Vol 35 issue 4

The Voice of the University of Toronto at Mississauga

MEDIUM THE

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2008

VOLUME 35, ISSUE 4

www.mediumonline.ca

The story of King Khan and BBQ

Sex advice from S.E.C

UTM’s Mark Bania profiled

Page 5

Page 8

Page 11

Hindu ceremony blesses UTM MEREDITH LILLY NEWS EDITOR UTM’s Hindu Student Council (HSC) hosted a Puja and Havan spiritual ceremony for the wellbeing of the student community on Thursday, September 18.

Nearly forty students attended and all were welcome to partake in the rituals. Student leaders from the council actively encouraged questions and explained the unfamiliar.

Pandit (Pt.) Roopnauth Sharma from the Shri Ram Mandir Hindu Temple led students through the traditional blessings and offerings that make up the Puja, a religious ceremony that is performed throughout the year.

The ceremony centered on Sarawasti, the Hindu Goddess of knowledge. Students asked for wisdom in preparation for this schoolyear.

Throughout the ceremony, Pt. Sharma engaged the audience by drawing parallels between the relationship that people cherish with their friends and the relationship with god.

Students were called to rise above the materialistic ambitions of this world and to become selfless in their pursuit of knowledge. They also asked to be freed from their senses and to be content with their lives.

The symbolism behind the chants was explained so that all could partake in the blessing. The chants were complimented by a Tabla (percussion) and a Harmonium (a keyboard instrument) while some participants brought offerings of sweet food to use during the Puja.

Petals were used as offerings during the ceremony to signify love and devotion to Sarawasti. Participants were sprinkled with water as a blessing and were encouraged to bring positive change to the world.

“You are all knowledgeable people, but knowledgeable people have tried to destroy the world. You must have a good foundation from which to draw your wisdom and guide your life,” Pt. Sharma advised.

Students then proceeded outside for the Havan, a purifying ritual led

by Pundit Jee Roop Nath Sharma and Pundit Jee Avinash Kumar, where rice was thrown into a fire as a sacrifice and to bring purity to the participants.

“Most Hindus take part in the cer-

Photo/Matthew Filipowich

Clubs Week helps students find niche KIRSTEN HILL From September 15 to 19, the UTM Student Union's annual Clubs Week took over the five-minute walk. For one week, student-run clubs promoted the services and activities they make available to interested students all year long.

On Wednesday morning, a crowd gathered around a square of cardboard duct taped to the cement floor, on which a member of the club UTM Breakers performed a break dance routine.

The performance took place a few meters away from the rest of the stalls put up by clubs just outside the student centre. The UTM Breakers, like many other clubs, were putting their best foot forward in an attempt to gain exposure and recruit new members in this year’s Clubs Week.

As Mitchell Huynh explained, “Not too many people know what break dancing is.” Having on-site demonstrations was this clubs effort to increase publicity.

Huynh went on to say that break dancing is a way to “express yourself and have a good time at the same time.”

Student leaders encouraged the passing crowd to check out their stalls while music blared from a variety of colourful display tables. Excitement was heightened by offers of free candy and prizes from many of the organizations.

The clubs represented ranged from academic societies to gaming clubs and religious organizations. According to Shamini Eswarakumar, a first year student, Clubs Week is “a good way to meet people and get involved.”

There was a good student turn out, ranging from excited first-years still trying to figure out what the event was all about, to upper year students who claimed they were signing up for clubs they have been a part of in past years.

Although there was a relatively constant flow of students visiting the stalls

throughout the week, Linda Emode, the Financial Director of the Erindale Campus African Students Association (ECASA), stated that, “Monday was the busiest day.”

Emode spoke about how ECASA is a great way for African students to embrace their distinct cultures and identity, as well as to “put African culture out there.”

The Ministry of Social Justice also had a presence, offering students with an opportunity to really get involved with causes promoting justice in the community.

UTM Cricket Club’s (UCC) President Ibrahim A. Khan, expressed that he was expecting their club to grow from last year’s 220 members to 300 this year.

Events such as intra/extra mural tournaments, live telecasts and pub nights feature in the UCC’s line of events.

The Psychology Association of Undergraduate Students at Erindale (P.A.U.S.E) club was offering students a chance to meet their professors, a pub night, as well as resources, such as test packages to assist them in their study of psychology.

Event coordinator Johnny Ho was pleased with the turn-out this year. “I believe Clubs Week was a great success this year. I measure success with the participation of the students and the satisfaction of the clubs.”

A few management innovations helped students pull their booths together with ease says Ho, “this year, we assigned tables to each individual club and each table was labeled prior their arrival. This way, we eliminated a lot of confusion in the morning, which ultimately gave the clubs more time to promote themselves to their members.”

As seen in the stream of students visiting the various stalls together with clubs gaining new members, Friday marked the end of another successful Fall Clubs Week.

Members of the Hindu Student Club participate in a Havan ceremony outside of the Student Centre. emony every month, there are different chants for different occasions,” explains Oindrilla Sarkab, HSC events coordinator. “The fire that is used during the ceremony represents purification. Fire treats everything in the same manner.”

The HSC executives were delighted to bring the ceremony to UTM, a tradition that they feel is relevant to students seeking a successful school year.

“As students, what is our ultimate goal? We worry about grades and academics. This blessing is for the whole school, for all students,” said Vivek Govardhanah, HSC VP finance.

Inclusivity was stressed by many of the participants. Students seeking a unique social experience are encouraged to join the ceremony along with those who hold more spiritual views.

HSC has other events for students interested in learning more about South Asian culture, including a Desi Food Fest on September 24.

“The events are about celebrating our culture, not preaching. We want to share the fun aspect of being a Hindu,” said Sarkab.

HSC President Rohit Dubey added, “We want to make a difference in our lives and in the lives of those around us.”

PhotoMatthew Filipowich

A member of the Art History Club watches our photographer as he tends the booth during Clubs Week.

2 THE MEDIUM

Monday, September 22, 2008

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THE MEDIUM 3

NEWS

Campus police weekly summaries September 12 – 18, 2008 Sept. 12, 2008 9:00p.m.

Fire Alarm False fire alarm occurred in one of the Residence buildings. Building was evacuated. The cause of the alarm was a panel trouble.

Sept. 12, 2008 11:30p.m. oise Complaint Campus Police spoke with a UTM resident in regards to a noisy party.

The party was shut down and the guests were asked to leave. The host of the party was very co-operative with the Campus Police.

Sept. 13, 2008 3:11a.m. oise Complaint Campus Police spoke with a UTM resident in regards to a loud music.

The person apologized and turned down the music.

Sept.13, 2008 2:30a.m.

Vandalism Vandalism reported to a fire exit sign in one of Residence buildings.

Sept. 13, 2008 3:15p.m.

Medical Call - Intoxication A female was transported by an ambulance to hospital from an on campus residence Sept. 13, 2008 1:40a.m.

Mischief Under $5000 - Graffiti Report of mischief to an UTM sign at the Collegeway Entrance. The sign was removed for repairs.

Sept. 14, 2008 8:05a.m.

Fire Alarm False fire alarm occurred in one of the Residence buildings. Building was evacuated. The alarm was caused by a faulty panel.

Sept. 14, 2008 12:00 a.m.

Harassment University Police cautioned a male student who was approaching two females in the UTM residences.

The student was cautioned about his conduct.

Sept. 15, 2008 05:55 p.m.

Mischief Under $5000 - Graffiti Report of graffiti in the South Building men’s washroom. The graffiti was removed by the Caretaking staff.

Sept. 16, 2008 11:05 a.m.

Theft Under $5000 Campus Police investigated patio furniture stolen from outside of one of the Campus Residences.

Sept. 16, 2008 03:43 p.m.

Medical Call Campus Police responded to a medical call at the Hazel McCallion Academic Learning Centre. The person was assessed by Campus Police and an ambulance was not needed.

Sept. 16, 2008 06:20 p.m.

Domestic Argument/Verbal Altercation Campus Police dealt with a couple having a domestic argument near

the Kaneff Centre. Both parties were cautioned about their disruption.

Sept. 17, 2008 03:15 p.m.

Medical Call A burning smell was reported to Campus Police. An experiment was being performed in one of the labs in the South Building.

Sept. 17, 2008 06:28 p.m.

Medical Call Campus Police responded to a medical call in the South Building. The person was assessed by an ambulance staff and Campus Police. The person declined transport to the hospital.

Sept. 17, 2008 07:25 p.m.

Medical Call Campus Police and EMS responded to a residence unit for a medical call. The person was taken to the hospital by an ambulance.

Sept. 17, 2008 08:05 p.m.

Mischief Under $5000 – Graffiti Report of graffiti in the North Building men’s washroom. The graffiti was removed by the Caretaking staff.

Sept. 17, 2008 09:23 p.m.

Medical Call Campus Police responded to the Outer Field for a sports related injury. The person was transported to the hospital by his friend.

Sept. 18, 2008 10:45 a.m.

Medical Call Campus Police responded to a residence unit for a medical call. The person was assessed by Campus Police and an ambulance was not needed.

VICTORIA COLLEGE 17 Annual Book Sale

First pub delivers

th

PATRICK NAVAL

Organized by a new set of University of Toronto Mississauga Student Union members (UTMSU), last Thursday’s pub night lived up to its expectations.

At 10:30p.m, the Student Centre building was surrounded by anxious partygoers and last-minute ticket hopefuls. The only thing standing in their way from cheap alcohol and music ecstasy is an entourage of muscle-shirt wearing bouncers manning the door, carefully screening everyone and refusing entrance to unruly people and underage drinkers. “It sucks how some people got kicked out. Its all good though, Johnny (VP Campus Life) and them were just doing their jobs,� said Kristen Rilley, a UTM student and pub goer. The security and safety standards were indeed fair and essential during the event. The last thing students want is to lose these pub nights over senseless incidents.

Entering the building, students were

welcomed by the voice of Kanye followed by Katy Perry’s provocative lyrics. The atmosphere of the pub was similar to most downtown nightclubs: ladies wearing their trendiest outfits with rum and Coke on one hand and a clutch purse on the other, guys bathed in Axe cologne lurking around the premises and Facebook enthusiasts snapping away with their digital cameras.

As the bar was sucked dry by 11p.m, the Student Centre heated up and the bump’n grind’n never stopped. Ronald Tang, a visiting student from Sheridan College, was impressed by the event.

Tang remarks, “I’ve been to a lot of pubs in a lot of schools. UTM is one of the craziest and freshest ones for sure.

Man, I don’t even go here and I’ve met enough people already. It’s a pretty live scene.�

As for the music, it only got better and better. Playing tracks such as Rihanna’s “Disturbia�, Chris Brown’s “Forever� and Lady GaGa’s “Just Dance�; old school favorites from Flo

Rida, Elephant man, Weezy F. and Sean Paul remixed with House jams, a lot of people found it hard to resist the dance floor.

The event was further intensified by breakdancers showing of their skills and numerous girls who were trying to outdo each other on stage. “I love the music and I love you bro,� said Somm Tabrizi.

Aliyah Ali commented on how “there is no awkward tension tonight.

Everyone is getting along and having a blast.�

At half past twelve, the event was still in full swing. “It’s great; a lot of people came out. It’s pretty crazy,� laughs Gary Li, UTMSU VP Campus Life Associate. “For the next pub night, we’re actually planning to lower ticket prices, there’s going to be costumes and it’s going to be crazier man�.

Last week’s pub night was indeed a success. It was able to overcome its expectations by providing topnotch music, excellent bar service and a friendly atmosphere.

Thursday September 25: 4pm - 9pm* Friday September 26: 10am - 8pm Saturday September 27: 11am - 7pm Sunday September 28: 11am - 6pm Monday September 29: 10am - 8pm

(*First night only -- admission $3; students free with ID)

in ALUMNI HALL & THE CHAPEL, OLD VIC 91 Charles Street WEST (at museum subway exit) for more information call 416-585-4585 vic.booksale@utoronto.ca

Proceeds to Victoria University Library

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4 THE MEDIUM

Monday, September 22, 2008

EDITORIAL

Opinion Ali Kasim, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF | editor@mediumonline.ca www.mediumonline.ca

EDITORIAL What is perhaps more remarkable than the sheer number of studentrun clubs we have on this campus, is how diverse they are. Touring the ins-and-outskirts of the Student Center last week, I noticed club booths representing countries from all over the globe. Indeed, UTM truly mirrors Canada as the multicultural hub of the world.

I stopped at various booths and spoke to the respective members and execs about how their club operated, what its purpose was, and what it plans to do throughout the year. While each promised different agendas and events, all shared the same initiative, especially the ethnic-based clubs: they were all here to inform, to educate, to let it be known that they existed. And of course, they were all fully inclusive; everyone was welcome, regardless of race, language or religion.

Let’s be realistic. How many of these race or religion-based clubs actually have “outsiders” as members? And I’m not referring to the Taiwanese Students Association which may have four to six Singaporean members, or the Pakistani Students Association which may have close to ten Indian members. I’m talking about the number of Christian students who are members of the Muslim Students’ Association, the number of Sri Lankans who are part of the Italian Club, and vice-versa. I’m willing to bet that for both those cases, the number is no more than one. As much as it is “inclusive,” the inclusivity levels for most clubs are hardly apparent.

I understand the conundrum of course. If you don’t read Harry Potter, you’re not exactly going to fit in with the UTM Harry Potter Club. Sure, they’ll welcome you at a $2 membership fee, but what are you going to talk about when they discuss Azkaban after pizza? Likewise, if I don’t speak Japanese, I’m not going to follow much of what’s going on during the Japanese Students Club Pub Night. So that leaves the question of just how much these student-run clubs are actually doing to cater to the noncommunity member. If you think about it, it’s a Catch-22 – if a club has no “outside” member to begin with, there’s no need for measures to accommodate them.

It occurred to me that while this isn’t the official basis of things, campus clubs are in place for the sole purpose of catering to their respective community, to provide for a home away from home, so to speak. While this isn’t the initial intention, it certainly appears to be the outcome.

Personally, I see nothing wrong in providing a non-local climate for the non-local. But does this not provoke segregation? Here, I’m reminded of a friend who once joked if it would be racist if we had a CaucasianCanadian Club on campus.

Now I’m not trying to be controversial here. The point I’m trying to make is this: some of us, like yours truly, are international students who have no intention of citizenship. We’re here for the university experience; we’re here to be “international.” But how international is it when most of the people we socialize with in this foreign land are from a similar background? And, because we have so many of these people around, how much do we really care to assimilate to our (not so) foreign setting?

This extends to the newly arrived Canadians as well, whatever nationality, race or religion they may be.

We describe our community as multicultural, but multiculturalism is only an ism when it is enacted. The issue here isn’t with the clubs and who or what they represent. Their main purpose is to facilitate, and I think it’s great that there’s both a Christian Fellowship and a Chinese Christian Fellowship. But let’s not take for granted that we all have our own specific circle we can curl up and be comfortable in. Go outside of it once in a while. If you say you love that we’re multicultural, embrace it. This year, why not join the club that you’re the least affiliated with.

Maybe you can learn some Japanese.

Yours,

Letter to the Editor VP part-time affairs speaks up about APUS affair Dear fellow students, faculty and members of the UTM community,

Ali Kasim

Matthew just asked what was wrong with Meredith. Honestly, I don’t know. My best guess is that she’s a little sick and tired of all of us. She wasn’t in a bad mood – she laughed at the jokes and kept her smile on for most of the time – but she just wasn’t....into it. Meredith, see what you’ve done. You’ve got everyone worried and thinking. Will you quit if I say “prairie girl” and “corn” in the same sentence again? /Shift/ Last week I left page 4 unedited and littered with errors.

“Meet the the Medium” will be hard to live down. This week, I’m doing a little better – 11:45pm and almost 80% of the paper done. Anyway, my concern on Monday when I put the papers on the stand was the feedback I would get from the “Persian prick” comment. To date, I have zero emails/letters about it. Does anyone read The Medium? Or did everyone realize I wasn’t actually being racist. And really I wasn’t. It just so happened that this prick I knew was Persian. I love the Iranian football team. Ali Karimi, Valid Hashemian, and Mehdi Mahdavikia are all great players. I do wonder however, if the prick himself read the paper. /shift/ Here, in order of most loved to the least, are my favourite editors after four issues: Michael, Matthew, Chris, Meredith, Andrew. (Shelley’s off the charts here because I only see her once a week). And now, here, in the same order structure, are the best-performing editors after four issues: Matthew, Andrew, Meredith, Chris, Michael. If you look hard, you’ll see a pattern between the two rankings. Yes indeed, I hold no punches when it comes to announcing my bias. Everything is out in the open here in The Medium family. It’s how it should be. I love all of you, though not equally. I also love our key grip Samantha Berger and our alumni Saira and Julie. Am i starting to sound like Iris? “Awwww, i love you guys.” Fuck you Iris. I will always be the better EIC. 22 issues left.

THE

MEDIUM 3359 Mississauga Road, Room 200, Student Centre, Mississauga, ON, L5L 1C6 Phone: 905.828.5260 | Fax: 905.828.5402 | Advertising: 905.828.5379 E-mail editor@mediumonline.ca | Website: www.mediumonline.ca Board of Directors Christine Capewell, Jane Ngobia, Isa Cunanan, Raji Aujla, Laura Gaspini, Umeimah Bastaki, Bhagyashi Bhandakkar, Julie Tyios

The University of Toronto Mississauga is home to approximately 1,000 part-time students whose needs are quite different and unique as compared to that of full-time students. This represents a challenge especially since the demographics of part-time students range from mature students to students with a family and/or children to students who are part-time simply due to financial constraints.

Up until the recent merger between the University of Toronto Mississauga Students' Union (UTMSU) and Erindale Part-time Undergraduate Students (EPUS), part-time students did not have any effective representation on the Mississauga campus.

With the consolidation of the two offices, UTMSU now represents parttime students across the Mississauga campus and has already begun leading initiatives which look after the interests of our part-time students.

These initiatives include the U Pass referendum for part-time students, cheaper photocopying/essay printing services, lobbying to establish a permanent childcare facility, etc.

To ensure a democratic and fair representation for our part-time students, UTMSU has two part-time students that sit on the Board of Directors for UTMSU. The vice president part-time affairs is an executive position on UTMSU that is responsible for ensuring that our part-time students are being looked after. Part-

time students can also get involved in the decision-making and advocating process through a part-time affairs commission. This structure ensures that there is transparency and a means for feedback from our parttime membership that enables us to advocate in the best interests of parttime students.

Such services and advocacy, as outlined above, were not available to part-time students previously due to the financial constraints faced by EPUS. And the reason for this very constraint is that EPUS is an organization affiliated with Association of Part-time Undergraduate Students (APUS), an undemocratic organization that collects fees from UTM part-time students and does nothing in return. In essence, UTM dollars collected by APUS from UTM parttime students do not come back to UTM to benefit them. An organization that claims to work in the best interests of part-time students and yet has no presence at the Mississauga campus is clearly misleading its membership. Making an appearance on campus only during a Frosh Week carnival or setting up a table during Clubs Week does not constitute toward having a presence on campus – if you ask the part-time students on this campus; most of them have never even heard of APUS. This trend of inaction and lack of presence prevails across the Scarborough campus as well.

Collecting fees from your membership across different campuses and not spending that money at that cam-

Editor-in-Chief Ali Kasim

Composite Editor Matthew Filipowich

News Editor Meredith Lilly

Copy Editor Shelley Bahorie

Features Editor Andrew Hamilton-Smith

Distribution Manager Ali Kasim

Arts & Entertainment Editor Michael Di Leo

Business Manager Romano Bergic

Sports Editor Christopher Sa’d

Webmaster TBA

Photography Editor Matthew Filipowich

pus, through providing services and the advocacy part-time students rightfully deserve, is unjust. It is ironic how APUS began a fullyfledged campaign against UTMSU claiming that the referendum, which resulted in the successful merger of EPUS with UTMSU, was undemocratic. The very fact that APUS has no UTM representation on their selfappointed boards and that it does not hold any elections is what is truly undemocratic. APUS filed a lawsuit against UTMSU claiming that the referendum was undemocratic.

However, despite APUS’s claims, the court ruled that UTMSU acted in good faith and in the best interest of part-time students.

We believe that part time students are equally important and an integral part of our campus. Given that parttime students span across different demographics, the need to have their issues addressed is greater than ever.

And your student union, UTMSU, is here to address them.

If you are a part time-student and have any questions or concerns, please drop by the UTMSU office, Room 100 in the Student Center at anytime.

In Student Solidarity, Mubashir Ali Vice President Part Time Affairs University of Toronto Mississauga Students' Union

The Medium is looking for assistant editors for all four sections - News, Features, Arts, Sports. If you have been writing for us the past year or so, and want to be part of the team, let us know. Email your section editors or the editor-inchief with your cover letter, resume, and some writing samples.

THE MEDIUM 5

Monday, September 22, 2008

Arts & Entertainment MICHAEL DI LEO, EDITOR | arts@mediumonline.ca

Artist spotlight: The King Khan and BBQ show MICHAEL DI LEO A&E EDITOR

If you were hip to the Montreal garage rock scene in the late 90s, you might remember The Spaceshits, a small collective of post-punk rockabillies amid a sea of impending Quebecois electro-rock enthusiasts.

Assuming you managed to survive one of their concerts, you might also remember the intensity and sheer ferociousness of the group’s collaborative sound, not to mention the violence which ultimately led to the end of their bookings in Montreal. What you probably don’t remember is how they broke up, and why people don’t remember them.

Following a European tour in ’99, Spaceshits member and spiritual guru Blacksnake choose to remain behind in Germany, no doubt allured by the country’s love for efficiency and Perspectivism. Choosing not to play without their leader, The Spaceshits decided instead to disband, leaving their members to their own individual careers. Mark Sultan, lead singer and record label attaché, decided to do just that, moving back to Montreal to perform in a number of other garage rock bands including Les Sexareenos, eventually settling on producing his own solo work under the pseudonym BBQ (pronounced barbeque).

Meanwhile, across the Atlantic Blacksnake chose a similar route, continuing to make music with local musicians and in turn, evolving into an entirely new persona: King Khan.

Touring extensively with a number of local groups, Khan ultimately decided on sticking with a more stable touring band, The Shrines.

As King Khan & The Shrines gained popularity across Europe and the indie-music scene in North America, BBQ was experiencing similar fortunes in Quebec where he continued to tour and record with a number of influential garage-punk

artists including The Deadly Snakes, The Ponys, and Bob Log III. In 2003, both King Khan and BBQ decided on reuniting for a side project, forming The King Khan and BBQ Show. Keeping with his style, BBQ played drums and guitar and sang (often all three at the same time), while Khan concentrated on lead guitar. After two years of playing together, they released their first LP (self titled) which was then followed by a world tour, eventually encompassing North and South America, Europe, and Australia.

Despite being a two-man band, The King Khan & BBQ Show gained praise for their live shows which have been hailed as one of the best rock acts by many music zines, including the likes of Pitchfork and Rolling Stone. While their songs remain simple, the aggression and passion put into them transform the collective sound into something larger than life.

While BBQ hammers away at the fragmented drum kit and croons deeply into the microphone, Khan is busy throwing himself around the stage while playing his homemade concoctions of blues, garage-punk, and doo-wop on the guitar. The shows are largely improvised, lending themselves to become something more of an experience than an opportunity to listen to music. While the two are always in “the zone”, there is always an element of fun and surprise. You never know who will jump on stage and contribute to the sound, nor do you know who (or what) King Khan will attack by the end of the set, which is done in good humour most of the time. The overall impact is huge, and you’re left feeling thoroughly satisfied.

The King Khan & BBQ show is currently touring Europe. They tend to come back to Canada to perform one-off shows, much like they did this past summer with a three-day stint at the Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto. Watch out for them.

photo/Pitchfork Media

King Khan doesn’t understand why he got punched in the face after one of his concerts.

CD Review

Weezer (The Red Album) Weezer 2/5 PAUL CASTRODALE There is a specter that hangs over Weezer. When it first emerged it was difficult to confront, but now it’s an integral part of the once mighty Weezer’s discography.

The Red Album is Weezer’s latest stab at recreating the monochrome greatness that made their first (Blue) Album so monumental in certain circles, i.e. you, in high school. And like every other post-Pinkerton offering, this album is haunted by the Weezer of the past: the 12-sided die rolling, guitar soloin’, rockin’ dudes who rode their boards to work and fancied girls too cool for Green Day concerts. That was when Weezer’s charms extended beyond the “endearingly nerdy” façade that they’re associated with now.

Remember in “The Sweater Song” when Rivers Cuomo was so cool he blew off the girl who needed a ride to the party after the show? Certified Ace. That’s when Rivers and co. were fresh, hilarious, and earnest about what they did, and especially how they did it.

The music paralleled its makers.

Their first two albums spun smooth Ric Ocasek-guitar-sheen and crunchy blasts of distorted noise; it’s like peanut butter. The Blue Album was a funny, tight and universally enjoyable listening experience that is more musically adventurous than it is given credit for. Pinkerton is their finest and loudest hour . It is a distorted mess, a pseudo-rock opera that is the soundtrack to all of your unrequited love.

Even to this day, the album is relevant. It was filled with humor, spontaneity and some memorable power chord hooks. Now we have 808 drums over smoothly strummed acoustic soft-rock with guitarist Matt Bell nasally crooning over it all.

“What the fuck?”

That’s most people’s response to Weezer’s previous album, Make Believe. Not so much this one though. It’s not because The Red Album is better than its reprehensible predecessor, it’s because at this point I honestly don’t know if anyone still cares about the Weeze.

On Make Believe, Rivers chose to write an album of lyrics that are baf-

fling in their retardedness, which is surprising considering he’s a Harvard grad. The Red Album is better than its predecessor, but it is still overshadowed by the fact that no one is going to find new Weezer as artistically rewarding as old Weezer.

The album definitely has its moments; “The Greatest Man That Ever Lived” is a fast-paced, funny, and rocking six minutes that covers all kinds of Rivers-related fun, including mages, Dio, and outdated hip-hop slang. But then there are songs like “Troublemaker” and “Pork and Beans” which waste what could be vintage Weeze performances if not for Rivers’ obsession with bragging about himself. This is supposed to be Weezer coming to grips with their age and current popular standing, so why does Rivers Cuomo write songs about defiantly being himself like he has something to prove? If this is the sound of a band trying to reach maturity, why are they extending a hand back into the precarious boasting of a high school inferiority complex? Does anyone still care about Weeze?

photo/ossom.com

When not making music, Weezer enjoy doing normal things such as playing cricket.

6 THE MEDIUM

PICKERING Pickering Town Centre 1355 Kingston Rd. (905) 420-0744 611 Kingston Rd. (905) 831-9557 1899 Brock Rd. (905) 686-6558 RICHMOND HILL Hillcrest Mall 9350 Yonge St., Unit Z2 (905) 770-4433 10 West Pearce St., Bldg. B (905) 731-7318 Times Square Mall 550 Hwy. 7 E., Unit A1 (905) 882-8668 1480 Major Mackenzie Dr. E., Unit C3-3 (905) 737-8737 9196 Yonge St. (905) 764-0310 9737 Yonge St., Unit 211 (905) 770-1010 10720 Yonge St., Unit 102 (905) 884-9558 10755 Leslie St., Unit 5 (416) 221-8111 x2 SCARBOROUGH 1448 Lawrence Ave. E. (416) 757-1666 2555 Victoria Park Ave. (647) 258-0267 2650 Lawrence Ave. E., Unit 2B (416) 755-8977 411 Kennedy Rd. (416) 266-7727 x1 4438 Sheppard Ave. E., Unit 107 (416) 642-8888 1291 Kennedy Rd. (416) 752-9655 3300 Midland Ave., Unit 40 (416) 332-8383 19 Milliken Blvd., Unit U (416) 299-6006 5095 Sheppard Ave. E. (416) 646-2146 Woodside Square 1571 Sandhurst Circle, Unit 502K (416) 609-3200 5661 Steeles Ave. E., Unit 5 (416) 298-8821 1900 Eglinton Ave. East, Unit E5A (416) 266-7727 x3 665 Markham Road, Unit 5 (416) 266-7727 x4 THORNHILL Shops on Steeles 2900 Steeles Ave. E., Unit 38 (905) 482-3866 Promenade Mall 1 Promenade Circle, Unit 180 (905) 482-2733 31 Disera Drive, Unit 140 (905) 882-9777 TORONTO 1854 Danforth Ave. (416) 425-9000 471 Eglinton Ave. W. (416) 485-2757 2400 Bloor St. W. (416) 760-7450 919 Bay St. (416) 657-4400 2266 Eglinton Ave. W. (416) 784-4151 2397 Yonge St. (416) 489-2255 604 Bloor St. W. (416) 533-1656 548 Church St. (416) 644-9094 Dufferin Mall 900 Dufferin St. (416) 588-6668 421 Dundas St. W., Unit G8 (416) 351-0888 1451 Dundas St. W. (416) 588-8989 Dragon City Mall 280 Spadina Ave. (416) 979-8350 939 Eglinton Ave. E., Unit 106 (416) 467-9800 Gerrard Square 1000 Gerrard St. E. (416) 466-8200 662 King Street W. (416) 628-4000 228 Queens Quay W., Unit 3 (416) 971-9700 1821 Queen St. E. (416) 406-2355 2 St. Clair Ave. E. (416) 934-1313 1268 St. Clair Ave. W. (416) 652-2288 1350 St. Clair Ave. W. (416) 651-2000 2200 Yonge St., Unit 104 (416) 322-9079 154 University Ave., Suite 101 (416) 506-0809 9A Yorkville Ave. (416) 921-7559 386 Sheppard Ave. E. (416) 512-0012 525 University Ave. (416) 640-5998 55 Chauncey Ave. (416) 231-5310 272 Danforth Ave. W. (416) 461-1010 UXBRIDGE 11 Brock St. West (905) 862-2100 VAUGHAN 1600 Steeles Ave. W., Unit 30 (905) 695-1061 WHITBY 25 Thickson Rd. N. (905) 433-0701 WILLOWDALE Centerpoint Mall 6236 Yonge St. (416) 512-8800 WOODBRIDGE 5317 Hwy. 7, Unit 2 (905) 266-0003 200 Whitmore Rd., Unit 9 (905) 850-8505

ETOBICOKE Cloverdale Mall (416) 231-5973 Woodbine Centre (416) 798-0229 MARKHAM Markville Mall (905) 940-6510 NEWMARKET Upper Canada Mall (905) 853-1462 OAKVILLE 240 Leighland Ave., Unit 208B (905) 815-8871 OSHAWA Oshawa Centre (905) 571-6663 SCARBOROUGH Scarborough Town Centre (416) 296-9160 TORONTO Toronto Eaton Centre Kiosk (416) 977-7555 Bloor West (647) 426-4737 The Exchange Tower (416) 603-7979 Toronto Eaton Centre (416) 351-1522 Yorkdale Shopping Centre (416) 783-0675 1 Yorkdale Rd., Unit 180 (416) 785-6216 Vaughan Mills 8960 Jane St., Unit 108 (905) 760-8157

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Monday, September 22, 2008

THE MEDIUM

ARTS

7

Tales from a familiar city ALI KASIM EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

So another Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) has passed.

What films did you see? If you’re like me, then you’d make it a point to watch the less mainstream titles, and the films that you probably won’t get a chance to see outside of the festival. So I passed on films like Burn After Reading, The Wrestler, and Spike Lee’s Miracle at St. Anna. In less than a month, I would probably catch those at the neighbourhood Cineplex anyway.

Instead, I attended screenings of the indies, the low-budget, Canadian films that I would have never heard of if it weren’t for TIFF. Even with lowered expectations, few managed to make the cut, but one certainly stood out.

Toronto Stories is an omnibus film featuring some of Toronto's finest. The segments in the 90minute film are linked by the character of a silent young boy who gets off a plane at Pearson, slips away from customs officers and wanders the city streets. En route, he provides us with a tour of Toronto: the good – and the not so good. What emerges is a portrait of a city still coming to terms with itself.

The first instalment, “Shoelaces,” proves that with the right lighting and cinematography, Toronto can actually look great on camera. Even Spadina Avenue. The story centres around two kids who narrowly escape a potentially nasty encounter with some local bullies – an event that only emboldens them to embark on a spooky midnight tour of the Don Valley. Slightly clichéd – do all innocent thirteen-year olds encounter some type of bully? – “Shoelaces” does provide for some hopeful introspection into the minds of the young and the heart of the city. It’s twenty promising minutes of film that can branch out into so many possibilities. My wish is that director Aaron Woodley develops his short film into a feature.

In Sook-Yin Lee's wryly comic anti-romance “The Brazilian,” the city is a colder place where connections are tough to make and tougher to sustain. The title, by the way, refers not to any of the characters, but to the wax job that women get when they want everything off. Born in Vancouver and no stranger to Canadian cinema, Lee directs herself as the woman caught in a onesided and slightly odd relationship.

It makes you think of the couples you see on the streets of Toronto – are people really that awkward?

Sudz Sutherland's insightful “Windows” takes us down grittier, more perilous avenues. In this short, the city is anonymous yet small.

After a misspent youth, Elton finally has his life on track, with a steady job and a baby on the way. But his past is not ready to let him go.

Touching on issues and assumptions surrounding race and class, Sutherlands crafts a rather original tale where doing the right thing is much harder than it ought to be.

Fittingly, the best of the four is saved for last with David Weaver's brooding “Lost Boys.” An unbalanced vagrant (played flawlessly by Gill Bellows) watches as the young boy from the prologue is hauled off by a suspicious character. He wants to help, but who is going to listen to a man who is both unstable and drug-addled? Also starring Lisa Ray, the film is an intelligent look at the assumptions we make about people and the innate innocence

which resides within all of us.

Overall, Toronto Stories tells you much about the city. Armed with tons of landscape shots, it helped that, for once, Toronto was not showcased as a winter city laden with winter jackets, slush and snow.

But none of the stories told enough of the people en masse. Where are the Torontonians? What about some

hotdog stands in the backdrop? It’s as if all four filmmakers concentrated only on the characters in the script. Nonetheless, Toronto Stories demonstrates well how we define the spaces we choose to call (or are forced to call) our own. Hopeful and tough-minded, it draws on Toronto's history while engaging in some mythmaking of its own.

with Michael Di Leo

I would like to take this opportunity to introduce a new feature in the Arts & Entertainment section, “What’s the Dil-Eo?” a weekly column detailing some of the happenings in the local music scene.

First, and most importantly, My Bloody Valentine will be playing the Kool Haus in Toronto this week. For those of you who do not know, this is MBV’s first reunion tour since breaking up more than a decade ago. If you don’t have tickets, get them now because this will be a once in a lifetime musical experience.

The tenth instalment of the infamous Extermination Music ight took place last Saturday with performances from Brides, Animalmonster, Canaille, and free-jazz enthusiasts Steve Baczkowski and Rob Gordon.

As per usual, the concert cum art event took place at an “undisclosed location” (i.e. beneath the Prince Edward viaduct by the Don Valley bike trail) and featured a mini artexpo and an American Apparel fashion show put on by the largest gathering of hipsters ever.

Stay tuned for more thoughts.

CD RELEASES THIS WEEK:

Kings of Leon – Only By The ight Mogwai – The Hawk Is Howling TV On The Radio – Dear Science Thievery Corporation – Radio Retaliation Cold War Kids – Loyalty To Loyalty UPCOMI G CO CERTS

photo/google images

Canadian-Indian actress Lisa Ray (above) and Gill Bellows (below) star in the fourth installment of Toronto Stories.

Monday, September 22nd - Sigur Ros @ Massey Hall ($39.50-$49.50) Wednesday, September 24th - Santogold, Low Vs. Diamond, and more @ Guvernment ($25) Wednesday, September 24th – Bad Religion, The Bronx @ Sound Academy ($29.50) Wednesday, September 24th - Mogwai, Fuck Buttons @ The Phoenix ($27.50) Thursday, September 25th – My Bloody Valentine @ Kool Haus ($47.50) Thursday, September 25th – Holy Fuck @ The Phoenix ($12.50) Friday, September 26th – Method Man & Redman @ Kool Haus ($39.95) Friday, September 26th – Sweet Thing, Gemma Hayes @ The Supermarket ($13.50) Saturday, September 27th – TREKZAK FESTICO : Indie Star Trek Convention featuring The Bicycles, Laura Barrett, Woodhands, Green Go, Vulcan Dub Squad, T'Potts & Commander Dovercourt, and more @ Tranzac [events all day, show at 8 pm] ($5 advance)

We want to hear from you on The Medium’s new blog.

If you have a fresh funky style, interesting points of view, and love to write about anything from pop culture to current issues to politics, then this is your chance to get published.

Email Ali at editor@mediumonline.ca to find out more about The Medium Blog, or visit http://community.livejournal.com/mediumblog/ for more information on how you can get started.

8 THE MEDIUM

Monday, September 22, 2008

Features ANDREW HAMILTON-SMITH, EDITOR | features@mediumonline.ca

Sex & SEC-xuality From the Features Editor: This is the first segment of what will be a weekly column dedicated to dealing with issues related to sex and sexuality. The purpose of this column will be to inform, but it will also be to entertain. It is not the intention of this column to offend anyone, but we also realize that this is not a subject that everyone is comfortable with. Please bear with us. We always welcome feedback, but hate mail is not so appreciated. Enjoy! “I have had several sexual relationships, but I recently started seeing a girl who I am absolutely in love and completely compatible with. Things are going really well.

We really care about each other and always have a great time when we hang out, but there is one little problem: Sex. There is no chemistry; she wants one thing and I want another. This relationship would be perfect if it weren’t for this one thing. Do you see any hope for this relationship? What should I do?Am I over-reacting?�

To quote something that I once

heard, ‘sex is like pizza: even when it’s bad, it’s pretty good.’ Sex does tend to play a major role in a relationship, especially if both of you are admitting that things don’t seem to be going the way that you want it to.

I definitely don’t have a cure-all for your problems but I can make some helpful recommendations:

couples find it easier to talk during sex, others find it easier to talk outside of the bedroom, or washroom, or their parents’ bedroom (hey, I’m not judging). Wherever it may be, bring it up at a time when you are both prepared and able to discuss it, and keep in mind that the problem isn’t going to be fixed over-night.

1) Communication is an excellent place to start. Talk to each other about what you want during sex; your likes and expectations, for example. I know that the topic might be difficult to bring up, so you should probably time it right. Some

2) Try different things. If you’re saying that what you’ve been doing hasn’t been working out, maybe you should experiment a little. Isn’t that what university is for? Even something as simple as a new position could be the key to sexual chemistry.

Keep trying and hopefully you will find the chemistry that you are looking for. Although, it’s always possible that you will end up deciding that this just isn’t the relationship for you. Either way, I’m totally jealous of your homework assignment.

Good luck!

-the SEC If you have questions that you want answered in our sex column, send them to us at sex.column@utmsec.ca.

Please note that this column is intended for entertainment purposes.

photo/Matthew Filipowich

The Sexual Education Centre staff look forward to answering your questions.

Notice of UTMSU FALL ELECTIONS & REFERENDA

Creative Corner Human

Positions: Two (2) available for the UTMSU First-year representatives on the Board of Directors (Division I) One (1) available for the UTMSU Part-time representative on the Board of Directors (Division IV) Election Voting Period : September 24th, 25th 11am - 7pm @ CCIT Election Campaign Period : September 22nd - 25th

RAISA AUSTINA PALHA some thrive in isolation like cacti in deserts barren flourishing despite famine for the impetus to survive to keep hope alive even through the most tempestuous of times

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is ingrained in all mankind they live, they weep

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and subsist off their tears their fears of fatality impel them to expend energy on securing some respite in this hellish estate but that hell notwithstanding they remain standing persevering despite all odds terrors may affright they may grow hard of sight yet they continue to fight for, their mental sparks ignited they bite the bullet yes, some thrive in isolation like cacti in deserts barren amazingly strong, amazingly human

Monday, September 22, 2008

THE MEDIUM 9

FEATURES

Poverty: for better or for worse?

KAREN AKHTAR With a federal election scheduled for October 14, 2008, there are many significant issues that politicians are talking about: the war in Afghanistan, health care, and the economy. One issue that tends to be largely ignored, but is a major problem in Canada, is poverty. A study on poverty was released by the Fraser Institute on May 7, 2008, conducted by Professor Chris Sarlo of Nipissing University. He concluded that the problem is not a major issue, since it is not clear whether the situation is improving or getting worse.

He used incomes drawn from spending databases, finding that overall poverty fell sharply from about 12 per cent in 1969 to approximately three per cent in 1974 and then drifted slowly upwards to about 4.5 per cent in 2005. He also used incomes drawn from labour market databases and found that overall poverty fluctuated between eight and 12 per cent between 1973 and 1996, and then fell sharply after that to around five per cent.

Sarlo suggests that the most accurate measure of poverty is one based only on the “necessities of life”. He believes that poverty consists of not being able to afford healthy food, housing, new clothes, furniture, hygiene and household cleaning items, insurance, as well as extra health costs such as medications, dental, and vision care. However, Sarlo’s findings based on this definition are somewhat vague and contradictory. For one thing, he measures overall poverty in Canada by using two different standards spending databases and labour market databases - and then claims the results of overall poverty in Canada are mixed. Secondly, Sarlo does not say specifically how many people in Canada are unable to maintain these necessities of life. He also fails to address the fact that in order to be considered middle-class, one must be able to have extra income and leisure time to pursue interests outside of basic survival - something a poor person most likely does not have. Perhaps most importantly, Sarlo does not even mention the major problem of growing consumer debt.

So what is poverty really then?

Many other experts believe that poverty in Canada is worsening, and they provide strong, consistent evidence to support this notion. The National Anti-Poverty Organization discovered in 2006, approximately one in ten Canadians - about 3.4 million people - lived in poverty, including approximately 760,000 youth and children. They also reveal that some groups are more vulnerable to poverty than others, such as recent immigrants to Canada, people with disabilities, Aboriginal people, single parents (mainly women) and their children.

Another anti-poverty group, KAIROS, agrees that poverty in Canada is worsening. They released their own report on poverty in June 2005, which showed that certain groups are three to five times more likely than other Canadians to live in poverty: single 45-64 year-olds, disabled people, lone parents (and their children), off-reserve Aboriginal people, and recent immigrants. The rising income gap between immigrants and those born in Canada is troubling according to KAIROS: “Between 1980 and 2000, lowincome rates among recent immigrants increased from 25 per cent to

36 per cent, while the rate of poverty for Canadian-born people fell from 17 per cent to 13 per cent”.

These findings, particularly those dealing with child and immigrant poverty, raise many questions about Canada being a world leader. It is a shame that Canadians often brag about living in a first-world country, while our most vulnerable citizens are left to fall through the cracks.

These facts clearly demonstrate that poverty is a problem in Canada, despite Sarlo’s attempts to confuse the issue. To people barely making ends meet, poverty certainly hasn’t gotten any better in the last 20 years, even if the question of “how bad it is” can be debated.

In Ontario, the problem is evident. According to Campaign 2000, another organization that is working to eliminate poverty, the problem is worse than mere numbers and statistics may suggest. For example, an average low-income single parent family lives approximately $9,500 below the poverty line, thus creating a massive drag on the economy.

Shockingly, 478,480 children in Ontario live in poverty, a rate of 17.4 per cent - an increase from 15.1 in 2001 despite strong economic growth during that same time.

Thanks to Sarlo and the Fraser Institute, confusion regarding statistics tends to make us forget the human face of poverty.

In Peel Region, the situation is no better than anywhere else, even if we don’t see homeless people on street corners. The Peel Poverty Action Group provides the following research on poverty in Peel, which is included in an open letter being sent to local politicians, in an attempt to make poverty a bigger issue in the upcoming federal election. The letter states that “more than 167,000 people in Peel Region, including children and seniors, are considered to be cash-poor and of these cash-poor folk, almost 70,000 live in families where at least one member works but does not make enough to lift the family out of poverty”. Visible minorities make up half of Peel’s population, and are at higher risk for poverty for many reasons, such as being unable to find employment that matches their skills and education level and being new to Canada.

Thanks to Sarlo and the Fraser Institute, confusion regarding statistics tends to make us forget the human face of poverty. The Ontario Association of Food Banks offers the following true story of one woman’s ordeal with poverty. Marcy* used to work in the technology sector for 25 years as a wide area network designer, and often worked on government projects, earning an excellent salary. But that changed when her son Trevor* was born with Down syndrome. Trevor’s illness left him with a weak immune system, autistic traits, and heart problems. Marcy tried to care for Trevor while keeping her job. She had to meet with nine separate pathologists regularly, calling in sick to care for Trevor. Missing 80 workdays in her first year alone, her employer eventually let her go. Marcy tried to live on Ontario Works (OW) payments of $860 per month for the first four years, but the assistance just wasn’t enough. Marcy had to pay for rent, utilities, and caregiver costs for Trevor through her own savings.

Trevor’s challenges required a high-

photo/Matthew Filipowich

ly qualified caregiver, which came at a high cost. Eventually, Marcy had become so poor that she had no choice but to rely on the Food Bank.

To bring the issue of poverty even closer to home, Rahul D’Cunha the Food Bank Coordinator at UTM, points out that the UTM Food Bank is currently going through a crisis of its own. He explains that “in previous years the UTM Food Bank was supplied by Food Path; [but] this year they have decided not to supply the UTM Foodbank because they have turned from a supplier to a distributor”. This has forced the UTMSU to begin collecting food on its own initiative. “Therefore the students who rely on the food supplied by Food Path may have to go empty handed by the end of the year if we run out of food because we do not have another supplier,” said D’Cunha.

So clearly, poverty is a problem that is getting worse. With some of our own fellow students struggling to survive, part of the responsibility to eliminate poverty now lies directly within the UTM community.

Poverty is not just an issue that is abstract, something that we can turn a blind eye to: It affects students at this campus as well - maybe even someone you know - and it is something that we all need to take action to eliminate. With so much evidence showing that poverty is worsening in Canada, politicians need to finally provide meaningful, realistic solutions to end poverty. Here are the views of each national political party regarding poverty in Canada: Conservatives: The Conservative government instituted a taxable monthly $100 child-care benefit to parents for each child under six years. The Tories have also allowed pensioners to split their incomes. The government increased the tax rate for people who have the lowest incomes, but later reduced it back to 15 per cent.

Liberals: The Liberal party is creating the 30-50 plan, which is supposed to reduce the number of Canadians living below the poverty line by at least 30 per cent and cut in

half the number of children living in poverty within five years. ew Democrats: The New Democrats’ strategy calls for exposing price gouging and hidden fees, fixing the employment insurance program, a national early learning and child-care program, a pan-Canadian housing policy, and a national minimum wage of $10 per hour.

Greens: The Green Party aims to eliminate poverty, but does not explain how.

Out of all of the national political parties of Canada, the New Democrats seem to have the strongest ideas for effectively battling poverty. The issue of poverty cannot be ignored any longer. It is atrocious that for years politicians have spent more time engaging in petty popularity contests than facing real issues, such as poverty, that matter the most. It is time for us to realize the seriousness of the situation and start demanding real solutions from our leaders.

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10 THE MEDIUM

Monday, September 22, 2008

FEATURES

Creative Corner: Jared - the conclusion had a moment of clarity, but the liquor would soon assuage the apprehension.

Fuck it. I stumbled towards Jay and followed him into the house.

Inside, it stank, the rueful aroma of dog shit and stale beer stagnated in the hallway. The walls were like those of the bar, cracked like the floor of an arid dessert, coloured a shade of smoky yellow. I went to take off my shoes, but Jay advised me otherwise.

“No!” he looked at me, awash with shock, “don’t take off your shoes here buddy; might step into an unpleasant surprise.”

The roar of confined dogs came cascading up from the basement. For a moment, it seemed as if they would run up the stairs and kill us on principal. I expressed my drunken dismay.

“Jay, what’s up with those hounds? They sound like they’re out for blood,” I said, my words audibly slurred.

“Don’t worry Sammy, I never let em’ up stairs when there’s visitors,” said Jay.

NILS BLONDON We walked for 20 minutes, drunkenly meandering down dusty roads as the odour of cow manure hung in my nostrils amidst the mucus. The moon burned overhead, radiating our portent journey with baleful spots of faded light; like a dying bed lamp.

Jay burped intermittently while telling generic racist jokes. I feigned amusement. Obliterating the bane memories with alcohol was the only thing that kept me with him.

“OK SAMMY BOY,” Jay bellowed, “welcome…to my dwelling.”

Standing abreast of the house, I noticed the parity it shared to my own: an unspectacular bungalow on a moribund, evanescent street. The only difference between my home and his was the signs of neglect.

Weathered, disheveled shingles lay strewn across a decomposing brown and green lawn of dirt and weeds. I assumed the shingles had been ripped from the roof by wind gusts. Beer bottles sat like glass trophies atop the crumbling dirty grey concrete steps that led to the front door. No surprise really, this is exactly what I had anticipated. Alcohol tends to encumber regular home maintenance.

Jay began walking across the trench of a lawn to his front door. I stood haplessly, second-guessing this entire venture.

“My Mother, how could I leave without letting her know? Surely, she’ll call the police soon and I’ll be brought home by them or thrown in the pysch ward again…What is Mom thinking now? What have I done?”

“SAM, COME ON BUDDY,” I could hear Jay’s slovenly calls through my trance.

Jared, get out of the car…

Twenty four hours ago I was lying on my bed, entertaining a childish plan. Now I was standing on a dirty lawn in rural Ontario, about to drink all night with a man I didn’t know. I

“It’s already two in the morning?” I said. The realization of the time was disconcerting. I hadn’t checked or asked for the time since I left home.

We stepped over pieces of dog shit that were like landmines on top of sheets of piss-stained newspapers, eventually ending up in his den. A small portable fridge stood in the corner of the room. There was an aged, wooden table, and a musky sofa.

“So this is where I’m spending my evening,” I thought to myself. Times of sordid reality call for levity.

Jared, you’ve done well.

Without notice of a ringing bell or knock, the front door crashed open. I

UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO POLICE

Self Defense For Women

The University of Toronto Police are proud to present the Critical Incident Avoidance (CIA) Program. This program covers the principles and psycology of a Critical Incident Avoidance. The program also involves a pysical element with the basis on ESCAPE from situation.

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Course Goals: The system of controlling techniques allows women to easily and effectively control situations that arise Proactive methods are stressed as opposed to reactive The techniques do not rely on size or strength, and can be easily learned and retained

Place: UTM Department of Physical Education, Athletics & Recreation The course is 12hrs long, divided into two days.

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To Enroll Contact: Marta Nizynska Marta.nizynska@utoronto.ca

UNIVERSITY OF Hardeep Mann TORONTO POLICE h.mann@utoronto.ca 3359 Mississauga Road North South Building, Room 2117 Mississauga, Ontario L5L 1C6 Phone: 905-828-5200 Fax: 905-569-4616 Web Site: www.utm.utoronto.ca/police

could hear the unmistakable sound of a drunk lumbering through the hall towards the den, crashing through the home like bulls in Pamplona, Spain.

Jay got up from the coach and then sat back down. He looked at me with an air of assurance.

“Don’t worry buddy, that must be Joe,” he said, beer spittle dangling from his whiskers.

“I told him to stop by around two, totally slipped my mind though.”

“It’s already two in the morning?”

I said. The realization of the time was disconcerting. I hadn’t checked or asked for the time since I left home. I wanted to lose myself in my voyage. Clocks were too formal.

“It is two in the morning now.

What a horrifying thought.”A florid, dirty man came rampaging into the den. His nose resembled a bell pepper, ravaged by time and liquor. He held a bottle of discount swill in his right hand. I wondered if there was an assembly line that produced the men who inhabited this town.

“Hey Jay, who’s the hobo?” The drunk looked at me bemusedly, waving his beer from left to right as it splashed from the bottle onto the stained floor.

“Oh Joey, this is my new buddy, Sam.” Jay got up to shake his friend’s hand. He reached out and slipped, falling head first into a pile of beer bottles and soiled newspapers. We looked at each other and exploded into roaring laughter.

“Oh, well I can see you guys are fucking lit!” The words rumbled from his gravel voice box. Jay got up, dusted the debris of his person, and joined in the laughter.

The next few hours were spent drinking all the booze in the house, lost in trivial reveries while telling stories. Eventually, it was four A.M. Joe invited me back to his house for some final drinks before sunrise. I obliged.

We left Jay laying face-first on his floor with the dogs licking beer and ash from his wrinkled cheeks. Joe stumbled like a cripple down the steps of Jay’s house as we left. He decided to start conversation.

“So Sam, what would your old man and mom think? You out in the country alone, getting drunk with a couple of rummies. Shouldn’t you be with your college girl by now?”

The question was anathema to me.

I could feel the evening, now turned morning, going to the demons.

“At the crack of dawn, I’m back on that highway and headed for Montreal.” The thought crept back and forth through my sub conscious as we sat in Joe’s basement apartment, which was surprisingly unsullied. It was no more than a 10-minute walk from Jay’s.

“Sam, grab the bottle, we’ll play a drinking game,” Joe suggested.

I despised drinking games. They were for frat boys and virginal drunks, people who had never experienced a moment’s torment.

“Fuck drinking games, since when has drinking ever been a game?” I said. Stringing together a literate sentence was becoming more of a challenge. Joe paused and attempted to retort, but instead, began chuckling to himself as spittle hung from his sardonic grin.

“Yer right,” he said. His eyes - now two red slits - fought to stay open.

“Drinking game are fer faggots.”

“That’s exactly my point Joe, are you a faggot?” I said.

“Ha, faggot?” Joe’s head swayed and bobbed as if it were a piece of garbage floating down the Humber River.

“Name callin’ are we now Sammy?”

Joe rose from the sofa. I hadn’t

photo/Matthew Filipowich

realized how intimidating this man could be. The drink had loosened my tongue to an irrevocable point.

If this man wanted to, he could kill me. He exhaled heavy, virulent breaths. I got up from my seat, gripping a bottle with my left hand. My right hand clenched. I could feel my knuckles turning white and purple as my fist tightened.

Stay there Jared, I’ll be right back.

Joe dove towards me, his scream echoed through the apartment. I strafed left, avoiding the lunge, but tripped over a footstool and landed on the tiled floor. The thud of the impact rang through my ears; I could feel moisture under my head where it hit the tile. Blood.

I attempted to get up, but was struck back to the floor by a heavy kick to the right shoulder. Joe was on top of me now, swinging wildly at my face. The man I was laughing with an hour ago was now attempting to destroy me.

The bottle I held in my left hand shattered on impact when I hit the ground. Bloodied fragments of glass decorated the tile like a violent mosaic. I caught a glimpse of it as Joe continued to swing at my face, rarely connecting. The liquor softened his punches. The neck of the broken bottle was in still in my grasp. I stabbed at his face.

“Fuck drinking games, since when has drinking ever been a game?” I said. Stringing together a literate sentence was becoming more of a challenge. Joe paused and attempted to retort, but instead, began chuckling to himself as spittle hung from his sardonic grin.

The fighting ceased. Joe’s hands stopped swinging. He reached for his neck as blood erupted from the wound.

“Just like the movies.” Our eyes met, an abject look came across his face. A look of contrition. As if to say, ‘Why now…I’m sorry, sorry that I’ve wasted my life.’

With that, he fell.

I got up, and observed the anarchy of the room. Blood everywhere. I walked over to Joe. He was dead.

Surely, ineffably, dead. I had always felt death would be more dramatic.

“My death, when it was comes upon me, will be more climactic than this man’s.” I had killed another human being. My passage into manhood. My life, from this point forward, no matter what was to transpire, would never be referred to as dull again.

The sun broke through the shades, painting everything pastel yellow.

The rays of sun danced across the pool of blood. I was bemused by the natural beauty of death dancing about with the fecundity of a new day. I sat back down on the sofa.

My clothes were mangled, torn. My left hand was sliced open in four spots, and continued to bleed onto the furniture of the apartment.

I reached for my wallet. It was gone. There was nothing in my pockets. I must’ve left it in Jay’s house.

A death sentence. The police would know who I was. Jay would find his friend dead. I was the only possible perpetrator of the crime. It was me who had left with the bastard. I had gone back to his house to drink at dawn, and I had killed him.

My real name. My address, height, weight. They would have it all. I needed money to leave. I would hide, live in theforest if need be.

Become a hermit; never be seen again.

I walked over to the body on the ground, being mindful of the pools of blood, evading them with pained strides. Reaching into Jay’s pockets, I produced a wallet. Such moral indignity: stealing from a corpse.

But at the same time, what else could make a person feel more alive?

I rifled through the beaten and faded brown leather wallet. 80 dollars, some insignificant cards. And then, something remarkable.

A photo dated 1980. There was a man in this photo, who appeared to be in his early thirties. He was pulling a child through the snow in a black sled. The man smiled, he laughed. His face retained an aura of vitality, a radiance of joy. The boy’s much the same.

The boy was I. This man was my dad. George Williams. I rolled him over, and observed his face. He was balding. H e had the same stern brick skinned expression as George.

He was essentially the same size, maybe twenty pounds heavier; the twenty pounds men tend to put on as they enter the twilight of their lives.

I ran into his room. On his dresser sat a defunct driver’s license.

George Williams, birth date November 1, 1948.

The palpitations of my heart peaked and ebbed, peaked and ebbed. I ran to the phone and dialed home, to speak to my mother. The phone rang. The rings negated the nattering voices in my head. An answer.

“Hello?” My mother’s tired voice crawled from within her.

“Mom, it’s me, Jared.”

“JA RED!!” sh e shouted. I’m unsure whether she was overjoyed or enraged.

“Mom, I found dad, he’s right here. I killed him.” She never replied.

THE MEDIUM 11

Monday, September 22, 2008

Sports CHRISTOPHER SA’D, EDITOR | sports@mediumonline.ca

UTM’s Bania set to tee off

Weekend EPL action

With textbooks and a driver in hand, Mark Bania is ready for the 2009 varsity circuit STEVE SINGH Mark Bania is really good at golf.

No, seriously the kid can play and I’m not talking about video game golf either. Bania, a third-year economics student at UTM, leads the Varsity Blues Monday morning as they tee-off the 2008/2009 golf season.

Just under six-feet tall and weighing no more than 155 lbs soaking wet, Bania is a self-proclaimed happy go lucky, “always smiling and laughing.� “Fearless golf. Golf is supposed to be a fun game. I just play the shot and not over analyze anything. The biggest challenge in golf? It’s all mental� says Bania whose persona resembles Brent Snedeker.

For most, the prospect of winning a luxury vehicle would mean striking the lotto. For Bania, he just had to make a few putts. “It was a few years back at the Golf Expo, I had to hit four putts from twenty-five feet out and I did, “ says the 2008 Ontario University Athletics (OUA) second team all-star. “It was pretty intense with everyone standing and watching but I did it.�

Before the start of the season, Bania won his own club tournament in Cambridge by ten strokes. “After that, a lot of the older guys weren’t too happy or fond of me,� remarks Bania.

Playing for the love of the game, Bania speaks with passion about a sport that has taken him to the St. Andrews Golf Course in England, the birthplace of golf. “Probably the best experience ever,� he says referring to the course where legends such a s J a c k N i ck l aus , A r n o l d Palmer and Ben Hogan have teed off.

“Within a hundred yards of the pin, he can make that shot up and down. He’s a great overall player who tries to make sure everyone is having a good time on the course�

-Dave Woods, Varsity Blues golf coach So w h a t ’ s t h e n e x t s t e p f o r Bania? The pro-cir cuit, joining Tiger W o od s a n d M i k e We i r ?

Making j ok e s a b o u t ‌ w h at e v e r golfers laugh at and meeting girls who only want to hang out with golfers for‌private teaching lessons.

Bania insists these girls exist by the way. “I don’t know, I really don’t,� says Bania of his future. “Right now, I’m focused on this season with the Blues.�

The B l u e s b e gi n th e y ea r i n

photo/google images

photo/Matthew Filipowich

Mark Bania tees off before the 2008-09 season.

Kingston at the Queens Invitational (Kings at Queens, get it?) Bania, returning as captain, will look to rack up another win for the Blues with the help of Scott Samuel. “Scott has been playing really well lately. If we can carry our strong play [to Kingston] we can definitely win the tournament.�

A great team player and a leader who’s always keen on helping those around him, Bania is highly regarded by Vars ity Blues golf coach Dave Woods. “Mark is a great player. One of the best putters I’ve seen. Within a hundred yards of the pin, he can make that shot up and down. He’s a great overall player who tries to make sure everyone is having a g o o d t i m e o n t he course,� says W o o d s , w h o t he National Post regards as one of the top 50 golf instructors in Canada.

The question most people ask Bania is what started him on the golf madness? “I went to a golf camp when I was eleven and I just liked playing the game. I picked it up and played more and more. When I was fifteen or sixteen, I took it more seriously,� relates Bania who won six different t o u r n a m e n t s b e fore joining the Varsity Blues in 2004.

According to Golf Digest, the odds of making a hole-in-one or an ace, is 1-in-12,750. Bania already knows how it feels to be that “one.�

If you think you can play golf, fine.

Just don’t play against Bania. And if you do, don’t bet your car.

www.athabascau.ca/standout

Above: Salomon Kalou rescues a point for Chelsea with his last-gasp equalizer to tie the game 1-1 against Manchester United on Sunday.

Below: Brazilian Jo challenges for a header as his cash-rich Manchester City team blitzed past a hapless Portsmouth team 6-0 at the City of Manchester Stadium.

12 THE MEDIUM

Monday, September 22, 2008

SPORTS

Ricciardi doesn’t deserve another chance STEVE KHAN If only they fired John Gibbons earlier.

Since the Toronto Blue Jays replaced Gibbons with Cito Gaston, they’ve been one of the best teams in baseball, with a record that would have had them in the divisional race for a playoff spot.

It’s difficult to determine exactly how much of an impact a manager has on a baseball team, but the fact is the Jays are significantly better under Cito. Toronto now essentially has three hitting coaches in Gaston, Gene Tenace and Dwayne Murphy, all of whom have helped improve the team’s batting average considerably, including runners in scoring position (RISP).

Toronto’s inability to hit with RISP is what killed this team for the first half of the season and what prompted the coaching changes. The improvement is no coincidence.

In 74 games under Gibbons, the Jays compiled just 35 wins with a .473 winning percentage compared to 47 wins in 79 games with a .595 under Gaston; a substantial improvement with the same group of players.

They’ve also remained the best pitching team in baseball, despite losing Dustin McGowan for half the season and Shaun Marcum for over a month.

All that improvement however, has proved too little too late for the Blue Jays, and fans must now look toward next season - again. But who will be making those decisions in 2009?

Since General Manager J.P.

Ricciardi was hired in November 2001, 21 teams have made general manager changes. Besides Ricciardi, all other GMs have led their teams to the playoffs, and six of those teams played in the World Series.

Ricciardi deserves credit for assembling the best pitching staff in baseball, which has saved this team from being a complete embarrassment over the past two seasons. However, he has made little effort to improve the team’s glaring need for power hitting.

And since the Jays haven't even been close to the playoffs the past seven seasons, Ricciardi should be fired.

Gaston acknowledged last week that he expects to be re-signed before the end of the current homestand.

Instead of allowing a new GM decide Gaston’s fate this off-season, it appears the Jays will allow Ricciardi to do it before season’s end, meaning J.P. will also return next season. You can’t help but wonder if Ricciardi’s impending reinstatement is down to the ten-game winning streak Gaston put together earlier this month.

Assuming Ricciardi and Gaston will all return next season, the Jays will probably seek some pitching talent this off-season. This approach is understandable since Toronto might lose number two starter A.J. Burnett (to the Yankees as recent reports suggest). As well, McGowan’s return date is uncertain and Shaun Marcum’s injury last Tuesday suggests he will be out for the entire 2009 season with a torn ligament.

This leaves Roy Halladay and Jesse Litsch as the only guarantees to start the season.

Suddenly, hitting is not the only problem. Despite their improvements since Gaston’s arrival, the current lineup needs changes, again.

What they need most is power in the middle of the lineup. Vernon Wells leads the team in home runs and is second in RBI despite missing 53 games. His stats projected over an entire season are impressive (27+ HR, 100+ RBI), but the middle of the lineup just isn’t good enough.

Wells, Rolen, Alex Rios and Lyle Overbay have all been inconsistent in their careers. Adam Lind and Travis Snider have both shown great potential, but relying on rookies isn’t exactly wise.

They don’t need to be one of the top scoring teams in the league, but they do need power because home runs can make the difference. Like the Jays, The Tampa Bay Rays and Los Angeles Angels rely heavily on pitching and defence, with poor batting averages. However, both teams have significantly more home runs than Toronto, which often means all the difference in close games, and both of those teams are headed to the playoffs.

The Minnesota Twins are the only team in contention without much power, but they hit for a better average, steal more bases, and are in a far weaker division.

The Jays can look to improve power at several positions, but the most practical would be a designated hitter (DH) or a first basemen (1B).

As good as Overbay is defensively, the Jays can afford to give it up for a bigger power threat. Also, they prob-

photo/reuters

J.P Ricciardi (left) and Cito Gaston (right). ably won’t be able to move Rolen’s contract which will pay him roughly $12.5M per season through 2010.

Their biggest expendable piece is closer B.J. Ryan. His contract looked questionable when they signed it, but it looks reasonable now and will look even better when record-setting Angels’ closer Francisco Rodriguez gets his new deal this off-season.

Toronto should have a few takers.

The New York Mets will be desperate after losing Billy Wagner for a year.

Ideally, if they can move Ryan and or Overbay for a power hitter, then signing a middle-to-top end starter becomes realistic (or vice versa).

In the end, everything depends on available resources. If Burnett optsout, the Jays are free of his $12M per

season as well as Frank Thomas’ $10M. However, they also have to anticipate Wells’ upcoming salary hikes. Wells will earn $1.5M in 2009, but that jumps to $12.5M in 2010 and $23M in 2011.

If they can add enough money and years to convince Burnett to stay, addressing this team’s needs in pitching becomes much easier. Power should be the priority since, regardless of what happens, they’ll still have a top bullpen which can mop-up innings if the starters cannot. And unlike their pitching, Toronto doesn’t have internal options to replace struggling or injured hitters.

With all these question marks for next season, it makes you wonder why Ricciardi stated this would be a quiet off-season for the Blue Jays.