in mystery novels. Stephanie Meyer did something similar with vampires in her Twilight series, but she added another major component of horror fiction – werewolves – to the party and made them all even more emotional and dramatic.

What has actually risen out of the void in the horror genre is a new sub-category: zombie apocalypse. While the undead have shown up periodically in literature since the 1920s, it wasn’t

until the past few years that it became such a huge home with the lights off, even though you know phenomena, mostly due to the Walking Dead series how irrational it might be. Shirley Jackson’s of graphic novels and its subsequent AMC show. The Haunting of Hill House (1959) and Jay Anson’s Even though they don’t classify under the pure The Amityville Horror (1977) are both about two haunted houses with slightly different definition of a horror novel, they are still based outcomes and effects on their on fear and basically trying to freak the characters. The former hell out of their readers. goes for a more With such few throwback cerebral and poshorror stories coming out sessive attack on lately, it would seem we the people she have no choice but to places inside turn our attention Hill House, to the classics for whereas the Halloween. And latter ofwith all the recent fers a more focus on vampires, straight-up werewolves and strategy of zombies, w e’r e making his going to look at reader so tense perhaps the scariest and wound up group from the horwith prior knowlror genre that has been edge and details (the unfairly overlooked: ghosts.

Amityville house being the Since childhood, ghosts and the un×× DAve Mcansh site of a gruesome multi-person known mysteries of the paranormal have terrified us. Lying in bed in the dark was almost murder in the past) that you actually end up unbearable as we wondered if the wind blowing scaring yourself.

Jackson is revered as writing one of the most outside the window was actually the sound of a ghost sauntering across the bedroom floor. Even influential ghost stories of all time because of trying to imagine what was inside our closets at how she slowly reveals layers of why Hill House night was game over. So why have stories about is haunted, producing those hair-raising chill moments when you realize what is happening. She ghosts become so passé?

Whatever the reason, there are two classic knew the most effective way to scare someone was horror stories about haunted houses you will not by startling or creating some kind of monster, want to read this Halloween if you really want to but rather to bore into the psyche and terrorize scare yourself silly. The really good kind of scared from within, just like all those children lying in too, where you actually have doubts about being bed at night unnecessarily terrifying themselves by

Locked Groove

imagining the worst.

Despite The Amityville Horror being so wildly popular and spawning 10 films, Anson’s claim that his book was based on a true account came under fire for being inaccurate and fueled further research that yielded varying results. But even with all the controversy, most people still agreed on one all-important fact: the book was based on the experiences of real people claiming to have lived in a haunted house, and that scared the crap out of the public. This element of horror can be just as effective as the unknown, when there is actually so much known that it takes fear to a new level beyond fiction. If you think something can actually happen, your mind will run with that.

Regardless of which author you choose to trust with your fear-meter this year, the outcome of reading both books will still be the same because they set out to completely mess with your psyche.

We’re talking old-school spooked here, the kind that if you find yourself reading at night, you will actually keep going until the sun comes up just so you don’t have to close your eyes while it’s dark.

Brings a whole new meaning to curling up with a good book when you’re not seeking comfort and joy from it, but rather clinging to it for protection, doesn’t it?

Brian Pascual learned to read before he learned to tie his shoes. An avid cultural enthusiast, he finds the themes of books and films as correlation to the day-to-day fables that consume us all. A storyteller at heart, Brian is presently working on his first novel.

Jason Motz × Columnist

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David Ward: Ballad of the working musician

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David Ward is more than willing to talk about himself and his music; but he is prone to distraction. Take my dictation device for example.

“Oh, you got one of those?” Ward says, eyeballing my cream-coloured Olympus 110. “I looked at some other models that are really good for field recording, with the dual microphone heads on the top, but …” he trails off, perhaps recalling a steep price tag.

This is a telling exchange. Ward, 29, his mind a constant whir, is always strategizing, seeking more tools, knowledge, even gear. And this theme of acquiring knowledge and feeding his passion comes up with every turn of our chat.

Ward has produced one of the year’s best releases, The Arrival, a trio of three-track EPs, each imbued with a jazzy heart and a soulful skin.

Layered in mood and atmosphere, each of the nine songs is compositional dynamite. The Arrival, although bite-sized, is a staggering accomplishment. From the loose, ethereal groove of “Sweet Girl” (its haunting vocal lines peg this as a standout single for 2012), the arresting title track and the sombre “The Deepest Blue”, the collection aches and sways with a musical and emotional astuteness on par with Van Morrison’s mystic 1970s records.

In conversation Ward is gracious and unpretentious. He is unguarded, pausing thoughtfully at times, waiting for his travel-weary brain to find his mouth. With a blonde fringe to his beard and wearing a blue denim shirt, he cuts a rugged repose not unlike that of late folk-singer Tim Buckley. (Which is ironic considering how closely Ward’s voice echoes that of Tim’s son, Jeff.)

Ward is the textbook definition of a working musician: as if touring the UK and Canada was not enough, he has a regular side gig in a soul-funk covers band (The Phonix), co-founded and coproduced 19 music and community events (under the umbrella of the Wachu Music Series), collaborated on a documentary about the Canadian indie scene and is learning to play piano.

Ever the champion of the DIY ethos, Ward books his own tours, drives people home after gigs and, upon tour’s end, does his own post-tour assessment. Show by show, he looks at how and where to improve. “It’s a necessity,” he says. “It's a hard line: work versus play. They're intertwined for me … it's been a struggle to find the right balance.” Even his downtime is hectic. For the time being though, he’s okay with being busy.

“I’ve realized more and more that [my schedule]

is pretty crazy,” he concedes. “I am having trouble getting on top of my own shit,” he says of his decision to put the Wachu on indefinite hiatus.

When asked if he feels that he writes from a traditional Canadian perspective, he dismisses the term. “I'm not sure I know what the traditional Canadian writing perspective is, but I definitely write from a personal perspective, though, that doesn't mean I'm necessarily writing about myself or my personal experiences. I often look outside for inspiration in other people, events, books or comics that strike a chord with me.”

“I carry a journal with me,” he says. “If I couldn't write down all that was happening around me I'd explode.” This compulsion is evident during our conversation as he frequently jots down the unfamiliar name of a blues artist (Otis Taylor), or an under-appreciated Springsteen album (Human Touch), afraid he will miss out on some sound, some texture that could be his next discovery.

All of this, Ward says, is “research.” That research pays off in surprising places.

“I’ll be playing live and I’ll throw in a vocal thing or a guitar lick that will surprise myself,” Ward says, “I’m sure it comes from one of these records I’ve listened to a million times. It’s not

like I sit down and transcribe an Ahmad Jamal record,” he says, “but part of me is, more and more, wanting to.”

But all things boil down to their essence. For Ward, that means brain space. “I got to drive back (from the last tour) on my own,” Ward says. “That’s a lot of time for brain space.” He used the time wisely, questioning himself and resetting priorities.

“Fall always feels like a big regrouping time for me,” Ward says. “ What’s important? What do I need to focus on? How am I gonna refine my stuff?”

At the moment, Ward does not have those answers. With no tours to distract him the rest of 2012, Ward has all the brain space he needs to figure out his next move.

Jason Motz cannot have a conversation without speaking about music. The bands he listens to in a day make up the mood he's in. Let's hope we've caught him on a Fleetwood Mac day, not in one of his Joy Division moods.

12-10-26 8:02 PM

Tales of the Toxically Single

Anna L. Beedes × Columnist

When his little guy gets shy

When I was nine, my dad dressed up as “Penis Erectus No-more-us” for a Halloween party.

Basically, he dawned a toga and carried a bottle of Viagra with him all night. At that ripe young age, I didn’t understand why my mom couldn’t say this long fake Greek name without bursting into fits of giggles, or what was so funny about a Greek man carrying a bottle of pills. It took me 10 years to finally understand the joke.

But I didn’t think it was so funny when I encountered it in my sex life. Enter Mark Schiller: he was an interesting flirt, performed magic tricks, talked politics and wore suspenders.

He was so tall, dark and handsome that he was the type of guy that my grandma would refer to as a “tall glass of hot water.” He was a charming, sweet firefighter, and oh so hot.

When he found out that I was a writer, he asked what I wrote about, to which I told him: “Horrible, rancid one-night stands.”

“Oh, you’ll never have to write about me then.

I’m really good in bed,” he said, flicking the toothpick that was between his lips up and down.

That was all the promise I needed. The guy seemed to be good at everything else in life that I had no reason to believe otherwise. The sexual tension grew to such an extreme with dirty sexts and latenight phone calls that it nearly erupted when we finally met up three days later. But when it came time to really get down, it didn’t want to get up.

×× REbecca joy

The thing about erectile dysfunction is that there is no easy way to talk about it, especially at the most crucial time. “Uh, is everything okay down there?” is the last thing I want to ask when there is a naked man on top of me.

I never thought that Mark Schiller would have this problem, but there he was, on top of me, pulling on his penis like a broken water gun that wouldn’t squirt. While I was left speechless, he became his own cheerleader.

“Come on, come on,” he started to chant. “This usually doesn’t happen to him. He’s had a lot to drink tonight,” he coached, trying to use strained humour that wasn’t catching on. You know what makes my boner go away? When a guy talks to his dick like it’s a real person.

Then he promoted me to head cheerleader of the penis squad, and I did everything I could to harden the thing up. Tickled, touched, licked, flipped, cuddled – everything. It took 45

minutes until it became almost hard enough to use. By this time, I was over-excited, as I had been sexually teased all night. Thinking I had the goahead, I got on top, grabbed his dong, and whispered seductively into his ear: “Oh, it’s back, and I can’t wait. I want you to cum.”

“I already did.” Great. Mark Schiller had a cum-able half-chub.

I flopped beside him, defeated.

“You know I’m going to have to write about this, right?”

“Yeah,” he cringed, “I know.”

Penises are fragile. Being a lady, I will never fully comprehend what it is like to walk around with one of those things in my pants, or suffer from an ill-timed boner that everyone can see. So I can only imagine what a guy feels when his penis refuses to perform when it’s needed most. There are many valid reasons for erectile dysfunction: alcohol consumption (scientifically known as

ANTI-SOCIAL MEDIA

“whiskey dick”), nerves, genes, medical conditions, and the list goes on.

The problem is compressed because it’s difficult to talk about, especially at a younger age. Guys in their 20s may feel like it’s an issue only for older guys, making them more embarrassed to seek help or talk to their partners.

Life is too short for bad sex. Guys, talk to your doctors! Find out what you can do about it, and what your options are. It may be embarrassing, but that is what doctors are for: to talk about these mortifying things in a professional and safe manner. It’s better to be embarrassed in front of someone whom you’re not sexually attracted to, and who can give you valid advice, than the hot girl that you’ve wanted to bang for the past three months.

A decade and a half after my dad dressed up in a toga and swallowed fake Viagra pills, I finally understand the pun, and have even experienced it firsthand. And though my dad looked like a friendly Greek man, grinning at the wittiness of his own costume, he also unintentionally dressed up as something exceedingly scary. The only way to make this less scary is by talking about it.

Anna L. Beedes was born with a heart of gold, which is now nestled in a tree of terrible and awkward eggs, also known as the male population. She examines the intricacies within the world of sex and love, hoping to find answers to some of her heart and her loins’ greatest queries.

Alan O’Doherty × Columnist

And that’s all she tweeted

This place sucks

Self-Censorship

Alan O’Doherty has so many social media accounts that his digital fingerprint is visible from MySpace.

Alan is fascinated by the neuroses and intricacies of today’s online societies. His other love is beer.

Go figure.

46 issue N o . 07

When celebrities choose to bid their fond goodbyes to Twitter they usually chalk it up to claims of too many demands on their time or some high-minded talk of not wanting to share their every waking thought with the world. That’s why it was so refreshing when Courtney Love put her departure down to her own incompetence with technology in 2011 after she accidentally posted racy pictures of herself on the site, apparently under the impression that she was sending them to her boyfriend.

Like most online celebrity heroes, Love has departed Twitter before, first in October 2009 after verbally abusing the fashion designer Dawn Simorangkir, calling her a "nasty lying hosebag thief" and striking a blow for maturity and self-control in the process. Celebrity feuding is nothing new, but Love’s tendency to use her Twitter account to launch rambling rants against her exes, and on occasion her own daughter, are a testament to how public communication isn’t necessarily a good thing.

Kanye West became the latest big hitter to disappear at the beginning of this month, deleting his entire feed and leaving a single enigmatic “Be back soon.” We can’t be sure whether or not Kanye knew that this 1984-esque act of mass deletion would be completely ineffective: West’s tweets were frequently unintentionally hilarious; people have been archiving them on separate sites all along.

It doesn’t look great for the stage-crasher; he either completely failed to understand how the Internet works and believed he could erase his statements out of history, or his mass deletion was a publicity stunt designed to stir up controversy by doing something that is, essentially, completely uncontroversial.

It seems that “quitting Twitter” has become the grown-up, celebrity version of running away from home. You pack a bag, make a scene, and then come back a few days later when your laundry needs washing.

Maybe in time celebrities will learn to be a little more careful about what they choose to share with the world. Perhaps we’ll see fewer drunken online rants (followed by futile deletions the next day) and not quite too many dramatic storm-offs. We can always hope, but I won’t be holding my breath.

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As a journalist I’m compelled to wave a flag for the free speech camp, but I can’t help but applaud some people when they take Mark Twain’s famous maxim to heart; “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.”

A case in point is 30 Rock star Alec Baldwin.

Another serial Twitter-quitter, his original exit came in December of last year after he used his account to launch an ill advised rant against an American Airlines flight attendant who dared to ask him to turn off his phone on board an aircraft.

For all his bluster though, his online rants sound suspiciously similar to the sort of whining you’re likely to find on the feed of an angsty 14-year-old.

On the subject of whiny teenagers, Miley Cyrus is another Twitter evacuee who put her departure down to a desire to keep her private life private.

Cyrus quit the site in 2009 and decided to let the world know through one of the most awkward rap videos ever to grace YouTube. Amid some drivel about “living for moments” instead of “living for people” (deep) she never got around to clarifying why she couldn’t just stop sharing personal information through her Twitter feed and only update it with information relevant to her fans.

What does this button do?

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Claiming to have far more exciting uses for their time and thumbs has been a favourite excuse offered by Twitter deserters. Comedian Ricky Gervais is one such culprit. After barely a month of Tweeting, back in 2010 Gervais abandoned the site, describing it as “pointless,” only to reappear online in September of 2011.

Given his fairly direct anti-Twitter stance it does rather beg the question of why he decided to launch himself back into the microblogosphere (new word I just made up, feel free to use it)

and I’m saddened that attention-seeking could be the answer.

The inherent problem in citing being too cool/ busy/high-minded for Twitter is the inevitable risk of making a tit of yourself when you return.

the capilano courier

After six glorious years of nonsensical gibbering and wanton disregard for copyright and privacy laws, Twitter may be facing a crisis. After an early mass migration to the home of banal updates, celebrities seem to be jumping ship from the social networking site.

Ever since Ashton Kutcher beat CNN in the race to 1 million followers, it’s been clear that Twitter exists mostly as a vehicle for the famous and occasionally wealthy to share the ups and downs of their tumultuous lives. A number of high profile figures have made the controversial decision to quit Twitter (and sometimes later re-emerge), possibly in favour of wandering the streets of their hometown bellowing statements about whatever activity they happen to be engaged in and how amazing it is.

What reason could these celebrities possibly have for opting out of the ever-stimulating intellectual maelstrom that is Twitter?

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12-10-26 8:02 PM

arts

arts Editor ×

Celina kurz × a r t s @ c a p i l a n o c o u r i e r . c o m

ECO-FASHION IS ECO-LOGICAL A quick, common sense guide to keeping your closet green Katherine Gillard × Writer

“I can't comprehend the fast-fashion mentality of wearing something once or twice and then being happy to throw it in the garbage. How could that possibly make anyone feel good?”

Nicole Ritchie-Oseen works at Body Politic, a local boutique committed to offering fashion “produced in North America, and created from the best natural and sustainable fabrics,” according to their website. The Eco Fashion Week’s recent occurrence in Vancouver this October brings up the impact of our consumerism on the planet, and puts the pressure on the importance of considering ecologically friendly options when shopping for new clothes this fall.

One option is to shop at local boutiques, like Body Politic, that tend to have small selections of eco-friendly clothing. Body Politic is located in downtown Vancouver and offers an entire selection of sustainable clothing. “All of our brands and products must have a sustainability mandate both in terms of materials and manufacturing procedures,” says Ritchie-Oseen. “The designers must use sustainable materials (either organic or otherwise "eco-friendly" or reclaimed), and the manufacturing practices must also be ethical and local (to where the designer is) whenever possible.”

Further sustainability is gained by placing an emphasis on quality: A well-made item won’t fall

apart, and can be used and worn for a long time.

“By selling sustainable, and beautiful, products now I know that these items will be loved, and perhaps also passed down one day,” Ritchie-Oseen explains.

While it can seem like a chore to source where clothes are coming from and what materials they are made of, it’s worth it if you are committed to being eco-friendly. Generally, Internet research will produce results, as most stores try to market the eco-friendliness of their products as a selling point and, if anything, will over-emphasize it by being as transparent as possible.

If you are looking for something more accessible to the average student, or can’t imagine yourself affording designer clothing, H&M is one company that’s taking eco-fashion to the mall.

In the past few years, the company has been promoting their plan to make all of their cotton products sustainable by the year 2020. Alongside that, they are currently promoting the use of recycled polyester and recycled polyamide. Their program saves 300,000,000 litres of water in denim production, with a follow-up of 500,000 quality tests each year. Karl-Johan Persson, CEO of H&M, stated in H&M’s Conscious Actions Report 2011: “Our vision is clear: All our operations should be run in a way that is economically, socially and environmentally sustainable.”

However, if the idea of supporting big business, no matter how much they claim social responsibility, doesn’t appeal to you, there are other ways to be eco-friendly. Vintage, consignment

×× Lydia Fu and thrift shops are another great and sustainable way to be good to mother nature and satisfy your fashion needs. Community thrift stores have a broad selection and donate to charity, which makes it good fashion with a cause. Not only that, but since you are a repurposing something that would have otherwise gone in the garbage, your carbon footprint is close to zero. And ecological ramifications aside, the uniqueness of second-hand clothing can offer character and originality to your look.

Some stores take second-hand clothing outside the box, with Used Vintage and Bang On carrying a line of “Made in East Van” bags that are

made from recycled and local clothing. Urban Outfitters carries a line called Urban Renewal that makes one-of-a-kind pieces from vintage, dead stock or surplus clothing.

And finally, for the perpetually broke student who wants to refresh their wardrobe at a cost of $0, clothing swaps are easily run between groups of friends, extended friends or even as public events.

It’s cheap, sustainable and a great way to even make some friends. Organizing a swap is a simple as creating an event on Facebook or sending out a mass text.

“Me and my friends probably have [a clothing swap] every couple of months,” says Capilano student Emma Postl. “It’s great because you get rid of stuff you don’t wear anymore, and it’s fun to see your friends getting enjoyment out of something that used to belong to you! And you can get a whole new bunch of clothes for free, basically.” If you aren’t into hosting your own, websites such as Clothingswap.com and Clothesswap. meetup.com can help students find upcoming swaps in their area.

The idea behind buying organic, sustainable or used items is that we will reduce the negative impact of over-production on the earth. With all of the options out there, there is no excuse not to try out organic cotton or head over to the thrift shop - or simply keep it between friends.

WELCOME TO VANGHOULVER Vancouver’s sordid past equals “lots of ghosts” Connor Thorpe

the capilano courier

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46 issue N o . 7

× Staff Writer

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×× Miles Chic At 126 years old, Vancouver doesn’t share the lengthy histories of other Canadian cities, and cities worldwide. However, what Vancouver lacks in history, it makes up for in ghosts. “[If ] ghosts are real manifestations of people’s mind-body energies that are ‘trapped’ in a location because of violent deaths or not wanting to leave the places they loved in life, then Vancouver has been a great place to spawn ghosts,” says Greg Mansfield, who started GhostsOfVancouver.com – a website which details the phenomena that have been reported at various Vancouver haunts. “The city’s history has been coloured by organized crime, prostitution, booze and drugs smuggling, racial tensions, homelessness, the gold rush, arguments over land titles and business

rights, and more.”

“Much of this led to brazen murders and frontier justice,” Mansfield continues. “Then there are those spirits who just don’t want to leave a favourite spot in their favourite city. It all adds up to lots of ghosts.”

Mansfield believes that the public interest in ghosts comes from a place that most of us, as humans, can identify with.

“It represents a deep and dark mystery that strikes at the heart of our hopes and fears – a hope for life after life accompanied by a fear of the unknown,” he explains. “If ghosts do exist and some are spirits of the dead, then perhaps they answer one of the biggest mysteries of all – is there life after death?”

For those Vancouver residents with an unsatisfied appetite for the paranormal, Mansfield suggests Gastown - home to the highest concentration of reported hauntings in the city. Locations like the Old Spaghetti Factory, the Hotel Europe, Gaoler’s Mews and several others all apparently host long-dead patrons. The Old Spaghetti Factory in particular has been noted as a hotspot for hauntings.

“I recently learned that four different ghosts have been encountered there over the years, the best known being that of a street car conductor who has been seen in the old trolley car inside the restaurant,” Mansfield says, adding that “[a ghost] of a little man dressed in red who likes to play pranks in the ladies' washroom, another of a little boy who appears in the back of the restaurant

and […] a little girl that appears in the front window,” had also been encountered. A post on Mansfield’s website describes an encounter of a young server with the spirit of the young boy which led to her being unable to continue employment at the restaurant.

“While working on some tables, she noticed a little boy walking towards the washrooms in the back. With it being so late and no customers left in the restaurant, she thought it was strange for a little boy to be hanging around. She decided to follow him,” Mansfield writes. “[Manager] Chris was unable to tell us what she saw in the little boy’s eyes or face, but it was obviously something horribly unnatural. […] [Chris] told us how he’d never seen anyone so terrified.”

However, the hauntings of Vancouver aren’t limited to businesses. Resident Devin Egan says that his family has had numerous paranormal experiences in the past six years, after they moved into their house – which was built in 1929.

“Right away there was a sense of something else here, [a] very friendly and benign kind of vibe,” he says, noting that the impression that something was off began after “numerous mornings where some of the cupboards have been open.”

After some investigation, Egan shed light on this phenomenon through conversations with previous owners. He determined that, “The original owner/builder had a sweet tooth and liked to look for the sweets that may have been hidden in the kitchen cupboard, especially around Halloween.”

The activity in the house became increasingly

prevalent when Egan’s son, who was “very sensitive to the house,” encountered an apparition in the bedroom.

“One evening as he was lying in our bed looking at the ceiling, his eyes suddenly became the size of toonies and he screamed and screamed and screamed in terror,” Egan explains. “He said he saw a person floating above our bed looking at us.

It was many weeks before he would go upstairs after that.”

Egan maintains that the experiences in his house haven’t adversely affected him or his family.

He and his wife have both had experiences with ghosts before, and harbour “no negative feelings” about what has occurred in their home.

“As well, sporadically throughout the week my wife and I, when in the sunroom, have noticed a very strong cigarette smell. There is absolutely nobody anywhere near us smoking,” Egan says.

“Having knowledge that our sun room was once an open porch, the theory is this would have been a place to go for a smoke if one couldn’t smoke inside.”

Whether through collective experiences in public spaces or the intimacy of a private home, Mansfield believes that the fascination with the paranormal is firmly entrenched within an innate human curiosity.

“Despite everything, people just love a good mystery.”

To learn more about Vancouver’s ghosts and perhaps host a ghost adventure of your own, visit Ghostsofvancouver.com.

12-10-26 8:02 PM

Thanks a latte

arts SHORTS

Coffee enthusiasts gather at local latte competition Victoria Furuya × Writer Coffee is our best friend in the morning, afternoon and evening for those late night essay sessions that you promise yourself you’ll never do again (but you do). Vancouverites can’t get enough of their coffee, and on Oct. 20, nowhere was this more evident than at the 4th annual That Barista Thing Vancouver International Latte Art Competition.

Blenz Coffee hosts the event every year in celebration of the best barista artists from around the world, with competitors hailing from Australia, Japan, the U.S. and Canada. With some of the largest cash prizes for a barista competition of this type, first place prize being $3,200 for the Free Pour Latte Art category, the international attraction is warranted.

The Vancouver Library Square Interior Promenade served as a beautiful backdrop for the latte art competition. The Promenade allowed for the public to go through the space, have a coffee, catch a bit of the action and perhaps visit a workshop. Going beyond simply coffee drinking and latte art itself, the event also featured public craft workshops, caricature drawings, and traditional Japanese and Chinese tea tastings.

The line-up for free coffee, latte or hot chocolate trailed well out the front doors of the Blenz coffee shop, curving in and around the event action, but it moved quickly, as did the competitors creating coffee art. To those

watching, these experts made the process look effortless, with a quick tamper, click, and flick; the espresso is done.

The foam art that sits on top of a latte requires the rigorous and meticulous eye of a barista to achieve the perfect balance between espresso and milk, creating what is coffee art. Crema, the emulsion of coffee oil in brewed coffee, balanced with the microfoam of air in milk, creates a deliciously creamy editable art piece. Competitor Rob Stein from Great Dane Coffee put it this way: “Don’t drink too much coffee the night before, and just don’t take it too seriously.”

There was a great range of judges, from Lori Joyce from the reality TV show Cupcake Girls, Sammy Piccolo from Vancouver’s Prado Cafe, Richard Wolak from Foodster.com, and Mijune Pak from the blog FollowMeFoodie.com.

As Gianni, an Italian gentleman from Nuova Simonelli, an espresso coffee machine company that supplies the coffee machines for many international latte art competitions, explains, “It’s not about the coffee, it’s about the people.” For Gianni, latte art competitions are a full-time job; he travels around the world overseeing the proper maintenance and use of his espresso machines. Clearly a known face at this type of event, Gianni greeted one of the international competitors from Japan with a big hug, as the competitor said “Gianni,” with much enthusiasm.

Competitor Matt Williams, representing Musette Caffe, gave insight into the coffee art community: “It’s a pretty small group of people at the top of the industry, so anytime there is a

competition or some sort of meeting everyone knows about it.”

Often after a competitor came off the stage, they would be congratulated by fellow baristas, demonstrating the support and respect offered by the community. This communal atmosphere was mirrored in the crowds of people that turned out for the event, with spectators seen sipping coffee, chit-chatting and watching the event unfold, one free latte at a time.

A new spectator to latte art competitions shared his delight with the event: “Local events like this bring the community together when it’s cold out.”

An event like this is rooted in the communal aspects of coffee drinking, which can range from the simple pleasure of enjoying a cup of coffee in your local cafe with a friend, or people-watching while typing up your 2,000 word essay. However you enjoy it, coffee is a catalyst for social happenings unique to the culture in Vancouver.

×× Victoria furuya

VIP FOR YOU AND ME Inside Vancouver’s cultural passport JJ Brewis × Editor-in-Chief

Even before he let out a single note, it was apparent that Mayer Hawthorne had made his mark on his captivated crowd. Entering the stage in a striking red suit and off-setting black Nike Air Jordans, Hawthorne gave the Commodore Ballroom something to scream for. Set against a red velvet backdrop and a neon broken heart, the dapper Michigan native let it be known that this wasn’t going to be a regular concert, this was a fucking show.

“If you did not come here to party tonight, please proceed to the back of the room,” he instructed the crowd. But the audience only pushed in closer; an indication of the high energy dancing that was to take place. The set was a buffet of Hawthorne’s musical scope, beginning in neo-soul and R&B, and flirting in the fields of hip hop and jazz. But Hawthorne does not dabble with havoc; his set ties all these ingredients with style, carefully processing the elements that fit within his realm.

On “Love In Motion”, Hawthorne comfortably delves into funk, after a story about receiving a tweet from a pioneer of the genre, Bootsy Collins, who requested he give it a shot.

Midway through the set, Hawthorne instructed the crowd to “pull out your iPhones right now and take a photo so we can all get it out of our systems.” He then paraded around the stage, stopping in several goofy poses, supplying a bit of comic relief between the love songs and fiery soul hits. After this interlude, Hawthorne instructed that it was time for the phones to go away for the rest of the evening. “We’re gonna watch with our very own eyes in real time,” he commanded.

And like the bobblehead of himself placed on-stage, the rest of the performance was nonstop energy, with Hawthorne ripping around the stage, sometimes hammering away on his guitar.

It was only for the slow, sexy ballad “Shiny and New” where he slowed down, giving license for every couple in the crowd to sway, make out, and look into each other’s eyes. It was here that Hawthorne’s seductive vocal supplied the live soundtrack to at least a dozen relationships just within my eye’s view.

Whether wailing on a tambourine during “Finally Falling” or relaxing on a leather easy chair for a cover of Frank Sinatra’s “I’ve Got A Crush On You”, Hawthorne’s set was a refreshing portrait of both class and fun, marinated in the nostalgic sounds of yesteryear, with enough of a modern twist to make the jams his own.

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Singh agrees. “The library has a commitment to supportive non-formal and informal learning. [...] What we saw here was the opportunity to lever what we’re good at, which is lending things to people, and to leverage our infrastructure, which is [library] branches across the city and the lending technology to provide access to venues,” she explains. “Just like lending a book, we’re lending a pass.”

In Singh’s view, the opportunity is a winwin-win situation for the VPL, the program’s partners, and the public taking part. “From our perspective, we get to contribute to something really remarkable. From the venues’ perspective, their performances, their venues, their activities become accessible to a broader range of people, because it can be pretty expensive to visit some of these sites.” The lasting effect, says Singh, is hopefully a long-term romance between the project’s partners and the new patrons visiting these sites. “This gives an opportunity to a much broader range of people to attend these venues. It also raises the profile of the venues, because there are some folks in this city that just haven’t prioritized visiting. This gives them a chance to try out these venues with no financial risk and maybe they’ll fall in love with them and want to come back.”

Singh is proud of what she sees as a group effort in bringing the spirit of Vancouver to new heights. “It’s great to highlight the library and the coalescing organization that got this off the ground. What I’d really like to do though is make it clear that the heroes here are the venues, for stepping up and contributing to the pass and making their activities available to people, because if it wasn’t for them, there would be no pass.”

By JJ Brewis, Editor-in-Chief

the capilano courier

A cultural revolution is taking place in Vancouver, revitalizing the fabric of the public’s accessibility to many of the city’s major attractions. Suddenly, arts and culture, museums and fitness centres alike are all given a new temporary price tag: free.

Last Wednesday, Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson and representatives from over 40 participating venues held a press conference at Vancouver Public Library announcing the innovative debut of the Vancouver Inspiration Pass, a new incentive to get Vancouverites more involved in their city’s offerings. Until now, some of the partner sites involved would be too expensive for some visitors. Now, access is available with just a library card. “We want to promote the vibrant cultural, recreational and learning activities our city has to offer, and make these experiences accessible to every resident, regardless of income,” explained Robertson.

Vancouver residents request and borrow one of 120 passes from any VPL location, giving them a two-week all-access card to museums, gardens, and science centres across the city. In addition, cardholders choose a swimming pool, ice rink and pitch and putt golf course to frequent during their pass’ duration. And, in a first for a Canadian city, the arts are available through the pass as well, with galleries, choir, opera, and orchestra alike.

“We really want to make sure the pass is achieving what we want it to achieve in terms of accessibility and reaching new audiences, and giving people that haven’t traditionally had an opportunity to engage with these venues a chance to do so and a chance to give some of these venues a new profile,” explains VPL Chief Librarian Sandra

Singh, who helped get the project off the ground when it was brought up by City Council. “They had noted an interest in some type of a culture pass, so I thought, ‘You know, we could do that here at the library.’”

Looking to other programs of this kind across North America, Singh and the VPL saw Vancouver’s diverse offerings as a perfect platform on which to bring people together with their city.

“What we did is we approached the park board first, and then also a number of high profile Vancouver institutions to see if they wanted to come on board,” Singh says. “We got them together and said, ‘We want to do some type of pass lending program. What way do you think would work for you?’”

Doug Tuck, Director of Marketing for Vancouver Opera and one of the program’s partners, says, “We were immediately excited to be part of this great initiative. We feel very connected to the communities we serve and are always looking for new ways to reinforce those connections.

This is a wonderful way to increase accessibility to the art form, and perhaps spark lasting interest.”

He emphasizes the “amazing and very special” inclusion of the performing arts in the pass. “It’s important that the card connects people to many of the experiences that make up a full life in our city,” he explains. “All of them – recreation, museums, art, science, and the performing arts – are important. This program helps instill the view that it is normal and necessary to experience all of them.”

Tuck also notes, “With the recent Vancouver Foundation study that revealed a feeling of isolation among Vancouver residents, I think this pass will help encourage participation in all aspects of life and might help alleviate some of that feeling of isolation.”

KEEPIN’ IT CLASSY Mayer Hawthorne provides lesson in soul

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arts

arts Editor ×

arts I WANNA MAKE YOU SCREAM Fright Nights through an employee’s eyes

By Lauren Gargiulo,Writer Ever walked through a haunted house, gotten scared by an actor and thought, “I wish I could do that”? Turns out, you can. This year is my first year scaring the pants off people, and I can honestly say it’s a lot of fun. But there are downsides and risks, much like any job.

The first thing you get asked during your acting audition is, “There is a chance you will get punched in the face. Are you still okay with applying for this job?” People get scared, and this can turn some people off. However, during training, you are taught how to scare, who to scare, and when to scare - timing is everything. Nobody likes that asshole in a mask that makes you cry, and the training helps you figure out how not to do that - and hopefully how to avoid a black eye, too.

While it may seem mundane, the most important thing is dressing in layers. It’s not warm inside those haunted houses, and it can get wet, too. Waterproofing yourself under your costume can be a necessity, especially if you’re a roamer (those creepy dudes outside the houses). Bring an extra jacket just in case, and of course, extra socks.

Some roamers even bring towels when it rains so

they can dry off on their breaks. If you’re working inside you don’t have to worry as much about rain, but if your “scare zone” - where you have to stand in your room - is in a puddle? Waterproof shoes and an extra pair of thick wool socks will be your new favourite thing.

Walking through the haunted house I work in, which is the brand new one “Fear”, I know where everything is, who’s where, and when things will jump out, bark, squeal, and bang. A bonus to being completely desensitized is that I find myself laughing more and more at people’s bloodcurdling screams of terror.

I don’t scare everyone who walks by me.

Sometimes, I feel a bit pathetic dressed as a bloody mess and screaming at people who just yell, “Sucker!” or “Nice try, buddy.” Sometimes people laugh, which is nowhere near the reaction I’m looking for, but it’s important to remember that laughter is close to crying.

What I always have to remember is that my job as a Fright Nights actor is to scare because it’s fun. No one wants to go home crying; that only ruins his or her night. Fright Nights are all about fun and fear, getting that good scare, and getting better at it.

Celina kurz × a r t s @ c a p i l a n o c o u r i e r . c o m

shorts CUTTING EDGE In Their Skin brings local slice of horror

By JJ Brewis, Editor-in-Chief Just in time for Halloween, a tense thriller is making its debut here in Vancouver. Canadian director Jeremy Power Regimbal is presenting his first feature film, In Their Skin. The intense thriller stars Selma Blair (Hellboy), Josh Close (The Master), Rachel Miner (Criminal Minds), and James D’Arcy (the upcoming Cloud Atlas).

“A big theme for me in the film is don’t take life for granted, and the danger of obsession,” Regimbal says. With a history of working in the film industry as an editor and producer, the film is Regimbal’s first full-length work behind the camera. The experience proved to be quite the ride for Regimbal and his crew: “We shot it in 16 days and had all sorts of obstacles to overcome and fight through everyday: people fainting, generators exploding and cars breaking down right as we are supposed to shoot.”

The film tells the story about the Hughes family, whose six-year-old daughter dies in a tragic accident. Attempting to escape the tragedy, the family retreat to their cabin, where a tense interaction with the neighbours results in violence and struggle. Regimbal says the families represent

“two extremes in society: the Hughes take things for granted in their lives and tend to focus on the negative, while their neighbours struggle with debilitating envy and the desperation of wanting something better.”

Skin is a work of community: star Josh Close co-wrote the story with Regimbal and his own brother Justin Tyler Close, the three of whom co-opt The Lab Media Group, a multi-media company that includes The Lab TV and The Lab Films, which produced In Their Skin. The three also co-edit The Lab, a locally produced and internationally distributed publication.

In Their Skin saw its worldwide debut last Friday at the Granville 7, and will play through the end of the month. The thriller is to be one the final films shown at Vancouver’s iconic Granville 7 theatre before it closes up shop on Nov. 4. The pairing is fitting, giving that Skin was not only created by a local group, but also filmed in Vancouver. Skin is a promising cinematic tribute to the theatre, a long-standing venue in the heart of Vancouver’s Granville Street shopping district and the home of Vancouver’s International Film Festival.

In Their Skin plays Oct. 29 to 31 at Granville 7 at 5:35 p.m. and 8:25 p.m. daily.

THE BORN IDENTITY Individualism shines at Vancouver Asian Film Festival Celina Kurz

the capilano courier

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× Arts Editor

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“There are more similarities between the various Asian cultures than some might think,” says Grace Chin, festival director for the Vancouver Asian Film Festival (VAFF). With films ranging from all over the continent, this year’s festival aims to “provide a cultural bridge between the Asian and non-Asian communities as well as the Asian communities themselves,” according to their website.

The festival is home to a diverse group of films that cover a huge span of themes and genres, while maintaining a core of Asian North American film.

“Our focus remains to showcase films by and about Asian North Americans, but we also screen foreign films with topics that are of interest to, or impact the lives of, Asian North Americans,” explains Chin, adding that “‘Asia” is a large, inclusive place, and that many Asian cultures represented in Vancouver are also represented throughout North America and in other parts of the world.”

In its 16th year, the festival has grown considerably, achieving record attendance last year despite cutbacks in public spending. Chin cites a strong presence of Canadian film in their programming for helping them gain media exposure, as well as an improvement in VAFF’s social media and online presence. Chin explains,“[We want to] show that different stories from people with diverse backgrounds can still resonate with people from another culture.”

The organizers also prioritize local involvement,

with the Vancouver Asian Film Society hosting such events as the Mighty Asian Moviemaking Marathon, a short film competition open only to B.C. residents, and Love Letters to Vancouver, a contest that curates short film and stills. “The idea was for local Vancouverites as well as artists to send us their artistic ‘love letter’ to Vancouver based on their experience of this city,” explains Chin.

previous years. Lagoon is a light-hearted drama about “a Korean woman who moves to Vancouver because she feels that she has an affinity with the people and culture of Vancouver and Canada, and she slowly finds out that things aren’t as she

EXAMINING IDENTITY Local filmmaker Katie Yu’s Anna-May Got Lost is one of the films included in VAFF this year. Yu describes Anna-May as a “surreal and very mysterious” story that evolves around “a little girl named Anna-May coming to terms with her own existence.” Yu not only directed, but also shot, edited, co-produced, and did CGI for the film.

Anna-May is a great example of a film being included in VAFF 16 that doesn’t stick to any traditional or specifically Asian themes. In regards to her inclusion in VAFF, Yu says, “It was kind of refreshing to discover that there was a specific target of Asian filmmakers - not necessarily for the genre of Asian subjects within the film itself, but just to celebrate a filmmaker who happens to be Asian.”

SHIFT IN SCENERY Rob Leickner, whose film Lost Lagoon is being included this year in the festival, found a connection to VAFF through the lead actress in his movie, Diana Bang, who had starred in several short movies that were included in VAFF in

×× TIARè JUNG

imagined it to be,” explains Leickner. The movie’s story “inverts” his own time living in Korea and experiencing their culture. Leickner believes one of the most positive aspects of VAFF is that it offers new opportunities for filmmakers that aren’t exactly available in other outlets.

“I think the great thing about VAFF is that because there’s less films you get more attention, and I think VAFF is a good opportunity for a lot of people to see [your film] locally,” he explains.

KEEPING IT LOCAL Demonstrating again the diversity of thematic content explored in VAFF’s program, Greg Masuda’s The Spirit of Nihonmachi is a documentary told through the eyes of two residents from Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside participating in a sumo wrestling competition as a part of the Powell Street Festival. Using a documentary format, the movie shows how one of Vancouver’s oldest immigrant neighbourhoods has evolved over time - bridging a gap through eras.

“I’m really happy that it was chosen to play in Vancouver because it’s about Vancouver,” says Masuda. “And it’s not just a Japanese approach, it’s told through the eyes of two non-Japanese people, and yet presently, the community that is in old Japantown are low-income people. Many are struggling with drug addiction or mental illness or are in poverty for one reason or another. What I wanted to do with the movie is to open up people’s eyes to the fact that there is an involved community there today.”

Vancouver Asian Film Festival runs from Nov. 1 to 4 at Cineplex Odeon International Village. Visit Vaff.org for more information.

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FEATURES

Features Editor ×

NATALIE CORBO

× s p e c i a l f e at u r e s . c a p c o u r i e r @ g m a i l . c o m

Pleased to meat you

Butchery: brutal business or ethical eating?

Connor Thorpe × Staff Writer

×× Katie So

46 issue N o . 07

phy is a relatively recent development, and that it has not always been popular. “Depending on the ethnic structure of the neighbourhood, a lot of the internal cuts were not used. However, it’s becoming a bit more trendy.”

Noble sees radical shifts in the way farmers have approached their livelihoods as running parallel to the trade of butchery – specifically an increase in quality control and public support. He suggests that the rising profitability of farms as an incentive for a young, educated generation to continue the progression of beneficial, “mindful” farming practices. “We for instance get sides of beef from a ranch where [the farmer] grows and provides everything from his farm but the salt lick. [He] has total control of his environment. That is what the public is looking for.”

As a vegan who grew up in a family of butchers, Jenna Bouma can comment on the profession and industry from a position unlike most. Raised

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“20 years ago, a family outing was going to Chinatown for dinner maybe once a month – so [people] relied on butcher shops to provide meat for home-cooked meals, and the mothers generally knew how to prepare products and buy cheaper cuts,” he says.

With the rising prevalence of oven-ready meals and affordable casual fine dining restaurants like Earls, Noble says that preparing homemade meals became less popular amongst families, though the current economic climate may be changing that.

“Now this trend appears to be reversing. In some families two incomes are down to one, so [they have] to cook at home, and subsequently need cooking/product information which most butchers can provide.”

Noble explains that to distance themselves from larger factory butchers, independent shops have had to adapt to the public demand for quality and a high-level of knowledge in all areas related to

in a family where both parents were butchers, her brothers aspired to be butchers, and the family business was an abattoir, the juxtaposition of Bouma’s upbringing and current lifestyle choice allows her the unique ability to comment from both sides.

“I was introduced to the whole slaughter and production of Mom and Dad’s meat products at a young age, so I became quite desensitized by it all,” Bouma says. She describes becoming vegetarian in the seventh grade, despite the fact that meateating was the norm in her parents' household. “I couldn’t quite understand how killing something innocent was acceptable. Not just that, but how it could yield a living? I didn’t feel like supporting something so terrible.”

On becoming a vegan later in life, Bouma acknowledges that it is a choice that she would have made regardless of her parents’ professions. However, she doesn’t deny that her upbringing sparked her exploration of other lifestyles.

“I do feel like growing up in a family of butchers pushed me to explore other ways of living,” she says. “I was aware at a young age with what was going on, so it became easy to debate the pros and cons of being a part [of ] and embracing my family’s lifestyle.”

Unlike the butchers who believed their profession is seen in an increasingly positive light, Bouma suggests the opposite is true.

“I feel within the last few years, with people becoming more aware and conscious of what they’re consuming and supporting, that butchering in general is quickly becoming frowned upon,” she explains. “A lot [of people] view it as brutal and rather barbaric. Insensitive.”

Bouma concedes that the public opinion of butchers – among meat-eaters at least – is largely drawn from how ethical they are perceived to be.

“There is another side to it. Most factory butchers are looked down on because of their practices and also whom they work for,” she explains. Bouma feels that despite her disapproval towards her father’s profession, the way he conducts his business is more publicly accepted than the practices of larger meat outlets. “Quick kills, clean kill floor and shop, the family business feel, locally sourced beef and pork, and what is claimed to be a very good product. To meat eaters, this probably strikes up a positive impression.”

Still, Bouma stands firm on her view of butchery.

“I don’t respect it and I certainly don’t agree with it,” she says. “I find there to be no beautiful side in butchering. Killing for a profit and inflicting suffering on an innocent animal isn’t necessary in my eyes.”

Whether an omnivore, a vegetarian, a vegan, or anything in between, there is a broad spectrum of opinions on butchery – and more specifically, the importance of ethics and sustainability in the sourcing of meat products. However, public perception will determine the trajectory of the butchery business for years to come.

“Factory farms and a good majority of butchers have had to accept the brunt of the public’s realization as to what’s wanted and what isn’t,” Bouma says. “Less business for butchers who kill and treat their livestock unethically, produce more waste, and who leave a larger ecological footprint.”

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their trade. “Generally shops have had to move away from just being meat cutting savvy to providing the public with all kinds of cooking/handling/ preparing and storage information.”

One way that butcher shops have achieved a differentiation from factory butchers is through the employment of head-to-tail butchery – a utilization of all parts of the animal, significantly reducing waste. “[It] basically relates back to homesteading ranch ethics. Nothing was wasted; every part of the animal was used from hide to heart,” he says.

Noble concedes that the resurgence of this philoso-

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It’s an interesting time to be a butcher. The resurgence in butcher shops over the past 10 years has mirrored significant shifts in the way the public live their lives, and in turn, a heightened appreciation for what they eat in their lives.

When considering butchery, this development has manifested itself in the concepts of head-totail butchery, mindful farming and an interactive, full-service in-store experience.

A shift in dietary trends towards local, ethical and sustainable options has been supported in recent years by the 2007 release of The 100-Mile Diet, a Canadian bestseller that spawned a television show and full restaurant menus dedicated to the diet. While a complete shift to locally sourced diets is not likely to become the norm, the increased public focus on eating locally is indicative of a rising appreciation for knowing where food comes from. For some, butchery is a brutal profession - slaughtering and slicing animals for a living. However, among meat eaters, independent butcher shops gain some ground over the larger factory butchers – the practices of which aren’t particularly transparent.

In May, the New York Times hosted a contest in which entrants were encouraged to provide an argument as to why eating meat could be justifiably ethical. In an article for the Times that delivered the results, Eating Animals author Jonathan Safran Foer commented on the general consensus of the entries, noting that, “Lurking beneath these submissions is a shared dissatisfaction with our current system of meat production, a shared anger.”

Food writer Michael Pollan – who served as a judge for the contest – continued by praising its importance.

“Simply stimulating people to think through their eating choices has a value, since our thoughtlessness in these matters has such a high cost.”

Karl Gregg, co-owner of Big Lou’s Butcher Shop in Vancouver, argues that butchers have long been a haven for those who are knowledgeable, or at least curious, about the food that they eat.

“I think anybody who used butcher shops has always been somewhat focused on where the meat is coming from, and the fact that it’s fresh, and the fact that you can talk to someone who is knowledgeable about the cuts,” he says. “I think more people are drawn to butcher shops now because they’re looking for mindful farming and ethical practices.”

Gregg’s experiences in the restaurant industry led to his involvement in butchery. “My business partner and I, we owned Two Chefs and a Table – a restaurant in Gastown – and we basically started working with local farmers to be sustainable and efficient in that way, and local. From that we then started working with whole lambs and things like that, and realized the advantages of head-to-tail butchery.”

Gregg believes that trust is what draws people to butcher shops, rather than the cheaper superstores.

“I think that if when they read about a butcher shop and they go ‘wow, they know the farmer, and they know where the meat came from, and they know what to do with it,’ and things like that, that’s a huge draw.”

Richard Noble of the Butcher – a shop in Vancouver’s Kitsilano neighbourhood – agrees with

Gregg’s assertion that there are “just more butcher shops [now] than there [were] 10 years ago.” “[It’s] directly relating to negative press [about] ‘the big boys,’ probably kick started by the Maple Leaf recall,” Noble says. “People are not confident with the pre-packaged concept – small butchers go through their product every day [while] big stores do very little re-traying. Media stories about big stores changing best before dates … only adds fuel to the public’s already suspicious nature.”

In Noble’s opinion, the popularity of butcher shops has come full circle.

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FEATURES

Features Editor ×

NATALIE CORBO

× s p e c i a l f e at u r e s . c a p c o u r i e r @ g m a i l . c o m

COME TOGETHER The dawning and influence of cults

JJ Brewis × Editor-in-Chief

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Cult. It’s one of few words that elicits an almost unanimous response across every discourse. But aside from an almost mass reaction of disgust, and to some extent, fear, cults thrive today more than we might expect or imagine.

It is likely that cults have, in one form or another, been a secret facet of society for hundreds of years. But it wasn’t until the 1930s that society as a whole started realizing the repercussions of their existence. People join these organizations with a façade of a better life, in many cases only to end up having their entire existence torn apart with humiliation and loss of family ties, the disappearance of their own beliefs, and in some cases, death.

Alexandra Amor is a Vancouver-based cult survivor, writing and publishing coach, and author of the memoir Cults: A Love Story, which chronicles her 11-year stint as a devoted follower to an emotionally manipulative leader. Members joining a cult are not aware of their group’s agenda when they first join, she says.

“No one joins a cult. Ever. People join groups of like-minded people with similar values and goals,” says Amor. “They join political groups or spiritual groups with people they respect and feel a kinship with.”

×× Camille Segur

CULT OR RELIGION? So what’s the best way to identify if a new group you’re considering is secretly a cult?

The biggest tip-off is “if you are being hypnotized to think a certain way and there are restrictions combined with fear of not obeying these restrictions,” says Elaine Hopkins, a practitioner of hypno-psychotherapy with 17 years of experience working with B.C. cult members and survivors to overcome the obstacles of leaving the groups that have defouled their lives. “Some

cults threaten their participants with death if they decide to leave.”

Amor’s experience is that, “Many cults are spiritually based, as are most, if not all, religions. I suspect that's often where the comparison between cults and religion comes up. However, what makes a cult a cult is not the spirituality that might be practiced, but the mind control that the cult leader uses to control those who belong to the cult. [My cult leader] believed she was the voice of God and as such any amount of others' time, money, energy, effort and loyalty was rightfully hers.”

Though some religions are accused of being “cult-like,” the direct difference is in the ability to freely make decisions on your own accord. With cults, that basic right is removed from you, as you become a pawn in a very big game of chance.

“Cults are really about the control the leader has over the behaviour and thoughts and minds of the members,” Amor says. “Cults involve 'bounded choice,' where one's choices become limited based on the beliefs that one is required to have in order to belong to the cult.”

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SECRETS AND AGENDAS Cult inductees are scouted by either the group’s leader or pre-existing followers, and drawn in by the allure of a sense of community and camaraderie. From the outside, they don’t sound appealing on any level - so how do cults remain in existence?

Hopkins says that the initiation of joining a cult is similar to joining a gang as a source of refuge. “I believe that they always will [exist] simply because we look outside of ourselves for answers.”

Many bigger-name cults have received mainstream coverage, and charismatic leaders such as David Berg have become household names.

Berg’s Children of God is one of the most recognized cult organizations. Celebrities such as Rose McGowan and the late River Phoenix were both raised in this group, which exists today as The Family International. Though their practices are different now, the group’s original core set of values included “Flirty Fishing,” a method in which senior members converted new ones with sexual exploitation. Female devotees were casually known as “God’s whores,” having sex with existing members in exchange for living on the communes. As evangelical prostitutes, these women became sex objects of the commune at the will of everyone else, compensated in “the salvation of Christ.”

The Ku Klux Klan, most active in the early 20th century, are best known for racial murders against blacks, but are widely considered a cult organization because of their extremist methods that were still performed under what they thought was the hand of God. Other groups such as Scientologists and Hare Krishnas are seen as cults under similar reasoning, but their practices aren’t necessarily deemed evil or harmful, given the lack of knowledge about possible mind control or abuse tactics.

But some cults are closer than we may expect - Vancouver is home to the head office of a Kabalarian group. This organization is not as well known as cultural touchstones like the Manson Family or Children of God, but the size of the group doesn’t necessarily affect the consequences. This group offers new inductees a free name analysis, which frequently dictates that a new name is required to determine one’s personality, likes and dislikes, ideals and “destiny summary.” In 2000, CBC reported that the former leader of the Vancouver Kabalarian Society, Ivon Shearing, was brought up on combined charges from over 20 female Kabalarian members for sexual exploitation using his position as spiritual leader to do so.

INITIATION

“As a cult member for 10 years I can say I had a great deal of purpose, and I felt a great degree of kinship with my peers in the cult, whom I referred to as family,” says Amor.

The positive aspects ended there, transforming into a plethora of terrible side effects from the time spent in a cult. “The downside of this purposefulness and community was that my thoughts were controlled, my life choices were controlled, my relationships were not my own to enjoy,” she says. “I was verbally, mentally and emotionally abused, and my relationship with the divine was corrupted and twisted in a way that I am still recovering from.”

Initiation is the only true way to discover if the cult will deliver everything it promises. Naturally, by the time the honeymoon period wears off and the truth emerges, the member is usually already brainwashed into a field of new normality.

MIND CONTROL

"No one joins a cult.

Ever. People join groups of like-minded people with similar values and goals"

OFF THE GRID Many cult groups make the decision to live together communally, often away from society

46 issue N o . 07

Hopkins says cult leaders aim “to have control to feel important. This individual doesn't know how to use power in a positive way, and has psychological issues.” Amor, through extensive research, has discovered that, “Those who study cults and cult leaders suspect that the leaders are individuals who suffer from mental disorders, but who are charismatic and intelligent enough to be able to pull others into their web of lies and coercions.”

Once a cult member has been involved for a while, properly void of their original values and now implemented with a restructured, tainted set of beliefs, they are asked to continue the induction of new members. “The mature cult member doesn’t feel he is being the least bit deceptive. He is simply presenting truth in doses suitable for a new member,” writes Deborah Davis, daughter of Bill Davis and former member of her father’s Children of God cult. “The salvation of the new convert is at stake, and the disciple has a divine responsibility to assist the convert into the cult 100 per cent.”

Given that cults operate outside of the parameters of society most of the time, the groups become miniature communities that, similar to a hive of bees, aim to please one leader above all else.

“My experience of the cult leader I was following was that she wanted to exert power over others and to exploit her followers,” says Amor, who, among those in her cult, financially supported their cult leader as well. “The reality is that cult leaders must have the loyalty of each follower be entirely focused on them [the cult leader]. Relationships between cult members, either friendships or intimate relationships, are a threat to the cult leader's control. Therefore the cult leader will divide and conquer, breaking up families, as well as marriages and relationships.”

“I receive calls from all over North America from people from all walks of life, including psychologists who are involved and want out of the cult,” says Hopkins. “They are embarrassed they got involved.” Many cult groups subscribe to the notion that once you’re in - you’re in forever. Such was the case with the People’s Temple. In 1979, when a U.S. Congressman visited the group’s utopian Guyana property on allegations of abuse, cult founder Jim Jones ordered fire on the Congressman. Following the shooting, Jones and his 900 plus followers participated in a mass suicide by drinking or injecting a toxic dose of Flavor-Aid laced with cyanide, the largest mass suicide or killing of American people prior to 9/11.

But even after an event like this, cults continue to this day. “You get rid of one and another surfaces, they change the name of the cult and move but they operate as before,” says Hopkins. Despite the mind control techniques and the all or nothing approach that tells cult members leaving would result in emotionally and mentally starting from scratch, the lucky ones do find a way out. And despite having no money, home, and often no family ties remaining, the desire to gain one’s life back is incentive enough for the strongest-willed members to escape.

For Amor, the goal of departure was about awakening and moving on with life. “A cult experience is one that the ex-member carries with her forever. It will always be a part of who I am. I have worked very hard for a long time at healing from the experience, so when I say it will always be with me, I do not mean that it has ruined my life. I learned a lot from the healing experience of leaving the cult. It has made me a wiser and more compassionate person.”

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“Mind control is what makes a cult a cult,” says Amor. “It is the practice that keeps cult members tied to the cult. Without it, cults would cease to have any sort of control over their followers and would therefore cease to exist. Everyone who belongs to a cult is under the spell of mind control at all times.”

Given that members are brought in from the “real world,” the only method of adhering new devotees to a cult is to re-train them to the core.

Processes such as hypnosis, brainwashing, and deprogramming help the cult leader to ensure that each follower will mentally behave the way the leader desires.

“The fashionable explanation was now phrased in terms of brainwashing and mind control, an idea that permitted converts to be ‘deprogrammed’ to what their families considered religious normality,” writes Philip Jenkins in his work Mystics and Messiahs: Cults and New Religions in American History.

Even those who are not fully brainwashed end up often staying much longer than they should.

The expectation of their devout fellowship and the anticipated repercussions of leaving a group are reason enough for many followers to stay forever.

FOLLOWING THE LEADER

A WAY OUT

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PLAYING TO BOTH SIDES

where members are unable to interact with the general public, at risk of being tempted to leave their organization.

Naturally, living conditions vary, but it is up to the cult leader to reward or punish their members.

“I was a witness to one member being required to stand naked in front of the cult leader and several other members of the group while she was verbally abused by the leader,” says Amor.

“A friend who was a member of the same cult was forced to live in a poorly insulated log cabin in the middle of winter, when temperatures were reaching minus 30 degrees Celsius with inadequate heat and had her food rationed.”

Communes can be as integrated as a house nestled within an average community where members are not permitted to leave, or acreage of land where the cult members are given a sense of freedom, perhaps brainwashed to the extend of not realizing or caring that a big bright world awaits them beyond the pasture.

Some are more extreme than others. Members of the People’s Temple were uprooted and moved to various locations throughout the tenure, including several headquarters in San Francisco, Indiana and Guyana, constantly attempting to escape the pursuit of those questioning their ethics and practices.

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On the outside, cults seem quite extreme, frightening and avoidable. But getting inducted is more common for those searching for a sense of purpose, or at a vulnerable point in their lives.

Take for example the high-profile Heaven’s Gate cult which attracted members with the bizarre concept that the earth was to be “recycled”, and the only way to free themselves was to rid their souls of the human bodies holding them to the earth. Surely nobody would fall for this, right?

Sadly, wrong. Both of the founding members and 38 devotees rented an expensive mansion in San Diego, California, and participated in a mass suicide.

“Joining is easy and doesn't require commitment, [people] are curious,” says Hopkins. And cult leaders, she says, are looking for “those with low self-esteem or no sense of self, those looking to belong.” Cults use tactics such as “Love Bombing” which uses a course of repetitive praises and affections, using verbal romance in blinding the individual with compliments to exploit their

vulnerability and ego.

“The cult I belonged to was a quasi-Eastern, spiritual meditation cult in Vancouver that I joined in 1989 when I was 22,” says Amor. Though she joined initially on a quest where “we thought we were saving the universe,” the bitter reality set in quite quickly.

“The strange events and behaviours I experienced included, but are not limited to: the cult leader arranging and dissolving marriages and relationships at will; her requirement of total obedience and acceptance of her word as the word of God at all times; the breaking up of families, including the abandonment of three very young children to be raised by their grandparents so that their mother could serve our leader at her Chilcotin-area fishing lodge without distraction.”

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OPINIONS

Opinions Editor ×

Leah Scheitel

× opinions@capilanocourier.com

sexy witch, sexy cop, sexy fish Revealing halloween costumes become increasingly frightening Carlo Javier × Writer “In the regular world, Halloween is when children dress up in costumes and beg for candy. In Girl World, Halloween is the one night a year when a girl can dress like a total slut and no other girls can say anything about it.”

– Cady Heron (played by Lindsay Lohan) in the 2004 box office hit, Mean Girls.

Halloween. It’s the night filled with festivals honouring the dead, where kids can accept treats from complete strangers, and when women can (un)–dress as provocatively as they want, with no fears for neither loss of dignity, nor cold weather.

Halloween costumes have expanded from masquerades as ghosts and zombies, to portrayals of characters from pop culture. The current trend is a version of the same characters, just more provocative and with less clothing. Now nearly every store selling Halloween costumes makes sure it loads up on their sexy cops, nurses and French maids.

They’ve got versions of Alice in Wonderland that makes you question what kind of Wonderland she’s headed to, a lady vampire who seems to be looking to siphon things other than blood, and a cat woman who’s definitely looking to prowl.

Dressing scantily for a night is completely up to

the individual; in essence, there is nothing wrong thinking clearly, lower self-esteem, higher levels of depressed mood, and discomfort with their with it. Linda M. Scott, the author of Fresh own bodies, undermining their ability to Lipstick: Redressing Fashion and Femiparticipate as full citizens.” nism told the New York Times, “It’s The worst part: a lot of the a night when even a nice girl sexualized costumes are presented can dress like a dominatrix to the most vulnerable part of the and still hold her head up the demographic: young girls. next morning.”

Manufacturers are makBut there is the fine line ing sexy versions of characters between sexy and slutty. children see on television and There is a difference befilm on a regular basis, charactween wearing something, ters whose true purpose is to and wearing almost notheducate. There are costumes ing. such as: a sexy Dora the This spiriting away of explorer, a set of sexy SesaHalloween from the spooky me Street characters, and as atmosphere it’s univerreported by the Washington City sally known for, into a Paper as the “worst sexy Halrisqué-heavy costume fest loween costume,” a sexy Findis posing a much larger ing Nemo costume. These cosissue than the sexualisatumes are marketed for ages 12 tion of just Halloween. It’s and up. “The average age of entry the hyper-sexualisation of into the sex trade is 12 to 14 years. girls, specifically, younger girls.

Dressing up as a ‘pimp’ or a ‘ho’ glamWomen dressing to be sexy for ×× Shannon orizes this exploitation, which is a form of Halloween is one thing, but pre-teens and Elliott adolescents wearing scantily clad costumes is a whole abuse and modern-day slavery and devastating to its victims,” said Diane Sowden, executive director of different story.

In an article by the Huffington Post, a report Coquitlam’s Children of the Street Society, to the by the American Psychological Association Vancouver Sun. What may have once seemed a harmles revealed that sexualising of girls led to “difficulty

celebration of liberty has turned into this idea that Halloween is sexy, and girls need to be sexy.

Deborah L. Tolman, author of Dilemmas of Desire: Teenage Girls Talk about Sexuality explained to the Huffington Post, “The demand is fueled by the proliferation of sexualized images – how ‘cool’ and desirable girls and women dress and behave - and the lack of alternatives in the public imagination and landscape. If girls don't show some leg, some midriff, some cleavage, they run the risk of being outdated schoolgirls, targeted for teasing, for not being cool, or worse, prudish.”

In an effort to discourage children in dressing up in a sexual manner, Coquitlam’s Children of the Street Society is working with parents and schools to better educate young people about the over hyper-sexualized stigma of Halloween.

“We are seeing some kids dressing up as a ‘pimp or ho’ and we are asking parents not to allow this,” Sowden told the Vancouver Sun. “We don’t want children wearing Halloween costumes that glamorize the sex trade and the sexualization of our youth.”

Halloween’s growing trend of becoming increasingly provocative is only the tip of the iceberg - beneath it is the more dangerous problem of an hyper-sexualized society.

I'M LOVIN' ASKING IT Ronald McDonald answers some questions JJ Brewis

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Are the patties heated in a microwave? Do quarter pounder meals contain worms? Are chicken nuggets made out of pink slime?

These are just a sample of the urban legends surrounding the iconic menu items at McDonald’s restaurants. Through the years, critics and consumers alike have taken a stance against the world’s second biggest fast food empire (ousted in recent years by Subway). Since 1940, McDonald’s has grown and ballooned into an unarguable corporate entity and American commonplace. But with any success comes inquisition and challenge, particularly with a corporation of this status.

Certainly McDonald’s is an easy target. In 2011 alone, the company’s 33,000+ locations brought in $27 billion in revenue, definitely nothing to sneeze at. But for those who aren’t fans of Chicken McNuggets, the world of fast food and McDonald’s in particular, is often viewed through an eye of discern.

Enter the power of viral marketing maneuvers.

McDonald’s Canada (home to 1,400 locations alone) has teamed up with Tribal DDB Toronto, a subsidiary of DDB Canada, who call themselves, “Canada’s most celebrated creative agency.” On the heels of DDB’s successful marketing co-ops with the likes of Subaru, Capital One, and BC Hydro, the McDonald’s gig was an opportunity to get creative and viral.

Together, the two have created “Our food, your questions,” a multi-media interactive dialogue-based approach to both public relations

×× Aaron Campbell and advertising. It’s a relatively simple concept: Consumers from across the country post questions online about any questions they may have about McDonald’s menu items and food practices. These questions are logged on the company’s site, complete with detailed answers ranging from simple question and answer components to detailed video responses showing behind the scenes tutorials from McDonald’s farms, restaurants, and beyond. The group has in turn created public transit advertising campaigns and television spots relaying the question and answers, and inviting further queries from the public.

Though it’s hard to place figures on exactly how many people support McDonald’s versus those who wouldn’t eat there if their life depended on it, it’s safe to say that a lot of folks are on one side or the other. A campaign such as the “Our food, your questions” plays to both sides: for the antiMcDonald’s consumers, McDonald’s has laid it all

bare online explaining exactly where food items come from, how they are prepared, and what methods they use in their kitchens. For pro-fast foodies, this campaign’s existence is an opportunity to re-affirm their decision in already eating there.

This marketing campaign is unquestionably propaganda. But it’s also a bold move that makes McDonald’s look all the more confident in their own product, affixing a sense of pride and ownership to an already well-recognized label and product. Not only are the ads colourful and eye catching, but they’re inclusive, allowing anyone with a sense of curiosity to get in on the campaign.

By creating a visible and willing dialogue, the company has exposed itself to the public, allowing outsiders a rare chance to see how things are done.

Next comes the question of whether or not McDonald’s is being completely honest and factual in all of their responses. It’s impossible to discern legitimacy here, but taking this ad campaign as evidence, they’ve either prepared an honest case, or done one hell of a good job making it look like they’ve been straight up.

In one question, a consumer asks, “How is it that a McDonald’s burger does not rot?” The question is likely provoked at least partially by a scene in Morgan Spurlock’s documentary Super Size Me, in which he exhibits a selection of McDonald’s food that sits for a long period of time without decomposing. To counter-act this position, McDonald’s invites Dr. Keith Warriner, a food scientist from the University of Guelph’s Department of Food Science and Quality.

Warriner explains that the reason the food doesn’t rot is because of an issue of moisture in the food’s components: The burger is more likely to dry out than rot, given its cooking practices, such as

toasted buns and steamed patties, which make the items lose moisture. “With moisture loss, we take away an element required by microbes to grow and cause spoilage,” he says. “Essentially, the microbes that cause rotting are a lot like ourselves, in that they need water, nutrients, warmth and time to grow. If we take one or more of these elements away, then microbes cannot grow or spoil food.”

The campaign works so well because people, regardless of either legitimacy or trying to stir the pot, are both interested and willing to involve themselves in the process. “Why does your food look different in advertising than in store?” asks Isabel M. of Toronto. Not only is Isabel answered, but on the McDonald’s side, a video response is created in which the team’s Director of Marketing creates a visual side-by-side comparison of a quarter pounder with cheese from one of the restaurants next to a specially prepared photographed hamburger created with the intention of appearing in an ad.

A company such as McDonald’s does not need to advertise, nor do they need to worry about what everyone else thinks about their product or image.

At this point, even a typical ad campaign would be mostly about upkeep and branding rather than trying to get the general public through their doors. Nothing in this campaign is concrete evidence to McDonald’s offering a healthy menu.

People who eat at a fast food restaurant know what they’re getting into, and should be doing so as a rare occasion in a fit of laziness or as a desire for a treat. But by creating this illusion of health and transparency in their campaigning, McDonald’s is likely to up their image, and possibly move toward re-claiming their position from Subway as the number one chain in the world.

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RELIGION AND POLITICS MAKE UGLY BABIES A match made in Heaven, Like gin and rat poison Scott Moraes × Humour and Fiction Editor

“Freedom requires religion, just as religion requires freedom. Freedom opens the windows of the soul so that man can discover his most profound beliefs and commune with God. Freedom and religion endure together, or perish alone.”

– Mitt Romney There's nothing particularly objectionable about saying grace before your meal, praying for the alleviation of mass starvation, or finding comfort in the notion of life after death. But when religion finds its way out of the personal realm and into the world of politics and public policy, it almost invariably undermines vital critical thinking about the challenges facing the policymakers.

Nowhere has this been so flagrant as in the USA, a country still far removed from the secular welfare state model of most modern advanced countries. The Republican Party, in particular, continues to arbitrarily play the religion card to justify self-serving goals. Religion, then, ceases to be a matter of morality or personal values; it becomes a means of political and economic expedience.

Mitt Romney's affiliation with Mormonism has rekindled heated debates on the role that religion would play if he were elected. Mormonism is widely regarded more as a cult than a religion by theology academics. Richard Dawkins describes that it was developed in the 19th century by “a transparent charlatan, a man who wrote the

Book of Mormon in 17th century English after being directed by the vision of an angel to a set of buried golden plates inscribed with an alternate history.”

It is sad enough that regardless of whether Romney gets elected or not, the US Congress is already dominated by anti-gay, anti-immigrant, pipeline-loving religious bigots. Republican congressman John Shimkus, for example, was recorded saying that climate change was not a threat because, “God promised Noah [total destruction] wouldn't happen again after the great flood.”

America as a whole should still be suffering from post God-fearing-cowboy-president traumatic disorder, but with Obama running on a “maybe we can” platform, and having to answer for the shortfalls of his administration and his failure to clean up some of Bush & Co.'s mess, there is a chance that swing voters might turn to Romney.

On the issue of religion and politics, the average American would be only too wise to remember the wave of right wing retrograde hyper-faith during the past couple of years: Sarah Palin's support for teaching creationism alongside evolution in science classes, and last year's colossal prayer rally hosted

by Texas governor and then-presidential candidate Rick Perry. Early in the race for the Republican bid for the candidacy, three of the candidates (Rick Perry, Michelle Bachman, and Herman Cain) openly expressed the view that God had called on them to run for president. Commenting on it with his well-known dose of atheist logic, comedian Bill Maher said: “But, seriously, if God really did call all three to run for president, isn't he just fucking

with two of them?”

Extremist republicans can be quite defensive.

Any criticism of their religion, be it traditional or modern-cultish, is condemned as the beginnings of an atheist prosecution campaign of Stalinist proportions. They'll shove the First Amendment in your face. They'll also compare you to Hitler, because the one thing they did learn from their elementary school textbooks is that Hitler was a naughty man. Quoting Marx in any argument against capitalism automatically makes you a Communist, meaning you starve peasants for a living and you plan your life disastrously five years at a time. But refraining from criticism of policies dictated by faith is a costly mistake on the part of the constituents.

American identity over the centuries has been greatly marked by a self-evident (read: needs no proof whatsoever) “manifest destiny” ordained by God to allow propertied straight white males to rule the world. America's God-given right to kick ass at its own discretion, be against the blacks, the Indigenous peoples, or the Mexicans, and to serve as protectors of all of the Americas, then of the rest of the world and beyond the stratosphere, is still a common belief today, even if not voiced in the same outrageously bigoted rhetoric of the old days. A quick survey of the “God-given rights” throughout American history would reveal that God seems to be disproportionately generous towards America. Even Woodrow Wilson, the closest anyone has ever come to being canonized as a saint in the pantheon of American presidents, firmly believed in providence and that God had pre-ordained him to be president (what good is

democracy if God gets the ultimate vote?). As a true pacifist saint would, Wilson sanctioned a brutal invasion and occupation of Haiti in 1915, and Americans troops stayed for 20 years to protect the interest of American corporations. Wilson also won a Nobel Peace Prize in 1919, which made up for all the nasty stuff, sweeping it under the rug of the historical record. Crimes committed under religious sanction counts as evidence of the need for secularism in politics.

Mitt Romney's faith and the spread of religion, which would trickle down through all levels of government bureaucracy, would significantly impact both domestic and foreign policies.

Common themes would emerge: man's God-given right to make as much money as he possibly can without being taxed, man's God-given supremacy over nature, God's word on the sin (oh, the sin!) of homosexuality and the subdued role of women in society. Many policies regarding the environment, taxation, or civil law are already imbued with underlying religious justifications.

No American president has ever declared himself to be irreligious, agnostic, or atheist. If Obama's election was a landmark for being the first time Americans elected a black president, how far is America from electing a truly secular president? Are Americans really so insecure that they may be willing to allow faith rather than critical thinking to dictate the direction of their sinking ship during the next four years? Time will tell, but

by God, I hope not, and for all that’s holy, I beg you, Lord, please don't bring Glenn Beck back.

Kids in a Virtual World It all comes back to real-time education Lindsay Flynn × Writer It has been over two weeks since Amanda Todd’s death in Port Coquitlam, and in that time her face has graced the headlines of every major news outlet globally. Todd was the victim of cyberbullying after agreeing to expose her breasts at age 12, while “chatting” online. Her image was then distributed widely online, and over the next three years she was subject to harassment online and in real life, culminating in a third, successful suicide attempt on Oct. 10.

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The RCMP has addressed some of the issues of continued re-victimizing of Todd online. When comments leave the sphere of one’s home and circulate virtually, it becomes the public’s concern. As RCMP spokesman Sgt. Peter Thiessen indicated to the Globe and Mail, “There are a number of areas within the Criminal Code at our disposal. If we gather the adequate and appropriate evidence, we forward that to Crown and charges could be laid.” But how do you communicate the severity of online harassment to young people, given the myriad of digital influences in their lives?

At We Day Vancouver, a concert-style rally at Rogers Arena with the slogan “from me to we,” Todd’s parents addressed just that to over 20,000 students on Oct. 18. Still, Todd’s video has been viewed by 20 million people online, and the BC Ministry of Education issued a memo

New Westminster Secondary School teacher Stacey Robinsmith indicates the education system has to speak up for these changes. “Teachers are the barrier right now. Most teachers are dinosaurs in their thinking. School policy is no phones in class. It is unworkable and a joke.”

Stating that the protocol for social media has to be modeled and enforced by parents and teachers alike, Robinsmith thinks the education system needs to plug in, running a teaching blog himself and tweeting to his students from a teaching only Twitter account.

A parent herself, Milberry advocates for a gradual approach to private Internet usage for kids, including keeping the computer in a shared family space and exercising greater control over data plans on phones. A larger approach to Internet usage, akin to graduated licensing, may be the reality that parents need in order to face the daunting task on educating kids on Internet usage.

What is not addressed in the outpouring of anti-bullying sentiment, in response to Todd’s death, are the underlying problems with the

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simplicity of such a campaign. “When you criminalize [child] bullies, you criminalize children …They are not disconnected from greater social ills,” said Milberry, connecting Todd’s death to the murder of B.C. teen Rena Verk, Stopping the dialogue at the notion that bullying is bad fails to identify the social structures that are in play when these dynamics develop between kids. Pointing the finger at social media is merely the tip of the iceberg.

The Internet does not exist in a bubble. If we want youth attitudes toward peer respect to evolve, media that reflects the world we want to see must be created in addition to that which reveals societal problems. We Day organizers quoted Gandhi, encouraging kids to “Be the change they wish to see in the world.” With the right combination of parenting, role models and age-appropriate yet respectful discourse, kids may have the ability to create an online world we can all be proud of, but only if we show them the way.

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Much has been made of the social media in Todd’s case, from her experiences in an online chat room, to cyber-bullying via Facebook, and her prominent “cry for help” video, posted to YouTube on Sept. 7. It is easy to credit a Lord of the Flies-style age of the Internet as the playground of Todd’s suffering, but as Kate Milberry, a local PhD in Communications specializing in social media, implied bullying is not the realm of minors alone.

“Most [youth] bullying does take place face to face if you look at the percentages … but there is something quite insidious that happens online because you do have the anonymity factor that emboldens people, and emboldens everybody, not just children and youth … that is a phenomenon that has been noted since we came online around 1995.”

The realities to parenting this new cyber-generation are being learned as society goes along. The structure of children’s social worlds are shaped in a way that those who did not grow up with such

to the Teachers Federation encouraging them to refrain from showing it in class.” (Teachers) should have the ability to make that decision themselves," said BCTF president Susan Lambert to the Vancouver Sun. "We know that that video has gone...viral. We know that kids have looked at that video. It’s far too late now to try to ignore this situation.” Suggesting the video cannot be appropriately interpreted is misguided; the B.C. government’s stance does little to acknowledge young people’s realities.

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Virtual Bullying

technological ingenuities might not anticipate, such as the absence of inter-personal boundaries not inherent in the structure of social media.

“What we do know is that children, and that includes teenagers, have limited impulse control and they are still learning the norms of society,” explains Milberry. “If they are socializing themselves, they are learning from one another and they don’t know much...we need to teach our kids what is appropriate behaviour online and offline, so that when they’re in the online space they can understand that when [they] swear at somebody or [they] insult somebody online it’s as hurtful as when [they] do it to their face, and guess what, [you] probably wouldn’t do it to their face … because there would be repercussions.”

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× Staff Editorial ×

On taking the academic route Lindsay Howe × Opinions Editor “Have you thought about your post-secondary education yet?” The dreaded question that I always knew was on its way when talking with parents, high school teachers, counselors and even my older siblings. That was grade 12. No, I didn’t know where I was going to attend post-secondary.

No, I didn’t know what I wanted to major in, and no, I didn’t know how I was going to fund my education.

Fast forward two years and where do I find myself? Commuting over two hours a day from Tsawwassen to North Vancouver, nearly buried alive in student loans and the proud recipient of a Communication Studies diploma, yet nowhere near the end of my educational endeavors.

What actually happened? Way back when, 18-year-old me perused the Capilano website in search of a program that I would be interested in. After ruling out any program that contained math or science classes as required courses, it was pretty easy to narrow down my options. Once I discovered that the two year Communications diploma existed I thought to myself, why not?

Only two years of school and then I’ll be ready to enter the workforce, I’ll only be 20 years old and have this cool job and make lots of money and live downtown and drive a nice car and be able to bask in the glory of all my success. After all, both of my parents only possess a diploma; heck, I’m pretty sure my dad only got as far as a certificate, and look at them. They were able to buy a nice house and raise three children, the perfect dog and a bunch of fish that I kept on forgetting to feed over the span of my childhood. I can, I thought, do this diploma and be just like them.

Unfortunately for me, upon receiving the diploma I had a rude awakening. First off, I realized this was not the 1970s anymore and these days you need a bachelor’s degree and a

reference letter from the Queen to be hired at Burger King. And secondly, although I had obtained a significant amount of knowledge in the communications area, I was in no way trained specifically for one type of job, leaving the job market even more impossible to break into. Minor epiphanies such as these really make me sit back and think about this idea of academic education. Yes, I do enjoy belting out “Hola señorita” every time I enter my Spanish class at Cap, but is this class genuinely preparing me for a role in my desired field? Doubtful. The vulnerable state of the economy combined with the fact that those baby boomers just won’t retire makes the job market for more generally trained folks like us even more of a battlefield.

Look at your peers who chose a trade: the welders, carpenters, plumbers, x-ray technologists and nurses, just to name a few. They graduate from their accelerated two or three-year programs and then are in high demand because upon graduation they are something specific. They are a nurse or a plumber or a carpenter. What does that make me?

A communicator? Should I use that title for my business card? It seems as if you want to find a job before it’s time for you to retire, the traditional academic route is more often than not just not the route that will allow you to afford some new bling bling in a timely fashion.

As for me, I’ve decided to continue my education at Capilano into the degree program. After all, a communicator with four years experience sounds better than someone with two, right? And then what will I do after I achieve this high level of communicator status? That’s easy. I will use my new fabulous title to apply to a trades school and get the hands on experience that really only they can provide in certain fields. So, that two-year diploma has now transformed itself into a six-year educational venture. Geez, had I known I was going to spend half my life in school I would have at least aimed a little higher. Dr. Howe has a nice ring to it, no?

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SUBMIT YOUR ENTRIES TO THE SUPER FUN SATAN CLUB ZINE!

WE ACCEPT ALL FORMS OF WORSHIP (ART, WRITING, ETC.) email your entries to superfun.satanclub@ gmail.com curated by: stefan tosheff, shannon elliott & katie so

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cap calendar

Calendar@ c a p i l a n o c o u r i e r . c o m

Contact us to have your event featured in the calendar monday OCT. 29 Barbra Streisand One of a very select few people who’ve won an Oscar, Grammy, Tony and Emmy, Babs is a living legend who also suffers from stage fright, so if you’re a fan get a ticket ‘cause who knows if and when she’ll be back! Our Arts Editor Celina is freaking out about this!

Rogers Arena, 8 p.m., $108-$529.

Waka Flocka Flame Bust it, bust it, bust it, bust it. Bust it, bust it, bust it, bust it, baby drop it to the floor.

Commodore Ballroom, 8 p.m., $48.75.

Warren Kinsella: Fight the Right Toronto lawyer, author and “political pundit” promoting new book Fight the Right, an accessible take on Canadian politics.

Naturally, Copy Editor Samantha already follows him on Twitter!

NSCU Centre, 7:30 p.m., $15/$18

Dracula: The Musical?

Awkward Stage Productions presents the story about the original Edward Cullen.

Swapping sparkles for blood, this play is held at the fitting funeral home turned theatre, Chapel Arts.

Chapel Arts, 7:30 p.m., $18/$23.

tuesday oct. 30 Disney International program information session Whaaaaat. Learn all about how to live in California, work and study in conjunction with DISNEYLAND!? How is this not something I’m already doing! I just imagine Mickey Mouse handing out cookies all day and telling me how I can fulfill my destiny and then studying on Space Mountain? I can’t breathe.

Cedar 148, 11:30 a.m., free!

Carmen Aguirre Cap’s Theatre department presents the local actor and author, speaking about her successful book Something Fierce: Memoirs of a Revolutionary Daughter. Cool!

Library 316, 10:30 a.m., free.

Bike to Work week!

It’s almost winter, so take advantage now!

North Van residents are encouraged to drop by commuter stations at the Civic Plaza between 4-6 p.m. (today only) for free refreshments, info and prize packs. Also get your bike tuned up for free! FREE. Mayor Mussatto will also be there from 4-5 p.m.! I love mayors.

Everywhere, any time, all week, cost of bike (and helmet!)

Dead Soft, Eeek!, Woolworm, Cascadia FOUR bands for five bucks? What a deal!

That’s less than a cup of coffee. The Facebook event also promotes $2 beer specials, but beer is fucking gross so I’ll pay $7 for my snobby whiskey sour, thank you very much.

The Astoria, 9 p.m., $5

wednesday oct. 31 IT IS HALLOWEEN TODAY What will you dress as? Here is a list of various costumes I’ve been through the years: Marge Simpson, Avril Lavigne, a clown, a clown, a Scarecrow, a clown, Harry Potter, a clown, Mickey Mouse, a vampire, a goth (so: myself ), and a clown. What will I be this year? I hate clowns so you can’t make me please don’t make me ahhh.

Everywhere, all the time, cost of clown wig.

Ghost Train This ranges from spooky to LOL depending on the theme. One year it was Alice in Wonderland themed and I was so excited but then it was more Tim Burton style than Lewis Carroll and I was rolling my eyes so hard I could barely enjoy the popcorn.

Stanley Park, until 10 p.m., $9.82.

Nosferatu Allegedly, this 1922 classic “set the standard” for horror filmmaking. It’s almost 100 years old, and time is a scary thing if you ask me.

Think about how old you feel when I tell you that the kid from the Sixth Sense is 24 years old! Spooky shit, right!

Nat and Flora Bosa Centre for Film and Animation, 7 p.m., free.

In Their Skin Local scary movie directed by local director, filmed in local locations and debuting at local theatre! Vancouver is fucking haunted, didn’t you hear?! Go to this screening and see a few ghosts along the way. I heard the popcorn machine is haunted, ooooh. Read our preview of this in our HAUNTED Arts section.

Granville 7, 5:35/8:25 p.m., $10.

Thursday nov. 1 Leftover Halloween candy day!

Don’t even try to tell me that you don’t already have this one circled on your calendar. Head early! Nobody wants to be the fool who arrives to London Drugs late in the afternoon to only find a shitty selection of Oh Henrys and plain chips! Arrive early, grab lots, and bring some Reese’s cups by the Courier office to thank us for our tip! Every store, all day, half the price it was yesterday!

Paintings by Nicola Tibetts The studio art website says this show “invites the viewer to enter a strange world where lovers masquerade as heaps, spheres and bundles of food, inhabiting unexpected places.

Playfulness, revelry and nonsense contrast with a critique of excess and frivolity.” If there’s anything I’m into, it’s frivolity, y’all.

Studio Art building gallery, every day until Nov. 30, free.

Dealing with perfectionalism: Journaling workshop The first in a three part series, this workshop focuses on “group discussion and personal journaling” as a funnel in which to become a greater writer! The pen is mightier than no pen at all.

Birch 267, 11:30 a.m., free!

Shadow of the Vampire!

A follow up to Nosferatu is this fictionalized retelling about the making of the original classic! Apparently this film was nominated for an Oscar for best makeup but lost to The Grinch Lol! This sounds rad anyway, plus, it stars Willem DeFoe! More like Willem DeFriend, what?!

Nat and Flora Bosa Centre for Film and Animation, 7 p.m., free.

Friday Nov. 2

Media Democracy Days Public talks, workshops, panels, and a media fair all promoting the fight for democratic media! Last year there were plenty of babes, just saying.

Vancouver Public Library, 12 p.m., free. (also Nov. 2)

MEC Snowfest North Vancouver Attention winter sports fans: this is your chance to meet up with those who share interests and nerd out about everything related to skiing, snowboarding, and “all things snowsports related!” Info clinics, demos, gear swaps, and more!

Mountain Equipment Co-op North Vancouver, 10:00 a.m., free.

She Stoops to Conquer Arts Club presents this play which is about the interweavings of a practical joke and a blind date! Sounds hilarious to me! Hee hee ha ha.

Stanley Theatre, through Nov. 18, $22-$65.

Saturday nov. 3 Pantha du Prince I didn’t really think I liked electronic music until I heard of him. He’s German, so he probably just naturally makes really good electronic music. Plus he seems really intellectual, with his biography casually dropping words such as “evaporates,” “slumbers,” “mysterious,” “morphing.” Maybe he really just likes magnetic poetry.

Venue, 8 p.m., $25.

Baker’s Market YUM YUM YUM YUM YUM YUM YUM I just really like the sound of THIS. “Cakes, cookies, gluten-free goods, French macarons, muffins, pies, tarts, chocolates, cupcakes,” and the list goes on. All my favourite friends in one place: my mouth.

Moberly Arts and Cultural Centre, 11 a.m., free admission!

SUNday nov. 4 Walk in the Rainforest: A Winter Herbal Bev Maya of Maya Natural Health provides a nature walk and instructs which plants to eat during the winter to keep healthy.

Lynn Canyon Ecology Centre, 1:00-2:30 p.m., free.

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Crème de la Crème Grand Wedding Showcase I think it’s dumb that only brides get swag bags at these things, so let’s all go to Value Village and buy bed bug infested wedding gowns and go parade around this event to get free floral arrangement samplers and Tide-to-Go tubes. Yolo!

Four Seasons Hotel, 11 a.m.-6 p.m., $45.

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International Guitar Night Everyone likes guitars right! From Jimi Hendrix to that guy with the chipped tooth outside the Commodore, we all like seeing someone wail away on one of those wacky things.

I personally like the ones that just look cool.

I don’t have time for that straight up acoustic Bob Dylan shit cause it’s not fun to watch.

Guitars! What a guy.

NSCU Centre, 8 p.m., $32/$35

E.T. As excited as I am to see Wreck-It Ralph, I’m probably gonna be honest that I’m far more excited to see baby Drew Barrymore and an animatronic alien on the big screen. Plus, it’s the last week of the Granville 7 so this is the perfect way to “phone home” if you read me.

Granville 7, 7 p.m., $7.

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Wreck-It Ralph I have been waiting for this movie for sooooo long. It’s about video games and has voices by Jane Lynch and Jack McBrayer, who is adorable. Plus Koopa makes a cameo, and the combining forces of Nintendo and Disney are enough to make any nerd’s mind explode.

Theatres everywhere, all day, cost of ticket.

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Cat Power Yeah yeah yeah, she used to get drunk and be really awful on stage but let the woman prove herself: Chan Marshall is one of the few veteran indie solo artists who still warrants a following with new records as great as her old ones.

The Vogue Theatre, 8 p.m., $36.50.

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Jens Lekman He’s the most endearing man in music today, I’m sure of it. His songs are so good. I met him last time he came to Vancouver, and then he got swine flu but it wasn’t from me I swear.

Is swine flu still a thing? I hope not, for Jens’ sake. I’m probably going to cry at this show.

Commodore Ballroom, 8 p.m., $35.25.

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volume

46 issue N o . 7

the caboose

caboose Editor ×

Scott Moraes

× caboose.capcourier@gmail.com

A SMALL DEATH Connor Thorpe × Staff Writer “Birthdays or funerals?” Roland Wright said, hunched over his notebook. Thomas Wright produced a fold of rolling papers and a dusty plastic bag of weed from a cache of contraband that was hidden under a loose floorboard. He struggled with the papers. They had gotten wet and were all stuck together. The brothers were holed up in the treehouse they had built with their father some years earlier. It lay stagnant and rotting on the ground in the backyard of the Wright home, having fallen from the tree the year that the brothers left for college – the year Mr. Wright died.

“Birthdays,” Thomas said, wrenching a paper free.

“Okay,” Roland said as he jotted it down and awaited the next entry in their division of assets and responsibilities. Joining lives was strangely reminiscent of a divorce.

“You’re an idiot. Birthdays are way easier to get out of,” Thomas said. He began piling coarsely ground weed into the crease in the middle of the paper. “Got a cigarette?”

“Sure.” Roland handed Thomas a cigarette out of the package in his shirt pocket. “I get Christmas, then. You can have Easter.”

“But we split the gifts?” Thomas twisted the top of the cigarette between his fingers and let the tobacco sprinkle over the paper.

“Sixty-forty.”

“Bullshit,” Thomas said, without further protest. Roland continued to jam cramped block letters into two columns labelled Roland and Thomas. Thomas finished rolling the joint and put it end first into his mouth, wetting the paper with saliva.

“I hate when you do that.”

“What for?” Thomas asked. “Burns better.”

“Doesn’t get you any higher.”

“Sure it does.”

“Shall we continue?” Roland said, eyeing the joint. “Whose name do we use?”

“Mine. Roland is too pompous.” Thomas fumbled for a lighter and began singeing the tip of the joint. “Plus, I’ve already got my driver’s license.

Saves us some trouble.”

“If we use your name, I get half of your half of the inheritance,” Roland said. “For personal use.”

“Nah,” Thomas said. He held in smoke and

shielded from the gentle rainfall that persisted despite the sunshine. The casket was empty.

Roland leaned against a tree thirty metres away from the mourners, smoking cigarettes as the proceedings dragged on through the afternoon.

Thomas stood in the front row with his mother draped around his shoulder, convulsing and grotesque in her black dress and veil - a shriek in a storm cloud. She had refrained from crying when he had told her initially, but it would be improper to hold back now. They were in public.

He had skipped out on the memorial service the school sponsored on the final day of school.

Roland’s death had ignited a muffled excitement in the students that gave Thomas a sick feeling in his stomach. Roland was some kind of hero now.

All the girls made a show of crying in the halls, and confessed to their friends in hushed whispers all of the sickeningly romantic things he had said to them. All the boys started to wear half-Windsor knots, just like Roland did. Still, none of them showed up to the actual service.

The deacon from the church in town was the only person who was available and willing, after a little convincing, to preside over the funeral. Thomas expected him to be dressed in full religious garb, booming comforting sentiments with restrained Biblical overtones. This was largely due to the fact that Thomas wasn’t entirely sure what a deacon was. Instead, he received a small man in a plain black suit who mumbled his way through condolences and empty empathy; careful to avoid

any specific reference to the dead boy he had never met. The responsibility of delivering a personal recollection of the deceased was Thomas’ – a daunting preposition, as his very presence at the cemetery was unsettling to the other mourners.

His pallid face and slow, deliberate movements conjured a collective impression of Thomas as Roland’s lazily animated corpse.

Shortly after the legal formalities regarding Roland’s death had been taken care of, their uncle phoned, asking if Thomas would be alright to say a few words at the funeral. Thomas replied that he’d take a day or two to think about it. After consulting Roland, who greeted the suggestion with mischievous enthusiasm, he returned the call and accepted. Roland promptly offered to write the speech – a eulogy to himself. Thomas graciously accepted. He stood with the speech, written on a single piece of paper with Roland’s embossed letterhead Somewhere nearby, people were still looking for the body amongst glass shards and the brittle husk of Roland’s car. And as the crowd listened to the eulogy, nobody knew any better.

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Ghost Chair

passed the joint to Roland. “You can have, I don’t know, ten per cent.”

“Fine. Should be me who dies, anyway.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Well,” Roland said. “I’m the favourite. It’ll be easier for you to skip town once everyone thinks I’m dead. Mom won’t come looking for you.”

“Thanks.”

“I’ve got more connections, too. Friends, extra-curriculars, shit like that.”

“You done?” Thomas said. “How do we do it, anyway? How do we kill Roland?”

“Something that will be easy on Mom, I suppose. She’s been through enough.”

“But surely a little pain might do us good? Buys us some sympathy during the transition period.”

Thomas chuckled and reached back for the joint, which had been burning untouched between Roland’s fingers.

“You’re sick,” Roland said.

“What about a murder?”

“How do you expect to fake a murder?”

“See it on television all the time,” Thomas said.

“Hang around the skids and kill somebody that looks like you.”

“You’re joking.”

“Nope. Get some back alley dentist to put your teeth in him.”

“Quit being an asshole,” Roland said. He reached into the floorboard and produced a bottle of bourbon, peeling off the wax that sealed the lid.

He abandoned the notebook and reached for the joint. “We’ll figure something out.”

“What happens when we get girlfriends?”

“Since when do you care about having a girlfriend?”

“Dunno,” Thomas said. “Not now. Might eventually, though.”

“We could only have one, of course.”

“Yeah,” Thomas said. He put out the joint on the sole of his shoe and tossed the roach under the floorboard. “How will that work?”

“Mustn’t get jealous, I guess,” Roland said. He took another swig and looked across the room at himself. Soon, life would only be half as hard.

The funeral was held on the grounds of a secular cemetery, despite Mrs. Wright’s devout Catholicism. Roland’s uncle, his father’s brother, had insisted on it. He figured a Catholic funeral would be a jab at the departed Mr. Wright, whose atheism defined every aspect of his life besides his choice of partner. About thirty people gathered on the grass underneath a sycamore tree, partially

× volume

46 issue N o . 07

×× Matt jolliffe

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caboose Editor ×

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× caboose.capcourier@gmail.com

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volume

46 issue N o . 7

the most Shot gun reviews

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FAVOURITE HOLIDAY Celina Kurz

RATING SYSTEM Scott Moraes

ZOMBIES Samantha Thompson

HALLOWEEN H20 JJ Brewis

Halloween is absolutely my favourite holiday.

I use it as an opportunity to wear as many different costumes as I possibly can in the weekends leading up to and following it, as well as on the actual day. I went trick-or-treating until grade 11. And not bullshit trick-or-treating either – serious pillowcase trick or treating. I love having so much candy it seems like the candy will never run out. And I'm aware that this is incredibly OCD of me, but I have extremely fond memories of getting home from trick or treating and meticulously organizing my candy into categories. At this point I'm starting to realize I sound like a total basketcase – but let's be real here, that's what Halloween is all about.

Expressing your inner freakdom, the person you kind of can't be during the rest of the year. So, yeah, to some people that means wearing a super sexy costume that they wouldn't otherwise be caught dead in, or maybe acting a bit more like a kid than they would normally allow themselves, or letting themselves get scared of ghosts.

Personally, I'm going to use it as an opportunity to wear a skeleton costume in public and talk about my feelings. Oh wait, that's every day anyway. Lol, happy Halloween, freakz.

I rate holidays mostly in terms of food, not in terms of having days off or anything.

I like Christmas because I have good food and because I get pistachios and a Terry's Dark Chocolate Orange and some caviar (yeah, right). I don't even know what else Christmas is about. Party for Jesus or something... But Halloween food is just candy. And I love Starburst but, you know, candy just ain't food. Therefore, Halloween rates near the bottom of my fave holidays list. I also rate holidays in terms of movies.

Halloween movies suck, let's be honest.

Plus, I seem to be the only person on the planet who doesn't like The Nightmare Before Christmas. I mean, the music is fine and the animation is impressive, but I'd much rather watch Cronenberg's The Brood because it is genuinely the creepiest movie I've ever seen. This year Thomas Haas is selling a “Chocolate Jack-O-Lantern filled with 30 Halloween treats” for 45 bucks.

That may put Halloween back on the race like a sugar-high horse. Who wants to split the costs and get high on decadent sweets?

Okay so I don’t know if you guys have noticed but a lot of people are having a little obsession with zombies? Zombie clothes, zombie books, zombie shoes, fake blood everywhere – it’s disgusting! And if, God forbid, you mix up zombies with some lesser fictional creature, you’re attacked in full force by these zombie-wannabes! What I’ve learned from all this, is this: Zombies are scary as fuck. I hate them. I stay inside on the day of the Zombiewalk. I run away from people dressed as them for Halloween.

I deeply dread the day when they arise from the ground or wherever they come from and kill us all in a gruesome way. What is appealing about this? Buffy’s adventures with vampires were plenty scary enough, thank you very much. The only reason I was able to deal with those vampires was obviously because of Angel … which is why I haven’t watched anything past season three.

A month or so ago, my friend Katie and I had a conversation about Michelle Williams being the greatest thing to happen to American cinema since that kid in Sixth Sense (who did not age well, poor thing, no more ‘roids, ok?). We took our infatuation to Netflix and decided to watch the first Michelle Williams film that popped up.

Enter Halloween H20. Bad idea award.

Little did we know that Joseph GordonLevitt's face would have an ice skate stuck in it within the first 10 minutes. Ahhhh!

If that's the card little JGL got dealt, what would they do to our Michelle? Then that old lady from the Hitchcock movies shows up and she’s like “Why is LL Cool J in this?

Where am I? What is the future?” And Josh Hartnett tries to play Jamie Lee Curtis’ son but we all know that Lindsay Lohan was her only child and that’s a huge continuity problem, Hollywood. Remember that part where Lindsay and Jamie Lee are still trapped in each other’s bodies and Jamie Lee rocks out on the guitar at the battle of the bands? That was the best part. Pretty sure every movie ever should just have Lindsay Lohan in it. Fuck Michelle Williams anyway.

SEXY COSTUMES Katie So

SOMETHING SCARY Leah Scheitel

HOUSE PARTIES Stefan Tosheff

RESIDENT EVIL 1 Giles Roy

Usually, my first priority is to be comfortable and warm on Oct. 31st. That being said, I have yet to get laid on Halloween. But this year is going to be different because I'm going to be the belle of the sexy nurse ball. I've got a few costume ideas, the first one being Sexy Godzilla, where I wear the head of the king of monsters, and lingerie.

Or, Sexy Osama bin Laden which is basically a tiny toga and a beard. Another idea is a spin-off of Sexy Nun, which is Sexy Pope and let's just say there's a bald cap involved. But despite all of those gems I think this year I'm going to save a bit of cash and go with Sexy Ghost. It's the simplest option and it’s the easiest to make. All I have to do is get a white sheet and cut two holes.

And when I go to parties, instead of saying, “Boo!”, I'll say, “Boobs”

I never dress up on Halloween. It seems utterly silly that people dress up in costumes to do what they do every other weekend: go out and get loser drunk in hopes to get laid. As if these ridiculous costumes are going to increase your chances of screwing. If I said no to you last week, what makes you think that I’m going to want to bang you now that you’re wearing a pink bunny outfit and have whiskers painted on your face. Cuz I’m not. I’m not some weirdo that has some strange fetish about making out with some stranger in a pink bunny outfit and then making him suck my toes. And when I do go out to a Halloween party dressed as my boring old self, I get looks for going as my boring old self, wearing worn-in jeans and a John Mayer t-shirt.

Don’t they get that this is the scariest thing: a bitter, single 26-year-old woman who thinks that John Mayer is still cool? I’m the pink bunny’s worst nightmare. But that’s okay. He won’t realize that until the next morning. HA. Joke’s on him.

What is not to love about Halloween house parties? It’s the only place where you go and see that guy named Todd that you’re Facebook friends with but have never actually met, face down in a bowl of green M&M’s. Or that girl Kim, who can do a keg stand without any assistance while wearing a SpongeBob costume. Or experience going into the host’s basement to find their little brother playing Counter Strike in his underwear. House parties are a magical thing; so if you hear about one, tell me. ‘Cause I’m dying to wake up with a dick drawn on my forehead, missing most of my costume and nursing a massive headache.

The original Resident Evil is the scariest video game of all time. In fourth grade, my PlayStation-owning friend Jeffrey and I rented it and had a sleepover. The video game store we rented it from was owned by CFL fullback Sean Millington, but I digress.

About three minutes into the game we came across a zombie that looked like Sinead O’Connor, eating a corpse in a hallway. I’ll never forget the look on Sinead’s face.

Staring at us with her cold, dead eyes.

Shuffling towards us like so many undead Irish singer-songwriters. We immediately turned off the game, and later my mom had to come pick me up because I was too scared to sleep. The end.

Five out of five stars.

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