The McGill Tribune Vol. 25 Issue 16 by The Tribune

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A V E R Y FEA T U R E S E L E C T IO N , 10

REDM EN K EEP ON R O LLIN G , 20

Tribune

Vol. 25 Issue 16 I Tuesday, January 10, 2006

PUBLISHED BY THE STUDENTS' SOCI ETY OF MC GI L L UNI VERSI TY

ArtSci degree turns one Program growing pains continue, however JACQUI WILSON

Following Science Carnival tradition, this future microbiologist took some time off from his studies to snort beer.

Carnival season storms in Critics question deluge of drinking in annual event KAYVON AFSHARI In the sam e way that frosh events symbolize the end of sum m er and the beginning of the fall sem ester, winter car nivals serve as a grudging transition from our short-lived win ter break into the start of winter term. This year the faculties of Engineering, Science and Management hosted winter car nivals designed to offer McGill undergrads one last chance for a guilt-free, unburdened celebration before the weight of student living really begins to fall on our shoulders again. The three carnivals offer events like mystery bus tours, Beer Olym pics, scavenger hunts, poker tournam ents, snow

dodge ball and other competitive games. While Science Carnival coordinator Jeff Demarco admits that this year is essentially a rehash of last year7s events, he said that "It's not like frosh; it's an actual competition and the [18] team s com pete to get points in various things. Today we did dodge ball outside. They get points according to their w ins and losses." Events such as Engineering Carnival's "Weapons of Mass Consumption" competition, where participants are asked to "design and build the most elaborate and unneces sarily complicated piece of drinking apparatus you can come Se e S T IL L , page 6

It has been just over a year since the official inaugura tion of McGill’s new Arts and Science degree, and w hile many students in the program are optim istic that blending dis ciplines w ill lead to a better academ ic experience, the degree continues to experience growing pains. The B.A. & Sc. is for stu dents who wish simultaneously to pursue programs in the Faculties of Arts and Science. Its stated purpose is to offer a broad education in the two Faculties, so students can learn diverse content and varied methods of inquiry. As graduating Arts and Science student Maria Braker put it, "I didn't take enough classes in the sam e field to get fed up with a school of thought or an academ ic tradition." The one required course in the program is BASC 201, which is intended to integrate information from the arts and sciences. The course is meant to expose students to ideas from many different disciplines, and to show students how they are similar. But this goal has been causing problems. In order to allow for a var ied look at the arts and sci ences, students in BASC 201 receive lectures from multiple professors in M cGill's various departm ents. Anthropology

T h is w e e k in A th le tics Friday 13-Jan Redmen Hockey vs Concordia 7pm Friday 13-Jan Volleyball vs Montreal (W) 6pm (M) 8pm Saturday 14-Jan Martlet Hockey vs St. Laurent 6:30pm www.athletics.mcgill.ca * advance student tickets at Sadie’s

professor Michael Bisson, one of two course coordinators, pointed out that this arrange m ent leads to difficulties because the course is staffed on a volunteer basis. According to Bisson, it is difficult to get lecturers to vol unteer their tim e, partly because giving two or four lec tures in the course does not count toward the official teach ing load. "Given the pressures on people here, particularly young profs who have to publish lots to strengthen their tenure dossiers, this is a real problem," he said. Bisson said that counting BASC 201 lectures toward pro fessors' official teaching load would strengthen the course and allow more professors to present their ideas. Adm inistration officials don't seem to be sympathetic to this idea, though. Enrica Quaroni, associate dean (stu dent affairs) for the Faculty of Arts, said that since instructors give only a few lectures on their particular area of research or expertise, she didn't see how this could count as part of a teaching load. But unless some incentive is devised for professors to teach in the course, it will likely continue to be difficult to attract high-quality professors. See B A SC , page 7

news

cover photo byJOCELYNMANG

SPEAKERS ON CAMPUS

Stanford astrophysicist dances, spins, lectures Lecture reaches out to non-science folk ERIN KIMMEL Dr. Roger Blandford, w inner of the Am erican Astronomical Society's Heinem an Prize and Tenor Dean of the Physics Departm ent at Stanford University, spoke Thursday evening in Moyse Hall on "Black Holes: End of Tim e or New Beginnings?" The talk drew an enthusiastic audience of M cGill students and professors that left few empty seats. "Black holes need no introduction," Blandford said. "They are part of the culture and vernacular of our time." Blandford began by discussing the often harrowing image of black holes in popular culture, providing exam ples from film s, art and cartoons. Most of the lecture, however, concentrated on w hat black holes mean in the realm of astrophysics. Focusing on observa tions rather than theory, Blandford managed to tackle what many students see as a dry and overly complex subject in a clear and com pelling way. Blandford also highlighted many of his explanations with physical humour. When illustrating how space-tim e curves according to Einstein's General Theory of Relativity he attempt ed to curve his body in the sam e way, teetering on one leg with the other lifted high in the air and his arm s flailing about his head. Blandford recovered after a few seconds, but not before eliciting a chorus of laughter from the audience.

The audience also enjoyed several film representations of how a black hole might look from a human point of view. After all the unknowns surrounding black holes, Blandford tried to put forward the facts about their creation and the mys tique they engender. As he explained, black holes are created when either a white dwarf or neuron star is compacted so tightly—to just a few kilom etres in length—and becom es so heavy that it cannot resist the inward pull of gravity.

said while twirling clockwise on stage with his arm s fully extended. "Fast or slow, but like this." Blandford ended his lecture on an optim istic note, point ing to the im portant role black holes play in regenerating the universe. 'They are key in initiating the formation of new galaxies, stars, cosm ic rays [and] elem ents, and thus ultim ately life," he said. Tina Lurid, a student in Arts and Science, said she was im pressed by the lecture and the discussion that followed. 'The talk was vivid and inspiring," she said. "Professor Blandford brought a hard astrophysical subject to a level that anyone could understand." For those who w eren't thrilled by the idea of "gravity power" or "active galactic nuclei," Blandford offered another lecture Friday afternoon. The subject w as "Electrom agnetism ," and the event was hosted by the Physics Departm ent. Physics students Jonathan G uillem ette and Marika Archambault-W allenbrug both attended the black holes lecture on Thursday and said they were eager to hear Blandford's next presentation. "I'd never heard of Dr. Blandford before this, but he is a very inspiring astrophysicist," Guillem ette said. "Plus, Friday afternoon physics lectures have kind of becom e a tradition for us." ■

"The talk was vivid and inspiring. Professor Blandford brought a hard astrophysical subject to a level that anyone could understand." —Arts and Science student Tina Lurid

This "point of no return," as Blandford referred to it, is called an event horizon, It is also, for physicists, "when tim e com es to an end." For astronom ers, however, this is just the beginning of the black hole phenomenon. Most important to astronom ers is the weight and rotation of black holes. "A black hole w ill go round and round like this," Blandford

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the mcgill tribune | I0.l.06| news

CAMPUS

Science gets yet another brand new building Life Sciences Complex to house labs, space for researchers LISA VARANO The current construction of a Life Sciences Complex will create more labs for researchers at McGill. Two new facilities—the Francesco Bellini Life Sciénces Building and the Pavilion for Cancer Research—are being built between Stew art Biology and M clntrye Medical, linking the existing struc tures. The biology and medical build ings are also undergoing renovations as part of the project. "The real catalyst for this is the money and the vision of Francesco Bellini, who thought we have to have a pipeline of people going from fun dam ental science to m edical research to starting up companies like he did," said Dean of Science Martin G rant Bellini, a scientist and business man, donated $ 10 -million for the construction of the building which will bear his nam e. The Life Sciences Complex is also being funded by the Canada Foundation for Innovation and the Ministère de l'Éducation du

Québec. The space will be used by 60 principal researchers and 60 0 research personnel. It is scheduled to open within the next 18 months to two years. Research in the Bellini building will address a host of issues, includ ing cancer, cell information transfer system s, chemical genetics, develop mental biology and reproduction, and the genetics of complex traits. Grant said that the state-of-theart labs in the Life Sciences Complex would make M cGill an attractive place for top talent. "[The labs] are going to be like huge flytraps for the best people in those fields in the world, and mouse traps for the best grad students and research scientists," he said. Kyle Martin, vice-president finan cial affairs of the Biochem istry Undergraduate Society, agreed that new research space is needed. "The facilities that McGill cur rently has are way behind the tim es, both in undergraduate teaching labs and in research labs," he said. The Life Sciences Complex will

benefit undergraduate students, said Martin. "More lab space means profes sors can accommodate more stu dents," he said. "Since graduate stu dents understandably take prece dence above undergraduates when professors are hiring, this will give more of an advantage to undergrad uates looking for a place to conduct a research project" Grant said that a priority is to increase the amount of interaction undergraduates have with professors and their research. The Office for Undergraduate Research in Science and a conference on the sam e topic were both initiated by the Faculty this year. Science Undergraduate Society vice-president academ ic Marina Lagodich praised the office and con ference as w ell. "Both of these initiatives have paved the way for McGill Science being an 'undergrad-research-friend1/ place. But without lab space, only so much can be done," she said. "That is w here the new building comes in." ■

VLADIMIR EREMIN

Come back here in 18 months to see a brand new building!

CAMPUS

Burnside basement gets long-awaited facelift New lights, desks to make pleasant study environment out of ‘hole’ JAMES GOTOWIEC Eager students returning to the basement of Burnside Hall last week may have noticed one thing missing: the furniture. But if everything goes according to plan, a long-needed renovation

.........................

Soon enough this second home for Science students will get

project will soon be underway that will upgrade the dank base ment refuge of Science and Geography students to a bright and inviting study space. "The project was slated to start now (early January), but it's been pushed back a couple weeks," said Science Undergraduate Society President Marta Filipski. 'They're going to put in new lighting, electrical plugs in the floors for laptops, fix the ventilatio n... make it just a better study space." The SUS is paying for new furniture for the space sim ilar to the tables and chairs in the Schulich Library, con tributing a total of $ 2 0 ,0 0 0 toward the project. According to Filipski, the dean of Science has committed $15,000 to the renova tion and M cGill w ill cover the rem ainder of the project's $50,000 budget. Filipski said her com m ittee took the opportunity to redesign the space instead of just making it brighter. "W e're going to have study areas and Ja m es GOTOWIEC w e're going to have a lounge area with couch es," she said. brighter lights and new tables.

The Burnside basement project has been a nagging issue for SUS executives for the past three to four years. Every year, candidates promise that they will work on fixing up the base ment, with little in the way of results. "This year I finally got the money for it," Filipski said. "We've

The Science Undergraduate Society is paying for new furniture for the space, similar to the tables and chairs in the Schulich Library, and is contributing a total of $20,000 to the project. hired the engineers; we've hired a contractor." All that rem ains is final approval of design details and a decision on a starting date, which was supposed to happen in Decem ber but w as delayed due to exams. Filipski said that the renovations should take less than a month. "It should be pretty quick," she said, "to cause as little dis ruption to students as possible." The SUS computer labs will remain accessible while the work is underway. Students have responded positively to the upcoming reno vations. Shital Sharma, B.Sc '05 and now working on her M.A., said she only uses the Burnside basem ent for Internet access, but would consider using it more if the space were more inviting. She said that $20,000 is a lot of money to spend on the project, but is worth it to improve the space for students. "Whatever it takes to have better seats and better tables and better lighting," she said. Alysson Whitlam, U3 Geography, agreed. She said she had noticed the current lack of tables and chairs, having a hard tim e finding somewhere to sit. But she was happy that the basement would soon have better lighting. "I spend a lot of tim e in Burnside," she said, "so I'm all for improving it." ■

news | 10.1.06 | the mcgill tribune

ELECTION

KNOW HOW — VOTING

101

If you don’t vote, you can’t complain The Tribune offers this handy guide on voting in the general election ROBERT CHURCH Decisions are made by those who show up. With election day fast approaching, the Tribune encourages all students who are eligible to vote to get out and do so. This appears to he one of the closest elections in recent history, and, thankfully, it has been focused more on substance and policy than on theatrics. Quebec and many Montreal-area ridings are poised to be battlegrounds for the federal parties, as the Liberals struggle to retain control, the Bloc Québécois looks to increase its hefty majority of Quebec's parliamentary seats, and the Conservatives attempt to make their first inroads in the province since the late 1980s. According to Elections Canada, only about 25 per cent of Canadians between the ages of 18 and 25 chose to vote in the last federal election. Therefore, we present this handy guide to voting in the 39th General Election in the hope that you won't be part of the other 75 per cent. So cut it out, carry it with you, doodle on it, blow your nose with it, whatever. Just go out and cast your ballot on Jan. 23.

Important Dates: Election Day: January 23 Advance Polling: January 13, 14, 16

Poll location, regular and advance voting: St-Louis Multi-Ethnic Centre 3555 me St-Urbain, between Milton and Prince Arthur Hours: 12 p.m . to 8 p.m. for advance polling, 9 :3 0 am to 9 :3 0 pm on election day.

Who can vote? All Canadian citizens who will be 18 years of age or older on election day are eligible to vote. International students who do not hold Canadian citizenship are not eligible.

How to register for the list of electors: The majority of Canadians over 18 are registered to vote on the National Register of Electors, a list compiled by the federal government that includes all those in Canada who are eligible to

vote and groups them according to their riding. If you voted in the last election in 2 0 0 4 , filed an income tax return in recent years or have a driver's licence, you are probably already on the list of electors. Keep in m ind: As most McGill students are likely registered to vote in their home rid ings, students m ust choose whether to vote in the riding where they live in Montreal or by special ballot. The following is only a rough voting guide. For full infor mation, visit www.elections.ca.

To vote in Montreal: First, check to see if you are regis tered by calling the local Elections Canada office at ( 8 6 6 ) 234-2463. If you are not, you can register to vote by visiting the Elections Canada, office or polling stations and bringing with you: (a ) proof of Canadian citizenship (passport, birth cer tificate, driver's licence, e tc.); and (b ) a bill or lease with your name and Montreal address clearly printed. Don't fret if you can't find or are too lazy to bring any of these docum ents; you can still vote by tak If you need a handheld How to Vote pamphlet, drop by the SSMU front desk. ing a prescribed oath about your name and residence, as long as you have someone The Candidates: else there to vouch for you. McGill is located in the riding of Westmount—Ville-Marie. For information on the candidates in other ridings, visit Elections To vote in your home riding, if not Montreal: Canada or w w w .cbc.ca/canadavotes. The candidates for If you wish to vote by special ballot in your home riding, you Westmount—'Ville-Marie are: must register to do so at least six days before the election. First, Liberal Party of Canada: Lucienne Robillard (incum bent) contact Elections Canada and request a form to vote by special New Democratic Party of Canada: Eric Steedman ballot. Sim ply fill it out, provide proof of residency and Canadian Marxist-Leninist Party of Canada: Serge Lachapelle citizenship, and return it within a week of election day. Elections Green Party of Canada: Julie Sabourin Canada will provide the necessary envelopes and voting papers. Conservative Party of Canada: Louise Q'Sulfivan Contact information for these procedures can be found on the Com munist Party of Canada: Bill Sloan Elections Canada Web site. Bloc Québécois: Sophie Fréchette ■

Perfectionnez votre anglais au CANADA! Sitting at home with nothing to do? Want to tell your friends you've interviewed high-pro file people like Kim Bartlett? VOUS VOULEZ VIVRE UNE EXPÉRIENCE INOUBLIABLE? VOUS AVEZ LE GOÛT DE VOYAGER ? Fa ites connaître votre culture tout en découvrant une culture différente e t en ta isa n t l'exp érience d’un tra v a il d es p lu s in té ressan t. Com m ent? En vous

inscrivant au programme Odyssée ou Accent (anciennem ent connu sous le nom de Program m e d es m oniteurs de lang ues officlellesH PM LO ). Le trav a il de m oniteur ou de m onitrice de langue (a ssista n t de langue) co n siste â so utenir le p rotesseur de langue en o rgan isant d es a ctivité s qui favo rise n t la com prènenston aud itive e t l'exp ressio n o rale aup rès d'adolescents dont te langue m aternelle n’e st p as le fra n ç a is. Ce program m e s'a d re sse p lu s p articulièrem ent aux

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>à la direction régionale du m inistère de l'Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport te plus p nsd» de ctira vous.

Programme Odyssée, monitrices et moreteure à temps ptej» : Brnnw 19 $ Fheure

pour tfi total * 17 a » $(nerf m m de bavai t raison ne 25 heures par semants). pættei : & srla i 18 S t t o e . pour un total de 4 1 5 0 $ (huit m ois de il à raaon de 8 r

Patrimoine Canadian

Did you know that she's the Director of Admissions?

15 février 2006

Pewr en savoir davantage sur les programmes Odyssée et Accent, il su ffit de visiter le site Web du Conse< t e m inistres de l’Éducation (C a n a d a )» ): ou d e * * à la personne responsable de l’aide financière aux étudiante dans votre

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BRISEZ U ROUTINE, VIVEZ UNE EXPERIENCE QUI SORT OE L’ORDINAIRE ET EXPLOREZ OE NOUVEAUX HORIZONS EN DEVENANT ASSISTANTES OU ASSISTANTS OE LANGUE A L’ÉTRANGER. Le m inistère de l'Éducation, du Lo isir

PRINCIPALES CONDITIONS :

postes d'assistantes et d’assistants de langue française au Royaume-Uni, en Irlande ou en Allemagne.

• Étudier â temps plein dans une université Québécoise,

et du Sport du Québec offre d es

Fonction : soutenir le p rofesseur de fra n ç a is pendant i 2 heures en orga nisant des a ctivité s qui favo risent la com préhension auditive e t l’expression orale auprès « ’ad olescen ts dont ta langue m aternelle n’e st pas le fran çais

Durée du séjour : de 8 â 9 m ois, selon le (toys d 'affectatio n. Allocation : m ontant brut de 1 170 $ à 1 500 $ p ar m ois selon le p ays d 'affectatio n . Le M ELS octroie au ssi une aHocatkm fo rfaitaire de 1 50 0 $ pour co u vrir le s fra is de tran sp o rt et de dém énagem ent.

• Résider en permanence au QuéOec; • être citoyen canadien.

Pour te Royaume-Uni et l'Irtande :

le vendredi 27 janvier 2006 Pour ta France et l'Allem agne :

te vendredi 1Gfévrier 2006 de IÉducation, du Loue et du Sport

wwvModtegeeegoGaZdele

Wednesdays 6 p.m. Tribune Office (Shatner 110) Cookies for all. news@mcgilltribune.com

L o is ir e t S p o rt

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the mcgill tribune | 10.1.06 | news

CITY

McGill clashes with province over superhospital University rejects health minister’s proposed restrictions on services NIALL MACKAY ROBERTS The operations of M ontreal's two new "super-hospitals," one of which is affiliated with M cGill, rem ain the subject of intense debate less than one month after the governm ent of Quebec announced its intention to restructure the sharing of m edical services between the institutions. The M cGill University Health Centre and the Centre hospi talier de l'Université de Montréal are each in the process of merging a host of hospital services across the city into a pair of centrally located facilities. MUHC w ill include the services cur rently provided by the Montreal Chest Institute, Montreal Children's H ospital, M ontreal G eneral H ospital, Montreal Neurological Institute and Royal Victoria Hospital, and its cam pus w ill be located at Glen Yards near the Vendôme metro sta tion. However, both the cost and the intentions of the super hospitals' construction have been questioned over the past year. The facilities' locations had been hotly contested, and construction underestim ates have plagued the planning process. More recently, MUHC and CHUM have fought over which m edical services w ill be centred in each institution. Last month, to quell the controversy, the provincial gov ernm ent suggested it would order the reapportionm ent of m edical services favouring the CHUM -affiliated Sainte-Justine Hospital. The move would prevent M cGill's institutions from developing sim ilar programs. The university, however, has refused to cooperate. "We w ill not accept any m easure of restructuring imposed by the M inister [of Health]," said the Board of Governors and the directors of MUHC in a joint statem ent, "nor forced merg ers, nor restricted or abolished services, nor the limiting of our activities to 'current levels.'"

Robert Rabinovitch, president of the Board of Governors, personally dem and ed that the provincial governm ent recon sider its position. "Our m essage to the governm ent of Quebec is very clear," he said in La Presse. 'The integration of teaching, research and children's care is at the heart of our m is sion, and w e w on't m ake any compro m ise with regard to this mission." Two weeks ago, hoping to quiet the ongoing crisis, provincial M inister of Health Philippe Couillard appointed a working group to resolve the matter. The further restructuring of m edical services, however, has not been ruled out. M eanwhile, several public com m en tators have com e out in favour of restrict ing M cGill's influence on m edical research in Montreal, claim ing an anglophone uni COURTESY MCGILL.CA versity is out of place coordinating super hospital operations in a francophone city. Maybe the MUHC can race the Bellini building to see which gets finished first. "M m e. M onroe-Blum (s ic ) and Provincial law also requires that all medical staff pass regular (M UHC Director) M. Porter are in an uncom fortable situation," wrote Benoit Dubreuil in Le Devoir tests of their oral and written capacity in French. N onetheless, Dubreuil recom m ended that future renego last month, responding to an open letter Munroe-Blum and Porter wrote jointly defending MUHC as a project worthy of tiations of the relationship between MUHC and CHUM either transfer additional services to CHUM or require additional guar public and governm ent support. "If MUHC belongs to the antees for the French language. anglophone minority, it is incom prehensible that it should "That m eans imposing French as a working language in occupy such a predom inant place. On the other hand, if MUHC CHUM," wrote Dubreuil, "and guaranteeing an equitable repre belongs to all Quebecers', it is incom prehensible that French is sentation of francophones at all echelons of the hierarchy." not its first language of work and research." Munroe-Blum w as not im m ediately available for addition Munroe-Blum and Porter, however, cited figures stating al com m ent. ■ that 60 per cent of MUHC em ployees w ere francophone.

This year, the SSMU will work hard to inform you of the latest developments in McGill's undergraduate community. Expect a SSMU half-page every second week in the Tribune, on page 5.

Mini-Courses Registration

SNOW AP is Back and Better than Ever!

ADAM CONTER, PRESIDENT

Come take part in one of McGill’s coolest traditions! Tons of activities every day, and lots of great com pany!

Students can come and register for Mini-courses in the Shatner University Centre during activities night, January 18th. LEON MWOTIA VP CLUBS & SERVICES

McGill Icon

McGill University Student Fund

ERIC VAN EYKEN VP FINANCE & OPERATIONS

From January 18-25, students whom wish to not provide addi tional financial support to the McGill library network, student bursaries, and to campus activities can opt-out of paying these fees by visiting the SSMU office.

SSM U

Have a band? Want a chance at winning up to 1000$? Drop by the SSMU front desk or e-mail icon@ssmu.mcgill.ca to sign up. ROZ FREEMAN VP COMMUNICATIONS & EVENTS

BILLBOARD

news | 10.1.06 | the rrrcgill tribune

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Following in the footsteps of Apple and iTunes, Google announced plans to begin selling <• video through a premium Web site and a downfa *r«i ihc m itliiV loadable video player. Google, which did not « • . announce when it would be opening the site, said that , Mop■ F roughly 3 ,0 0 0 videos will be available when the service begins, including new CBS shows and archives of old 1 ;■ programming like I Love Lucy and Star Trek for US$1.99 . w# jVtpr each. • A Canadian man beefed with his credit card com psmtimjv \ pany and the United States government has been paying his “At ft ) m bill in pennies in order to maximize the company's inconven ience. Don Rogers, a Canadian customer of Vancouver-based ■ 'vSrvcf Citizens Bank, was angered by his bank's recent move to out MltC. sourcing some of its processing to the US, where customer information could be seen by the government under the bill iif? Patriot Act, and has been paying his bill in m iniscule incre ments dozens of tim es a day to tie up the company's comput Chw-i* i;;« ers. The bank has since cancelled his card. • International tour ijy t<>Itcivci bus operator Gray Line has drawn criticism for its new tour of 'lie (rtft New O rleans, "Hurricane Katrina—Am erica's Worst fijdk, ' whk Catastrophe." The US$35 tour points out high-water marks AfarM 1 on buildings, damaged trees and spray-painted rem inders of i muMC • « . « where bodies used to lay. • Mehmet Ali Agca, the 1981 would-be assassin who attempted to kill Pope John Paul II, Ihj uil pit will be freed from jail in Turkey on parole on Jan. 12. Agca, ixm ft 47, was extradited to Turkey in 20 00 after serving nearly CvSfoiW*. mu* 20 years in prison for the attempt on the Pope's life. Kuu’-CuhJ 4% John Paul II visited Agca in prison in 1983 and forgave him. îttfç^ for himpsy

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Science carnival made a stop at SnoAP last week to refill their mugs and find some clean snow to vomit on. Continued from cover up with," make clear that alcohol is a large focus of many Carnival activi ties. It may be only a matter of tim e before the Carnivals' free drinking ways attract the attention of McGill

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administrators already disenchanted with the reputation that Frosh activi ties bring to the school. The McGill comm unity has been found to have responsible attitudes toward alcohol and binge drinking, but there is always a concern that, as with Frosh,

YOU WANT TO KNOW WHERE AND WHEN TO VOTE?

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T T Y 1 8 0 0 3 6 1 - 8 9 3 5 fo r p e o p le w h o a re d e a f o r h a rd o f h e a rin g to ll- fr e e in C a n a d a a n d th e U n ite d S t a te s o r (6 1 3 ) 9 9 1 - 3 0 8 2 fro m a n y w h e re

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Carnival participants could be pres sured to consume more alcohol than they feel com fortable w ith. Furthermore, critics worry about a lack of safety precautions for pre venting overdrinking. However, Ted Barris, Director of McGill Counselling and Tutorial Service said that if students feel pres sured to drink, they're not bringing it up with counsellors. "Although students occasionally report their concern around alcohol consumption," he said, "binge drink ing is not among the major issues that McGill students bring to coun selling." According to a document by McGill Student Health Service enti tled "Assessing Attitudes towards Alcohol," our perceptions of social binge drinking may not be in line with the reality: "For many students, drinking is considered a part of university life," according to the document. "The dangers of binge drinking are som e tim es overlooked because it is often a part of the social scene. ... Some don't stop to consider the dangers of drinking simply because everyone around them seem s to be doing it." Furtherm ore, there are real, long-term effects from heavy drink ing including addiction often leading to clinical depression, stomach lining damage and liver disease. "E-Week" (Engineering Carnival) coordinator Joshua Garner asserts that precautionary steps are taken in order to m inim ize the potential downsides of social binge drinking. "Drinking is always optional at eweek events. Many of the events don't even involve drinking at all. If an event is a drinking competition, non-alcoholic beverage alternatives are available. We do our best to dis courage people from going over board and w e don't pressure anyone to drink," said Garner. While Gam er admitted that it is im possible to watch the consump tion of every student out at a bar, ew eek coordinators do watch for peo ple who have obviously had enough and insist that they call it a night. Moreover, most e-week organizers are experienced frosh leaders and will seek medical attention when appropriate. ■

the mcgill tribune | 10.1.06 | news

Continued from cover

BASc a big draw The degree may focus too heavily on Students have also said that the 2 0 0 -level courses without letting stu course itself is far from perfect. dents take an in-depth look at any "The required class still needs work. I am not convinced of its use .specific field. Unlike many other McGill pro fulness," said Braker. But Braker added that for stu grammes, which restrict the number dents who want to gain different per of 2 0 0 -level courses a student can spectives on learning, the B.A. & Sc. take, Arts and Science students need not take as many 300-level courses. program is worth considering. Physics professor and member Indeed, according to Bisson, many students have been consider of the B.A. & Sc. program administra tive committee Nicholas de Takacsy ing the program. He said that the Registrar's office received so many took issue with that interpretation. "The expectation is that [stu applications for the degree, they dents] will use the complementary thought students had misread the and elective courses to deepen their adm issions form. knowledge," he said. "I would expect However, som e have raised concerns about the diversity of sub over half of their courses would be at jects that students are able to cover. the 300-plus level." ■

McGILL AND MPIDO A n AUCC/CAN AD A C O RPS/C ID A P a rtn e rsh ip P ro je c t

WORKING TOWARDS A STRONGER FUTURE: INSTITUTIONAL GOVERNANCE AND MAASAl LAND RIGHTS IN KENYA

numb! 4 .2 Magnitude of the earthquake that struck 2 2 kilometres east of Huntingdon, Quebec, on Monday at 10:30 a.m.

A Panel Discussion and Photo Exhibit F rid a y , J a n u a r y 1 3 , 2 0 0 6 - 6 :0 0 p .m . R e c e p tio n to fo llo w S te p h e n L e a c o c k B u ild in g , R o o m 2 3 2 8 5 5 S h e r b r o o k e S tr e e t W e s t

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opinion

W hip it

Tickling my fancy— and Olivia

The helpless Romantic

BRANDON CHUDLEIGH

Referendum remix: why Martin should DJ RICH TSENG he bride forbade him to talk politics, but he's doing it anyway. I'm at the open bar, whiskey and soda calming my nerves after being music-effects guy for my cousin's wedding, and her brother is laughing at me. A long-time Torontonian, he can't understand why I'm cam paigning for the Liberals in Quebec. Originally it was to discover what an efficient campaign looks like. Now, it is to ensure that Quebec stays in Canada. To a Conservative, both these reasons sound absurd, but ft is the second that really splits his sides. "If they want to leave with Boisclair, good!" he soberly declared. "Liberals? Adscam was what got us thinking about this in the first place." He's not the only one. Many Conservatives have told me they secretly wish for Quebec sep aration so they can see a majority government in their favour and not have to leam French. Even undecided voters see independence as inevitable after AdScam. Just what was it about the last 10 years that made ardent "NO" people give up and accept "YES7' Every time a Canada-loving Anglo thinks separation is inevitable, a bottle of champagne is popped open by the Parti Québécois—it means more ammunition for the "alienation" gun. But nothing is truly inevitable until it actually happens. Manifest destiny? For some time, many Canadians sat around waiting for complete military takeover by the US army. A matter of marching, according . to Prez Jefferson, and many agreed. But it never happened. Videophones? Global communism? Consigned to history's dustbin of failed ideas. And the notion of an independent Quebec might join them if the Liberals stay in power. Sure, the money thrown at staunching Quebec sepa ratism turned the tide against the Liberals, even though it did help the "NO" side's win. Posters, commercials and rallies all show that we shelled

out as much money as we could to convince as many as we could that separation is a bad idea. It may not have always been the most efficient war, what with profiteers and scoundrels making off with large sections of the battle chest, but it got the job done and everyone went home happy that "home and native land" hadn't been split in half. Until, of course, we discovered that these rich rapscallions were also Liberal cronies. I can understand a bunch of separatists being peeved about their tax dollars getting used to fund the side they're diametrically opposed to and I don't care: Any penny that doesn't go to Quebec or its secession will be seen as robbery by an oppressive government anyway. But to have the "NO" voters furious because some of that money was spent in useless places is ridicu lous. You mean you weren't desperate enough about keeping the country together that you would have tried anything as long as there was hope it would work? If not, it sure didn't seem that way when we were alternating between call ing separatists traitors and begging them to stay. So why can't we give the Conservatives a turn at the helm? Because we can't trust them. Amputating Quebec means greater power and proportionately increased seats. While both they and the Liberals will do whatever it takes to grasp power, for the Liberals, that happens to mean holding Quebec. Moreover, I shudder at a "NO" campaign in which Harper, constrained by his anti-Adscam stance, can't spend in exchange for votes. I hesitated to say I was the DJ at cuz's wed ding because 1 had no choice regarding the play list which was largely classical; if I ever get mar ried, it will be a rock opera, but I digress. The point is that Canadians do get a choice over the refer endum's tune, and it better be something we can all groove to. ■

elieve it or not I'm actually interested in this upcoming federal election. You all probably thought that I'd dis miss the balloting on Jan. 23 as useless, and I would have good reason to: In typi cal Canuck fashion, party platforms tend to be non-offensive, appealing to a broad centrist audience without actually attempt ing to shake things up. And the leaders are, as a rule, incredibly bland manifesta tions of the most irritating elements of the parties they are representing; sure, pols heckle one another during debates and use their cabinet positions to extend the residence permits of Romanian exotic dancers, but without effecting profound change, name-calling and strippers only go so far. However, during the present out break of campaign fever, my interest has been piqued by an unexpected source. Having previously dismissed the N DP as a bunch of lazy, unkempt hippies and envi ronmentalists who believe that hairspray is the root of all evil, I discovered that Jack Layton's brethren aren't all bad. While the term "social democracy" still evokes a reaction of nausea and cold sweats, and I have long vowed never to be one of the naive students who votes blindly for the NDP, the Orange Crush is looking a bit more viable these days. While the two real contenders in the race spend most of their time going for each others' jugular, the leaders who don't stand a chance actually discuss their stances on issues and propose solutions to make things right Maybe because they have nothing to lose, they are more hon est or-because they have everything to gain if the ploy actually w orks-they lie and tell the people what they want to hear. Regardless of the reason, I'm enjoying the N DRs attempts to reach out beyond party diehards and lasso undecideds with its blanket policies. I like that they want to give me more money. This is something that other par ties don't seem to understand. Though I

would rather be handed said money in the form of a cheque—preferably one of those giant novelty ones—I will gladly accept rash intended for corporate tax cuts to be reinvested in health rare and housing. I am broke and therefore, need both of these things to be free, or at least cheap. There's even more! The NDF^s move to recognize foreign credentials, so that doctors ran be doctors and not bitter cab drivers, is necessary and something that should have been done long ago. Layton is also the feistiest of the candidates and therefore most likely to get scrappy with George W , something that would get Canada props and respect from most of the world over. But appealing as the prospects are, there is one thing that will likely keep me from voting for the dark horse: Jack Layton's mustache. It may be unfair, but Layton's soup-strainer makes me question what the guy and his party are hiding. If Jack can't be upfront about what the skin on his upper lip looks like, then there's no way to know how the NDP would actually govern the country. Sure, Layton promises broad initiatives, but I have a sneaking sus picion they would be abandoned in the interests of leftist ulterior motives and impractical idealistic policies. How will you make Canada unravel once in power. Jack? The réintroduction of commune living? Mandatory school-time drumming circles to empower our youth (FYI: sing-alongs only incite violence)? Will your first bill ban cars, make emasculating tandem bikes mandatory and force every thing to be solar paneled—in a country where the sun does not exist for eight months of the year? There's no way to know what ideas are lurking behind that 'stache. Though my other options are unap pealing, I don't think I'm quite ready to swing Jack's way ye t I still can't cast a vote in support of a party that I fear might splurge and blow the entire federal budg et on urban wind turbines. ■

Kleinium

It may be cold, but don’t use your syllabus as kindling JONATHAN KLEIN ere we are again, back in school after an extraordinarily short winter vacation. Now is the time for choosing class es, sizing up professors, and, for some, trying to get through one last sem ester and graduate. In the midst of the confusion that is the beginning of the semester, students sometimes overlook a small paragraph found everywhere at McGill. This is the famous Academic Integrity statement, mandated by the Senate to be included on every course syllabus to remind students that the university takes academic offenses like plagiarism very seriously. It's a common refrain students have heard many tim es over their academic lives. As such, this paragraph often just gets skipped over, especially in light of its proximity to important information like TA office hours and how much of a course's grade is devot ed to participation. If everyone has heard umpteen tim es about the dangers of academic offenses, why even broach the subject? Because over the past few weeks, while undergrads were enjoying their freedom by thinking about anything but school and serious research, a major controversy broke out in the scientific com munity that illustrated the importance of academic integrity. The story revolves around Dr. Hwang Woo-suk of Seoul National University in South Korea. Hwang had been at the

forefront of stem cell research and the quest to develop stem cells from human embryos, which have been identified as pos sible cures for a host of heretofore-incurable conditions ranging from Parkinson's to diabetes to spinal cord injuries. In June, Hwang published a paper in Science claiming to have pro duced 11 cloned stem cell lines using an average of only 17 eggs per line. While that may sound like a lot it represented a huge decrease in the number of eggs required to create stem cells—in 2004, Hwang needed more than 200 eggs to create a single line—and meant that the procedure could become clin ically usable. In December, however, it became apparent that Hwang had fabricated his results. He had not produced the stem cells, as he had claimed, and was also guilty of ethical violations relat ing to practices used to obtain the eggs on which he experi mented. Hwang eventually resigned his post at SNU, though the university has said it will not accept his resignation request In spite of the recent misdeeds. Dr. Hwang remains one of the top scientists in his field, and much of his prior research was groundbreaking and seem s beyond reproach. But his ordeal certainly serves as a warning about the importance of accurate information and reporting. Academic integrity is not just an abstract concept foisted

upon undergrads to make sure work is done properly and that everyone is graded fairly. It extends outside the classroom envi ronment into the real world. Likewise, university does not serve merely to provide students with a bunch of facts and a tran script, but also to provide them with the ability to perform work on their own, in which integrity plays a large role. Physicist Richard Feynman, in his 1974 Caltech com mencement address, noted that scientific integrity is never explicitly explained throughout the course of an undergraduate science education. However, that doesn't mean students shouldn't seek out its meaning on their own. Ideally, students will develop an understanding of the scientific method and the importance of reporting all results with brutal honesty, even to the point of demonstrating that they were wrong about some thing. Failure to do so does a disservice both to their own work and to the efforts of colleagues who may use their work to develop new ideas. The Academic Integrity statement is ubiquitous and ran sometimes seem irrelevant or unnecessary, but the ideas it conveys are important Science is only secondarily about facts and data. Primarily, it is a method of inquiry devoted to further ing our understanding of our surroundings. Without integrity, science cannot meet this goal. ■

The

the mcgill tribune | 10.1.06 | opinion

McGill Tribune Curiosity delivers.

EDITORIAL

SSMU Presidents Conter, Martin and Harper?

E ditor-in - c h ief Liz Allemang

“In Mexico an air conditioner is called a politician because it m akes a lot o f noise but doesn't work very well." «. —Len Deighton

editor@mcgilltribune.com M anaging E ditors Jennifer Jett A n d rew Segal seniored@mcgilltribune.com N ews E ditors Robert Church Jam es G otow iec Niall M ackay Roberts news@mcgilltribune.com Features E ditors Genevieve Jenkins Cristina Markham features@mcgilltribune.com A&E E ditors Ben Lemieux Melissa Price arts@mcgilltribune.com S ports E ditors David Blye Adam Myers sports@mcgilltribune.com Photo E ditors Lukas Bergmark Vladimir Eremin photo@mcgilltribune.com C opy E ditor Traci Johnson copy@mcgilltribune.com D esign E ditors Matt Campbell Tiffany C ho y G eneviève Friesen design@mcgilltribune.com O nline E ditor M arco A vo lio online@mcgilltribune.com A dvertising M anager Paul Slachta advmgr@ssmu.mcgill.ca Publisher C had Ronalds ONLINE AT WWW.MCGILLTRIBUNE.COM

t what point does a federal election cam paign becom e com pletely useless, and who is qualified to make that determination? At this point, with just under two weeks left to go in the 39th general election campaign, it is becom ing increasingly clear to mem bers of the media and the Canadian public that the position of the federal government and the resulting impact on the nation is going to be the sam e no matter who ends up in power. As it stands now, realistically, the end result of this election is going to be a Liberal or Conservative m inority governm ent. The Bloc Québécois is going to remain in the sam e posi tion, maybe improving slightly on its performance in 2 0 0 4 , and the NDP is going to be lucky to even retain its current number of seats. What a worthy use of m illions of dollars and tens of thousands of volunteer hours, just to offer Canadians another two years of the "Harper and Martin Show"—the hottest odd-couple sitcom to hit Ottawa since Pierre and Margaret Trudeau. If the Liberals retain power, they w ill again be relegated to the official position of "opposition punching bag," existing solely to offer stress relief to the tired and bitter m em bers of another Conservative/Bloc/NDP coalition. Every Liberal minority government m eans a little bit less tim e as party leader for Paul Martin, and even if he does manage to emerge large and in charge once again, it's questionable as to whether he w ill be up for the tough battles that characterize a minority government. If the Conservatives gain power, which will mark the first government they've formed since 1993, they can save them selves som e tim e and flush all the am bitious policy initiatives they announced during the campaign down the toilet. While this fall's Conservative/Bloc/NDP coalition w as based on politics, not b eliefs, a Liberal/Bloc/N DP partnership w ill not only have the Conservative Party to oppose, but also the conservative ideology. If the Conservatives form the government, it's going to be a sm all one, and Stephen Harper had better hope "compromise" com es up often on his word-of-the-day toilet paper.

Either way, we as Canadians will likely be treated to another election campaign before next year's hockey season has ended, and whether any of the parties w ill have finally matured enough for us to trust them to govern is a ques tion for divination. It's a rewarding feeling, though, when the rest of the country is forced to suffer through w hat M cGill students have becom e accustom ed to: never-ending cam paigns. Every March, McGill students get to enjoy the annual rite of passage for overachieving polit ical science students—campaigning to be our next representatives in the SSMU office. While faculty associations also choose to have their elections during this period, they're never nearly as exciting as SSMU. Where else can you hear candidates talk of their vision for McGill in the 2 1 st century right from the comfort of your own lecture hall se a t... provided they can finish their speech before the professor kicks them out of

DARK HUMOUR

by JAMIE GOODMAN

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Brandon Chudleigh, Rory Gangbar, Ezra Glinter, Erin Kimmel, Jonathan Klein, Jocelyn Mang, Rich Tseng, Lisa Varano, Jacqui Wilson T ribune O ffices Editorial. Shatner University Centre, Suite 110, 3 4 8 0 McTavish, Montreal Q C Tel: 514.398.6789 Fax. 514.398.1750 Advertising. Brown Student Building, Suite 1200, 3 6 0 0 McTavish, Montreal Q C H 3A 1Y2 Tel. 514.398.6806 Fax. 514.398.7490

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OFF THE BOARD

Slip-sliding my way through mid-winter Monty

C ontributors

Kayvon Afshari, Mohit Arora,

class. If there's a student who actually enjoys lis tening when aspiring politicos gather at the front of Leacock 132 to offer their vision, we haven't met her. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to state that the proportion of students who actually lis ten to SSMU campaign speeches is the sam e as the fraction of Canadians who truly care about this election. Yes, that low. Deep down, ju st like M cGill students, Canadians know that no matter Who w ins more seats in Parliament, the outcome w ill be the sam e. More partisan bickering, more coalitions, less effective government and more rhetoric. And most important, more campaigning just around the corner. The Tribune hereby challenges whoever w ins on Jan. 23 to get the next election out of the way and hold it in March. Why? Think about a federal and SSMU election campaign going on at the sam e tim e: How crazy would that be? ■

TRACI JOHNSON layers and fleece mittens—and aided by both here are many wonderful and exciting rea McGill and Montreal's extensive network of under sons to live and attend university in Montreal. ground tunnels—I have journeyed to class, Second The opportunity to experience Québécois culture, the thriving m usic scene and the subaver Cup and various cultural attractions without once suffering from frostbite. The cold is not my age legal drinking age all come to mind when enem y; unfortunately, the many ice-lined side contemplating the merits of la belle province. walks and outdoor staircases of the downtown Others might cite the city's many outdoor festivals, area are my nem eses. great shopping and plethora of restaurants just Ice, whether visible or invisible, black or waiting to satiate the appetite of hungry (intellec tually and physically, of course) undergrads. All of white, is the downfall of Montreal. It inspires fear of shattered bones in 2 0 -year-old limbs and these charming Montreal attributes are supposed severely limits a girl's choice of footwear. Ice dic to make up for the fact that the average monthly tates which streets to walk down, which coffee temperature of said city is often below freezing, shops to frequent and even which fêtes to and that the precipitation in Quebec usually attend-Docteur-Penfield stairs after dark? No com es in the form of sleet, snow or freezing rain. thank you. I, for one, can accept the bone-chilling tem If the treacherous trottoires infringe upon my peratures, the icy winds and the snows that fall so w et and thick that an umbrella becomes a neces lifestyle, the day-to-day activities of the elderly and the disabled must be affected to a greater, more sary January accessory. Equipped with multiple

serious extent. In term s of ice removal, the city of Montreal may be found negligent, and so can the McGill administration. M cGill's campus in winter is a dangerous place for anyone using crutches, a cane or a wheelchair. For a university that prides itself on the diversity of its student body, McGill is doing relatively little to make its campus safe, let alone user-friendly, especially for students with physical disabilities. The tragedy of winter in Montreal is not the cold or the snow, it is the ice and the city's pathet ic attempts to protect its denizens from the afore mentioned solid's slippery reach. The ice, combat ed with meagre amounts of salt and too few side walk plows, cannot be vanquished. Only with expedient and reliable displays of m an's power over nature—i.e. more liberal use of salt and those cool orange minicabs—can winter in Montreal be made enjoyable for the m asses. ■

The McGill Tribune is an editorially autonomous newspaper published by the Students' Society of McGill University, in collaboration with the Tribune Publication Society. Letters to the editor may be sent to letters@mcgilltribune.com, and must include the contributor's name, program and year, and contact information. Letters should be kept under 300 words and submitted only to the Tribune. Submissions judged bv the Tribune Publication Society to be libellous, sexist, racist, homophobic, or solely promotional in nature will not be published. The Tribune reserves the right to edit all contributions. Editorials are decided upon and written by the editorial board. All other opinions are strictly those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the McGill Tribune, its editors or its staff. Please recycle this newspaper.

10 opinion | 10.1.06 | the mcgill tribune

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How to bid farewell to that tell-tale scruff CRISTINA MARKHAM It is true that, deep down in her heart, almost every girl has a soft spot for bad boys, and there is hardly a clearer "bad boy" signifier than stubble. A rough, three day beard screams raw, rugged sexuality, and shows the world that you have better things to do with your tim e than pamper your face with lotions and salves - like hunt muskoxen, for example. But "bad boy" often means "bad news," and stubble almost always means beard burn. So whether it's to im press her mother or pacify your boss, when you bid farewell to your facial hair, do it with style.

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me more about your cat Y o u r

g u id e

y o u r

p e r s o n a liz in g b lo g

W H A T ...

General Staff Meeting

-a

8 . When shaving your upper lip, pull your lip down over your front teeth to keep the skin tight.

6 . Rinse your razor intermittently to keep it from getting clogged.

9. Wash off any leftover shaving cream, then do a quick once-over for any hairs you m ayfiave m issed. Pay special atten tion to the area just along your jaw, as well as just below your ears.

7. Shave the area around your chin, shaving upward as nec essary to make the area smooth. Be sure to pull the razor from your throat area toward your chin.

10. Drain and wash out the sink so your girlfriend doesn't yell at you. Apply any aftershave or m oisturizer you like, and wait for the adoring face-stroking to comm ence. ■

CRISTINA MARKHAM

Once your domain is secured, the next step is coming up with an appropriate name for your page. Ask yourself, "What do I want my blog to say about me7' If your blog is hosting all of your tormented poetry, you most likely want your readership to know how dark and misunderstood you truly are. Go for a Poe quotation, or label it lnsidethebelljar.com. Another goal, especial ly common among twentysomethings, could be to make clear just how incredibly, unfathomably intelligent you really are. Try choosing an obscure word that describes you or your writing style. Something like "Sesquipedalian" or "Schadenfreude" will not only send your readers running to their dictionaries, it will get your point across as magniloquently as possible. If, however, you want your blog to be a reminder of how po-mo, indie-rock, liber al-arts cool you are, nothing says pretentious better than a Pynchon quotation. Once these key elem ents are in place, you're practically set! All that's left is to come up with actual content - and if your life is interesting enough to merit the starting of a blog, you will obvi ously have no shortage of material. The Internet will surely be a much more interesting place once we can look at pictures of your niece and read your rants on public transportation. ■

BLOGGING

No, please tell

w w w .e xe cu tive -sh a vin g .co .u k

Blogs, or weblogs, garnered a lot of media attention in 20 05. These online journals, which are often uncensored, can be used to express any thoughts or views held by the author, or sim ply to document the goings on of his or her day-to-day life. Those that caused the biggest stir were the political blogs, with some of them even ending up on CNN. Fortunately, you need not be a disgruntled liberal with no other outlet for your caustic wit to start up a blog. If you have free tim e, basic computer skills and delu sions of grandeur that make you believe that both friends and total strangers are interested in reading about the minutiae of your life, you too can start your very own blog! The first step in joining the "blogosphere"—a term that was coined as a joke, but caught on nonetheless-is choosing the appropriate domain. If, for whatever nerdy reason, you already have a basic grip on HTML, a domain like blogspot.com or blogger.com will allow you to manipulate your little internet home to your heart's content. Those with better things to do than learn hypertext should most likely head over to livejournal.com, the domain most preferred by sullen, misunderstood teenagers the world over. Call it your "el-jay" for extra geek credit.

W H O ...

W H EN ...

WHERE...

C O N TA C T...

McGill Model United Nations Assembly

Thursday, Jan. 12, 7 :3 0 p.m.

Room B30, Shatner

staff@mcmun.org

To u

Gimme Shelter Benefit Concert

Habitat for Humanity McGill

Jan. 18, 9 p.m.

Brutopia (1219 Crescent)

habitat_mcgrll@yahoo.com

*Get Seduced By Stephen Harper

Eager Women Everywhere

Jan. 19, 10 p.m.

Back Row, House of Commons

getstephylaid@gmail.com

nasses! Cive us your money! ***See how this listing is ju st TOO g ood to be true? To avoid showing up hir an event that doesn't (sigh) exist... Su bmit your listings! Advertise to the r

ro u

Advertise your event! For only a toonie you can get a listing in the print and on-line editions of the Trib. Drop by the SSMU Office (Shatner building, Suite 1200) to pick up a form . Deadlines are Fridays at 3 :3 0 p.m. For more information call 398.6789 or e-mail calendar@ mcgilltribune.com. P S. Items with a * are fake!

12 the mcgill tribune | 10.1.06 | features

DATING

Perfecting your online personal pitch All it takes is a wink and a glance (and a sexy picture) LIZ ALLEMANG In mid-November a horror story began circu lating on news sites Internet w ide. Amid fears of Avian Flu, PQ leadership elections and a presi dential romp to the Far East, emerged a most concerning tale. Users of two online dating giants launched lawsuits alleging that Match.com paid em ployees to be "date bait" and go on bogus outings with users as a marketing ploy. Yahoo Personals w as accused of setting up fictitious pro files used to falsely entice singles. And here we were thinking that the dating world already grazed the boundaries of hum ility a little too closely. It's tough putting yourself out there, particu larly in the ever expanding void of Internet dating, which is fast becoming the choice of many undergrads looking for love—or casual sex, cyber and otherwise. Even more daunting than the prospect of a frightening date with a stranger is the process of attracting a hit in a pool of potential m isses. Though keeping your fingers crossed is one w ay to avoid the seam y trolls, an effective online dat ing personal statem ent, mandatory on most every m atchm aker site, is critical in the search for Mr. or Mrs. Right. Though the Trib hardly considers itself the Mecca of profile writing tips, and good state m ents tend to abide by the laws of common sense, w e have a couple of recom m endations to aid in your pursuit of electronic rom ance.

Avoid clichés and obviousness M atch.com

boasts

15 m illion m em bers,

though how many of those are employed by the com pany rem ains questionable. Much like every other dating scene, there is a lot of competition and it tends to be cutthroat. Be quirky, obscure, random and off the w all. The m ore you can flaunt the attributes that m ake you different from the crowd, the more you'll get noticed.

Give good headlines People tend to treat their profile headlines as an afterthought but w e advise doing them justice. Along with photos,, many e-daters tend to sift through personal statem ents based on their heading. Think of it as your first im pression. If it's cheesy or trite your chances of being weeded out are high.

Like attracts like If you pen a bland profile, devoid of person ality or intrigue, you are setting yourself up to be bombarded with em ails from vanilla people who have little going on upstairs. O f course, if you have a lacklustre profile with a sm okin' photo these rules don't apply. See below.

Make sure you have a [misleadingly flattering] picture Like it or lump it, looks tend to factor impor tantly in the search for a perfect m ate. It's best to have a photo w here you look like a good version of your everyday self. That way if you actually go out on dates with anyone you m eet online you'll feel com fortable. That being said, if you're going for num bers on the hits counter—som e of us do

like to brag to friends about the multitude of folks courting our inbox—post a hot image. Just don't be surprised when your dreamboat turns out to be surprisingly unattractive.

Don't sell yourself short It is expected that people w ill flatter them selves in job interviews and em bellish their résum és. The sam e rules of etiquette apply to online dating. Just make sure that your lies have som e basis in truth and aren't too far-fetched: It's ^ disastrous if you have deceived a partner^ before you have even started dating.

Be smutty... if that's what you're into A couple of years ago I attempted my own social experim ent—also known as entrapm ent— for an article I was writing on Ashley M adison, an agency that facilitates electronic cheating. I creat ed a profile with the hopes of luring various m em bers. I stirred som e interest when I sold m yself as a "college cutie", but it w asn't until broke out the big guns (read: dirty words and lots of them ) that the droves becam e interested. Of course these men were for the most part married and kinky to boot—not the kind of chap to bring hom e to m am a—but they w ere interested nonetheless. If all you want is anonym ous sex, it's okay to say it. ■ If you're horny and you know it clap your../ wait, why don't you just try online dating? Flit up www.lavalife.com (or www.ashleym adison.com if you've got a ball and/or chain).

RECIPE

W ho you calling chicken? Make winter more bearable with delicious food CRISTINA MARKHAM

heit). Line the inside of a casserole (or any other oven-proof) dish with olive oil. Wash the chicken—inside and out—with cold

Ah, January.. .the month of broken resolutions, frigid weather and depressingly few hours of daylight. While there's nothing you can do to speed up the eventual arrival of spring, you can make the temperature a bit more bearable by cooking up some delicious cold-weath er food. This roasted chicken is surprisingly easy, but looks incredibly im pressive. And aside from some spo radic basting, there is a lot of sitting-around tim e that can be filled by writing angsty, winter-induced prose. Or doing hom ework... whichever. Ingredients: 1 whole chicken (about three pounds) 1 lemon Fresh rosemary (optional, but it makes a huge differ ence) Salt and pepper Any other vegetables you like (baby carrots or broccoli both go really w ell) Set the oven to 220 degrees Celsius (4 25 degrees faren-

water. Pat dry with paper towels. If you like, you can line the bottom of the casserole dish with sm all vegetables, such as baby carrots. The veggies will soak up the flavour of the chicken and the lemon. If not, just

put the chicken straight in the casserole dish. Rub the outside of the chicken with olive oil. Season the inside and the outside with salt and pepper. Chop the lemon into big pieces and put inside the cavity, along with two or three sprigs of rosemary. If you have kitchen string (which, unless you're Julia Child's roommate, you most likely don't), tie the chicken's legs together to keep the lemon pieces inside. Lean the bird on one side, and put on the bot tom rack of the oven for 25 minutes. Remove from oven, baste, turn to other side, and put back in for 25 m inutes. Remove, put on its back, baste, cook for another 30 m inutes. Don't forget to baste inter mittently. To tell if the chicken's done, poke a fork into the biggest part of one of its thighs. If the juices run pink, it's not done. Check back every five minutes. When the juices run dear, you're done! Before serving it, let it sit for about 10 to 15 minutes. This will let it cool down a bit so you can serve it, and it also allows the juices and flavours to set a little more. Carve, serve and enjoy. For extra fun, eat with your hands and pretend that you're at a medieval feast. Fetch me more ale, wench! ■

M IN I O N L IN E R E G IS T R A T IO N B E G IN S T H E W E E K O F J A N U A R Y 9 TH , 2 0 0 6 Ballroom Dancing Join the ballroom dancing class and learn exciting new moves. Cost: $45 Times: Wednesdays 4:30-6pm S a ls a (Beginner, Intermediate) Everybody likes to say ‘Salsa!” Just like the music, the dance is also a wild mix of everything — emotions, tempos, spins, dips, drops, syncopations, a little Mambo here, a little Cha Cha there, perhaps a pinch of Argentine. This year we offer you our very tal ented and patifent instructor, Billy. Cost: $45 Times: Beginners: Wednesday 8-9pm or Thursday 6-7; Intermediate: Thursday ?-8pm Intro to bartending Think your drinks could use a bit more creativity? Think Absolute Bartending! Offered in collaboration with this renowned institute, you’ll be the best host around with this new-found skill! During this amazing-value class you will familiarize yourself with shaking, equipment set up, fruits and garnishes, glassware and of course preparation (and tasting!) of various classic cocktails and drinks. With the option of continuing next semester for certification with a discount, you can't lose with this mini-course! Visit our website for more, or check out theirs at www.absolutebartending.com Cost: $60 Sectio n l: Friday Jan 27, Feb 3, 6-9pm Section2: Saturday Jan 28, Feb 4, 1-4pm Section3: Friday Feb 10, March 3, 6-9pm Section4: Saturday Feb 11, March 4, 1-4pm M assag e Think your loved ones love you? They’ll love you more when you finish this class; this is one skill you just have to master! Our expe rienced massage instructor will teach you a variety of massages on professional massage beds, focusing on using pressure to release blocked energy while reducing pain. Partners recommended. Cost: $60 Times: TBA (8 weeks long) Fren ch (Beginner, Intermediate) Want to travel to France but cannot speak the language? Get a grip on all the French you need to get around in any Francophone city around the world. The beginner’s class is a complete intro duction to the course, while intermediate is for students who still remember their high school French. Cost: $45 Beginners I: Tues 7.30-9pm Beginners II: Wed 6-7.30pm Intermediate I : Tues 6-7.30pm Intermediate II: Wed 4.30 - 6pm Fren ch C onversational (Advanced, 7 classes) Cost: $50 Time: Conversational Section 1: Monday 5:30-6:30pm; Conversational Section 2: Monday 6:30-7:30pm; Conversational Section 3: Monday 7:30-8:30pm S p a n ish (Beginner, Intermediate) Need to brush up the Spanish skills for Christmas break? W e’ve hired two extremely experienced teachers with first hand teaching experience in Mexico and Spain who will make sure you fall in love with the Spanish Language and Culture! Cost: $45 Beginners: Wed 5.30—7pm Intermediate: Wed 7-8.30pm P ilâtes Pilâtes is a wonderful exercise system focused on improving flexi bility and strength for the entire body without building bulk. Watch your body become toned throughout the semester as you learn a series of controlled movements engaging your body and mind. Registration is limited; register early. Cost: $50 Time: Thursday 8-9pm B reakdan cing This course is an introduction to the wild styles of breakdance. As we learn the foundations of toprocking, footwork, and freezes, we will explore the essential elements of style rhythm and movement invention. Bring your knee pads! (Although the class is for begin ners, some moves may be physically challenging.) Cost: $45 Time: Wednesdays 7-8pm

Yoga Kripalu Yoga calms the body and quiets the mind, creating inner stillness. This hatha yoga practice tones and strengthens muscles, increases flexibility, oxygenates the blood, improves the immune response and integrates mind and body. You will leave energized yet relaxed, ready to face whatever else is going on in your life. Cost; $45 Time: Thursdays 5-6pm G uitar Have you always wanted to master this instrument but never got the chance? Even got a guitar, but private lessons were so expen sive that you decided to forget about it? Our extremely popular Guitar class is the solution! Get your roommate's guitar and learn guitar at a fraction of the price of private lessons! Cost $45 Beginners I: Mon 4.30-6pm Beginners II: Mon 6-7.30pm Intermediate: Tues 6-7.30pm S p a n ish G uitar Do you melt at the sound of someone playing romantic Spanish tunes on the guitar? Or do you want people to melt while you play it for them? New this year, get an introduction to Flamenco/Spanish/Classical Guitar in this exciting mini-course. Taught be an extremely experienced and talented instructor. Cost: $45 Time. Mondays 7:30-9pm Sp eed read in g Run by the Harris Institute, this extremely popular speed reading course is once again being offered at McGill. This 1-day class always gets rave reviews and regularly has students improving 50150% in reading speed, while also helping them improve compre hension and retention. ' Cost: $55 Section I: Feb 4th, 9.30am - 4.30pm Section II: Feb 11th, 9.30am - 4.30pm Kick-boxing This course will teach you the skills and give you the confidence to be able to stand up and protect yourself when the situation arises. Cost: $45 Section I: Tues 5.30-6.30pm Section II: Wed 6-7pm S e if-D e fe n se Sem in a r Walking home alone at night? Make sure you have the tools to protect yourself in any potentially dangerous situation. This course will teach you to heighten your awareness and accurately read your intuition in order to avoid violence, aggression and confronta tion. This course will also teach you to evaluate potentially danger ous situations and do what you can to avoid problems. Cos(. $25 77me. Jan 28th, 12-5pm LSA T P rep -C o u rse If you want to take the LSAT but don’t want to invest $1000 to pre pare, consider our LSAT mini-course. For just $100 you get a ten week session course aimed at providing you with the best possi ble instruction, practice, and strategies in preparing for the LSAT. Benefit from a small class size and actual past LSAT exams for practice! Taught by a former Kaplan instructor, currently a second year law student at McGill. (20 hours class time) Cost: $120 Time: Tuesday: 6-8pm C ooking Sick of eating canned food and micro-wave dinners? Here is your chance to learn quick and delicious recipes for students on-thego. You will learn everything from tasty soups and stir-fry to sushi making and cakes that will impress not only your tummy but also your secret crush! And hey who knows, you might become the next Chef Tony! Offered in our very own midnight kitchen. Cost: $60 Section 1: Tuesdays 5-7pm Section 2: Tuesdays 7-9pm Jan 31, Feb 7, 14, 28, March 7 Section 3: Tuesdays 5-7pm March 14, 21, 28, April 4, 11 Mandarin Have you ever wondered how over one billion people can commu nicate via pictures instead of letters? Take this beginners class and learn all about the Chinese language and culture! Register early, the number of seats are limited. You don’t need any prior knowledge of this language to register. Cost: $45

Beginners Mondays 4-5:30pm Intermediate: Wednesday 4-5.30pm

Arabic Don’t miss out on learning this beautifully scripted language! Our beginners class, taught by our very experienced instructor, will teach you the basics of spoken and written Arabic. If you have spoken Arabic your whole life and yet still don't know how to read or write, this is your chance... Don't miss out, register early; spaces are limited Cost. $45 Beginners: Tues 4.30-6pm Intermediate: Wed 7.30-9pm Hum an Energ y S y ste m C o u rse In this course you will learn the different compositions of the human energy system, and the major energetic centres (Chakras) that distribute.and manage the energy throughout the body. Each energy centre has a vibration, a colour, sensation, density, pattern, emotion, and physical aspect associated with it. You will learn how to tap into the unlimited universal energy, how to detect when our energetic body is out of balance and how to bring it back into a balanced harmonious state. We will also discuss how our thoughts, emotions and actions affect our energy system. Cost; $60 Time: TBA Argentian Tango Freedom, grace and elegance thru Argentinean tango. Explore a centuries old dance that has enthralled nations around the globe. Quickly gain basic knowledge to be able to dance Argentinean tango the way it was mean to be: free of constraints and of strict boundaries. Come mix and mingle, and learn from an easy-going professional enthusiast. No partner required, just you, your good humour, and your feet. This program promotes superior physical health for your body and mind. Cost: $45 Time: Tuesday 6:30-8pm Flam en co D ancing Flamenco is a highly rhythmic art form that originates from Spain. This dynamic and original dance course involves learning basic rhythms, highly musical footwork, and the artful movements of this electrifying dance. Buying special footware will NOT be required for the purposes of this class. Cost; $45 Time: Thursday: 4-5pm Israeli Dancing Drawing on virtually every dance form, ’Israeli' dance includes Latin-style scatter dances, traditional circle dances, and incredible couples dances. From basic steps to complex sequences, this class will teach you how to dance and help you develop your own personal style. Cost: $45 Times: Tuesdays 8-9pm C ap o eria Capoeira is an amalgamation of fighting style, dance, rhythm of body and spirit. Capoeira is a martial art. Capoeira has evolved within a particular historical and social context, in conjunction with varied cultural influences within the vast country of Brazil. It was created by the Brazilian people but adapted for the entire world. Capoeira is considered by many as a fight disguised as a dance and by others as a dance hidden within the fight. Cost: $50 77me.Tuesday 4-5:30pm E sp eran to (Beginner, Intermediate) Do you want to learn a language that allows you to meet people and discover cultures first-hand in over 120 countries in the world? One that lets you visit any of these countries and only pay for the plane ticket? All of that without spending countless hours memorizing complicated rules and exception lists? Then Esperanto is exactly what you need! Cost: $10 Times: Beginners: Tuesdays 5.30-7pm; Intermediate: Thursdays 5.30-7pm C K U T Radio M ini-Course Think you have a voice for radio? Join our project-based course offered by CKUT Radio McGill.Participants will receive instruction in radio journalism, interview techniques and equipment, digital recording and editing while working to create their own radio pro ductions. The course will combine a mixture of group sessions and one-on-one technical instruction. Cost £ Time: TBA

F O R M O R E IN F O R M A T IO N V IS IT : H T T P :/ / S S M U . C A / M I N I / C O U R S E S

-v

features Election Obsession: Finding relevancy in modern elections VLADIMIR EREMIN

Looming general elections present new questions for Canadians G E N E V IE V E J E N K IN S

he face of politics in Canada may change this month, as Canadians prepare to vote in the 39th general election on Jan 23. At the end of November, the minority Liberal Parliament was dissolved after a vote of no confidence passed by the House of Commons. Though the election planned for this month would typically not take place until 20 09, recent wrong doings like the Sponsorship Scandal have damaged the stand ing of the Liberal Party among voters and other political parties. Because a vote of no confidence is considered reflective of the opinions of the people, the upcoming election ought to be the epitome of democratic thought becoming reality. After all, it indi cates that political parties can be taken off of their pedestals if they're not doing a good jo b ... but who is really removing them? Is this election simply the brainchild of the opposition parties, who may be taking advantage of the appearance of Liberal cor ruption to gain power for them selves? Or are Canadian citizens in fact dissatisfied with the current leadership?

"Manageable Fools" In his 2005 book, Popular Efficacy in the Democratic Era, Peter Nardulli writes, "Despite the vote's potential as a valuable political resource, the image of voters as "manageable fools" has been a durable one. It gives rise to grave concerns about the effi caciousness of citizens as political actors." Nardulli's concern is a particularly valid one in the coming election. The Liberal Party was, in fact, elected fairly by the people and is now being removed from power by other politicians. Though it's possible

and even likely that the upcoming election is something many Canadians have been hoping for, it's problematic to assum e that the Liberal Party is in the wrong sim ply because its opposition believes it is. The reason that so many voters have so long been thought of as "manageable fools" is that they are, in fact, gaining their opinions about the political process directly from a political party, or that party's propaganda. It's too easy to reach the voter through m ass media, too easy to convince people with emotion ally stirring commercials that Paul Martin is just playing the lead rple in a troupe of scam artists.

Recall this? A sim ilar thing happened in California's 2003 gubernatorial recall election when then-Governor Gray Davis was voted out of office and replaced by now-Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Recall elections like this are dubious because media plays too powerful a role in garnering popular support for a candidate. Notes Political Science professor Jason Ferrell, "It's really hard to make this sort of comparison. The no-confidence vote usually is invoked at the national level, regarding the legislative agenda of whichever party happens to be dominant in Paliament. The recall system -as it stands now-m ostly revolves around state-level pol itics, and may not be determined along a straight "up/down" vote on a particular legislative package," he continues. "In certain superficial features, the no-confidence vote and recall process are sim ilar: They are judgments about the relative performance of a particular actor. But there the sim ilarities end, I think." McGill political scientist Stuart Sodoka, too, warns that a true comparison of the recall and the no-confidence vote is impossi

ble. "I think the system s are fun damentally different," he com- A ments. "Government sits here only as long as it maintains the ■I confidence of the House." Though the Canadian political system works differ” ently, it may help to examine the fast-approaching election through the lens of sim ilar events in the US. The California recall ended in Schwarzenegger's Republican victory, despite the fact that California has a majority of Democratic vot ers. It is difficult to measure, especially in retrospect, the opinions of the California voters at the tim e. Although alm ost 90 0,0 00 Californians had signed recall petitions, they may not have understood the repercussions of their signatures or they may have been encouraged to sign by the m assive advertising cam paign that came into effect after Republicans realized the oppor tunity to oust a Democratic governor from a long-Democratic state. Point being, Canadians may not understand exactly what this election means in 1wo weeks or of how much they are being influenced by political advertisem ents. Voters can act as manageable fools in the hands of experienced politicians and their media campaign managers. Too few people seem to be paying attention to the election or the issues at hand, which makes it seem as if they will be more susceptible to political advertisements. Continued on page 15

■I

A good, clean, wholesome politician for sale W hat are we buying into with political advertisements? ■

;

: G E N E V IE V E J E N K IN S

Anyone who has studied American history will tell you that television became important to politics during the Nixon-Kennedy presidential debates in 1960. As the story goes, almost every one who listened to the debates on the radio thought Nixon was the unquestioned victor; those who watched the first-ever televised debates had no doubt that Kennedy had won. Nixon's appear ance on-screen and his visually unappealing m annerism s likely cost him the election. Today, politicians are groomed to be the physically pleasing characters of the social imagina tion; spouses and children are paraded in front of the public eye to ensure the full effect of the image creation. Though televised debates still play a crucial role in the political processes of North America, the advertisem ents for and against different candidates may be the more helpful or detri mental means of using the visual medium to portray a person. In an article, "Priming and campaign context: Evidence from recent Canadian elections," the four authors, including McGill's Elisabeth Gidengil, comment, "Political parties rely on the media for communicating their core messages to voters, but the media do not serve simply as a neutral transm ission belt between the parties and the voters. In a very literal sense, they mediate the cam paign communication flows, highlighting some messages and downplaying others." Even outside of direct advertisem ents, then, media can sway public opinion and potentially change the direction

of an election. When accessible media, such as television, are used specifically to advertise for or against a party or candidate, the results are typically more drastic. Rather than seeking to sway opin ion a little bit, political advertisements attempt to completely change them by presenting a biased comment in the form of an irrefutable fact. The Web site for the Canadian Conservative Party, for example, puts down the Liberal Party with sim ple slogans and partial articles: Liberals Wrong on the Numbers; Paul Martin Runs Against His Environmental Record; Taxes Would be Far Lower Under a Conservative Government. The Liberal site is the sam e: New Support for Families, Caregivers, Canadians with Disabilities and Seniors; Harper Admits He Will Raise Low and Middle Income Taxes; Harper's Platform Promises Can't Be Delivered. It's an old game of trying to convince voters that one party is entirely right and the other entirely wrong. Interestingly, Walter Romanow notes in the introduction to Television Advertising in Canadian Elections that "as in the United States, the Canadian electorate tends not to approve of negative advertising strategies. Such public sentiments have led to the important research findings in the United States that the attack mode in campaigns can easily backfire on those who use it." As the election draws nearer, be aware of the direct advertisements and the more subtle lean ings of publications that could alter your opinion of the vote. Often, we are being convinced of something that isn't wholly true; too often, we are willing to accept it without questioning the source. ■

the mcgill tribune | 10.1.06 | features 15

Continued from page 14

And the

Believing in democracy There is certainly something to be said for the fact that elections before the predetermined tim e can stall the real political processes and prevent the government from doing what it should be doing. Ferrell comments, "Personally, I

ElfcJl j p s 2006: Official Election Ballot

winner is...

Paul Martin (Liberal Party of Canada) S te p h e n H arper

Voting for personality

(Conservative Party of Canada) Jack Layton (New Democratic Party of Canada)

or the party?

G ille s D uceppe

(Bloc Québécois)

GENEVIEVE JENKINS

N o n e o f th e a b o v e

(dissatisfied Canadian)

don't think the recall process helps things. Although the recall process might be an immediate indicator of popular w ill, and [thus[ highly demo cratic, it also strikes me as being par tially a knee-jerk response to deeper issues and hence potentially suscep tible to manipulation." This idea of manipulation is exactly what prompts Nardulli's assertion that politicians can be seen by politicians as man ageable fools, and it can distract gov ernm ent officials from the purpose of their legislative positions. In the upcoming Canadian gen eral election, however, matters are not quite the sam e. Says Sodoka, "This election has probably forced the selection of government and allowed people to select a govern ment they feel is more representa tive." In this way, then, the two processes are similar. He continues, "Because you can't make legislation while you're dealing with elections, it might stall the process, but it may not because if this governm ent doesn't have confidence of the House, it really can't pass legislation." Essentially, Sodoka believes, this is not a matter of post poning legislative action; rather, an election is necessary for strengthening Canada's democracy. "We needed this because we're a dem ocracy in which people should be given governments that are both representative and able to act," he notes. The voice of the people, in the case of the California recall elec tion, caused a disruption in state politics and p reve n ted Gray Davis from imple menting any policy changes he mây have planned for the coming years. In the sam e way, the vote of no confi dence may rob the

VLADIMIR EREMIN Liberal Party of the next three years, which it likely count ed upon to make or enforce policies. The California recall election did not really change the situation of Californians, and it didn't solve the energy cri sis that had troubled the state for so long. Before Canadians vote on the 23rd, they should examine what they're voting for and know that a different party in power does not necessarily mean the old problems of politics will disappear, on the other hand, this election may be exactly what Canada needs to fuel a more productive and less corrupt political future. ■ Fo r m o re info rm atio n on h o w to vote, visit w w w .e lectio n s.ca , o r se e N e w s, p a g e 4

P L A T F O R M -O L O G Y As difficult as it is to believe, there really is more to the Internet than pom and sports scores. While nudity and obsessive stats checking are worthwhile pursuits, the Web also features tools that can aid in making an informed decision com e election season. Though party fodder is not without bias, checking out the homepages of those courting your vote can provide current info on party positions, policies, track records and proposed strategies. Add vwvw. before and .co after nam es of the three real parties (and the Green Party), while the Bloc can be found at www.blocquebecois.org. i We're also very keen on the CBC's Canada Votes 2006 Web site (www.dic.ca/canadavotes/), which offers an impartial assessm ent of the candidates and issues. They also analyse the leaders debates so that we don t have to suffer through them ourselves. Our favourite aspect of Canada Votes are the detailed reports on each riding. In keeping with the "learning is fun" principle, you'll absorb all sorts of fascinating tidbits. I learned, for example, that my riding is even poorer than I thought and my Green Party candidate is an Andean folk musician. To think, some say Canadian politics are boring. —Liz Allemang

Most people assum e that US elections are won or lost based on the personalities of the candidates. Canadian elections, on the other hand, are typically thought to be about the party. O f course, there are the personae behind the party nam es, but they don't assum e quite the prominent role as in American politicians... or do they? The im minent general election poses a crucial question for Canadian voters and politicians: is this election about the personal ity or about the party? Voting for the personality in the US generally m eans voting for the person who seem s most likable, and most sim ilar to you. George W. Bush won the past two elections, rumour has it, because he was the more amiable of the candidates. According to Aubrey Im m elm an's The Political Personality o f Texas Governor George W. Bush, "George W. Bush's major personality strengths with reference to his presidential campaign are the important polit ical skills of charism a and interpersonality, which will enable him to connect with people and retain a following and his self-confidence in the face of adversity." Al Gore and John Kerry were too imper sonal, too intellectual and too boring for most Am ericans, it seem s, whereas George W. Bush seem ed like the perfect fam ily m an friendly, religious and just a little flawed. One of the problems with this pattern of voting is, of course, that significant issues can be ignored in favour of an ultim ately irrelevant personality contest It should be hoped that the Canadian political system would change the single-mindedness of the personality contest, but the power of the personality appears to have won. When Canadians cast their votes on Jan 23, will they really be judging the parties for the issues or will they be voting for Stephen Harper, Paul Martin, G illes Duceppe, Jack Layton or Jim Harris? It may not be possible to deny the significance of individuals in the political process; after all, strong leaders are necessary and can better evoke the meaning of the party through their personal presentation. The differences between the Canadian and US political sys tem s may not, in fact be as prominent as many would like to think. In the US, the portrayed personality of the candidate representing your own party is likely to be the one with which you identify most strongly. In choosing a personality, you are actually demonstrating your party preference rather than your preference of one person over another. Sim ilarly, in Canada, voting for a party doesn't mean that you don't keep the party leader at the forefront of your mind. In either case, however, a voter's opinion of a party or a per sonality is likely not determined solely by the issues represented by the group or person. Often people will vote for the sam e party for which their parents voted or for which their friends vote. The lack of real knowledge of issues is problematic in both countries and continues to be a stumbling block in the progress of democracy. ■ If you're interested in knowing w h id party you would vote for without the influence o f party or person name, check out www.votebyissue.org/cbc

a&e POETRY

Confessions of a Mask Jason Camlot’s second poetry collection explores the power of personae M ELISSA P R IC E

I. Bewildered Jason Camlot is an enigmatic writer. His second collection of poetry, Attention All Typewriters, takes a dozen readings before its surface even begins to be scratched. Divided into five subsections that contain between two and 14 pieces each, the book is decep tively easy to read and packed with pop-cultural references, while skillfully skipping between an array of styles and personae. It's fitting that the first section is called "Bewildered," because right off the bat the reader discovers that things in this book are not necessarily as they seem . "Bewildered" plunges into the dazed world of a pothead undergrad at Kenyon College who ends up living in a psychology observation room after a fire destroys his dorm. He's on the doctors' side of the one-way mir ror, which means he gets to observe the last year in the life of the guy in the next room, who happens to be poet, critical essayist and Kenyon professor John Crowe Ransom. Ransom, though hugely influential through both his poetry and his literary theory, is a bit of an obscure reference for those of us whose 2 a.m. reading tends not to delve so deeply. The poem seem s like a personal tribute brought about by random events, which is why it's a big surprise when one turns to Camlot's notes at the end of the book and discovers that both the speaker and most of the situation are entirely products of Camlot's imagination. As he explains, "I was only seven-years-old in 1974, and thus could riot have been an undergraduate at Kenyon College in the year John Crowe Ransom died." There was no fire or relocation to unusual rooms; as it turns out, the whole scenario was inspired by an anecdote Camlot was told by a colleague who happened to have been Ransom's neighbour in 1974. "He was able to look into [Ransom's] living room through his window," Camlot explained. "I knew who Ransom was and I had read a lot of his criticism, so I asked, 'Well, what did the great man do7 and he said that basically, he just sat in his armchair and watched TV 24 hours a day.".I II. Office Machine Camlot's panache for creating and inhabiting characters is one of the most surreptitiously impressive things about his poet ry. His personae tend toward the idiosyncratic, but he endows them with such a wealth of background information that it's often difficult to tell that he's writing in character. "Particular characters allow you to say certain things and then prohibit you from saying other things about whatever subject mat

ter you're dealing with," he said. "It's a mat ter of finding a character... that's interest ing for the perspective that it allows in term s of revealing things in the poem." The poems in "Office Machines," the second section, are "monologues from quirky characters." Written as a string of memos, they set up an office drama as viewed by the hapless errand-running new guy—both surreal and hilarious. This sec tion especially spotlights the way in which character-shifting lends interest to even the most mundane occurrences. However, his skillful characterization also allows Camlot to keep some distance from what he writes, something he readily admits. As he puts it, "It allows me to load up the poem to a certain point with per sonal experience while disavowing it as being my own. "I think it gives me licence to talk about things that I would otherwise be either embarrassed or shy to talk about, because I'd think, 'Well, who would really give a shit about this thing happening to me7, but if I create a scenario that makes it suddenly seem like an interesting part of some quirky character's story, then it becomes interesting. And I probably wouldn't be talking about those things otherwise." III. Dark Drink Ernest Hemingway is probably the purest example of the hard-drinking expatriate writer—the perfect perspective from which to look at alcohol culture. In "Dark Drink," the epic centre piece of Typewriters, Camlot places him self squarely in the centre of Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises, and the result is both strong and spectacular. "Dark Drink" came out of a random idea: "I figured it would be a fun thing to do—to write down every sentence from The Sun Also Rises that refers to drinking,” he shrugs, "which is about 17, 18 notebook pages." These sentences serve as both the framework and the set ting of the poem. "I came back to those pages years later and thought, 'There's something here.' There's something about his prose, particularly in that novel, that's always fascinated me," he said.

"It's a kind of inhibited or repressed or restrained violence, I think, that I would identify [Hemingway's prose] with. It's a very contained, controlled lin e ... but the control is really referring to the explosions that are going to happen just beyond the con straints of that lin e ..." Like Hemingway's novel, "Dark Drink" gains a lot of its force from things left unsaid. Camlot builds on Hemingway's sen tences, preserving the importance of what they don't say while connecting the fragments enough to get into the heads of the novel's characters and, perhaps, Hemingway himself. "It's a poem about masculinity and a poem about violence erupting," Camlot explained, "and it's a poem about ellipses— blackouts and things that got lost" The end result is one of the most intricately arranged poems in the book, evoking the dark and smoky ambiance of 1920s European absinthe bars and/or your dingy neighbourhood pub. But what is most impressive is Camlot's skillful ability to write between the lines in order to tell his own version of Hemingway's events.

Continued on next page

H A N D S OF F T H E C A N V A S

‘This ain’t no afternoon tea, fooT e all know the feeling. We begin a sem ester feeling as fresh as its possible to feel after 13 days of vaca tion, returning to classes with fine intentions of study ing assiduously; learning valuable and practicable informa tion; drawing something, anything relevant from our classes. We're finally seated. We're ready. And then it hits. Like a wasp's sting on the back of your neck. The professor at the front of the class is lecturing, unveiling the tender, intellectual m eatiness you're finally pre pared to sink your synaptic teeth in to ... and your neighbour to the left is discussing her break-up with "that asshole Justin" in such obnoxiously shrill tones that they rapidly transform you into abortion's biggest fan. "I'm trying to learn, goddammit! Don't they under stand?!" Most people don't. Most people tend to keep their yaps moving during classes, movies, basically any tim e that any one else is speaking or doing something. Basically, all the tim e. Shutting the fuck up is one of the easiest things in the world to do. The only required component for success is for you to do-get this—absolutely nothing. Yet so many class

mates, moviegoers and even offensively verbose friends don't seem to understand how, or more importantly why, it's done. There are a number of reasons for our diarrheic verbal tendencies. The yoga-practicing contingent asserts that W esterners live high-stress lives and do not practice proper m uscle relaxation. Thus, the m uscles around our jaw are in a constant state of tension, and not speaking, though we may not be entirely cognizant of it, is physically uncomfortable for us. We speak because our bodies can't stand not doing so. There are also those who hold our lifestyles responsible for our lack of focus. Generation Y was born into the golden era of multi-tasking. I'm sure we've all experienced the jug gling of four simultaneous MSN conversations while main taining a fifth over the phone and downloading the latest Jack Johnson single (both audio and video) over Lim ewire. At the very least, w e've been present at an end-of-semester cram session, absorbing a textbook five seconds at a tim e while typing a final paper on a laptop, with an iPod shuffle in one ear and friends bickering about the prime causal factors of the First World War in the other. To do one thing, to focus firm ly on a film narrative, a concert ballad or, God forbid, a

B E N L E M IE U X

prof lecturing, has become all but unfathomable. We were raised to have hyperactive minds, to be like crack addicts strung out on doing something other than what w e're doing. Or you could follow Freud's notion that certain individu als develop anal expulsive habits during the formative years of their childhood, and from that point onward are simply psychologically predisposed to let the world know how they feel about, you know, everything. Pity Freud didn't stipulate that in a hundred years this affliction would affect everyone. That would have been one hell of a good call. And then there's little old m e. I think that talk is getting cheaper by the day, so people try to jam in as much as pos sible to break even. People have lost an appreciation for the value of words. Gone are the days of Matthew Arnold and the late, great Irving Layton, who could convey more in a sen tence or stanza than many of us manage to in a day's allot ment of words. Plato said: "A w ise man speaks because he has some thing to say. A fool speaks because he has to say something." Let us get off on the right foot this sem ester. Let us, for the first tim e in our lives, learn to practice the art of listening and stillness. Today, I can't think of anything more valuable. ■

Continued from page 16

IV. Important Men One m ore thing that bears mentioning is that Camlot is a profes sor of Victorian literature at Concordia, and has a Ph.D. from Stanford. He's frighteningly knowl edgeable about literature, a fact evi denced by his grasp of verbal dynamics and the unforced variation in his poetic structure. For the fourth section of Typewriters, he switches structural gears once again: Most of the poems in "Im portant Men" are actually songs. They loosely weave a noirish world of tiny water dragons and Important Men Action Figures, where a shady character named Mr. Fedora holds bloody court in his namesake bar. It's no coincidence that “Mr. Fedora" reads like a Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds song—like several of

excerpt from "Dark Drink" by Jason Camlot I dropped a bottle in the dark and lost it there for many years of daylight. From the dregs and up through the hollow neck a spare man

Cave's best tracks, it's a murder bal lad. "I think I was reading the Old Testament again for some kind of sick pleasure," Cam lot explained, grinning, "so it's a pretty biblical, angry, Old-Testament-Cod type of poem. Just a sort of fun, playful mur der ballad. I took a lot of pleasure in spinning out the delay before the final encounter between the speaker and Mr. Fedora." V. Quaker Oats "Daddy Lazarus," the Plath-and Ginsberg-inspired poem that opens this section, is notable for being one of the few works in the collection that gives the reader the sense that Camlot is writing from his own per spective. Paradoxically, however, it seem s no more intimate than other poems in this book; what it proves above all is that CamloTs own voice has been there all the way through. in full banana republic regalia, drinking myself into a stupor of sadness without love or progeny, but great sources of companionship for speech and oblivion at whatever dark watering hole.

hood grew, straight and transparent, like the sparse prose of a repressed war, a straw from which to sip another self; tight like the mouth of a narrow mouth jar. Many years later, again in the dark, I embraced the straw with my lips. I took a deep drink of Ernest Hemingway. How embarrassing for a man, in this day and age. The sun set, and there, in the dark

We were all there together, each his own significant virtue. Mike was a bad drunk. Brett was a good drunk. Bill was a good drunk. I was unpleasant after I passed a certain point. Our words were of drink in the dark. The dark was where we found ourselves, repeatedly, in others' throats. We reported

I found myself, one big Papa, whether we remembered who we

The poems in "Quaker Oats" are the furthest removed from the Victorian influence that lends a somewhat classical feeling to some of his other works. This section is pure post-war America, which is to say that the poems are somewhat more straightforward while retaining the depth of social commentary of some of the most fantastical charac ter pieces. And, like all of Typewriters, they reward repeated readings. "I think it's good if you get something out of poems on the first reading, but that you need to read them more than once in order to really understand, and that you keep getting things as you continue to read them," he said. "That's one thing that I love about reading poet ry, that it bears rereading. Not many things do, you know?' Yeah, I know. Thankfully, though, Attention All Typewriters certainly does. ■ were. Whether we were pleased or numb with what we remembered or could not remember. Or whether we cared, or not.

Sometimes Brett needed to destroy herself before my eyes. I loved her and was willing to oblige her. We were neglectful of ourselves, and frail. Cast off and set adrift from the drunk continent. Immersed in the cold, refreshing dark. I'd stumble away from a têteà-tête with Brett, scattering loose change like teeth on taqueria floors. I wandered, the first sober pilgrim at dawn, but drunk at night. Cinzano on the sidewalk in dark letters.

MUSI C

Term inally ill animals ro ck hard Bats, though Cancerous, still churn out great hardcore M ELISSA P R IC E "This show is brought to you by the letter C," joked Cancer Bats vocalist Liam Corm ier near the start of their set on Friday. The lineup that night at La Sala Rossa (4 8 4 8 St-Laurent) featured Com pton, Com m ando, C ancer Bats and Cursed, so yeah, I'd say the kid had a point. Anyway, despite the abun dance of C's, it w as a grade "A" show! (That's com edy gold, kids, right there. I could have made a joke about breasts, so shut up.) Cancer Bats play forward-thinking hardcore that grinds but never grates, and it w as clear from the audience reaction that they've already won more than a few solid fans. La Sala Rossa isn't the world's best venue for a show like this—for one thing, it som ehow m anages to feel both cramped and isolating— but Cancer Bats' playing w as skilled and driving enough to fill every cor ner and get at least a few people

jum ping around and crashing into each other. G uitarist Scott Middleton rails on his instrum ent like he's trying to claw his w ay through it, and the resulting m usic is loud as fuck but definitely m elodic. And although Corm ier's wickedly rough singing style m akes me wonder w hether he'll still have vocal cords in five years, he gets extra points for being one of the few frontm en I've ever seen who can pull off scream y vocals without leaving me wondering what the hell he's saying. C ancer Bats piece m e m b r e s .lyc o s .fr together the best parts of metal and post-hardcore to They're not just bats—they're Cancer make som e sort of m usical beast that's laden with riffs Bats! Rossa the next day featured a and energetic to the point of group of noisy art-rockers with the hyperactivity, but sludgy enough to equally offensive nam e AIDS Wolf. headbang to, if you're into that sort Anyone want to join my new band, of thing. Leprosy Ducks? Sweet. ■ Also, in a hum ourous naming co incidence, the show at Sala

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P R E V I E WS

compiled by Melissa Price

Film . ScaredSacred—Cinem a du Parc—3575 Parc—opens Jan. 13 Unusually-monikered and Concordia-educat ed film m aker Velcrow Ripper took a five-year jour ney to some of the most disaster-ridden places in the world, and had the good sense to film it. Following Ripper to such ravaged areas as Hiroshim a, landmine-riddled fields in Bosnia and Cam bodia, and Bhopal, India, where a 1984 poi son gas leak from a Union Carbide factory contin ues to have toxic repercussions, the film asks how people retain the faith to survive even the m ost desperate circum stances. See dnem aduparc.com for showtim es. Theatre. Equus—Players' Theatre—Shatner University Centre—34 8 0 McTavish, third floor— Jan. 12-15 and 19-22 It's about ponies! Well, m ore accurately, it's about a 17-year-old stable boy named Alan Strang who blinds six horses in his care with a hoof pick, for no reason that is im m ediately evident. This action seem s even more nonsensical when it com es to light, upon psychiatric analysis, that Strang has created an elaborate inner world for him self to inhabit in which his deity is the horse-god Equus. Written in the 1970s by Peter Shaffer, the original production of Equus won a Tony Award and garnered widespread critical acclaim for its exploration of the nature of faith and the psychology Of belief. It should be powerful stuff. Curtain opens at 8 p.m ., with addi tional 2 p.m . m atinees on Jan. 15 and 22 . Call 398-6813 for tickets and other information.

Music. LABprojects Session 25—0 Patro Vys—356 Mont-Royal E —Jan. 14—9 :3 0 p.m. Presented by Moondata Productions, LABprojects sessions are never the sam e and never give you any idea of w hat to expect. The monthly nights w ere set up as a way to facilitate improvisational collaborations between m usicians—each session, an invited band plays a set w hile a slew of drum m ers and DJs joins them to play off each other and create some thing com pletely different. January's installm ent features deeply trippy experim ental post-rockers People for Audio. Call 845-3855 or visit m oondataproductions.com for m ore information. Le ctu re . Paul Rusesabagina—Concordia University—1455 M aisonneuve, room H -110— Jan. 11—8 p.m. Paul Rusesabagina, the subject of the 2004 film H otel Rw anda, is renowned for his humani tarian efforts during the Rwandan genocide, when he used his position as the manager of the Hôtel M ille Collines to save more than 1,200 Tutsis and moderate Hutus. In addition to his cinem atic por trayal by actor Don Cheadle, he is the recipient of such honours as the Immortal Chaplain's Prize for Humanity, the National Civil Rights Museum Freedom Award and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Through events such as his upcoming lecture, Rusesabagina has been attempting to raise aw areness and prevent future atrocities. "There are stories to be told that m ust not be forgotten," he has said. "We can never give up on the lessons learned from Rwanda." For further information contact Tal Elharrar at 69064 66. —Ezra Clinter

Music. Live bands at Ceilidh Bar—MCSS Building on MacDonald Cam pus—21,111 Lakeshore Rd, Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue —Jan. 12—9 p.m . Thursday nights at Ceilidh Bar, favourite watering hole among Mac cam pus students, are known as them e nights. After past successes such as "Beach party night" (everyone in bathing suits) to "Beat the clock evening" (ridiculously cheap drinks until m idnight), Ceilidh is hosting a m usical soirée featuring three McGill bands this Thursday evening: rock power trio Black Waters, brit-pop aficionados Surface and hip-hop outfit Lyrical Assault. The show—like most them ed evenings—is absolutely free. —Ben Lem ieux

I lo v e y o u . Y o u lo v e m e . L e t 's t e a m

u p a n d w r it e A & E .

M o n d a y s —C a f e r a m a ( S h a t n e r B u ild in g ) 5 :3 0 p .m .

a r ts @ m c g illt r ib u n e .c o m

18 a&e | 10.1.06 | the mcgill tribune

FILM

Taking one in the Red Eye Craven directs underwhelming mid-air thriller BEN LEMIEUX The first non-horror film from director Wes Craven since the lamen table M usic o f the Heart, 20 0 5 's Red Eye marks one of his few forays into the psychological thriller genre. The prem ise is sim p le: Lisa Reisert (Rachel M cAdam s), Miami hotel m anager and full-tim e babe, is delayed at the airport on her way back home from her grandmother's funeral. She m eets and comm iser ates with fellow strandee Jackson (played by piercingly blue-eyed Cillian M urphy) over an airport lounge cocktail. Once on the plane,

and coincidentally seated next to her beautiful stranger du jour, Lisa dis covers there are dark plans afoot. Jackson, in case you hadn't guessed by now, is involved with a terrorist cell bent on the head of Homeland Security buying the proverbial farm , and he needs her exclusive, hotel managing powèrs to have the gov ernm ent official moved to a room more convenient for detonation. Or he will have her father killed with a big m * * * * * * * + * * j n g knjfe. The setup for this film requires that two-thirds of the narrative take place in side-by-side seats on a 767 jet, providing the sam e overarching

atmosphere of claustrophobic isola tion that built tremendous intensity in genre predecessors like Phone Booth and Collateral. If you can suspend your disbelief long enough to rule out the possibility that dose-quarter travellers can remain unaware of Jackson's open discussion of assassi nating a high-profile government offi cial, the exchanges between McAdams and Murphy are a para mount driving force behind the film . From the coy, flirtatious opening to the tense mind games which ensue on board the aircraft, the chemistry between the two is, despite the fact that people's lives are on the line, a

STIPKOMEDIA.COM

Murphy—all talk, no... rhymes with talk. pleasure to w atch. McAdams is earnest and sympathetic as the hotel manager whose job it is to please everyone but whose duty it becomes to make life-or-death choices, and M urphy provides his tradem ark creepiness, as always, effortlessly. The film and the DVD features are an interesting watch, though unfortunately never pay off to their full potential. The characters are ini tially intriguing, yet their secrets don't end up being as interesting or sur prising as the audience might hope, nor are they as intricately developed as in the aforem entioned Phone Booth or Collateral, film s that went to painstaking, methodical lengths to provide meaty, continually evolving characters. Murphy is certainly spooky, yet not quite badass or ruth less enough to convince you he can get the body count rolling. The film is

directed by suspense- and slashm aster Wes Craven, yet it comes with a PG-13 rating. The DVD docu m entaries and com m entary offer keen insights, though they overlap enormously. Rachel McAdams has nice legs b u t... man does she have nice legs. Red Eye is by no means a bad film —it just doesn't live up to its rather sizable potential. With such clear chem istry between McAdams and Murphy, the film could easily have exceeded its scant 80-m inute running tim e and entered some w el comed extra innings. Craven would do well to try his hand at some more horror and Murphy ought to just go back to what he does best—killing zom bies. ■ Red Eye is released on DVD Tuesday.

T j F T J n n TTl

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7 ÎT

Free Passes available in the Tribune Office, Shatner Room 110. Preview showing Thursday, January 12, 7:30 p.m.

H JI

the mcgill tribune | 10 .1.06 | a&e 19

FILM

See Dick soar

REVIEWS

Remake is incisive criticism of modem living BEN LEMIEUX A remake of Ted Kotcheff's cult classic about a thieving suburban couple, Fun with Dick and Jane is an excellent modern-day adaptation of the 1977 sleeper hit. As the title would indicate, this is the story of Dick and Jane Harper (portrayed by comic veterans Jim Carrey and Tea Leoni), a prototypical yuppie duo with a boy named Billy and a dog named Spot. Both have worked hard to attain the "good life" they are living, com plete with a widescreen TV, a maid named Blanca (Gloria Garayua) to look after their boy, and a pair of lux ury cars in the driveway. When Dick gets promoted to a corporate vice-presidency at an investm ent and trading firm , life just couldn't seem to get any sweeter—which, of course, it doesn't. It only gets worse. Much worse. After an embarrassing live TV interview as the firm 's new spokesperson, Dick soon discovers that good ol' Globodyne has been cooking the books for ages and not only is he out of a job but he is being pinned with a hefty lump of the firm 's ill-doings, while acting president and general douchebag Jack McCallister (played by a disgust ingly smarmy Alec Baldwin) walks away scot-free. To add insult to injury, Globodyne's 51 floors worth of employ ees are now out looking for new jobs in an oversaturat ed field, and Dick's exceptionally poor performance on national television has made him a pariah to any poten tial workplace. The hilarity that ensues is not the product of the laugh-out-loud, over-the-top antics that we are accus tomed to seeing in Carrey's perform ances, but a series of splendidly comical, yet remarkably understated, com mentaries on the degenerate corporate lifestyle and the utter blandness of suburbia. As the couple's finances dwindle, the life they've spent years building crumbles around them . Tragic though it may seem on paper, there's something profoundly, ironically funny about Jane running out of her house screaming bloody murder as her front lawn gets repossessed. Even small touches such as having freckled, seem ingly all-American boy Billy speaking pitch-perfect Spanish even better than English—a by-product of being raised by the maid—are

Suburban criminal masterminds hard at work. priceless to the last. As the future becom es bleaker by the day for the doomed couple, Dick comes to the striking realization that the only way to retrieve their old life is to steal it back by robbing convenience stores, private homes, banks, etc. This becomes an important sardonic fixture of the film , an allegory which makes obvious that Dick is, and has always been, doomed whether he does or doesn't. His work with Globodyne, and the work he may have obtained at a multitude of other money-grubbing investm ent firm s, essentially constituted stealing from stockholders and lenders, whereas his post-corporate crim e spree is a more hands-on version of his previous job. Basically, through no fault of their own, but rather because of latent social forces, Dick and Jane are unable to making an honest living. Plus, there's something sidesplittingly ridiculous about the pair sticking up a design er coffee shop and stopping mid-robbery to ask if the muffins on display are non-fat before swiping them . Carrey and Leoni play the roles of Dick and Jane with sincerity and an invaluable degree of naïveté, each providing their unique comic stylings and breathing life into roles that may have gone awfully wrong if tackled with gimmicky antics as opposed to intelligent, comedic nuance. Baldwin and Richard Jenkins offer weighty sup porting contributions to round out a competent all-star cast in what is arguably one of the sm artest comedies of the year. Fun with Dick and Jane is definitely worth your beer money. ■

compiled by Ben Lemieux '-.vvpwmr

- i ■ H M ti .

The Strokes. First Im pressions o f Earth. The first major record release of the year by a band that has been heavily discussed and lauded throughout the decade w ill hopefully not be a portent of the year ahead. Frankly, it's downright insulting that a band on the brink of huge comm ercial success is comfortable marking this as a finished album . If album s were slabs of meat, you wouldn't even want to feed this one to your dog. I'll be the first to admit that straight-out-of-the-starting-gate rockers like "Juicebox" and "Vision of Division" are bound to kick som e serious ass, but the rest of the album is just plain bad. I'm talking "Oh, nevermind my teenage brother’s weekend garage band" bad. On several tracks, frontman Julian Casablancas sings so bloody far out of tune you wonder why he even bothers to get out of bed in morning. There are som e shabby guitar solos that you usually wouldn't even dare to refer to as guitar solos. Then there's the priceless songwriting on "Ask Me Anything," in which Casablancas repeats the verse "I've got nothing to say" a couple dozen tim es, or at least often enough to literally convince you of it's truth. This album is an hour's worth of “nothing to say." Don't buy it.

Lindsay Lohan. A Little M ore P erso n a l (R a w ). Hahahahahahahahahaha. 2/1 0 .

Madonna. C onfessions on a D ance Floor. Madonna's new hit single kind of says it all. Little more than a bla tantly ripped-off Abba song with different lyrics, there is not much more about C onfessions on a D ance Floor you need to know beyond this song. There is little inventive or fresh about it, and when you're swiping m aterial from Abba, it's quite a statem ent about how far down the barrel you're willing to reach. Circulating throughout the entire song is Madge's monotone delivery of "Tim e goes by... so slowly." It certainly does. And playing this record isn't helping.

Tom Green. Prepare fo r Im pact. There's really little I can say about his CD, so I'll let the man speak for him self. Direct quotations: "I like looking at boobies/l like porno m ovies/l like looking at girls all around the world" "I went to the drugstore/There w as Kevin Bacon/But everyone's got six degrees of Kevin Bacon" "Don't m ess with a man right after he takes a big poo poo" It's Em inem m eets W esley W illis. This is the best record of all tim e.

CALL FOR NOM INATIONS FA C U LTY OF A R TS T E A C H IN G A W A R D H. Noel Field house Award For Distinguished Teaching

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A n y stu d e n t, alum ni, o r m e m b e r o f th e a c a d e m ic s ta ff m a y su b m it a nom ination. N om ination fo rm s a re a va ila b le o n th e w eb, in th e D e a n ’s S e c re ta ria t (D a w so n H all, room 3 0 2 ), o r from d e p a rtm e n ta l ch a irs. F o r fu rth e r inform ation, p le a s e c o n s u lt th e w eb at httD://www. mcaill. ca/arts/awards2/fieldhouse-award/ o r ca ll 398-4 2 1 6 .

Send nominations to Susan Sharpe, Dawson Hail, 302 Deadline: Friday, February 17, 2006

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The Big Red Machine keeps on rolling Friday night win keeps McGill undefeated RORY GANGBAR

The Redmen hockey team is one game closer to keeping their New Year's resolution: Ending 2006 with a CIS championship. McGill entered Friday's matchup with the Ottawa Gee-Gees with an im pressive record of 10 -0 -2 , but hard-hitting Ottawa was the only CIS team to have led in a game against the Redmen. But it didn't matter on Friday night, as McGill dispatched the Gee-Gees 4-2 in front of a packed house at McConnell Arena. The first couple shifts of the game were rem iniscent of a bumpercar am usem ent ride, with bodies fly ing in every direction as both team s looked to set the tone early. The hit ting continued throughout the first period, with num erous penalties resulting for both team s. Though each team had its share of scoring opportunities, it was the Gee-Gees who drew first blood, with Jerom e Brier scoring off a nifty pass from Paul Gauthier late in the first period. Whatever was said in the McGill dressing room during the flood worked as the Redmen cam e out possessed for the second fram e. A spraw ling save by goaltender Mathieu Poitrais led to a 3-on-2 at the other end, where Benoit Martin sniped his fourth of the campaign, with Charles Gauthier and David Urquhart drawing assists. One shift later, the Redmen would take a 2-1 lead when defencem en Louis-Simon Allaire let rip a point shot from just inside the blue-line. "You always like to have the first goal," said Head Coach Martin Raymond. "But I'm glad to see that we can come back and just stick to

what we do best regardless of the score." Martin, a fourth-year centre and alternate captain, accredited the early success in the second period to grinding it out. "We just had to relax and get back to basics," he said. With increasing pressure late in the second period, a scram ble around the Gee-Gees net led to an Urquhart goal, putting the Redmen up by two. Passes from Benoit Martin and speedster Doug Orr capped this goal off, with the three Redmen bombarding the Gee-Gee

net. "This team may be young in som e ways, but everyone is hard working and willing to play as a team ," Orr said.

Gee-Gees' late game rally comes up short Even though the Redmen had outshot the G ee-G ees 20-14 through the first two periods, Ottawa's Gauthier scored an early third period goal to cut the Redmen lead to 3-2. The rest of the period w as an intense battle, as the Redmen were kept on their toes in

defending their one goal lead. The clim ax of the game came late in the third, when a time-out and face-off in the McGill zone allowed the GeeGees to pull their goalie, giving them a 6-on-5 advantage for the final 1:51. However, luck would run out for the Gee-Gees, as Martin would seal the win hitting on an empty-net goal with 8.1 seconds left to play. "It had a little bit to do with luck," Martin said. "In such a situation the main idea is to just clear the zone and don't give up the centre of the ice. The goal was just an extra bonus for me and the team."

With a team-oriented attitude and a desire to become the best in their class, the excitem ent for the Redmen is building as their stellar play continues. And although they remain undefeated, the Redmen are continually looking to better their preformance on the ice. "The recent play of the Canadian junior gold-medal team provides a good base to em ulate," Raymond said. "The team concept, intense hockey and regular physical play are all things that our team does well already, but will need to keep building upon." ■

The Redmen remain undefeated with the help of leading scorer Shawn Shewchuck (right) and center Pierre-Antoine Paquet.

THE RED Z O N E

Not so different from all other nights rom what I've already written this year, I think it's abun dantly clear that I love the sport of hockey. Before the lockout, I cheered on Canada when the World Cup came to Montreal. When the NHL locked its players out, I found other avenues to get my hockey fix, and when the league finally returned, I came back to it as if nothing had happened. On Saturday nights, I'm glued to the CBC. On. weeknights, if I find a game on television, I'm at least going to check the score and give it a look. If I like it, I may just put the remote down and stay there for a while. But like everything, there is a line that can be crossed and on Saturday, the CBC crossed it. Saturday, Jan. 9 was deemed "Hockey Day in Canada" on the CBC. With Ron M acLean hosting live from Stephensville, Nfld., and numerous other HNIC personali ties reporting from across the country, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation showed nothing but hockey for over 13 hours. The NHL, for its part, was kind enough to schedule three games involving only Canadian team s, including an epic showdown between those heated rivals

the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Edmonton Oilers. Now, yes, doing this means that we Canadians got to see one more game on Saturday—even though it began at the all-so-logical tim e of 2 p.m. And yes, one more game involving Canadian team s on Saturday isn't that big a stretch for the CBC when one considers that they regularly show two games that involve at least one Canadian team . But with a pee-wee tournament from Florenceville, NB, or a three-on-three tournament from Parry Sound, Ont., one would think that we needed to showcase hockey, as though it doesn't normally get enough tim e on the air. But really, Canadians don't need a special day to reconfirm the rock solid fact that we love hockey. We do that every single day. When I -turn on any of the big three sports cable networks for the nightly highlight show, what leads almost every night? Hockey. As each of these shows continue, what sport is given the bulk of the highlights and the analysis? Hockey; and in this case, they'll be showing hockey in all its form s, be it professional, minor or junior. Finally, when these networks assem ble their plays of the

D A V ID BLYE

night packages, where do most of these dips come from? Yup, you guessed it. We love hockey so much that we'd rather watch a bunch of players who aren't in the NHL yet over athletes in another professional sports, like the NBA, who are playing real games that really matter in the stand ings. The fact is that we didn't need this "Hockey Day in Canada" because every day in Canada is hockey day. We glorify "our" game so much that it's alm ost absurd. We watch it like a parent looking after our 30-year-old child, fearing that after years of love and affection, the child is going to suddenly run away. Well, Canada, hockey isn't going anywhere anytime soon. So just enjoy it when it's on, but don't be watching it to the point of in(s)anity. You'll love it more that way. If anything, all "Hockey Day in Canada" did was remind me that we used to have eight Canadian hockey team s. Now, if the NHL brought the Jets and the Nordiques back, that would be worth having a Hockey Day in Canada-esque celebration. ■

the mcgill tribune | 10 .1.06 | sports 2 1

FITNESS

Extreme fitness for the

Gimme some Mo

W hat the five fingers really

lost soul

said to the face

An inside look at how McGill helps you M O H IT A R O R A

shed unwanted pounds A D A M M YER S

The early days of January are always an exciting tim e. After feeling the wrath of exams in December, students are fresh off a two-week layoff—unless you got screwed by M cGill's exam schedule—and ready to hit the party scene. But besides providing an opportu nity to drink, the New Year also provides one for selfim provem ent For many people, fitness usually heads the list of New Year's resolutions, a promise to drop those extra pounds and become more active. And fear not, McGill students, for you are lucky enough to attend an institution that offers many differ ent methods to help tone your bodies, or at the very least get out of your apartment and m eet some new people. McGill offers a variety of different fitness and recreation courses, everything from akido and belly dancing to boot camp and swing dancing. So for your reading pleasure—and because we love our loyal Tribune readers—I decided to do the dirty work for you, and provide you with the inside scoop on M cGill's win ter fitness courses. For those of you who are bold and daring enough to brave the outdoors, McGill offers the extremely pop ular sport of equestrian. The lessons include detail on horse balance, gaining control of the horse, and work ing with trotting poles and sm all jum ps. Also offered with the equestrian voices are speech lessons to work on that olde-time English accent For other outdoorsmen and wom en who feel the need to hit the water, kayaking could be an interesting choice. Trust m e, the S t Lawrence really isn't that cold

at this tim e of year—it's all mental. But seriously, kayak ing lessons are held in Memorial Pool, which should provide the rapids that all serious kayakers are looking for. There are some people who prefer dry activities in the heated gym, safe from the harsh environment of the winter—but I wouldn't know who any of these peo ple are, or why they might want th at Still, I have found something for that rare breed: McGill is offering a vari ety of dance lessons to hone your talents. Anything from ballet to Irish dancing to flam enco will certainly help your pick-up skills by allowing you to impress that hottie with your moves next tim e you are at a club. Don't worry, we haven't forgotten the vast majori ty of students, staff and gym mem bers, those who want to tone their bodies. Boot camp is offered to pro vide participants with an invigorating combination of m uscular strength and endurance exercises, along with cardiovascular conditioning, providing an exciting over all body workout The only easier way for those looking to sculpt their bodies in this fashion is to join the army. These are just the basic categories of courses that the McGill gym offers to its mem bers. A more compre hensive list is available on the McGill Athletics Website, which details dates, tim es and prices for all available courses. So until next tim e, McGill, keep fit and have fun, and choose your activities w isely; if you stay dedi cated, this year will be different, and you'll actually keep your New Year's resolutions. In the m eantim e, could someone pass the potato chips and remote control? All this writing is making me tired. ■

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'm generally a pretty content guy. I haven't lived one of those lives where people look at me and see pain in my eyes, wondering, "What is his story?" Tragically, I have no tragic story. It's a nice problem to have, but one of the symptoms of such a dilemma is that I feel total despair in situations that would merit, even from the worst-tempered of us, nothing more than a foul four-letter word. This particular symptom—of what? Complete lunacy, perhapsflared up big tim e on Sunday when I watched my beloved Toronto Raptors lose a 105-104 thriller to the New Jersey Nets. It wasn't just that they lo st for they've done that over two-thirds of the tim e this season. It wasn't just the w ay the lost, since buzzer-beaters are a trademark of the NBA. It was that they lost, in that way, to that team, featuring that guy whom Harry Potter dorks would call He-Who-MustNot-Be-Named. It wasn't the first tim e Vince Carter and the Nets beat us, but it was certainly the worst. Toronto played spectacularly all game long, hanging in with their division-leading foes, and even containing Carter and Jason Kidd to some extent. Yes, we were helped by Richard Jefferson's back injury early in the game, but I figured he probably shared a drink with Carter and caught something from him. Then, it happened. In a tw ist of irony to end all ironies, the game was effectively lost just before half-time, when Carter did to his old friend and form er team m ate Morris Peterson did exactly what you'd imagine a guy of his reputation doing—he slapped him! Peterson was steaming after being hit with a technical foul, and Carter teasingly slapped him. An agitated Peterson returned the favour, w hich the ref eree caught and misinterpreted, and so promptly tossed out of the game the only guy we had who could defend the form er Ms. Air Canada. Though the Raptors led and controlled most of the second half, you could see the w heels coming off. Toronto would extend its lead, and Carter would bring the Nets right back into it. The tension mount ed. TSN analyst Leo Rautins didn't exactly help things by pointing out how effective Carter was in doing things he gave up on in Toronto. Every reference to Carter driving to the net instead of settling for jump shots made my blood boil. By the tim e Leo mentioned how Carter had taken 24 free throws in a game recently after averaging only 3.6 per game his last season in Toronto, I had been whipped into a fren zy that would cause rabid dogs to flee. Then it ended, in the most painful of m anners. Toronto's inabili ty to close it out against a good team , our lack of a shutdown defend er, our reliance on rookies who are prone to playing like rookies: it all filled me with a sense of dread. I knew José Calderon was going to m iss his second free throw, and 1 knew Kidd was going to bring the ball up the court faster than Brian Mulroney turned on Ben Johnson after the latter's positive test for steroids at the Olympics in 1 9 8 8 calling him a "Jamaican-born immigrant to Canada that we don't take any responsibility for," or something like that, even though the only real sham e was that our masking agents w eren't as good as those of the United States. And I knew, you knew—everyone knew—Carter was going to take the shot. Not the two to tie, either; he was going to win it with a three-pointer. And he did. Now I sit here, unreasonably despondent after what is really just a m eaningless game in a m eaningless season for Toronto. Maybe it's not Carter's miss at the buzzer against Philadelphia in Game 7 of the 2001 playoffs—rem em ber that one, buddy boy? Couldn't make that shot, could ya?—but it still hurts. If there is a silver lining, it's th at as far as I'm concerned, the post-Carter era is officially over. No longer will a Nets-Raptors game be about him facing his old team . Now he's just another player on some other team . You're dead to m e, Vincentia Muriel Carter—that's not his real name, but it would be more fitting, don't you think? We are now living in the Chris Bosh Era. It's the year 1 CB. Raptor fans are totally on board the Bosh train, because he's the anti-Carter. He's tough, he only cares about winning and he gives a full effort every night. With that in mind, I feel I owe Bosh an apolo gy. Getting riled up about Carter while Bosh was out there playing his heart out is a betrayal of CB4, kind of like getting visibly upset when you see your scantily-clad ex flirt with every guy in the bar while ignor ing your girlfriend beside you. Well, no more of that. We're better off without Carter. He was a cancer. Now we have a young nucleus that's going to take its lumps but also get better with every game. That's a fine position to be in. It's certainly better than having your team 's fortunes riding on a cancerous slut who slaps people. ■

sports | 10.1.06 | the mcgill tribune

BASKETBALL — MARTLETS

73, C O N C O R D I A

Martlets basketball picking

IMAGES

up steam Weekend split leaves McGill feeling good about the future ADA M MYERS The McGill Martlets basketball team probably hopes that it can play the rest of their schedule against the Concordia Stingers. The M artlets beat their cross town rivals for the third tim e this season, evening their record at 3-3. The M artlets controlled the pace of the game from the start in what turned out to be an easy 15 point victory, 73-58 at Love Competition Hall on Saturday in front of an audience of 312. "Those are games we should have gotten based on the level of talent we have," said Head Coach Ryan Thorne. "We are a more com plete team than they are right now. Those are the ones we had expect ed to get. "I was happy with the effort," continued Thorne. "We set out three objectives from the weekend. Get to the line more and shoot a better per centage, float on their transition defence, and execute better on offence." Sarah Gagné led a potent

McGill offence/scoring a game-high 19 points w hile contributing 10 boards for her first double-double of the season. The 5' 10" forward went 7-16 from the field including 3-4 from behind the arc She helped lead a barrage of three pointers by the home team . The Martlets shot 40 per cent from long distance, combined with a stellar 43.1 per cent from the field. "We spent more tim e this w eek working on shooting," Thorne said. "We knew they were going to bring in a big line up and zone us and the girls responded pretty well." McGill used its swift shooting to get out of the gate quickly. The Martlets took a 39-24 halftime lead against their rivals. In the second half they were able to maintain the 15point advantage with som e big defensive plays; the Martlets held an 11-5 edge in steals. "We are trying to do a couple new things with the defence," said Thorne. "It’s going to take a little more tim e. We need everyone work ing together and depending on each other. It has made us better, but there are still a few more adjust

ments to make." The McGill lady bailers were not quite as lucky in a game on Friday night against first-place Laval. They dropped a close one in Ste. Foy, by a 70-61 count. Again, the Martlets were led by Gagné who paced the team with 15 points. "[Gagné] is a fifth-year player who knows what to expect from both those team s, and we are going to find her more often in situations that make her comfortable" Thorne said. "In the second half of the Laval game she thought she needed to do too much. For her, when it comes naturally, it starts to flow." The schedule doesn't get any easier for the Martlets this upcoming weekend. They travel to Lennoxville on Friday to take on the secondplace Bishop's Gaiters and will round out the weekend by playing against UQÀM on Saturday. "They are both big games," Thorne said. "Bishop's lost their start ing point guard so we are going to go after them pretty hard. We can win these games, but we are going to need to execute well on offence and on defence." ■

VLADAMIR EMERIN

Guard Matthew Ouellette lays one up against against a Concordia defender in McGill's 88-63 loss to the Stingers on Saturday. For more, see Around the Horn.

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the mcgill tribune f 10. 1.06 [ sports 23

last call

compiled by DAVID BLYE and ADAM MYERS

A R O U N D THE HORN

S T A N DI N G S

Redmen still w inless after loss to Concordia OT

PTS

HOCKEY (M)

McGILL*(F-East)

RMC*(M-East)

UQTR (FE )

OTTAWA (FE)

CONC'DIA (FE)

QUEEN'S (M E)

TORONTO (M E)

RYERSON (M E)

HOCKEY (W)

McGILL

CONCORDIA

OTTAWA

CARLETON

B-BALL (M)

PTS

♦Represents division leaders OUA hockey ranks the two division leaders first and second, and then ranks the remaining six team according to total points. Six team s make the playoffs.

BISHOP'S

441

417

CONCORDIA

492

426

LAVAL

417

392

UQAM

283

314

McGILL

371

460

BOX SCORE

DECK

Redm en H o ckey-C on co rd ia McConnell Arena

@ M cGill;

Friday,

p.m.

The Redmen will hope to run their OUA undeafeated streak to a CIS-best 14 games on Friday night when they host Concordia. Indeed the Redmen are so far ahead at the moment that they can actually clinch a playoff spot with a win. Meanwhile, the Stingers will be hoping to get out of the basement in the OUA Far East division, but they will be in tough against a McGill side that has surrendered just 15 goals in 14 games, best in the nation. Martlets Basketball—McGill @ UQÀM; Saturday, 6 p.m.

The Martlets' win over Concordia on Saturday brought the ladies back to .500 for the season. On Saturday, they will try to stay above water when they Métro across town to challenge the 1-3 Citadins. A win here would be extremely helpful for a Martlet side that is hop ing to claim a spot in the post-season. Redmen B asketball- McGill @ UQÀM; Saturday, 8 p.m.

While the Redmen have yet to a win a game in Quebec play, this Saturday night could be the one. The Citadins have not impressed this year, sitting in fourth in the QUBL at 1-3. Even with diaper dandy Olivier Lamoureux out with a broken arm, Coach Craig Norman's boys managed to hang with Laval all game last Friday and should be able to get the proverbial monkey off their back against UQÀM. NF1L—Ottawa @ Edmonton; Saturday 10 p.m. on CBC

Saturday's lone all Canadian affair sees the Senators bring their league best record into the City of Champions to take on the sur prising Oilers. While the Sens were many experts' pre-season choice to win drink from Lord Stanley's Mug, Craig MacTavish's side was cast off at the beginning of the year not having enough firepower to compete in the new NHL. Maybe we all missed something here.

Friday, Jan. 6, 2006 McGill Redmen 4 vs. Ottawa Gee-Gees 2 McConnell Arena

SCORING SUMMARY FIRST PERIOD: Ottawa - Jerome Briere 4 (P. Gauthier, B. McLeod) 13:39 (P P ) SECOND PERIOD: McGill - Benoit Martin 4 (C . Gauthier, D. Urquhart) - 1 :39 McGill - Louis-Simon Allaire 2 (M . Leclerc, K. Davis) 1:52 McGill - David Urquhart 4 (B . Martin, D. Orr) - 19:43 THIRD PERIOD: Ottawa - Paul Gauthier 1 (B . Triantafilos, D. Bliss) - 2 :0 2 McGill - Benoit Martin 5 (unassisted) - 19:59 (EN G )

Martlets skate to sixth at w eekend tourney

SHOTS BY PERIOD Ottawa: 8 6 10 (2 4 ) M cGill: 7 13 8 (2 8 ) GOALTENDERS: Ottawa: Mathieu Blanchard (L, 0-1-0; 3 G A, 24 saves, 5 8 :12 ) Empty-net (IG A , 1:48) M cGill: Mathieu Poitras (W ; 8-0-1; 2GA, 22 saves, 6 0 :0 0 ) Attendance: 672

NFL-Pittsburgh @ Indianapolis; Sunday 1 p.m. on CBS

The marquee match up of the Divisional play-off weekend sees the Colts host the quaterback-killing Steelers. While Big Ben and the boys want their revenge on the Pats from last year, they'll have to get through the AFC's best. Besides, the brass at CBS really, really wants a Pat-Colts rematch for the AFC tittle. Not that we're implying anything...

TH IS WEEK IN McGILL SPORTS HISTORY Saturday, Jan. 13, 2001 The Martlets hockey team defeated the UQTR Patriotes 32 to improve to 1-4-0 in QUHL play. The Martlets trailed 2-1 late in the third period when forwards Asleigh Cranston and Suzanne Fujiki both scored in a span of 30 seconds to put the Martlets ahead for good. Canadian international goaltender Kim St.-Pierre was up to her usual heroics, making 31 stops.

Friday, Jan. 15, 1999 The Redmen hockey team played rivals Concordia to a hard fought 2-2 tie. The draw kept the Redmen just two points back of division leaders Ottawa. The Redmen got both their goals on special team s. David Grenier scored on the powerplay in the second period, while Mathieu Darche tied the game late on the PK. The Redmen were especially frustrated with their perform ance in the second period, having outshot the Stingers 15-6, but only earning a single goal for their efforts.

Sunday, Jan. 10, 1999 The Redmen cagers couldn't hold on late, dropping a 7666 affair to Bishop's. The loss dropped the Redmen behind the Gaiters in the race for the final playoff sopt in the Q U B L The Redmen had no answer on the day for all-Canadian centre Jeff Szita, who netted a team high 16.

WHAT'S

Freshman guard Damian Buckley was too much for McGill on Saturday night, putting up a game-high 29 points as Concordia saw off the Redmen basketball squad 88-63 at Love Competition Hall. The Stingers, who led 49-34 at recess, also got a 16point performance from Patrick Perrotte, who snatched a game-high eight rebounds. McGill—which had a decided 40-33 edge in on the glass, a 13-7 advantage in turnovers and a favourable 115 margin in steals—had trouble from the field all night, while the Stingers spent the night on fire. Concordia connected on an im pressive 66.7 per cent of their attempts from the field (30-for-45) and 78.6 from the free-throw line (22-for-28). McGill, by compari son, shot a paltry 33.3 from the floor and 59.1 from the charity stripe. Buckley, who was 8-for-9 from the field and 11-for12 from the line, also had six rebounds .and three dim es. Leading the Redmen were forward Sean Anthony and guard Matthew Ouellette with 11 and 10 points respectively. Anthony added four rebounds and three steals. Rookie forward Yannick Chouinard was credited with eight points, five rebounds and three steals before fouling out. Forward Louis-Philippe Lagredelle contributed seven points and a team-high six boards. Rounding out the scoring for McGill was Philippe Letourneau (6 ), J.P. Begley (6 ), Chris Horwood (6 ), Nickolas Pronovost (5 ), Mathieu Lord (2 ) and Elliot Siemiatycki (2 ). Concordia, which has swept all three meetings against the Redmen, improved to 4-2, while McGill remained winless at 0-6. McGill plays next on Friday, Jan. 13 when they travel to Lennoxville for a doubleheader at Bishop's. Concordia plays host to the Gaiters on Jan. 14.

YOUR

BEEF?

Wayne Gretzky has had a rough time the last few weeks. First his mother passed away, followed by his grandmother last week. My condolences to Mr. Qretzky; however, will someone please explain to me how this is news? Covering his mother's funeral on The Score was o verkill... So the Blue Jays have cer tainly made a splash this off-season, but the question still looms: what to do with Eric Hinske? After moving him from third to first to the bench, he is now slated to play a little bit of left field. Hinske shagging balls in the outfield? That should be enough to propel Toronto to another third-place fin ish ... The Eagles hired Marty Mornhinweg as their new offensive coordinator. At least he doesn't have too much responsibility—this is, after all, the same guy who, when he was coach of the Lions, decided to kick off after winning the coin toss in O T... Tracy McGrady had to be carted off the court during Sunday's game and is now in the hospital with back spasm s. Is this really that surprising? After all, he is Vince Carter's first co u sin ... And speaking of Vince, he completely took over the last two minutes of the game against the Raptors on Sunday, finishing a great comeback with a buzzer-beating three pointer from downtown Mississauga. It's good to know that Vince never lost his skills; he just didn't feel like trying hard. You would think $ 15-million would provide a little bit of motivation.

Freshman centre Vanessa Davidson scored twice as third ranked McGill downed Carleton 5-1 at the Theresa Hum es w om en's hockey tournam ent hosted by Concordia. The win allowed the Martlets to atone for Friday's stunning 8-2 loss to Dawson College in the tour ney opener. Rookie Rebecca Martindale scored the eventual game winner on the power play midway through the first period and added an assist on Patrice Mason's marker in the final fram e. Kristin Leuszler also tallied for McGill. Senior goaltender Kalie Townsend turned aside 21 shots for the win as McGill outshot Carleton 35-22. Unfortunately, their luck would run' out in Sunday's fifth-place game against Concordia. Centre Dominique Rancour's lone goal in a post-overtime shootout gave the fourth-ranked Stingers the 1-0 victory. After a scoreless 10-minute overtime period, the diminutive Rancour, who stands just 4' 11 ", tallied on Concordia's first shootout attempt.. Goaltender Meggy Hatin-Léveillée made 43 saves during the game and five more in the shootout as McGill outshot the Stingers 48-17. Townsend made 16 saves in a losing cause for the Martlets, who dropped to 13-9-1 overall, including a 123-1 record against CIS opponents. McGill returns to regu lar season action, where it has a 7-1-0 record, on Jan. 15 when they visit the Ottawa Gee-Gees. Martlets take weekend V-Ball Tourney in the capital

Rookie Jennifer Thompson racked up a dozen digs,

10 kills, three aces and a stuff block as the fifth-ranked Martlets defeated Windsor 3-1 in the gold-medal game at the Quality Suites volleyball tournam ent on Sunday. The Martlets, who won by set scores of 20-25, 2516, 25-13 and 25-20, went undefeated in the three-day event, winning all five matches as Head Coach Rachèle Béliveau improved her career win total to 303, becoming the first McGill coach in any sport to reach the triple cen tury. Thompson and senior Christine Borisov were named to the all-tournament team , with Borisov earning tourney MVP honours. Over five matches (2 0 gam es), the 5'10" Borisov was credited with 56 kills, 41 digs, four aces, four stuff blocks and a 2.18 passing ratio out of 3.0 . She had a kill percentage of 42 per cent and a kill efficiency of 27 per cent. The Martlets, 23-8 overall, will resume regular sea son play on Friday, Jan. 13, when they host the sixthranked Montréal Carabins at the McGill Sports Centre. Both team s are tied for second place in the five-team Quebec conference with an identical 8-2 record, four points behind first-place Laval.