December 4th– 10th, 2008 - Vol. XXXI, No: 13
This was 2008
The TTC tango
Home is where the Hart is
Making moves in transit
Exploring Hart House’s hidden gems
JODIE SHUPAC
BRANDON O’RIORDAN
Community Concerns Bureau
Photo: Sam Catalfamo
For anyone waiting endlessly for the bus in the dead of winter, stamping your feet to fend off hypothermia and promising yourself that next year you will move to a mild European country where everybody only rides bicycles, you’ll probably be happy to hear that on November 22nd, the TTC increased the number of buses on the road and prolonged service times. Not since 1974 has Toronto seen such a dramatic upsurge of TTC activity, with Continued on page 5...
Campus Spelunking Bureau Sitting atop a modest slope at Hart House circle is the formidable and fort-like Hart House. Hart House was built with creative licence, sparing no expense, so it’s a beautiful mix of different styles within one building. Despite its austere exterior, Hart House is a welcoming beacon to the masses of students looking for a break from lectures, assignments and exams. One firm yank on the heavy front doors and you find yourself inside what is, for many students, the heart of life outside the classroom. In a place that holds so many clubs and so many events, students are bound to overlook some things. We spoke to Laney Marshall, Director of Programming at Hart House, to find out about some of Hart House’s hidden gems. To Marshall, the key to Hart House is versatility. “We want students to see Hart House as the place for everything,” she said. “It can be a place to work out, veg out, rediscover an old hobby or get into something new.” Clubs Hart House is the place to find other people with your interests, and some of its clubs have been there since it opened in 1919. Are you interested in photography? Hart House has the Camera Club and a fully-equipped dark room. Is directing more of your forte? The Hart House Film Board (http://hhfilmboard. com/wordpress) rents cameras and equipment, and is accepting submis-
sions for the upcoming U of T film festival. The festival includes categories like UofTube (under 5 min in length) or the Shitty Film Festival (make a bad film under a minute long), and the deadline for submissions is February 4, 2009. We all have certain eccentric hobbies that we’ve never had the time or resources (or the nerve?) to try out. Want to shoot an arrow? Hart House’s Archery Club has been running for 60 years now, and holds tournaments within Hart House and with other schools. New members are taken early in January, but membership is limited so move fast.
Photo: Helene Goderis
Continued on page 6...
2 the newspaper
December 4th – 10th, 2008
the inside
the table of CONTENTS the front page . . . . . . . . . . . 1
it’s a free-for-all! Calling all writers, copy editors and artists! Have you ever wanted to work in journalism? Would you like a chance to have you work published?
the newspaper is U of T’s ONLY independent newspaper, distributing across all 3 campuses as well as the surrounding community. This is an open call to all potential contributors. We want writers for politics, current events, sports, finance, arts and more! We are looking for creators to submit flash fiction, prose, poetry, photography, art, comics and anything else that falls out of your head. If you’d prefer to work behind the scene and help to edit and refine a weekly publication with 15,000 copies in circulation, then come see us. One more important thing: we offer free food! Yes! Come to our weekly open staff meeting, EVERY Thursday @ 5pm in our offices. We will feed your face! Awesomeness! We are on the South-West corner of St. George campus. Just North of College on Spadina. We want YOU to write between the lines.
the inside . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 the editorial . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
NOW WITH 28.1% MORE AWESOME!
the arts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5, 6, 7
29.5% of all people surveyed said that the new, improved website for U of T’s only independent newspaper did not cause them to vomit in their soul. Exciting! It’s a website that is always growing, built to specifications and suggestions that you can send to us! Soon you can rant, discuss and get your hate on for all your leastfavourite writers! teh interwebs is Good again.
the end . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Come see for yourself.
the news . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
www.thenewspaper.ca
the newspaper Publisher Matthew Pope
News Editor
Arts Editor
Ashley Minuk
Helene Goderis
Editor-in-chief Ari Simha
Administrative Assistant
Layout & Design
Caroline George
Lima Kim, Jan Borkowski
Copy Editors Elisabeth Bennett, Tayyaba Jiwani
Contributors Sam Catalfamo, Nicole Collins, Ashleigh Ingle, Brandon O’riordan, Erica Predko, Andrew Prosser, Jodie Shupac
Ads & Marketing Peter Josselyn ads@thenewspaper.ca 1 Spadina Crescent, Suite 245 Toronto, Ontario, M5S 1A1
main: (416) 593-0552
fax: (416) 593-0552
thenewspaper@ thenewspaper.ca
the mission statement the newspaper is proud to be University of Toronto’s ONLY independent news source. We look to our readers and contributors to ensure we provide a consistently superior product. Our purpose is to provide a voice for university students, staff, faculty and U of T’s extended community. This voice may at times be irreverent but it will never be irrelevant.
write between the lines
the newspaper thanks YOU for a fantastic 2008 run and here’s to another great one in 2009!
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December 4th – 10th, 2008
BEER • WINGS • POOL • JAVA SPORTS • JUKEBOX • SPIRITS EVENTS • OPEN STAGE • GAMES
the editorial A letter from the Publisher Greetings to all our valued readers,
Serving up a good time Every time since 9T6!
Weekly Events: Man vs. Martini MONDAYS Toonie TUESDAYS Open Mike WEDNESDAYS NOW PODCASTING (from our website)
Thirsty THURSDAYS TGIF! (Thank Guinness it’s Friday)
The fall semester has come and gone, bringing us to the halfway mark of our academic year. At this point most of you are frantically cramming for exams and perhaps begging older friends to use their previous essays for your final assignments. We here at ‘the newspaper’ have also been feeling the endof-year crunch and empathize, since those same academic priorities take precedence for our volunteers, leaving less time for journalistic contribution. But such is the nature of the beast. I want to take this opportunity to thank every one of our dedicated writers who have contributed to ‘the newspaper’ thus far. You are the backbone of this publication, and it is thanks to your hard work that we are able to fill our pages each week with community-relevant content. Our office is an inclusive environment that fosters skill development and personal growth. We want to work with people who have a genuine interest in writing; to help you hone your craft. That way everyone wins; ‘the newspaper’ gets better writers and our writers get better at doing what they love. We also offer the opportunity to gain experience in other areas like finance and business management. We provide the training, based on our own hard-won experience, by networking with other organizations, and with the help of alumni who maintain an interest in our publication. You may have also noticed a shift in content this year. This is because we want ‘the newspaper’ to be for and about the university community. It should reflect you, our readers. This means that we have shifted our focus away from some of the political matters that normally occupy student newspapers to community issues and events. We are working closely with various campus organizations to create lasting partnerships and to increase our presence on all three campuses.
To be clear, our intention is not to ignore current political events on campus or in the community. However, based on your feedback, these issues only account for a small percentage of reader interests and concerns. Our goal is to give you more of what you want, and less of what you don’t. As a community newspaper, the stories we run must reflect the diverse interests and lifestyles of our readership. Our purpose is not to be the ‘eternal critic’; that role is already occupied. Instead, we want to cover the news and events that happen in and around the University or Toronto community. Our commitment is to ensure that all the content found in ‘the newspaper’ will be news as seen through the eyes of U of T students. With great anticipation, I look towards 2009; a time when we can more fully realize this vision, but only with your help. The ultimate thanks belong to you, the reader. I encourage your feedback, both positive and constructive. If you have ever read ‘the newspaper’ then it is YOUR newspaper, so I invite you to treat it as such. Tell us what you want to see in it; let us know what you like and what you don’t. Please log on to our website ( www.thenewspaper.ca) and comment on the articles there, for better or worse. Fill out our contact forms. Most of all, I invite everyone to make a point of stopping by our office at 1 Spadina Crescent, Suite 245, to say hello to the trusted stewards of this 30 year old university tradition. We are working for you, so come and tell us how we are doing and how to serve you better. I wish you all the best of luck in all your endeavours for the remainder of this year, be they academic, business, personal or festive. I look forward to seeing all of you in the pages of ‘the newspaper’ in the year to come. Steadfastly yours, Matthew Pope - Publisher
the campus comment HELENE GODERIS
FRIDAYS Live Music SATURDAYS Free Pool & Comedy SUNDAYS
the newspaper asks students “How do you deal with exam stress?”
Photos: Helene Goderis
Whitney Coupland, 4th year, Sociological/ Environmental Studies “You have to start your assignments early so you don’t run into conflict with assignments and exams and don’t read every journal article you’re assigned word for word”
PODCASTING AS HOGTOWNCOMEDYRADIO (from our website)
All Day Breakfast and Canadian Tire Money at par every weekend! Game Room with plasma available for groups FREE WIRELESS INTERNET PROVIDED BY:
Madeline Lebeanya, 3rd year, Criminology/Political Science
Reev Fernando, 1st year, Math
Chris Singh, Material Science Engineering 0T9
“[holds up cigarette] I smoke”
“You have to keep exercising or you get too stressed out”
Brian [left] (last name withheld), 3rd year, History
Les Birchall, 12th year, Control Technician
“5 hour energy drinks and all-nighters at Robarts”
229 COLLEGE STREET
416/59•STEIN WWW.EIN-STEIN.CA
Josee Mercier, 3rd year, English “I get a solid 5 hours of sleep and make tons of drinking plans for after exams”
“I masturbate the night before an exam; it helps release stress”
“What exam stress?!”
4 the newspaper
December 4th – 10th, 2008
the news Shopping for hope
A star-studded event
Goodwill free of charge
Brings the universe to Bloor Street
ASHLEY MINUK
ASHLEIGH INGLE
Community Events Bureau
Community Events Bureau Photo: MD Media Inc.
...essentially “deprogram� troubled youth with shows and computer programs that allow users to maneuver throughout the universe. Thirteen years after the closure of the ROM’s planetarium, the Bloor Cinema unveiled the Spacetime Star Theatre in an attempt to bring the stars back to the general downtown public. Over a period of seven months, astronomy enthusiast Philip Kuntz used the underside of the theatre’s balcony as a canvas on which to paint more than 7,000 stars. For celestially-starved city-dwellers, this offers a glimpse of the starry nights that might be visible were it not for the current blanket of light pollution and clouded skies. The show, led by Kuntz, uses the glowing overhead mural as well as the large screen to evoke a sense of lying on the grass in Muskoka gazing up at the stars, albeit with some ambient music. This effect is wholly intentional and is part of his well-planned mission of astronomy advocacy. After the show, Kuntz spoke passionately about his goals for astronomy outreach. In his opinion, the poor visibility of stars has caused a lack of perspective that can lead to the loss of curiosity and wonder about the universe. He has used the socalled Muskoka Effect – the psychological boost elicited from exposing someone to clear, bright stars – to essentially “deprogram� troubled youth with shows and computer programs that allow users to maneuver throughout the universe. Kuntz’s teaching methods are low-cost but high-quality, which is important because “the people I want to reach will never go the Science Centre for 22 bucks.� Kurtz uses the Bloor Cinema to bring a different aesthetic, and he hopes to move further towards classic space movies in his future shows throughout the winter and spring. You can catch his next event on December 13th at midnight, which will focus on the significance of the Zodiac and the ways in which societies throughout history have interpreted and used the patterns in the night sky. A performer from Toronto School of Circus Arts demonstrates what can be seen at their performance for Unwrap The Cure
For many of us, December shopping can be more stressful than December exams. So why not buy your gifts, contribute to a good cause, raise awareness, enjoy tasty treats and celebrate the holidays all at once? On December 10th, all are invited to Unwrap The Cure For Cancer, an all-day shopping event at the Steam Whistle Brewing Roundhouse that will make you feel good about spending money this holiday season. With each gift you buy, you will also give the gift of support to cancer sufferers and their loved ones, as a portion of all proceeds will be donated to the Canadian Cancer Society. I spoke to the president of MD Media Inc. and founder of the event, Michelle Daides, about the inspiration and planning that went into organizing Unwrap The Cure. “Cancer is almost an epidemic at this point,â€? she explains, “It affects so many people – family members, friends, loved-ones. It’s like six degrees of separation in that everyone is connected to someone affected by cancer. This type of event strikes a chord with people, and they want to get involved,â€? she says. Daides is thankful for the tremendous amounts of community support helping to make possible the rapid coming-together of this first-time event. “It’s definitely a team effort,â€? she says, hoping that Unwrap The Cure will become a successful annual event. While Unwrap The Cure promises to offer unique products and gifts for holiday shoppers, those who attend can expect much more than just shopping; the event will also feature music by DJ Alexie, a lounge area with gourmet food by Chili and Fennel Catering, a silent auction with “amazing prizes,â€? and a performance by the Toronto School of Circus Arts at 6:00 p.m. “[Steam Whistle Brewery] is so historic and the structure is perfect for Cirque du Soleil-type events,â€? says Daides. There will also be a “SHAREâ€? board, inviting people to write down their personal thoughts and stories on how cancer has affected their lives. “It’s about having an outlet for people to listen and to share, so they know it’s ok to talk about it,â€? explains Daides. All you need to do to get involved is come out to the event. It’s geared towards shoppers of all ages, with hand-picked vendors selling everything from jewelry and clothing to hand-crafted accessories and home dĂŠcor to sweets and organic foods – there are even gifts for your pet. “If you name it, we have it,â€? Daides insists. See for yourself on December 10th at the historic Steam Whistle Brewing Roundhouse, 255 Bremner Blvd (right by the Rogers Centre), from 1 p.m. - 9 p.m. An entry fee of $2 will go directly to the Canadian Cancer Society. For those who would rather not spend hours waiting in shopping mall lineups to fork over big bucks for generic gifts, I wouldn’t miss it.
MMPA
Master of Management & Professional Accounting
t %FTJHOFE QSJNBSJMZ GPS OPO CVTJOFTT VOEFSHSBEVBUFT t 'PS DBSFFST JO .BOBHFNFOU 'JOBODF BOE "DDPVOUJOH t &YUSFNFMZ IJHI DP PQ BOE QFSNBOFOU QMBDFNFOU 5P MFBSO NPSF BCPVU UIF ..1" 1SPHSBN BUUFOE PVS JOGPSNBUJPO TFTTJPOT Tuesday, January 13, 2009 11:00 am – 1:00 pm Room GB304 Galbraith Bldg 6OJWFSTJUZ of Toronto St George
www.utoronto.ca/mmpa
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December 4th – 10th, 2008
the arts ...continued from page 1
service on most routes now operating from 6 a.m. - 1 a.m., and with 93 new buses added to 80 different routes to minimize overcrowding. The expectation is that you won’t have to wait more than half an hour for a bus on any route. The potentially glorious implications of this are manifold, ranging from getting to your geography class on time to less time spent unintentionally slow-dancing with the old man in front of you (on the bus, that is).
The city is actually keeping its promise to increase service and frequency with the added funds, as well as hiring roughly 450 new TTC employees. So, to what divine forces can we attribute this miraculous development? Well, apparently TTC ridership has surpassed the anticipated number for 2008, resulting in 467 million riders instead of the previously estimated 464 million. TTC Chair councilor Adam Giambrone explains that we are currently reaping the benefits of last year’s fare increase. The city is actually keeping its promise to increase service and frequency with the added funds, as well as hiring roughly 450 new TTC employees. Giambrone promises that most routes will see one additional bus during peak travel hours, while busier routes like Dufferin St. or Finch Ave. may see two or three extra buses. Where are all these extra people-movers coming from? The TTC plans to buy 130 new hybrid vehicles by 2009 and to refurbish 52 older buses. Some buses will even have new bike racks installed. The cost of this latest endeavour is $21 million this year and a projected $56 million in future years. The TTC has also recently pumped money into the opening of a new Mount Dennis bus garage, a $92 million dollar facility that has been vacant for almost a year due to financial pressures. In spite of this delay, the city is now moving full-speed ahead with its ridership growth strategy, and the TTC assures that current economic circumstances will not hinder its acceleration. So press the snooze button one more time, and consider seeking intimacy outside of your morning commute, ‘cause your days of being pressed between bodies might just be over.
Hangover cure a concern Can two Tylenol and booze kill you? ASHLEY MINUK Health Bureau It’s Saturday morning. You wake up shaking and fully clothed, your head pounding with blurred memories and the all-too-familiar beginnings of the All-Day Hangover. You scramble to find the one thing that might save you – Tylenol. Just as you lift the cup of water to your lips, praying that the tablets slide effortlessly down the arid desert of your tongue and throat, you hear the shrill cry, “noooo!� Apparently your roommate cares enough about you to warn that Tylenol and alcohol don’t mix. Word on the street is that, taken together, they can cause liver failure – which is probably more painful than a hangover. Could this awful prospect possibly be true? Or is it merely one of the many myths that penetrate our lives and torture our conscience? Dr. Dan Ezekiel, a family physician, clears up common confusion regarding the relationship between Tylenol and alcohol. What we have learned over the years is that Tylenol’s reputation for being a safe and effective medication holds true even when it comes to alcohol. A recent study was conducted whereby alcoholic patients were given therapeutic doses of acetaminophen (the active ingredient in Tylenol) to determine the impact it had on their livers. The study found that Tylenol was safe, even in this high risk patient population. When it comes to hangovers, the same holds true. Tylenol can be taken as directed to help relieve the pain of that splitting headache. It is the pain reliever most recommended by doctors and data accumulated over 50 years shows that acetaminophen has an unmatched safety record among all over-the-counter pain relievers. For example, acetaminophen is a safer choice for people who may be at a greater health risk. This includes individuals such as asthmatics, the elderly, patients taking multiple prescription drugs, patients taking anti-coagulants, patients who are breast-feeding as well as patients who may suffer from chronic alcoholism, serious kidney or liver disease. Medications known as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs, such as aspirin and ibuprofen, have been linked to stomach ulcers and gastric bleeds. If you have any concerns about the safety of a specific medication, it’s best to consult with your doctor or pharmacist. (Source: News Canada)
Misunderstandings makes sense Thanks to Toronto writers ERICA PREDKO Literary Review Bureau Reproductive physiology and poetry may not seem to go hand and hand, but that hasn’t stopped Jim Johnstone, a U of T PhD student and renowned poet, from making the connection. Johnstone, who is doing his PhD in reproductive physiology, links the seemingly incongruent subjects in his new book entitled The Velocity of Escape. In anticipation of his book launch and reading at Bar Italia on December 7th, I checked out Misunderstandings Magazine, a literary journal edited by Johnstone, to get a glimpse of what’s to come. Misunderstandings publishes a wide range of artists, both new and experienced. The vast majority of work published is top quality, a clear indicator of the care that goes into selecting and editing the pieces. In terms of the quality of the visual work included in Misunderstandings, however, I must express some reservations: with the exception of the work of Mark Laliberte, I found most of the art comparatively juvenile beside the more astute poetry included; in other cases, the pictures were distorted from compression or from conversion to black and white. Although disruptive, there are just a few pages with visual art, and the supreme quality of the strong poetry and prose overshadow the weaker submissions. Highlights from the magazine include
an excerpt from “No Means� (Vol. 8) by Leigh Nash. Also worthy of mention is Karen McElra’s poem, “The Present,� (Vol. 10) which explores the darker side of giving: “Each now a gauge, slyly given,/ received with suspicion and/ unwrapped slowly, carefully./It’s how we determine who loves/ who best, who might leave first./ (My last gift will be measureless).� Much of the poetry is free verse in a confessional vein, so those looking for more metaphysical or abstract poetry aren’t going to be satisfied with this selection. Still, Misunderstandings provides a diverse array of voices, including some experimental hybrid media pieces such as “an excerpt from Weave Plan� by Travis MacDonald, who crosses out parts of the piece, leaving the poem in the lines. Various University of Toronto students have been featured too, so if you’re looking to support the arts and the talents your fellow classmates possess, you can pick up a copy of Misunderstandings or look for Josh Stewart or Caroline X. Akisch on the poetry circuit. At only $3 an issue, you can subscribe to the journal at www.misunderstandings.com, or get the current issue by sending $3 to: Misunderstandings Magazine 820 Dovercourt Rd. Apt. 1 Toronto, Ontario M6H 2X3
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www.athabascau.ca/standout
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6 the newspaper
December 4th – 10th, 2008
the arts ...continued from page 1
cont’d
Photos: Helene Goderis
What in the word Can Lit do? Find out at meet the Presses ANDREW PROSSER Community Literature Bureau
Thinking of trying your luck at scuba diving? The Underwater Club does basic scuba courses at the AC pool and arranges diving trips in the summer. Recreation Maybe you don’t want the commitment of a club and you’re just looking for a good way to kill a few hours between classes, preferably for free. You could shoot some pool, or see the latest exhibition at the Barnicke Gallery in the north-west wing (11 p.m. - 5 p.m. weekdays, open until 7 p.m. on Thursday and Friday). If you’re sick of your iPod playlist, try the Hart House Record Room! A key from the front desk would give you access to Hart House’s stash of thousands of records and CDs from infinite genres (yes, Thomas Dolby is in there). Why not bring a friend? In deference to the musical mood, the Hart House staff also has a very discreet knock-before-enter policy. If in search of some genuine peace and quiet instead, the Chapel offers the perfect ambience for serene contemplation. Also note the stainedglass windows: made from a mosaic of fragments from destroyed European churches, brought home by Canadian soldiers after World War I. If you have more activity in mind, you can hit the track and follow it up with a swim in the beautiful art deco pool. Live Entertainment Sometimes you just want to sit back and be entertained. Hart House Theatre offers several shows a year, the next being Jerry Springer the Opera!, running
from January 16-31. The UofTtix office, on Hart House’s lower level, sells tickets to a variety of on-campus and off-campus events, including live theatre like the UC Follies. If you’re a little short on cash, culture need not be out of reach: the Arbour Room has a free concert every Friday starting at 9pm. Fine Dining Are your parents in town? Have they got the itch to treat you to lunch? If so, take them up on the offer at the Gallery Grill, Hart House’s upmarket second floor restaurant (open weekdays for lunch and Sunday for brunch). You can all marvel at the display of antique (and playable) viols as you eat, and therefore avoid any uncomfortable discussions about your financial or academic prospects. Further Afield For change of scenery, Hart House also maintains a farm in Caledon, on the Niagara Escarpment. You can stay overnight in the Ignatieff House, which has a full kitchen, central heating, and even a sauna. U of T student groups can book space at the farm for weekend retreats or other events. The farm also hosts an annual Winter Carnival, and this year it will be on January 24. There will be skating, sauna-ing, live music, winter baseball/volleyball, lunch and dinner included. Tickets are $25 a head at the Hub (formerly known as the Porter’s Desk) before January 21, with an extra $5 if you’re taking the bus.
How it happened: I was bidding my girlfriend farewell on Bloor Street when a small black sketchbook slapped onto the sidewalk not two feet away from us. “Let’s see what this is,” I thought – so I kissed and ran, ignoring her pleas to hand it back to the man in the pea coat who most likely dropped it. Flipping through, I found it filled with scrawled one-liners and literary fragments, reminiscent of Burroughs or Vonnegut. Interspersed throughout were caricature sketches, quotes from Céline and, yes, Burroughs. From whence came this? The answer was not long in coming – I looked up from the book to watch where I was walking and espied a sign for the “Indie Literary Market” at Clinton’s Tavern: November 29, 12:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. I checked my watch – it was one o’clock. Suitable timing. I strolled inside. “Please buy a drink here in the back room. Meet the Presses has a minimum to cover!” The Meet the Presses Collective is a non-profit collective dedicated to promoting small and independent literary presses who publish poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction within the Greater Toronto Area. The Indie Literary Market showcased a hand-picked selection of publishers, giving the public a chance to meet local presses and purchase publications that may not be commercially available. Well, I wasn’t there to scorn the underdog, so a shot of gin was my libation to the cause. I scanned the first booth I came across – Christian Bök’s Eunoia and uTOpia: Towards a New Toronto studded the table. I thought “this stuff isn’t that small-press.” I bought both of those at Book City last year. The lady behind the table was fairly stand-
offish, aside from offering to put me on their mailing list. She said she was the editor of Coach House Press, the press that prints most U of T student literary journals, and she didn’t seem impressed when I complimented one of the poetry books I flipped through. A curt “I know” – as if to say, ‘are you implying that it might not have been good?’ But there were smaller presses and friendlier people. Local poet Christopher Doda, a nebbish little fellow manning the booth for Exile Editions, gracefully shot the shit about reading unsolicited submissions from Sweden and Can Lit’s history of insular nationalism. He pointed me in the direction of one of the event’s organizers, Stuart Ross. Ross informed me that Exile is a collection run by some nine-odd Torontonian writers, founded initially by bpNichol in the 80’s. For a taste of his poetry, visit Nichol Lane behind Innis Town Hall, wherein the cement is inscribed: A / LAKE / A / LANE / A / LINE / A / LONE. An employee at Coach House regularly waters the word “LAKE”. In the spirit of bringing the small press to the forefront, I’d like to include a poem from Doda’s portfolio, whose work at the event impressed me: From “Marriage Bed I”: For modern man, I’ve come up short in many ways: I can’t resist a drink and don’t come home for days, read your e-mail, my eye strays never clean the sheets and rarely call, can’t provide the life you deserve, but most damaging of all – supposed poet – I’ve failed to make your beauty immortal
For more information, visit meetthepresses.wordpress.com.
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December 4th – 10th, 2008
the arts
cont’d
Dani Nash of the Artichokes makes sweet musical love with her mandolin
Killer Wails ‘ Laura Barrett shows off her vampire teeth to the Sneaky Dee’s crowd
Rock ‘n’ New Roles Toronto’s Rock Lottery pays out HELENE GODERIS Community Events Bureau Last Saturday at Sneaky Dee’s, Toronto’s 2nd annual Rock Lottery took a gamble and struck musical gold. The show takes 25 musicians from local bands and shuffles and deals them into new bands. The new patchwork bands have seven hours to get together a band name, and an original set list. That night, the new bands in turn each shone slick with nervous sweat under the coloured lights of the Sneaky Dee’s stage, but did they fall like a house of cards? Despite the odds stacked against them, the five bands performed extremely well, ultimately creating a
show that was a pleasure to watch. “Assembling participants from a variety of genres was key,” says Jane Duncan, Rock Lottery’s organizer. “I was also really pushing for more interesting instruments such as cello, saxophone, mandolin, banjo, harp, etc. Way more interesting than five bands of guitar, bass and drums.” The Artichokes started the night off strong. Despite reservations of having two cellos in the band, the group came up with a sweet string-heavy song that “almost made me cry, because I was so proud of them for producing such
Newspaper dreams Enter ‘the newspaper’ community NICOLE COLLINS University Community Bureau I’m heading into the final stage of my graduate work at U of T in the Master of Visual Studies program. My studio is located in 1 Spadina Crescent, that beautiful haunted old pile on the circular island in the middle of Spadina just north of College. I’ve been making good use of the space, in and out pretty much five days a week and sometimes on weekends. Directly across the hall is the newspaper office. My experience with it so far has been to steal music from their broadcasting iTunes (only to listen to of course) and wish I could steal some of the chicken wings that are delivered every Thursday night. I use the newspaper to carry my microwaveheated lunches down the hall (good insulation) and recently I noticed an announcement that the dream machine would be making a visit to the offices as part of the promotion leading up to the release of the movie FLicKeR . So with great curiosity, I crossed the
hall and Helene the Arts Editor sat me down in front of this rather ramshackle contraption that included a rotating turntable with a single light-bulb mounted on it, sitting inside a perforated tube painted red on the inside. The room had been made as light-proof as possible, so I sat in the semi-dark with my face in close proximity to the rotating cylinder and closed my eyes. I’m an occasional meditator, so being quiet and still is not an unfamiliar state, but in this case, rather than concentrating on my breath and detaching from thoughts, I allowed myself to immerse in the instant light show that came flashing at me. Generally speaking, it was slightly nauseating as the rapid motion is relentless, but once I settled in for the ride I was able to pay attention. I’m a painter, but it is highly unlikely that I will ever depict what I saw…there’s enough hippy optica imagery out there already, so I’ll include a short list of what
Photos: John Maynard
beautiful music in such a short period,” shares Duncan. Le Gauche (because all members were left handed) took the stage next. The set highlight was a “Forgot About Dre” rap between Robin Hatch and Kat Burns; donning doo rags, the girls’ flow was incomparable. The mystical sounds of Laura Barrett’s glockenspiel rang out during the Killer Wails’ set while Maylee Todd’s electro harp and sharp voice brightened Mo’ Dick, Mo’ Problems’ musical fare. The night ended with Jane’s Affliction, featuring Jane Duncan on omnichord and melodica. The crowd at Sneaky Dee’s was buzzed. Good music and goodwill among musicians rang down from the stage - many of the participating musicians even want to collaborate with members of their ad hoc bands in the future. What made the night a success was that most bands had a ‘let the chips fall where they may’ attitude. “We weren’t
really too concerned about sounding amazing. I mean, some of the other bands really blew us away that night with how much they could come up with in seven hours, but I think we were all just focused on having fun and having a blast when we performed and writing songs where it wouldn’t matter if we fucked up,” says Le Gauche member Robin Hatch. Dani Nash of The Artichokes adds that “[the day] was great - the film crew dropped off some beer and then we just started jamming, the music came out of us so easily.” Musically, the grab bag of styles and instruments helped round out the night’s sound. And of course the crowd was sympathetic toward any stumbles, simply excited to hear the results of this musical experiment. All in all, a winning show! I’d say something like ‘I wager next year will be just as good’ but I think the metaphor has extended long enough.
I saw over about a 15 minute period. Upon closing my eyes, I saw a flashing field of predominantly vibrant red with evenly dispersed particles of vibrant green and blue. This turned into green and blue evenly dispersed pulsating particles with red at the peripheries followed by vertical bars marching left to right (counter to the units’ rotation) of all 3 RGB. I shifted my head so that my eyes were lined up with a closed part of the cylinder and while everything went considerably darker, pulsing intense green and blue concentric circles on a blackish background started in the centre and then grew outwards. Turning back to
stronger light, I got my first view of the secondary additive colours: little strands of yellow at first, around the edges of horizontal bands of red, then magenta and cyan threads too. Shifting my eyes again I was bemused to see large round globular shapes with smaller circles in the centre; I realized that this was an image of my eyeball being projected onto my eyelid in these intense colours. Shifting again, I got too close and the tip of my nose brushed the machine which made me yelp and then laugh and break my concentration so I decided it was time to stop. The dream machine featured in FLicKeR, a Brion Gysin biodocumentary directed by Nik Sheehan, which played at the Bloor this past week. The movie patches together bits of the beat scene from footage and interviews with counterculture figures, focusing on Gysin and his machine. Gysin hoped to mass market the machine, envisioning families gathered not around a television screen, but rather around his machine. While his market plans never came to fruition, a quick google search will deliver plans for DIY dream machines so that you can bring the tradition of a drug-free high into your own living room.
8 the newspaper
December 4th – 10th, 2008
the end
the jumbler BY: ASHLEY MINUK
Unscramble the letters to form common words.
BY STEPHEN NOTLEY
Use the letters in the highlighted boxes to answer the riddle!
Answer for last week’s jumbler: Yes Wii Can [If you solved it, even with the typo, come the newspaper office to claim your prize! Solution to THIS jumbler in next years’s the newspaper