YYZ 2012

yyz Your window into young Toronto

SUMMER 2012

The

City you

LOVE

Let’s get wet: Underwater rugby Doug Ford’s summer slimdown Speed demon – GTA street racing One on one with actor Aaron Ashmore

Editor’s Note

yyz

MASTHEAD

Your window into young Toronto

Editor-in-Chief

Stephen J. Donkers

Executive Editor Melinda Warren

Managing Editors

Words - Amber Daugherty Production - Julia Alexander Online - Chanelle Seguin

Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines the word ‘young’ as ‘being in the first or early stage of life, growth, or development’.

Toronto, our country’s biggest city, is like a young adult. It’s vibrant, vigorous and it’s continuing to evolve. The city is almost 180 years old now with a population more than 2 million people, but it’s more like a younger sibling to older Canadian cities – Quebec City is over 400 years old.

Toronto has helped shape me into the man I’ve become, and like the city itself, I am still growing. I’ve lived, gone to school, and worked in Toronto since 2004. Currently, I’m attending college in the city and when I’m not studying for tests or working around the clock to finish up homework, I simply enjoy spending time in the city.

If I can say anything about being young in Toronto, it’s that there is so much to be discovered because there is so much undiscovered – our city is still constantly growing and changing.

YYZ’s purpose is to give the young, curious Torontonian a chance to discover the stories that make Toronto so attractive to our generation.

Young Torontonians give Toronto many of the coolest and most interesting stories such as the rise of young Canadian politicians, the life-changing dangers of the GTA street racing scene and a hot new sport like underwater rugby.

As the editor-in-chief of YYZ, it’s my pleasure to pull back the drapes, roll up the shades and show you your window into young Toronto.

Section Editors

Victoria Brown Nick Camilleri William Kee Cynthia McKenney

Copy Editor

Graeme McNaughton

Art Director Mark Mullen

Photo Editors

Kaite Boivin Keaton Robbins

Photography

Samantha Martin Shaleni McBain

Online Art Director Marco Di Meo

Assistant Online Art Director Bailey Martel

Director of Research Alex Lambert

Fact Checkers

Mamta Lulla Christian Quequish

Faculty Adviser Lara King

humberjournalism.com/yyz

Stephen J. Donkers

Humber College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning 205 Humber College Boulevard Toronto, Ont. M9W 5L7 phone: 416-675-6622 x4513 email: lara.king@humber.ca

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Contents Features The rockiest career rollercoaster

Is it a bird or a plane? No, it’s Aaron Ashmore. Smallville’s Jimmy Olson talks to YYZ about Toronto’s film biz......................................................10

Weighing-in for Toronto

Doug Ford is helping to tackle obesity in a city that’s growing wider every day.................................................................................................18

Wired in

Two faceless Toronto hackers are making a name for themselves in the cyber underworld.....................................................................................36

Burning rubber under the midnight oil

Inside the gritty underworld of street racing and the lives that have been destroyed from it......................................................................................39

Underwater Rugby

The coolest sensation across Ontario is heading to a pool near you...32

Lifestyle On the rise

It may have been an old boys’ club 20 years ago, but young candidates are showing they have what it takes in Canadian politics................................16

An apple a day

Some local Toronto farmers take a giant leap into erasing the huge fossil footprint.................................................................................................22

Torontopoly

Planning your perfect staycation around the city..................................24

Little white pill

With so many brands of oral contraception on the market, how do you know what to choose. Read the fine print.................................................26

Five minutes and counting

The big commitment it takes to enter Toronto’s prestigious SHORT film festivals...12

GOOOOOOOOAL!

The Toronto FC shows off its new talent and talks about major league soccer in Toronto...................................................................................29

Arts & Entertainment Revolvers

Thousands of aspiring bands exist in Toronto, but here’s one you can’t afford to miss out on....................................................................................6

Staying analog in a digital age

Whether it’s old or new, the sounds of guitars are changing. What you need to know when you’re going in to make a purchase....................................7

1-UP

The gaming industry is en route to unleashing a mighty hadouken and challenging the film industry........................................................................14

Saving summer, one movie at a time

Last summer was the summer of family movies, but this year, take YYZ’s preview and prepare to be avenged............................................................42

Bringing in the summer tunes

What do roadies, hundreds of bands, and endless port-o-potties have in common? Festival season is upon Toronto...4

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Beating the drum the whole summer

Words by: Cynthia McKenney Photos by: Ashley Sherwood Photography

Nothing says summer like an outdoor music festival North by North East

Edgefest

Warped Tour

North by North East is Canada’s answer to the Austin, Texas mega popular South by Southwest festival. NxNE is in its eighteenth year and has always been a big boost for the city’s economy. It is the place to be for unsigned bands, indie favourites, and major label artists alike. This year the event features more than 40 films and over 650 bands and at least 57 official stages set up across the city.

So there will be no shortage of great music this week. Passes and wristbands range from $180 to $560, depending on what you want to take in. Festival alumni include: Kid Cudi, The Ravonettes, Sufjan Stevens, and Feist.

This one-day festival started in 1987, long before other outdoor festivals like Warped Tour or Ozzfest. Hosted by Toronto’s rock radio station, 102.1 The Edge, the festival primarily focuses on Canadian talent. For 20 years, more than 500,000 fans have attended and the music event has featured 300 bands.

This year’s line up includes recently reunited Death From Above 1979, Billy Talent, The Sheepdogs, Silversun Pickups, and Young the Giant, among many others. Tickets are only $60, which is an incredible value for all of the great talented bands that will be featured this year.

Warped Tour is always one of the highlights of the summer music festival scene. This is the eighteenth year of the tour that started as a skate punk tour and as of last year, approximately 100 bands were featured.

This year, there will be eight stages set up in the Amphitheatre that will showcase bands like Newfound Glory, Taking Back Sunday, Senses Fail, Memphis Mayfire, Rise Against, Pierce The Veil, and Blessthefall. The tour has been known to showcase numerous nonprofit organizations such as Art Feeds, Action for Animals, Invisible Children, and To Write Love On Her Arms. Tickets are $50.

When: June 11-17 Where: Various venues across the city

When: July 14 Where: Downsview Park

When: July 15 Where: Molson Canadian Amphitheatre

Confetti rains down on fans at Vans Warped Tour 2011 outside of Arrow Hall in Mississauga, ON.

Heavy TO

When: August 11-12 Where: Downsview Park This summer will be the second year for the metal and hard rock music festival. Heavy TO gives fans a unique chance to get up close and personal with some of the heaviest hitting artists in the industry today. Tickets are $170 for weekend passes. The headlining band for the first day is Slip Knot and System of a Down will headline the second day. Other bands that will be featured over the weekend include: Lamb of God, Protest the Hero, Kill Switch Engage, and Marilyn Manson. This festival is still young but it is poised to become one of the biggest festivals of its kind.

TorontoBeaches International Jazz Festival

When: July 20-29 Where: Various venues across the city If you are a jazz fan, this festival is definitely worth checking out. It is a one-stop shop for fun and entertainment that highlights the unique Beaches community. Every year, the festival draws some of the best local and international jazz performers. There are six stages that will host the great talent this summer. Official venues include the Gardens Main Stage, the Latin Square and Big Band Stages, the Woodbine Park Main Stage and the New Generation and Youth stages (also at Woodbine Park).

VELD Festival

When: Aug 4-5 Where: Downsview Park The first ever VELD music festival will be held in Toronto this summer, spanning a two-day period. The festival will be one of Toronto’s biggest music festivals, rivaling the already predominant electronic music festival, WEMF. The world electronic music festival takes place every year in Algonquin Park and has known to draw out big names in the electronic industry like Skrillex and Rusko. This year’s festival runs August 8-9 and includes acts like Deadmau5, Avicii, Steve Aoki, and more.

Prices have not yet been released.

Revolvers One Toronto band making a name for itself in the music biz Words and photo by: Christian Quequish

Anticipation and nervous excitement are practically tangible in the Smiling Buddha bar on Toronto’s College Street. The Revolvers prepare backstage to play for their biggest crowd yet. The smell of the red-light lamps, combined with sweat and alcohol intoxicate the small bar. The walls are covered with art and bodies are squeezed together.

All eyes are focused on stage.

Four men walk on stage and join their instruments. As they play, everyone in the bar begins swaying to the music. One man in particular makes a mental note to talk to the band. That man would later become Revolvers’ greatest ally and biggest promoter. He’s Robert Gibson, the founder and manager of Optical Sounds, a Toronto based recording studio.

Gibson said he saw something that night in the bar he hadn’t seen in a long time: humility. Revolvers, prior to this show in 2009, had independently released an album titled Apocalypse Surfin’. Gibson said he couldn’t believe how little they had promoted it, or bragged about it. They had released the album and then went back to working on their music.

“I think any other band that releases an album like that …is a bit more self-indulgent and a bit more of a self-promoter,” he said. “I think that album could have made a lot more headway than it did in the Toronto music scene.”

The band has always been about the music first. Every song by the band expresses a feeling. Every song is an extension of the fingers, of the thoughts, of the people who created it. Lavien Lee, a member of the band, said a lot of their songs have a common theme.

“We’re always trying to escape ourselves – some people turn to drugs or alcohol, or to adrenaline rushes with sports, or even church,” Lee said. “[Our music] touches on people trying to escape who they are.”

There are three other musicians in the band. John McKinnon, Sebastian Molaro and Gabriel Mezzetti. The four have been playing together for three years, and say one of the reasons they’re still together is they’ve worked through rather than walked out of, tough situations. They’re all friends.

Gibson said he noticed the band members are really close and that came across the first time he saw them play.

“They were all very confident and they definitely handled the stage well,” he said. “The thing that stands out to me about them is how cool, how fun and how interesting these guys are.”

Revolvers’ music has been described in a variety of ways, ranging from sounding like The Beatles to Led Zeppelin and from blues to psych-rock. The band said the biggest influence when it comes to their music is nature. They play in the moment and do what they call simple recordings. Their music is just as much about feeling the vibrations moving through the floor as it is about actually listening to what the instruments are doing. That’s exactly how the band members look at playing.

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“You feel it inside your chest when you’re playing it,” guitarist Molaro, said. “Without that feeling, you’re just faking it.”

The future looks bright for this up-and-coming band. The enthusiastic members have come up with several options for getting their name out there. One of those options is going on tour. Band member Mezzetti was in Argentina earlier this year, and while he was there spent some time setting up gigs for the band. Molaro confirmed there will be a couple of shows the band will play in Argentina over a four day period, but the visit will not be an official tour.

“The main goal, I think, is to get a bigger audience, have more people hear our songs and really get out there,” Lee said.

The band has applied to play at several festivals this summer in Toronto. They’re fairly well known in the Toronto scene, after being listed at number seven in NOW Magazine’s ‘Top Ten Local Albums of 2009’ and, more recently, playing at the end of March for Canadian Music Week. The band is also working on releasing another album, and applying for grants available to artists in Canada. They said their main focus now is improving their music.

“It’s hard to make money, but there is a way,” Molaro said. “One way is to play. People have to like you, or no one’s going to come.”

Molaro said the music is just as much for the band as it is for their fans. The four musicians have been playing music since they were children. It’s something they all use in some way to define themselves.

The fact that music is universal is something each of the band members believes. Molaro said fine-tuning their talent is important because that talent is a means of communication. Molaro said technical skills and refining craftsmanship are important when delivering the message to the audience, the most important part of their songs.

“If you can’t speak, it doesn’t matter what you feel, [people] aren’t going to understand.”

Lead guitar Sebastian Molaro has been with Revolvers since 2009. The four-man band has been likened to Led Zeppelin and The Beatles.

The Effects of New Sound Digital vs Analog Words and photos by: Mark Mullen

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How the rise of new technology in amps and guitars may affect your next recording session Ambiance swells in your amp’s speaker like a thousand crackling voices all at once. Hit foot switch. Let the bass run for three bars and flip another switch before you start playing. But do you flip the switch on your guitar to get that echoing and space-like noise that sounds like it should be in a sci-fi show? Or do you use your trusty foot pedal that has been around for ages and sounds just as good as the day you bought it?

For years, musicians and hobbyists have relied on analog technology in guitars and amplifiers, putting their trust in big name brands like Gibson, Marshall and Orange. The sound was vintage and these brands became staples of rock and roll. Their equipment was being used by distinguished bands such as Led Zeppelin, The Beatles and even more recently, bands such as Blink-182. However, some of these brands have created guitars and amps that attempt to incorporate effects, recording technology and software all in one product using digital technology. Think of it as putting a small computer in a guitar or amplifier that can emulate any guitar effect you want such as phasers, reverb and tremolo, to name a few. Needless to say, these products have created some mixed feelings about the use and quality of digitally integrated guitar products.

Head of Cosmo Music’s guitar department, Ryan Casselman, has played guitar for 15 years and worked in the guitar department at Richmond Hill’s Cosmo Music for four and a half years. His preference is for analog technology.

“I’m more of an analog kind of guy,” he said. “Guitarists, as a rule,

Most musicians will use equipment from companies – such as Gibson and Orange – they have trusted for years, said Kayle Goguen, audio engineer at Oak Studios in Toronto.

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Single-purpose pedals provide the best quality effects over multi-effects boards, said Kayle Goguen, audio engineer.

can be traditional in their views of what they like. There’s a response with analog and tube technology that you simply don’t get out of a digital circuit. But there’s no denying the fact that digital stuff has a huge place in the industry.”

Traditional guitars and amplifiers that were the signature of 1970’s rock and roll are still very common today, providing a vintage sound running on an analog circuit. The circuit relies on several glass vacuum tubes to provide electricity and amplify the sound of the guitar. These amps are commonly referred to as “tube amps”. They provide a warm, fuzzy and twangy sound that is unmistakable. Think Jimmy Page, Led Zeppelin guitarist; Dave Grohl, vocalist and guitarist of the Foo Fighters; and Brian Fallon, vocalist and guitarist of The Gaslight Anthem.

Gibson Guitars’ most recent push into the digital age has come in the form of the Firebird X guitar. It’s a re-vamped version of the traditional Firebird, tricked out with on-board effects, modulation, and EQ levels. The guitar sold for $3,899 plus tax compared to the original Gibson Firebird that sells for just $1,500 plus tax. Casselman says the customer who bought the Firebird X was very happy with his purchase.

“The gentleman had seen it online and he was very interested in it.

He came in specifically for that product,” said Casselman. “Something like [the Firebird X], does everything and yet it’s very specific to a certain customer. So he knew exactly what he wanted. He came in and tested it out, and was thrilled with his purchase.”

Casselman believes these specialty products are on the rise as the quality of both sound and technology continues to improve.

“Digital amps and guitars offer a convenience you can’t really get in most analog stuff,” Casselman said. “You would never get that much stuff at your fingertips with an analog product, and the quality is getting better and better all the time.”

The convenience Casselman is talking about is the ability to have all the guitar effects and modulations – a fancy way of saying altering the pitch and tone of the guitar – built into the guitar. This is referred to as on-board effects and mods. What this means is that all the switches

for these multiple effects and modulators are on the actual guitar as opposed to using a traditional foot pedal that would only be able to operate one of these options. These are referred to as single-purpose foot pedals.

However, according to Kayle Goguen, freelance audio engineer at Oak Studios in Toronto, says when it comes to professional recording in the studio, the product may not provide the quality needed. Goguen has been doing professional audio recording for two years and believes in sticking for the most part with analog technology. He said the equalization controls on-board the Firebird X – like that of a stereo – could really help shape the tone of the guitar, but the effects and built-in modulators of the Firebird X would not produce the required quality.

“I think analog pedals are the way to go,” he said. “You’re going to get your good sound going through tube amps and pushing it the right way with [single-purpose] pedals, not trying to emulate that. Other than that, I think there’s all kinds of phasers and modulation effects in [the Firebird X], but I don’t think really that you can argue that digital is any better than using actual pedals.”

Goguen said it is comparable to guitarists who use multi-effects boards – which are basically a digital effects foot pedal that has a variety of different effects available – and those who stay away from them because the best quality will come from single-purpose analog effects pedals.

Digital guitar technology delivers a more crisp, polished and computerized sound. It is very smooth and clean sounding even when it is emulating a distorted sound. For certain styles of music like Maroon 5 or Miley Cyrus this may work because they want that produced pop

Gibson Firebird X Features Robot tuners

Effects faders Mini-humbuckers 11-position Gear shift knob 3-position tog-pots The Gibson Firebird X is equipped with numerous on-board effects and has built-in software that allows other companies to develop hardware and apps specifically for this guitar.

Orange Amps are well known for their quality and have been trusted by musicians since they were first made in 1968.

sound. But if you’re trying to get sounds like the Foo Fighters or Led Zeppelin’s vintage feel, then analog technology is the way to go. The Foo Fighters recorded their latest album “Wasting Light” in Dave Grohl’s garage on analog tape, using only analog equipment.

Another new player in digital guitar technology is Orange Amps’ recent development of the Orange OPC, an all-in-one guitar amp equipped with a computer processor, inputs, and a drum machine for audio recording. Critics have said this product is for hobbyists as opposed to serious guitarists and audio engineers. Chris Calder, owner and audio engineer of Calder Audio, has been running his recording studio for the past seven years and believes just that.

“For someone like me, I don’t think it would be very useful,” he said. “It would be more aimed towards the beginning guitar recorder who wants something simple and compact that they could take with them and just plug in, turn it on, they’ve got some software and that’s it. They can start writing and recording [at home].”

Goguen speculates Orange wants to develop such a digital based product because the market has changed.

Increasingly, he says, people are recording at home.

“It’s a large part of their market now that everybody’s bringing out stuff for it,” he said. “So I assume they just marketed towards them.

But I don’t think they’re going to try and sell it to big fancy studios because they already have their stuff that’s 50 years old and is tried and true.”

Calder said even though he sticks with the equipment he’s trusted for years, the sound quality in digital guitar and amp technology has vastly improved since he started recording bands.

Casselman said the improvements in digital have started to change the way audio engineers produce in certain aspects.

“More and more. we’re seeing digital stuff side by side with analog,” he said. “So with recording, [and] again with guitar amps, you might want to record the sound of a vintage tube style amplifier but that might run through a digital circuit while you’re recording it.

Modeling technology is getting better so you can make an amp sound like the older style stuff.”

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Making the cut Aaron Ashmore The boost Toronto’s film industry has given this Canadian actor another reason to stay home Words by: Stephen J. Donkers Photo by: Samantha Martin

If you see Aaron with his short brown hair, piercing blue eyes and killer smile in one of his favourite city spots like listening to live music at The Dakota Tavern or having a cup of coffee at Bulldog Coffee, you may recognize him as fictional Daily Planet photographer Jimmy Olsen from the WB television series Smallville. Canadian actor Aaron Ashmore played Olsen from 2006 to 2009 during the series run between 2001 to 2011.

While he said he loved working on Smallville, he recalls a much smaller project as a personal favourite of his. Treed Murray is a small independent film that was shot in September 2000. The film is about a man who is trapped in a tree after being chased by a gang of young thugs. Ashmore played one of the thugs. Ashmore, who was 21 at the time, has fond memories of it; it was one of his first lead acting roles, and it helped him realize he truly wanted to pursue an acting career.

The best part for him? It was filmed in his own backyard – the city of Toronto.

“It felt good shooting it in Toronto. That was awesome and what made it better was it’s Canadian – pure Canadian,” he said.

It’s been almost 12 years since Ashmore, now 32, shot Treed Murray. He has worked

on a variety of different productions shot in Toronto since then, such as lead roles in the television movie Prom Queen: The Marc Hall Story, the horror film The Shrine and recurring guest supporting roles on television series Warehouse 13 and Lost Girl.

No doubt Ashmore has had success in the Toronto film and television industry, but when asked to describe the film biz in the T-Dot, he said, “Inconsistent – When I first started out in this business, Toronto was booming. There was work all over for a long time, but it dried up for a while so there wasn’t much.”

This inconsistency is one reason for the talent drain when Canadian actors go south of the border in search of steadier paycheques.

Ashmore was raised in Brampton, Ontario and began acting at age 12 alongside his twin brother Shawn who is most known for his role as Iceman in the X-Men feature films. Aaron and Shawn began their acting careers by starring in Canadian television commercials.

Shawn has been living in Los Angeles since 2003 and currently working on an upcoming untitled TV movie co-starring Kevin Bacon.

Aaron moved to Los Angeles in 2005 where he auditioned for film and television parts and in 2006 he was cast in Smallville, which shot

entirely in Vancouver. In 2009, after three years working on the series, his character was written off the show. He returned to LA for a short period before he decided to return to Toronto in 2010. He said the reason he headed to LA in the first place was because the business was slower in Toronto at the time and he wanted to open the doors to all acting opportunities.

“In Toronto at that point, for me, I felt like I hit the ceiling of what was happening in the city and the bigger opportunities were in the states,” he said.

Ashmore said if an actor is looking to get all the opportunities that are available in the business, go to LA. Since returning to Toronto, Ashmore said he’s been really fortunate to work so much in the city. Currently he has an undisclosed role on a yet-to-be-revealed television series that is shooting in and around Toronto. It means he can be near his home where he lives with his girlfriend Zoe and still go to his favourite spots.

Even so, he admits there could come a time when things could change in his career.

“I’ve been lucky. Things have gone quite well for me but over the years I’ve thought about what else I could do if I have to do something else. It’s crossed my mind,” he said.

with

“This business is so up and down and honestly, I haven’t figured it out yet. If you have a back-up career plan, you’ll go to it because it will get tough at some point.”

As Ashmore has been on a roll with Toronto shot productions, the city’s film and television industry has also experienced a boom in business. According to the Ontario Media Development Corporation, in 2011 a monstrous $1.26 billion was used in the Ontario film and TV industry and almost 30,000 full-time or spin-off jobs were created. That’s a 31per cent increase compared to the domestic spending of $646.2 million in 2010.

This summer Toronto’s film industry will be rolling big with upcoming projects such as the remake of RoboCop. Just before Ashmore left for Los Angeles in 2005, the Ontario government passed enhancements to the film and television tax credits in that year’s provincial budget to help attract more work. In 2008, while Ashmore was away working on Smallville, Pinewood Toronto Studios (formerly called Filmport) opened the monster complex, which covers 11 acres of land. Pinewood is now the largest film and television studio complex in Canada

(North America) and since its opening, Toronto has seen more film and television projects shot around the city such as the multi-million dollar remake of Total Recall starring Colin Farrell.

However, the Toronto film and television industry was worse before it got better. In a 2004 Ontario Media Development Corporation press release, the Ontario film and television production expenditures suffered an average 11 per cent (or $110,514,253) decrease in 2003.

Heather Allin, President of ACTRA Toronto – union for Toronto actors – said a majority of actors in not just Toronto but all over Canada need a second income due to lack of film work at times.

“We are happier when it’s busy in Toronto but when it’s tough it’s really tough,” Heather Allin, President of ACTRA Toronto – union for Toronto actors said.

“So many performers need a second source of income so many work jobs like catering and bartending. The average income of a Canadian actor is around $20,000 and that’s with the second income.”

In addition, people who work behind the camera such as assistant directors, accountants and film technicians are hit hard at times.

Merrie Whitmore, Communications Manager for the Director’s Guild of Canada Ontario said it’s not uncommon for many film crew workers to keep a side job.

“People do enjoy working in this business but this industry in Toronto is a flux. It goes up and it goes down a lot,” Whitmore said.

There was a time when Ashmore had to work outside of the business to stay financially afloat. In his late teens and early twenties, while still pursuing acting gigs here, he worked a variety of jobs.

“I worked retail, landscaping, in a kitchen, all different kinds of jobs because I just wasn’t making enough to support myself with just acting,” he said.

Though the industry has picked up steam at the moment it may not mean last and Ashmore understands that. He said he will take off for wherever the work is but will always make Toronto his home.

“This is a crazy industry but Toronto has treated me very well,” he said. “From a personal perspective, I love working here because there is closeness. I know and work with so many people here so that is kind of special for me.

Toronto is home.”

The long road to producing short films

Words by: Victoria Brown Photo by: Kaite Boivin

The rich green forest filters the sunshine. The birds are singing, and Bambi grazes on the fresh spring grass, oblivious to his looming fate. A scaly-clawed foot enters the frame and in just a minute and thirty seconds little Bambi has fallen victim to Godzilla’s massive lizard foot.

This 1969 classic animated short Bambi Meets Godzilla was created by Marv Newland but even something like this memorable, seemingly easily made moment for Bambi can mean years of hard work for a filmmaker. The director must keep the story short, but clever, develop the characters, and create a unique story that can be told in less than 30 minutes.

Eileen Arandiga, festival director for the Canadian Film Centre Worldwide Short Film Festival, said judges of the festival look for something unique in a short film. Whether a film runs or not often comes down to how different the story is. The festival takes place downtown Toronto and lasts six days from June 5 to June 10.

“We see a lot of film that’s the same, very derivative,” Arandiga said.

According to Linda Barnard, the Toronto Star movie writer, a good short film must have all the elements of a story. Barnard said she critiques a short just like she would any film.

“I look at production values. Has the director done the best with the budget handed to him, camera work, music, and a compelling story?”

Barnard said.

The short film festival can receive well over 4,000 submissions.

Final films are chosen by a team of four programmers. Only 250 to 300 films, depending on the year, are chosen to screen in June, Arandiga said.

“There’s a six per cent to seven per cent chance of being selected to screen at the festival,” he said.

The short film industry can be even tougher than Hollywood, with little chance of getting into festivals and a struggle to receive grants to pay for the project. Video artist Renee Lear knows this challenge all too well. She has been making short films for ten years. Lear said she tries to stick to projects that she can fund on her own, and said sometimes being different can land you with no funding.

“I think it’s so difficult to get grants unless you have something appealing to a large audience,” Lear said. “It’s hard to do something artistic and experimental and maybe a little off beat and abstract because it’s not going to make money.”

Despite this, Lear said making short films is a labour of love even if the film doesn’t make any money.

“It’s been a very rewarding part of my practice,” she said.

Lear created a series of 12 landscape shorts, shot throughout Canada and the United States using a small Japanese toy camera called

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the Harinezumi, which translates into ‘hedgehog’. This camera can create a low quality vintage look. Lear created her short by zooming in and then slowing down the film, resulting in the pixelated shots creating colours, lines and lights. Lear shot her film Landscape Short Number Seven by riding the GO train and shooting for more than ten minutes out the window.

“I had a couple people comment on how bad the quality was, and I thought, ‘Hey, I can do something with this, it doesn’t have to be bad, it can be beautiful,’” Lear said.

Lear’s seventh one minute landscape film will be featured at the WSFF year long showing of A World of Shorts. Her short film will be played throughout the month of March for people to see. Lear’s Landscape Short Number Seven has also been nominated for an award in a one minute festival in the Netherlands.

Barnard said the short film industry is slowly starting to work its way into mainstream media and is a great way to start in the film business. More Hollywood names are also getting in the business of shorts, such as Natalie Portman. She has appeared in three shorts since her film career took off including Developing in 1994, True in 2004 and Hotel Chevalier in 2007.

“You’re seeing more established stars turn to making short films,” Barnard said. “It’s a great way for people to start, and a great place for people mid-career to begin.”

Stuart G. Robertson, an employee at Future Shop and also a construction worker, just finished making his first short film 612.

This 20 minute short follows an odd young man with a rare disease that makes him allergic to the sun. Robertson funded the film independently with a budget of $1,500 and spent two and a half years making it. Though short films are hard work, Robertson adds that they are definitely a calling card to larger projects and to building a resume.

“There’s a lot of time and work involved in a feature film,” Robertson said. “With working with a short film... you really get an eye and a knack for what you’re doing.”

Robertson thinks there’s one major benefit to producing a short for new filmmakers, and that’s what could possibly come after a film is submitted to a festival.

“Hopefully if people like the short film they can do a feature on it,” Robertson said and laughed, “without my money.”

At 21, Robertson started his film career; he produced his first feature length film Playing Cards, while most people don’t do that until their late 20s. He currently sent 612 off to various film festivals including the Gay and Lesbian Film Festival and Cannes Film Festival in France.

Barnard said the Toronto International Film Festival has had a long history of incorporating short films exposing more people to the style of filmmakers.

“I knew short film was breaking thorough when you see it on

Stuart G. Robertson, a Toronto filmmaker, spent two and a half years working on his 20-minute short film 612 on a budget of only $1,500.

airplanes. You [now] have shorts as an option,” Barnard said.

Isaac King, an animator and director at Head Gear Animations produced the short animated film Second Hand, an eight minute film that took him three years to make. Second Hand tells the story of a man obsessed with perfection and time who carelessly throws out anything that disrupts it. Next to him live an old couple that, unlike the man, have no care for the time and keep everything they find until their home fills with a mountain of their collections.

“I can’t sing my song, or do a dance, but I can do animation,” King said. “It’s my niche.”

King’s film embodied an environmental message. The characters have no voices and are drawn with eccentric expressions to convey emotion. This was done to help international comprehension, he said, by having the characters speak no language at all.

“I really hate reading subtitles when you’re watching something,” he said.

The characters were created using Sculpey, a clay that goes solid when baked. King then drew on the faces, arms, and legs and filmed the short using stop motion. The set was made from paper, cardboard, wrappers and packaging.

King said he received three grants to help him along the way to pay for this film, totalling a budget of $20,000. The grants he received

were through the Ontario Arts Council, Toronto Arts Council and The National Film Board.

“However, I obviously put in way more time of my own, and that’s where the passion for the film takes over,” King said.

Second Hand was rejected from WSFF, but was featured in the January edition of A World of Shorts. King said he’s entered his short animation in over 30 festivals so far, receiving one award from the Cinema Portuguese animation festival, best short form in Mexico City, and an honourable mention in Ottawa.

King is now working on animated commercials for companies such as Toyota for their Prius model.

Like other festivals, WSFF has more than a modest turn out. The festival has had potential audiences of over 10, 000 people, with six to seven programs screening each night. Each program can showcase any where from 5 to 20 shorts throughout the period.

A jury made up of international judges and an awards winner from the previous year judges the films. Genres for the festival include scifi, comedy, celebrity shorts, and romance.

What may have been years of hard work has been edited down to a single film. Filmmakers are waiting for their letters of acceptance, or for most, their letter of rejection. The lucky few that make it will be featured in the WSFF this summer.

YYZ 13

Run, Jump, Fight or Pause Words and photos by: William Kee

Diehard gamers from the GTA get together every Sunday to participate in tournaments at A&C World on Spadina.

The door to A&C World opens, and a bell chime can be heard overhead as the door swings closed behind you. Descending down several steps and turning the corner, you pay the five-dollar entry fee for an unlimited amount of gaming with fellow Torontonian gamers.

This Sunday specifically marks another one of A&C World’s many videogame tournaments, and this week’s challenge brings gamers together for several rounds of Soul Calibur V and Street Fighter IV. Tucked under your arm is the arcade-style controller with the enlarged joystick and coloured buttons built for kicking and punching, which are greatly required for games of this calibre. You take your seat next to a burly looking man with a beard and hat, who selects a character with such agility and finesse that you couldn’t possibly find it in you to take him down. But you push forward, pressing the buttons with precision and accuracy, tilting the joystick ever so aggressively to dodge, duck, and rush your opponent’s character. You feel your face start to perspire as the room starts to get heated with the fiery passion and fury of your typical Torontonian hard-core gamers.

Videogames have grown in the last four decades with storytelling, character development, and emotional reaction. They’ve attracted a countless number of people, intriguing them with their possibilities and engaging them with their intricate storylines. They are now in a close race with the movie industry competing for the attention of the

14 YYZ

18+ audience.

Gaming is changing according to the 2011 Entertainment Software Association of Canada. The average age of a gamer is now 33 years old with various tastes of entertainment. With the technology available now in videogames, couch-play seems to be something developers are trying to move away from. The Kinect, PlayStation Move and Wiimote allow players to move around with the game. There’s still a long way to go with both movies and games. But the question is: which one packs more power?

“Movies are passive entertainment,” Rob Robson, program coordinator of the game programming course at Humber College’s north campus said. “You may identify with a character, you may feel with a character, but you’re not actually becoming the character. In a game, you become the character.”

“I think that’s something that movies can’t do because (they’re) not an interactive experience,” he said.

Robson predicts videogames will continue to grow over the next few years.

“I think you’re looking at divergent media, where the movies are going to remain the movies, and you’re going to start to see the videogames change and explore all kinds of different ways of making games,” Robson said.

Raju Mudhar, a Toronto Star entertainment reporter and regular more sophisticated.

“Film is usually a very linear story or a single narrative, whereas correspondent for G4 Tech TV’s Reviews on the Run, said, the video game industry is already larger than films economically. However, videogames have an interactive narrative,” Mudhar said. “No matter what the story or a particular path we take in the story, it’s still how we movies far surpass video games in the number of annual releases.

“There are way more movies made around the world. The feel about [the game] we are playing.”

Giancarlo Pianccia, 29, is a co-host and co-founder of Complete Bollywood film industry, for example, is about 9,000 movies a year,” Geek Network, a website that covers the latest in the media industry Mudhar said.

“With videogames, you need a system, you need a computer to from video games to movies. He said one of the problems facing the play them, and they’re 60 bucks as opposed to $10 to $15 to go to the movie industry is that no one is taking any chances.

“A lot of people have said that there’s no creativity in Hollywood movies. You’re potentially dealing with a smaller market in terms of anymore and it’s starting to become a little too apparent to the point an audience that pays more for it.”

But according to a news release by the Ontario Media Development where they are trying to copy videogames and turn them into movies, Corporation last year, the film and television industry contributed which is a little sad,” Pianccia said.

“People are taking chances in the videogame industry because $1.26 billion dollars to Ontario’s economy. This is an increase of 31 per cent from the previous year and a record best. It was the strongest they’ve got nothing to lose. They’re not the big guy on the block in performance since the year 2000 when the industry saw a contribution terms of respect. People don’t care about who’s making more money.”

Christian Burgess is a programmer and communications manager of $1.01 billion. In 2000 it was the highest contribution the agency for the Toronto After Dark Film Festival, an annual festival that had seen since 1986 when it started keeping records.

As far as all of Canada goes, in an annual profile from 2011 for celebrates and showcases the latest horror, science-fiction, action, and the Canadian Media Production Association, film and television cult films. Burgess believes a big problem for the film industry is the production grossed $5.49 billion in volume, an 8.9 per cent increase lack of creativity.

“What’s hurting the film industry nowadays is the reboots and from 2010. Export values reached $2.26 billion, creating more than remakes and sequels and branding, like movies based on video games 128,000 jobs.

In 2006, the digital game industry on a global scale grossed more and board games, and products and crap like that,” he said.

Burgess said that videogames have grown to a point where they are than $32 billion in revenues, and it was projected to increase in the next five years. Six years have passed, and where is the industry now? almost too wide, not aiming at any specific audience.

“It’s not just necessarily for geeks or guys anymore, it’s According to a report published by Canada’s Entertainment Software Industry in 2011, it was reported the video game industry in Canada is really evolved into a family thing. There’s no demographic anymore generating $1.7 billion in revenue per year. They expect to see another old people can play, young people can play depending on the games 17 per cent increase over the next two years with no signs of slowing of course,” he said.

“There’s a big culture with videogames because it’s a part of you, down.

The biggest differences between movies and video games are when it’s a part of you as an individual growing up, and it’s huge, and it comes to opinions. A famous post on a blog by Roger Ebert from movies will always appeal to that as well,” Burgess said.

Mudhar said it shouldn’t be a competition between the two. He April 2010 argued that video games could never be art. Mudhar said sees the two mediums working together more in the future. the backlash was immense.

“Moving forward, I think there will be increased cross-over “People responded saying he was incorrect, and they gave a number of examples including games like Shadow of the Colossus, or between the people that make them [movies and games] and efforts to perhaps Heavy Rain that are doing some very, very interesting things sort of bring those worlds together.” with storytelling and progressing the medium forward,” he said.

The videogame Heavy Rain follows the story of four characters, each whose lives become entangled as a string of murders begins to pile up at the hands of the mysterious Origami Killer. Heavy Rain is an example of a game that feels like a cinematic experience.

The decisions you make in the game affect how the rest of the game will play out. There is no game over. If a character dies in game, they will not return in later scenes. This game was released in 2010 and received universal acclaim, as well as GameSpy and IGN’s Best PS3 Game of 2010. According to an article on Joystiq.com, a live-action movie adaption is being developed based on the game, dubbed Rain, and is slated for release in 2013.

The core of the art is helping critics determine whether movies or video games are The gaming industry has evolved, bringing better graphics and more involved storylines.

YYZ 15

Courtesy: Ingrid Ravary Konopka

Something to Prove Still youthful at 41, Justin Trudeau met Senator Patrick Brazeau in the ring and won in March.

The political world has always been run by seasoned veterans.

But, younger politicians are on the rise, fighting the status quo Words by: Alex Lambert The alarm and wrist watch begin beeping in unison. He goes for the snooze button on both devices. It’s eight in the morning - a bit of a late start. After getting up he flips on the news to find out what he’s up against while studying his notes. Still half asleep, he starts brewing coffee, staring at the gleaming black reflection in the carafe.

He probably doesn’t need too much extra caffeine since his daily can of cola has been replaced by a two-litre bottle. Maybe it’s just the coffee, but there’s a rush of energy nudging him as he gets ready for another ten hours of tromping up and down Yonge Street.

Michael Flie followed the same schedule every day for months while he was running for mayor. Convincing Torontonians he should be their next mayor was a challenge for the man who had no political experience.

At age 41, Flie isn’t necessarily ‘young’. But the methods he used to gather support showed he wasn’t a veteran in the political world.

16 YYZ

“My campaign would consist of walking up and down Yonge Street,” Flie said. “I was stopping police officers on the street and asking them ‘What things do you guys really, truly need and what are you not getting right now that you could be getting out of the mayor?’”.

His campaign ran without any staff or volunteers. His only advertising was through a Facebook page he made to promote his candidacy. He had zero political experience. He was unemployed. He had no budget. And, he actually managed to get almost 1,200 votes.

The 2011 federal election saw a number of notably young MPs elected or re-elected. Niki Ashton, 29, is an example, having held her riding in Churchill, Man. since 2008. She also ran for the NDP leadership in 2011/2012.

Canadians witnessed history in the last election when Pierre-Luc Dusseault, who now represents the Sherbrooke, Que. riding, became

the youngest MP ever elected.

Dusseault, 20, was elected at the age of 19, and said he has received criticism based on his age. He said he doesn’t take it personally. He uses it as motivation.

“It’s just an opportunity for me to be able to show that we can be as good as older MPs,” he said.

Dusseault said the surge of youth MPs elected in the last election is good because it’s bringing a wider range of representation.

“This is good for politics in general because the House of Commons is supposed to be the house where everyone can feel that they are represented and with more young people I think this is just better to reflect the population of Canada,” he said.

Dusseault began work with the NDP shortly after he started high school.

He said securing fundraising and finding volunteers was difficult during his election campaign, but after he was elected, the donations started pouring in.

He said he thinks young politicians are more meticulous in decision making. This is because within their lifetime they will have to live through the effects of legislation they pass or reforms they make.

“If we make a decision today, we have to think about how the next generation will be affected by this decision in the long-term,” Dusseault said. “With young people, it’s easier to bring that perspective in decision-making.”

Justin Trudeau, Liberal MP for Papineau, Que. had a similar reaction from peers to that of Dusseault when he entered politics.

Trudeau said even members of his own party criticized him about his age and apparent lack of experience. He said he was surprised by these remarks.

“I was actually quite shocked by the narrowness of a number of people who came out against me based on my youth,” said Trudeau. “I do know an awful lot about the scope and breadth of this country and the issues that we’re facing.”

Trudeau said he firmly agrees with the need for more young people in politics because his belief is that they have a better understanding of the future of Canada.

“Young people know that our world is too big and too serious to just coast by. We have to step up and that’s why we need [more] young people involved,” Trudeau said.

Despite the fact that Canadians saw many young people getting involved in politics after the last federal election, some believe that in the coming years, policy will continue to focus primarily on older generations.

Nik Spohr, a 24-year-old political science graduate who ran in the last provincial election as the NDP candidate in the riding of Halton, said political discourse in Canada revolves around baby boomers, marginalizing issues that are important to young Canadians.

“Baby boomers have dominated the policy discussion – in North America certainly – for the last 40 years, simply by weight of their size,” Spohr said.

There could be a strong correlation between the presence of the baby boomers and lack of youth involved with politics. However, Spohr’s theory does not fully answer why more youth are not voting or attempting to be politically active in their community as Dusseault is.

Whatever the reason for the mounting political apathy in Canadian voting age youth, it’s clear they’re not going to the polls. Elections Canada estimated voter turnout in the 2008 federal election by eligible 18 to 24-year-olds was only 37.4 per cent.

In contrast, Elections Canada reported that in 1974, nearly all respondents under 30 who were eligible to vote had voted in a provincial or federal election. But statistics for 2004 showed that more than 15 per cent of respondents under 30 who could vote had never voted provincially or federally.

Emeritus Robert Logan, a professor at the University of Toronto, said critics suggest the reason for the lack of interest might be that young voters don’t see themselves represented in the political arena. He said it’s been a trend - for decades the leaders in Canadian federal politics have been unable to engage and inspire young people.

“Part of the problem is the leaders that were chosen by the parties in the last few years have been awful,” Logan said. “There hasn’t been a great political leader at the federal level since Trudeau.”

In Logan’s opinion, the surge of young MPs in 2011 was an anomaly. He said the trend might not continue because typically the veteran party members are the ones who are nominated.

Logan said he believes voters rarely base their decision on the age of a candidate.

“If a young person has the savvy to be a good candidate, age would not be held against them,” Logan said.

“I do know an awful lot about the scope and breadth of this country and the issues that we’re facing.”

- Justin Trudeau

Photo by: Regan Tigno Michael Flie entered political life in 2010 running in Toronto’s mayoral election, without a budget or volunteers.

YYZ 17

Toronto the embarrassed

overweight

portly

depressed

unhealthy

bullied

obesogenic

emotional chunky

obese

fat ashamed

chubby

bulging

belly

outcast huge

plump roly-poly pudgy big

Words and photos by: Amber Daugherty

Toronto is growing wider every day. Now City Councillor Doug Ford and groups in the city are attempting to cut the waist

Sixteen days into the new year after many Torontonians had already given up on their own resolutions, Doug Ford stepped on a scale in front of video cameras from every major news organization in the city. The scale was not a fake.

It showed his real weight. That day the scale balanced at 275 lbs, shocking not only everyone watching on live television, but also Doug himself.

“I used to work out about three times a day,” he said. “I used to be a fanatic. I used to go home at lunch from work to work out.” His work took him to Chicago where he said “everything went to hell in a handbasket” because of the food he loved so much there.

Anyone looking in as a fly on the wall in Doug’s office would be able to see that the problem here in Toronto isn’t the food, but a lack of time. As a councillor, Doug spends most of his week in meetings at City Hall. Over the past couple of months there hasn’t been a shortage of issues to keep him busy. Whether it’s transit, Toronto’s budget or the waterfront, Doug seems to be the media’s go-to guy for a juicy quote. But while he’s out spouting opinions, he’s sacrificing what may benefit him the most: exercise.

He seems relaxed, sitting at a round table in his office. His executive assistant, Amin Massoudi, sits across from Doug and checks his BlackBerry every 30 seconds. Over the course of 40 minutes, Amin stands up and walks out of the office and into his own about five times, only to come back in, sit and fidget again. But Doug sits back in his chair, calm and easy-going. His phone goes off three times in ten minutes, until finally he just On the scale at City Hall, Doug Ford wants to motivate Toronto to lose weight with him. turns it off. When asked about the campaign he’s participating in with his brother, a genuine smile lights his face and he says, “The Cut the Waist campaign is going of them just over 50 pounds lighter come mid-summer. But whether they do or don’t achieve that, the hope is that some people following absolutely fabulous.”

Doug and his brother, Mayor Rob Ford, decided to start the the challenge will.

This comes at a time when Toronto – and the country – could use campaign as a city-wide, and, eventually, a country-wide initiative.

They wanted to challenge the people of Toronto to participate in it the most. A report from Statistics Canada showed that in 2010, 52 working out, eating healthier foods, and leading better lives in general. per cent of Canadian adults were classified as either overweight or Their goal was to lose two pounds a week for 26 weeks, putting both obese. In the same year, 46 per cent of Torontonians aged 20 and older

YYZ 19

A history of obesity in Canada Obesity trends are on the rise. They can be seen on a grand scale in the number of Canadians who classify as overweight (BMI of 25 - 29.99) and obese (BMI higher than 30).*

2010: 13,099,396 2009: 12,731,188

2008: 12,389,673

2007: 12,132,327

2005: 11,897,306

2003: 11,477,019

2000: 10,842,914

1998: 11,042,259

1996: 11,017,317

1995: 10,147,509

1994: 10,025,886 *All statistics from Statistics Canada

20 YYZ

were overweight or obese. While that number is lower than the national average, it is more than triple Vancouver’s 6.2 per cent.

So why, in a world-famous city that has gorgeous boardwalks, bike lanes and a well-known underground shopping environment that encourages exploration by foot, are so many people obese?

The answer, according to Poul Nielsen, owner and personal trainer at Nielsen Fitness, may not be so hard to find. He said many people in Toronto have a grave misconception that in order to be fit and healthy, they need only to exercise. The truth, he said, is that it’s a balance: you must exercise, but it’s also extremely important that you eat good, healthy food.

“People are also not investing time in themselves to prepare food or to be mindful of what they’re eating,” Nielsen said.

“They’ll just go for the sweet or salty solution and then they wonder why they’re not having energy to exercise. It’s because garbage in, garbage out.”

When you exercise, endorphins are released into your system that act as natural painkillers. They provide energy and protect your body against heart diseases, strokes and other illnesses. When you don’t exercise, you automatically make yourself more vulnerable to these, and other health risks including hypertension, diabetes, and some forms of cancer.

Nielsen, who works with clients at his studio and also at their houses, said people need to realize the goal of being healthy is not impossible.

“I think people just have forgotten to get to their grassroots of how to take care of themselves,” he said. “They need to be educated and build good healthy habits from [childhood].”

But the trend continues. Since 1981, obesity rates have doubled for both male and female adults. Activity levels are actually decreasing. In a report released last year by the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) and the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI), statistics show that if those who are physically inactive became active, a staggering 646,000 women and 405,000 men could avoid being classified as obese.

The report also showed that a proper diet would dramatically cut down the number of obese adults. A simple change in diet, such as eating more fruit and vegetables would mean 97,000 women and 265,000 men would no longer be classified as obese.

Besides physical inactivity and diet, other factors noted by the PHAC as contributors to obesity include the amount of time an individual spends in front of a computer or television screen, the individual’s sedentary behaviours (such as reading, sitting during a commute, etc.), the individual’s socioeconomic status and the socioeconomic status of the neighbourhood they live in.

Get Active Toronto is an initiative that was created with the purpose of targeting these problems to increase physical activity in Toronto.

The partnership, formerly known as Get Your Move On, was formed in 2003 when the late Dr. Sheela Basrur, Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, declared physical inactivity in Ontario an epidemic. She blamed the overwhelming statistics at the time on what she called an “obesogenic” society that marketed junk food and soft drinks, and encouraged long commutes and sedentary jobs.

Catriona Delaney, Get Active Toronto manager, said as a result of associate with that area – its high level of low income. You have a lot that plea, the partnership was formed by 16 organizations including of marginalized and racialized groups of people up there.”

A big part of this problem, Corson said, is the environment. If people Sunlife Financial, the YMCA and the Heart and Stroke Foundation.

These companies felt they had a responsibility to respond to the don’t have access to nice, safe sidewalks or live in a neighbourhood growing inactivity trend. The goal of the group, Delaney said, is not to where everything is within walking distance, they will tend to depend change the size of Toronto overnight, but to reach the collective goal on vehicles. Public transit is also an issue.

“The Finch bus service is so bad,” Corson said. “The fact that that of reducing and eliminating barriers with physical activity in the city.

“What I want to see is opportunity. I can’t make people active but I particular area has terrible public transit, that’s associated with … can help them access it,” Delaney said. “This is a marathon, it’s not a obesity because if people have access to a car, they’re more likely to drive.” sprint race, and the organizations involved understand that.”

The organizations in Get Active The group held an annual summit in April to discuss issues appearing in “What I want to see is opportunity. Toronto take the information analyzed the city. Get Active Toronto analyzes I can’t make people active but I by Corson to work on solutions. Toronto Public Health also presents the information existing data and publishes a report every year with the latest statistics on physical can help them access [activity].” to the Board of Health which then takes the information to City Council. But activity that serves as a benchmark for - Catriona Delaney healthcare is not just a city-wide issue. It’s other organizations in the city to see how paid for by the province. the health of their employees compares to national levels.

“Healthcare is on the taxpayers’ backs,” Doug Ford said, which Toronto Public Health services collects information on health and obesity. Liz Corson, epidemiologist and analyst with health services, is another reason he’s so adamant about participating in the Cut the said the data they collect is useful for many groups in the city. It is Waist challenge.

But the monetary aspect isn’t the only factor. determined if someone is overweight or obese by calculating their Doug has four daughters. He said the girls and his wife, Karla, are height and weight. When put together, this shows their body mass index (BMI). This number is measured every time someone goes for a all avid exercisers. They work out every morning and encourage Doug check-up at the doctor’s. It is used mainly to determine weight issues to do the same. He said he knows the challenge is good for him because and when it comes to surgeries, those with too high of a BMI cannot staying healthy is important. He wants to be around for his girls.

And, he said, if the campaign inspires even a handful of people safely be operated on. This number is especially useful to Toronto’s Chronic Disease Prevention program: being obese is defined as having to start working out and take better care of themselves, it will be a a BMI higher than 30, and the number of obese people is directly success. By the middle of April, Doug was down 27 pounds, more than halfway to achieving his goal. He and his brother want to get the related to the number of people with chronic diseases.

Corson said some of the data she analyzes makes a lot of sense, city more involved in the challenge come summer, when they will have workout groups and activities in front of City Hall. including where obesity is the very worst in the city.

“It’s not a competition between Rob and I. It’s about getting people “The most overweight and obese area…is the Humber Downsview area, including Jane and Finch,” she said. “That’s what people in Toronto and right across the country living a healthy life.”

Weight loss has become a big story in Toronto.

YYZ 21

Every footprint counts

Words and photos by: Chanelle Seguin

Toronto markets provide its residents with local food that can help save the environment. Build a meal with food from your own “backyard”.

lo·ca·vore One who eats foods grown locally whenever possible. Webster’s Dictionary says the term was first used in 2005, which is ironically around the same time Alisa Smith and J.B. MacKinnon began their story “The 100 Mile Diet”. There are many benefits to eating locally.

It supports the local economy. It tastes better because it hasn’t been sitting in a truck, or a plane or a boat for days at a time. And, because it has not travelled a great distance to get from point A to point B, or from the ground to your plate, it produces far less carbon emissions than the Californian strawberries on sale at the supermarket. Turn off a light, carpool to work, go to the local farmers market and get your dinner.

Anna Contini is the manager of the non-profit organization called Foodlink based out of the Waterloo Region. Foodlink’s mission is to promote healthy local eating in not only Waterloo Region, but all over Ontario. Contini says the local movement is not a fad and believes it will only continue to grow.

“The price of fuel is rising and that alone is going to mean that local production will become increasingly more important,” said Contini. “I think there is some momentum with local foods because of the environment factor. It is part of the consumer consciousness so this leaves me to believe it is more than just a fad.”

Strawberries, potatoes, garlic, beef, poultry, milk, eggs, asparagus, onions, the list of local foods goes on and on. There are endless resources for Torontonians to get the food they want right here in

22 YYZ

Ontario. The local farmers market offers a smorgasbord of local choices.

The St. Lawrence Market has been connecting the city of Toronto with the countryside of Ontario since the early 1800s. The market has approximately 37 vendors that either support local farms or are a local farm selling their own products to you.

One of those vendors is Witteveen Meats, a company that has been selling local meats for 65 years. Doug Witteveen, who grew up with the business, takes pride in the fact that the longest his meat travels is an hour. Most of the Witteveen meat comes from Guelph, Ontario, about an hour south-west of Toronto; however, he has bought cattle from Alberta a few times. Witteveen believes knowing where your food comes from is important.

“The farmers here take better care of their animals unlike the mass production farms in the U.S. You don’t know what is happening to the animals in the States, you don’t know what happens as they travel here,” said Witteveen.

Another local vendor at the market is Ali Freshed Baked. Ali Millar, owner of the bakery, uses the other farmers at the market to help provide ingredients for her baked goods. With approximately 60 per cent of her ingredients coming from local farmers, Millar said she tries to lower her carbon footprint by buying in season.

“Right now I am getting red fife [wheat] and buckwheat that is fresh ground from a farm in the Guelph area,” said Millar. “Another farmer is growing spelt for me. Not all of my flours are local but I’m

working on it.”

Monforte Diary, a dairy farm located in Stratford, Ontario, specialize in cheese. The business can be found at several markets throughout south-western Ontario during the week including St. Lawrence on Saturdays.

Ruth Klashen, owner of Monforte Dairy, is one of the few local food vendors whose products are 95 per cent local.

“I have one cheese that I put lemon in, but that’s it,” said Klashen.

The milk that Klashen uses for her cheeses travels about an hour before it reaches the market. Klashen said it makes sense for the world that people eat the food that’s right in front of them.

The profitability of selling products in Toronto isn’t the only benefit for the farmers though. They also find it fulfilling to see the enjoyment Torontonians get out of buying local food.

Alex Chesney grew up on a local farm about an hour south-west of the city. She has been selling her family’s produce for years in Toronto and believes the city’s people get just as much satisfaction from the produce as they do from the idea of local farmers.

“A market in downtown Toronto is definitely a novelty, and that leads to even more interest,” said Chesney. “Fresh fruits and vegetables, and the ability to interact with people who have actually been on the farm

Farmers markets are not new, but they are becoming more mainstream.

and have seen how the food is produced is rare, and our Toronto customers seem to love it!”

At the St. Lawrence market, a Torontonian can build a full meal all year long. During the summer the city is filled with local foods at markets like Nathan Philips Square and Metro Hall. Culinarium, a small local foods store near Eglinton Avenue West and Mount Pleasant Road, has local peanuts form Vittoria, Ont., a town located north of Lake Erie in Norfolk County.

At the Sherway Gardens farmers market

Where is all that carbon coming from?

Carbon emissions with the transportation of food continue to be a concern. The graph below shows the amount of carbon in kilograms that is emitted into the Earth’s 6000

CO2 in Kilograms

5000

of

2500

Amount

5500

2000

5500

* Data is based on a mass of 500 kilograms of apples being transported.

Data is courtesy of the www.fallsbrookcentre.ca food miles calculator.

4500 4000 3500 3000

2750

1500 1000

500

1350

650

675 100

325

50

55

13

7

1

Plane Truck Boat Train

Plane Truck Boat Train

Plane Truck Boat Train

Apples From China

Apples From America

(Based on 10,000 KM distance)

(Based on 5,000 KM distance)

Apples Within 100 Kilometers of Toronto

it’s easy to find a plethora of vegetables and fruits like Ontario sweet corn and peaches in season. The Sick Kids market vendors have all that and more with a little local honey for your sweet tooth.

To put into perspective the difference one can make by purchasing local foods, Sunny Lam, a School of Environmental Studies student at Queen’s University, conducted a study on locally sourced foods and greenhouse gases. Lam graduated with his Masters in Environmental Studies from Queen’s in 2007. The study took into account 58 foods that could be grown in Ontario, but are constantly imported. Lam proved that more than 6000 cars could be taken off the road if all 58 foods were bought locally.

Many restaurants in Toronto are supporting the local food trend if getting out of the house and experiencing some new cuisine was the plan for dinner all along.

The Local Kitchen and Wine Bar located near the corner of Queen Street West and King Street West was opened by Fabio Bondi three years ago. Bondi did his research while at school and now owns an innovative restaurant for Toronto: a local Italian restaurant.

“When I went to culinary school I saw this movement towards local food,” said Bondi.

“So I said to myself, ‘if I open up my own restaurant it would be a good idea to focus on local product’.”

Bondi says he only buys in season, but when he needs to he gets ingredients from Italy.

“You won’t find any tomatoes around here right now,” said Bondi. “I do get some of my ingredients from Italy. I even get my cheese from Ontario which I find impressive because Italian cheese is legendary!”

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Ticket Prices Range From $12 - $15

Blue Jays Game Tickets Range From $10 - $85

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Tickets Range From $11 - $17.50 $10-$15 Per Dish

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oronto and its surrounding area is brimming with activities and amenities that cater to a Torontonian looking to create the perfect staycation.

Become a tourist in your own city. Avoid the hassle of the airport.

Whether it is for a week or just a few days Michele Radford, manager of travel and retail operations for the Canadian Automobile Association said, “It is a great way to learn about your city, get fresh air, and meet new people.”

Looking for the “best” nachos in the Greater Toronto Area? Try Sneaky Dee’s. A relaxing placce for lunch? Ferry over to Centre Island and have a picnic. Explore the distinct artistic culture of Kensington Market and the Hockey Hall of Fame is a mustsee for fans who want a taste of the pro-life and long to get up close to the Stanley Cup. Those on a really tight budget could spend a day at the café Snakes and Lattes. It offers more than 2,000 games to play for a five dollar cover. Play as many games for as long as you want.

Adrenaline junkies can get their thrills at Wonderland or at the Canadian National Exhibition at the end of the summer.

If you’re looking for ultimate luxury, a night at the Trump Hotel starts at $700 and offers guest 12,000 square feet dedicated to spa services.

Why pay more? Vacations away involve additional travel, time and often more money. Best deals on Expedia.ca show $700 for two nights in a three-star in NYC. A week-long trip to Paris at a four-star will start at $2,500 and in London it’ll cost $3,100.

Building your dream vacation without driving 50 km isn’t hard. Destinations for sleep, activity, and of course eating are a quick phone call away. The best part? No long distance charges will apply.

The variety of personalized staycations available to Toronto residents is endless.

So start planning and come play.

Welcome to Torontopoly.

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Reading the fine print Words by: Melinda Warren

26 YYZ

Photo by: Kaite Boivin

Oral contraceptives may be the most popular form of birth control but are they doing more harm than good?

Weight gain. Nervousness. Emotional changes. Headaches. prepare for pregnancy. Progesterone causes changes in the uterus to Irregualr bleeding. According to Health Canada these are only a make it ready for implantation. If the corpus luteum is not fertilized handful of side effects that can come when common birth control after about 14 days menstruation will occur.

Some women are not able to handle the extra hormones going into pills are used by women to prevent pregnancy. Each birth control pill has its own set of benefits and side effects. They can range from less their bodies after starting the birth control pill, Earls said. It could serious ones such as acne, to more serious ones like fatal blood clots change the hormones running through the liver, the gastrointestinal and recent studies indicate a potential connection to breast cancer. The track, and even alter neurochemistry in some women, she said. birth control pill is the most popular form of birth control in Canada Synthetic hormones can also cause mood changes such as depression for young women. But it has been questioned whether the tiny pill 75 or anxiety. Some women are not affected at all.

The Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation has reported that ingesting per cent of single women aged 18-29, as stated by Health Canada take synthetic hormones found in oral contraceptives can increase a every morning is doing more harm than good to their bodies.

Dr. Arthur Zaltz is the Chief of Obstetrics and Gynecology at woman’s chance of developing breast cancer. They have also reported Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto. Dr. Zaltz has worked after 10 years of stopping a combined pill the risk of developing breast at Sunnybrook for 25 years and came into the role of chief in the cancer will become similar to a woman who has never taken the pill.

According to the 2006 Canadian Contraception Study, 50 per cent beginning of 2012. He said he thinks the pill is a very safe method of birth control but there are always risks to taking it and always have of sexually active women in Canada used a hormonal contraceptive method. The birth control pill was the most popular method with just been.

“Now there is some suggestion and it is very murky data, there over 43 per cent of women using it.

There are also some documented longer concerns for taking the pill. might be a slight increase in developing breast cancer later in life if you’ve been on the pill,” he said. “We are always concerned with A study out of Monash University in Australia called Contraceptive women’s family history. So if they have had a first degree relative like Pill Linked to Depression published in 2005 found that women who took the pill were two times more a mother or sister then it might be likely to become depressed or a drug they might not want to use,” Zaltz said.

“I would say it’s safe to use given what experience anxiety than non-users of the pill.

Aoife Earls has spent three years the alternatives are.”

A similar study out of The Kinsey practicing naturopathic medicine.

- Dr. Shurjeel Choudhri Institute for Research in Sex, Gender She works at the Trafalgar Ridge & Reproduction from Indiana Chiropractic and Acupuncture University published in 2005 also Clinic in Oakville. Earls has always been interested in finding natural alternatives to what traditional found that 87 per cent of women who stopped taking the pill said it medical doctors were recommending. She wants to provide options was because they experienced emotional side effects.

Sarah Lawrence, a 21-year-old Brock University student, said she to help people suffering with various conditions to be able to turn to went off the birth control pill when she had an emotional reaction. naturopathic medicine over pills.

Birth control pills, while very effective in doing their job, can cause “The entire time that I was on it, I experienced high mood swings. other unexpected reactions in a woman’s body. Earls said whether the I was really grumpy and I gained fifteen pounds. It gave me food birth control pill is safe to take depends on the person and the lifestyle cravings off the wall.” The pill Lawrence had been taking was a pill they live. “It’s really a case by case basis about whether it’s safe or aimed at treating acne.

“I started Diane 35 at 135 pounds. It brought me to 150 pounds. not. There are certain pill types that have more concern and risk for blood clots.” “Ones that have more progesterone like substances in My boyfriend at the time was 250 pounds and I was eating more than him,” Lawrence said. She originally began taking the pill to reduce them,” she said.

There are eight different types and levels of progestin that can severe facial acne she experienced in 2010. Her doctor told her that occur in combination birth control pills. The amount of progestin because the hormones in her oral contraceptive were stronger it would clear her acne up faster. Lawrence was on the pill for just over a year varies with the brand of pill.

According to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, progestin is a when she decided she needed to contact her doctor for help. She said synthetic version of the naturally occurring progesterone. Progestin she did not feel normal and she wanted to switch to a pill with a lesser is found in combined birth control pills with both estrogen and amount of hormone. Lawrence switched to a one-phase pill which progesterone. Progesterone on the other hand is a natural steroid contained the same amount of estrogen as progestin in the fall of 2011 hormone released by the corpus luteum that stimulates the uterus to and said her facial acne has come back a bit and her new pill gives her

YYZ 27

time in 2008. Luke was on the pill for a year and a half. About four months into taking it she began to notice a change in her mood. She said her boyfriend at the time also noticed a change in her personality and outlook on life. “I started feeling depressed. I had gone through depression before so I thought maybe it was just that. But it felt like it came back really quickly,” Luke said. She said she felt very emotional about everything and would cry for no given reason. Once she came off of the pill she noticed a significant change. Her mood began to improve drastically. “It totally messed with my body,” Luke said.

Dr. Shurjeel Choudhri is the senior vice president and head of scientific and medical affairs at Bayer Canada. He has worked for the pharmaceutical giant for 12 years. He worked in the medical field as a doctor specializing in infectious diseases prior to coming to Bayer.

Bayer manufactures the birth control pills Diane 35, Yaz and Yasmin. Choudhri said he thinks the birth control pill is safer for woman to use than the risk of Mood Changes Headaches an unwanted pregnancy.

“I would say it’s safe to use given what the Vision Loss alternatives are,” Choudhri said. He said there really are no long-term effects of taking the birth control Brown spots pill. He acknowledged that there is some evidence that Acne there could be an increased risk of breast cancer from taking the pill. However, he said there has not been conclusive evidence to fully prove the birth control pill has caused breast cancer and Bayer includes this Heart Attack risk as a possible side effect on the labels of the birth Potential control pills they manufacture.

Breast In June of 2011 Health Canada issued a warning to Cancer women using Yaz and Yasmin after a Toronto woman died from developing a blood clot in her lung, after Weight Gain taking Yasmin. The warning stated that these two pills High could cause fatal blood clots. A class action lawsuit has Blood been filed against Bayer with over 10,400 individuals Pressure involved. The hearing is set to begin in Jan. of 2013.

According to RXList.com the birth control pill Diarrhea includes active ingredients including progesterone and estrogen. The pill also contains inactive ingredients such as: dyes, water, corn starch, magnesium stearate, Nausea Skin Rash lactose, croscarmellose sodium, polyethylene glycol and titanium dioxide. This is not a set list for all brands of the birth control pill.

Toronto Public Health has five clinics located Breakthrough around the city where women can go and get the birth Bleeding Decreased sex drive control pill. The doctors at these clinics assess each patient to assure they meet the requirements of who is a candidate for the birth control pill.

“There is a medical criteria that is endorsed by the Blood Clots World Health Organization and Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada who shouldn’t be on the Swelling of ankles birth control pill,” said Arlene Chan, medical director or feet of the Toronto public health clinics. Chan came into the role as director 18 months ago.

“I think when you look at your younger, reproductive age women, if they are screened properly It’s not guaranteed you will have any side effects. for the medical criteria and they don’t have any of it, then it is very safe,” Chan said.

But the fine print on the box says there’s a possibility hot flashes.

“Other than that my cravings have gone back down. I am still the same weight though. I have not been able to lose the weight that I initially gained,” she said.

While Lawrence meets many of the safe requirements as stated by Health Canada for taking the birth control pill, there are many women who do not.

According to Health Canada, women who should not be on the birth control pill if they smoke, are over age 35, have heart disease or diabetes and those who are obese as they have a higher risk of developing a blood clot.

Harriet Luke, a 21-year-old journalism student at Ryerson University, began taking a one-phase birth control pill for the first

of one or more of these happening.

28 YYZ

H me Grown Toronto FC’s invesment in young local soccer players Words and photos by: Keaton Robbins

The sports landscape in Toronto is experiencing a major shift. Soccer is on the rise and Major League Soccer, North America’s top flight soccer league, is quickly gaining respect. Not only is soccer gaining momentum in a hockey mad city, but Toronto is beginning to be known as a hot spot for producing some of the most talented young players in Canadian soccer.

At one time aspiring Toronto soccer players may have jumped on a plane and tried their luck overseas in Europe. But, now local players are staying put thanks to the financial backing of one of the richest sports companies in the world.

Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment owns the Toronto Maple Leafs, Raptors and Marlies. They also own the Toronto FC, Toronto’s professional soccer team. MLSE announced an investment of more than $17.5 million to build a state of the art soccer training facility at Downsview Park in North Toronto back on April 18, 2011. This facility will be home to Toronto FC’s first team players after completion in June of this year, and it will serve as a training ground to develop and teach all the best young players in the GTA. Toronto FC has invested time researching and examining other world class soccer training grounds throughout Europe and South America.

They modelled their training complex after historic clubs such as Ajax, the club that essentially defined youth development for soccer, from Holland; Chelsea, one of the world’s most famous clubs, from England, and Pachuca, one of North America’s leading soccer academies, from Mexico.

The facility will be just under six hectares and will have three grass fields, one artificial turf field under a bubble, a specialized goalie training field, and a 3,715 square metre club house which will be the hub of activity. There will also be dressing rooms and offices for academy and first team staff.

Toronto FC’s Assistant Coach Bob de Klerk spent time coaching at the world famous Ajax in Holland before coming to Toronto with Head Coach Aron Winter. de Klerk said it’s crucial for Toronto FC to

YYZ 29 Toronto FC’s Ty Harden hopes to erase somes of TFC’s defensives woes.

“You have a vision. You have an idea of the way you want to be making such an investment in developing Canadian soccer players.

He also stressed the importance of Toronto recently bringing on play and that’s important because now it’s much easier to make a former USA Under 20 coach Thomas Rongen to lead their academy composition. Do we need a number five, do we need a number four [defender]? Do we have a four in our youth department? asked de as director.

“I’m very excited,” de Klerk said. “I’m also happy that Thomas Clerk. “That’s why the youth department is very important because Rongen now is the head of the youth department. Nothing especially then you can start training with those guys in each position.”

Danny Dichio, former against Stuart Neely [Toronto’s Toronto FC striker and current former Academy Director] Senior Academy head coach, said because he did a very good the advancements in Toronto’s job…but Thomas Rongen, academy will eventually lead to with his philosophy and his an entire team being filled with background and the youth kids from Toronto. department they are building…

“One day we’re going to have very exciting.” probably a full team of kids from Both de Klerk and head Toronto playing which would be coach Winter believe Rongen a dream not only for the boys but will work well with what they for the fans as well to see a lot of are trying to bring to Toronto.

Canadians on the team,” Dichio Rongen grew up playing for said. “But also we’re trying to Ajax and understands the develop kids from the GTA and model and importance of youth from parts of Canada that don’t development that de Klerk and normally get scouted.”

Winter are preaching. Rongen Many would consider an is a good fit for the job because academy coaching job a step he knows how the Ajax team down from coaching Toronto was built. Every player was FC, but Dichio said that academy able to switch in and out of coaches have just as important a several positions comfortably. role.

Rongen doesn’t just have “We’re contesting with a experience coaching at the lot of stuff – with universities youth levels. He also coached scholarships and kids that are Tampa Bay Mutiny where coming from out of Toronto he was also awarded the first where we’re having to pay billet Major League Soccer Coach of families. So there’s a lot of stuff the Year in 1996. He coached that goes unseen. We’re a free New England, Chivas USA, academy where we invite the and DC United, where he lead boys in and we actually help DC to a MLS Cup in 1999. them out expenses wise,” Dichio The fact that MLSE was said. able to bring an MLS coaching “Dealing with different legend into an Academy Many players stood tall and posed for cameras on media day personalities off the field, dealing director role speaks to the where plans for the multi million dollar training field were unveiled. with parents, dealing with guys’ commitment and seriousness of confidences that are low – this is Toronto to developing locally all part of my experience, the learning curve that I needed.” born soccer players.

The pressure, he said, is on to nurture and produce the next big Although the city is leading the way in North America with its multi-million dollar investments in youth development, de Klerk said player for the first team. But with the recent additions of Rongen and the Downsview training complex, (took out “he believes”) TFC will it takes time for the process to produce what they put in.

“It takes so many times over so many years… to be the best youth be able to produce top level talent for Canada.

“There’s a bright crop coming through and we have nine of department from North America,” de Klerk said. “You can’t say within four or five years we’re building nice facilities, we have suddenly the my academy boys training with the first team pre-season, which is fantastic for me to see and for all of us involved with the academy,” best youth department. It doesn’t work like that.”

De Klerk also stressed the importance of not only developing soccer Dichio said.

One player who recently graduated from the Toronto FC Senior players from Toronto but also developing Toronto born coaches.

“Develop the coaches. Not only the players, you have to develop Academy to the pro team is defender Ashtone Morgan. Morgan was also the coaches. Which direction do we want to go? Which vision do trained to compete in a starting position for the Toronto FC first team we have with the youth department? All those things you have to bring which has prepared him to receive his first call up to the Canadian National team. in,” de Klerk said.

30 YYZ

Future Toronto FC compound

Courtesy of Toronto FC

Midfielder Julian de Guzman previously played in Germany and France, but returned to Toronto to lead TFC to the playoffs.

Morgan is one of a few great examples of how Toronto FC is starting to produce elite Canadian soccer players who will represent Canada and Toronto on the world stage. Morgan said since its inception, the Toronto FC academy has increasingly become better.

“It’s really good to see a lot of the academy guys from last season to be called for our pre-season.” Morgan said. “We have a lot of talent in this city and around Ontario for Canadian soccer,” he said, “With Toronto FC they allow us to be reached out to. Players are found and they get to prove and show what they have.”

Morgan said the academy’s visibility within the GTA has allowed players who wouldn’t normally get the chance to show what they have.

On the other side of the coin is Terry Dunfield. Dunfield is a midfielder for Toronto FC, and was born in Vancouver but moved to England at 15 to play for Manchester City’s youth team. The lack of youth academy and soccer infrastructure at the time led to a mass exodus of Canadian soccer talent overseas.

Dunfield said he never had the opportunity to grow up watching his local team, dreaming of one day playing for them.

“Growing up, I never really had that sort of cherry of playing for an MLS side in front of 20, 30 thousand people,” Dunfield said. “This is huge for young kids in these cities or even in Canada,” he said. “If you’re a young Canadian now looking for somewhere to play there’s no better place than Vancouver, Toronto or Montreal.”

“They’ve got world class coaches now and at the end of it, you’re playing against some top class players if you make it to the first team,” Dunfield said.

With the Toronto FC players scheduled to move into the Downsview Park training facility later this summer as well as launching an Under 13 youth program, things are looking very bright for soccer in Canada’s largest city. MLSE is hoping its recent investments in developing young Toronto soccer players will help lead Canada to a World Cup and ultimately put Toronto on the map as the mecca of soccer talent in North America.

There will be a total of 5 fields at the new Downsview Park training facility. The Training Ground will be open 365 days a year for the community.

Courtesy of Toronto FC

The Training Ground will have change rooms, and offices for coaches and training staff, classrooms for the academy players.

Courtesy of Toronto FC

An expected 1.5 million vistors will pass through the facility each year as it hosts local championships, and premier international training camps.

YYZ 31

Let’s Get Wet

How an old sport has people diving for goals Words and photos by: Kaite Boivin

YYZ 33

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he sport of rugby has been around since 1823, grunting many players miscalculate their breath holding abilities while in play, and scrumming its way onto fields around the world. The forcing them to give the ball away so they can surface for air.

The World Confederation of Underwater Activities (CMAS), game conjures images of bruting men and women in caps with dirt splattered faces and cauliflowered ears facing like-minded aggressors International Rules for Underwater Rugby said for the most part the on a football-sized field. More recently, a new form of the sport has rules are natural. They mainly focus on player safety and are based on fair play and common sense. Before each practice, players are advised been making waves across the Atlantic Ocean.

This new form requires you to forget the ripped, mud stained to keep nails short and all equipment free of sharp edges.

There are two 15-minute periods and a five minute halftime. Each jerseys and trade in the cleats for a pair of flippers. Instead of Spanx and above-the-knee shorts, it’s solid coloured swimsuits: one-pieces period begins with a sound from the referee. Since you are unable to for the women and Speedos for the men. The field is at the bottom of hear a whistle blown underwater referees use other means of making a pool three and a half metres to five metres deep, without the gravity noise, like banging two heavy metal sticks together. These sticks release a loud noise which echoes but with the body contact, because through the water that players can what is rugby without body feel, much like echolocation from contact, even if it is underwater? a dolphin.

Welcome to the world of Gord Lemon, a Toronto high underwater rugby. school teacher who has been Since the players can move in playing for Club Liberation for all directions from the top of the the past five years, said it’s “the water to the bottom of the pool, team play, and always learning, it’s a three dimensional sport, always improving” that keeps Lucas Suárez, a player for Club him coming back.

Aquatique de Montreal, said.

“You have to rely on your Two teams of six battle against teammates and you have to build each other, tugging and yanking team play, and that’s probably the on limbs as air bubbles explode, most challenging part,” he said. blurring the players’ views Lemon said the best strategy from behind fogged goggles. is to take turns with a teammate Players are constantly tackled being on the bottom of the pool. from all angles while trying to This allows one player to rest get a volleyball-sized ball into while the other defends. the opposing team’s goal at the “You’ve got to be on the bottom of the pool. Most goals bottom. The play doesn’t happen win. on the surface,” he said.

“When you get the ball you Underwater rugby is team have lots of options on what to focused, one of only a handful, do with it,” said Tom Elliot, the appealing to a different type organizer of Club Liberation of crowd. It’s also great cardio in Brantford Ont., one of the Klunder said. two underwater rugby clubs in “I’ve noticed a big difference Canada. Players are permitted in my cardio since coming out,” to pass the ball in any direction, he said. It’s a different kind of unlike on-land rugby where you Underwater rugby has been an established sport since 1961 exhaustion when you’re submerged can only pass backwards. Due to in Germany, and has slowly moved into Canadian towns. in water, yet you can feel yourself the resistance of the water on the ball when it is pushed through the water, a pass requires more force sweating, he said.

But who came up with the idea to take it underwater? There’s no than on-land rugby and can be very hard to control. Elliot said he advises beginners to keep their throwing arm elbow joint straight and exact answer, but there are a few myths. CMAS cites Ludwig von strong when making a pass while cupping the ball against their hand Bersuda and Dr. Franz Josef Grimmeisen with the invention and promotion of the sport. They say it all started in 1961 in Germany, and wrist, like a hook.

This type of rugby – underwater – brings about new skills and new when Bersuda was a member of the German Underwater Club. He challenges as players are required to hold their breath for long periods filled a ball with salt water and watched it sink to the bottom of a of time. Ken Klunder, a player with Club Liberation for three years, pool. Since the sink rate can be controlled by the amount of salt in said he recalls a time he nearly drowned. “It’s best to surface before the solution, the swimmer played around to find the accurate rate.

He wanted to find a game to play with this ball, but there wasn’t an you get too tired,” he said.

When in the moment, everyone wants to stay under until they outpouring of interest and it fell to the wayside.

That is until Dr. Franz Josef Grimmeisen, a dentist and member score, but for some it’s just not possible.

The average person can hold their breath for about two minutes, of DUC Duisburg in Germany, arranged the first underwater rugby but the ball could be in play for the duration of a period. Klunder said game in 1964. With help from other divers, the news of the game

34 YYZ

spread via word-of-mouth and ended up receiving media coverage.

Dr. Grimmeisen continued to promote the sport with Scandinavian countries and Germany picking it up the fastest.

During the early 1990s, a member of an underwater hockey team in Brantford read about underwater rugby in a magazine. Interested, he filled a volleyball with salt water and the hockey team tried playing once a month. Elliot was a member of this team and became very caught up in the sport. He started playing in Boston for clinics and tournaments. After the hockey team folded in the mid-1990s the Wayne Gretzky Sports Centre in Brantford adopted underwater rugby as one of their evening programs.

“I was addicted to underwater hockey for years, but this is more suitable for me,” Elliot said. Rugby is “more dependent on breathhold ability,” and because of that, the “physical intensity is the most challenging aspect,” he said.

Although the sport has been around for half a century, this could be the first time you’ve heard of underwater rugby. That is because there are only five places in North America where the game is played.

Canada accounts for two, with Club Liberation in Brantford and CAMO in Montreal.

Suárez said if the sport is going to be further developed in North America, it needs to incorporate spectators.

“We don’t have a way to show people,” Suárez said. He also said there is no media broadcasting underwater rugby games in North America and there are no sponsors to promote the sport.

“This is one of the only problems with the sport,” he said.

The Scandinavian countries promote the sport using underwater cameras to target the growing interest. Suárez started playing in

Colombia eight years ago and said Europe is constantly encouraging the sport to both children and adult players while broadcasting games to audiences across the continent.

However, Elliot said it can be hard to play full games on a regular basis.

“That’s the difficult aspect of the sport,” he said.

Knowing that travelling is often required to play more advanced games with experienced players, Elliot has a passport full of stamps.

“I travelled to different countries: Spain, Denmark and Colombia a couple times for tournaments, and just to play more,” he said.

Since there are only two pools which host the sport in Canada, Lemon also travels to play. “I went to Colombia for a tournament and it was my first exposure to international play,” he said.

It is undoubtedly a versatile game that is suitable for all ages and athletic types, Elliot said. He said he’s an advocate for selfish reasons: he really just wants more people in more places to play.

As a result of his constant promotion around the Brantford area, there has been a recent peak in the interest of Club Liberation from Wilfred Laurier students on the downtown Brantford campus, giving the club hope of a bright future.

“I had a lot of fun the first time I played and it was really active,” said Meaghan Rickwood, a Laurier student and player with Club Liberation for only a few months.

“Holding your breath long enough to score a goal, or be the goalie is the hardest part,” Rickwood said.

It’s a small community, but it’s a growing one. Lemon said he’d like to see it grow “to the point where we can build a national program and have a national level team that could compete internationally.”

Players said the hardest part of the game is beingYYZ able to35 hold your breath without getting too tired and passing out before surfacing.

Journey down the rabbit hole

Exposing the hidden side to the hacker community the media doesn’t want you to see Y

ou can’t hear them. You can’t touch them. You sure as hell can’t see them, but they’re there. Memorizing every stroke of your keypad, accessing all of your information without lifting a finger.

They’re the bad guys of the 21st century. The terrorists of the online universe. Hackers have steered away from the stereotypical online bank robbery ideology, choosing instead to join social activist projects, including the Occupy movement and dealing with the debt crisis around the world. Hackers are in every community, even in the quiet backyards of Toronto. The hacking community can be broken into two factions, one that tests the boundaries of his neighbour’s Wi-Fi while the other actively takes part in bringing down websites to defend a counter culture ideaology. These are just a couple of your friendly neighbourhood hackers.

One such technological freedom fighter said, “It’s not just a hobby, it’s a lifestyle. I don’t sleep anymore. I’m just programming all night and going to school the next day,” said Alexander King, a 20-year-old programming student and a member of Anonymous.

King said he’s been hacking for a short time, but admitted it’s an enticing world. He explained how the matrix was a world in its own, with different hot spots tourists can go to. For the non-tech savvy, he explained groups like Anonymous create minor cities online where only those with the passwords can enter. People who come across the hub accidentally are known as tourists and can’t get into this server. It’s a safety feature, so they remain hidden. He said this is something even members of Anonymous don’t understand.

“If you really wanted to be anonymous, you wouldn’t have a Youtube page, and you wouldn’t be tweeting everything you do. You want the attention, and true hackers don’t want any form of attention,” King said.

He said it’s something that concerns many hackers. Like John Doe, a 20-year-old informatics and security student who has been a hacker for eleven years. Doe said he questions every keystroke he pounds out onto his laptop.

“You have to cover your tracks, and you have to be 110 per cent sure each time you move forward,” Doe said. “If you think even for a second that maybe you should have hid that click better, go back and fix it.”

Doe recounted a story that he said still scares him to think about.

Although it terrified him at the time, Doe said he’s thankful it happened, as it taught him to be careful.

“I came home one night, and there were about four cruisers outside of the house. I started freaking out. I parked on my driveway and ran

Words by: Julia Alexander Photos by: Shaleni McBain

inside the house. My sister came up to me and asked what was going on, and I told her I didn’t know. I went upstairs and watched out the window for a bit.

It ended up being my neighbour who had been growing weed inside of his house, but it still scared the crap out of me,” Doe said.

Some critics suggest it has become exaggerated and glorified. Groups like Anonymous use the image of Guy Fawkes to symbolize their distaste for the government, an idea that was born out of Alan Moore’s successful graphic novel turned movie, V for Vendetta. In 1605, in a protest, Fawkes, who was a member of the Gunpowder Plot, attempted to blow up the House of Parliament and James I, the King of England.

People forget hacking is still a major crime, and one the government in Canada takes very seriously.

Sergeant Greg Cox of the RCMP stated through an email that the RCMP has learned to deal with the advances in technology and the problems associated with cyber crime, like hacking. While the RCMP’s Cyber Crime unit deals with many problems that occur on the Internet, Cox said hacking has definitely become one of the bigger ones.

The RCMP defines cyber crime, which includes hacking as “any crime that is committed using a computer, network, and/or hardware device” to gain “unauthorized access” to “electronic information” and the “physical infrastructure used to process, communicate, and/or store that information.”

Cox said hacking has always been a problem, but it has become bigger.

In response, the Canadian government opened a “Cyber Crime Fusion Centre” in 2010. The centre would come with a commitment to a distinct explanation of the cyber crime threats facing Canadians.

While it’s clear hackers pose a threat, Seth Hardy, a security analyst based out of Toronto, said using the word terrorist has taken the issue too far. Hardy said media organizations throw the word around carelessly. He defended a small part of the hacking world.

“They’re not terrorists, because they’re not causing actual terror.

They’re not saying they’re going to murder, they’re saying they are going to take down certain websites,” Hardy said.

He did go on to say though that there are certain groups of hackers that should not be taken lightly. These are the ones who get into hacking for the wrong reasons: to make a profit and to take that profit from others.

It’s something in the hacking community referred to as “Black Hats” and “White Hats.”

The Black Hats received the title after using their knowledge of computers and networking to steal money from people’s bank accounts, use cyber attacks against corporations, and commit mischievous acts with negative outcomes.

The White Hats, on the other hand, are the political activists in hacking, or as Hardy calls them, the “hacktivists.”

It’s an area King knows quite a bit about.

“This is where the whole white hat versus black hat comes into play,” King said. “You identify yourself as a specific type of hacker and based on the colour of your ‘hat’ you associate with other hackers. It’s a moral guideline we all have to follow. Do you want personal gain, or are you just curious?”

The ironic part in the hacking phenomena is, according to Hardy, most of the hackers aren’t even hacking. While what they are doing remains illegal, the act itself does not hold the same reprimand as an actual hacking case would.

“What we’re seeing happening right now is hacktivists using a tool called flooding to attack major corporations in what they think is justified protesting,” he said.

Flooding is the main form of attack from Anonymous users around the world. It was the exact attack used in the retaliation on the FBI following the shutdown of the popular upload site, Megaupload in January. It’s something King said he hates hearing about because he feels it’s what gives hackers a bad image in the media.

“Anonymous gets all this credit for being these fantastic hackers, when for the most part, the majority of them aren’t even hackers. They’re just DOSing,” he said.

YYZ 37

“DOS-ing” or a denial of service attack isn’t a hacking crime. It’s life separate, while using the same computer.

“I’ve created a completely new computer within the one I already more commonly referred to as flooding and the act does exactly what it claims. A new server is created for anyone to join, and the goal is to own. It runs 2GB of memory, has it’s own processor, and runs have thousands of people view the website at once in order to short- completely different servers. This is the same equipment Anonymous is using and it’s why it’s so hard for them to be caught.” circuit it.

In March of this year, 25 suspected members of the Anonymous It’s a form of protest taken to the internet by a group of young people embracing the tools of their time. Back in the 1960’s, activists group were arrested in Europe and South America, including Spain, took to the streets with signs and megaphones, and, while it’s still Argentina, Chile, and Columbia. The arrests ranged from people between the ages of 17 and 40. With the rise of these underground practiced today, a new movement has begun.

It started in October 2003 when a small website named 4Chan cyber operations, governments have had to focus new departments went online. While the website was developed with the intention to specifically devoted to cyber crime.

In 2002, a report was released from the System Administration be an image board where users could upload a variety of photos, it soon turned into something much more when a group of users started Networking and Security, which has ties with the RCMP. The report posting under the name “Anonymous,” according to a Globe and Mail stated that Canada, at the time, “is dreadfully behind in its preparedness article. Hackers would post under the forum name, /b/ in an attempt to for averting a major compromise to its systems.”

“The government screws around with our Internet and our hide their conversations from possible onlookers. computers but cries when It was the same we retaliate. It’s not even group that threatened democracy anymore,” to remove the City Doe said. “And I can tell of Toronto’s website you one thing, it’ only in November 2011 going to get worse.” after Mayor Rob Ford

Hardy also said threatened to evict the this isn’t a fad and that Occupy Toronto camp it’s not going to fade in St. James Park. King anytime soon. said while Anonymous “It’s been around for threatened the mayor a while and now that and his office, a simple groups like Anonymous flooding would have have support from been the type of attack, millions of people it’s and said it’s something only going to grow,” that can easily and he said. “Whether for quickly be fixed in some the right reasons like cases.

Black or white: hackers are noted as either malicious or “hacktivists.” activism or for the wrong “The best security reasons, it’s going to analysts being hired right now are hackers. You have to know how to attack in order to continue. People are always going to take advantage using whatever tools and whatever means they have and that are necessary. Right now, know how to defend,” Hardy said.

It may seem ludicrously futuristic talking about the realms of the that’s the internet.”

When asked finally why they were so drawn to hacking, they both Internet, and may even border on sounding like something out of the popular show Reboot. But, it draws an important question into the smirked. King said it was simply intellectual curiosity, but Doe had a open, and more importantly, into the media. If it’s online, is it an open whole other answer.

He took out his iPhone and read, what he said, has continued to market for anyone who has the tools to use it?

“We have a right to information, and if anyone tries to threaten that be a major piece of inspiration for him while he hacks. The excerpt is freedom, they can’t act surprised when a group of people take action,” from a man known only as “The Mentor”, and was released on Jan. 8, John Doe explained. He said he hates that he has been portrayed as a 1986, just before the hype of hackers began to build. Even though it’s criminal, and that while he’s considered using his hacking ability for 25 years old, Doe said the piece still resonates for hackers today, and said it’s how he hopes they will be viewed someday. malicious intent, he never could.

“We explore and you call us criminals. We seek after knowledge “I’m not a bad guy,” he said. “I started hacking when I was eleven years old because someone hacked into my Habbo Hotel account and you call us criminals. We exist without skin colour, without and stole my furniture. So I learned how to hack into his account and nationality, without religious bias and you call us criminals. You build take his stuff. I don’t actively steal people’s money or Internet. Not atomic bombs, you wage wars, you murder, cheat and lie to us and try to make us believe it’s for our own good, yet we’re the criminals. Yes, anymore, at least.”

While eleven may seem young, both King and Doe explained many I am a criminal. My crime is that of curiosity. My crime is judging programmers started young and as technology progressed, they grew people by what they say and think, not what they look like. My crime as well. King said it’s important to understand the computer better is that of outsmarting you, something that you will not forgive me for.

I am a hacker, and this is my manifesto. You may stop this individual, than it knows itself.

He showed YYZ how he keeps his hacking life and his non-hacking but you can’t stop us all.”

38 YYZ

Over the limit, under the hood Words and photos by: Nicholas Camillieri

Even strict penalties won’t keep Rick off the streets.

In the movies it’s all about cars and girls, what you don’t see are the families torn apart Punks, speed junkies, or morons with a set of wheels. Call them what you want, but when it comes to the crowd that street racing attracts, you only need to find the growing crowd meeting at Tim Horton’s parking lot.

For some it’s the pursuit for approval from peers and the thrill of knowing it’s not just risky, but deadly a lesson some learn the hard way. Others say it’s more than just winning a race, but it’s a way to feel in control when in reality there is none. *Rick, a 21-year-old Brampton resident, is a true motor-head with a history in street racing. In the four years he has been driving, he has owned and worked on eight cars and a motorcycle. When he was 17 he got his first car, a white, 91’ Honda Prelude. It would be the start of a path to street racing. He wanted to learn how it worked and understand the mechanics behind it.

Rick said none of his eight cars were as fast as his current vehicle, a 2000 Toyota Celica GTS which is fitted with an aftermarket exhaust, a stage two clutch, and a few other bells and whistles. He got the car while working in a warehouse. The little money he made went to the payments for the car, and what he called silly upgrades like higher grade brakes.

Although street racing is fun, it’s become less about the cars and more about the rebellion and culture, Rick says.

40 YYZ

Rick’s time improving his car’s performance as a mechanic inspired him to pursue a career in mechanics.

Currently working as an apprentice in a small mechanic shop, this street racer said that as soon as he was driving on his own, he began to develop the taste for petrol-fuelled adrenaline. His first true experience was when he sat as a passenger in an older friend’s heavily modified Honda Civic during a spontaneous street race.

“My buddy and I were ripping around on Kennedy Road in his little Civic, and a BMW pulled up. You could tell he wanted to race us,” he said. “Obviously he [the BMW] was going to take him, but at the start we pulled ahead until the end of second gear.”

It would be a turning point for Rick who said watching his friend made him want to street race.

But Sgt. Shannon Stanley of Peel Regional Police said she doesn’t think these street demons are aware of how big a problem racing really is, and that there is much more at stake than a vehicle malfunction.

“Whether there is one driver or multiple drivers, the charges are the same,” she said. “The penalties in court vary depending on the circumstances however the general information for penalties is fines of up to $10,000 for offenders convicted of street racing.” Stanley said there is also an automatic and immediate seven day suspension of license and impounding of the vehicle.

Stanley said there isn’t really one zone the organized street racers stick to, but industrial areas tend to draw out racers.

“Any industrial area[s] are favourite hot spots for street racing in any jurisdiction of the GTA. ” she said.

Rick said one time he raced on what he described as the perfect racing street, Pacific Circle in Mississauga. A quick look on Google maps will help you understand exactly what Rick means. If it weren’t for the industrial buildings around it, the circuit-like road would make you think it was made for racing.

As much as he admires the street racing culture, he understands that there are two different types of racing fans, and when it comes down to it, he’s starting to lean more towards the professional end. He said he thinks the street racing culture isn’t so much about the cars, but more about rebellion and freedom, whereas true racing fans enjoy track functions where timing is recorded.

Although Rick said he plans on racing on the road again, he said he doesn’t want to push his limits and doesn’t want to end up being responsible for an accident, which has made him research the other side of street racing.

“All it takes is a little stupidity,” he said And while there are both organized and random street races that occur in the GTA, Sgt. Stanley said no situation is the same.

“There is no such thing as a typical street racing situation as all of these illegal races have the potential to conclude with a high speed collision involving serious bodily injury or death. The injury or death potential does not strictly apply to a driver,” she said, adding that it could be passengers, spectators or even innocent citizens who could be harmed or killed.

In fact, Stanley said the one thing that is typical in the street racing scene, it is reaction to the police.

“The street racers and spectators flee an area every time, and it is well known to police that one of the attractions to illegal early morning street racing is to wait for the arrival of police to flee the area,” she said.

Street racing may not be a hobby for many kids in the GTA, but chances are they know someone who is a fan of the guilty pleasure.

Amanda Frasca, 19, a college student from Woodbridge, said she has never been a fan of street racing. Her friends Ryan and Niko were. She said it became a somewhat common thing when she and her friends were around the age of 17 and 18.

“Everyone got their licenses and mommy and daddy would buy new cars for them,” she said.

Frasca said though she never went to the races, she always heard about them from Ryan and Niko.

“It’s careless and reckless and puts not only the driver but innocent people in harms way,” Frasca said.

That all changed in February of 2010. Her friends, Ryan Sheridan and Niko Di Iorio, died after going nearly double the posted 70 kilometre-per-hour speed limit. They crashed into a tree. Frasca said after losing two friends, she doesn’t take the subject lightly anymore.

“I’m careful who I enter a car with now,” she said, adding that it scares her to even think about racing. Despite the loss of her friends, a lot people she knows don’t seem to get the message.

“It doesn’t matter what I say. If I say, ‘Oh this might happen or that might happen’, until it happens to them, they won’t realize the dangers,” Frasca said. She said she always thought it was dangerous and stupid, and now it just makes her angry.

According to Sgt. Stanley, it’s a good thing Frasca wasn’t a spectator at organized races. Although it isn’t common, spectators can be charged, and fleeing a street race, could mean driving penalties under the Provincial Highway Traffic Act. She said, “A recent Ontario Court of Appeal decision, ‘Her Majesty the Queen and M.R. (a young person)’ is a case that saw the conviction of a young person who acted as the flagman on the street to begin the race. That resulted in the death of one of the three participants,” Stanley said, adding it was a Peel case, and the first in Canada. She also said there are circumstances where police may (stressing the word may) charge under the Criminal Code for unlawful gatherings.

“Spectators must realize the penalties they will face when the circumstances of their offence are provided to the Court,” she said. “There are severe financial, insurance and driver’s licence implications. Society has developed an intolerance for street racing, which is why the Criminal Code was amended to include street racing in the criminal driving sections.”

Tony Pereira is a father of three who grew up in the Brampton area. As soon as he graduated from high school he knew he was going to be a mechanic. He knows all the ins and outs when it comes to the modification of cars. As long as it is approved by the Ontario Ministry of Transportation, it’s technically street legal but he said one of the main trends is the removal of safety components and you could find yourself in trouble with the Ministry of Transportation-Ontario for making changes to a vehicle that either harms the environment such as: holes in the catalytic converter, the complete removal of the device, or removing safety equipment. He said this is common among the street racing crowd since these are inexpensive ways of making vehicles faster and louder. *Henry, 21, is another street racing enthusiast, but for him it’s about more than just the cars. He said what got him started were his anger and frustration with the law and insurance. It eventually manifested into a complete disregard for the law and rules of the road. Henry prefers random street races in the midst of traffic, and said the real

Rick has invested a lot of money and time in his car to stay in the race.

skilled street racers are the ones who can weave through traffic or evade police, a situation he is familiar with.

“Yeah, I outran the police,” he said, adding that it happens more than people think. “When you’re moving 60 over the speed limit and there is radar, chances are they won’t catch up” He admits it’s a dangerous hobby, but it’s part of the experience, adding that he feels a little dumb for bringing passengers along.

The self-proclaimed rebel said people might get into it for different reasons, including money and street credit. For him, it is the sense of control. Not just control of the car, but control of life. At its core, Henry said street racing makes him feel “fully alive” linking it to sex, but the stakes are high.

“A driver, depending on the circumstances, could be charged under the Highway Traffic Act for Racing and Stunting, as well as facing multiple charges for vehicle modification infractions, insurance infractions, and improper class of driver’s licence. The list goes on under this act as to the charges that can be issued,” said Stanley.

“Drivers can also face charges under the Criminal Code of Canada for impaired driving (by alcohol or narcotic), dangerous driving by street racing, dangerous driving causing bodily harm by street racing, or something as serious as criminal negligence causing death by street racing.”

According to a report released in 2008 by the Ministry of Transportation in 2008, 64 deaths were caused by “speeding too fast” was 64, and there were approximately 810 injuries. During the 2002-2004 period, almost 50 per cent of people involved in fatal urban crashes were between the ages of 16 and 24. This led to a new program to reduce street racing and extreme speeding. Since the act was implemented, there has been a 30 per cent decrease in excessive speeding charges according to the OPP. Sgt. Stanley has a message for Street Racers like Henry and Rick.

“The police, the Courts and the community have a zero tolerance for this behaviour, and anyone participating in illegal street racing will be charged and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Street racing is not the game that these participants believe it to be,” she said. “ Too many innocent victims and their families have paid the ultimate price of these irresponsible drivers.”

“It doesn’t matter what I say...until it happens to them, they won’t realize the dangers.”

- Amanda Frasca

YYZ 41

CUT!

Words by: Victoria Brown

Coming to a theatre near you...

Geeks are in for a wild summer, as some of our favourite heroes hit theatres. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that movies based on Marvel and DC’s comic book heroes bring in the big bucks at the

box office.

This summer DC’s Batman and Marvel’s Iron Man and SpiderMan will grace the silver screen.

Sci-fi: Aliens and Remakes

Moviegoers will be pleased to know that sci-fi will be making a comeback this summer with some remakes and aliens. These big budget flicks bring top billing actors including Will Smith, Liam Neeson and Colin Farrell.

Battleship: Based on the children’s game, director Peter Berg’s upcoming Battleship is about a fleet of navy ships that must fight off an unknown species at sea. Taylor Kitsch and Liam Neeson take the lead roles with music pop star Rihanna appearing in her first acting role. It hits cinemas May 18.

The Avengers starring Chris Evans and Jeremy Renner.

Superheroes

The Avengers: First on the superhero line-up would definitely be

The Avengers, which will is set to hit theatres May 4. This superhero flick will put together heroes such as Captain America played by Chris Evans, and of course Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man. Instead of Edward Norton reprising the role of Bruce Banner aka The Hulk, Mark Ruffalo has taken over the part.

Marvel comic legend Stan Lee will also make an appearance in both The Avengers and The Amazing Spider-Man as he has done a cameo in all of the Marvel movies with the exception of X-Men 2 and Wolverine. In an interview with collider.com Lee said the cameos for these two films are sure to be hilarious.

The Amazing Spider-Man: Marvel’s The Amazing Spider-Man will be in theatres July 3, with Andrew Garfield filling in for Tobey Maguire as the geeky Peter Parker, and Emma Stone will play his high school crush, Gwen Stacey.

The Dark Knight Rises: Batman is

Prometheus: Ridley Scott, the director of sci-fi classics Alien and Blade Runner has returned to science fiction. This flick is set to come into theatres June 8 and is about a team of scientists who land on a mysterious planet. Once the group investigate this new world, they discover they may not be alone.

Total Recall: The remake of the 1990 film with the same name,

which starred Arnold Schwarzenegger, will be coming into theatres August 3. This new version was shot in Toronto during the summer of 2011, with Colin Farrell in the lead role. The Toronto Star reported that the movie had a massive budget of $200 million.

Andrew Garfield is

Spider-Man. back in The Dark Knight Rises, which will hit theatres July 20, with Christian Bale reprising his role of Bruce Wayne/Batman. The film is set eight years after the caped crusader took the fall for Harvey Dent. Tom Hardy plays the main film villain will be Bane. Catwoman will also show up for some action too and Anne Hathaway plays the part.

42 YYZ

Men in Black 3: The third in the Men in Black franchise has Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones returning in the roles of Agent K and J. It’s hard to tell how this movie will do. It’s set to hit theatres on May 25.

Total Recall with Colin Farrell.

A passage into Toronto

Samantha Martin

Christian Quequish

Union Station

Mark Mullen

Samantha Martin

Mark Mullen

Mark Mullen

Christian Quequish

Amber Daugherty

The Junction

Amber Daugherty

The Royal Ontario Museum

Samantha Martin

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