Issue 2 - Sept 21 2017

the newspaper University of Toronto’s independent community paper

Since 1978

Volume XL September

Issue II 21st 2017

Masthead

Cover Renna Keriazes

the newspaper

thoughts on Taylor Swift’s

reputation

University of Toronto’s independent student paper since 1978 Editor-In-Chief Alina Butt Managing Editor Natalia Herran Senior Copy Editor Rebecca Gao Business Manager Kelly Chan Public Relations Coordinator Gabbi Gard Design Editor Rel Ryann Visual Content Editor Noah Kahansky Online Editor Hilary Lo Comment Editor Maxim Basu Music Editor Chantel Ouellet Arts Editor Joyce Wong Mascots Honeybee, Flora and Fauna, Miguel and Paco Contributors Tristan Bannerman, Alina Butt, Ann Marie Elpa, Rebecca Gao, Natalia Herran, Saba Javed, Emma Kelly, Renna Keriazes, Weiyun Li, Shahmurad Lodhi, Jenny MacPherson, Michelle Mao, Miranda Mirabelli, Jacob Newfeld, Andrew Park, Rel Ryann, Erica Sung, Haoxin Wen, Joyce Wong All U of T community members, including students, alumni, faculty, and staff are encouraged to contribute! the newspaper is published by Planet Publications Inc., a non-profit corporation

thenewspaper.ca

256 McCaul St. Suite 106 Toronto, ON M5T 1W5

By changing, she took away a part of my childhood I didn’t know she had

by Natalia Herran

To be honest, I’m just being dramatic—Taylor Swift’s new image is not as tragic as I’m making it seem. Still, I can’t shake the feeling I got the moment I realized that this could be a metaphor for my life, and maybe even adulthood in general.

The happy-go-lucky 13-year-old that I was when I started relying on Taylor to cater to my hormonal delusions of love is gone. The precious and innocent music videos that I grew up watching have changed into angry grabs for attention, accompanied by lyrics that wouldn’t have cured my 15-year-old heartbreaks.

I understand that artists need to grow and the media did a good job of showing us that she clearly went through something big enough to lead her to this point. My issue is not with her growth, or even the direction she’s moved in. Her new, cynical and legitimately vengeful persona was comical at first, and maybe even cringeworthy. “Look What You Made Me Do” caused some serious discomfort, but I can admit that it wouldn’t have bothered me as much if the song had been released by someone else. I would even go as far as saying that “...Ready For It?” is an alright song. It’s mostly just the shock of Taylor’s abrupt shift in image that put me off at first.

I’d like to think that I understand why she felt the need to make it known that she isn’t just the sweet girl-next-door that writes tell-all songs anymore.

She may not be as sweet as she appeared publically, and perhaps she did get what was coming to her.

However, we as the public have no idea who artists are outside of what they choose to show to us.

The point is, we don’t know and we really don’t get to make those assumptions on our own. I never concerned myself with what she was doing in her private life, as I liked her because of the music she was creating. I never cared that it was basic, because it was exactly what I needed.

“

Even though teenage heartbreak seems trivial to the rest of the world, I think we all know that it doesn’t feel trivial while it’s happening. I always appreciated the lighthearted aspect Taylor Swift brought to most of her breakup songs. Songs like “Mean” and “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” obviously have a story behind them, and even though the context of the songs may be unpleasant, she was able to spin them in a positive way. And if she could, it meant that I could too.

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the burritos

Burrito Fusion Trends

You Must Try

by Ann Marie Elpa

This piece became a little deeper than I was expecting it to, especially because I never thought of her as my go-to—she was always just there. Even now, I wouldn’t put her on the list of my favourite artists. I never went to any concerts or actually purchased her CDs. Yet, she was still always there when I needed her, saying just the right words that I needed to get through the “heartbreak” of the week. Perhaps I took it for granted, considering how unsettled I’ve been towards this. I never thought of the possibility of her expanding and changing, as most artists that I grew up with have done already—albeit less drastically.

I can say that I am truly looking forward to seeing what reputation (2017) brings. From a completely optimistic standpoint, this might be Taylor’s chance to break out from the boy-crazy box she’s been in, and honestly that might not be so bad for me either.

I never concerned myself with what she was doing in her private life, as I liked her because of the music she was creating.

”

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The Humble Burrito has taken the foodie world by storm since the early 1900s thanks in part to the rise of Mexican immigrants in the southwestern United States and the popularization of Tex-Mex cuisine.

Having seen a surge of local and international Mexican food trucks and franchises, there is no question that a whole wheat tortilla blanket wrapped over a bed of succulent proteins, handpicked produce and freshly ground herbs and chillies could win the hearts of self-proclaimed gourmands.

However, our beloved burrito has undergone quite the evolution as it has spread across the globe. Many of these changes are quite experimental in nature, from fusions with popular Asian cuisines to bizarre combinations involving guilty junk food pleasures and childhood desserts. Many local Toronto eateries have hopped onto the current trend of Mexican fusion food, offering their spin on the modest classic.

Social media apps like Yelp and Instagram play a role in the popularization of such absurd food combinations, acting as business platforms for restaurants to advertise menu items and gain devoted followings. With an audience of “food enthusiasts” and a growing market for casual dining restaurants, it makes perfect sense why a city like Toronto would catch on to such trends. With that, here are a few odd burrito combinations that you’ve always wanted to try, and where exactly in the city you can do just that.

california

pho

The California burrito is afood mashup trend made famous by a San Diego eatery. The California burrito consists of french fries, carne asada (thinly-sliced grilled beef), traditional pico de gallo (sliced onions, tomato, cilantro and jalepeño peppers), cheese, guacamole and sour cream.

French fries have always been a junk food guilty pleasure for many, and adding them to a humble dish creates a buzzworthy and unique dining experience for customers. We can only hope that this food trend will make its way across the border.

The warm, filling goodness of a Vietnamese staple wrapped up in a wholesome burrito takes comfort food to a new level. Pho (pronounced ‘fuh’) is a Vietnamese noodle soup dish traditionally served with banh pho noodles, broth, herbs and a protein (most commonly beef or chicken). Pho burritos take the traditional pho recipe and turn it into a convenient and modern meal. Originating in California, pho burritos consist of a beef or chicken filling, rice noodles, lettuce, peppers, herbs and bean sprouts wrapped into a whole wheat tortilla.

ramen

s’mores

Not only does the ramen burrito live up to its name as a cheap fix for college students, but also as a trending food combination between two popular, student-friendly meals.

It may sound absurd to combine two items that are so high in sodium and carbohydrates, but the concoction of said foods creates a sort of umami flavour pleasant to the tastebuds.

Ramen burritos consist of boiled ramen noodles topped with packaged seasonings, chopped chives, fried eggs and an optional protein, most often chicken or beef. Sriracha mayo is also usually available for adding a bit of spice to the burrito.

Treasured childhood memories of camping and bedtime stories come to mind when combining the classic burrito with a beloved childhood favourite. Melted milk chocolate, fluffy white marshmallows and crushed graham crackers in a flour tortilla create the perfect bedtime snack with a cup of hot cocoa. Adding a dash of cinnamon adds an extra touch of (unnecessary yet delicious) sweetness while triggering distant memories of home and campfires.

sushi HUNGRY YET? Grab a sushi burrito between class

@MI’HITO

right by College & Spadina open daily from 11:30 AM - 10:00 PM

The ever-popular Japanese favourite combines forces with a Mexican classic to create a fusion food baby that sounds so wrong but tastes so right. Sushi burritos became a concept in 2011 when a local San Francisco restaurant decided to take the idea and present it to the public—since then, the sushi burrito has served its purpose as an affordable, convenient yet delicious way of consuming sushi. A few staple proteins include salmon, tuna, seasoned chicken and grilled tofu. Fresh avocado slices, julienned carrots, corn, cucumber, pickled onions and any other number of toppings are also added into the sushi burrito, with sauces like sriracha mayo and soy sauce used to bind everything together. The ingredients are then rolled into the traditional nori and sushi rice wrapper, ready for eager customers to enjoy.

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the school

the school

by Natalia Herran, Joyce Wong, Rebecca Gao, Alina Butt, and Rel Ryann Illustrations by Joyce Wong

What does the pos in subject POSt stand for

... and everything else you need to know about taking courses at U of T

Piece of shit?

hi kids— We know U of T is really confusing, so we’re here to help. Here are some things that we wish someone would’ve told us about course selection back when we were in first year. Take our advice and make your life a little less difficult (too bad you can’t change courses now, but there’s always next year!)

credit / no credit During my undergrad, I truly underestimated the blessing that the credit/no credit option would be for your GPA. This comes in handy when you’re struggling to complete those pesky breadth requirements and you find yourself knee-deep in a math class you had no business being in.

The option to credit/no credit the courses not mandatory to fulfill your program requirements takes some stress off of you, so you can only worry about the classes that matter. Obviously, you’ll still have to pass to get the credit but it’s different when you just need to do the bare minimum without worrying about how it’ll affect your average. Look into what classes you know you need to take and determine which ones you know you won’t need for your program. You get 2.0 credits throughout your undergraduate career, so use them wisely.

degree explorer Because of breadth courses, prerequisites, exceptions and every other stupid requirement and stupid rule under the stupid true blue sky that is U of T, it can feel like you’re suffocating, choking, and getting crushed all at the same time. I know because I had to transfer faculties from Arts & Sciences to Daniels. Doing so meant I had to completely readjust my course plans in order to satisfy Daniels rule of having only ten credits to transfer in while staying on track with my English major. I had to look at my college career with a lot more foresight than a drunk, depressed second year should have to. The saving grace I relied on during all of this was the online Degree Explorer (under Planning Tools on Acorn.) Even after my faculty transfer personal hell, I still use it today to keep track of what requirements I have fulfilled and what I still need to complete my double major. It automatically detects everything for you so you literally just have to go to class—a struggle already in and of itself.

STA201 Why Numbers Matter

ESS104 Controversies in Earth Sciences

this is THE cutest course on campus, filled with fun experiments, cookies and constant bonding over frantically trying to figure out the answer to iclicker questions. It’s a breadth 4 course for arts students to re-learn how to do basic math (think: perimeter and area, probability, interest, and stat sampling) and anyone who finds out you were in it is guaranteed to make fun of you. but hey, it’s an ez 95 so the joke’s on them

i showed up to class knowing nothing about geology. i still know nothing about geology but i know a lot about earthquakes being maybe fake lol!) (ok but ESS105 sucked and now i wish i would’ve taken 104)

everything’s online During my first year, I quickly discovered that literally anything I needed to know about anything was online.

The Internet was my best friend when deciding which college to pick, what courses to enrol in and eventually, what program(s) of study to apply for. If you ever find yourself in a pickle, do a quick Google search before making an appointment with the registrar. You’ll find a shitton of online resources that’ll allow you to get your life together without the help of a judge-y administrator. This could be looking up program and degree requirements, using Degree Explorer to sort out pre and co-reqs or even just trying to figure out how OSAP works. Trust me, most of what you’re trying to find out is online. If there is something more pressing, then by all means, talk to your registrar. But filter your questions through Google first. It’ll save the people at the registrar’s office a lot of time (and they won’t judge you as harshly).

course load hack It’s tough to be responsible for yourself just months after you’ve been thrown out of high school, so don’t fool yourself into thinking you’ll be able to handle the infamous U of T workload when you know you love sleeping in.

That’s why next year, you should hack your schedule like I have: I’m in my third year now, I’m getting solid B+’s to A’s, I’ll be graduating on time and I only have class two days a week. How? SUMMER. COURSES. It’s not an option for everyone, unfortunately, considering Toronto’s extortionate rent costs. But if you can swing the summer course hack, you can break up your torturous 5 FCE course load into an easy-breezy 2 FCEs in the summer and 3 in the fall-winter. And all the days you don’t have class, you can invest in student groups, volunteering, part-time work and other activities that look snazzy on your resume. Four or more years from now, after you graduate, your future employer will be impressed by all your work experience and the exceptional grades you got from having a lighter workload. But if you’re still on the fence, just remember: if taking on a full course load is making your mental health and GPA suffer, then your summer vacation ain’t worth shit in the long-run, kid. Hack the system. Do the summer courses. Future-You will thank you.

AST101 The Sun and Its Neighbours

breadth requirements Most universities want their students to be well-rounded in their studies, so they make them take classes from disciplines outside of what their degrees are geared towards… but I don’t think I’ve heard any kids worry or complain about it as much as U of T students do. These aren’t electives, they’re “breadth requirements”. There are five categories: (1) Creative and Cultural Representations, (2) Thought, Belief, and Behaviour, (3) Society and Its Institutions, (4) Living Things and Their Environment, and (5) The Physical and Mathematical Universes. You either have to a) take a full credit (1.0) in 4 of the 5 breadths, or 2) take a full credit in at least 3 of them, and half a credit (0.5) in the other 2.

AST101 is overrated it’s the lowest grade in my uoft academic history lol (ok but literally every AST class is stupid and hard i was in AST210 for a hot sec and dropped it cuz the prof told us we needed to “know basic math” i don’t know my times tables up to 7 ngl) (maybe AST isnt hard and maybe im dumb?) no AST is hard, fuck physics

To simplify, if you’re in the arts, you’re mostly dealing with category 1-3 on the daily, you’ll be dreading fulfilling category 4-5. If you’re in the sciences you’re a slave to category 4-5 and skeptical about the point of taking category 1-3. Either way, your GPA is straight up stuck in a game of russian roulette, though U of T does have its fair share of breadth-friendly courses (aka, courses on ez mode so you can fulfill your requirements without tanking).

CSC104 Computational Thinking

this shit was so easy, they just teach you code to rotate pictures of animals i’m DEADASS

First Year Seminars

never underestimate the power of first year seminars. they help you adjust to uni through smaller class sizes and diversified forms of evaluation (smaller and more assignments and projects), plus help build you up to participating in discussions and learning how to talk to your profs!

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6

the media

the music

The ‘Impossible Happy Ending’ How Modern Television and Film Problematically Misrepresent LGBTQ+ Narratives

by Renna Keriazes

There is, unfortunately, a common trope in film and television popularly dubbed “Bury Your Gays.” This trope defines itself as occurring within a television show or film where a LGBTQ+ character is simply unable to be happy and is promptly killed off from the story.

So many of these narratives have been written that the LGBTQ+ community and beyond have honed in on it.

Lists with titles such as “LGBTQ+ films where no one dies in the end” are shared amongst fellow sufferers on social media.

“Bury Your Gays” is one of the reasons there is so much scrutiny placed on the misrepresentation of LGBTQ+ in popular media. Throughout history, the LGBTQ+ community has struggled deeply and egregiously for their rights as people—to express themselves, their desires and to love on their own terms. Even though the LGBTQ+ community has faced tremendous struggles, it doesn’t mean we should be represented as perpetually struggling. The harmful pattern of seeing innumerable characters’ fates be dealt with in disrespectful ways has become impossible to ignore.

It is not as simple as asking, “why do writers choose to end the lives of most LGBTQ+ characters?” This question penetrates the mere surface of a much more relevant topic. We should inquire what their misrepresentations symbolize and what they may imbed in people’s minds.

It appears as though LGBTQ+ desire in television and film can only exist between the “temporary” and the “tragic,” nothing but a fantasy that people cling to.

There are many narratives that follow these troubling arcs. To name a few, there is the supposed lesbian that admits she has “just been experimenting” and returns to her old boyfriend, the same-sex couple that parts because they are afraid of the consequences within their society or the woman who begins an affair with her husband’s lover as a revenge ploy. These examples emphasize the fact that many storylines treat sexuality as a mere plot device or an impossible feat—a “game” that is only suppressed by heteronormative desire.

This is incredibly problematic because it creates a hierarchy for sexuality, asserting that one is somehow better and more realistic than another. Further examples include portrayals of LGBTQ+ characters as being abusive to a pedophilic extent, characters shown as being unhappy in their relationships and wishing for a life ruled by norms (a wish to be “normal”), the predatory lesbian butch, the infamous “man in a wig” who abuses looking like a woman to support predatory behaviour or to be the butt of a joke (misrepresenting transgender identities) and finally, the ever-so-common “gay best friend.”

These archetypes manifest in numerous television shows and films including The 100, Sex and the City, Riverdale, Pitch Perfect and Atomic Blonde. A dangerous balancing act reveals itself—an act between stereotypes and representation, between reality and wishful thinking.

These archetypes encourage people to fit others into categories rather than to accept their complexities and to view characters as three-dimensional instead of disregarded. Such stereotypes are not damaging merely

to the LGBTQ+ community, but to all people.

So, how do those tropes, archetypes and stereotypes influence how we view others?

Evidently, these tragic stories depicted in the media came to be as a result of the uncountable, unspeakable acts of violence and hatred against the LGBTQ+ community throughout history. Yet, there is a difference between documenting historically accurate experiences and perpetuating stereotypes.

This narrative form of treating LGBTQ+ desire as a pipe dream has become so overused and overstimulated that it encourages negativity towards and within the LGBTQ+ community. All the narratives listed above are so problematic that they have the ability to impact people’s views of this community—a vibrant, hopeful, loving community—in an incredibly negative light.

People don’t want their sexuality and gender to be used as a “delusion” or “fetishization.”

On a final note, two of the most well-received LGBTQ+ films in recent years, Carol (2015) and Moonlight (2016), feature the sexuality of their characters as part of the characters’ story—but sexuality does not solely define them. The films deal with social issues in a meaningful and respectful way while also maintaining a hopeful ending. Though this article may not have a happy ending, it may have a hopeful one. The LGBTQ+ community must encourage better stories and more hopeful narratives that do not treat them as plot points or gimmicks, but as people.

How To Get Rich Fast! (Sort of.)

For better or worse, the future of making money online is changing

by Andrew Park

Being a creative is starting to look less like financial suicide. If you’re an artist, making a living through your art might be possible sooner rather than later.

One medium in which this transition is manifested most obviously is YouTube. The website started in 2005 and has since offered a platform for creatives to showcase video-based content online on a personal channel. YouTube videos are incredibly accessible to the general public—membership is free and not even required if all you want to do is watch videos. This makes it easy for content creators on YouTube (i.e., YouTubers) to garner wide audiences. It seems there is no limit to the potential of being a YouTuber, as there are over 4,000 channels with subscribed user numbers in the millions.

There is also no limit to the potential success of a YouTuber.

Basically, YouTube is an amazing way to show off your art—that is, if you’re lucky enough to get noticed and/ or find a way to finance yourself until you do.

If only it were that easy, right? For every YouTube channel with follower counts in the millions, there are many more channels struggling to become relevant.

Talented work is easily drowned in the cornucopia of videos posted daily and lost in the masses.

Chances are, unless you’re in the highest echelons of

YouTubers, you won’t be making that much off your channel. But let’s say you manage to work your way up to modest popularity. A YouTuber primarily generates revenue through ads on their videos rather than their subscriber or view counts. So while the megastars of YouTube haul in huge revenues through advertisements, smaller YouTubers struggle to get paid consistently.

Furthermore, a controversy around hateful and extreme videos, dubbed the Adpocalypse, has led to companies no longer wanting their advertisements on YouTube, or at least put pressure on the website over how advertisements are disseminated. Most notably, YouTuber Felix Kjellberg (PewDiePie, 57,000,000+ subscribers) lost the support of sponsors such as Disney after posting content containing anti-Semitic material. Not only does this subtract from the financial promise of creating on YouTube, but it also takes away from the overall diversity of YouTube’s content. YouTuber Jake Edwards (JakeFTMusic, 143,000+ subscribers) says that “if anything, the Adpocalypse has affected my confidence on YouTube.… It’s not as black-and-white anymore. Everything is subject to change or interpretation by some faceless being. I definitely feel like YouTube is no longer an option as a source of income.”

Despite all this, YouTubers have found ways to support their creative endeavours financially. If you frequent

Crash Course’s (6,000,000+ subscribers) educational bits on YouTube or find humour in videos by Kinda Funny (200,000+ subscribers), you may have noticed that they are using a program called Patreon. Created by Jack Conte in 2013, Patreon is a crowdfunding site whose mission is “to fund the creative class.” On Patreon, you can become a “patron” of a creative by donating to them an amount of your choice, anywhere from a dollar and up. Patreon only takes five per cent of these donations, creating a much more profitable and reliable source of income for Patreon’s artists. So where YouTube is starting to fall off, other platforms are now offering a previously unimaginable level of financial security.

Patreon isn’t alone. Google has experimented with crowdfunding tactics, starting services like Fan Funding and Super Chat. Newspapers and other sources of online literature, such as the New York Times and the New Yorker, are starting to utilize online memberships to fund their artistry.

With companies focused on creating financial stability for artists, said artists can focus on exploring their creativity, which is very good news. Artists are finally finding breathing room for their work.

MOm’s sPaGHetTi Hip hop has a new flavor, and it’s memes

by Tristan Bannerman

lacks a true definition, but ultimately can be distilled down to self-referential jokes mimicked in new contexts, macro images with top text/bottom text templates, and reworked song clips easily found and shared through social media.

This past summer, Future’s “Mask Off” reached #5 on Billboard’s Hot 100. This success could not keep it away from Internet meme makers. In the group UC Berkeley Memes for Edgy Teens, the flute section from “Mask Off” was covered by students. This forced me to listen to the song, because I kept hearing that flute whenever I checked Facebook. I can only imagine how many of the over 100,000 members of the group had the same happen to them. How many more streams on Spotify or views on Youtube did Future gain from thousands of college students hearing remixes of “Mask Off” online?

The Internet called me. This is a grand statement, I know, but I will not make any concessions. I am 19 years old and I spend most of my time on the Internet scrolling through memes and sometimes, I even make bad memes (mostly about U of T’s president, Meric Gertler).

This combination of memes and hip hop is not a recent development. Some of the first memories I have of memes are ones about Kanye. Snoop Dogg is another rapper who is successful in both music as well as memeable content. However, memes and hip hop have a far more profound relationship in 2017.

Memes are a mainstay of Internet and current youth culture, and have recently made the jump into the mainstream with groups like Bernie Sanders Dank Meme Stash and UC Berkeley Memes for Edgy Teens, as well as the likes of President Trump sharing rightwing memes on Twitter. The cultural and political potency of memes grows with each day.

21 Savage’s first studio album debuted at #2 on the Billboard Top 200 under the title Issa Album. After he coined the term “issa” as a meme during an interview in 2016. Snoop and Dre may have never known that their tracks were being used to make fun of overly aggressive preteens, but 21 Savage is fully aware of the impact he has on memes and the impact that memes are having on hip hop.

An often discussed but rarely well-defined cultural token, the meme has been an integral part of the Internet’s makeup for years. The term was originally coined by Richard Dawkins as being a gene of culture, drawing parallels between the viral and mutating nature of biology to Internet culture. Today the word

As rappers like 21 Savage continue to work with humour and their own vulnerability, more people will be exposed to their music. Young kids are more likely to find memes on the Internet than they will through hip hop. But if hip hop memes are circulating, kids in

AJJ celebrates 10th anniversary of People Who Can Eat People Are The Luckiest People in the World The atmosphere of the show demonstrated that AJJ has changed considerably

by Emma Kelly

On Friday, September 15th, The Hard Luck Bar, albeit slightly too self-aware of its own griminess, provided the perfect space for Sean Bonnette and Ben Gallaty to once again bare the unflinching, occasionally horrific intimacy that makes their album People Who Can Eat People Are the Luckiest People in the World (2007) so poignant even ten years after its initial release.

However, the trance that fell over the crowd with every song was not altogether impenetrable. There were a few times during the anniversary show where Bonnette’s tone took on a colder, slightly exasperated quality with the audience. I couldn’t exactly blame him. Having now seen them four times, I can say with gloomy assurance that AJJ—while charismatic and wildly talented performers—has a tendency to draw a certain kind of white dude to their concerts. You know him. He bellows a witty rejoinder after every remark the musicians make and moshes over-enthusiastically, even if the people around him are half his size. He probably has a beard, and probably doesn’t smell great. Bonnette checked the actions of these individuals consistently during the show, reminding us all to look out for those who were being “squashed” and mentioning that he found the heckling “really fucking distracting.”

“

Having now seen them four times, I can say with gloomy assurance that AJJ—while charismatic and wildly talented performers—has a tendency to draw a certain kind of white dude to their concerts.

”

Although Bonnette and Gallaty cracked about half a dozen jokes for every chiding remark, there was a deeper, unspoken contention present that night between the members of AJJ and the majority of their fans. In the time since People Who Can Eat People made its debut, the band has literally become unrecognizable. They’ve expanded from a two-piece, now most frequently performing alongside keyboardist Deacon Batchelor and drummer Preston Bryant. Once known as Andrew Jackson Jihad, the band announced on its Facebook page

7

houses where rap is a bad word, or even just unheard of, will be able to become exposed to a much larger and diverse world of music.

The rise of SoundCloud rappers has only added to this increasingly symbiotic relationship. xxxTentacion and Lil Uzi Vert rose to fame off the Internet, creating strong brands that owe more than a little to memes and Internet culture. xxxTentacion’s deeply dark style of emo rap derives in part from vaporwave. Lil Uzi Vert is of the same breed, and his single “XO Tour Llif3” reached #7 on the Billboard Top 100. The most memorable lines of the track are “Push me to the edge/ All my friends are dead,” a clear successor to the depressed aesthetics of vaporwave artists like Blank Banshee and Macintosh Plus.

Way back when, what especially drew me to the Internet was its welcoming community to what was at the time my milieu: sad kids from around the world that liked indie rock. Growing up, rap and hip hop were far from what I would listen to because, for the most part, I was not finding sad artists in those genres that spoke to me like Death Cab for Cutie did. Yet Lil Uzi Vert is bringing in aspects to hip hop that would have attracted me when I first found myself scrolling through social media. xxxTentacion’s music was first shared to me through an edit of the anime Ninja Scroll (1993), and many other videos exist combining his rap with anime.

The videos are made not by xxxTentacion but rather fans of his music, who also appreciate ’80s anime. As rappers relinquish tight control over their content, memes help to fuel their spread across the Internet, and attract new audiences eager for fresh talent.

last February that it was officially changing its name to the abbreviated AJJ, a choice Bonnette described in an interview with the AV Club as an attempt to be more socially conscious. He admitted, “the act of striving and trying to do better is a constant theme in our work. I don’t really feel like playing in the band that I started when I was 18. I’d rather preserve the stuff I like about it, change it to my liking, and then I can keep moving forward.”

People Who Can Eat People, as well as their 2011 album Knife Man, reflect a period in AJJ’s career when they were known primarily as anti-PC folk-punk comedians who played songs that were carefully designed to be gut-churning. Their central motifs at the time were blood, guts, carnage, psychosis, neurosis, nihilism and self-loathing all wrapped up in instrumentals that were at once shrieking and masterful. In recent years, however, the band has put out music with a decidedly more hopeful, which isn’t to say less conflicted, outlook.

The tagline of their sixth studio album, The Bible 2 (2016), was, after all, “no more shame, no more fear, no more dead.” In his lyrics, Bonnette is no longer looking to simply make the listener uncomfortable—he is attempting to reconcile the darker parts of himself with the ones that yearn for connection and empathy.

It was clear Friday night at the Hard Luck that there was a rift between AJJ and a certain portion of their fanbase: those who resemble them most in what was arguably their prime (I’m talking about overly aggressive white dudes again). Although they played with the same level of skill I have come to expect from their performances, Bonnette and Gallaty seemed uncomfortable facing their past.

How to survive a hurricane...? on the off chance we get hit by one, help is here!

by Haoxin Wen

“First there was Harvey. Next came Irma.

Then, in the middle the Atlantic Ocean arrived Hurricane Jose. Now, there’s Maria.”

As hurricane season continues with Irma having just wreaked havoc throughout the Caribbean Islands and the Florida Keys, forcing thousands of people to evacuate their homes, one cannot help but feel in awe of the terrible force that is Mother Nature. While we all pray for the victims of these hurricanes, there is a certain sense of relief that this barrage of monster hurricanes has not come remotely close to the GTA. As climate change rapidly progresses and ocean currents grow increasingly chaotic, our fears could one day become reality. It is an unpleasant thing to consider and there is no evidence that suggests any immediate danger, but it is always a smart idea to prepare for any possible scenario, no matter how unlikely it may seem.

So here’s the question: how DOES one survive a hurricane?

Pre-Hurricane (Panic?)

You wake up on a Saturday to the sound of your phone ringing like crazy. You pick up. It’s your best friend and she’s going bonkers. Something about a freak storm and the Apocalypse. Bewildered, you go into the living room and turn on the TV—the screen is flashing red and white. A shrill, pre-recorded voice announces its emergency broadcast: “this just in, a Category 4 hurricane is fast approaching the Atlantic coast. Expected touch-down in the GTA is in 24 hours, ETA 10:30 A.M, Sunday morning. All residents please evacuate immediately—” Shocked, you hurry over and look out of the window. The street below is clogged with traffic. It seems pretty clear that there’s no way you’ll make it out of the city in time.

In the event of an actual hurricane, locals will probably be alerted much more in advance, but let’s suppose one day is all you’ve got. So, how do you prepare yourself ?

Let’s face it—most of us aren’t going to be able to afford our very own “doomsday bunker” stashed with fine wine and protected on all sides with 9 foot thick reinforced steel walls. Fortunately, with the proper knowledge and preparation, you can still make it through the storm.

First of all, food and water. This is a no brainer— you’re going to be trapped inside your home for weeks, so you’ll need to eat and drink. Take your shopping cart, grocery bags and head down to the local supermarket. Fast. You don’t want your neighbors to clean out the shelves before you do.

Prioritize non-perishable, high energy foods. This includes canned meats, canned vegetables, protein bars, dried fruits, nuts, and so on. Keep in mind that power will likely be cut during the storm, meaning fridges, microwaves, toasters and other kitchen devices will be nonfunctional. Just make sure to have your knife and can-opener ready.

With the power off, you’ll need other ways to see in the dark. Flashlights and matches are your best choices. Make sure to keep some extra batteries and seal them in a Ziploc bag along with your matches.

You don’t want them getting wet.

Prepare a first aid kit and any prescription medicine, or an inhaler. A crazy situation like this might just trigger an asthma attack!

Pick up some wooden boards at the hardware store, your windows are not going to hold against a Category 4 hurricane. Plywood boards with thickness of at least a half-inch are your best bet. However, time is limited. If you can’t find the proper materials for this, strip apart your furniture and make do.

Get a wireless radio. This is really useful for picking up broadcasts and news channels, along with sending and receiving distress signals. It’ll be your sole source of information from the outside world, so keep one close at hand.

Gather books, puzzles, board games, pencils and paper. Accept that YouTube and Instagram are not going to be available anymore. You’ll need something to keep you occupied, for the good of your sanity!

You’re almost set! After you return to your apartment, bolt the door, board up the windows and turn off the gas. Now, sit down on your bed and take a deep breath. All that’s left to do is wait and hope for the best.

During the storm It’s been three days. The wind has shown no signs of abating. The crack in the living room window has grown larger and larger. You’re lying in bed,

listening to the howling wind and the lashing rain.

You’re scared, you’re worried and you miss your friends and family. You start to think: will this hurricane ever pass?

Waiting out a hurricane is a scary thing, especially if you live alone. Hours and hours go by with nothing but the winds and your thoughts to keep you company. This is why it’s so important to keep yourself motivated during this time. Check your radio daily for communication channels. Read a book. Do a crossword puzzle. Write your thoughts down on paper (pretend you’re Robinson Crusoe, stranded on a deserted island). If you have a photo album, take a trip or two down memory lane. Think back to that awesome birthday party, that incredible night out, that unforgettable first date or maybe just that time you ate twelve hot dogs in one sitting. Think back to the good days that were and the better days to come. Whatever you do, don’t lose hope.

After the storm The winds have stopped and the rain has ceased.

It seems that the hurricane has finally passed. But does that mean that you are safe?

As we have already seen with with Irma and Harvey, it is not uncommon for one hurricane to be followed directly by another. Keep close track of the local news station and the weather channel for hurricane updates. Stay on the alert for extended rainfall and flooding. When you are outside, be very careful of dangling power lines, and if you find one, report it immediately to the power company. Lastly, make sure to inspect your home for damage. Take photographs as evidence to present to your insurance company. Congratulations, you’ve just survived a hurricane!

That being said, the aftermath of a hurricane is ruin and destruction. In Florida and the Caribbean, Irma has cost anywhere between $50 to $300 billion in damages, with various sources citing different figures. More than 60 deaths have been reported and over 6.4 million people are currently seeking refuge—it has been a devastating month for these hurricane victims. Right now, UNICEF as well as many local grassroot organizations are collecting funds nationwide for Irma relief. Many Canadians have also reached out in aid, making donations and even volunteering to help rebuild. It has been a tremendous humanitarian effort from all sides. In the meantime, we should all be keeping a more wary eye on the hot topic issue of climate change.