The McGill Tribune Vol. 29 Issue 20

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PIRATES INVADE CAMPUS, PAGE 14

èMCGILL Published by the Students’ Society of McGill University

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S S M U to close H aven Books after losses of over $200,000 Recommendation made by Operations Committee MATT CHESSER O pinion Editor

As of last week, Haven Books was no longer accepting books on consignment.

ALICE WALKER

After sustaining losses of over $200,000 over the past three years, the Students’ Society has decided to close Haven Books.

On the recommendation of then-VicePresident Finance and Operations Dave Sunstrum, SSMU purchased Haven Books—a consignment bookstore located on Aylmer Street just below Sherbrooke—from Kevin Bozzo for approximately $40,000, according to Vice-President Finance and Operations Jose Diaz, in March 2007.

The Haven Books franchise—originally named Raven Books, was founded in Ottawa in 2002. The bookstore was successful in Ot­ tawa, prompting Bozzo to open a location in Montreal, which he sold to SSMU after sus­ taining over $95,000 in losses.

In its first year of operation under SSMU, Haven incurred a loss of $72,606. The book­ store lost $91,159 the following year and proSee LEASE on page 2

Five of seven motions pass at W inter G eneral Assem bly Motion to ban discriminatory groups fails despite amendment JAMES GILMAN & TORI CRAWFORD Tribune Editors

Five out of seven motions passed at the Students’ Society’s Winter General Assem­ bly last Wednesday, with only a motion that sought to ban discriminatory groups—specif­ ically pro-life groups—failing, and another being ruled out of order.

Unlike last semester’s GA, the assembly managed to address each motion of new busi­ ness while maintaining quorum throughout.

SSMU President Ivan Neilson, while happy with the turnout, expressed mixed feel­

ings about Wednesday’s GA. “There was a lot of good, but I think with that there was some bad, so it’s hard to call it a complete success,” he said. “But we can defi­ nitely take some satisfaction, or at least some pride, in the fact that we ran through the entire agenda and didn’t lose quorum. I think that was probably the best part of it.”

The Resolution Re: Free Quality Accessi­ ble Education was not debated, as it was ruled out of order near the start of the meeting, due to redundancy. That resolution, which called for SSMU to commit to fighting for “free, quality, accessible education” and to support­ ing student parents and working students, was ruled to be too close to an old motion that had been dealt with by SSMU Council.

The resolution re: Discriminatory Groups failed to pass after lengthy debate over pos­ sible amendments to the motion, including one that would have removed the reference to pro­ life groups.

The other five motions passed, however, and SSMU is now mandated to investigate their own and McGill’s financial ties to tar sands industrial developments in Alberta, to lobby the administration for the restoration of ATM machines that dispense five-dollar bills, and to oppose any future increases in manda­ tory ancillary fees as well as the “self-funded tuition program model.”

Additionally, SSMU is now mandated to reaffirm its commitment to human rights, social justice, and environmental protection,

as well as either expand the mandate of the Financial Ethics Review Committee—a com­ mittee of SSMU Council—to act as an advi­ sory board to the university “with respect to the ethical practices of corporations with re­ spect to ethical practices of corporations with which McGill University conducts business,” or to create a new committee, known as the Corporate Social Responsibility Committee, to do so.

The resolution, which also calls for the lobbying o f McGill to divest from companies that do not meet ethical standards determined

by FERC or the CSR Committee, generated controversy leading up to the GA because two of the whereas clauses alluded to the occupied See NEILSON on page 3

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2 • 16 February 2010

NEWS

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P R O V IN C E

Senate delays approval on R esearch and IT Resource policies Munroe-Blum discusses trip to India, self-funded tuition model KAYAN HUI C ontributor

The McGill University Senate met for the second time this calendar year on Wednesday to address two policies awaiting approval by its members.

Acting as the Senate’s chair, Principal Heather Munroe-Blum spoke about her recent trip to India in her opening remarks. The del­ egation from Quebec, composed of 130 mem­ bers, worked to strengthen ties with Indian partners in business, education, and research.

“It was a great collaborative effort,” said Munroe-Blum, adding that her trip provided a “terrific opportunity for McGill to represent Quebec.”

In India, Munroe-Blum reached out to the country’s alumni and met with scholars cur­ rently engaged in scientific partnerships with McGill.

Munroe-Blum also discussed the move to a self-funded tuition model in the master

of business administration program in the Desautels faculty of management. She observed that the old model had posed serious financial problems to the faculty and the school, and that the move to the new model would ensure qual­ ity and equity for graduate students. In her re­ marks, Munroe-Blum said that the implemen­ tation of the model for next fall “has opened a broad discourse on the funding of universities in Quebec.”

Finally, Munroe-Blum applauded the 13 current and former McGill students competing in this year’s Winter Olympics.

The Regulation on the Conduct of Re­ search was originally slated for approval by the Senate, but due to administrative compli­ cations, no action could be taken during the meeting. The policy had been drafted to set regulations on the conduct of research and re­ place the Policy on Research Ethics and the Regulations on Research Policy, but it has garnered attention due the issue of military research.

Two administrators, William Foster and Rima Rozen, presented the final document.

Foster spoke positively of the updated docu­

ment but stressed the urgency of its approval.

“The policy is ready to be adopted ... and we need this to be enforced as soon as pos­ sible,” Foster said.

While senators generally agreed with the substantial improvements to the policy, some did voice reservations. Arts Senator Sarah Woolf expressed concern for the lack of specificity of the ethical standards asked of researchers.

“It seems to me [that] the revised version does not provide a definition of what the ethi­ cal standard will be,” Woolf said.

The approval of a policy on the respon­ sible use of McGill IT resources was also delayed due to administrative error. The pro­ posed policy was crafted in response to many changes that have accompanied the evolution of information technology, which are not prop­ erly addressed by the current policy. Provost Anthony Masi motioned for another discus­ sion prior approval of the policy at the next Senate meeting. Senators voiced their general praise o f the document in-progress and offered friendly amendments. The policy will return to the Academic Planning Committee before it is

presented to the Senate once again.

During the Academic Policy Committee report, Senate approved a new teaching pro­ gram for the master of arts in teaching and learning in the Faculty of Education. The 60credit program was created in response to a shortage of certified teachers in five targeted subject areas noted in a request made by the Ministry of Education, Leisure, and Sport.

The proposed program will be offered to parttime students with an undergraduate degree or equivalent, and its implementation is subject to final approval by the Ministry.

Senator Don MacLean, dean of the Fac­ ulty of Music, also commented on the reforms approved last month by the APC for the under­ graduate curriculum at the Schulich School of Music, which take effect in September 2010.

The changes include defining a core curricu­ lum for all music undergraduates and creating more opportunities for students to specialize.

“We have done something controversial, which has been to eliminate the honours pro­ gram,” MacLean said. He explained that this would allow undergraduates to specialize both within their major program and in others.

P R O V IN C E

Ed. students fight for paid stage

Lease expires in February 2011

Endorsed by SSMU, TaCEQ

Continued from COVER jected to lose around $65,000 this fiscal year.

The decision to close Haven was made in SSMU Council’s confidential session, after a recommendation from the Operations Com­ mittee that SSMU cease bookstore operations in April.

“The numbers showed that shutting Haven down was the most cost-effective solu­ tion,” said Diaz. “It wasn’t working, so it was time to let it go.”

The Haven property lease expires Febru­ ary 2011. If SSMU is unable to reach a settle­ ment to terminate the lease, or to find a sub­ lessor, it will be responsible for approximately $23,000 in rent after Haven closes in April.

Both Diaz and SSMU President Ivan Neilson referred to the initial decision to pur­ chase Haven Books as a “mistake.”

“I think there wasn’t enough due dili­ gence done [before purchasing Haven],” Neil­ son said. “When we were looking to purchase the bookstore we received recommendations from our auditors that it would not be a wise decision—that Haven was already hemorrhag­ ing money when we were looking to buy it.

But Sunstrum decided to go ahead and buy it anyway.”

Diaz outlined two main reasons for Ha­ ven’s financial difficulties: low traffic outside of add/drop period and restrictive McGill policies regarding on-campus advertising.

SSMU’s Memorandum of Agreement with the university forbids the Society from engag­ ing in any unauthorized business activities in competition with those provided by the uni­ versity (with the exception of food services).

Due to the existence of the McGill Bookstore, this restricted SSMU’s ability to both adver­ tise and run Haven.

“We weren’t able to advertise Haven

TORI CRAWFORD N ew s Editor

Education students from McGill and universities across the province will gather in Quebec City this Thursday for a demonstra­ tion as part of the campaign to gain remunera­ tion for their fourth-year practicum—or work placement course.

Students pursuing education degrees in Quebec are currently required to complete four unpaid practicums, one in each year of their program. According to Claudia Gucciardi, Education representative to the Stu­ dents’ Society’s legislative council, practicum positions often require students to travel long distances to their placement positions and put in extensive work outside of the classroom to prepare for lessons.

“We’ve been looking at other schools and programs across Canada that do offer some form of remuneration,” she said. “But our mandatory stages are not being remunerated at all; there are no loans or bursaries available specifically for that purpose.”

In addition, Gucciardi explained that the campaign aims to put pressure on the Ministry of Education to standardize practicum guide­ lines for all schools in the province.

“Different schools have different practi­ cum lengths, and different requirements ... so w e’re looking to standardize the stages,” she said. “It would be great to have all the stages paid, but right now the most realistic goal to have is to try to get the longest one paid.”

The demonstration is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. outside of the National Assembly and will include students from McGill, the

University of Quebec at Montreal, and Laval University in Quebec City. Although the cam­ paign has been endorsed by two provincial student lobbying groups—the Quebec Student Round Table (TaCEQ) and the Quebec Feder­ ation of University Students (FEUQ)—SSMU Vice-Principal External Sebastian RonderosMorgan said that the campaign is being led by the individual student associations.

“The campaign that is going on right now is one in which, in our discussions with the FEUQ w e’ve agreed that we don’t want it to be territorial,” said Ronderos-Morgan. “We want it to be as inclusive as possible, so it’s going to be led by the student associations with techni­ cal support o f FEUQ and TaCEQ.” Ronderos-Morgan and Gucciardi both expressed disappointment with the scheduling of the demonstration, due to both the issue of transporting students from Montreal to Que­ bec City early in the morning as well as the fact that most fourth-year Education students are currently completing their practicums and cannot miss class. However, RonderosMorgan said he has been in discussion with the FEUQ to organize a demonstration here in Montreal for sometime in March.

Although Michelle Courchesne, the pro­ vincial minister of education, announced the creation of a body to discuss the issue of paid education practicums in November 2008, Gu­ cciardi said she has yet to hear of any results from this.

“Last I’ve heard was that [the Ministry of Education] just wasn’t looking to delve into the issue,” she said. “That’s why w e’re looking to put pressure and hold these demonstrations.

We want to hold discussions on the issue and get the ministry to take this more seriously.”

The ministry did not return the Tribune’s requests for comment.

on campus with flyers or posters, or to sell coursepacks, because the administration saw Haven as competition for the McGill Book­ store,” Diaz said.

Benyamin Paris, the bookstore’s manager, acknowledged the difficulties Haven has faced but argued that the bookstore provides a valu­ able and cost-effective service to students.

“For every dollar that SSMU spends on Haven, the students save three to five dollars,” Paris said. “Because students both sell books and buy books at Haven, and because we have such a low commission rate, both transactions save students a lot o f money.”

Paris suggested that some of the store’s problems could have been solved by raising the store’s commission rate from 20 per cent to 30 per cent of the sale of each consigned book.

He also suggested that the decision to close Haven had political implications for SSMU. “SSMU officials are negotiating for the rent of the Shatner Building [as the lease ex­ pires in 2011], and they didn’t want the politi­ cal liability that they viewed Haven as,” Paris said. “Closing the bookstore makes things easier for them.”

Diaz plans to replace Haven with a book bazaar in the Shatner Building in the first few weeks of each semester. For a limited period of time, students will be able to buy and sell used textbooks, without the overhead costs as­ sociated with operating Haven throughout the year.

“A book bazaar could work, but I have my doubts that it will,” Paris said. “The or­ ganization is difficult, the payment system is complicated, and they used to do [a book swap] before they bought Haven and it wasn’t successful then.”

Curiosity Delivers.

16 February 2010 • 3

Neilson expresses mixed feelings over General Assembly results Continued from COVER Palestinian territories.

Much of the opposition to the motion was organized around this fact, with some calling the motion a “demonization of Israel.”

“I don’t think the GA is the right forum [for dealing with Middle East politics],” said Hillel McGill President Mookie Kideckel, who is also a Tribune columnist. “That’s part of why we organized against the motion. It’s not that you shouldn’t talk about it, but the GA —there’s always too much riding on it, the ten­ sions are too high, there’s too much at stake to have frank, genuine, honest, open dialogue.”

However, Khaled Kteily, the vice-presi­ dent membership and development of Solidar­ ity for Palestinian Human Rights, the group which submitted the motion, expressed disap­ pointment with the campaign against the reso­ lution.

“We’re unhappy with the characterization of our motion as a ‘demonization of Israel,”’ Kteily wrote in an email to the Tribune. “Israel does violate the human rights of Palestinians, and companies that you and I may be paying money to through SSMU or through McGill are helping. We are concerned that companies

Governor General to visit M cGill

ADAM SCOTTI

Governor General Michaëlle Jean will de­ liver the first annual Jeanne Sauvé Address at McGill on Thursday. The lecture, which will take place at 12 p.m. in Moyse Hall, is part of the Sauvé Scholars Program, an ini­ tiative that bring young leaders to McGill from places as diverse as Afghanistan and Rwanda. Jean’s address is open to the pub­ lic, and students are invited to attend.

are profiting from the illegal occupation of the occupied Palestinian territories.”

The motion was passed, however, only after an amendment removed the two whereas clauses dealing with the occupied Palestinian territories.

“My reaction is that McGill students demonstrated that they are completely com­ mitted to human rights and just have no inter­ est in seeing Israel unfairly singled out,” Ki­ deckel said.

Neilson was happy with the mandate pro­ vided to him by the motion, and he pointed out that it fits in with a project he’s already been working on.

“I’ve been looking at all of our commit­ tees since the beginning of the year, so this is actually something that fits pretty well with [that],” he said. “And in a way it’s kind of nice to be getting some direction in that, and to have some kind of a mandate from the stu­ dents is something that’s beneficial, and that I will certainly take into account.”

Neilson did express concern over the scope of the mandate proposed by the motion, however.

“I think there are some issues on the level

Vice-President Clubs and Services Sarah Olle collects ballots at the GA. of what exactly it asks FERC to do, simply because they are issues completely unrelated to SSMU,” he said. “What the motion entirely misses is that McGill already has a commit­ tee—the Committee to Advise on Matters of Social Responsibility—which is a board com­ mittee that already accomplishes this function, and would be much more effective at doing the kind of review that I think they’re after.”

ADAM SCOTTI

However, Kteily expressed concern over this unit, which is a part of McGill’s Board of Governors, and meets on an ad hoc basis.

“The problem here is accessibility. Under­ graduate students are not represented on this committee at all,” Kteily wrote. “We believe that this CSR committee will ensure that un­ dergraduate students’ concerns are adequately represented at a university level.”

mcgilltribune.com

4 • 16 February 2010

SPEAKER O N CAM PU S

Land Institute founder Wes Jackson discusses climate change Calls for increased environmental responsibily ALISON BAILEY D esign Editor

Wes Jackson, a leading environmental­ ist and the founder of the Land Institute, a Kansas-based environmental research organi­ zation, kicked off his lecture last Wednesday with a harrowing comparison.

“I am going to give a talk tonight that may be rough,” said Jackson. “I have not given this talk before, and I have prepared it partly because I had to.”

In the lecture’s first five minutes, Jackson soberly compared climate change to Nazi-oc­ cupied Germany, using a quotation from a Ni­ cole Krauss novel. He challenged the audience with the notion of being a bystander and called for citizens to question what their responsibili­ ties are on the issue.

“There were rumours of unfathomable things, and because we couldn’t fathom them we failed to believe them, until we had no choice and it was too late,” Jackson said, quot­ ing Krauss.

Jackson stressed the importance of using the appropriate terminology in describing en­ vironmental problems.

“To assign the language of economics to the ecosystem is to have this perverse notion that we can control it,” he said.

Jackson also emphasized that scientific research conducted in the field must be done objectively. Arguments should not shape the research—rather the research should shape the arguments.

“My question to the ecosystem service

Wes Jackson, a leading environmentalist, spoke at McGill on Thursday. researchers is this: are you planting the flag of science into the unknown, into the realm of mystery?” he asked.

One peculiar aspect of Jackson’s lecture was his heavy use of literary references to build his argument and convince his audience of their moral responsibility. This led some lis­ teners to criticize the lecture for being short on scientific data.

Faiz Abhuasi, a McGill alumnus with a

degree in International Development Studies, said the argument was convincing but ques­ tioned the efficacy of Jackson’s approach.

“If you want to convince people to change their behaviour, the tools he uses are great,” Abhuasi said. “But if you want to convince people to change ... the behaviour of people in power, you can’t use irrational, non-scientific arguments.”

However, for Eby Heller, a master’s stu­

JULIA WEBSTER

dent in geography at McGill, Jackson’s cred­ ibility as a scientist was not an issue.

“Having seen his other side, in which he is extraordinarily capable of having extremely scientific arguments, makes me less worried about him,” Heller said. “Because I know he can talk any plant-geneticist around the bush six times. He actually knows what he’s talking about.”

CAM PUS

New study suggests that for some, obesity m ay be genetic Seven o f every 1,000 obese people lack 30 crucial genes MATT ESSERT C ontributor

A recent study published in Nature has revealed that a proportion of morbidly obese people are missing a certain piece of DNA. The study found that seven of every 1,000 obese people are missing a specific part of their DNA, which contains about 30 genes.

Professor Philippe Froguel and Dr. Robin Walters examined approximately 15,000 obese and non-obese people.

“We looked in nearly 12,000 non-obese people and only found [this piece of DNA] to be missing once, compared to 15 in 2,304 morbidly obese,” Walters said. “The chances of seeing that difference at random is vanish­ ingly small—one chance in 1.6 billion—which means it is near certain that there is some caus­ al relationship.”

Swiss researchers had found similar DNA patterns in obese and non-obese subjects, prompting Walters and his colleagues at Impe­ rial College London to conduct the study.

“Each of us happened to notice from rou­ tine data that a small number of people were missing one of their two copies of this specific

piece of DNA,” Walters said. “More careful investigation showed that all the adults miss­ ing this DNA were obese.”

Dr. Robert Sladek, an assistant professor of medicine at McGill and the Genome Que­ bec Innovation Centre, discussed his contribu­ tions to the study.

“We’ve got a long standing collabora­ tion with Philippe Froguel at Imperial to look for diabetes genes,” he said. “So the work for the study was 95 per cent done at Imperial by Robin Walters ... [Our] main role in this study was generating some of the first data that was used.”

“As the study was going I talked with Robin Walters,” Sladek said. “But my main role was that I was quite sceptical about the findings.”

Sladek said that this study would change the way diseases like obesity will be thought of in the scientific community.

“Up until now, w e’ve been working with an idea that common diseases like obesity and diabetes would come from common genetics variances,” he said. “What this study is report­ ing is getting back to a genetics—rather than a genomics—approach.”

The study has demonstrated that this missing piece of DNA can have a drastic ef­ fect on a person’s health, making obesity al­

most inevitable.

“For some people, particularly people that carry this genetic variant, I would say being obese is almost unavoidable,” Sladek said. “And it’s questionable to me whether they could improve their appearance by either an exercise or diet regime.”

Having established that there is causal­ ity between this missing piece of DNA and obesity, the next step will be to study the way these genes interact and hopefully develop a treatment for obese people missing this piece of DNA. “Now that we know that this deletion causes obesity, we can start looking at the genes affected by the deletion to find out which of them is related to the effect on obesity,” Wal­ ters said. “And if we can find out exactly why this deletion leads to obesity, we might be able to develop treatments to help the affected pa­ tients lose weight or avoid weight gain. At the very least, it will tell us more about why some people become obese and others do not.”

Although this has been an important step forward in this field of genetics research, Sladek pointed out that until further devel­ opment has been made towards a treatment, people battling obesity should stick to diet and exercise.

“If you’re heavy right now, I’m going to

tell you to diet and exercise,” Sladek said. “In the future, I’m going to tell you diet and exer-

“For some people, particularly people that carry this genetic variant, I would say being obese is almost unavoidable and it’s questionable to me whether they could improve their appearance by either an exercise or diet regime.”

—Dr. Robert Sladek

cise, and by the way, you have gene X broken and we know that a particular pill works bet­ ter for people who are missing this particular gene.”

Sladek added that although this statistic of seven in 1,000 may seem slim, the implica­ tions can be felt throughout Canada.

“Let’s say seven in 1,000 morbidly obese people probably carry this variant based on our study; that’s going to translate into probably a few thousand people across Canada,” he said.

“So it’s relatively uncommon, but for those few thousand individual people, it is likely having a very profound effect on weight.”

Curiosity Delivers.

16 February 2010 • 5

CAM PUS

In India, M unroe-B lum secures a new research partnership Focus on urban transportation, biofuels, and renewable energy NICK FRID C ontributor

McGill is hoping that a new agreement with TERI University in India will put the university at the forefront of climate research.

The research memorandum focusses on three different aspects of environmental research: urban transportation, biofuels, and renewable energy.

Principal Heather Munroe-Blum and Denis Thérien, McGill’s vice-principal (re­ search and international relations), secured a memorandum of agreement with New Delhibased TERI University, as well as similar agreements with three other Indian universi­ ties, while accompanying Quebec Premier Jean Charest on a trade mission to the country.

The agreement was also signed in order to increase the ease of communication be­ tween universities. TERI University is already renowned for its climate research, and this

agreement will help to enable better student and faculty exchanges.

“One of the goals we have been con­ structing is to improve student mobility, and not only students, but faculty as well, and both ways,” said Thérien. “We would like In­ dian students to come to McGill, and we want McGill students to go to TERI ... It’s a twoway relationship.”

Dr. P.P. Bhojvaid, vice-chancellor of TERI University, who co-ordinated the agree­ ment from TERI’s side, has lived in Montreal and knows the McGill community well. The universities had been in academic contact prior to the agreement and the research memo­ randum is intended to serve as a formal recog­ nition of this partnership.

“There are already relationships between colleagues at McGill and colleagues from TERI University. You have to be aware there are two things, the institute and the academy, and we are already working with both on all three legs. The agreement that we signed was to formalize something already in place,” said Thérien.

The prospect of going to study in India is certainly exciting for some students.

“I would love the experience of studying in India because it would bring a different per­ spective,” said Max Luke, U1 biodiversity and conservation. “As an environment student, too, it would be great to go there because I think McGill has made a really good choice with this school and this research collaboration.”

Professor Donald Smith of the depart­ ment of plant science is one of the researchers involved with the biofuel portion of the proj­ ect. He explained the growing importance of this type of research given current global eco­ nomic conditions.

“Global energy demand is rising steeply in both developed and developing nations and, at the same time, we are about at the point of maximum rate of extraction of crude oil, thus demand is beginning to outstrip supply,” he said.

One of the keys to Smith’s work is to lower the input and maximize output of the energy involving biofuels—achieving this is critical to future success.

“Brazil currently produces 50 per cent of its fluid fuels on only one per cent of its agri­ cultural land,” Smith said. “Through develop­ ing the resource, [Brazil] has positioned itself extremely well for a world where fossil fuels are relied on less and less.”

Right now, both schools are looking on their respective sides for funding to help the program. In terms of the research, Thérien said, “the first concrete next step is the workshop on the theme of biofuels between colleagues of McGill and colleagues of TERI which should take place in the next few weeks.”

The two schools are also quickly working to benefit the students and exchange profes­ sors.

“We are looking at how possible it is in a short time frame to exchange courses and programs; to have some professors go there and teach our models,” Thérien said. “For ex­ ample, something we discussed last week was sending our professors over there to teach a very intensive three week course.”

C IT Y

F ive-alarm fire destroys 117 -y e a r-o ld Franciscan church Local community members suspect arson SEAN WOOD C ontributor

On February 6, a five-alarm fire destroyed a 117-year-old abandoned church at 2040 René Lévesque. The blaze raged from 5 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., forcing the Montreal Fire Depart­ ment to demolish what remained of the build­ ing for safety reasons. The fire badly damaged the former convent attached to the church and an historic mansion on the same property. One hundred and fifty firefighters were deployed to the scene.

Though arson is suspected, the fire’s cause is still unknown. Members o f the nearby community claim to have seen squatters com­ ing and going from the church, which was near the Atwater metro station.

“I tell you, it was set,” said Mary Stanton, a former member of the church’s community, as she looked over the ruins. “It was such a blaze.”

The Montreal police service’s arson unit is conducting an investigation.

The church was run by the Order of Fri­ ars Minor, commonly known as “the Fran­ ciscans,” an order of Roman Catholic priests founded on the teachings of St. Francis of As­ sisi. The Franciscans abandoned the church in 2007, when the building would have required $5 million in renovations to bring it back up to code. They had been attempting to sell the $7 million property, but had been unsuccessful.

With religious practice in the province at record lows, cash-strapped parishes around the city have been forced to abandon their church­ es, some of which are important cultural arti­ facts. The Quebec government has appropriat­ ed funds for church preservation, but fires like this suggest that such initiatives are limited.

The Franciscans’ church had not received any

Firefighters demolished the remains of the church for safety reasons. municipal money for a reclamation project.

“For historical and cultural value, these buildings are enormously valuable, but to de­ cide what to do with them and to keep their architectural integrity, it becomes tricky,” said Jarrett Rudy, Montreal historian and chair of McGill’s Quebec Studies program.

This particular Franciscan church had more historic than architectural value, accord­ ing to Marc Le Goanvec, the provincial head of the Franciscans in Quebec.

“It has a value for the people of the bor­ ough, and it has a value as [a reminder] of the past, but it [was] not Notre-Dame church, not a jewel in the architectural sense,” he said.

Stanton, however, a member of the Secu­ lar Franciscan Order at the church, felt differ­ ently.

“Beautiful,” she said describing the church. “Beautiful.”

The church sat on what was once a pres­ tigious stretch of René-Lévesque Blvd., which commands a view over the Saint Lawrence River and the southern suburbs. There are sev­ eral mansions on the stretch, but many of them are now unoccupied.

“It was a hot property in the late 19th and early 20th century,” said Rudy.

The Franciscans arrived in Canada with the first missionaries in the 17th century. After being pushed out by the English and the An­ glican Church, they returned to prominence in the late 19th and early 20th century, when this church was built.

The church once had a large congregation during the mid 1900s, and held Masses both on the upper and lower floors.

“In the best years ... it was pretty busy.

The old friars said that a lot of people were coming down from St-Henri, Petite-Bour-

ALICE WALKER

gogne, all these places,” said Le Goanvec.

However, church attendance in Montreal halved during the Quiet Revolution, and the departure of English speakers from the prov­ ince hurt this church in particular.

“The Franciscans would have been hard hit, and especially that group, by the decline of the English-speaking community,” said Rudy.

The ranks of the Franciscans themselves are also declining.

“We have very few vocations [new priests], and our friars are getting old,” said Le Goanvec.

In keeping with the teachings of St. Fran­ cis, the church had always served the poor.

“The Franciscans were not with rich peo­ ple, they were mostly with poor people,” said Le Goanvec.

6 * 1 6 February 2010

l e t ’s t a l k a b o u t t h e g a

In last Thursday’s McGill Daily, Sana Saeed wrote a General Assembly follow-up column in which she boiled down the cause of passions over the Middle East conflict to iden­ tity politics, and claimed that clampdowns on campus debate amount to a second front of the conflict here at McGill. I’m really happy she wants to talk about identity politics and divi­ sions on campus. Let’s talk about it, but this time, let’s be honest. (Full disclosure: I am the president of Hillel McGill.)

Let’s talk about bringing the conflict to school. About how Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights would not have included those references to the Palestinian Territories in their Winter GA motion “The Defence of Human Rights, Social Justice, and Environmental Protection” if their true intention was to create a Corporate Social Responsibility committee.

Because if they knew so much about identity politics, they should have known the effect those clauses would have.

Let’s talk about honesty. About how the preamble of that resolution was incendiary and part fabrication: The UN Charter and Cov­ enants don’t take positions on current events, and the resolutions they listed may have de­ clared certain Israeli policies illegal but didn’t mention “illegal occupation.”

Let’s talk about the atmosphere on cam­ pus. About the student who wanted to ask a professor who had opened his classroom to SPHR canvassers how he felt about the mo­ tion, but was interrupted by three people from SPHR who intervened in the conversation to defend the motion. About how the student took off his yarmulke before approaching, because he thought his Judaism would be an obstacle to being taken seriously on this subject.

Or maybe we can talk about how many phone calls I received the day of the GA be­ cause swarms of walking billboards had made campus an unwelcome place for supporters of

Pinata Diplomacy

Ricky Kreitner

rkrcitner@mégi IItT-inuncWmi REFORMING OURSELVES What the hell was that?

My first General Assembly is, of course, today’s topic. But don’t go! I understand your weariness—the front page article, the edito­ rial, and all the guest commentary pieces from student politicians with an overestimation of their own importance, as if we the constitu­ ents waited impatiently all weekend for their straight-talk account of things. I get it, but hear me out.

There must be a better way—not as the person next to you at the GA meant it, as if switching the venue or using clickers to vote or abandoning Henry Robert and his pesky rules would be enough. There must be a bet­ ter way to debate, interact, and coexist on this

O p in io n Israel. Or how passing, unsupported allega­ tions of genocide and insinuations that every opponent of the motion was somehow linked to the deletion of a Facebook group merely stigmatize differences of opinion.

Let’s talk about bringing peoples together.

About how writing an article that completely demeans one side—supposing that all support­ ers of Israel are passive victims of cultural de­ terminism rather than people with legitimate opinions—is not the way to promote dialogue.

How, in one hypocritical breath, a writer can ask us to close the “second front” of the con­ flict and engage in non-militarized politics beyond identity, and follow up by calling for struggle against the black-and-white evil that is supposedly Israel.

And finally, let’s talk about the GA. Let’s talk about how when people upset with the Israel references tried to amend the whereas clauses—because we thought it was better to deal directly with our grievance instead of bringing the whole motion down—pro-CSR students voted against the amendment. Let’s talk about how that moment shattered any il­ lusions that the motion was about anything other than Israel. And let’s talk about how the ensuing 45 minutes of procedural wrangling and personal attacks on the speaker made us understand exactly why we didn’t want this in the GA and why we voted the way we did.

The reason we organized against this motion is also one of the reasons students like myself organize against Israeli Apartheid Week. It’s because w e’re concerned about the students on this campus. My heart breaks for people suffering all across the world, but it also shatters when I see students on this cam­ pus emotionally destroyed because they feel targeted. Let’s talk about politics, but not at a GA where the stakes are too high for anybody to be frank and genuine. Let’s talk to each other, not at each other. First, let’s try seeing each other as human beings. Let’s try making our first priorities a tolerable atmosphere on campus and achieving understanding.

The problem with debate in high-stakes situations, with propaganda that takes the conflict out of a comparative perspective, and with mean-spirited op-eds is that they achieve exactly the opposite of what they intend. All they do is reinforce fear and animosity. All they do is strengthen the very thing that Saeed is trying to move past—identity politics.

Over the past four years, I have alternated between feelings of repulsion and uncertain excitement when thinking about graduate school. After attending the department of English Symposium—an event where English professors present the papers they have been working on—I experienced these feelings side by side and learned that conflicting feelings, if they had a colour, would be the baffling tint of ashy water.

I’ve also learned that thinking about graduate school—in the humanities, no less— makes you want to insert poetic flourishes wherever possible. Maybe that’s evidence that I love studying English, and that I shouldn’t stop. Or maybe it’s evidence that I should stop now.

Like many, I pursued an undergraduate degree in the humanities because the discipline allows students to study existence broadly.

Humanities education can’t provide answers to my questions about death, god, or love, but it has equipped me with the skills needed to approach such complex, cloudy issues.

For example, my English degree has ex­ posed me to individuals who struggled with similar existential concerns. As J. D. Salinger wrote, “Many men have been just as troubled morally and spiritually as you are right now.

Happily, some of them kept records of their troubles. You’ll learn from them—if you want to. Just as some day, if you have something to offer, someone will learn something from you. It’s a beautiful reciprocal arrangement.

It’s history. It’s poetry.”

Salinger’s words suggest an ambition that I believe all of us harbour: a desire to record our troubles and share them. Academia, of course, approaches “our troubles” differently than Salinger’s m odus operandi— fiction—but it still provides an opportunity to engage in questions about the meaning of existence, with the hope that some answers may be found.

campus. Forget the Students’ Society—any re­ form must be of ourselves.

The illusion—absolute and unchal­ lenged—that w e’ve already entered the real world is absurd. We haven’t. We all came here for an education, yet the “politicized” among us swagger as if they already have it. The Israel/Palestine debate, Choose Life, all of it.

Everyone wants to be regarded as expert, fully knowledgeable, and fully developed intellec­ tually. Thus the self-promotional declarations of conservatism or radicalism, because above all else, we must avoid being called apathetic.

We best manifest this illusion whenever offended—for it never stops there. Actions!

The world must be rid of this menace! Made safe. I will save the world—with this GA reso­ lution!

When offended by something, we may say so. This is our right, largely unchallenged, ex­ cept by a few censorious McGill undergradu­ ates with critics of abortion in their crosshairs.

In fact, observing the astonishing frequency with which this right is exercised these days, journalist Michael Kinsley has called ours a “culture of umbrage.”

However, it is an entirely separate thing

to propose the official and immediate removal of that which offends. This is not a personal right. Moreover, to compel one’s community to eliminate what one finds offensive would be tyrannical, solipsistic, and itself quite of­ fensive.

Why is it so difficult to understand this as a two-step process? There is an important normative difference between condemning something and demanding its elimination, and a greater degree of justification is necessary for the latter. My tolerance for those who don’t recognize this grows weaker by the day.

Another thing: please, no more debating as if you’ve never heard the arguments of the other side. Again, the anti-pro-lifers are guilty (though one finds evidence of this infraction on both sides of the Hillel/Solidarity for Pal­ estinian Human Rights debate as well). Many pro-lifers believe abortion is brutal murder.

You’re free to disagree, as I adamantly do, but you can’t expect to persuade anyone by em­ ploying little euphemisms like “bodily sover­ eignty” outwardly inoffensive but fraught with obvious and charged meaning. You have to re­ alize that isn’t going to work, and specifically why not. By completely ignoring the counter­

HALFWAY ON HUMANITIES

mcgilltribune.com

But I have idealized the humanities too much in my description. Many suspect that the discipline has become obsolete, that the humanities have devolved into a self-involved community of intellectuals who like to pat themselves on the back—and sometimes, in rare moments, deign to pat the backs of oth­ ers.

Internationally renowned linguist Steven Pinker argues that the decline of university hu­ manities programs is linked to the “denial of human nature” that began in the early 1900s.

He describes how modem art shunned an ap­ peal to the human senses because such art was said to be “kitsch” or “gaudy” and instead de­ liberately focussed attention on the ugly and the unpleasant to shake us out of our apparent intellectual complacency.

Pinker goes on to argue that humani­ ties programs have also forgotten the human need, desire, and love of beauty. He cites liter­ ary scholar Judith Butler as an example of an academic who has ignored the importance of aesthetics in her critical writing, and instead writes sentences that disgust, repulse, and give students headaches. In 1998, the schol­ arly journal P hilosophy and Literature even awarded Butler first prize in the “Bad Writing Contest.”

The humanities have betrayed their origi­ nal purpose. The discipline is supposed to reach out to us so that we can begin to under­ stand who we are, where we have come from, and where we are going. No other discipline focusses solely on reflection and evaluation of our lives and of the beauty around us. For such a discipline to become inaccessible, and to alienate most of the population, appears counterintuitive to its purpose—and tragic for those of us who can no longer benefit from it.

In truth, though, it would be inaccurate to declare all humanities education a failure.

Clearly, I am still thankful for the opportunity it gave me to think about the world. And I was surprised when, in the Symposium, I realized that I understood and was interested in the pa­ pers that the professors presented. Here was an intellectual world I could engage in.

But still I am not sure about the humani­ ties. And I don’t think I am the only one who worries that graduate school will turn out to be as soulless and detached from reality as I suspect it might be.

arguments, you reveal yourself as having oper­ ated all along in bad faith, purposely and con­ tentedly divisive.

Those pushing the “discriminatory groups” resolution wanted to be seen as pro­ gressive insurgents, Alinsky’s latter-day saints, pushing the envelope, challenging the system, audaciously hoping, preserving 1968. History will vindicate! But it wasn’t like that at all. It was contemptible, totalitarian, and. not least, a complete waste of time. You fooled nobody, and appeared quite ugly in the process—per­ fectly transparent under those awful Shatner lights.

McGill isn’t the real world. But eventual­ ly w e’ll apply in that world the lessons learned here. This realization should temper all cam­ pus activities—especially the controversial— with an appropriate dash of humility.

There’s nothing automatic about civiliza­ tion, nothing permanent or self-sustaining. It requires actual work. You can’t just smash ev­ erything to bits and force the world to conform to your own arbitrary fancies. The realization that some students think this is the real world, and behave the way they do, sobers one quick­ ly to the dangers facing us all.

Curiosity Delivers.

16 February 2010 • 7

^Mc G ill M t r ib u n e ww\v.mcf{iUtribiine.coin E D IT O R -IN -C H IE F Thom as Quail editor@ m cgilltribune.com M A N A G IN G E D IT O R S Jam es G ilm an jgilm an@ m cgilltribune.com Carolyn Yates cyates@ m cgilltribune.com P R O D U C T IO N M A N A G E R A dam Scotti ascotti @ m cgilltribune.com N E W S E D IT O R S Tori Craw ford Steven H offer T heo M eyer new s@ m cgilltribune.com O P IN IO N E D IT O R M att Chesser opinion@ m cgilltribune.com F E A T U R E S E D IT O R S Shannon K im ball B rahna Siegelberg features@ m cgilltribune.com

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Ed

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Buying Haven Books was a costly, irresponsible mistake Haven Books was doomed from the start.

In March 2007, the Students’ Society paid approximately $40,000 for a consignment bookstore in a poor location, with an unmemorable name and a bad business model. They did so despite a Memorandum of Agreement with McGill that prevented SSMU from advertising the bookstore on campus, and a report from their auditing firm that showed Haven had lost about $95,000 in the previous year.

It was an illogical and irresponsible de­ cision to buy Haven. It is notoriously hard to profit off of student-run businesses (see: Gert’s, Sadie’s Tabagie, etc.), so the issue be­ comes one of “acceptable” losses. For the ser­ vices Haven provided, the losses were far too great. While a student-run consignment book-

store may have been a good idea in theory. Ha­ ven’s spectacular failure should temper any of SSMU’s future business ventures.

This has not been a cheap experiment.

Haven Books will have cost McGill under­ graduate students over $250,000 by the time the store closes in April. For that money, a small percentage of the student body has had a portion of their book costs covered—an un­ equal and uneconomical way to distribute ben­ efits.

Closing Haven was clearly the right deci­ sio n -o n e the Tribune applauds SSMU Coun­ cil and the Operations Committee for making.

SSMU should be able to offer a service similar to Haven during add/drop period at a consign­ ment book swap in the Shatner building, or

students can sell textbooks over McGill Clas­ sifieds, Craigslist, or other online services.

Overhead costs killed this venture—which is ironic, since there was no need for to pay for year-round store space in the first place.

Finally, we hope that SSMU councillors are paying attention. The acquisition of Haven was passed through an apathetic Council at the end of 2007, and was the subject of very little debate in the proceeding years—when Haven was losing hundreds of thousands of dollars. Council should have done its job and protected students from this bad business deci­ sion. We’re glad they finally pulled the plug on Haven, but w e’re disheartened that they didn’t do so sooner.

outcome of the motion “Defence of Human Rights, Social Justice and Environmental Pro­ tection.” (Full disclosure: I am the vice-presi­ dent information and research for the McGill chapter of Soliarity for Palestinian Human Rights, the organization that authored this mo­ tion.) For those who are not aware, this motion called for the creation of a Corporate Social Responsibility committee in order to inves­ tigate McGill’s links to unethical corporate practices. As an example, the preamble cited the illegal occupation of the Palestinian Ter­ ritories as a region where profit from human rights abuses would be deemed unethical.

Due to the fact that the motion merely mentions the human rights of Palestinians, it triggered an outcry amongst some of McGill’s Jewish community and prompted Hillel McGill to embark on a campaign fueled by radical ethnic nationalism. Under the guise of protecting Israel, masking the illegality of the occupation, they managed to rally enough students to vote to strike the paragraphs that made reference to the occupied Palestinian territories from the motion.

It is not unusual that criticism of Israel will hit a nerve amongst some proponents of Israel, but that does not make it morally ac­ ceptable. As an Arab-Canadian, I feel com­ pelled to explore the wrongdoings of Middle Eastern countries, not defend them blindly. I am fervently opposed to the plethora of human rights violations across the Middle East— from women’s rights in Saudi Arabia to the inhumane treatment of migrant workers in the oil-rich Gulf. I am even more critical of

the Canadian mining industry’s involvement in human rights abuses in places such as the Porgera gold mines in Papua New Guinea.

Violations such as these, and those occurring in the occupied Palestinian territories, should invite constructive criticism, not defensive complicity and dismissiveness.

Nonetheless, I am satisfied with the even­ tual creation of the CSR committee. But the manner in which the motion was passed, the nationalist radicalism displayed on a univer­ sity campus, and the eventual silencing of any mention of Palestine is disappointing. Actu­ ally, it’s deplorable.

It’s clear there is radical antipathy to the word “Palestine.” However, instead of remaining silent on this horrid issue that in­ explicably causes discomfort and sensitivity, perhaps a medication of some logic and reason is needed. We are university students after all.

We only diminish our role as young citizens by inciting ethnic divide whenever this issue arises, further contributing to the dehumaniza­ tion of Palestinians.

In closing, I would like to congratulate Hillel on a successful campaign against “de­ monizing Israel.” Well done. Hopefully we will not fall into the same category as our pa­ rochial predecessors. Also, rejoice—the men­ tion of the occupied Palestinian territories will no longer offend your eyes and ears in regards to that motion. Unfortunately, though, it is still a stark reality that persists.

A R T S & E N T E R T A IN M E N T E D IT O R S K yle Carpenter Laura Tindal arts@ m cgilltribune.com S P O R T S E D IT O R K ailan Leung sports@ m cgilltribune.com P H O T O E D IT O R S Alice W alker Julia W ebster photo@ m cgilltribune.com D E S IG N E D IT O R S A lison Bailey Zoe B rew ster design @ m cgilltribune.com C O P Y E D IT O R C arolyn G régoire O N L IN E E D IT O R A lexandr Cartasiov online@ m cgilltribune.com A D V E R T IS IN G M A N A G E R D allas Bentley cpm @ ssm u.m cgill.ca P U B L IS H E R C had Ronalds

CONTRIBUTORS E v e ly n e B ed a rd , Jam a l D ao u d , M a tt E ssert, F ran cesca F eren cz i, N ic k F rid , A lex H am ilto n , K ay an H u i, M ah ak Jain , S am J e ssu la , J o h n K elsey, M o o k ie K id ec k el, R ick y K reitn er, A d am L a id la w , B o b L o b law , B rittan y R ap p a p o rt, M ax S aw ick i, S h aw n S te n h o u se , H o lly S tew art. B ia n ca V an B av e l, S ean W ood

T R IB U N E O F F I C E S

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Commentary Jamal Daoud

the

“p

w ord

”

Has history not taught us anything?

Aren’t we the ones who hold our predecessors accountable for the human rights atrocities that occurred due to their complicity in events such as European anti-Semitism, the centuries of slave trading, and most recently, the Rwan­ dan and Darfur massacres? How contrite do we feel that past generations stood idly by and permitted Apartheid in South Africa?

Better yet, why do we still slip into a vacuum of radical nationalism that blinds ob­ jective thinking? It’s as though we have yet to learn that this road will only lead to self-de­ struction—but somehow we keep submitting to this primitive train of thought.

I sometimes wonder if the brightest minds—those who eventually go on to be­ come influential societal figures—represent the majority of the university student body. I still subscribe to the idea that academics are the ones who most uphold the ethical and moral values that the world is sometimes de­ void of. However, what occurred during last Wednesday’s Students’ Society Winter Gen­ eral Assembly suggests otherwise.

I would like to address, of course, the

Jam al D aoud is a P hD candidate in bio­ m edical engineering and the VP information and research f o r the M cG ill chapter o fS P H R .

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8 * 1 6 February 2010

The weekly letter about Brendan’s column.

Re: “R ight M inded: An offensive m otion ”

by Brendan Steven (09.02.10)

Columnist Brendan Steven makes an argument that the upcoming (as of this let­ ter) General Assembly motion on discrimina­ tory groups constitutes a vote on freedom of speech. However, his analysis is significantly misguided. Historically, as well as in the Ca­ nadian context, constitutional freedom of ex­ pression ensures protection from government censorship. It does not, however, necessarily apply to private situations. Telling a friend to shut up, for example, is not a violation of their freedom of speech. In another classic ex­ ample we see that individuals are not free to yell “fire” in a crowded room, lest they desire being arrested for inciting a riot.

Obviously this distinction becomes cloudy when dealing with private-public en­ terprises, such as Canadian universities. How­ ever, it is the Students’ Society, and not the university itself who would be called upon to censor, should the motion pass, certain groups and their ability to express themselves through the machinery and institutions of SSMU. Be­ cause of this, this motion does not constitute a violation of freedom of speech, but rather a decision internal to a private organization (SSMU) in regards to whether it will allow its money to be used by groups who express themselves in a way displeasing to some.

Now, Mr. Steven may be right in calling this a silly and disheartening objective. Per­ sonally, I think the motion is wrong, and am planning on voting against it. This is because I believe there is normative value in allow­ ing groups with relatively extremist views to express themselves as they see fit within the framework of our Students’ Society. However, this has nothing to do with constitutional rights to freedom of expression, and Mr. Steven is wrong in considering it so.

—James Hirsch U2 Political Science & N. American Studies

What a Winer.

Re: “Why Gaza Rem em brance Week m isses the p o in t” by Adam W iner (09.02.10)

Mr. Winer seems to have entirely missed the point in believing that SPHR should be

Commentary Matt Essert

EYE-FUCKING HATE AVATAR I am worried about the future. There are many things that make me think that the future will not be as exciting as B ack to the Future 2 and The Jetsons , such as global warming, in­ ternational strife, the possible collapse of capi­ talism, and other similarly serious problems.

But more importantly, I am worried about the future of movies.

I have always loved movies. My family had a large collection of VHS tapes—now DVDs—and is slowly building a collection of Blu-ray discs. (We also actually have one or two HD DVDs and an HD DVD player be­

neutral in its display and presentation of speak­ ers for the Gaza Remembrance event. When an entire population becomes the target of Is­ raeli amunition and unjustified sanctions, then logically people have to stand up in defence of human rights and to lobby governments and intellectuals to stop the suffering of the Pal­ estinian people. SPHR’s event is one drop in that ocean of lobbying to stop human rights violations in Gaza. I would also encourage Mr. Winer to read the news column that was elegantly presented by the McGill Daily on Gaza’s Crippling Health Care (08.02.10). We need hundreds of Gaza Remembrance events and many more doctors of the likes of Mads Gilbert to paint a tme picture of the suffering of the Gazan people and influence the political decision in our local vicinity and at the federal level.

—Ayman Oweida PhD II Experimental Medicine

A STEREOTYPICALLY CANADIAN CEREMONY

The Tribune had more letters than it could p rin t this week. Visit w w w.m cgilltribune.com to read the rest o f the letters to the editor.

Stereotypes can sometimes be funny.

Although insensitive and often in bad taste, where would “guy-walked-into-a-bar” jokes be without them?

Despite their comedic value, the Olym­ pic Games are not an appropriate forum for stereotypes, and it would be far beyond good taste to greet the Italian teams with pizzas and Mario Kart. So why then did Canada portray itself as a caricature of what ignorant people outside of the country believe it to be in Fri­ day’s Opening Ceremony?

I was embarrassed watching the Opening Ceremony in Vancouver this year, long before the last arm of the Olympic Cauldron didn’t properly rise from the floor of BC Place Sta­ dium. All I saw was a $40-million show that reinforced the viewpoints of the Americans Rick Mercer used to interview who thought Torontonians lived in igloos.

But let’s start with the good stuff. The vi­ sual effects on that stage, transforming totem poles to redwoods, and creating orca whales in the middle of the stadium floor, were amaz­ ing. The musical talent Canada demonstrated reminded the world that we control half of show business, and the great Canadians who were celebrated (Rick Hansen and Betty Fox, for example) made me proud. In theory I liked the idea of showing Canada’s origins starting with the First Nations and eventually looking at groups from coast to coast. But in reality, that last part of the story was left out, as the ceremony whitewashed over the multiculturalism that we claim to be so proud of.

Other than the countries’ teams stream­ ing in, the show ignored Canada’s multiethnic background and gave a skewed picture of what Canada is like. Add in the stadium as an ice cave, and the giant, ridiculous snow bear, and there are now people in the Czech Republic who have a skewed picture of what it means to be a Canadian.

Hosting the Olympics is supposed to be a chance to show off Canada to the world, but so far this seems like false advertising. Aborigi­ nals, fiddlers, and Cirque-du-Soleil apparently

cause my Dad bet on the wrong horse.) One might think that my love of movies would lead me to be excited about A vatar's evolutionary 3D technology. Well, yes, I think 3D is neat, but it’s hardly enough to fill the emptiness left by a horrible movie like Avatar.

I thought Avatar was terrible, and I’m shocked that others don’t feel the same way. I think that everyone was caught up in the fancy technology and the use of 3D and forgot about the actual movie.

A vatar's story was a derivative of an old, classic tale. The characters were poorly devel­ oped and not engaging. The conflict was unin­ teresting and I felt nothing for the characters’ plight. The political undertones were so obvi­ ous that I felt like Michael Moore was yelling at me.

However, almost everyone seems to dis­ agree with my take on the movie. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times called the Avatar “extraordinary” and gave it four stars out of four saying, “Watching Avatar, I felt sort of

the same as when I saw Star Wars in 1977.”

A.O. Scott of the New York Times also said watching Avatar was like the first time he saw Star Wars. While I agree that Avatar was, to a certain extent, mesmerizing, and that James Cameron created something visually impres­ siv e -k ee p in mind it d id cost him $237 mil­ lion.

In my opinion, Avatar is no Star Wars. Yet last month Avatar won the Golden Globe for best motion picture (drama), while in ' l l Star Wars did not win any best film awards. It won seven Academy Awards, but for things like sound, costume design, and visual effects— not for best picture. (The Oscar that year for best picture went to A nnie H all). And yet I would argue that Star Wars was light-years better than Avatar.

Star Wars was a good movie, but only won awards for its technical merit. If Avatar wins the Oscar for best picture the Academy is just saying that all that really matters in a movie is using cool effects, bright colors,

Be careful, name calling can hurt.

I think the Financial Ethics Review Com­ mittee cares a lot about human rights, social justice, and environmental protection. I also think that the Israeli army and the Israeli gov­ ernment sometimes do things that are mor­ ally questionable, if not repugnant. However, I think that Wednesday’s motion is not primar­ ily a function of anybody’s commitment to human rights, social justice, and environmen­ tal protection, but of condemning the State of Israel. I think the question of the morality of Israel’s actions is an important one which has its place in school newspapers, political dis­ cussion groups, and maybe even in politicallyaffiliated social action groups. It just upsets me when the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is cloaked in the guise of a fervent commitment to human rights, social justice, and environmental pro­ tection. It is inarguably very clever to sneak the Middle East conflict into a motion about wonderful causes. It frames all students who are uncomfortable with the occupied territo­ ries clause as callous human beings with no morals. However, it is also an ignoble sham. I think it’s pretty dam bad to exploit such noble pursuits as human rights, social justice, and environmental protection and use them as po­ litical pork to smuggle a contentious issue into Shatner. Hell, I might even risk name calling to vote against that.

—Yael Greenberg U1 Arts

rule the icy north, along with our only con­ nection to the modem world —Bryan Adams.

Even worse was the Hudson’s Bay ad that came on during the show, in which lumber­ jacks and dogsledders stood in for Canadians, showing that—as tough outdoorsy types— “We were made for this.”

If I were David Atkins, I would not have stressed our First Nations background as much as he did, considering we took their land il­ legally and now have a social system that largely ignores the struggles of Native com­ munities. Instead, I would have focussed on the Canada we have today—one where nearly 20 per cent of the population are foreign-bom, almost as many are a visible minority, and few families have been on the continent for sev­ eral generations. Canadians have origins in all comers of the world, and what makes us such a great country is our belief that a cultural mo­ saic is better than a melting pot. We’re not just Aboriginals and Cape Bretonners, and w e’ve got more than snow, ice, and Nelly Furtado.

Sure, my Opening Ceremonies would include the forests and the whales, and of course First Nations would be involved—especially since the Aboriginal population is growing faster than the rest of Canada. But there would be a broader range of cultures and performances, from all over the world, to represent all Ca­ nadians.

The Olympics are intended to bring coun­ tries around the world together. Of course, some sources of Canadian pride, such as gay marriage, our peacekeepers, and universal health care probably wouldn’t sit well as part of the ceremonies, but watering us down to nothing but the landscape and its original in­ habitants does not seem fitting.

Atkins and his creative team did worse than make Canada a laughing stock through technical difficulties and phallic, rising totem poles—they reduced us to a stereotype. If this is how we’re going to portray ourselves, we might as well have a Mountie hand each country-delegate a beavertail as they come in—as long as the Germans are forced to wear lederhosen and the Dutch enter wearing their clogs.

and 3D. If Avatar hadn’t been so visually or­ gasmic, I don’t think it would have received nearly as much critical praise as it has. But, as more audiences and critics are drawn to this visual spectacle, I fear that we will lose the art of movie-making and we will eventually be left watching movies like Avatar and the 2008 Wachowski Brothers eye-fuck that is Speed Racer. However, I’m worried that it’s only a matter of time until insane flashes of colour and visual stimuli eclipse the importance of story-telling and w e’re eventually just paying $12 to watch a giant screen with flashing lights and 3D explosions, which isn’t even close to the world I was promised in B ack to the Future 2 and The Jetsons.

It’s possible that I’m just like those peo­ ple from the 1930s who thought sound would ruin the movies. If that’s the case then you can say: “I told you so.” Until then, I’m going to stay worried.

M att E ssert is a U2 philosophy and political science student.

Curiosity Delivers.

Student

living

16 February 2010 • 9

M IN D F U N K

M IXMASTER

Tips from a personal trainer

Hot toddies for cold nights

Staying in shape doesn ’t need to happen in a gym

This Scottish drink will inebriate and warm your bones

BRITTANY RAPPAPORT Contributor

Staying in shape and keeping up a regular fitness regimen in winter can be a challenge.

But rather than staying in bed or camping out in the library, grab winter by the horns—or rath­ er, the icicles—and embrace it. Many people opt to stay in, make a nice cup of hot chocolate and a snack, and let the nostalgic TV reruns roll. However, on average, people gain about five pounds during the holidays alone. Those who don’t fulfill gym-going New Year’s reso­ lutions will continue to gain even more weight throughout the winter season. This year, con­ sider doing something different.

“Winter is that time of year where most of us are going to wear many layers and some­ times forget what w e’re hiding underneath it all,” says Adam Bronk, a personal trainer at Monster Gym. “By spending more time in­ side, we are given that much more time to eat in larger amounts, and usually fattening sug­ ary foods.” Bronk explains that this—along with a lack of interest in exercise in dreary weather conditions—could lead to “winter fit­ ness blues.”

Here are a couple of tips you should keep in mind to ensure continuous motivation: Get active with a friend or a group. It’s okay to make exercise a social activity if it’s going to get you moving.

Set small goals—once you’ve reached them, make sure to reward yourself appropri­ ately. "This will help you attain your goals and allow yourself to have fun with it too,” says Bronk.

Stay organized and allot a specific amount of time for exercise. Also, don’t make excuses.

Bronk suggests creating a proper schedule that regularly incorporates 30 minutes of exercise into your daily routine, four times a week.

Exercise doesn’t need to happen in a gym. Explore the opportunities for activity in the outdoors through activities or sports you enjoy. If staying home is more your scene, use this to your advantage: your stairs and a couple of dumbbells could be your new best friends.

If you find yourself loving your kitchen more than the outdoors, switching up foods and snacks in your cupboard can help. Fruits and vegetables are more expensive in the win­ ter, so try looking for what’s in season. “There are also many good snacking alternatives, like whole grains and a variety of nuts [like Brazil nuts and walnuts]. Mix up your meals by eat­ ing sweet potatoes instead of regular potatoes and include leaner meats like chicken breast or tilapia.” Bronk also says that keeping busy will prevent snacking on foods that you may regret later on.

Think you’re ready to take on a winter wonderland? Luckily, Montreal has plenty of activities and events to keep you going with your fitness endeavours. If you’re not an avid skier, skater, or snow-shoer, there are tons of beginner lessons available for you to try.

There’s also new upbeat classes available at gyms throughout the city like intense spin­ ning, Zumba, and boxing classes.

Although w e’re in a city with cold tem­ peratures on most days, take a breath of fresh air and realize that it’s much easier to grin and bear it this winter and try something new. You may actually, find yourself loving the chal­ lenge.

KYLE CARPENTER A&E Editor

Despite sounding like the stage name o f a male stripper, the hot toddy is a classic hot bev­ erage that’s perfect for cold weather. Whether you’re in the damp climate of Scotland (the toddy’s oft-cited birthplace) or enduring a - 30 degree day in Montreal, the hot toddy is the perfect way to prepare yourself for the chilly walk to the bar. Bourbon and tea has been used as a cure for a sore throat or a cold in the past, but doctors have recently noted that the alco­ hol causes dehydration, which is particularly dangerous if you’re sick. Let’s not forget that applying leeches used to be thought of as a cure for illnesse, too.

Alcohol served hot is a whole new ani­ mal. The combination of the fumes and the slight bum in your throat can make for a truly intoxicating experience. While several varia­ tions of the hot toddy recommend the use of cloves, cinnamon sticks, nutmeg, maple syrup and so on, in my experience hot toddies are best kept simple. However, it is important to use bourbon, not whiskey, scotch, or mm (I would particularly advise against that last one)—and no, Jack Daniels does not count

as bourbon. Jim Beam bourbon is available amongst the notoriously limited selection at some SAQs—though it only comes in 40 oz. bottles—so either go big or return to your place of residence. But if you want the best toddy possible, it’s worth the extra money and effort to get the real thing.

Ingredients • • • •

2 oz. bourbon 1 tea bag (I recommend black tea: orange pekoe, English breakfast, or otherwise) 1 tbsp. honey 1 lemon

Directions 1. Boil water and allow tea to steep sepa­ rately for three to four minutes.

2. Cut lemon into wedges (use one-eighth of the lemon if you want to get technical) 3. Add honey to your mug first.

4. Pour in two oz. of bourbon.

5. Pour tea into mug and stir thoroughly to to dissolve the honey 6. Squeeze lemon into the mug and toss it in.

7. Take a sip and swear you hear bagpipes playing in the distance.

FOOD GURU

A rustic blood orange tart, made simple Ditch the winter blues with this sunny, citrusy tart FRANCESCA FERENCZI

• • • •

Contributor

Blood oranges are bright, aromatic, and have a rich citrus flavour. This rustic tart ex­ ploits their beautiful colors and sweet juices so that by the time it’s out of the oven your house will smell and feel like summer. Although the recipe is a slightly laborious process, think of it as an excuse to stay inside. The result is a flaky, buttery crust that enrobes slices and segments of sweet blood oranges whose juices have bubbled just enough to be syrupy, but not so much that the fruit loses its integrity.

In between midterms, essays, and the cold we all deserve a good break. And nothing is more satisfying than sitting down to a wedge of sunny, homemade tart.

Ingredients •

1 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

• • •

1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp. granulated sugar 1/4 tsp. baking powder 1/4 tsp. salt 1 stick plus 1 tbsp. unsalted butter, the stick cut into 1/2-inch pieces and chilled 3 tbsp. ice water 7 to 10 blood oranges (about 5 oz. each) 1 large egg yolk mixed with 2 tbsp. water

4.

For the oranges

Directions

1.

For the dough

2.

1. In a food processor, pulse one cup of flour with two tablespoons of the sugar, baking powder, and salt.

2. Add the stick of cold butter and pulse sev­ eral times, just until it is the size of peas.

Sprinkle the dough with the ice water and pulse until the butter-moistened crumbs form.

3. Turn the crumbs out onto a work surface, knead once or twice and pat the pastry into a disk. Wrap the pastry in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.

On a floured work surface, roll out the pastry to an 11-inch round, about 1/4 inch thick. Transfer the pastry to a parchment paper-lined flat cookie sheet and refrigerate for 15 minutes Note: if you do not have a food processor, store-bought crust or pastry will do.

3.

4.

Peel the blood oranges, removing all of the bitter white pith.

Thinly slice two oranges crosswise, re­ move the pits, and transfer the slices to a plate.

Working over a sieve set over a bowl, cut in between the membranes of the remain­ ing oranges, releasing the sections into the sieve. Remove the pits and gently shake out as much juice as possible with­ out mashing the sections; you will need one cup of sections.

Arrange the orange sections on the pas­ try, leaving a two-inch border all around.

Sprinkle the remaining two tablespoons of the sugar over the oranges. Using a

paring knife, thinly slice the remaining tablespoon of butter over the oranges.

5. Fold up the pastry over the oranges, leav­ ing most of the oranges uncovered.

6. Brush the pastry with the egg wash and sprinkle one tablespoon of the sugar over the top.

7. Arrange the orange slices on top of the sections, leaving a one-inch border of pastry all around. Sprinkle the remaining tablespoon of sugar over the slices.

8. Freeze the tart until solid, for at least four hours, but preferably overnight.

9. Heat the oven to 375°F and position a rack in the center. Place a baking sheet on the rack below to catch any drips. Bake the tart directly from the freezer for 75 minutes, until the fruit is bubbling and the pastry is deeply browned.

10. Transfer the cookie sheet to a rack and let the tart cool for 30 minutes. Carefully slide the parchment paper onto the rack and let the tart cool completely.

F or m ore recipes, visit ww w.frenchietbd.com

mcgilltribune.com

10 • 16 February 2010

The live concert-taping subculture By: Steven Hoffer

“W hen you th in k about going to a concert, you know, you go and you stand or sit and listen to the show, clap, and go hom e.

You d o n ’t think about a w hole group o f people w ho are in the background w ith m icrophones in their hands.”

— M ark C raw ford, taper

No more than two dozen patrons have filed into the upstairs concert hall of Mon­ treal’s La Sala Rosa for an evening of live jazz. Among the dedicated few sits Mark Crawford, a beer in his right hand and a focussed yet un­ assuming countenance on his face. Positioned front and centre, Mark is preparing a medium-sized microphone stand that is wired through a pre-amplifier, digital to analog converter, and power supply into his digital record­ er. Mark will leave the show with a personal recording of the performance.

Mark is a member of the small-yet-vigilant Montreal “taper” scene. He has been trading live concert record­ ings since the late eighties and has recorded performanc­ es at Metropolis, Le National, and Le Divan Orange, among other venues in Montreal and across North America. He claims that the Salle Wilfred-

Pelletier theatre at Place des Arts has the best acoustics in the city.

“I have a need to hear bands evolve, a need to hear the bands I like explore,” Crawford says.

A taper profile The tapers comprise a subculture of music fandom.

A mix of obsessive-com­ pulsive music documenters, former party animals, tape collectors, and hobbyists, it’s difficult to pin down the taper subculture to a single person­ ality type. The lowest com­ mon denominator is simply a true love for music.

Most tapers arrive at the show early enough to be the first admitted, gear in hand and mind focussed on con­ structing their rig. While the band is finishing its sound check, the tapers are busy searching for the room’s “sweet spot,” assembling and

stabilizing their microphone stands, clamping and con­ necting cables, and making sure their recorders are fully charged for show time.

A taper might invest over $10,000 in equipment.

A set of high-end Schoeps or Neumann brand microphones cost about $5,000 alone. Fac­ tor in preamplifiers running as much as $6,000, digital re­ corders for up to $2,000, dig­ ital to analogue converters, power supplies, cases, cables, and clamps, and most tapers have gear valued around the price of a well-running used car. Some, like Californiabased taper Ian Stone, have gone as far as running their own private server.

“I was going to Roches­ ter Institute of Technology in New York and I had just got­ ten a new computer. I had a T1 Internet connection in my dorm room, so I took advan­ tage of it,” says Stone.

The tape collections

range into the thousands, often consisting of several hundred recordings docu­ menting a taper’s favorite acts. Crawford estimates that he owns between 600 and 800 recordings of the recently re­ united improvisational rock band Phish alone.

“There are some people that don’t care if they tape the show, because they are happy playing their CD 50 times in a row and waiting until next year to hopefully see the band again,” says Crawford.

The word “dedication” as a description is an under­ statement. New York-based taper Ray Ackerman recalls a stealth taping experience that required some smooth talking and a disguise. The show was a 1985 Neil Young concert at the Rochester War Memorial, a minor league hockey arena in upstate New York.

“I basically dressed up like I worked for a television station to get my equipment

Curiosity Delivers.

in,” says Ackerman, who has taped every concert that he has attended since 1983. “I quick-talked the person at the door and they let me come in with this giant hard shell case with all of my recording equipment in it, and then I set up my stuff from my seat to record the concert.”

A document of everyday life Speak with any taper who has been at it for more than 20 years and odds are they will tell you that it all goes back to one band—The Grateful Dead. Although the Dead allowed its nomadic fan base to record as early as the mid-sixties, on October 27, 1984, the band officially created a special area of the audience known as “the ta­ pers’ section.” Generally po­ sitioned adjacent to or behind the soundboard, from this point on tapers could freely transport and set up their rigs without hassle from venue security. As a result, taping emerged from the shadows and into the public eye. “[The Deadheads] were really the hardcore music fans,” says Ackerman. “The Grateful Dead were really one of the only bands back then that were constantly im­ provising so that every show was different.”

These recordings pro­ vided free publicity for the band, as well as a method for fans to document the show.

It was a way not only to col­ lect, compare, and share the music, but also to revisit the concert experience from the night before.

So it should come as no surprise that a taper will opt for an audience tape over a doctored soundboard record­ ing without question.

“There is something about a good audience tape that makes the perspective a lot better. You get a less sterile, more venue-oriented sound,” says Crawford. “You can get it in your mind exact­ ly where the mics are in the room. You actually know how the sound is bouncing off the seats; you get the whole feel­ ing of how the sound was in the venue—more of the way that it is supposed to be por­ trayed. The whole recording idea is to capture the show exactly as your human ear would capture it—it’s getting exactly what the band is try­ ing to throw out into the par­ ticular room.”

The tapes provide more than just the music. The lis­ tener can gauge the audience’s energy and other sounds that are normally undetected by a soundboard recording.

“It’s cool getting the am­ biance in the room—hearing the tinkle of the bar glasses or hearing people slam the door, or playing pool in the back­ ground. You get more of a feeling or picture of what the night was other than just the sound,” says Crawford.

A community culture While the technical jargon can be daunting, the taper section is a tightly knit community within music fan­ dom that looks out for one another and is generally will­ ing to lend a helping hand to the “newbies.”

Before making a major investment, most tapers learn the hobby by purchasing only the recorder and “patching in”—a practice where one taper, most likely the most experienced and invested, al­ lows other tapers to patch in to their microphone rig. This creates a chain of recorders

all stemming from the single microphone configuration.

Tapers must beware, how­ ever, because if one battery in the chain dies, all of those following it also lose their connection.

“For the most part, ev­ eryone knows each other ... we are all in it together—we are all going to protect the gear together and keep the drunks away,” says Stone, who by his own modest estimation has taped ap­ proximately 2,500 sets of live music. “It’s a bonding thing—you can talk about the gear that you have and say ‘Oh hey, I think I saw you at this show or that show.’ It’s kind of a hidden connection that we all share.”

Even with the commu­ nity-oriented attitude, taping still benefits from healthy ri­ valries.

“It’s more or less friend­ ly competition, but we are all trying to make the best recording,” says Crawford.

“Sometimes we tease each other like ‘Oh man, your re­ cording was a little left chan­ nel heavy, what the fuck are you doing?’ But that comes with the territory. Most of the time it’s all for fun.”

A hazardous hobby Safety is always a con­ cern in the taper’s section.

With several thousand dollars worth of equipment set up in the middle of 20,000 dancing fans, the tapers watch protec­ tively over their gear.

On the jamband scene, this means looking out for the Wookies—a Star Wars reference affectionately re­ served for dreadlock-sporting neo-hippies with a striking resemblance to Chewbacca.

An umbrella will stop the rain, but sometimes nothing

can stop a Wookie.

“Wooks are always the ones that want to do the most damage and they will be the most ambivalent to what you are doing,” Crawford says.

“They are so spun out that they won’t realize what the hell is going on.”

Most tapers have their share of horror stories. They offer tales of 10-foot micro­ phone stands and several thousand-dollar pieces of equipment that come crash­ ing down from above into a puddle o f mud, spilling entire recording decks across the ground.

So a good taper can’t go far without a flashlight. Ta­ pers shine a light on the gear to let passersby know they are there in order to avoid ca­ tastrophe.

The golden rule The tapers know that re­ cording the shows is a privi­ lege. Therefore, there is one sacred rule that trumps all others in the taping world: ta­ pers do not profit monetarily from any of their personal re­ cordings. Respect the band’s wishes and the band will help accommodate you.

“I think that most of the bands that allow taping do so with the implication that peo­ ple are not going to sell it or profit off it in any way,” says Stone. “And that’s an impor­ tant thing to think about— tapers out there do this for non-monetary gain. They do it because they like it. They share it with others because they are generous and they like the bands enough that they want to help promote them.”

As a result, tapes are traded or offered to others simply as a gift. Today many

Continued on page 12

“You g et the w hole feelin g o f how the sound was in the ve n u e — m ore o f the w ay th a t it is supposed to be p o rtrayed . The w hole recording idea is to capture the show exactly as you r hum an ear w o u ld captu re it— it’s g ettin g exactly w h a t the band is tryin g to th ro w out into the p articu lar ro o m .”

— C raw fo rd

mcgilltribune.com

12 • 16 February 2010

“Tap ers ou t th ere do this fo r n o n -m o n e ta ry gain. T h ey do it because th ey like it.”

— Stone LEADERSHIP TRAINING PROGRAM Leadership S k ills Development W orkshops

L e a d e r s h ip

McGill

Leadership Training Program First-Year Office

If you are a student involved in campus activities as an executive, o rg anizer or event planner, you qualify for the Leadership Training Program’s FREE Skills Development Workshops.

D e v e l o p an d build your leadership skills. Attend a minimum of five workshops throughout 09/1 0 academic year and receive a certificate of completion.

Take the time to invest in yourself and register for...

Rx for Team s & Team Leaders Wednesday, February 17, 5:30-7:30 pm (Macdonald Campus) Wednesday, March 3, 5:30-7:30pm (Downtown Campus) Having difficulty within your team? This workshop will help you better understand and diagnose team dynamic challenges, and provide useful tools and language on resolving team-based conflicts.

Use Your Leadership Skills to Spice up Your C V Monday, March 8, 4:00-6:00 pm (Macdonald Campus) Thursday, March 11, 5:30-7:30pm (Downtown Campus) Does your CV need a bit of a boost? Being a leader is a great way of showing your future employer your capabilities. This workshop will help you highlight your leadership skills and experience, to make your CV more marketable.

Registration available via Minerva!

To access the site, go to our website at:

www.m cgill.ca/firstyear/ leadertraining / For more info, drop by the First-Year Office in the Brown Building, Suite 2100, or call 514-398-6913 P.S. If sp a ce allows, these workshops a re open to all students who a re interested in leadership!

tapers will put their record­ ings up for download on websites such as archive.org or etreee.org, but there was a time when tapers would connect exclusively through the mail, arranging trades at concerts or by responding to want advertisements in the back of fan magazines.

Crawford remembers when his wife arrived at work one morning to find several Grateful Dead tapes in her desk, a kind gesture from her boss after he noticed the Grateful Dead tattoo on her leg. “A couple shows from Santa Barbara in ‘78—a re­ ally smokin’ soundboard version on cassette,” recalls Crawford.

Eric Kushmeder, a taper from Western Pennsylva­ nia who records mostly bar bands, tells people to e-mail him and he’ll send the record­ ing, free of charge.

“Most of the time they don’t even get back to you,” says Kushmeder. “But if they do, I say, ‘Hey, give me an address, I’ll send you a cou­ ple disks in the mail, on my dime.’ Two dollars worth of CD-R and postage—it goes a long way to put a smile on somebody’s face—to know that they are going to enjoy listening to that show.”

With the free trade em­ phasis, the word “bootleg” has become the most dreaded term in the taper’s vocabulary.

An expression that originally surfaced during the American prohibition to describe how one might smuggle liquor by strapping it to their “boot leg,” bootlegging indicates that the recordings are illegal and being sold for a profit.

idea, Stone has since become the official HeadCount taper, with responsibilities that in­ clude maintaining a blog and offering free monthly record­ ings to registered HeadCount members—compliments of his personal collection.

A real change

A final encore

On February 4, 2008, Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, and Mickey Hart, three surviv­ ing members of the Grateful Dead, reunited for a show at the Warfield in San Francisco to support then Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. Ian Stone taped that show, and a few weeks after uploading it to the archive, org, found that over 100,000 people downloaded it.

HeadCount, a voterregistration organization fo­ cussed on mobilizing fans of live music, came to mind as a potential outlet for putting the new found exposure to good use.

“I just started thinking about the possibilities and HeadCount is an organiza­ tion in our scene—they didn’t have any download service— so wouldn’t it be cool if 100,000 people were going to HeadCount’s website, and what if 50,000 of them regis­ tered to vote because of this one show?”

After using some con­ nections and pitching his

“There is no profit in it—there is no fame in it,” says Stone. “So regardless of whether 100 people down­ load it or 1,000 people down­ load it, those tapers will still be there doing their thing.”

For the tapers, every­ thing about the practice al­ ways returns to the music. In a music world of major re­ cord labels and high-powered managemenet, the tapers exist in an industry grey area by supporting the bands through unconventional means.

It makes no difference if the recording is of an inter­ national touring act or a bar band that may never leave its home city. If the music sounds good, the tapers be­ lieve that it is important to document and share it.

“I see nothing but good coming from getting the music out there,” says Craw­ ford. “It is important for our culture to have memories of what has been produced and the better parts of our culture are song, dance, and music.”

“I d o n ’t th in k th ere is p ro b a ­ bly a show th a t I w e n t to fro m ‘83 on until to d ay th a t I have not recorded in som e w ay. If it is good enough fo r m e to go to , I record it.”

— A ckerm an PHOTOS COURTEST OF TAPERSSECTION.COM

A&JE

Curiosity Delivers.

16 February 2010 • 13

PROFILE

Colm Toibin, the award-winning Irish writer, on crafting prose Journalist-turned-author moves from fact to fiction THEO MEYER News Editor

Colm Toibin is a writer fascinated by other writers.

Toibin, the award-winning Irish journal­ ist and author, first considered writing a novel after reading the work of other journalists who wrote fiction: Ernest Hemingway, Joan Didion, Norman Mailer, V.S. Naupaul. His fifth novel, The M aster, details the life of Henry James, the expatriate American writer.

On Thursday, Toibin delivered a lecture at McGill on another great Irish author, Oscar Wilde, and his experiences in prison. As he spoke about Wilde, Toibin displayed an almost-encyclopaedic knowledge of the writer’s flamboyant life and tragic end. This is a man who clearly loves writers.

But writing hasn’t always come easily to Toibin, who described crafting prose as a ten­ tative process, full of trial and error. He began writing poetry at age 12 and had a few of his poems published as a teenager. But by the time

Toibin got to university, other students’ verse was eclipsing his own.

“I would send them out to serious maga­ zines,” he says, “and they would just send them back.”

Discouraged, Toibin (whose full name is pronounced CULL-um toe-BEAN) gave up on poetry and became a journalist with M agill, an Irish newsmagazine.

“I learned a lot through journalism about writing: about writing for an audience, about writing clearly,” he says. “I did that. And then an idea for a first novel came to me.”

That novel, which Toibin spent years writ­ ing on weekends and holidays while continu­ ing to work as a journalist, eventually became The South. Toibin spent another two years searching for a publisher. At one point, his agent suggested he shelve the manuscript and begin work on a second novel. Toibin began a second book, but found it difficult to write.

“Eventually a small publisher in Lon­ don published The South, and by that time I had enough work on the second book to keep going,” he says. “And then it was just the slow business of reducing the hours as a journalist, upping the hours as a novelist.”

McGill stu d e n ts g a th e r fo r Toibin’s lec tu r e la st w e ek .

JOHN KELSEY

Toibin discussing Oscar Wilde’s time in prison.

In the years since, Toibin has published six novels, a play, and several other books.

Two of his novels, The B lackw ater Lightship and The M aster, have been shortlisted for Brit­ ain’s prestigious Man Booker Prize, and his most recent one, Brooklyn, made the longlist.

Some of this success, Toibin says, is due to his background as a journalist.

“Journalism is very useful in that you’re always working toward creating flavour, cre­ ating rhythm, beginnings and ends, holding the reader,” he says. “And therefore, when you were writing an actual chapter, you were aware that you needed some of the same things there.”

Though Toibin writes his book reviews and magazine articles on a computer, he pre­ fers writing his novels longhand, scrawling passages in notebooks in black fountain pen.

“I’m not sure it really makes any differ­ ence in the end, but at the beginning it does,” he says. “Especially if you use ink, and you can actually see it and smear it.”

Toibin is, without question, an Irish au­ thor. Though he currently lives in New York

JOHN KELSEY

and teaches at Princeton, his Irish accent is strong and his novels consistently deal with Irish themes.

His position at Princeton—which follows academic appointments at Stanford and the University of Texas at Austin—enables Toibin to keep himself fresh, allowing him to formu­ late ideas that feed back into his own work. As for instructing students, he says, Toibin em­ phasizes the use of detail, as well as the avoid­ ance of cliche.

“Every sort of writing can always be improved by rewriting,” he says. “And every idea that you have—maybe there’s another idea that’s better. For example, if you have a stepfather in a story and the stepfather’s really mean and horrible, it’s really worth saying to the student, ‘Have you thought of making him really nice and good?”’

For all the critical acclaim his work has accrued, however, Toibin is still reluctant to describe novel writing as his profession: “A novelist is not the word because you’re not a novelist—you just write novels sometimes.”

P o p lÿ ie f o r ic A SHOW OF PATRIOTISM As the Vancouver Winter Olympics get underway, Canada’s national pride is glowing with the prospect of success. After months of commercials and merchandise sales leading up to the games, the moment w e’ve all been waiting for finally came.

Given the fatal crash of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili earlier that day, the mood was both respectfully sombre, and giddy with excitement for the upcom­ ing games. Two out of three Canadians watched at least part of the ceremonies, and 33 million US viewers tuned in as 96 coun­ tries were welcomed to British Columbia, entering the stadium parading flags and athletes.

The ceremonies that followed, ac­ cording to some, were disastrous and em­ barrassing. Indeed, pundits agreed, Canada had managed to start off these Olympic

Games on the wrong foot. But I disagree whole-heartedly.

For those of you who may have missed the ceremonies, there was a technical prob­ lem near the end of the show that left a bit­ ter aftertaste in the mouths of many. Cana­ dian legends Wayne Gretzky, Steve Nash, Catriona Lemay Doan, and Nancy Greene all partook in the traditional final leg and lighting of the indoor Olympic cauldron.

However, a delayed rising of a final col­ umn prevented the lighting from working as planned. I choose to ignore that an esti­ mated $40 million spent on the ceremonies ended in technical blunders and instead look at the positive side of things: it was nowhere near Beijing’s bill of more than $100 million spent on their ceremonies.

There will always be glitches and peo­ ple will always screw up somehow—let’s not forget Beijing’s little-girl lip-synching catastrophe. Our response to our failings— in true Canadian fashion—should be that

we look at the bright side and continue to give it our best.

The torch malfunction was a disap­ pointment, but when you have such na­ tional talent and pride coming together to show the world what our country repre­ sents, there is only a wonderful moment to be shared. The show overall was a success.

The special effects were wonderful, with outstanding displays of lights and artistic installations. The stage was elaborately transformed from the Rocky Mountains to a vast ocean of whales, and sprouting red­ woods and colourful displays of Northern Lights filled the stadium. The show glit­ tered with flying skiers, stomping tappers, and talented musical delights from some of Canada’s best musicians, including Sarah McLachlan, Bryan Adams, Nelly Furtado, and newly acclaimed Montreal bom Nikki Yanovsky. Notable celebrities and athletes of both past and present celebrated on the international stage in welcoming the world

to our shores, making me proud of Cana­ dian talent.

The ceremonies had a unique flare and creativity, with beautiful incorporations of heritage and history that captured the very essence of our nation’s pride.

In response to those naysayers doubt­ ing whether we can we live up to all this hype, the answer is that we can. I believe that the bar has been raised and set by Can­ ada, and this shows our success. I,for one, have always loved the Olympics and the publicity they bring; my TV will be on in the background and tuned to CTV coverage of the events 24/7 for the next two weeks.

To the best of our abilities—with glowing hearts and true patriot love—let’s welcome the world and show them what Canada is really made of.

—B ianca Van Bavel A & E C ontributor

mcgilltribune.coni

14 • 10 February 2010

THEATRE

A group of Jolly Rogers take the stage in

The Pirates o f Penzance

The McGill Savoy Society takes on Gilbert & Sullivan ALEX HAMILTON Contributor

The McGill Savoy Society’s presenta­ tion of The Pirates o f Penzance both delights and entrances the audience with light-hearted charm.

The P irates o f Penzance, or, The Slave o f D uty is a late-19th-century comic opera, featuring the work of Gilbert & Sullivan. The hilarious portrayal of Victorian sensibilities and fanciful situations remains something of a cult phenomenon—similar in many ways to Monty Python’s dry, British humour.

The satirical musical tells the tale of the dutiful Frederick (Michael Loewen), a young man who has been accidentally apprenticed to a crew of cheerfully singing pirates. The comedy begins when Frederick turns 21 and is liberated from his apprenticeship, at which point he responsibly decides to turn on his old comrades. However, before he has time to enlist help, Frederick encounters the beauti­ ful daughters of Major General Stanley, who succeed in enchanting both him and the rest of his old crew. Madness and hilarity ensue as the pirates try to wed the daughters, forcing Frederick and the Major General to work to­ gether in order to prevent them from carrying the daughters away.

A few skilled lead actors control the per­ formance, so the majority of the cast’s average acting abilities do little to detract from the au­ dience’s enjoyment. In particular, the stage is dominated by the talented Rebecca Woodmass in the role of Mabel, Frederick’s main love interest. Strong performances from McGill Savoy President Cameron MacLeod (as the Major General), Loewen and Erin Grainger

ADAM SCOTTI

These pirates’ sense of humour is more John Cleese than Johnny Depp. (as Ruth) also shine as they convincingly por­ tray often-ridiculous characters. But the gusto of the chorus sections is what carries The P i­ rates o f P enzance ; people will find it hard not to sing along to catchy musical numbers like “I Am the Very Model of a Modem Major General” and “Hush! Hush! Not a Word!” De­ spite having almost 30 people onstage during certain dance numbers, the opera manages not to degenerate into confusion, which is evi­ dence of almost five full months of gruelling rehearsals.

Backing the cast is an enormous orches­ tral section, conducted by McGill composition student Michal Novotny. The orchestra had the tendency to drown out soloists—especial-

ly during the first act—however the degree of coordination with the singers is impressive.

One hopes that as the musicians adapt their playing to the acoustics of Moyse Hall, they will adjust their volume accordingly.

But music aside, the technical aspects make this production of P enzance unique. Set designer Melanie Michaud created backdrops with a two-dimensional storybook effect in mind, evoking a vaguely Oriental feel. For costumes and lighting, bright, vivid colours were used to reflect the cheerful mood of the story, and the cast’s wardrobe was cleverly designed so the daughters had colour-coordi­ nated hats and dresses to reflect their ordered character, while the pirates had mismatched

outfits to mirror their disordered nature.

However, Patterson’s skilled technical work and his creative team are not what make this show a delight. Nor is the music the rea­ son why you leave Moyse Hall with a spring in your step. What drives this show is the boundless enthusiasm and flawless comedic timing of the chorus section, who have slaved endlessly to present an incredibly enjoyable performance.

Pirates of Penzance plays February 12-13 and 18-12 in M oyse H all. Tickets are $12 fo r students and can be reserved a t mcgillsavoy. ca.

FILM

Horror flop

The W o lf m an begs for a silver bullet

The great cast can’t save this remake from absurdity

W olf M an, but because the entire movie can be summarized as W olverine meets Legends o f the Fall.

SAM JESSULA Contributor

In cinema, there’s always a fine line be­ tween the supernatural and the ridiculous, and the best horror films flirt with this boundary without crossing it. Unfortunately, director Joe Johnston’s The Wolfman was less than tactful in his approach to the werewolf genre, and the film ends up resembling more of a farce than a truly scary movie.

The movie focusses on Lawrence Talbot (Benicio del Toro), who after hearing of his brother’s most unnatural death, returns home to his estranged family’s residence. Talbot re­ unites with his father (Anthony Hopkins) with whom he has serious daddy issues, and meets his brother’s widow, the incredibly attractive Gwen Conliffe (Emily Blunt). After a violent encounter with a wolf-like creature, Talbot is bitten and, in turn, becomes the Wolfman, a hairy beast that has an uncontrollable urge to murder people and feast on their remains. As the movie unfolds he struggles with his vio­ lently conflicting identities, his haunting past, and his growing emotions for Gwen. If the plot sounds oddly familiar, it’s not only because the film is a remake of the 1941 classic The

The movie posits itself as a metaphor for man’s dark side, though it’s a long shot to claim we all have a werewolf in us waiting to be unleashed. Sure, it’s interesting to see Jekyl struggle against Hyde, but The W olfm an's ex­ ploration of human duality doesn’t have the same depth and sincerity that even The H ulk contained.

To be fair, the cinematography is impres­ sive and the rendition of the Victorian Gothic is quite successful, and creates an atmosphere of fear in ominous rural England. Unfortu­ nately, that sense of fear stays on the screen, as even timid members of the audience are left unshaken.

The movie’s biggest failure is that it is unable to grasp the audience’s emotions. This may be due in part to how accustomed w e’ve become to the classic monsters, but it seems mostly due to the film’s refusal to abide by any monster-film conventions. Although some­ times clichéd, these common plot devices exist for a reason, and challenging all of them is not anti-mainstream, it’s just poor directing.

For example, showing the monster 30 seconds after the opening credits takes away the build up and shock value any monster movie relies on. After this, all the film had to rely on were

Benicio del Toro definitely needs a shave. loud noises and jump outs as scare tactics. Al­ though flinch-inducing, they lack the ability to grasp your psyche and instill psychological fear.

The gore component of the film is so over-the-top that it causes the film to resemble horror satires rather than horror classics. It’s a shame that Hopkins couldn’t tap into his Han­ nibal Lecter repertoire and instruct the director on how suggested evil can transmit much more panic than a literal blood bath.

The one gem that shines through is the acting. Blunt and Del Toro do well with what

SCIFIBLOGGERS.COM

they’ve been given. However, Hugo Weaving’s portrayal of the meticulous Scotland Yard in­ spector is gripping and much scarier than the wolfman itself. Hopkins effortlessly performs the perfect dark and malicious father figure, reminiscent of his previous evil geniuses.

Johnston, whose previous works include Jum anji, Jurassic P ark III, and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids should probably stick to kids films, as his attempt at adult horror creates more yawns than terrified howls.

The Wolfman plays a t A M C Forum 22.

10 February 2010 • 15

Curiosity Delivers.

FILM

Fear and loathing just outside of Las Vegas Buschemi and Malco score in Saint John o f Las Vegas KYLE CARPENTER A & E Editor

It’s been said that there’s only two dif­ ferent types of stories: either the protagonist leaves his or her old life, or someone new en­ ters it. Oversimplified? Yes, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t any truth to it. In the case of Saint John o f Las Vegas, it’s both. Steve Buschemi stars as John Alegheri, a pathetic yet quirky recovering-gambling-addict-tumed insurance fraud investigator alongside his new partner, an enigmatic hard-ass named Virgil (Romany Malco, from Weeds and The 4 0 Year O ld Virgin). Together they investigate the case of a stripper (an almost unrecognizable Em­ manuelle Chriqui of E ntourage) who ends up in wheelchair after getting into a car accident in the desert, which Virgil believes is a sham.

In the opening scene, we see John franti­ cally rambling to a girl working at a conve­ nience store about buying lottery tickets with a large envelope full of money, with half of his face covered in red bruises. The movie then jumps back in time to John’s self-narrated ev­ eryday life at the office. The film cuts between the scene at the convenience store and the

FEBRUARY

16-22

Tüesday. Music. Stars.

Led by the dreamy Amy Millan and the eloquent Torquil Campbell, Montre­ al’s favourite indie orchestra, Stars, are playing a benefit concert for War Child.

Show up for good music for a good cause. @ eXcentris.

Thursday. Music. Woodpigeon.

Canadian indie rock bands are huge—not necessarily in popularity, but often in scale. Following the trend of bands like Broken Social Scene and Ar­ cade Fire, Calgary’s Woodpigeon stage eight members, allowing for a range of instruments from accordion to violin.

Their sound transcends folk rock, add­ ing their own pop twists along the way.

They’re currently touring in support of their latest album, D ie Stadt M uzikanten. @ La Sala Rossa.

Friday. Film. Shutter Island.

This movie looks terrifying. Adapt­ ed from Denis Lehane’s 2003 novel — whose works have also been turned into the films M ystic R iver and Gone, Baby, G o n e— the film stars Leonardo DiCaprio as a U.S. marshal investigating a institute for the criminally insane on a small Mas­ sachusetts island. The story seems right up director Martin Scorsese’s alley. @ Scotiabank Theatre.

linear plotline throughout the movie, making the viewer ask a number of questions: where did he get the money? And more importantly, what happened to his face? It’s similar to the vague opening scene of The H angover, where a beat-up Bradley Cooper explains that his friend’s wedding isn’t going to happen.

The movie takes the form of a road novel, with John and Virgil travelling around the Ne­ vada desert trying to find ways to prove the car accident was fake. In true road novel fashion, there is a lot of emphasis on strange, far-out characters that they meet along the way. Ex­ amples include a community of naked men with guns, and a stuntman who’s malfunction­ ing suit makes him periodically catch on fire.

The latter’s conversation with John and his at­ tempts to smoke a cigarette make for one of the best and most creative scenes in the film.

Sarah Silverman, whose performance is different from her venomous-tongued stand-up routines, plays the love interest: a receptionist obsessed with smiley faces, though that’s only the beginning of her mental problems. She’s good at playing the sexy-yet-creepy role— think a more subtle version of Isla Fisher in Wedding Crashers. Although Buschemi’s per­ formance is commendable as always, Malco overshadows his performance; his combina­ tion of straight-man and sociopath accounts

MOVIEROAR.COM

Despite what it looks like, this is not a low-budget remake of The Matrix. for most the film’s humour.

Saint John o f L as Vegas is darkly funny,

but more often than not, it’s not laugh-outloud. The cast is strong and simple, with Buschemi, Malco, and Silverman accounting for the majority of screen time. Unfortunately, Chirqui is underused, as her role on Entourage has shown that she’s more than just a pretty face. Throughout the film, the viewer is kept in the dark almost as much as John, which

gives the illusion that w e’re being lead along

by Virgil as well. With the right attitude and a bit of patience on the part of the audience, this technique pays off, as the viewer is forced to react to the unexpected twists as if they’re happening to them as well.

Saint John o f Las Vegas p la ys a t A M C Forum 22.

mcgilltribune.com

16 • 10 February 2010

POETRY

H O LID A Y

Revamping spoken word

Valentine’s Day sucks

Poet/musician/beat-boxer C.R. Avery tours across Canada

A partly true account of one man’s date with himself

BRITTANY RAPPAPORT Contributor

It’s hard to imagine how rewriting the lyr­ ics to a Fat Boys song into his own beat-box symphony at the age of nine could lead C.R. Avery to where he is today.

Currently on his Dead of Winter crossCanada tour, backed by The Legal Tender String Quartet, you could say that Avery is in his element—his storytelling/harmonica-playing/beat-boxing element. Or you could say that Avery’s passion lies with music, fronting the rock ‘n’ roll band The BoomChasers. Or maybe it’s poetry that drives him, as he con­ tributes to spoken word trio Tons of Fun Uni­ versity. Either way, Avery can do it all.

“If I’m going to stick around and play every night, it better be good,” says Avery.

And it is. There is no genre classification for this piano, harmonica, and harp player. If great musicians are said to have deep pockets, Av­ ery’s wearing cargo pants. As he developed as an artist, a move to the West Coast intro­ duced him to the slam poetry scene in cities like Seattle and San Francisco. For someone who used to be “a kid juked up on Dylan,” he found his voice in spoken word, which gave him the ability to mix music and emotion.

“You hear it and see people put every­ thing on the line. It wasn’t just, ‘Oh yeah my girlfriend left me,’ it was why she left me and what the feelings were,” says Avery. Slam po­ etry venues became a second home to him, al­ lowing him to see the smooth blend of music

and poetry together, and serving as the inspira­ tion for his own lyric and poem creations.

“I grew up in a time where going town to town playing coffee houses didn’t exist. But then with slam poetry, all of a sudden I could go to New York and play four different venues and hear all of these spoken word artists from that town,” says Avery.

Canada wasn’t far behind. Since then, the Canadian spoken-word scene has taken off, as slam poetry has been embraced in cities like Winnipeg, Calgary, Halifax, and Montreal.

Avery blurs the lines between genres with his emotional and thought-provoking music, which has been compared to huge names such as Bob Dylan, Tom Waits, and Neil Young, who he has already covered with his electrify­ ing beat-boxing skills.

“I’ll hear something they do and it keeps me inspired to keep going,” says Avery. He name-drops Corin Raymond, Lucinda Wil­ liams, and Mary Gauthier, seemingly unaware that he’s well on his way to living up to these legends.

If Avery’s accomplishments are of any in­ dication of what’s to come, he’s here to offer some promising material. He’s already work­ ing on an upcoming project which includes a 45-piece orchestra and a 30-piece choir.

“The only thing I’ve got is putting on a new show ... it comes down to music that people feel, and the word people react to in a positive or negative way. But at least it’s stir­ ring up some kind of emotion.”

KAILAN LEUNG Sports Editor

On Friday, I lost a bet with an A&E edi­ tor. Two days later, I was by myself, waiting in a long line of moon-eyed couples at the AMC Forum, primed and ready to review Garry Mar­ shall’s newest film, Love, A ctually II. Wait, no, that was the working title. I mean Valentine’s D ay, starring everyone you would expect.

I know I’m not alone in characterizing Valentine’s Day as the most confusing, arbi­ trary, and—for single people—downright frus­ trating “holiday” of the year. So when forced to cover the film, I thought, Great, a chance to assert my independence and challenge the establishment. But when I finally arrived at the front of the line to buy my ticket, I caved.

“Bonjour. How many?”

“Two,” I said, reflexively. “Also, two Mars bars, and some popcorn... Jumbo size .... for my ... girlfriend.”

Thirty dollars. Worth it.

The only pair of seats I managed to scout

out were near the screen, but whatever. I placed my jacket on the seat next to me, whipped out my phone, and molded my face into an anx­ ious, unhappy frown. The couple to my right looked at me quizzically. I talked to my phone for a while, lambasting it for being late and patiently explaining the difference between my left and its left. Then the lights dimmed, I let out an exasperated sigh, and settled in with my popcorn.

The movie was OK; it was what every­ one in the audience—minus the guy dating an empty seat and a pile of junk food—wanted to see. However, Jessica Alba should never have gone blonde, and there’s something about Bradley Cooper’s face and mannerisms that induce both my gag reflex and a splitting head­ ache. With that said, I thought Jamie Foxx and Jennifer Gamer did the best they could with a mediocre screenplay.

I wish I could say more, but I left before the movie ended. Things were working out for the characters on screen, my seatmates were becoming more and more romantically in­ volved, and there was still time left to buy a bottle of wine and download a couple episodes of O ne Tree H ill before going to bed.

C D R EV IEW S

C.R. Avery p la ys with his string quartet at The Green R oom February 27.

The Faculty o f Arts presents

Hot Chip: O ne L ife S ta n d

A M axwell-Cum m ings Lecture

N in e t e e n t h

C e n tu r y

C o n c e p ts

o f C it iz e n s h ip : C la s s ic a l M o d e ls , C o n t e m p o r a r y P r a c t ic e s , L e g a c ie s

A ndreas Fahrm eir Professor of Modern History University of Frankfurt

Andreas Fahrmeir (Ph.D., University o f Cambridge) currently holds the Chair in Modern History at the University o f Frankfurt. He has published extensively on political corruption in Europe over three centuries, the transformation o f urban space in British cities during the IS">and l<fh centuries, the evolution o f migration control in the North Atlantic world, and most recently, the changing concept o f citizenship. His more recent hook. Citizenship: The Rise and Fall of a Modern Concept (Yale, 2007), provides fu ll historical perspective about immigration and the nature o f citizenship, demonstrating the contingency and changeability o f the concept in the past and today.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010 6:00 p.m.

Reception to follow

Stephen Leacock Building Room 232 855 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal QC For more information contact the Department of History Tel: (514) 398-3975 Email: peter.hoffmant\(d)mcgill.ca

? McGill

Four Tet: There Is L ove I n You

The title track is disappointing, as the repetitive beeping in the background begins to drive you insane when you inevitably real­ ize that it’s been there the whole song and it hasn’t changed. “Slush” is an interesting de­ parture from the electronic effects, as it is con­ structed as a pretty straight song made up of piano, soft percussion, and layered vocals. But the biggest problem is “We Have Love,” since anyone who thinks that the chipmunk-voice is a good choice in modem music deserves a punishment unfit for print.

One Lift Stand is hit-and-miss, so if you’re thinking about buying it from iTunes, choose your songs carefully.

The fifth full-length album from British electronic musician Kieran Hebden (better known as Four Tet), isn’t a dramatic departure from his earlier work. Nor will it disappoint fans of Four Tet’s already well-established oeuvre. The album is barely over 45 minutes long and undemanding enough to not need your full attention. Its sound is minimalistic, evoking the early work of ambient electronic musicians like Aphex Twin, with basic drum lines and Hebden’s signature use of samples from a range of musical genres. The influence of Hebden’s recent collaborations with jazz drummer Steve Reich and electronic producer Burial can be heard, however Hebden’s early use of folk samples remains less pronounced.

The album will doubtless have its detrac­ tors, particularly among those hoping Four Tet would move in a new direction. The tracks are mainly instrumental, the nine-minute single “Love Cry” takes half its length to really get going, and the 12-second “Pablo’s Heart” consists of what we can only assume is the sound of a heartbeat. But despite the appar­ ent simplicity of There Is Love In You, there is more going on beneath the surface than meets the eye. Hebden’s thoughtful tracks all proj­ ect sorrow and melancholy, but also a strange hopefulness. From the ethereal buildup of the vocal samples on “Angel Echoes” to the rainy day melody lines in “She Just Likes To Fight”, TILLY is the kind of album you just want to keep listening to.

—K yle C arpenter

—A lex H am ilton

Hot Chip’s soft electropop is anything but middle of the road—it’s love or hate. One L ife Stand is their fourth studio album, and is a mixed bag of standout tracks and one-listen flops.

The album begins with a strong opening track called “Thieves in the Night,” which starts off sounding like Coldplay’s X & Y era.

However, it turns into a pop song with a lot of effects piled in the background that play off each other nicely. The good times continue with the second track, “Hand Me Down Your Love,” which features some staccato piano layered over a driving drumbeat (including MSTRKRFT-like hand claps) and ambient effects (including strings)—not to mention vocal bridges reminiscent of Sgt. P epper's Lonely H earts Club Band.

Sports

Curiosity Delivers.

16 February 2010 • 17

R E D M E N H O C K E Y - M C G ILL 9, OTTAW A 0

Redmen ready for postseason after demolition of Ottawa McGill catch fire early, cruise to easy win over Gee-Gees SHAWN STENHOUSE Contributor

The Redmen came out flying on Saturday night at McConnell Arena, dominating the Ot­ tawa Gee-Gees at both ends of the ice en route to a 9-0 trouncing. With both teams’ playoff fates already sealed before the opening faceoff—McGill in, Ottawa out—the Redmen were able to use the game as a tune-up, and judging by their performance, they’ll be able to enter the postseason with some much-need­ ed confidence and momentum.

“Since we came back from our long trip at Christmas time, w e’ve had a really hectic schedule and we went into an energy dump,” said Redmen Head Coach Jim Webster. “I'm most happy that w e’re coming out of that.”

Puck possession was the name of the game for McGill, as the Redmen controlled the play throughout most of the first period.

A strong and structured defensive game plan helped the Redmen severely limit Ottawa’s time on the attack.

Junior forward Simon Marcotte-Legare opened the scoring less than four minutes into the first stanza. Not long after, sopho­ more forward Maxime Langelier-Parent beat Gee-Gee netminder Riley Whitlock five hole for McGill’s second goal. The Redmen would score twice more in the period, including an impressive backhander from a near-impossi­ ble angle by junior left-winger Evan Vossen.

In a game that was out of Ottawa’s reach from early on, the Gee-Gees found a way to vent their frustration in the third period. The gritty play and constant presence of McGill’s Guillaume Doucet in front of the Gee-Gee net drew the ire of a few Ottawa players, who ganged up on the alternate captain late in the game. Ottawa’s physicality intensified late in

HOLLY STEWART

Tempers flared In the third period, as Ottawa looked to vent their frustrations in the midst of a 9-0 drubbing by McGill. the third, resulting in a slew of Gee-Gee pen­ alties and a series of extended five-on-three power plays for the Redmen. “[Doucet’s] a skilled guy and he’s had a very good year,” said Webster.

While Webster was reluctant to attribute Saturday night’s success to any one player, the evening clearly belonged to sophomore right­ winger Francis Verreault-Paul.

Verreault-Paul shone on the power-play late in the game, as he netted the team’s eighth and ninth goals of the night, including a blis­ tering slap shot from the face-off circle. Going into Saturday’s game, Verreault-Paul found himself three points behind Francis Charland of UQTR in the scoring race. With three goals and an assist on the night, the Mashteuiatsh native took over sole possession of the top

— THE NBA CARES?

There are a number of words and phrases that we can use to describe the embarrassment that was the NBA Dunk Contest on Saturday night: worst of all time; forgettable; pathetic; mind-bogglingly bad. With a lineup featuring zero legitimate stars, and two players averaging less than 22 minutes per game, the event that many suspected was on wobbly legs finally came crashing down. While the dunking itself was painful to watch—as was the obvious disinterest painted on a number of the con­ testants’ faces—what infuriates me more is the NBA’s failure to follow through on a smart and simple idea from one of its most respected statesmen.

A little less than a month ago, Shaquille O’Neal had a plan in place to reju­ venate All-Star Weekend while dishing

spot for both goals and points in the OUA. Verreault-Paul was on the ice for most of the game, even when the team was up by a considerable margin, but Webster has first­ hand experience with winning a scoring title, and was quick to point out the significance the record can have on a team going into the playoffs.

“I won the scoring title [when I played for McGill] on the last game of the season, right in this building,” he said. “I think [VerreaultPaul] appreciated that I tried to help him as much as I could. You don’t win the scoring championship every year.”

Despite one player making the record books, not everything went according to plan for Webster and his team. After playing a dis­ ciplined game, the Redmen let their emotions

boil over in the final minutes of a third period that was filled with scrums and cheap shots.

104 penalty minutes were handed out in the final period, including two misconducts, three game misconducts, and a hit after the whistle on Verreault-Paul after he scored McGill’s ninth goal. Webster will be content with the end result so long as he has all his players in uniform come playoff time.

“I was happy right up until the last scrum,” said Webster. “[If we end up missing guys] it will weaken our team.”

The Redmen now turn their attention to the Nipissing University Lakers, who they will face in the OUA quarterfinals next week.

Game One is scheduled for Wednesday at 7 p.m.

T H IR D

out an assist to arguably the neediest place in the world: bring the League’s biggest superstars into the dunk contest, build up a substantial pot of prize money, and donate at least half of the winnings to earthquakeravaged Haiti. Shaq specifically called out Kobe Bryant and Vince Carter to join LeBron James in providing fans with a dunk contest that would be truly unforgettable, and undoubtedly generate a large amount of money to aid in Haitian relief efforts. If Shaq’s proposal sounded brilliant, it’s be­ cause it was. But trust the stereotypes of the self-centred athlete and greedy corporate owner to once again push themselves to the fore, and swiftly extinguish any hope of making All-Star Weekend about something far greater than basketball.

What troubles me nearly as much as the fact that O’Neal’s proposal never came to fruition is the response it elicited from some of the would-be contestants. In a video interview after a Lakers’ practice, a

reporter asks Kobe if he would consider dunking for Shaq’s initiative. His response?

A burst of laughter and a stone-faced “no.”

Similarly, Carter protested that “[nobody] should feel obligated to do anything they don’t want to do.” No, Vince, but you certainly should feel obligated to use your status as a world-renowned professional athlete to provide help to those suffering in the wake of catastrophe.

NBA Commissioner David Stem never commented on the dunk-contest idea, likely because he has spent most of his working life in professional sports, and could already predict the massive effort it would take to make Shaq’s proposal a reality. Regardless of any imagined difficul­ ties, though, the NBA’s refusal to take the initiative on this project was and is very disturbing. At a time when NBA owners and officials are constantly bemoaning the plummeting economy and lack of money available to the League, this weekend’s All-

Star blowout in Dallas was a gross display of extravagance and wealth. The amount of effort—both human and financial—needed to stage a star-spangled dunk-contest to benefit Haiti would be negligible in com­ parison to any of the productions that took place over the weekend.

It is morally reprehensible that the players and administration of the NBA either laughed off or ignored Shaq’s idea.

When a professional sports organization has the opportunity to save lives and build futures, it needs to jump at the chance, no matter how old, tired, or cynical its legs are.

We should applaud O’Neal for attempting to carve a space for humanitarian action in a profession dominated by apathy and ava­ rice. It’s highly unfortunate that the League could not see All-Star Weekend as a chance to do anything more than fill seats and pro­ mote its brand. Great job, NBA, you really dropped the ball on this one.

— Kailan Leung

18 • 16 February 2010

mcgilltribune.com

M ARTLET V O L L E Y B A L L - M C G ILL 0, LAVAL 3

Martlets eliminated from postseason play after sixth straight loss Promising season ends in disappointing sweep KAILAN LEUNG Sports Editor

For the first three months of the season, the McGill women’s volleyball team looked virtually unstoppable. With a pair of fivegame winning streaks, steady appearances in the CIS Top-10, and depth at every position, a deep run at Nationals seemed inevitable.

But in every sport, there is always the danger of peaking too soon. The Martlets struggled mightily in the second half of the season, and were eliminated from the QSSF playoffs— and by default, a Nationals berth—after backto-back thrashings at the hands of the Laval Rouge et Or over the weekend.

What started out as an emotional, highenergy affair at Love Competition Hall on Fri­ day night quickly deteriorated into a Martlet meltdown, with missed serves, botched cov­ ers, and weak blocks allowing Laval to take the first set, 21-25.

“I think [we lacked] communication a little bit,” said all-Canadian power-hitter Jen­ nifer Thomson. “It was loud in the gym, we started off strong with it, but we needed to keep it going through the entire match. We

started off strong picking up a lot of balls, but it kind of deteriorated.”

Serving was perhaps the biggest thorn in McGill’s side on Friday night, as the Martlets committed 10 service errors while failing to register a single ace. Kelsey Irwin—a senior middle blocker and arguably the team’s most consistent offensive threat—suffered a knee injury earlier in the month that forced her to miss time, and was visibly slowed against Laval. While Irwin still managed to lead the Martlets in kills and points With 13, the 5-foot11 Vancouver native was not her usual self on the defensive end.

“Obviously, it does hurt not to have Kelsey [at full strength],” said Thomson.

The Rouge et Or wasted no time in the second and third sets asserting themselves on offence, alternately sending hard balls down the line and cross-court to frustrate McGill’s back-row defence. The Martlets registered 68 digs to Laval’s 4 8 —a clear indicator of which team played the role of aggressor. McGill showed signs of a comeback in the third set, but successive kills by Laval’s Melanie Savoie quickly snuffed out the home squad’s winning aspirations.

The Martlets had a shot at redemption on Saturday afternoon, but could not raise their level of play on the road, falling to Laval once

ADAM SCOTTI

The Martlets will be without the services of star hitter Jennifer Thomson next season. again in straight sets. Freshman power-hitter Olivia Grecu led the team with 11 kills. The defeat marked the sixth straight loss for the Martlets—an ending to their season no one could have predicted a few months ago.

“Yes, we have to admit that it is disap­ pointing—there’s no denying it,” said Thom­ son. “But we need to gulp it down and take the next step.”

The next step for the Martlets will have to come without the guidance of Thomson, the team’s brightest star for a number of years.

And although Thomson’s legacy will be hard to duplicate, McGill boasts a number of young and talented players who have shown that they are more than capable of contributing at the CIS level. While the weekend may not have ended in the fashion they had hoped, the Mar­ tlets can take comfort in the qualities that they retained throughout the course of the year: character, camaraderie, and a toughness that is sure to carry over to next season.

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S P O R T S I N B R IE F Martlet Hockey

Redmen Basketball

Forward Ann-Sophie Bettez extended her scoring streak to five games over the weekend, registering a hat trick against Ottawa on Sat­ urday, and adding a pair of goals on Sunday against the Concordia Stingers as the Martlet hockey team ran their winning-streak against CIS competition up to 79 games.

Bettez has nine goals and 11 points in her last five appearances. Her recent hot streak has launched her into contention for the scoring title, as she currently sits third in goals in the country. With two games left in regular-season action, the forward needs only four more goals to top her record from last season.

The Martlets continue to dominate in league play, with a perfect record of 18-0 so far this season. McGill more than doubled Ottawa’s shots on Saturday afternoon—4821 —and proceeded to best themselves the fol­ lowing day by out-shooting Concordia, 40-9.

Martlet goaltender Andrea Weckman recorded her fourth shut-out of the year in Sunday’s game. McGill plays at Montreal before return­ ing to McConnell Arena to host the Stingers once more in the final game of the regular season.

The men’s basketball team pulled off an impressive upset of the Laval Rouge et Or on Friday, winning 71-68. The Redmen improved to 8-6 in league action, and moved into a sec­ ond-place tie with Laval, two points behind division-leading UQAM. Senior forward Matt Thornhill—who leads the conference with a scoring average of 19.7 points per game—racked up 25 points and five rebounds to lead McGill to vic­ tory. Freshman point guard Olivier Bouchard notched 13 points, while sophomore forward Nick Nishikawa scored seven points while pulling down a game-high 10 boards.

McGill’s regular season got off to a rough start, with the Redmen fielding a 2-5 confer­ ence record in early January. Since then, though, the team has exhibited a renewed focus and energy that has allowed them to win six of their last seven contests.

But the Redmen have little time to rest on their laurels, as they travel to Lennoxville to take on the Bishop’s Gaiters on February 19. McGill plays their final game of the season against UQAM on February 27.

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