onfluence
The
December 11th 2012
December 11th 2012
Happy Holidays :d
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The Confluence - News
We Will Return in January
Andy Johnson, Editor-in-Chief
Garett Svensen, Production Editor
Taren Johnson, Web Manager
Santa Breakfast
UNBC Gender Vigil
ByElection
Submissions Due
Start of Exams
Chili Blanket
Vigil Gender Violence
Last Day of Exams
Confluence Out
Submissions Due for January 8th Issue Christmas Eve Christmas Day Office Closure
Environment Canada 5-Day Weather Forecast: For Prince George, BC. 12 December-16 December 2012
End of the Mayan Calander
The Confluence - News
Trees of CNC
Last Day of Classes
December 11th 2012
December 2012
Wednesday, December 12: -3°C, -8°C,Snow. Thursday, December 13: -2°C, Cold, Snow. Friday, December 14: -3°C, -6°C, Sun and Cloud. Saturday, December 15: -2°C, -4°C, Snow. Sunday, December 16: -2°C, -4°C, Snow. The Confluence is produced biweekly at the CNCSU office on CNC’s Prince George campus by Garett Svensen, Taren Johnson and Andy Johnson.
All submissions are welcome, the authors of edited works used in the confluence receive a $20 cheque upon publication. Advertisement rates are availiable upon request.
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Submissions, inqueries and requests can be made to news.cncsu.ca, in person at the CNCSU office room 1-303, or mailed to “The Confluence c/o CNCSU 3330-22nd Ave. Prince George, BC. V2N 1P8”
December 11th 2012
A Few Selections A.Warren Johnson, Contributor
The “O-Faced” Reserved
Footsteps, Follow
On high heels, under red lights and the assured green sheet.
Look upon this generation of wasted minds, laying waste to the foundations
This picture worth a thousand words, but not one beer, or yellow flower.
was set.
And my brand of “Art-ivism” is deviant from those who colonize my hometown,
left [a tendency to eat one's tail], continued.
the thought and/or police
The Confluence - Arts
of original sin: The Truth, Jesus, I’m gonna “set free” in this fucking town. The National Bus Stop
to which the morality, rhetoric and reason
"This fallacy cannot continue," yet it was clearly
Most often the attacks were on the individual. Lackluster in regards to content, and reason. A denoted sense of displacement in the wastelands of the literary landscape. The moral compass no longer faced North, and instead led astray the young, the weak and the old. "Isn't it fascinating?
Another night, like any night in Prince George.
All the wonders of this barren land once lush and free from the beast."
Sitting at a bar, watching the city burn piece by piece.
the lands of yesteryear. Those times removed from these blank stares." Laruic replied.
"I suppose it is, yet I have never known such wonder, nor have I set my eyes upon
At some point, it will all be consumed It was then clear that these were the cowboys of local lore. Fighting not for the desolate and decaying 'Blank Streets,' by flame. It seems that the bowl is a decent place to place the effigies. To watch it all burn, in a steady, systematic decline. Like I said, it was just another night.
only for the mere pleasure that is exploration. These far cries up on that lonely hill, as their eyes rest upon the plumes of waste rising into the stratosphere. At first, these cries were of joy, which soon turned to lament;
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they were not the free.
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The Confluence - Arts
December 11th 2012
Scrabble: 2-6 players, 8 and older, 1hr play time: I don’t think it requires a ton of explanation, I mostly Garett Svensen, The Settlers of Catan: 3-4 players just included it because I really like Praduction Editar (varies with expansions), 10 or scrabble. So it’s the holidays again. Three-ish older, 1-3hr play time: This is a weeks off of school with nothing to good hang-out game. It’s a bit slower do but celebrate and hang out. What paced than most described here, better way to enjoy time with friends and allows for more conversation and family than with a board game and interaction. The game is about over steamy mugs of cocoa. Here’s a trading and building up a colony on an few recommendations: unclaimed island. It’s fun in a sedate setting, but I’ve seen some kids get Cranium: 4+ players, 12 or older, antsy during the long game. 1hr play time: Cranium’s fast, eclectic and works with large groups. It combines several aspects of team party games, like charades, Pictionary and trivia into a cohesive and madcap whole. Play is typically fast and relies on a well-balanced team to reach success. Fun for families or groups of Ticket to Ride: 2-5 players, 8 and friends. older, 30mins – 1hr play time: A bit of a long set-up, but pretty easy to learn. A game of picking and playing train routes across a huge map board. Ticket to Ride offers a bit of strategic UNO: 2-10 players, 7 or older, play to the mix, without taking as long 30mins play time: Another good to play as Settlers of Catan. game for hanging out around a table. The object of the game is to get rid of your hand, while denying your opponents ability to do the same.
The Confluence - Fun And Games
December 11th 2012
Holiday Board Games
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Dominion: 2-4 players, 13 or older, 30mins play time: The game can be a pain to set up, but once it’s up, play tends to go very quickly. It’s not a traditional board game in the sense of most of the other entries here, and there can take a little while to get used to, but it plays pretty fun and fast once things get going.
Carcassone: 2-6 players, 8 or older, 30mins play time: The scoring’s a bit picky, but this is another great sit-around-a-table game that doesn’t require a laser focus, allowing people to converse and have a good time. Pick a tile, lay a tile, place a worker, score some points.
Monopoly: 2-6 players, 8 or older, 1-4hrs play time: I have a love-hate relationship with Monopoly. On one hand it tends to drag on and on with
Tackling Student Issues
December 11th 2012
Cards Against Humanity: 4+ players, 18 or older, 30-90mins:. Speaking of Apples to Apples, this is essentially Bad Apples to Bad Apples. I wouldn’t recommend this as family friendly, but with a group of close, and likeminded friends, it can be positively raucous. Great with drinks with people who don’t offend easily and have a raunchy sense of humour, not so much with grandma, little Jimmy and the neighbourhood pastor over. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
CNCSU:
The Confluence - Fun And Games
nothing happening for turn after turn. On the other hand, the boredom of the game seems to come mostly from the houserules that most people seem to play with. Played by the rules that come with the game, it’s a lot more interesting, especially once you get in the spirit of the thing. Get rid of free parking giving you a windfall, play with proper auctions and go with one of the “short game” rules, and the game becomes a cutthroat race to accumulate wealth while bankrupting the other players that can be over in under an hour. If your friends or family are of a particularly competitive type, and won’t hold grudges over the uncompromising nature of the game, give it a shot as it was meant to be played.
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Dixit: 3-6 players, 8 or older, 30mins play time: I play Dixit with some of my poet and artist friends and it goes over fairly well. I imagine it would be also fun with kids. It is essentially the weirdest card came you’ll play this December, similar to Apples to Apples but coming up with a phrase, sound or what have you to describe a surreal painting, without giving away enough so that everyone guesses the card out of a lineup. The game favours the imagination and creativity, while encouraging sly assessment of the way your friends minds work.
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December 11th 2012
Life of π
Recently, the film adaptation was released. I was quite surprised when my girlfriend had texted me and asked, “Would you care to see Life of Pi tonight?” My reply was “Yes,” although it was closer to a gushing comic fan excited to see Joss Whedon’s take on The Avengers.
Andy Johnson Editor-In-Chief Back in 2007, I was seeing a girl named Meghan. She enjoyed reading immensely and one book she read while we were together was Life of Pi by Yann Martel. At this point, I hadn’t read, or even heard of the book. Meghan had summed up the book in one sentence, “It’s the type of book that can really I’ll admit it, I was a little nervous change your perspective about the world.” A few years had passed, Meghan as we sat down. I have seen a lot of had moved back to Ontario and I hadn’t heard another word about this adapted films lately and was worried perspective changing book, or its author. that this adaptation wouldn’t quite capture the essence of Martel’s novel. I was grateful to discover that I was wrong. The performances throughout the film are energetic, the visuals are surreal and gorgeous and the story draws the audience in.
A few more years had passed and a friend had bought me the 10th anniversary edition of Life of Pi as a gift. After hearing so much about the book (on and off for the past 5 years) and its author, I have to admit that it is most definitely a perspective changing novel. The one theme that still resonates with me is the notion of self-exploration when left alone with ones thoughts.
There were slight differences from the book to the film which I’m sure fans of the book will bring up. The most noticeable was the fact that Pi in the book is a well-educated, but in the film this is downplayed. It is mentioned a few times, but it was one thing that did feel was missing from the film. There are a few other differences that I won’t mention because I don’t want to spoil the way the film is presented when compared with the book, but the overall experience is satisfying and well worth the ticket price. I would recommend this film to fans of the book and to anyone seeking a new perspective.
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The Confluence - Culture
The most striking aspects of this film is how well the visuals, performances and story work off of each other to create atmosphere, as well as how well the film reflects on itself. For example, near the beginning of the film, Pi explains how he discovered Krishna which is followed by a shot of Pi removing his hands from a statue of Krishna lying down. Later on, the film reflects back upon this shot after One day, shortly after Barrack Obama was elected into office, I was listening Pi has discovered a carnivorous island with Richard Parker. to CBC and heard an interview with Yann Martel. In the interview, Martel had stated that he had been sending Prime Minister Stephen Harper one book The juxtapositions of these two every two weeks in a project he called “What is Stephen Harper Reading?”. scenes works well as the first time While he didn’t receive any letters directly from the Prime Minister, he did this image is used Pi is a child who receive responses that stated that Harper did receive the books, as well as a is discovering the world of religion. letter from President Obama thanking him for writing Life of Pi. The next the audience sees this image, Pi is older and has just had his faith tested during a particularly violent storm, the allusion is that he has passed this test.
December 11th 2012
maintenance, acquisition and expansion that are coupled with the set of unequal relationships between colonizers and indigenous population—it manifests itself under the guises of activism, genderneutrality and victimization. Its end goal is to censor the indigenous local culture in order to gain mental territory of individuals that are perceived to be below it.
The Confluence - Arts
When a culture—as described above—is infected by this semiotic retro-virus, the notion of problem/ reaction/solution is applied by the colonizing forces. That is to say, a colonizer creates a problem, in this case, gender identification promotes patriarchal norms, acts outraged by the problem they have created, and then offers censorship as a solution. Sadly, this seems to be the current trend of cultural colonization and is touted under the guise of activism.
Cultural Colonization By A. Warren Johnson
Being aware of gender-neutrality in legally binding contracts promotes equality between those who identify as male or female and limits sexism when seeking employment. While using terms that do not identify gender in the legal sense is positive, the phenomenon of broken labels is convoluted. Pronouns, such as zir, ze or hir are designed to not be associated with any gender, but seem to take this thought of equality and transform it into an idea that is justified under the original intention of gender-neutrality in every situation. This idea is—as the late Bridget Moran would say—“Balls” and is part of a much broader issue: cultural colonization. This colonization is rapidly becoming an epidemic among otherwise well-balanced individuals who, for the most part, are enrolled in post-secondary education.
This guise is littered with androgynous terminology indicative of broken labels, but with little to no understanding of whom this terminology is intended. According to www.justice.gc.ca, “The need to deal equally with men and women highlights the desirability of drafting using gender-neutral language.” Furthermore, the site gives recommendations on how to apply terms in a gender-neutral fashion: 1. use the singular “they” and its other grammatical forms (“them”, “themselves” and “their”) to refer to indefinite pronouns and singular nouns; 2. replace the masculine pronoun with an article; 3. use both pronouns “he” and “she”;
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The culture that is at risk or stake in this context is the sense of community 4. use the plural; in a given location. For instance, an individual with an interest in writing has notions of how, what and why writing functions. If the individual writes a 5. use a neutral word or phrase piece of prose and finds their work is not quite the same as what the individual such as “person”, “any person”, enjoys reading, then the work they have written will change the way they “every person” or “no person”; interpret the writing process. This will either kill, or inspire further endeavours in this field. If inspired, the individual will inevitably seek out others with an 6. repeat the noun; interest in writing. In turn, this will create a community of writing, editing and production in a given location. 7. rewrite the sentence in order to eliminate the pronoun completely. While cultural colonization functions under the same motivations of colonialism—the standard elements of establishment, exploration, This is vastly different from the
This type of colonization further harms indigenous cultures unique to location through annex, or appropriation, of voice. For instance, one would be hard pressed to argue that Andrew Dice Clay is an activist for the feminism.
that a generation of apathetic youth desperately require in order to fulfill their personal growth. The self-reflection process would be a much more effective solution to the “problem” of identity, rather than assigning it in classrooms. It seems that the types who subscribe to this concept are truly blinded by their own actions, but still consider thought to be a threat that needs to be conquered, torn down and replaced by ideas that promote androgyny and selfvictimization. If this trend of cultural colonization continues it could mean the death of critical thinking, community and self-reflection.
December 11th 2012
notion that gender identification promotes patriarchal norms, thus gender must be abolished. The use of broken labels is further skewed by the misuse of sexual preference identifications. For instance, someone who is asexual does not necessarily consider themselves genderneutral, just as someone undergoing transgender therapy may not have been attracted to people of the same gender previously. In other words, identifying as gender-neutral is not synonymous with sexual preference.
The Confluence - Arts
Cultural colonization is a real first world problem as it privileges and rewards self-victimizing behaviors and perpetuates Bolshevik ideology. This also limits the self-reflection
Signing Off on 2012
Andy Johnson Editor-In-Chief At the confluence, I understand why our readership/contributions have been low the past month. It has nothing to do with hectic exam schedules, holiday anxiety or laziness, although they have probably have contributed in some small way. You’re worried about December 21st right?
Nah, just kidding. I want to thank you all for a great first semester back, and wish you all a Merry Christmas!
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Don’t panic, I am too. You see dear reader, I have been fretting about how to present you the best last issue before we all ascend in the next few days. The only thing I can say that may console you is: “We’re fucked.”
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