March 2010 volume 2 issue 13
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arts . culture . living
Spring Cleaning Winter Dates MOON Food & Play Spring Cleaning The “Indie” Movie Scene Cinema’s Future is a “RealD” eal Andrew Jackson: A Story of a Rising Star
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Note From the Editor
FUTURÉALE
VOLUME 2 ISSUE 13
Editor in Chief Shawn Shapiro
Associate Editors Russ Martin Karen Lam Melissa Doyle
FutuRéale Readers, It is great to be back as Editor in Chief of FutuRéale and to have my return for this spectacular double issue! I want to thank all our editors, writers and contributors for their hard work and accomplishments. The magazine has come a long way from our first issue two years ago and I am proud of the strides we have made. I am confident in the next year we will keep working towards a unified goal of making the magazine even better and make sure we keep giving Canadian artists the exposure they deserve! I am proud of our team and know that with time we will only get better. Enjoy the read and keep looking to the future with us!
Junior Editors Dany Pen Bev Spritzer
Senior Editorial Designer Ravish Rawat
Junior Editorial Designers Kelly Karges Melanie Kusher
Contributing Writers Jeff Tyler Smith Erika Szabo Nicholas Berry Russ Martin Karen Lam Dany Pen Brendan Davis Marcus Pidek Craig Wilkins Vincent Mumbai Lindsay Romeo
Webmaster
Heronymo Allen
Online Content Editor Shawn Shapiro
E xecutive D irector Omar Murji Contact FutuRéale at:
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ISSN 1916-3215
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FutuRéale Magazine is published by The Organic Press www.organicpress.ca FutuRéale Magazine is a proud member of the ONAMAP Network www.onamap.ca ©2010 ONAMAP Enterprises
TABLE OF CONTENTS
arts.culture.living
FUTURÉALE
ARTS | CULTURE | LIVING
04 Go Gently Marcus Pidek
05 Moon–DVD Review Erika Szabo
06 Cinema’s Future is a “RealD” eal J. Tyler–Smith
08 Are Healthy Foods Really healthy Karen Lam
10 Food & Play Vincent Muambi
12 Ellen Dubin: A Canadian in L.A Karen Lam
14 How to Decorate your Dorm Room with $30 Lindsay Romeo
16 Pontypool Review Nicholas Berry
17 Andrew Jackson: A Story of a Rising Star
Russ Martin
20 The “Indie” Movie Scene Craig Wilkins
22 “Spring” into Spring cleaning Brendan Davis
23 Winter Dates Dany Pen
24 Artist profile: Sara Rozalina Krstevski Jessica Earle
Cover image: Photograph of William Wanstrom by Associates.
Go Gently
arts.culture.living
By Marcus Pidek
I’M IN MY FATHER’S ROOM AT THE that this was torture and we wholeheartedly NURSING HOME. As his dementia pro- agreed. She was no stranger to death. And I
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gressed, he lost the ability to do and to fix things as he had all his life. He didn’t know where to put the dishes he dried or how to change a few shingles. He broke his leg slipping down a step ladder when he tried to nail down some plastic under some old shingles on the garage roof. He lost the strength to hammer down a few boards when I built a small deck. He wanted so very much to work alongside me as we had when I was a boy and helping him. He walked to the bank with rolls of coins he had collected for years to sell them at their face value. He said they’re not worth anything. He didn’t understand what the floor model dehumidifier was and why I insisted on keeping it running. He bought it years before, but now he would continually turn it off because it was wasting electricity. After close to a week in the hospital with an IV, he was sent back again because we didn’t change the consent form at the nursing home, regarding our wishes, quickly enough. In the final stage of Alzheimer’s, the person loses the desire or ability to eat. If you try to get some food down them, they gag. Dad sat there with the mush of part of a cookie in his mouth for more than ten minutes. He couldn’t swallow it. As he succumbed to his self-starvation, the nursing home sent him to the hospital because we checked off the clause that required them to ensure that he was receiving nourishment. Weak and disoriented, the IV of saline revived him enough to be conscious of his suffering. The doctor on shift wisely said, point blank,
think partly because of that she was no stranger to life -- the quality of life. It was so good to talk with a doctor who calls it like it is – bluntly. With his advanced Alzheimer’s and withered body, the IV only wakes him up as he hydrates and he knows pain as the skin cracks from malnutrition. He’s my hero. And he’s back, to die. It’s been so hard because he was awake and talking. At first, it might have been in Polish. It was unintelligible, later in English, rambling as usual. We played the CD for him. The Polish carols stilled him immediately as he con-
“Dad’s as tough as leather. Dad’s not one to go gently into that dark night”. centrated and began to sing and hum with the words. If he was unconscious it would be a simple vigil and I could feel more remote, be a more dispassionate observer. But he’s my Dad. Talking and looking at me. And I’m on his deathwatch. “A matter of days,” said the doctor. It’d be no surprise if Dad makes a liar of him. Dad’s tough as leather. Dad’s not one to go gently into that dark night. Kicking and screaming is more his style. And putting in his two cents till the end. He won’t take any orange juice that I offer repeatedly, even though I know he won’t take it. At least I won’t guilt myself for not offering nourishment to him. We had the option of having a food tube pierced through his belly
and into his stomach. But why would we force a 94 year old to live when he doesn’t know where he is? When I was young and helpless, he watched over me, protected me and would have died for me. Now, as he lies there, helpless and unable to care for himself, in a nursing home where the nice ladies look after him 24/7, we had to make the decision to let him go. He needed us to make it for him. Family and the medical people all agreed it’s the kindest thing we can do for the old warrior. And it’s killing me. I thought I could be more objective and clear headed. My mind doesn’t understand why my heart is exploding and my stomach is in knots. A few days. Just a few days. Oh God, I wish someone could take my place and send me a nice note when it’s all over. But I’m his first child and he needs me. And so does Mom, as she reminds him of things we did when I was a kid. Yes, he really did teach me how to hold a gun and shoot tin cans. And fish. And use tools. His talking is slurred, as he rambles incomplete thoughts. It’s been years since I saw that the man who was my father had begun to leave. Bit by bit, he left us. And we took care of what was left. As he nods off in a laboured sleep, I pray that he won’t suffer. And I feel helpless as I wait for him to leave us. It’s part of life and it’s right that we should be together through these times. But boy, it’s tough. --kk
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arts.culture.living
Moo n -DVD Review-
MOON, is the directorial debut of Duncan
Jones, a former commercial director, former operator for director Tony Scott and son of David Bowie. It is an impressive sciencefiction allegory whose moral implications are as troubling as they are engrossing. In an age when most big-budget science-fiction films are made with no respect for science or fiction, it’s welcoming to see a film as profound as this. An employee of Lunar Industries, the world’s top supplier of clean energy, astronaut Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell) maintains the Sarang mining station, whose sole purpose is the mining of Helium-3 for use back on Earth. Stationed on the moon for a threeyear contract, Sam’s only companions are the station’s computer, Gerty (voiced by Kevin Spacey) and some houseplants. Nearing the end of his contract, Sam is looking worse for wear and experiencing extreme cases of depression and paranoia. The station’s long-range communications are damaged, leaving him only able to speak with his superiors and family through recorded messages. After he nearly dies in an accident, questions of sanity and, ultimately, humanity begin to emerge in this story about a man searching for the truth. Moon does not offer any over-the-top conventions that other science-fiction films try to use as a cinematic gimmick. The film FUTURÉALE
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By Erika Szabo
is as close to hard sci-fi as ever and maintains its personal turmoil in a way that’s similar to time travel films like Primer or Time Crimes. However, even those amazing films cannot compare to this richly constructed piece of work. Despite having little to work with on-set, Rockwell absolutely shines. Even in the most improbable circumstances, he manages to bring a great deal of emotional value and originality to this film. It’s not often that we see an actor seamlessly capable of making you laugh as he is of breaking your heart. With impeccable visual design and Clint Mansell’s eerie score, Moon is a deceptively simple story. Even after the film raises disturbing ethical questions about science, it’s the emotional questions about alienation, paranoia and loneliness that truly resonate. Jones has fashioned a hard sci-fi film ripe with ambiguities and thoughts on the human condition, just as the best sciencefiction should. --mk
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Cinema’s Future is a “Real D”eal IN THE HISTORY OF ENTERTAINMENT, the world has always been amused
with tricks and gimmicks. Magic shows are crafted by people who know how to manipulate a viewer’s vision to amaze them. In the early 1900’s, the moving picture had already broken new ground. Filmmaking was a rapid growing form of entertainment; the financial benefits to studios showed that filmmaking was an art form to last a lifetime. The next stage of science and cinematography would debut in 1903 when the company Steroscopic Lumiére presented the French-made L’arrivée du train in dual 35 millimetre projection. Flash forward over a century later and ThreeDimensional Cinematography has broken new ground. However, is it endangering the classic Two-Dimensional viewing experience? 3-D cinema is shot using a variety of techniques and can be broken down into three categories. On one strip of 35mm film, two images are simultaneously printed to create the effect. This is called ‘Anaglyphic’ —a common method used early on including L’arrivée du Train. The majority of films throughout the second half of the nineteenth century were shot using the ‘Polarized’ formula; also having three variations in itself. The most recognized 3-D format to a viewer who has grown up viewing 3-D using the standard Red and Blue lenses is when two images are printed side-byside on the same film strip. If the viewer removes the glasses, they can easily see the blue and red tints outlining the shapes on screen. In this format, two images can also be printed on different strips or over-and-under on the same strip. The last method is the more commonly used ‘Lenticular’ style. The emphasis on 3-D filmmaking stems from the trend that audiences can only be en-
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tertained for so long before asking for more. In a world overflowing with technology, today’s modern moviegoer sometimes has trouble remaining focused with the world on-screen. The solution was to encapsulate the audience into that world by seemingly making the fictional place become more interactive. Not all movie genres could benefit from this approach though it is only a matter of time before all genres readily use 3-D technology. Much like the magic show of the old days, the three dimensional worlds were best utilized to the fantasy level; including horror and/or cult cinema. Universal tested this in 1953 with It Came from Outer Space as well as the infamous Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) and its sequel Revenge of the Creature in 1955. 3-D was as great an asset in the gimmick department as Director Roger Corman’s electricshock devices or flying skeletons. In the 1980’s, two of the major film franchises of the horror genre jumped onboard the bandwagon with Friday the 13th: Part 3–3-D (1982) and Jaws 3-D (1983). The producers were happy with F13, made with a budget of only $4,000,000; it went on to gross $33,312,481. The third Jaws movie made an impressive $42,245,180 , double its estimated $20,000,000 budget despite receiving harsh reviews. The fad soon died out of the spotlight following 1991’s Freddy’s Dead: the Final Nightmare leaving fans wondering when the 3-D stereoscope would return. The next natural solution for 3-D cinema was to gear towards a younger audience. By acknowledging that a child’s imagination ceases to have any boundaries, studios such as Disney realized that young audiences around the world would flock to see their favourite characters become fleshed out and rounded bod-
ith
m yler-S T . J By
ies; interacting with objects before their very eyes. Director Robert Rodriguez used Digital 3-D technology in 2003 with Spy Kids 3-D and in 2005, with The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl. Spy Kids lasted twenty-five weeks in the box office pulling in $111,670,731 while AoSaL lasted only nineteen weeks and grossed $39,177,541; unfortunate as this was the first big break for Twilight sensation and Hollywood breakout Taylor Lautner. While liveaction 3-D on a CGI level may have jumped the shark (no pun intended), there was still more than enough evidence that kids wanted more. Two of the popular 90’s animation films Toy Story and a The Nightmare before Christmas were altered to incorporate the effect and re-released among theatres nationwide. The Nightmare Before Christmas reached just under ten million; Toy Story 1 and 2 (doublefeature) pulled in just over thirty million over four weeks in 2009. It would seem that by the mid 2000’s, the 3-D effect was not drawing audiences but then returned with a bang – for a very techno logistic reason. Just as the children’s world was coming at them unlike ever before, Michael V. Lewis and Joshua Greer founded ‘RealD’ technology. By incorporating rear-projection television equipment and polarizing film and optical technologies, they were able to create revolutionary 3D cinema systems. The major problem with 3-D was that the viewer, of any age, might feel nauseated and often times get a headache while watching. It was therefore important for the 3-D specialists on-set to work with the director and his DOP to maintain the appropriate level of depth required easing the transition from screen to retina. Sharp cuts between different depths would strain the eyes as they worked to adjust to the perception through FUTURÉALE
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“The new ‘Real D’ glasses worn by the audience does not have the two colors and uses opposite circularly po- larized lenses to ensure each eye sees only it’s designated frame”.
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the blue and red lenses. By using circularly polarized light to produce stereoscopic image projection, viewers now had the advantage to tilt their heads and look about slightly without the loss of the 3-D environment. The new ‘RealD’ glasses worn by the audience does not have the two colors and uses opposite circularly polarized lenses to ensure each eye sees only its designated frame. The projector itself alternates between right-eye and left-eye frame projection at 144 times per second. Polarizing the frames circularly, clockwise for the right eye and counter clockwise for the left, ‘RealD’ uses a push-pull electro-optical liquid crystal modulator called a ‘ZScreen’. This tool works with the glasses as it is placed in front of the projector lens to switch the polarization – easing the tension caused by viewing and reducing the nausea and headache inducing effects. Meanwhile, outside of the disappointing Night of the Living Dead 3-D in 2005, horror fans and their filmmakers were sadly missing out on a spectacle that the genre practically brought to the mainstream market. By the end of 2008, horror fans once again had a film to look forward too. Using state-of-the-art technology, the filmmakers were positive that My Bloody Valentine 3-D (an all new remake of the 1980 original) would blow audiences minds. They were right. Shot on a mere $15,000,000 budget, MBV debuted the weekend of January 18th, 2009 and drew an amazing $57,527,787 box office run over several weeks; impressive for a horror film by modern day standards. However, a few weeks later the remake of Friday the 13th – not in 3-D–hit theatres and in two weeks time, drew nearly sixty-one million. The reviews were mixed and for all intents and purposes, MBV was a superior film. It was the brand that no doubt aided the classic 2-D film therefore showing that audiences will not disown their classic cinematography in order to support a franchise. Yet, eight months later The Final Destination in 3-D went head-to-head with Rob Zombie’s Halloween 2 and destroyed
it at the box office. It seemed that every teenage and adult fan of the genre wanted another at 3-D horror and sadly ignored the more storyintensive H2. The debate of whether or not 2-D cinema is becoming extinct was too soon to conclude. That was of course, if not for James Cameron’s Avatar. The late 2009 bloomer doubled its estimated $235 million budget over six weeks, currently standing at a near $620 million. A combination of childhood wonder and science-fiction, Avatar became a visual masterpiece and with 9 Oscar nominations. Now, in 2010, 3-D is once again all the rage. Panasonic has released its first 3-D capable video camera for purchase by the general public – if a $21,000 price tag is easily expendable. Recently, at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, multiple 3-D television sets were unveiled and according to Entertainment Weekly, ESPN announced that it would be the first to launch a 3-D television network. The eye wear required bears an unmistakable nail in the coffin for 3-D cinema. This factor keeps 2-D cinema alive and well plus it is still an easy and convenient conversion method to home entertainment levels. With the markets expanding to include the common middle and upper-class households, then 3-D will no doubt have a desirable effect on people’s viewing habits. Come the day when the eye wear is no longer required, and that day is on the horizon, then the days of the 2-D cinematic and home theatre experience will become another mark in the history books. But as history has proven time and again, everything from fashion to arts has its cycles and when the time comes that the retro 2-D is appreciated, so too shall it be brought to the screens again. --rr
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Are Healthy Foods Really Healthy? By Karen Lam
EAT SMART, EAT HEALTHY. Or so the mantra goes. But is it really that simple? The new wave of “healthy” packaged foods has prompted such trends as low fat, low sodium, and zero trans-fat -- familiar words that only further complicate choices when trekking down the grocery aisle. Imposed nutritional la8
bels and extensive ingredient lists are enough to baffle any foodie, but nutrition is not a perfected science and has to do with one’s own personal needs. It’s very easy to let our general impressions of foods mislead us. Light sandwiches and salads for lunch may not be much lower in
calories than a greasy burger, if it’s laden with cheeses and fattening sauces or dressings. Granola bars, yogurt, sushi and salads are just some of the culprits that lead to the confusion. Growing up on granola bars was the norm, but these treats can be high in fat, sugar and calories. Although granola bars are skimpy in FUTURÉALE
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arts.culture.living the size department, they often don’t tout a lot of protein and fibre, which encourages other snacks to be sought out in order to fill an empty stomach. For a quick snack yogurts (particularly those with added probiotics) are currently in culinary vogue. In terms of calcium, all yogurts are equal, but plain low-fat yogurt is the better alternative to a sugary fruit flavoured option. Marketing language such as “added probiotics” is misleading because all yogurt contains active cultures, though not all probiotics target the same health benefits. The sushi craze of previous years hasn’t quite died down just yet, but is sushi really a hearthealthy meal? Vegetarian and California rolls are much lower in calorie than a dragon roll, but the biggest culprit is in the special sauce. The same can be said for salads, which are the “healthier alternative” in fast food. What better way to get your servings of veggies (and sometimes fruit) than with a delicious salad? It sounds good, but additional toppings like cheese and nuts as well as full-fat dressings are enough to propel any salad into the doublecheeseburger category. The reality is, we would be a lot healthier if we only ate whole grains, unprocessed foods, hormone-free eggs, cheeses, fruits, vegetables and nuts. But there is too much conflicting information out there to really allow us to make informed decisions. Although we’re no longer in the 1980s, the low-fat, low-calorie craze is still very much the norm in today’s North American dietary habits. According to a 2007 report, of The State of Toronto’s Food, “One in 14 Torontonians over 40 has heart disease, one in 15 has diabetes.” When we look at our diets and the number of processed foods that we push down our gullets, it is not a surprise that we’ve become irresponsible with our health. Calories alone are not enough to determine if something is good or bad for your body unless you’re solely using calorie counts as a way to control weight. FUTURÉALE
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Often, the road to healthy eating is based on individual needs. A meal replacement bar may be high in calories, but it packs in the protein (assuming it’s not already loaded with plenty of sugar) so you’ll be less likely to snack on other “unhealthy” foods later in the day. A simple rule of thumb is to think about our grandparents and the food they used to eat. Prepackaged foods weren’t an option back then and most would agree that they were healthier because of this. So why is it so hard? Well, eating healthy is an expensive endeavour, especially when pre-packaged foods (especially “junk foods” such as chips, candies, and cookies) are comparatively cheaper. Fresh fruits and vegetables simply don’t have a long enough shelf life to be profitable. As clichéd as it sounds, the best defence against the packaged food industry is a good offense. So the next time you trek down the grocery aisle, read the ingredients list and then the food labels, it’s much easier to compare and contrast when information is in front of you. Be wary of statements such as “sugar-free” because often other replacement sugars are added to the mix. “Bad food” does not exist and should not be part of your lexicon. All foods have the potential to be “good for you” if you are choosing those that fit your dietary needs. So whether it’s high fat, high sodium, or high sugar, it’s really up to you. --rr
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F ood & Pl ay
By: Vincent Muambi
The Connection Between Romance and What’s In the Kitchen THE MAN COMES ACROSS THE HALLWAY, a rose in one hand, a box of
chocolates in the other. He walks into the room, sees a woman dressed in a tight-fitting red dress. He notices that the woman is lying on the mattress in a slanted position He keens steadily in front of the woman, but instead of handing the woman the rose, he starts off by placing one piece of the chocolate into her mouth. He continues onwards with the same process, slowly but surely one chocolate following another. By the time he’s halfway done, the woman undresses herself, and the two branch off into a night passion. ********** This sounds like a play from a romance film, or perhaps an erotic novel. In reality, food and romance have a common link with each other. Food has always been the great instigator of pleasure, a phenomenon that stretches beyond fiction or love scenes, first encounters, social outings, and even cookouts. As always there’s an old saying about foodromance: the way to the heart is through the stomach. This saying rings true in many ways, especially for first dates, or a night out or dinner finely cooked at home. For me personally, I’ve had no luck in the romance department and not much luck in the food either. One must never consider him/herself a fine cook until the lessons of love and heart are heeded in the right message. So too does this philosophy apply in everyday circumstances. Why are certain foods provocateurs of human-to-human sexual incursions? How does it happen? How can food be a great excellence for a night at the office for those who want to spice up their romance?
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arts.culture.living Sex is known to be one of the greatest forms of expressions and passions ever to be committed and sensationalized in human history. Food in that retrospect has always been known to have been one of the great erotic powers of sex. Allow a further demonstration. Not so long ago I came across an article on eHow, in which the article talks about and discusses a list of foods that are said to be great for sex. Chief among those foods was the mention of oysters, of which is said to contain Zinc that accelerates the testosterone levels, while also stimulating sexual desires. Okay, I can understand Zinc as being a common mineral, but it never dawned on me – nor would it have dawned on anyone that Zinc of all minerals or chemicals would actually grow our libidos. The article also mentioned champagne as another great instigator. It is said that champagne or wine have been proved in preventing artery clogging, allowing for a better blood flow to the sexual organs. It sounds enticing when you hear of wine or champagne of allowing more blood flow to the sexual organs, making for an overall better and satisfying sex. Now, Zinc and champagne aside, one food that is categorically associated with sexual romance in more ways than one is chocolate. Why chocolate you might say? Chocolates are the most revered foods in terms of stimulating sexual desires and status. In the Aztec empire, chocolate was associated with royalty and sacred events. It was also reportedly used as a stimulate for sexual desires and passion. However, one problem with chocolates is that today’s chocolates are diluted, and often not as pure or rich like the chocolates used by great lovers like Casanova or Madame du Berry. Casanova, who was born in 1725 in Venice, was the said to be the greatest lover of all time and a true lover of women. He considered chocolate as an elixir and often drank it daily to increase his amorous energy. It is noted that FUTURÉALE
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he often preferred chocolate over wine as an aphrodisiac, and being that he was a great lover only heighten his goal of giving as much pleasure to his female partners. Even in popular cultures, chocolates are known for being the preferred choice of marketers and advertisers when it comes to promoting a certain product associated with romance, sex, passion, and play. Just think of those commercials you see on television, one of which a box or piece of chocolate is used by a male to entice his female companion. Or when in another commercial, a young lustrous female blonde uses a chocolate as a stimulate to attracting a willing male. The female blonde carefully glides the piece of chocolate down her tongue while focusing her glaring eyes at the unsuspecting man, who returns the favour. It’s a classic monologue used by marketers and advertisers alike: create the sexual tension by incorporating food as the stimulating force behind the attraction. It also helps that Johnny Deep starred
with Juliette Binoche in a romance film called (gasps) Chocolat. The movie was about a young mother who opens a small chocolaterie in a repressed small town in France. Of course, the main dish of which Binoche’s character specializes with in her shop is chocolate. Get the picture? Depp plays the gypsy who arrives at the town later on in the film, and both Binoche and Depps’s character fall in love. Chocolates, besides love and passion are the central part of the story. Yes, even films such as Chocolat can leave a lasting impact on audiences and critics alike when it comes to debating the link between food and romance. Films have always played some role in shaping our cultural perspectives, especially when it comes to romance and foods being bonded together. --rr
Ellen Dubin: A Canadian in L.A.
By: Karen Lam
A SMART WOMAN IS A SEXY WOMAN. Hailing from Toronto and cur-
rently residing in Los Angeles, the strikingly tall actress is a familiar face in the media circuit. She gets stopped on the streets for autographs and photo-ops, and there is definitely a very familiar and very honest quality about Ellen Dubin. As a Canadian currently residing in Los Angeles, Dubin calls herself the ‘Dear Abby’ to all young Canadian actors. It is in her nature to help others that makes her a popular choice amongst her peers and it is the same empathy that drives her to search for the human aspect in all of her characters. Dubin credits her family and her early brush with ballet dancing as her reason for becoming an actress. Known as a very introverted personality, Dubin continues to push forward in order to test her limitations. In an industry prone to rejection, For Dubin, ‘she’s proud of her height because an actor’s unique qualities are what make her memorable’. Dubin emphasizes the mantra: “an actor is a product”, and there is a lot of truth behind those words of wisdom-“not everyone has to look the same.” Although a lot of pressures in the industry are due to criticisms on appearances, Dubin transcends scrutiny – “individuals are noticed and you have to be yourself,” she states flatly. There’s a lot of optimism radiating from Dubin’s warm voice, but it comes as no surprise for the vast resume of roles she has had the opportunity in performing. Nowadays she’s best known for her work in the science fiction genre. Surprised at her fan base, which mostly consists of older women, Dubin is impressed and touched by women who reach out and embrace the roles of her FUTURÉALE
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arts.culture.living characters. With new fans surfacing all the time as the popularity of Lexx spreads internationally, Dubin is just a gem waiting to be discovered. With a love for all the work she’s done in any genre, she has now found a soft spot for science fiction. Right now, the science fiction genre has the potential to portray women positively. For Dubin, “[the women who] combine humour, intelligence and sensuality [are the best characters to play and the best role models for women]”. As a proponent for strong independent female actors such as Katherine Hepburn, Bette Davis, and Barbara Stanwyck, Dubin laments the current state of television for female actresses. Because women today are being portrayed as victims, she hopes, “the future goes back to the past”. Dubin further explains what she feels the industry is lacking, “[strong, intelligent women who] combine humour, intelligence and sensuality”. Where some actors are concerned about being pigeonholed into a particular type of role, Dubin has no fears, despite her prevalence currently in the science fiction genre. Her eclectic mix of roles on Lexx is just one example of the variety and opportunities available to her. For Dubin, ‘she knows she’s done something right when someone believes her character’. There’s something to be said about how believable an actor can be, especially when their role is well researched. “No, I’m not a psychiatrist, but I played one,” she chuckles when recalling an incident of mistaken identity. As the word “versatility” is no stranger to the actress, Dubin’s greatest strength is not that she has acted in a variety of genres and has done an array of character voices to boot- no, it is her charitable work that puts her a cut above the rest. Ellen Dubin is the spokesperson for the Make-a-Wish Foundation in Toronto. She was referred to Make-A-Wish through a dinner engagement in Los Angeles where a woman who
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worked at Disney told her that she should apply for the position. Dubin explains, ‘being a spokesperson is so rewarding, but it is not just her love for children- one often neglects the
Dubin was able to draw from her own experiences, speaking softly about a friend who had ventured down a hard path. She realizes that no matter what happens, “keep going and help others.” Although some may choose alcohol as their drug of choice, Dubin says, “all she needs is chocolate”. Be sure to look out for Hallmark Hall of Fame’s feature presentation When Love is Not Enough: The Lois Wilson Story in April 2010. --rr
“Dubin’s greatest strength is not that she has acted in a variety of genres and has done an array of character voices to boot—no, it is her chari table work that puts her a cut above the rest ”. need to consider the audience. Although she doesn’t feel like she has the power to influence young actors, she does think it is in her influence to encourage others to participate with charitable organizations’. “It’s really good to give back and to appreciate other things”, she says. Dubin reminisces about a gala event for Make-A-Wish where she was a presenter. Dubin tells, “there was one particular girl who said, don’t worry, Ellen. Don’t worry, everything’s going to be okay.” It was at this pivotal moment that Dubin realized the impact that she was making with Make-A-Wish. Amazed by the child’s positive outlook on life, was not only really inspiring but a reminder that life is short and you need to, as Dubin stated, “do what makes you happy.” It is no wonder that as a healing personality, Dubin finds strength in her role as Dora; a rich, elegant Wall Street wife an upcoming Hallmark Hall of Fame feature entitled “When Love is Not Enough: The Lois Wilson Story”. “What an amazing, classy project”, exclaims Dubin whose character participates in the AlAnon group created by Lois Wilson (Winona Ryder), the title character. Dubin sees this ‘as a women-centric piece with women from all walks of life including rich women who didn’t have alcoholic husbands (or at least were not willing to admit that they lived in an environment of alcoholism’.
H O W TO DEC ORATE YO UR DORM ROOM WITH $30
BEING IN UNIVERSITY FOR THE FIRST TIME is filled with emotions of stress,
nerves, and complete happiness. There is both a lot of work to do academically, and a lot of socializing to enjoy. When you’re spending a lot of time in your home away from home, it’s important to have a place where you can unwind. So, decorating your dorm room is top priority – it has to be both a space you can study, and a space you can have a good time. Although it is a well known fact that many people in university are always short on money, there are plenty of affordable ways to achieve the look you want.
Colour Colour will make all the difference in your room. Unfortunately, many dorm rooms have white walls and bare ceilings. The goal here is to add colour. Different colours will create dif-
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ferent attitudes in your room, so you have to think about how you want to feel in your temporary home. You can add colour in a variety of different ways, and still save money. Keeping with simplicity, you can buy coloured, or even patterned fabrics to replace the bland drapes over the window. As well, pinning a fairly thin fabric with push pins along the ceiling, or the walls, opens up a whole realm of creativity. Depending on the thickness of the fabric, you can roll it, fold it, or even leave it spread out. So, play around with the fabric to create different effects on your wall and ceiling – loose waves or flat designs by pulling the fabric tight and pinning it. The possibilities are endless. When choosing what colours you would like to use, try using a mix of intense and soft colours. This will make your room both a functional studying environment, and an upbeat
party room. Colours like orange will add energy in the room, while its complimentary colour blue will create relaxation in the room. This same distinction is shown through hyper yellows and calming purples, attention seeking reds and mellow greens. The beauty about using colourful fabrics, and push pins, is that no stains will be left behind, and there will be no damages to pay for, therefore leaving you with more money in your pocket.
Design Adding design to your dorm room will show both style, and your own personality. “SNAP Removable Wall Art” is a design that can be stuck onto your wall like a sticker. There are all sorts of designs to choose from, such as floral and even fish. You can also find “SNAP Removable Wall Art” in forms of quotes and words such as “dream.” “SNAP Removable Wall Art” can be found at many different stores, like WalFUTURÉALE
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arts.culture.living mart, and Home Depot. The great thing about “SNAP Removable Wall Art” is that when the designs are taken off from the wall, there are no marks left behind, and it is easy to remove and apply to the wall. These designs can add edge, relaxation, and fun to your room. Often, the lighting in dorm rooms is fairly cold; so, one way to introduce warmth into a room is to add lamps. Lamps tend to soften the light, which makes the room appear more comfortable. Of course, coloured lamps can be purchased to add character, and to match with decorations such as patterned curtains. One unique and affordable way to light up your room is to use Christmas lights. Christmas lights are bright, and colourful, and can be assembled in any way you desire by taping the wires to the wall. Buying a small revolving disco ball that projects different colours onto the wall is also effective and creates a social room, and is fairly affordable in price. Mirrors are an inexpensive way to help your dorm room appear to be bigger than it actually is, because dorm rooms generally appear to be too small. Different shaped mirrors, such as a musical note, can add character to a room and can also express an important part of your life. Affordable designs are a way to show your personal expression through creation and colour.
make a collage of photos of friends from back home and from university. Remember that pasting your collage to a Bristol board will keep your pictures together and will also act as a strong base to prevent general wear and tear. To add more of your personality into your collage of pictures, try surrounding your photos around a certain word or a favourite quote. The words and the pictures together make for a beautiful piece that is both light and comforting, for times to study and for times to be social. Decorating your dorm room is an important aspect of creating an atmosphere both socially and academically. For as little as $30.00, you can do so much and have a dorm room that feels just like home, as you embrace your new life at university. Decorating your dorm room to make it the way you want it to be is always possible, and it’s up to you to create it. --rr
Creation Being away from home for the first time can be a hard transition, and adding decorations that create comforts creates both a good studying environment and a welcoming atmosphere for visitors. An inexpensive way to recreate the comfort of home is through making a collage of pictures. If looking at nature photos helps you to feel relaxed, having a collage of nature photos would b effective in your dorm room during times of stress. Simply buy a book with plenty of pictures that you like, and simply cut them out and paste them onto a Bristol board to hang in your room. To add comforts that are fun and uplifting, FUTURÉALE
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Pontypool Review By: Nicholas Berry IT SEEMS THAT EVER SINCE the zombie horror genre first graced the screen in 1932 with the Halperian Brothers’ film White Zombie, filmmakers have been trying to reinvent just what it is that makes a human turn into a zombie. Ranging from Voodoo curses to parasitical infections, it seems that filmmakers had tried it all. Well, until now at least. Directed by Bruce McDonald, Pontypool presents its viewers with a new scenario, previously unseen throughout zombie history: infection via the English language. Based on the novel Pontypool Changes Everything written by Tony Burgess, the silver screen adaptation opens with a ‘once upon a time’ big name radio voice Grant Mazzy (Stephen McHattie), acting as the host for the local radio station which is located in a church basement in the small Ontario town of Pontypool. Along side him are Laurel-Ann Drummond (Georgina Reilly) acting as the technical supervisor and a veteran of the Afghan war, and Sydney Briar (Lisa Houle) the producer of the station. Grant, Laurel-Ann and Sydney are portrayed brilliantly by their respective actors; Stephen McHattie mesmerizes the viewer, as his calmingly deep voice plays out over the airways. In this respect, the casting is superb as a great deal of the horror in this film stems from the atmosphere that is developed through sound – the citizens call in to the station to describe the horror of the spreading virus, while Grant Mazzie reads off reports of the chaos occurring outside. The audience is quickly introduced to the affliction that is taking over the small town. 16
Starting off slowly to allow the viewer to connect with the characters, reports trickle in, but soon progress to numerous chaotic accounts which build up the tension as the outbreak makes its way to the radio station’s front doorstep. Unfortunately, with all the build up, the interactions with the infected are less than horrific. Deciding to instil the ability of partial speech in George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead’s slow walking, outdated zombie, the thrilling effect Pontypool carries could have been more prevalent. After listening to just how chaotic and violent things have become, viewers are introduced to a new character, Dr. Mendez (Hrant Alianak), who climbs into the building so calmly one would think that he is out for a morning walk. The sudden interruption of a once flowing story to introduce this Dues Ex Machina to explain the situation is jarring to say the least. Despite this and a few other prominent scenes, these inconsistencies and awkward moments are few and far between. Having a low budget does not necessarily mean that a film will turn out badly; if anything, Pontypool is living proof of this fact. The visuals, lighting, and overall atmosphere that a budget could have included have been brought to this production as successfully as any top tier indie film. The audio is superb, probably the films greatest attribute, sometimes warranting the viewer to close their eyes and just listen to the action. Though there is nothing particularly wrong with the setting of a single radio station, a little over the halfway mark it becomes noticeable that the cramped space that the characters are surviving in, may in part be due to the budget. However, from another perspec-
tive the cramped space serves the movie well as another aspect of the tumultuous and suffocating atmosphere the characters are trapped in. Perhaps the only criticism that can be applied that hindered the production of the movie due to a low budget is the amount of actors available to play zombies. Throughout the movie the audience is told that there are hundreds of rioting zombies, yet when they actually show themselves there are perhaps ten that are reused in separate scenes. This is not a terrible problem however, as there are only two actual scenes that the physical appearance of zombies is used. Finally, it should be mentioned that for being labelled a zombie film, there is a noticeable lack of gore. This is not necessarily a bad thing, as the film more than makes up for it in its creation of psychological horror. Those who are seeking out a film full of the standard graphic cannibalism, consistent dismemberment of non dead, and/or overall gratuitous amounts of death, should look elsewhere for their fix. Though, if your mind is open to new experiences concerning the zombie genre, or, if you’re simply in the mood to try something different, you should give this film a try. --rr
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COVER STORY
Andrew Jackson: A Story of a Rising Star IT’S THE MIDDLE OF WINTER and dios near the Halifax harbour, but more than
Andrew Jackson is not wearing a shirt. He’s standing on the deck of an 18,000-foot schooner floating miles away from land in the icy cold Atlantic Ocean and he’s preparing to be dunked in freezing water. All around him a crew of men and women look on in the warmth of their winter parkas. When Jackson finally picks up his sweater off the deck it’s covered in fish guts. But he doesn’t care. In fact, this is what Jackson lives for. Jackson is one of the stars of Sea Wolf, a TV mini series also starring German actor Sebastian Koch and ‘90s starlet Neve Campbell. The series is an adaptation of Jack London’s 1904 novel “The Sea-Wolf,” which was also adapted for the big screen by Robert Rossen in 1941. Sea Wolf is the story of a writer named Humphrey Van Weyden who seeks refuge on the boat of Captain Wolf Larsen, a leader Jackson describes as an “intellectual barbarian.” In the series, Jackson portrays Johnson, the story’s moral compass. “He’s an intrinsically good individual who suffers at the peril of the captain,” Jackson explains. “He has a conscious and he realizes he cannot obey orders.” But standing up to the Captain has major consequences. Johnson is brutally beaten in one of the series’ most graphic scenes, which caused some controversy and was criticized in the German press. Sea Wolf was filmed over the course of 60 days in early 2008 and had its first run on German television in November of last year. The producers are also shopping the series to several international markets and hope to find a buyer in North America. Some of the filming was done on a mock schooner in Electropolis stuFUTURÉALE
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half of the shoot was conducted on open water to create more realistic visuals than CGI or a simulated schooner could provide. “It was a little insane,” Jackson admits, adding,
“There were a lot of days at sea when it was so foggy you couldn’t see the horizon.” The cast and crew tried everything from ginger and pills to drawing a horizontal line in their minds to deal with seasickness, but many faced fits of
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arts.culture.living vomiting from dehydration, he says. At first, it was hard to even walk on deck without falling down. “The ocean is incredibly unpredictable,” he says. “It can change in five minutes.” “To choose to shoot at sea and not on a green screen or a docked ship you have to be well prepared—and slightly certifiable,” he laughs. Still, he says to shoot in such harsh conditions was the right decision, noting nothing could replace the inspiration of the taste of salt in the air. The challenges of filming ended up reflecting the ruthless life on the sea that London’s Sea Wolf represents. “The reality is it’s a brutal world and a tough, tough experience,” he says. The extreme shoot is now one of Jackson’s career highlights. “It was the kind of project I always wanted to work on,” he says. “It beats sitting in your trailer and waiting.” These are the types of roles Jackson chases; the kind that are adventure filled and the perfect cure for boredom. After a career that has spanned nearly three decades Jackson is still up to any challenge and ready to fill any roll—on land or on the open sea. -Andrew Jackson stands six feet and two inches tall, has blonde hair, blue eyes, and broad shoulders. Put simply, he looks like a Viking. Jackson was born in Newmarket, Ontario and raised in Nova Scotia. He studied at the National Theatre School in Montreal and later got his first big break at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, Ontario, home to North America’s largest classical repertory theatre. At the end of his first season with the company, Jackson was honoured with the Jean A. Chalmers Award, the prize for most promising newcomer. He spent four years with the festival, from 1987 to 1999, playing Wickham in Pride and Prejudice, Aneas in Troilus and Cressida, and Octavious Caesar in Julius Caesar. In 1991 Jackson got his second break, landing the role of Dr. Stephen Hamill on All My Children. Since then, he’s appeared on Road to Avonlea, Charmed, Earth: Final Conflict,
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Smallville, and most recently a guest lead on the Canadian production Being Erica. In between the on-camera stints, Jackson took voice-over work for cartoons and video games, read parts for radio ads and appeared in commercials, learning that as a Canadian actor one has to diversify to survive. -Once a year Canadian actors pack their bags and head south hoping to land their next big role and finally seize L.A.-sized fame. It’s called pilot season—the few weeks each winter, studios audition actors for the next year’s pilots. It’s a pilgrimage Jackson has made several times, but this year he says he’s staying put. To attend means putting your life on hold and financing several weeks in the city yourself for a trip that could yield no results, a risk Jackson isn’t currently willing to take. In recent years, American productions have been welcoming to Canadian talent, but Jackson attests that wasn’t always the case. “If you were to go a decade ago, the reaction to Canadian actors in L.A. was negative at the time,” he says. “You wouldn’t admit to being Canadian,” he says, recounting a meeting he had in 1999 with a network’s head of casting, who wanted him to meet with the producer of a new series. The only catch was that Jackson had to tell the producer he was British (luckily, he knew the accent). He was considered for the role, until he let the cat out of the bag and admitted his Canadian heritage. “The moment she found out I was Canadian she was irate and wanted to know why I was there,” he says, explaining, “The belief was we were stealing work from Hollywood.” Luckily for Jackson and his ilk, Canadians no longer need to hide. Degrassi graduates Shanae Grimes and Nina Dobrev have both landed starring roles on American productions in recent years (Grimes on 90210 and Dobrev on the Vampire Diaries) and Cory Monteith won the male lead on this season’s breakout hit,
Glee. “Politics changes and attitudes change,” Jackson says, agreeing there has been a necessary change and positive shift towards Canadian talent in the past few years. “When it comes to talent, borders shouldn’t be a factor,” he says. Many Canadian series like Degrassi, Kids in the Hall, and Little Mosque on the Prairie have also developed audiences south of the border, which Jackson says has been encouraging for Canadian actors. In navigating his own career, Jackson refuses to play into the Canadian-American dichotomy, instead keeping an eye out for both local and international opportunities that suit his aspirations for adventure, like his role in Sea Wolf. “I’m not going to be limited to one country,” he says. “I’m interested in the story telling process, wherever it is.” -In the film business, work comes and goes, migrating from one city to the next as filming taxes change and studios open and close. The trick is either to chase it, or to find other work. Jackson has done both. Filming for television and film has taken him all over the globe, but he’s also become a writer, a narrator, and a voice specialist. Jackson has stretched his vocal cords doing voice-over work for a slew of cartoons and video games such as Razzberry Jazzberry Jam, the Amazing Spies, and the Incredible Hulk. He’s also had a recurring role as a Hockey TV announcer on a series of Bud Light commercials and lent his likeness to brands like Pepsi, Saturn, and Ford. Branching out into nearly every aspect of an actor’s work has been a way for Jackson to survive in the often fickle film industry, but it has also been a chance for him to expand his personal horizons, Jackson says. “We all have the capability in life to be many different people,” he says. “Actors get the opportunity to explore many aspects of themselves.” The chance to put a voice to a 2D character also FUTURÉALE
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arts.culture.living allows him to play roles he couldn’t physically portray. “The sky is the limit,” he says. “You can be anything.” And indeed he has slipped into some unlikely shoes. Jackson has provided the voice for everything from a Japanese character to a black Dutch man. Jackson still can’t believe he gets paid to voice overblown action heroes and rambunctious rockstars, or to make farting sounds. “There are times as an actor you get to feel like your five again and play time is still a reality,” he says, recounting his rock-and-roll role on Razzberry Jazzberry Jam. “I just had a blast,” he says. “I had never sung rock before. I was doing air guitar in the booth. It was hilarious.” Not content to work on only one side of the camera lens, Jackson has begun developing his own projects, secured the rights to a film treatment, and is working with a screenwriter on a possible horror film. He has also written a children’s storybook and has plans to continue writing after being urged to pick up the pen by fellow actors and writers. He says the content has spilled out surprisingly quickly and he has discovered that he has a knack for the writing process. “I had no idea I had this potential and aptitude for storytelling,” he says. Though Jackson is the actor’s Renaissance man, he’s also ready to return to his original passion. Jackson hasn’t been involved in a theatre project for nine years, but he says his feet are now itching to get back on the stage. After almost a decade in sound booths, in studios and on far off locations, he’s ready to stand in front of an audience again. “It’s time,” he says decidedly. “I miss the live response. There’s nothing more fulfilling in the world as an actor than to hear laughter or applause.” --rr
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arts.culture.living
The “Indie” Movie Scene MY OLD MOVIE BUDDY USED TO CALL ME A CINEPHILE. I guess I
know what he means, but I just think of myself as a guy who loves movies. All kinds of movies. Back in my school days at Waterloo I’d be at the art house theatre just off campus one night, the martial arts/horror theatre in downtown Kitchener the next. There is something about seeing a movie in a packed theatre that can’t be duplicated, no matter how big my TV gets or how loud my speakers go. Yet, I find it harder and harder to drag myself out to the movies. Some nights, it’s almost a chore. It’s not that I’m getting tired of going out, it’s just that after more than 20 years of three movies a week at the multiplex I’m looking for something more. A good movie just isn’t good enough anymore. I want to see something special, something different, something real. Outside of a few favourite directors—John Carpenter, Kevin Smith, Luc Besson, Quentin Tarantino, James Cameron and Nora Ephron—the only movies that really excite me these days are smaller in scope--The Independent films. But finding a real Independent movie in Toronto seems to get harder and harder each year. When I moved to Toronto, and for years afterwards, I seemed to travel in a big triangle, from the Carlton to the Cumberland, to Canada Square and back again, occasionally dropping in at the Varsity to see the bigger movies and Oscar nominees. These are by no means modern movie houses. The screens are smaller, the chairs not always comfortable, and forget about stadium seating or thx Dolby surround. When the Carlton closed down I mourned, but not as much as I should have. There were still other places to see less popular movies. What I didn’t understand at the time, was that
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that it is exactly the sort of movie that gets me excited about going to the cinema that would be the victim of the Carlton’s passing. Let me try to explain. I see two types of
By: Craig Wilkins
independent movies. There is what I like to call the awards movies, or the festival darlings. These are the “little” movies that everyone likes to champion. Quite often they have ma-
arts.culture.living
jor stars, established writers and directors, and real money behind them. They play at the larger screens at the TIFF, Sundance, and Cannes and get huge write-ups in papers, magazines, and entertainment blogs. They are almost always well-crafted, artistic masterpieces. I will never have a bad thing to say about any of these movies and please, go see “Young Victoria”, and “Crazy Heart”. If you enjoy a good movie, this is what you will get. But I’ve seen so many good movies. It doesn’t mean I won’t appreciate or enjoy them (I almost always do) but they no longer set my heart racing. They need to be appreciated, need their glowing reviews. They have investors to pay back and careers to further. Not a bad thing, the movie business is, after all, a business. What really gets me excited is a film that seems to defy the business part of filmmaking. A movie made, quite often with government money, as a form of art, without pandering, is what gets me excited these days, because you don’t know what you’ll get going in. Throw out your formulas and tried and tested techniques. These movies might make a profit,
but that is not why they were made. Movies like Michael Haneke’s “The White Ribbon”, a best foreign language nominee. As much as I absolutely hate his English language version of “Funny Games”, I still remember sitting in the Carlton watching “The Piano Teacher”. He is a master film maker and he doesn’t compromise his vision. Even more exciting are “Corpo”, a Brazilian film from 2007, and a movie from Newfoundland called “Grown up Movie Star”. These are movies that I may easily hate as much as love. It’s that lack of a middle ground that excites me. Unfortunately, in Toronto, movies like “Corpo” and “Grown up Movie Star” need to be watched on their opening weekend. “The White Ribbon” with its Golden Globe and Oscar buzz will get an extended run, but the other two may only get this one short week. “Grown up Movie Star” is playing at the Scotiabank, where they seem to rotate a token indie film in and then out on a weekly basis. Not a problem just a year ago when the movie would get shipped over to the Carlton for an additional run. And while there is a better chance that “Corpo” will get a second week at the Canada Square, having to fight for space amongst all the second run Hollywood films moving from the Silver City across the street make it by no means a sure thing. Not only are the more interesting indie films getting shorter releases on Toronto screens, more and more seem to be skipping our city altogether. This upcoming weekend CinemaClock has a fascinating movie called “In My Sleep” scheduled for release in Toronto. But will it come out here? This weekend, next, further down the road, or not at all? What I have learned, for those of us who enjoy the quirkier, more “independent”, independent films is that you have to be quick. Assume you only have one week to see the movie that piques your fancy. Because if there is no Hollywood star and no award show with it on its list, this might be the case. You also have to be flexi-
ble. “La Donation”, the latest movie from Quebec super director, Bernard Emond (“20h17 Rue Darling”) is playing only at the Royal. The Scotiabank, Sheppard Grande, AMC Yonge & Dundas 24 and the Bloor are all good places to look. Often they only have one real indie movie, but if it is the one you’ve been waiting for, you don’t want to miss it. And finally, you have to be patient. “Dead Snow” took months to show up in Toronto, but one weekend there it was, playing at the AMC Yonge & Dundas, hidden among all the blockbusters.
It can be a lot of work, but it’s worth it, finding that movie that reaffirms your belief in cinema as not just simple entertainment, but a true art form. I’m going to leave you with a final question. When the Bell Lightbox is up and running, how will the look of cinema change in our city? Will this give the larger chain theatres the permission to drop real independent movies altogether and can we trust the festival group to continue to make independent movie going an accessible pursuit for all Torontonians and not just for those who can afford premium pricing for a premium product? --rr
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“Spring”
--kk arts.culture.living
into Spring Cleaning (What to keep and what to toss)
By: Brendan Davis IT’S THAT TIME OF THE YEAR all it is doing is holding you back. Throw out AGAIN. We all must scavenge through our or donate old clothes and clean up your living
wardrobes and our junk piles to see what to keep and what to toss. That’s one of the hardest things to decide isn’t it? How could you possibly part with a 10 year old 5 Star binder with a broken zipper? Well, you’re just going to have to. It’s time to shed that pack-rat mentality and make room for the many news things that the spring season has to offer. A big part of making progress is being able to let things go. Which is essentially what spring cleaning is all about -- progressing into the new season by ridding yourself of useless things. Think of it as a chance to revitalize your living space and remove clutter from your life. However, you can’t exactly throw out everything. Some of the things that you may want to consider keeping are past documents or paper stacks. Always look through papers before throwing them out. A lot of paper that you keep on your desk may be important information that you may want to hang onto or document for reference later. So, take that little bit of extra time to make sure that you don’t end up throwing something important out. You may also want to consider donating your clothes to a local charity. There are many organizations that would gladly take old clothing so that someone else can benefit. In a nutshell, spring cleaning doesn’t have to be a long and daunting task to complete. Although it may seem difficult, it is essential that you rid yourself of useless junk; because really
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space to make room for new beginnings and new stuff. To ease your spring cleaning efforts, here are some tips that can help you with the process: 1. Be Patient: Patience is key to a produc tive spring cleaning. If you get frustrat ed, you might just end up throwing out something you’ll later regret. 2. Know when to let go: If you have had something for a while now and still have yet to find a use for it, then it may be time to toss it out. For example, that T- shirt that’s 2 sizes too small with the big hole in it has seen better days. Time to put it out of its misery. 3. Have a garage sale: A garage sale is a great way to get rid of some junk and make some extra cash. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure, as they say. 4. Try to keep it organized: Pack things away in boxes and in clear garbage bags. This way it makes your life a little bit easier when it finally comes time to dispose of it. You may also want to keep a list of items that you already want to throw out or to keep. 5. Spread out the tasks: No one said that you have to get everything done in one day. Divide and conquer. Start in the basement, move into the living room the next day, and then head into the bedrooms after that. --kk FUTURÉALE
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Winter Dates
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By Dany Pen
WITH THE WINTER MONTHS HERE, admission for adults is $22 per person but if don’t have any skates, don’t worry—you can
it’s hard to suggest having a picnic in the park for a date. So is it possible to make a date where the cold wouldn’t be so bothersome? Yes, there is! Here are a few ideas to help make those plans that will let you enjoy the day with that lucky person.
1) Getting Entertained • Yuk Yuks
If you’re looking for some entertainment, Yuk Yuks is definitely a place to bring your date. It is located at 224 Richmond Street West, right in the heart of the club district. Here you and your date can enjoy the night watching standup comedy and laugh the night away. Tuesdays are amateur night, when Humber students perform their “final exams” for passing grades, and you can check out upcoming new talents. Tickets go for only $3. If you’re looking for the professionals, weekends are the way to go at $19.99/ticket and $11.99 on Sundays. If the tickets are still a bit too much, just remember to hit www.totix.ca or their booth at Dundas Square to buy advanced discounted tickets. The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) If you haven’t gone to the Royal Ontario Museum since its renovation, now is the best time to go and explore the new redesigned architecture and interior with your date. With a new collection of arts and other new discoveries, you and your date will have plenty to discuss. Unlike most galleries in Toronto the ROM also allows you to take photos of most exhibits. There are 4 levels to explore in the museum. If you need a break you can go to their Food Studio for a quick bite or to C 5 lounge where you can get more of a dining experience. General FUTURÉALE
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you go on a Wednesday after 4:30pm, it’s free, and Fridays after 4:30pm is half priced admission.
2) Casual Drinks • Tea Shop 168
If you’re looking for a casual spot where you can sit down with your date to have a conversation, Tea Shop 168 is the place to go. Tea Shop 168 is located at 377 Yonge St. The Tea Shop is the perfect place to go if you’re looking to impress your date with exotic drinks. It’s here where you can find: taro, lychee, almond, mango and many more different flavours of cold, hot, milk, and bubble tea. Starbucks Starbucks is a nice place to go if you’re looking for a great cup of coffee with a lounge feeling. Since you can find a Starbucks on nearly every corner, it’s pretty easy to set up your date at any Starbucks of your choosing. Besides coffee, you can also get you and your date an irresistible pastry or dessert. You can get things from delectable carrot cakes, brownies to turnovers.
rent them for $6-$9 (depending on child, adult or senior).
4) Queen West Art District Going for a walk down on Queen West in the Art Gallery District is another way to keep active with your date and get your minds visually stimulated. From Dufferin St. to Bathurst St. there is a line of galleries such as Magic Pony, Propeller, Lens Factory, Gallery 1313. You and your date will be able to see paintings, photography, sculptures and multimedia works from an array of established and emerging artists. The best part about this is that most of these galleries are free. Remember, don’t stress over whether the date is going fine or not. We all want our dates to go well, hoping we don’t say anything to embarrass ourselves. Just remember to have fun and enjoy your time. --rr
3) Get Active • Skating
If none of the other places are doing it for you and you’re looking for something more affordable, skating is not only a way to enjoy the winter weather but also to get active with your date. In Toronto, you can go to plenty of indoor or outdoor recreational skating rinks, two of which are the City Hall rink at Nathan Philips Square and the Harbourfront Centre, which plays hip-hop, house and top 40. If you
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Artist Profile: Sara Rozalina Krstevski IF YOU COULD COME UP with one word that could describe singer/ songwriter Sara Rozalina Krstevski, you definitely couldn’t have her pegged. This talented lady cannot be labelled or boxed in. As a classically trained pianist through The Royal Conservatory of Music, she received her musical degree by the age of 17. Recording her first album at the tender age of 11, it could be said that she is an industry veteran. Her personal taste and style has matured right along with her craft. Not only is she balancing her music career, she is also an enrolled student at Sheridan College in Oakville Ontario in her second year of Journalism. Krstevski was born in Toronto in 1990 raised in a home full of love, Christian faith, and with total familial support. In the first decade of her life though, it was rough for her and her family who had to move to Hamilton, and then Burlington, where they currently reside. In the words of her father, “As the kids grew, the house shrunk.” The eldest of soon to be six children, Krstevski—now 19— is a dedicated member of her growing family. She helps out with her parents’ charity organization Shining Light Ministries, that provides humanitarian aid to people in the Balkan nations (former countries of Yugoslavia). With the ministry’s prime time television show in Canada, Krstevski often takes the stage in the studio where she performs her beautiful songs of worship for praise of God and the greater good. Wearing a delicate yellow t-shirt and playfully tousling her hair around her shoulders, her bubbly demean our and genuine smile light up the 24
hearts of everyone around her. As her musical voice fills the room, she confidently talks about her budding career as a songstress and her passion for her faith. “Performing is part of my nature… When I was a kid my Dad would pretend to video record me while I was doing my chores. Thinking he was actually recording I was very motivated to do my chores!” says Krstevski. Heavily influenced by family and church, she plays mostly Christian music. Despite that, she still likes and can appreciate all styles and genres of music. Along with her love for the piano, she also enjoys playing the keyboard. She typically mixes beats with gospel and hip-hop on keyboard, and with piano playing more of a ‘boogey woogey’ style. By singing contemporary-style lyrics, her songs are acceptable to the
By Jessica Earle old and young. “I need to focus on my audience for the TV program. It’s what they want to hear,” says Krstevski. Needless to say, her faith is a driving factor in her music. She loves to sing about God and his word. “My faith comes first in my life. It influences everything I do, it keeps me going…He gave me life, so why should I not praise him back and thank him? When I am feeling down sometimes, God comes up and says ‘hello, I’m here don’t worry.’ I love having that closeness with him, and having a family like that helps too.” says Krstevski. Her first album is titled “The Promise” is completely instrumental in an orchestral style. “When you are 11 you are still a kid, so some things you are not really aware of, you are just doing what you need to do,” says Krstevski on her first album making experience. She also noted that Giant Killer Records, which is titled for “David and Goliath”, recorded it. Her sophomore effort titled “Above All” was released when she was 16. Classified as a worship album, she sang as well as played the piano. She also penned a couple of the tracks featured in the compilation. “When a melody comes in your head you write it down at the time the idea comes or else you’ll forget it. Song ideas don’t come in planned they just flow from your mind,” says Krstevski. Most current in her recent discography is her third album “Soli Deo Gloria” (Latin for ‘glory to God alone’). A classical compilation released this past June. The title was inspired by famous Baroque composer Johann Sebastian Bach’s phrase that he wrote at the end of all his pieces. In this album Krstevski successfully married her signature worship style with the timeless sound of symphonies of the past. FUTURÉALE
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arts.culture.living “If you take music out of life then you are taking a little heaven out of life. Music is a part of human expression and emotion, and it should stay that way,” says Krstevski. Though being in school has slowed her creative process, she is still currently working on a new album, which has yet to be named. The arrangement of her new single “Amazing Grace” has gotten encouraging responses, and people are responding well to her more mature voice. While it is not completely set, the preliminary release date is for spring 2011. Aside from working on her upcoming album, her aspirations for the industry are quite simple: she prefers not to think too far in advance, and focus more on the now. “What we do everyday in our lives is what will make the difference for tomorrow,” says Krstevski. Though her print journalism studies are coming to an end this April, she has applied for further education to obtain her degree. Despite being a very busy young lady, Krstevski still finds time for fun, and tells us, “I really like watching movies at home with my family and at the theatres. I like reading a lot and travelling to different places that spark my imagination…In general I’m a person that likes to make sure I do well in whatever I’m doing, and make sure I’m having fun while doing it.” --rr
“Performing is part of my nature… When I was a kid my Dad would pretend to video record me while I was doing my chores. Thinking he was actually recording I was very motivated to do my chores!” FUTURÉALE
ARTS | CULTURE | LIVING
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