January 2013 | THE STEW Magazine | PAGE 1
ISSUE 4.1 | JANUARY 2013 | FREE
Inside: Wholly Healthy Pages 4 & 5 WLST brings sexy to the stage Page 8 The best albums of 2012 Pages 16
the Health issue
PAGE 2 | THE STEW Magazine | January 2013
We have a Wii Fit at the Stew HQ, but the best workout we have in a game has got to be Dance Central for Kinect on Xbox 360.
Get in shape with these classic fitness fads
On the Cover: We’re trying to focus on a fairly broad definition of health for this, our Health Issue. To some people, being healthy means being in the best possible physical shape. But other people include things like mental or spiritual health in their definition of health. We felt like this picture, courtesy of our stock photography service, really worked for multiple definitions of health. And while enjoying a warm, tropical beach in the middle of what should be a frigid January isn’t a requirement for health, we have a hard time thinking of anyplace we’d rather be right now.
Everyone wants to get fit, and most people would prefer to do it with as a little work as possible, and they don’t mind paying for the privilege. It’s a fact of life that a good number of companies have jumped onto over the years bringing us a varied collection of fitness fads. Some of these might work, and some might just clean out your wallet, but whatever fad bandwagon you decided to jump on, you could proudly tell your friends about it or show off your expensive equipment over smoothies or low-carb lunches. Because it’s not about how fit you are. It’s about how fit you tell people you’re going to be. Bowflex: To us, the Bowflex is granddaddy of fitness fads, not because it was the first, but because it was arguably the best. A lot of people’s biggest stumbling block in getting into shape is needing to get their ass into the gym on a regular basis. And while a home gym makes it easier to do, it also means a lot of additional junk lying around. The Bowflex’s design was smart, a device with a relatively low profile, that could still give you a full body workout, and their constant appearance during late night television — likely timed to coincide with evening snacktime and the guilt associated with it — likely helped move a bundle of these units. There have been a few other devices bearing the Bowflex name over the years, but we’re partial to the original. Tae-Bo: Tired of spending all those hours on the treadmill? Bored of hefting those free-
built around keeping carbohydrates off your plate, and met renewed popularity in the early 2000s (it was first introduced in the 1970s). While the diet has had its share of controversies, including claims that the diet promotes the unlimited consumption of fatty meats and cheeses (it’s true that earlier versions of Atkins’ book promoted such a thing, but these were omitted in the more recent releases), the diet also has its share of defenders.
PHOTO BY FLICKR USER WLODI
GET IN THE GAME The Wii Fit was one of the first video game systems to try to get people off the sofa and more active.
Thighmaster: Suzanne Somers crunching a giant spring between her knees. Need we say more? This device was supposed to tone up your thighs to perfection while you simply sat back and watched TV, but seriously, if your thighs need that much help, you’re probably out of shape in a few other spots on your body too.
weights? Been feeling like you might want to punch a guy in the face instead? Welcome to Tae-Bo, the cardio workout that’s also kind of like shadow-boxing. The name is a combination of Tae Kwan Do and Boxing, and also an acronym.
The workout plan, developed by Billy Blanks, was also a pretty familiar staple of late night TV, making it a fairly popular product in the 1990s. Atkins Diet: Developed by Robert Atkins, this diet plan is
Wii Fit: Before the Xbox 360 came along with Kinect, and forced you to actually move around, the Wii Fit was the closest thing we had to a gaming fitness system. In a nutshell, it was a balance board that connected to the Wii video game system and allowed you to do some basic aerobic exercises, like pretending to jog or pretending to ride your bike. You could even try to do some basic yoga moves, but odds are if you’re the sort of person who’d buy a Wii Fit board, you probably shouldn’t. The system even included the ability to check your weight and BMI, so you could regularly see just how little impact the Wii Fit was having on your personal fitness goals
Now that the holidays are over it’s time to get what you really wanted for Christmas
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Super Sales on all 2012 stock
January 2013 | THE STEW Magazine | PAGE 3
Nutrition Facts Serving Size: 20 pgs Servings Per Container 1 Amount Per Serving
Calories 0
Wholly
Healthy
% Daily Value* Sexy Chicks We’re not sure what it has to do with Health exactly, but we do seem to have a few sexy pictures scattered around this issue. Community Theatre Todd is back on the theatre bandwagon, so there might be a bit more theatre content then usual this month. Ingredients (or things that helped us get through the last month): Beer; More beer; Delicious Winter Spice Ale and Maple Stout beer; Gallons of coffee at The Bean; Baby sized hot chocolate; Having the baby become obsessed with Spongebob Squarepants (thanks Chelsie); Baby’s new word: “Bob!”; Hours and hours of Spongebob Squarepants; Being focused on a new theatre production after being retired from the local theatre scene for a couple of years; Panicking when you realize that there isn’t as much time left for rehearsals after the Christmas holidays as you had thought; Watching the play come together days before opening night anyway; Christmas spent with a not quite two year old girl; Watching her fall in love with the process of tearing open presents; Watching her fall in love with all the gifts she got this year; Getting a bit spoiled yourself (thanks everyone!); surviving the end of the world on December 21; Celebrating the end of the world anyway with a really awesome party; The postponement of Juli’s nursing adventure; Looking forward to another awesome year of new adventures and excitement.
Pages 4 & 5
WLST brings sexy to the stage
Quiet your mind with meditation
Page 7 & 8
May 2013 bring you peace, harmony...and coffee.
Don’t forget the coffee! Soups • Paninis • Wraps • Home-made e-made Goodies de with love... Specialty coffees & teas • Made
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Page 13
The best albums of 2012 Page 16
Health starts on the inside.
Pomegranates are hard to eat
Vitamins and minerals for every day health.
Page 18
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PAGE 4 | THE STEW Magazine | January 2013
Americans, on average, eat 18 acres of pizza every day.
WHOLLY HEALTHY
BY JULI HARLAND THE STEW MAGAZINE
Its a couple of weeks into the new year and people are still buzzing with “getting healthy”. Fad diets, extreme exercise, cleanses, purges, and a hundred other methods designed to make people skinny - fast, come flying out of the closet every January. All raising the banner on getting a jump start on being healthy. But is that really the road to health? To answer that, first we need to look at what health really is in the first place. The World Health Organization defines health as: “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” While some may argue that description is too generic, too open to interpretation, too … hippie... the fact is that there is far more to health than the size of our pants. And, in fact, what we may be doing to get into those smaller pants, may be hurting us more than healing us. “There is a great connection between our environment, our health, our mental health and our social health - and our health right now isn’t very good. With the obesity rates and diabetes rates we have to change, we need to be protecting our environment for our health and the health of our future,” says Williams Lake Food Policy Council advocate Tatjana Bates. Let’s take a closer look at the breakdown of that WHO definition: physical, mental, and social wellbeing. Physical - this is where we all wear small jeans, right? Wrong. What this does take into consideration is a person’s ability to function, perform tasks to the best of their ability, to combat disease and heal according to each person’s own limitations. Does this mean that you can sit around on the sofa and eat McDonalds for every meal? That as long as you can flick the channels on the TV you’re ok? No. Because that would not be functioning to the best of your ability. To be clear, your ability is modified by things you cannot change, be it at the time, or more permanently. For example: someone who runs marathons every month is going to be able to use more muscles than someone who doesn’t have the use of both of their legs. Though if you think not having use of your legs gets you off the exercise hook, you may want to have a chat with Rick Hansen. Bottom line — disease and infirmity are fitness modifiers; laziness and lack of motivation are not. And then there’s diet.
January 2013 | THE STEW Magazine | PAGE 5
If Barbie were real, should be 7’2”, and measure 39-23-33. Her neck would be 2x normal length and she would not be able to hold up her own head.
Ah food, the bane of so many people’s existence. The villian behind every fad diet there is. The monkey on your back. The obsession of billions of women (and men) across the globe. How do you know what to eat? The safest way, says health professionals, is to keep it simple. The more steps the food had to take to get to your table - the worse it is for you. Beans from your garden are better than those grown in the regional farm which have to be transported from their farm to a local market and then picked up by the consumer. The regional farm fresh beans are far superior to those which came from an overseas farm, which were likely picked before ready, were crated, packaged, and then shipped hundreds, if not thousands of miles. And let’s not even talk about whether or not they were genetically modified. Then again, fresh international beans are better for you than beans which were picked by machine overseas, cooked, stuffed in cans with loads of sodium and sugars and preservatives and shipped across the ocean. Think of all the carbon emissions, chances for contamination, and the chemicals that all went in to giving you one dinner’s worth of beans. Seriously, take a minute. “Stay away from anything that comes in a package, especially if you read the package and you can’t pronounce what’s on there; keep it out of your body,” says Joe Amaral, of Body Connections in Williams Lake. There are many options, he says, of eating naturally here in the Cariboo. With a little time and effort, he says, we can avoid major preventable health issues simply by paying attention to the old adage that ‘you are what you eat’.
Meats, grains, and even dairy is exactly the same rule. The further away from the source, the more chance for contamination, air pollution, and loss of nutritional value. “The human body is such an amazing piece of machinery, which is why you normally see people in their 60 getting aches and pains and such, but now, in our society with all the junk food,” says Amaral, “that it is happening a lot sooner.” What is the current standard for nutrition? Looks like the Canada Food Guide is still the winner out there. There are modifications for vegetarians and vegans, of course, but the good old fashioned rule of loading up half your plate with vegetables, a quarter of it with meat/beans and one quarter of it with grains, all washed down with a cool glass of something dairy and maybe a side of fruit, still reigns supreme with doctors, and naturalists across North America. It may take a little more time to prepare foods that are whole and in their natural state, but as mentioned earlier - laziness is not a fitness modifier. You will pay for those food conveniences. And if you must go for the quick fix. Read the label. In fact don’t just read the label - learn what the labels really mean. You’ll be surprised at how quickly you’ll be running to the local food co-op. This still does not mean that we should all work out like crazy and eat nothing but raw foods to squeeze into those size 0 jeans. If you are naturally prone to getting into those skinny pants - power to you. No-one is hating on the skinny ladies out there. What it does mean is that if we move to the best of our abilities, and eat a variety of foods which are as
close to the source as possible, and manage our illnesses and infirmaries with the help of our health care team, then we are being healthy. Physically, at least. And now we tackle our mental health. So much goes into our mental well-being. How we react to stress, or our coping skills, is one of the largest factors in our state of mental wellness. There are modifiers to our mental health, though, as with physical health, they are only modifiers, not tickets to be raging assholes or narcissists either. Our social support network, our stress mechanisms, our education, our culture can all play a part in our mental state. But, barring mental illness that would determine otherwise, individuals are still in control of their mental determinants of health. Which is of utmost importance. The Canadian Mental Health Association has this to say about the effects of mental health on the physical body: “Mental illnesses can alter hormonal balances, sleep cycles, and immune system function, while many psychiatric medications have side-effects ranging from weight gain to irregular heart rhythms. These symptoms create an increased vulnerability to a range of physical health problems. Similarly, poor physical health may cause high blood sugar levels and disrupt the circulation of blood, which can impact brain function.Furthermore, mental and physical illnesses share many symptoms, such as food cravings and decreased energy levels, which can increase food consumption, decrease physical activity and contribute to weight gain. These factors increase the risk of developing chronic physi-
Connect with us. The Stew Magazine is online. Do you know where to find us? www.thestew.ca
cal conditions and can have a detrimental impact upon mental well-being. Furthermore, they can mask the identification of a co-existing condition, leaving a mental or physical health problem untreated.” That is some serious business. There is truth to the cliche that depression hurts. According to medical journals, depression can be a factor in muscle pain, chronic fatigue, heart conditions, a higher risk of stroke, cancer, and even diabetes. Though many are still afraid to seek treatment for mental conditions. There is still perceived shame in mental unwellness. Treating mental issues does not have to mean medication for life (though sometimes it does, and that’s ok too). It doesn’t mean becoming a vegetable or drone. It can be as simple as getting out and meeting new people. It can be taking a class to enhance your knowledge about something that interests you. It can be meditating in the mornings. It can be taking that anger management class that keeps coming up. It can be going to couples counselling to learn how to reconnect. It can even be as simple as taking a day off and doing nothing but play video games and curl up with a loved one. Though that last one is meant as a break, not a lifestyle. Might I remind you about taking care of the physical. And, yes, sometimes it can mean working with your health team to find out what type of therapy or medical treatment is best for you and your own personal needs. None of that means you are less of a person any more than having asthma would. Ok, so you now have your physical well-being all taken care of, and your mental health is
not far behind. That leaves your spiritual side. Now when most people think of their spiritual self the thought jumps immediately to religion. And though that may or may not a part of your spiritual self, it certainly isn’t the entirety of it. Your spiritual health speaks to who you are and how you feel about yourself and the world around you. Your spirit cares about those things that matter to you. Your spirit recognizes you as a worthwhile individual with purpose and a place in your community and beyond. It is your hope, your outlook on life itself. Do you experience feelings of emptiness, anxiety, hopelessness, apathy or conflict? These are all signs of spiritual poverty. How does one heal a broken spirit? Connection. Connection with self, with others, with the world. Volunteer. Take time for yourself. Make time for your friends. Take a class. Get involved with something that feels good to you - be it a yoga group, a book club, a hockey team, a drama club, or any number of community gatherings. And much like every other aspect of yourself, if you feel like you are in a negative space you can’t get out of - seek help. The bottom line is that health is more than how you look in jeans. It is more than what you put in your mouth. It is more than how we spend our days. And, more importantly, unless you know every single aspect of a person’s wellness, you can never know their state of health. Don’t judge. And while you are dreaming about those size 0s, remember that there is so much more about yourself that needs your care and attention.
Kick-start your fitness resolutions with Fitness and Self-Help books — we’ve got hundreds of titles to choose from!
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PAGE 6 | THE STEW Magazine | January 2013
Get fit in 2013, whatever that word means to you BY TODD SULLIVAN THE STEW MAGAZINE
‘Fitness’ can be a hard word to define, and that’s one of the reasons that we decided to focus on the subject for our January 2013 issue — well, that and the fact that a lot of people take the new year as an excuse to try to get into better shape. I don’t know what fitness means to you, but I can tell you what it does and doesn’t mean to me. It doesn’t mean going to the gym every day, carefully sculpting a perfect body so that you can look good naked. It doesn’t mean a fantastic set of washboard abs. And it sure doesn’t mean using any fad diet that works in order to drop enough pounds to
get into your new bathing suit come summer. To me, fitness is about living a healthier lifestyle, being in shape, eating well, and maybe even occasionally purging the demons from your psyche. Having said that, I suppose I should probably confess that fitness is something that I still struggle with. I’ve tried for the last couple of years to get my chubby ass into better shape, most noticeably in the months of January 2011 to March 2011 and January 2012 to March 2012 when I participated in the Fit City Challenge (I’m off the hook this year, as Juli is taking a crack at it, following my two consecutive failures). But even in the later months
of 2012 I maintained a gym membership and, for at least awhile, managed to get in and get a decent work out a few times a week. But it’s just so hard for me to maintain. I’m pretty sure it’s less a problem of time — the time is there, if I make the effort — and more a problem of routine. Until something manages to become a routine, it’s a lot harder to remember, because it’s just some thing that you do sometimes. I could make excuses about how it’s been trickier, with the baby, with working from home. I could point the finger at Juli’s semester at TRU as something that made it trickier for me to get out of the house, what with
only one vehicle and only so many hours in the day. But the fact of the matter is, if I wanted to do it badly enough, if it was important enough to me, I’d have made the time to do it. This is right around where, if this was a traditional new year’s column, I’d probably talk about how I’m committed to making it a more important part of my life in the 2013. And while I am committed to that, I don’t think there’s any point in making any kind of a big deal out of it. I don’t want to get fit because it’s the new year or because I feel guilty about not spending enough time at the gym last year. Those are shitty reasons for wanting to get fit.
I want to get fit because, when I was actually working to get fit, I felt better, and I’d like to feel that way again. I want to get fit because it will make me healthier overall, and grant me not only a longer quantity of life but a better overall quality of life. And, most importantly, I want to get fit because it will allow me to be a better father to my little girl, and help ensure that I’m around for a good long time, to watch her grow up, every step of the way, and maybe help teach her about proper fitness too. Not the washboard abs or the perfect body kind of fitness, of course. The kind of fitness that’s all about being healthy and happy. todd@thestew.ca
SPEAK
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Health is about more than looking good in skinny jeans BY JULI HARLAND THE STEW MAGAZINE
My outlook on what health is has changed in the last year. Always a pretty big advocate of ‘healthy means eating well so you are well’ and ‘your body is a temple’ (even though I didn’t worship at that temple very much), I have still been swayed easily by the notion that in order to be healthy you needed to look a certain way, exercise a certain way, think a certain way, and just be a certain way. I don’t think that way any more.
After having a baby at 39 and feeling just fine throughout the whole ordeal (thankyouverymuch), and then hitting 40, going to nursing school, and having to think more about my over-all state of health, my outlook has moved away from what you do to your body and more towards how you perceive and treat your whole entire self — inside and out. That means taking care of your emotional self, your physical self (within the limits of your own capabilities), and your spiritual self — however that may look
to you. That means, for me, meditating quietly by myself in the mornings, even if for just a few minutes. I can always tell when I’ve not had a few quiet moments in the morning; the rest of the day goes to a bit of shambles. It means taking care of how I react to stress. It means time management. It means taking care of my finances and my environmental needs of housing, water, food and clothing. It means developing my relationships. It means staying involved and active in things that make me feel good as a
person. It means staying connected to my higher power, my god, my spirit. Of course that doesn’t mean that I don’t still have to eat well and get my exercise done. I do. I have to watch my blood sugars, which I have been terrible at since the birth of my youngest daughter and boy can I see the difference. Eating well, however, will look different for me than it will for someone else. There is no magic cure-all diet out there. Our bodies are unique and individual machines. My excercise will look different from others, as well. I don’t
jog well, for example. It hurts my breasts and my knees want to give out at the thought of it. But I can power lift like a son-of-a-gun and swim like a fish. The point is not to follow a specific regime, but to keep your body moving to the best of your own abilities. So what is health to me now? It is the balance of wellness between body, spirit, and mind. It is feeling the best you can, in the place you are at. It is being all at once at peace with who you are and what you are capable of. juli@thestew.ca
January 2013 | THE STEW Magazine | PAGE 7
Question of the Month
Closer was made into a film starring Clive Owen, Jude Law, Natalie Portman, and Julia Roberts. It was directed by Mike Nichols.
Do you need to get fit in the new year?
E AZIN
MAG
Send your answers to letters@thestew.ca
Todd Sullivan todd@thestew.ca publisher / editor-in-chief “God, yes. I’ve been too busy the last few months to even think about the gym, but I swear as soon as we close Closer I’ll be back in there, nose to the grindstone, or whatever (yeah, sure...)
Juli Harland juli@thestew.ca sales manager / executive editor “I am constantly trying to improve all aspects of my health more. Physical, mental, environmental, and spiritual. I think that is just part of living, really, constant self-improvement.”
Angela Shephard angela@thestew.ca fine frugality (crafters beat)
Jamie Horsley tonesoup@thestew.ca tone soup (music beat) “Maybe. But it's probably not going to happen.”
Carol Davidson stir@thestew.ca stir (health beat)
Torrey Owen torrey@thestew.ca In My Shoes (city beat)
Natasha Peeman hairdooz@telus.net beautydooz (health & beauty beat)
Terri Smith roads.end.csa@gmail.com Eating Local (food beat) “Being a farmer and all, I’m fairly physically fit, but for my New Year’s Resolution I have decided to try to become mentally and emotionally stronger. I resolve to be true to myself. I plan on speaking my mind more without worrying so much about how my opinions may be received.”
Michael Jones jjonesmii@yahoo.com One Seoul Searching (overseas beat)
Laura Kelsey laura@wordsmore.com Poetry Editor “I keep fit every day by running, cycling and loving.”
MICHAEL RAWLUK PHOTOS
COME CLOSER Our own Todd Sullivan returns to the director’s seat with the Williams Lake Studio Theatre production of Patrick Marber’s Closer. The play is on stage this month and features Christopher Hutton as Dan, Bobbie-Jo Macnair as Alice, Shane Tollefson as Larry, and Terri Smith as Anna. Tickets are avaialble at About Face Photography in Williams Lake. See more on this show on page 8.
THE STEW Magazine is an independently owned and operated monthly arts and lifestyle magazine published in the Cariboo Chilcotin. All information contained in this magazine is correct, to our best knowledge, as of press time. Opinions expressed by correspondents and contributors are not necessarily those of THE STEW or its employees. We reserve the right to edit letters to the editor for grammar, punctuation, content, or length. All letters must be signed by the author. THE STEW Magazine accepts no responsibility for correctness beyond the amount paid for that portion of advertising space occupied by the incorrect item. We reserve the right to refuse any advertising or editorials submission which we believe to be inconsistent with the philosophy of this publication. The contents of this publication are copyright The Stew Magazine 2012.
PAGE 8 | THE STEW Magazine | January 2013
Closer is the shortest-titled play that Todd has directed, follwing previous directorial efforts like Some Things You Need To Know Before The World Ends, A Final Evening With the Illuminati and Welcome to the Monkey House.
Studio Theatre brings sexy show to the stage BY TODD SULLIVAN
JULI HARLAND PHOTO
THE STEW MAGAZINE
On January 16 the curtain opens on the Williams Lake Studio Theatre’s latest effort, a production of Patrick Marber’s Closer. This is significant to us here at The Stew Magazine not just because we’re pretty fond of the local theatre group, but because I’m the guy in the director’s chair and Juli is producing the show. We’ve also got our local food columnist, Terri Smith, playing the part of Anna. The cast is rounded out with Chris Hutton as Dan, Bobbie-Jo Macnair as Alice and Shane Tollefson as Larry. So what can I tell you about the play? It’s a story of love and sex and the struggles that we all have in our efforts to find happiness, and how we usually hurt someone along the way. It’s about life and it’s about death and it’s about how we bump into each other along the way from one to the other. It’s also a very, very grown-up show. Like, seriously, for real. The play contains explicit language and sexual situations. Characters say things like “Fuck off and die,” so if that’s the sort of thing that makes you squeamish, you probably shouldn’t come to see it. But if you’re the sort of person who’d like to see more of that sort of thing in the theatre, someone who might enjoy a good, adult-oriented, dramatic show, with a few laughs scattered along the way, Closer might be just the right show for you. It’s a play I’ve been trying to get onto the stage for a number of years now, and it’s a little surreal that we’re actually this close to being done with it. When something occupies this much of your mind for this much time, I’m not sure what happens to that space in your head when that thing is no longer there to occupy it. Will I hear the sucking sound of a vaccuum? Or will something quickly rush in to take its place? Either way, as much as it’s hard to believe we’re almost done, it’s also really exciting to see this show almost complete. As I write this, we’re only about a week from opening night, so pretty much everything is on stage right now, except for a few little tweaks here and there. It looks like the show. And, as much as I’m probably biased, the show looks good. I mean really, really good. Seriously, you should come and see this thing. Tickets are on sale right now at About Face Photography. The play run Wednesdays through Saturdays from January 16 to 26. I promise you this is a show that people will be talking about, so you’ll definitely want to get in early. Plus, it’s going to be a pretty sexy time. And we know you like a sexy time.
Dandelion Living
Wishing a healthy, happy, and sustainable new year to all our friends and customers, new and old.
EXOTIC ENTERTAINMENT Shane Tollefson and Bobbie-Jo Macnair rehearse a sexy scene from Closer, the latest production from the Williams Lake Studio Theatre.
Open Monday to Saturday • Tuesdays and Thursdays show your mine card and get your name in a draw for a VIP night out with your crew! • Mon-Sat it’s Girls, Girls, Girls! • Sat - No cover charge for the ladies! • Dance floor open 6 days a week, come dance your ass off at the coolest place in town!
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January 2013 | THE STEW Magazine | PAGE 9 JULI HARLAND PHOTO
WINTER PLAYTIME ď ľ A yardful of perfect snowman snow brought The Stew publisher Todd Sullivan out from his winter hibernation to teach his daughter Morrigan the fine art of crafting people from the wintery white stuff.
Play Your guide to where to go and what to do for the month of January
PAGE 10 | THE STEW Magazine | January 2013
If you happen to come to Closer on January 18, it is also Juli`s birthday. Bar-crawling will commence immediately after the show starting at Diamonds and Dust
JULI HARLAND PHOTO
INDIE ARTIST Local singer / songwriter Oren Barter brought his sounds to the Bean Counter earlier this month. Barter is currently recording his second CD, currently scheduled for release in the spring.
January 11 - Feb 9, Parkside Art Gallery, 100 Mile House: Dichotomy by Teresa Donck. “A division into two especially mutually exclusive or contradictory groups or entities the dichotomy between theory and practice; also: the process or practice of making such
a division dichotomy of the population into two opposed classes. January 15, 6:00 - 8:00 pm, Central Cariboo Arts Centre, Williams Lake, :CCACS Grant Writing Workshop, Instructed by Graham Kelsey. FREE – Register with the
CCACS at 778-412-9044 or info@centralcaribooarts.com. The workshop will introduce commonly made pitfalls in grant applications (e.g. budgeting, project description, etc). It will be focused on the CCACS Project Grant application.
January 16-19/23-26, 7:30pm, Glendale Theatre, Williams Lake: The Williams Studio Theatre presents its 2nd production of the 2012/2013 season, “Closer” by Patrick Marber. Directed by Todd Sullivan and starring Christopher Hutton, Bobbie-Jo Macnair, Terri Smith
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and Shane Tollefson. Come see for yourself what these people do to themselves and others all in the name of love, or something like it. On stage January 16-19 and 23-26. January 16, 7:00 PM - 9:00 pm, Williams Lake Library: CRD Film: Payback. We are very excited to announce the Winter 2013 selection of National Film Board documentaries, which begins January 16th with Payback. Directed by Jennifer Baichwal. Based on Margaret Atwood’s bestselling book Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth. The show offers a fascinating look at debt as a mental construct and traces how it influences relationships, societies, governing structures and even the fate of the planet. It also explores the link between debtor and creditor in a variety of contexts and places. Stories and insights are woven together by the prescient and acute observations of Atwood herself, who demonstrates both that the concept of debt lies at the very core of human experience. January 17, 24, 31, Feb 7, 14, 7:30 9:30pm, Williams Lake Secondary School Band
Room: WL Community Band Practice. The Williams Lake Community Band invites musicians to come and play. Practices are every Thursday evening 7:30 to 9:30 pm, in the Williams Lake Secondary Band Room. If you can play an instrument (trombone, sax, clarinet, flute, trumpet, etc.), even if you have not played in years, we encourage you to join us.Formed in 1982, the WL Community Band performs at many functions throughout the year, such as: Remembrance Day Ceremonies, Canada Day, Christmas Concerts, Stampede Parade, Spring Concert in the Park, and other special events. January 18, 25, Feb 1, 8, 15, 7:00 - 9:00pm, Central Cariboo Arts Center, Williams Lake: Square Dancing for Beginners! Add fun to your life. Try something new - square dancing for new dancers. Great music, friendly people. Easy dancing with no worries about leading, following, or maintaining frame. Wholesome fun and great exercise. Contact Info: Nick 250 392-2432 or Marie 250 392-5360. Email: nmturner@telus.net . URL: http://www.wmslk. squaredance.bc.ca.
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January 2013 | THE STEW Magazine | PAGE 11
We are pleased as punch at the amount of stellar live theatre productions on stage in January. The live arts are alive and well!
January 18, 7:00 - 9:00pm, Williams Lake Library: Interactive Author Evening: Chris Harris. Join us for an exciting conversation with authors Chris Harris and Sage Birchwater on their new book: Flyover: British Columbia’s Cariboo Chilcotin Coast: An Aviation Legacy. The aviation history of the Cariboo Chilcotin is rich and colourful, with float planes coming first, followed by wheeled planes and helicopters.Harris and Birchwater take you on an aerial journey, told visually through Harris’ impeccable lens and with Birchwater’s story-telling prowess to draw on the memories and experiences of both bush-pilot pioneers and new generation industry, search and rescue and recreational flyers. Bring your questions for the author! Books will be available for purchase and signing. For further info, contact Caroline Derksen, Area Librarian at cderksen@cariboord. bc.ca or 250-392-2331 ex 220
caterers and a dessert buffet featuring 2 bakeries (so far). A dinner-theatre style mock wedding complete with a real Quesnel couple (Jessie Herman & Nolan Mitchell), an emotional ceremony, an amazing dinner and party, and Quesnel’s best wedding vendors! It is guaranteed to be full of gorgeous decorations, incredible food and lots of laughs – just might be THE party of the year! (19+) Tickets available at Blumko Flower Art (cash only) or by visiting www. smalltownlove.com. January 22, 6:30 - 9:00pm, Central Cariboo Arts Center, Williams Lake: Cariboo Camera Club meeting. The Cariboo Camera Club meets at 6:30pm on the fourth Tuesday of the month in the Great Room of the Central Cariboo Arts Centre. The Cariboo Camera Club is CAPA affiliated (Canadian Association of Photographic Art). For more info, contact Cathie Wright at cewright@xplornet.ca
generally fascinating but overlooked joy of the woods. Bill and Louisa Chapman have foraged for mushrooms in this area for years, and now they’re sharing their knowledge. This workshop on Jan 22 will prepare us for a Spring outing. Email shemphill@ midbc.com or phone 398-8532 to register. Only a few spaces left!
January 25/26, 9:30pm, The Boot Caberet, Williams Lake: Get ready Williams Lake! ThirdDegree is back at The Boot January 25-26 for a weekend of kickass classic rock!
will run Wednesday, January 23 - Wednesday, February 27, 2013, from 7-10 pm, plus they will have a couple of non-instructional Saturday mornings for students to work if they choose. Cost is $130 per person, includes instruction, clay, firing, and glazes. Register at The Station House Gallery.
January 26, 1:00 2:00pm, New World Cafe, Williams Lake: Music at New World
with Amber Bowen. Join Amber for lunch and some songs at New World Cafe. She will be singing some covers and some of her originals. After the crazy holiday rush, January is a great month to grab a latte or tea and slow down with some music and friends. See you there!
Williams Lake
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January 23, 7:30pm, Chuck Moberly Theatre, Quesnel: Quesnel Live Arts presents: The Deck. DECK examines the fine line between perfectionism and obsession, chaos and freedom and why a piece of 2×6 lumber isn’t really two inches by six inches. Not even close. NOTE: This performance is not suitable for children. WARNING: Power tools, physics, partial nudity. Show is $25 for adults and $20 seniors/youth. Season Tickets (6 Shows & Reserved seating at the Chuck Mobley Theatre) – Adults – $125, Seniors/Youth – $100. For more information please visit www.qla.ca
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January 19, 5:30 - 10:00pm, Quesnel Senior’s Center, Quesnel: The UnReal Wedding:Tickets are $40 per person and include a dinner buffet featuring multiple
January 22, 7:00pm, Scout Island Nature Center: Mushroom Identification Workshop. Here’s a dandy opportunity to learn about a delicious wild food source and
January 23, 30, Feb 6, 13, 7:00 - 10:00pm, Central Cariboo Arts Center, Williams Lake: Beginner Pottery Classes! Beginner Pottery Classes with the Cariboo Potters’ Guild
January 16–19 and 23–26, 2013 | Doors open at 7:30, show starts at 8:00 Tickets available at About Face Photography CONTENT WARNING: This play contains explicit language and sexual situations. CLOSER is presented by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc., New York
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PAGE 12 | THE STEW Magazine | January 2013
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January 26, 6:00pm, Scout Island Nature Center: Star Gazing Event. Local Astronomers will guide this evening of star gazing for all levels. Bring your telescope or binoculars if you have them. Dress warmly for lying in the snow and no headlamps or flashlights please If very cold or overcast the event will be cancelled. FREE family event.
dinner served at 6:30 pm. Tickets are $30. For more information or for tickets, contact: Lisa McCargar at 250992-9769. Slainte!
January 26, 6:00pm, Royal Canadian Legion, Quesnel: Robbie Burns Night! Come on out and celebrate the immortal Scottish Bard with an evening of wonderful food and delightful entertainment!! Doors open at 5:30 pm, programme starts at 6:00 pm with
February 2, 11:00am - 4:00pm, West Fraser Timber Park, Quesnel: It’s Quesnel’s Winter Carnival! Loads of activities and tons of fun at this free family event. Come on down and join the fun.
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January 2013 | THE STEW Magazine | PAGE 13
In a 2008 medical study, 40 out of 60 patients showed marked improvements of their once high blood pressure following 30 daily minutes of meditation.
StewSpots Looking to get your copy on the latest edition of THE STEW Magazine? We’re available for pickup in a variety of places around the Cariboo Chilcotin. Please remember that this list is always evolving, and we’re always looking for new places that our magazine can call home, so if you know of someplace that you think should be a drop-off point for THE STEW, or if you own a business and you’d like to have a few copies of our magazine on your shelves, plus let us know.You can reach us by email at either todd@thestew. ca or juli@thestew.ca. Locations listed in alphabetical order 100 MILE HOUSE 99 Mile Supermarket A&W Alpine Deli & Sub Shop Chartreuse Moose Chevron CRD Library Dairy Queen Donex Higher Ground Natural Foods KFC Lone Butte General Store Marcel’s Boulevard Cafe Nuthatch Book Store Paninos Parkside Art Gallery Pharmasave Safeway Save-On Foods Smitty’s Subway Tim Hortons Velda’s Pasteries & Desserts Visitor Centre Yummers 150 MILE HOUSE 150 Mile Mall Marshall’s Store IN LAC LA HACHE Fast Trac Gas and Convenience Store Clancy’s Restaurant IN WILLIAMS LAKE 7-Eleven A&W Alley Katz Annie’s Attic Bean Counter Canadian Tire Canwest Propane Cariboo Growers Cariboo Memorial Complex Cariboo Spring CRD Library (Magazine & News Section) Central Cariboo Arts & Culture Center Concrete Fitness Cool Clear Water Dairy Queen Dandelion Living Denny’s Restaurant Dollar Dollar Elaine’s Natural Foods The Gecko Tree Greyhound Halls Organics Hobbit House Husky Karamia’s LD’s Cafe M&M Meat Shop McDonald’s Mohawk Mountview Store Movies on the Go New World Cafe One More Slice The Open Book The Overlander Hotel Quiznos Red Shred’s Safeway Sandman Inn Save On Foods Shell Shopper’s Drug Mart Sight and Sound Starbucks Station House Gallery Subway (Downtown) Subway (on the Highway) Tim Horton’s Tourism Info Centre TRU WLCBIA Women’s Contact Society Zellers Restaurant IN QUESNEL 7-Eleven (on the Highway) 7-Eleven (in West Quesnel) A&W Aroma Foods Billy Barker Hotel & Casino Bliss Burger Palace Carry All Books Granville’s Coffee Green Tree Health & Wellness Karin’s Deli Mac’s Museum & Tourist Centre Pier 14 Quiznos Riverside Bistro (West Park Mall) Safeway Save On Foods Shopper’s Drug Mart Steeped Subway Super Suds Laundromat Tim Horton’s (on the Highway) Tim Horton’s (Downtown)
Quiet your mind with meditation BY HAI LIANG The mention of meditation usually brings to mind an old sage sitting crossedlegged in a cave. You don’t have to be old or go to a cave to practise meditation. In fact, meditation is something that everyone can learn and practise in our daily life so that our mind is calm and free from worries. In today’s hectic and stressful world, many people are often tensed, anxious and unhappy. Meditation is a useful tool to help us overcome stress and find the much needed inner peace. The essence of meditation is to quiet the mind. Each day thousands of thoughts race through our mind. As a result, we do not have a clear and focused mind. It’s like rough sea churning up sediments causing the water to be murky. When the sea is calm, the sediments will settle and the water will then become clear. Similarly, through meditation, we learn to calm the mind and rid ourselves of distracting thoughts so that our mind will become clear and alert. We will also feel more relaxed and refreshed. When we master meditation, we can also easily change our mind from troubled to peaceful or from negative to positive. Thus, we will become happier and feel more peaceful. Meditation is not something that is difficult
The essence of meditation is to quiet the mind. Each day thousands of thoughts race through our mind. As a result, we do not have a clear and focused mind. It`s like rough sea churning up sediments causing the water to be murky. to learn. The key is to keep practising. The length of time to meditate depends on how much time you have. On a busy day, you may choose to just spend 10-15 mins meditating. If time permits, you can always try to meditate for longer period of up to an hour. Try these simple steps for a start: * Find a quiet place so that you will not get distracted by noise. * Sit in a comfortable position. You can choose to sit with your legs crossed or otherwise. You can also sit on the chair if you like. Try to keep your back fairly straight so that your mind will not become drowsy and you won’t feel sleepy so easily. * Gently close your eyes and breathe naturally through your nose. * Turn your attention to your breathing. As you inhale, notice that your stomach expands. When you exhale, notice it contracts. This movement of expansion and contraction in your stomach as you breathe is the focal point
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for you when you meditate. If you can’t feel much of the movement, gently place your hand over your stomach and you will be able to feel it better. It is very common that after a short while of noting the movement of your stomach, your mind starts to wander off and you start thinking about other things. When you notice this, slowly bring your attention back to the focal point and start noting
the stomach movement again. Every time when your mind goes astray, just come back to the focal point again. Don’t feel frustrated or give up easily if you find you can’t concentrate for long on the movement of your stomach. Be patient and continue to practise. With practise, you will realise that your concentration improves and your mind wanders off less. Keep an open mind and allow
yourself time to experience the true benefits of meditation. When our mind is peaceful, we can experience true happiness. Ask anyone if he or she wants to be happy and the answer is most definitely “of course!” So meditation is for everyone, regardless of age, race or religion. As long as we want to experience happiness and inner peace, meditation can help us achieve that. Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com Hai Liang is the cofounder of PersonalDevelopment4All.com which aims to help others succeed in Love, Life and Finances through the power of personal development. For more information please visit PersonalDevelopment4All.com
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PAGE 14 | THE STEW Magazine | January 2013
There’s no way that blasting any kind of food with radiation can be an optimum preparation method.
The long, strange journey of beef in British Columbia
Eating Local By Terri Smith Feedlots cause E. coli; giant slaughterhouses spread it over the meat. Period. End of story. Sorry, I’m just the messenger. In trying to sort through what exactly I wanted to say this month for this series I’m doing on local meat, I came across this month’s Beef in BC magazine and it has certainly helped me find some areas to focus on. Because of the recent E. coli scare and recall at XL Foods Inc., the public has demanded answers and solutions. One of these proposed solutions is a vaccine against the strains of E. coli that are making people sick. The problem is, the vaccines don’t really work. However, “unlike the vaccine, other types of food safety interventions such as irradiation, antimicrobial
sprays or carcass pasteurization can reduce all types of food borne pathogens” (p. 14, Jan-Feb 2013). Does no one see a problem with this? Fortunately ground beef irradiation is not yet approved in Canada, though the Canadian Cattle Association thinks Canadians need to have the choice to purchase irradiated ground beef as consumers do in the US. My issue with this way of thinking is that we have taken our food system so far beyond normal that we can barely even identify what normal is any more. Sure, any of these methods could kill harmful microbes, but these processes are indiscriminate and would kill the good microbes as well, not to mention possible harmful side effects. If our food is sterile, it is no longer food.
As an amusing illustration to this point, I am currently reading Joel Salatin’s book, Folks, This Ain’t Nor-
mal in which he talks about giving his cats a plate of supermarket ground beef and a plate of beef from his own
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grass-fed cattle. The cats stepped right over the supermarket variety and gobbled up the good stuff. Even after
they’d licked the plate clean they wouldn’t touch the feedlotproduced, irradiated, supermarket crap.
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January 2013 | THE STEW Magazine | PAGE 15
We’re not sure about the cats in your house, but the ones at the Stew HQ would probably eat any kind of beef you put in front of them, including the irradiated kind.
He jokingly challenges people to ask their cats about the meat they are feeding their families. As he puts it, “[cats] are not funded by industrial food conglomerates. They don’t have political alliances. They are not peer-dependent or swayed by hours of TV advertising. They are just primal beings whose sensory safeguards still function. Indeed, your pets probably have a much better handle on nutrition than your doctor.” (Salatin, 119). What I’m getting at here is that if we actually had a local food system there wouldn’t be a problem. With the industrialization of food we have created myriad issues; and rather than sheepishly admitting that maybe this didn’t work we spend billions of dollars trying to fix and cover up all the problems that never existed before we thought we could do better than nature. Another scary thing brought up in this issue of
Beef in BC was blade tenderizing. Because so much steak from feedlots is not really fit to eat, and because, oddly enough, customers prefer tenderness over every other quality, a certain retail chain (who shall remain nameless), tired of too many customers returning steak because it was too tough began using this method of tenderizing in it’s stores. With blade tenderizing, a machine inserts a series of sharp blades into the steak to physically tenderize it. The problem with this method is that when combined with the new super strains of E. coli from feedlot cattle and the contamination of the meat at the processing plant, the tenderizer’s blades push the pathogen all the way inside the steak. While cooking the steak should have killed whatever pathogens were on the outside, now the pathogens have found their way inside (“Rethinking Beef Tenderness,” Church,
50-55). And this process has not been considered a health issue because nothing was added to the meat. I can’t so much as slice a vegetable I’m selling without doing so in a commercial kitchen, yet people died because of this process that was not considered a problem. Sheesh! I can’t see how we can get away from the necessary evil of feedlots just yet, but if customers demand local meat killed at local abattoirs, the system will have to follow and perhaps local ranchers one day won’t have to sell to feedlots anymore. Maybe one day, local meat can feed local people. However, most customers don’t even know that they are not supporting local meat right now. In yet another article in the same magazine, the anonymous writer speaks about the Behind the Beef program which puts ‘Beef Educators’ into Save On Foods, Safeways, IGAs, and
Coopers to name a few, a few times a year to answer customers’ questions about beef. This would be a good idea, except that it is misleading. There is no BC beef for sale in the grocery stores and these ‘Beef Educators’ make it seem like there is. Apparently customers were, “happy to learn that most cattle spend the majority of their lives grazing outside with minimal human interventions” (“Behind the Beef, 70-71). That’s nice. Now those customers can buy their saranwrapped, Styrofoam package of steak and feel good about themselves. But the reality is that the happy grazing cattle left their happy grazing grounds for a final three months of hell where they stood knee-deep in their own shit which had become toxic from the better-livingthrough-chemistry diet they were fed and then they were killed in an assembly-line before their new lifestyle
had a chance to catch up with them. Frustrated at my lack of ability to really come up with any solutions to this rant, I close the magazine and the back cover is like a slap in the face. Next to photos of nine ranching families from BC is the Western Family logo and the caption, “Proudly Supporting Local Ranchers.” At the bottom is a list of supermarkets: Save On Foods, Overwaitea Foods, PriceSmart foods, Cooper’s Foods. How are these stores supporting local ranchers when no BC meat can be sold in BC grocery stores? And to the people in the pictures: why are you supporting this illusion? How is it helpful to your industry to have it seem as though BC grocery stores sell BC meat? Enough already. I’m done. On second thought, go ahead and shoot the messenger; then I won’t have to write another article. roads.end.csa@gmail.com
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PAGE 16 | THE STEW Magazine | January 2013
What’s your pick for best (or, better yet, worst) album of the year? Shoot a note to Jamie at tonesoup@thestew.ca or send one to us at letters@thestew.ca
Tone Soup picks the best albums of 2012 Alright folks, the first year I gave you my top five albums, last year I gave you my Top 10. This year, I’m going all out (because I can’t bring myself to cut my list any shorter) and giving you my Top 20 Albums of 2012! There’s lots to cram into this little space so let’s get started. 20. California 37 by Train Alright, we’re starting at the bottom of the list with my own guilty pleasure. I almost didn’t include this album on the list simply because I don’t really consider it to be awe inspiring, or astounding, or musical genius, or groundbreaking or anything much compared to most of the other albums on this list. There’s even two songs on the album that I consistently skip (‘This’ll Be My Year’ and ‘Mermaid’). But ya know what? This album really is a lot of fun. And some of the songs on here are among my most played from this whole list, according to my iTunes. Best song: ‘50 Ways To Say Goodbye’. 19. Making Mirrors by Gotye The overplayed single that everyone now loves to hate/parody/cover was released to the internet in the summer of 2011, the Making Mirrors album was released in Australia in the fall of that year.
We finally got a North American release of the album in the early of 2012. ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’ wasn’t quite overplayed yet, and the record broke all kinds of records for Australian albums and single sales, nationally and internationally. I fell in love with the perfectly recreated 80s sounds. This album deserves all the international acclaim it gets. Best song: ‘Bronte’. 18. The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than The Driver Of The Screw And Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do by Fiona Apple Being her first album in seven years, I’m gonna call this the Comeback Album Of The Year! I was thoroughly impressed with this album. Her sultry voice and jazzy musical style combined with dark, emotional lyrics make this possibly her best album yet. I’ve been recommending this album to a lot of people this past year. You should check it out too, if you haven’t already. Best song: ‘Werewolf ’. 17. Sorrow and Extinction by Pallbearer Doom Album Of The Year! This is Pallbearer’s debut album and damn, is it depressing. Everyone dies in the end. And not
voice and Hollywood sadcore style won me over almost instantly. For a brief, more mature, less pop sample of her unique style, check out her newer Paradise EP. Best song: ‘National Anthem’.
Tone Soup By Jamie Horsley with an explosive climax either. The songs are long and slow and mournful. Being released in February, it kind of set the tone for a year full of sooth-sayers and doomsday prophets. I believe Pallbearer and their newfound fame will drag doom metal into a new light and new popularity. Best song: ‘An Offering of Grief ’. 16. Koloss by Meshuggah I was a little caught off guard by the album when it was released. There is a significant shift in the style and tempo of this album as compared to Meshuggah albums of the past. In the beginning it intrigued me, and the more I listened to it, the more I grew to love it. This album is included in every “Best of 2012” list that recognizes music this heavy. This is one epic album! Best song: ‘Swarm’. 15. Born Villain by Marilyn Manson
Manson returns to his roots and tramples over the emotions revealed in recent releases with this rage fuelled album. I wasn’t as much a fan of this album as some of his others, but I still kept coming back to it, like an old bad habit you just can’t break. But seriously, this is a solid album, and was very well received with fans of the more classic Marilyn Manson sound. Best song: ‘Murderers Are Getting Prettier Every Day’. 14. Born To Die by Lana Del Rey New Artist Of The Year! The pouty-lipped starlet burst onto the scene in 2011 with her self-produced music video for her single ‘Video Games.’ Then in early 2012 she released her “debut” album Born To Die, amidst controversy over the authenticity of her image and the deservedness of her sudden fame. Her sultry
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13. Cobra Juicy by Black Moth Super Rainbow Wait, who the fuck is Black Moth Super Rainbow? Imagine Pink Floyd’s really psychedelic early years with a vocoder fetish. Spacey awesomeness. Cobra Juicy is their fifth album but the first that I’ve actually paid attention to. They’ve definitely won me over as a fan. Wether you already love them, or you’ve never heard of them, you need to listen to this. Best song: ‘Spraypaint’. 12. 12 Bit Blues by Kid Koala This album appropriately fell into this placing in the list completely of its own accord, I swear. Kid Koala trades his ‘Drunk Trumpet’ jazz style for the blues. 12 bits of blues to be exact. Once again Eric San amazes me with his precise turntablism. I went and saw the Vinyl Vaudeville tour when it was in town; it was definitely the most fun I’ve had at a concert in a long time. Best song: ‘6 Bit Blues’. 11. An omen EP_ by How
To Destroy Angels After a disappointing debut EP from How To Destroy Angels, they’ve stepped up their game with An omen EP_. This time around it doesn’t feel like they’re trying too hard. The newer sound is softer and darker and gloomier. I am now very excited for a full length album from these guys this year. Best song: ‘Ice Age’.
10. The Afterman: Ascension by Coheed & Cambria Coheed and Cambria truly have traded in their space ships and laser cannons for more relatable, emotional stories in this album, which delves more into the pre-history of the Coheed and Cambria fictional universe. This happens to be another case of I’m more a fan of the artist than the album, but I still think it’s a stellar album overall. Looking forward to The Afterman: Descension in February. Best song: ‘Mothers of Men’. Runner up: ‘Key Entity Extraction IV: Evagria the Faithful’.
January 2013 | THE STEW Magazine | PAGE 17
Todd’s favourite album of the year was Regina Spektor’s What We Saw from the Cheap Seats
every time I looked at this list during the last month, and four more times since I’ve sat down here. So, here finally, is my grand judgement.
9. Covered by Macy Gray Macy Gray? Holy crap, where’s she been? Releasing albums and appearing in films, apparently. In this album she covers a brilliant selection of music relevant to her generation. She even takes a few minutes out to pepper the album with skits in which she pokes fun at herself while her friends offer her career advice. This is another album that’s just way too much fun to ignore. Best song: ‘Teenagers’. Runner up: ‘Maps’.
8. The Sound of the Life of the Mind by Ben Folds Five I love me some piano rock! This album is awesome. I need to find a better word than ‘fun’. Now that we’re well into the top 10, all these albums are fun. But when the video for the major single from the album is full of Fraggles and preaches ‘Do It Anyway,’ what is that but fun? But this album gets deeply emotional, as in ‘Away When You Were Here’ and ‘Erase Me.’ And it tells great stories like ‘The Sound of the Life of the Mind’ and ‘On Being Frank.’ Beautifully musical. Frightfully singable. Such a good album beginning to end. Best song: ‘Draw A Crowd’. Runner up: ‘Do It Anyway’.
7. Ufabulum by Squarepusher They say genius borders on madness. This is the most ingeniously mad thing I’ve heard in ages. This is the experimental IDM (intelligent dance music) album that my soul has been pining for for the last half decade. The older folks might find it too chaotic. The younger folks might find it lacks the sexiness and / or aggression of modern EDM. But this hits the mark for what I grew up loving about experimental electronic music. Best song: ‘Unreal Square’. Runner Up: ‘Dark Steering’.
6. (III) by Crystal Castles After listening to a previous Crystal Castles album, their name faded into the obscurity of my iTunes library. Then I sat down and listened to this, their third eponymous album, and went, “Whoa.” The witch house on this album has cast a spell on me and I can’t stop listening to it. I don’t think I’ve ever heard anything quite like this brilliantly eerie concoction of avant-garde electronica before. Best Song: ‘Insulin’. Runner up: ‘Child I Will Hurt You’. Now we’re getting into the top five. I could have easily declared it a five-way tie for number one but that would be too easy. Instead I rearranged these top five
5. Bangarang (EP) by Skrillex This EP from Skrillex showcases a more diverse talent and a little more maturity than the dubstep overdrive of most of his past material. I almost overplayed this album when it came out and then rediscovered it this fall only to find that I am in serious love with this album. Best song: ‘Breakin’ A Sweat’. Runner up: ‘Kyoto’.
When I first heard this album I said, “That’s album of the year, right there.” For the rest of the year I prophesied that this would be the number one album on every year end list of rock and roll that knew what it was talking about. If I were ranking these albums unbiasedly based on musical quality alone, it would be ordered very differently, and this would easily be number one. This album is absolutely stellar, and I can’t imagine anyone not enjoying it. Blunderbuss gets my vote for the 55th Annual Grammy Award for Album of the Year. Best song: ‘Love Interruption’. Runner up: ‘I Guess I Should Go To Sleep’.
THE STEW MAGAZINE’S
Monthly
MIX
These are the songs that rocked our world during the last 30 days
Todd Sullivan Lana Del Rey - ‘American’ Kim Boekbinder - ‘Lick My Love Pump’ Nine Inch Nails - ‘Closer’ Jamie Horsley Skrillex - ‘Kyoto (featuring Sirah)’ Mustard Pimp - ‘Donks’ Every Time I Die - ‘Partying Is Such Sweet Sorrow’ Laura Kelsey Martha Wainwright - ‘Proserpina’ Sólstafir - ‘Fjara’ Sain Arden - ‘Bring You Around’
4. Battle Born by The Killers This is another artist that’s well solidified in their career and I’m only just discovering them. Battle Born is pure illustrious heartland rock and roll! This is the Bruce Springsteen of the modern generation. But all that shit’s been said before and I dunno what else to say. This album deserves awards. Best song: ‘Runaways’. Runner up: ‘Miss Atomic Bomb’.
2. Ex Lives by Every Time I Die Holy fuck! This album easily wins Most Brutal Album of the Year, and Most Disturbing Album Opening of Ever. The angry / angsty / deeply disturbed lyrics in this album and the brutal mathcore riffs made this my goto frustration vent for 2012. Ex Lives was extremely well received by critics and some would claim it to be ETID’s best album yet. I wouldn’t disagree. Incredibly awesome. Best song: ‘Underwater Bimbos From Outer Space’. Runner up: ‘Revival Mode’.
3. Blunderbuss by Jack White
by Diplo
1. Express Yourself (EP)
Terri Smith The one song I can’t get out of my head this month is ‘Closer’ by Nine Inch Nails… Everyone come see the play, Closer! It’s going to be great! This could be the greatest, most under appreciated EDM album of all time. Random plays of the songs on this album have cheered me up all year long. Every time I hear one of these tracks I just want to dance. The talent displayed here reaches out to a variety of sub-genres of EDM, and Diplo skillfully uses each palette to create beautiful, sexy, sexy masterpieces that will have you eargasming for the whole twentyfive minutes of this EP. Twenty-five minutes is far too short for anything this good. I’d like a full length album from Diplo in the near future. On the bright side, there’s new Major Lazer on the way next month. Even though it’s not for anything actually on this EP, Diplo has been nominated as Non Classical Producer of the Year for the 55th Annual
Grammy Awards. Best song: ‘Barely Standing (featuring Datsik & Sabi)’. Runner up: ‘Set It Off (featuring Lazerdisk Party Sex)’. Honorable Mention goes to The 2nd Law by Muse. Everyone I talk to keeps telling me how good this album is. I know how good it is. It’s a brilliant concept album with stellar execution. It just didn’t get the listens and the familiarity to land on this list. But ‘Supremacy’ rocks. Well there you have it. That’s what I was listening to for the better part of last year. Feel free to write me and tell me what you think of my terrible taste and what you listened to most last year. Make your New Year’s Resolution to listen to a wider variety of music. Happy 2013 everyone! tonesoup@thestew.ca
PAGE 18 | THE STEW Magazine | January 2013
But pomegranates are delicious.
Pomegranates are hard to eat BY LAURA KELSEY
one by one, like little red teeth iridescent with white roots planted in the sour meat of the fruit bunched, clusters of salmon eggs jelly surrounding the crunchy little bones of the baby fish
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January 2013 | THE STEW Magazine | PAGE 19
We don’t really have a favourite fitness book at Stew HQ — we like to think of reading as a mostly sloth-like activity.
CRD Library has titles to help you reach your fitness goals Starting on your fitness resolution? Check out what the library has to offer. We buy diet and fitness books so you don’t have to. Read up on the latest fitness advice, or find out more about a diet trend by checking it out at the library before you buy it. Here are some of the most popular fitness books in the Cariboo Regional District Library right now.
carbs, vegetarians, misinformation, and other aspects of modern life with a casual, conversational tone that makes even topics like the components of total cholesterol engaging. Wolf ’s scientific background allows him to fully explain hormones, fats, and the digestive process, and helps him put the fundamentals of evolutionary biology into accessible context.
The Paleo Solution : The Original Human Diet. Robb Wolf. 2010. Wolf convincingly sets out the argument that “modern life causes diabetes, autoimmunity, cancer, neurodegeneration, and infertility.” Wolf, a research biochemist, tackles grains,
Anatomy of Exercise. Pat Manocchia. 2008. Want or need to know how different muscles of the body actually work during exercise? This book is organized by body area and shows common sequences in the progression of a typi-
cal workout. Lifelike anatomical illustrations demonstrate each exercise and reveal in colourful detail exactly which muscles are engaged, which are being conditioned and how those muscles respond.
Warrior Cardio: The Revolutionary Metabolic Training System For Burning Fat, Building Muscle, and Getting Fit. Martin Rooney. 2012. Boot camp goes DIY.
Follow us to a whole
We [the CRD library] buy diet and fitness books so you do’ have to. Read up on the latest fitness advice or find out more about a diet trend by checking it out at the library before you buy it. Here are some of the most popular fitness books in the Cariboo Regional District Library right now. A comprehensive look at cardiovascular training using scientifically proven techniques, paired with a diet plan. This book includes hundreds of metabolic exercises; dozens of workout routines, including hurricanes, complexes, and body weight and strength circuits; advanced warm-up techniques to prevent injury.
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The Women’s Health Big Book of Exercises: Four Weeks to a Leaner, Sexier, Healthier You! Adam Campbell. 2010.
A wonderful all around workout guide for anyone who wants a better body and one of the most comprehensive collection of exercises ever created. This makeover manual is a body-shaping power tool for both beginners and long-time fitness buffs alike. From start to finish, this 480page makeover manual bulges with hundreds of useful tips, the latest findings in exercise science, and cuttingedge workouts from the world’s top trainers. You Are Your Own Gym : The Bible of Bodyweight Exercises. Mark Lauren. 2011. Mark Lauren has effectively prepared over 700 trainees for the extreme physical demands of the most elite levels of the special
operations community. He argues, “In this age, where our homes and gyms are cluttered with fitness gadgets, the simplest and most effective method for developing strength and losing fat has been largely overlooked — knowing how to train using nothing more than your body.” He presents a comprehensive and easy to understand program that can be done by anyone, anywhere, anytime, without costly equipment.
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PAGE 20 | THE STEW Magazine | January 2013
The Countdown
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