Vol. 4 Issue 15

THE VOL. 04 ISSUE 15 04.17.2012 NEWS AND CULTURE FOR THE STUDENTS OF KWANTLEN POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY

TRANSPORTATION

BURLESQUE

MUSIC

SEXY FEMINISM PAGE 10

INTERVIEW WITH 3 INCHES OF BLOOD PAGE 12

LIGHT RAIL FOR SURREY PAGE 4

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vol. 4 issue 15 | April 17 2012 | page three

CAMPUS NEWS

The Runner Roundup A brief run around the latest news from the world of Kwantlen and beyond.

Design graduates showcase work On Monday, April 16, the culmination of four years of hard work finally came to fruition as the graduating class from Kwantlen’s Interior Design program presented their final projects to friends, family and industry.

Among the graduates is Carolyn Cuthbert whose final project focuses on a youth centre for Richmond.

As a graduate of Hugh McRoberts Secondary School, Cuthbert found her niche by creating a conceptual project around the historic Gulf of Georgia Cannery in Steveston. As a young person who grew up in a suburb, and with two younger brothers, Carolyn saw the need for a gathering place for young people.

“I wanted to create a place where youth could meet, relate to each other, and of course stay out of trouble,” said Cuthbert.

With the cannery as her backdrop and inspiration, she created a youth centre that

would preserve the historical structure while creating a modern, youthful design within. The conceptual driver for the design was the folding and unfolding of origami.

This concept influenced the planning, volume development and ultimately sculpting of interior space.

“My interest in interior design and architecture stems from my desire to leave an impression on those that come into contact with my designs,” explained Cuthbert.

Upon graduation from Kwantlen Polytechnic University this spring, Cuthbert hopes to pursue her master’s degree in architecture. Until then, she will continue her work as an interior designer with a local restaurant chain.

Cuthbert and her colleagues in the interior design program showcased their final projects on Monday, April 16 at the Architectural Institute of BC. A SNEAK PEEK AT KWANTLEN INTERIOR DESIGN STUDENT, CAROLYN CUTHBERT’S FINAL PROJECT.

Kwantlen gives back

PHOTO COURTESY OF KWANTLEN

Nineteen Kwantlen students were recognized for their leadership and community service on March 29 at the university’s Surrey campus.

The 2012 Celebration of Leadership and Service reception celebrated the contributions of Kwantlen student leaders.

This was the first year year for Kwantlen’s Student Life and Community Division Awards which recognizes students with the Contribution to Student Life Award and the Giving Back Citizenship Award in the amounts of $500 and $1,000 each, respectively.

Fourteen students received the Contribu-

tion to Student Life Award: Muhjah Abousaleh, Michael Chang, Samuel Chin, Andrea Danyluk, Ashley Doyle, Iman Ghahremani, James Grange, Aadil Jesani, Kritika Kanotra, Debbie Langtry, Cassie Plotnikoff, Devon Richards, Sheridan Taylor and Manpreet Uppal.

The Giving Back Citizenship Award was awarded to seven Kwantlen students who volunteered outside of the university: Michael Chang, Charlene Chen, David Dryden, David Warren Koyanagi, Debbie Langtry, April Nicholls and Anna Smith.

page four | April 17 2012 | vol. 4 issue 15

NEWS

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TRANSPORTATION

Light rail may be the answer to Surrey’s transit woes I

MATT LAW MEDIA EDITOR

Transportation is a hot button issue in British Columbia, and for Canada’s fastest growing city, the debate is picking up speed.

Results from the 2011 national census show that Surrey’s population grew at a rate three times the national average, which means there are a lot of commuters hitting the streets.

Increased vehicle traffic, full busses and poor transit service are making many residents south of the Fraser River wonder if there is a better option.

The answer, says Peter Holt, a member of the Valley Transportation Advisory Committee (VALTAC), may lie in a system more than 100 years old and already in place.

Holt, who previously served as head of the Surrey Board of Trade and chaired the Lower Mainland Chambers’ Transportation Panel, believes that existing rail lines should be utilized to improve transportation in the entire south of Fraser region.

Holt and VALTAC have focused their advocacy efforts on connecting communities, from Surrey to Abbotsford and as far as Hope, through the redevelopment of a Light Rail Transit (LRT) system.

“For us it’s about connecting south of the Fraser communities as opposed to just increasing the volume flows on the hub and spoke that flows into Vancouver,” said Holt.

By creating a sustainable transportation network, said Holt, these communities will be able to enhance their economic development, combat urban sprawl and create more pleasant surroundings at transit nodes.

The original Interurban Rail system was built in 1910 and ran streetcars from downtown Vancouver right into the suburbs.

Passenger services continued on sections of the rail line until the 1950s. As cars became more affordable, commuters opted for the convenience of their own vehicle rather than taking a train.

In 2012, this trend continues. According to the latest census data, of the 468,251 residents in Surrey 156,610 regularly commute by car while only 20,040 use public transit.

“If we continue to grow at the rate we’ve

Existing Rail lines in Surrey and the Fraser Valley may provide a cost effective solution to improving transportation throughout the entire region. MATT LAW/THE RUNNER

been growing, the residents are going to get very, very frustrated,” said Holt.

There are other options to an LRT system but Holt believes that developing the existing rail lines would be both cost effective and reduce congestion on the roads.

“Rapid rail is very expensive,” he said.

“Skytrain is $120,000 per metre. Every five metres of rapid rail capital cost would be a bus. So, every kilometre is 200 busses.”

But adding more busses to the streets would not necessarily help the problem of congestion either.

“More busses on the road will actually choke back the flow that that road is capable of taking. And if you are going to grow the population like you did in Surrey in five years by 73,000 people, something has got to give,” said Holt.

VALTAC’s vision is to develop a rail line that commuters would be able to board near the Scott Road SkyTrain station. The route would pass through Nordel Crossing, Surrey’s industrial sector and on to Newton Centre. It would then continue through the Sullivan area to Cloverdale where it would pass the Kwantlen Polytechnic University

campus before heading to Trinity Western University and further out the valley.

According to Holt, this would require only six kilometres of new rail line and would cost close to 25 per cent less than a rapid transit system such as SkyTrain.

“VALTAC’s position was although it wasn’t perfect in its route, it actually joined a lot of the communities together,” he said.

Despite the potential positives of bringing an LRT passenger rail line to the valley, the task has met many political road blocks in the past.

In 2007, when Holt sat on Surrey’s committee to discuss light rail with TransLink, the idea was given a flat tire.

“TransLink patently refused even to discuss the rail line,” said Holt.

While Holt admits he is not sure why TransLink was unwilling to discuss the idea of light rail, he does believe it is part of a larger political problem.

“Our mobility south of the Fraser, over 25 years, has been compromised by executive decisions out of the premier’s office, and this is NDP or BC Liberals, it doesn’t matter,” he said.

Holt states that because of a lack of political power by mayors south of the Fraser, the region’s transportation infrastructure has fallen terribly behind – but this may be changing.

Mayors from Surrey, White Rock Abbotsford, the Langleys and Delta met for the first time on April 5 as the South of Fraser Mayors’ Committee to discuss ways of continuing to improve the region. Light rail was one of the items on the table.

“That was the point of getting together and having some of those discussion because everyone supports at-grade rail which is very important south of the Fraser,” said Mayor Dianne Watts who supports the use of existing rail beds but admits some of the routes may not be viable.

This meeting was promising for Holt, who believes that collective action is the only way to improve transit in the region.

“If we can get the mayors to all act together and demand, and I mean demand, that this is what we want, then I think there is a potential that this could start to happen within 10 years,” he said.

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vol. 4 issue 15 | April 17 2012 | page five

PROTEST

Students threatened with arrest for leafleting in UBC building Group handed out leaflets protesting military presence in Libya near Canadian Forces booth

I

ARSHY MANN THE UBYSSEY (UBC)

VANCOUVER (CUP) — A small protest elicited a strong reaction from security at the University of British Columbia’s Alma Mater Society (AMS) Student Union Building (SUB) last week.

A group of about half a dozen students were told they would be arrested if they continued to hand out leaflets protesting the Canadian military presence in Libya.

“I feel like our perspective is really being actively silenced by security,” said Arielle Friedman, one of the students at the protest.

The protest was taking place in front of a Canadian Forces booth at a job fair being held in the main concourse of the SUB. An AMS security guard at the scene

confirmed that they had told the students to stop handing out the leaflets or else face arrest.

“If you don’t stop doing it, that’s when I said you have to leave the building and if you do not leave the building and stop handing out leaflets then we will have to use other force to get you to stop,” she said.

The security guard went on to say that because of AMS policy, if the protestors wanted to hand out leaflets, they would have to make a booking with the AMS. “It’s not about their cause, we have nothing against that. It’s [the] policies right now.”

According to one of the recruiters, the protestors were handing out leaflets to people who were trying to get information from the booth. This made it difficult for people to get to the booth itself, and also clogged

up the hallway for people that were trying to pass by.

“We told them basically that if they didn’t give us space for people to come to our booth, that we would talk to security. So we did,” said Corporal Evan Clark.

Friedman said that the protestors had told AMS security that they would move elsewhere in the SUB in order to be less intrusive, but that security insisted they could not hand out leaflets anywhere in the building.

“They clearly said anywhere in the Student Union Building. We offered to accommodate, to make the hall passable for people,” she said. AMS security declined to comment on the event or their policy around leafleting.

Clark, who is a BA student at UBC, said that this was his first time recruiting for the

armed forces.

“We’re not by any strech of the means professional recruiters,” he said. “We’re just part-time soldiers.”

He said that the protestors were peaceful, but not pleasant, to the recruiters.

“They weren’t really aggressive,” he said. “They weren’t shouting or pushing, they were just a little antagonistic, trying to say things to get emotional responses.”

Clark went on to say that although this was his first time recruiting, he wasn’t surprised by the protest.

“When the Canadian Forces is in the public, we do come up with people that protest various things, and we’re the target of that sometimes, justly or unjustly,” he said.

“When you’re wearing something like this,” he said referring to his uniform, “you’re a target, for good or bad.”

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CAMPUS LIFE

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ABORIGINAL DAY

Students, staff and community members celebrate Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s ďŹ rst annual Aboriginal Day witha lesson on drumming on the Surrey campus, April 12, 2012. MATT LAW/THE RUNNER

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EDITORIAL

vol. 4 issue 15 | April 17, 2012 | page seven

OPINION

If you change it, votes will come The growing disconnect between politicians and Canadian youth is a sign of a stagnant political culture in drastic need of a shake-up.

I

MATT LAW MEDIA EDITOR

The Canadian electoral system is miles behind if it wants to engage the youth vote.

The system of paper ballots and liver-spotted talking heads resonates more closely with geriatrics stuck in the Dark Ages than it does with tech savvy 18-24-year-olds.

If Canada really wants to get youth to exercise a right that people in other countries are fighting for with their lives, we need change.

Canadian youth are no less passionate than those who took a stand in Tahrir Square. Nor are they the apathetic loafs the silver-haired generation dub as lazy.

The problem lies with our politicians and our archaic model of an electoral system.

President Obama was able to engage voters of all ages. He showed passion, thoughtfulness, forward thinking and offered hope for change.

What Canadian politician has done any of these things in recent years? Canada saw a glimmer of hope in Jack Layton’s Orange Crush, but was dealt a blow shortly after.

When politicians show they are fighting for a better Canada and not the prize for best vocals during Question Period, youth — and all voters — will respond.

The physical act of voting needs as much of a face lift as our politicians’ personalities.

Until we have a system where technology is utilized to bring the voting process to the individual, voter turnout will continue to decline. Canada needs an electronic voting system that youth can access by simply pausing their game of Angry Birds and log-

V O TE

ging in on their smart phone or computer.

Of course, we can’t neglect the debate of complete electoral reform either. A move to a system of proportional representation may just give everyone a feeling that their vote does make a difference.

People bemoan the drop in youth votes of the past several decades, but it is not just youth who have become disenfranchised with the electoral system. A study done

by Simon Fraser University after the 2011 election shows that there has been an overall drop in the number of registered voters exercising their democratic right. Is this decline a result of a slowly vanishing sense of patriotism and national connectedness that held strong — not just Canada but around the Western world — following the Second World War when voter turnout was at its peak?

Perhaps.

The war years united Canadians, but our continually fragmented and divisive political system has forgotten that we are a nation that reaches from coast to coast to coast and represents people of all ages.

But those lazy, good-for-nothin’, high-falutin’ younguns don’t get a free ride in the “why aren’t they voting” debate.

In 2011, Elections Canada estimates that just 37.4 per cent of voters aged 18-24 showed up at polling stations. This is the lowest turnout of any age group.

The electoral system is a two-sided coin.

Youth complain their voices go unheard in parliament. It’s true, but the harsh reality is that they are not making their voices heard in the system that we have – broken as it may be.

TRA

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TRAVEL

Following the Inca

I

MATT LAW MEDIA EDITOR

Lying motionless in my sleeping bag, I listen to a foreign world waking up around me. A group of people walk past my opaque window, casting soft shadows along the eggshell walls of my small room in the Hostal Chaska Wasi. I arrived in Ollantaytambo, the staging ground for those hiking the Inca Trail, late the night before on a bus packed with pale-skinned sweaty tourists. Percy, our Peruvian guide, had ushered us through ancient cobbled passageways to the adobe hostel that would provide the last real bed before we embark on the 45 kilometre trek through the Andes.

I had never stepped foot in a place so ancient. The narrow streets of the 15th century Incan city nestled along the Urubamba River holds more history than all the other cities I had ever visited combined. The dusty stone buildings serve as some of South America’s oldest continually inhabited homes. Surrounded by sheer cliffs, it is easy to see why Ollantaytambo became a short-lived

stronghold for the Incan resistance against Spanish conquistadores during 1530s.

The sound of Percy’s voice echoes through the hostel as he bangs on doors and shouts “wakeup call” in what can only be described as a suave Spanish accent. I pack my gear quickly, loading everything but my equipment for the day in a purple duffle bag to be carried by our porters. Controversy surrounds this seemingly innocent occupation in Peru. In the past, many porters have been forced to carry unimaginable loads for tourists wanting the Inca Trail experience.

In more recent years, regulations have been put in place which limit the load a porter can carry to 25 kilos, but many companies still disregard this rule. I pack my bag light just to be safe.

I force open the warped wooden door of my room to warm morning light and the smell of pancakes and fried eggs — a welcome scent when a four-day trek is just hours away.

The small kitchen is full of puffy-faced, bleary-eyed people. Percy had dubbed us a family — a rag tag group of Brits, Ameri-

cans, Finns, French and even some fellow Canucks — all about to embark on a sacred pilgrimage.

“OK family, it’s time to go,” announces Percy as he comes bouncing into the small room. He launches into a description of the day with all the exuberance of someone being paid to drag unsuspecting tourists to their doom.

He leads us through the narrow streets of the city as we haul our gear to one last bus ride. I run my hand along the smooth stonework of the city; the walls have been worn to an almost pearl-like sheen from hundreds of years of civilization. The Inca masons built this city from rock and roll, literally. Spending days in the mountains, the Inca would pour water into cracks in the rocks and wait for it to freeze and cleave boulders from the mountainside. The monolithic stones would be sent tumbling down the slopes where they would be transported back to the city and worked by hand to fit perfectly into place.

We launch our duffle bags to Percy, who, it seems, has launched himself onto the top

of the bus with the youthful prowess of someone much younger than 45. He ties the bags down while singing a tune in Spanish and not so subtly checking out the women in our group. As if on cue, an elderly woman hobbles into our midst, thrusting small bags of green leaves toward us.

“Coca, coca,” she insists.

We accept the bags and offer a few Soles, the Peruvian currency, in return before we climb onto the bus.

The trip winds through farm fields and narrow dirt roads lined with huts of questionable structural integrity. Garbage litters the roadside and the banks of the Urubamaba River, the result of seasonal flooding and a lack of any garbage management.

The ride is short and my excitement begins to take over as the bus rolls to a stop in a deserted dusty parking lot. Our family files out into the sun and proceeds to queue inside a series of metal gates as we wait to be allowed into the historical Machu Picchu Sanctuary – essentially a national park. It is like entering a different country. Our passports are collected by uniformed officials

AVEL

and our permits inspected. One by one we are admitted to the trailhead, a dusty piece of gravel path that looks nothing like the National Geographic specials I had watched at home. Our family gathers on the other side of a bridge crossing the Urubamaba.

Percy pulls us into a circle where we are given a motivational speech about teamwork and pacing ourselves. At the end, we put our hands in the middle and throw them up with a cheer – we are off.

My first steps along the fabled Inca Trail are a shock. The sacred route is lined with small homes and a high-voltage power line runs parallel to the trail atop a steel tower.

It’s not long before we begin to pass locals on the trail; a woman with two children, a man riding a department store mountain bike and another carrying what looks like a satellite TV box. This portion of the trek, I suppose, is like walking through a suburb on our way to the wilderness – a fact none of the brochures mentioned.

Percy soon has our family circled around a large boulder as we take our first break.

He uncurls his fist to reveal several of the tiny leaves the old woman had sold us.

“These are coca leaves,” he says. “They are powerful and will help you along your journey. Let it sit under your tongue and let the juice absorb.”

We each take a few leaves and slip them into our mouths. I cannot help but feel a little dangerous as I suck on the bitter source of one of North America’s most deadly drugs.

Coca is an important crop in Peru and many parts of South America. The leaves do not hold the same narcotic power as the refined form, which must be processed chemically to produce cocaine. Coca has been chewed and used in tea for hundreds of years for its medicinal purposes and effects as a stimulant. For a pack of gringos searching for the Peruvian experience, however, coca is used to help combat altitude sickness and add a little excitement to the day.

We make our way along the rolling ridges overlooking the Urubamaba Gorge. The sky, it seems, is a deeper blue in the Andes.

Smog and haze that we have become so accustomed to in big cities is a distant memory here. As we march along the trail, the faint sound of a train chugging its way along the valley bottom drifts up the canyon – its cars filled with tourists taking the path more travelled to Machu Picchu, no doubt.

Our hike is interrupted as teams of porters wearing matching uniforms appear out of nowhere from behind us. They whip past in a colourful blur as they run to the first campsite. For a wage of just $15 American

vol. 4 issue 15 | April 17 2012 | page nine

dollars a day, the porters are the real heroes of the Inca Trail. Many prefer to hike (or run) in sandals despite being offered more appropriate footwear by the companies that hire them. Some are just teenagers while others are in their 50s and 60s. Regardless of age, the tourists are put to shame and we cheer whenever a team of them pass.

Our first night’s camp is in a small Quechuan village called Wayllabamba. We are greeted with congratulations and clapping from our porters who have already set up camp and prepared a lunch of fried fish and rice. The day’s hike was only 12 kilometres but we inhale the food as if we had been walking for days. Snow-capped mountains and terraced fields growing potatoes surround us as we lay in the grass letting our feet rest and our lunches digest.

It is a serene setting, the kind I was looking for on a trek rated as one of the top five in the world. I begin to drift off to the sound of chirping birds and the rustle of trees in a gentle breeze. The sun casts a fiery glow across the mountains as it slips from view.

The next morning we wake to tubs of hot water and pungent coca tea brought to our tents. The family meets for breakfast and a description of the day’s hike. It will only be 11 kilometres to the next camp but it is the toughest day of the trek. The trail zigg zaggs as it climbs more than 1000 metres to the highest pass on the Inca Trail. Lost in the clouds, Huarmiwañusqa, or more ominously known as Dead Woman Pass, stands at a mere 4,215 metres above sea level.

I make sure my coca is easily accessible as I pack my bag for the day. We shoulder our backpacks and begin the climb out of the valley. It’s only a matter of minutes before our porters have caught us again. They pass silently as they focus on hauling our gear to the top of a mountain, literally.

Someone once said it is the journey not the destination, but whoever it was had clearly not hiked Dead Woman Pass. As the trail breaks free of the tree line and spills into the open alpine tundra, I begin to feel as though the coca leaves are a lie. I need something stronger. Perhaps the chemically reduced cocaine would be more appropriate in this situation. The journey begins to feel like I am hiking Mount Everest. I take two steps and stop to take four breaths. One foot in front of the other is all I can manage.

I begin stuffing wads of coca into my mouth hoping that sheer volume will overcome any affects of altitude. Our family quickly deteriorates into roving packs as the strong leave the weak behind. I bring up the rear as I struggle to catch my breath. Hiking in

the Andes is a strange feeling I can only liken to attempting to walk up a flight of stairs when you have fever of 104 and a chest cold that threatens to force your lungs out through your mouth each time you cough.

After four hours of agony we crest Dead

Woman Pass and slump exhausted onto the ground. Clouds swirl around us as Percy congratulates us for making it this far.

“OK family, I will tell you why this is called Dead Woman Pass,” says Percy as he calls us over to the group.

“I do not have a fancy story of a woman dying here. It is simple, really. From the valley below, the mountain looks like a woman lying down. That is how it became called Dead Woman Pass.”

I felt robbed. All that work and story time at the top of the mountain is a brief description of a rock’s visage. I didn’t have time to grumble, however, the family was back together and we still had to descend the other side.

Day three of the Inca Trail becomes a lesson in bodily functions. Apparently, as I am told, altitude sickness can cause severe diarrhea, vomiting and a cacophony of other wonderful symptoms, of which I seem to have developed them all. The 16 km hike turns into a game of seeing how far I can shuffle before running into the bushes for another violent eruption of Montezuma’s Revenge. By the time I arrive at the final campsite the sun is setting and I can hardly

walk. I spend the night chugging Gatorade and wondering if I will live to see Machu Picchu.

The 4 a.m. wakeup call comes all too early. Today’s hike is short, just six kilometres to the prize of arriving at one of the new Seven Wonders of the World. But the goal is to get there fast. Hundreds of hikers are preparing to bear down on Machu Picchu and Percy wants us to be there first. We throw our gear together and jog to the park gates which open a 6 a.m. Our family is the first one there and we sit restlessly waiting for the park officials to let us through. A lineup forms as other groups arrive behind us – it begins to feel as if we are staging for a race. I wait anxiously, worried that I will not have the strength to keep up with what is clearly going to be a sprint to the finish.

The park officials might as well have fired a starting gun when they opened the gate. We surge through and rush along the narrow stone pathway. I stumble along trying to keep up with the pack. I begin to fall behind as my family pushes onward trying to stay ahead of the other groups. The pace is quick; not quite a jog but I certainly have both feet off the ground at times. The first set of stairs almost kills me. I climb up them like a ladder and pause at the top to catch my breath. The competition quickly takes advantage and passes me while I am down.

I force myself up and continue along the trail through thick forests and over mountain ridges. Before I realize what is happening the dense jungle disappears and I am standing on an ancient ruin overlooking a cloud covered valley. Banks of grey mist drift along the ridges below.

“Family, you are at the Sun Gate,” says Percy. “Below us is Machu Picchu, it is only a little further.”

I peer down into the valley to see the ghostly shadows of Machu Picchu below. It must have been quite a site when American explorer Hiram Bingham first brought the citadel to the world’s attention 101 years ago.

We descend through the clouds following the route of the Inca as we make our way to the final point in our journey. Our family stops on the final ridge above Machu Picchu as we pull out cameras and take turns photographing each other with the lost city as our backdrop. After the photo ops, the group splits up as we head in different directions to explore the ruins. I stay behind to sit on a smooth stone and drink in the scene. The view is awe-inspiring.

page ten | April 17 2012 | vol. 4 issue 15

CULTURE

The Runner | www.runnermag.ca

BURLESQUE

Student by day, dancer by night Burlesque is a sex-positive, feminist activity says local burlesque dancer and Kwantlen student.

I

SARAH SCHUCHARD CONTRIBUTOR

She struts on stage, each step fluid and methodically planned out.

Letting her coat spill onto the floor, with one swift movement she takes off her bra to reveal glittered nipple pasties.

Preferred to be called by her formal stage name, Miss Fitt attends university by day, and performs as a burlesque dancer for Pandora and the Locksmith by night.

Fitt managed to obtain an associate’s degree in psychology at Kwantlen, before attending UBC for her bachelor of phsychology.

A professional dancer since the age of 18, it came as no surprise for Fitt to stumble upon the art of strip tease.

Fitt discovered the burlesque world through fellow singer, Burnaby Brix who was already involved in the art.

As well as singing, go-go dancing, cabaret, and performing in a number of cover bands, Fitt’s dance career has enabled her to experience and learn things she wouldn’t have been able to do otherwise.

One of the many opportunities that has been presented to Fitt includes a performance for the Malaysian royal family, which she describes as one of the craziest karaoke parties she’s been to.

Growing up as a very extroverted show-off-type person, Fitt says, she finds the art of burlesque to be an empowering experience.

With its liberating undertone and strong sense of female empowerment, burlesque has become an art form that celebrates womens bodies in every age, ethnicity and shape.

Although a sex-positive feminist place that rejects oppression, Fitt explains, this risqué and unconventional art has publicly received a vast spectrum of reactions.

If not expecting to see Cher and Chris-

Burlesque offers opportunities to explore the creative self, says Fitt. SARAH SCHUCHARD/THE RUNNER.

tina Aguilera strutting in glitter embroidered bustiers, some people find watching a performer strip down to nipple pasties as something they may not be able to, “know what’s appropriate, how to react, [or] how to take it,” says Fitt.

In the art of burlesque, one could connect the conventions of the art to that of a strip club, where empowerment and a positive, healthy view of the female body is rarely associated in the same mind set.

Admittedly, Fitt confides that while some performers wish to separate their artistic image from that of a stripper, there is a sense of freedom that also might be associated in the a strip club.

In associating conventional stripping with a shameful act ultimately one would be, “buying right into the oppressive, patriarchal society we do live in,” Fitt explains.

Performing and creating to reject oppression, Fitt, along with the colourful group of artists and feminists, has formed into a community from one of the most liberated and warm of audiences.

The true burlesque junkies and those who just want to experience the highs and liberation of it all, embrace the artist’s, – both new and seasoned – to encourage and to truly support the thought and belief of female empowerment.

Fitt encourages them to observe, take classes, workshops, and to explore their own creative capabilities and definitions in life as she has in experiencing the underground and taboo world of glamorous strip tease.

Although she acknowledges that some conservative aspects of society might disapprove, to her burlesque is a wholly positive experience. “It’s awesome, it’s beautiful, and [I’m] proud of it,” she says.

Miss Fitt performs with Pandora and the Locksmith every second Tuesday of the month at Vancouver’s Guilt and Co.

www.runnermag.ca | The Runner

CULTURE

vol. 4 issue 15 | April 17 2012 | page eleven

VINYL DUST-OFF

Vinyl Dust-off: Pearl Jam’s Vitalogy Lliam Easterbrook – sonic archaeologist – brings you his latest finds from excursions into ancient record bins.

I

LLIAM EASTERBROOK SENIOR FEATURES WRITER

4/5 RECORDS

Pearl Jam was the biggest band in the world in 1994.

Their previous record, 1993’s Vs, had become the fastest selling album in history (despite boasting no music videos in an era crazed by MTV), and the band — especially lead singer Eddie Vedder — had become overnight icons.

Vedder felt swept up by the hoopla, unable to deal with the stardom thrust upon him.

Vedder wanted Pearl Jam to grow modestly, on their own terms, like Fugazi or the Pixies.

Given the rush of stardom and the negative implications that sometimes come with it — loss of privacy, being labeled as “selling out,” crazed fans (Vedder had a female admirer crash her car at 60mph into the iron gate outside his Seattle home), and constant media scrutiny — Pearl Jam felt the need to break away from the mainstream.

Vitalogy is Pearl Jam’s breakaway album.

On Vitalogy, production was stripped to an almost murky sound. Raw, edgy, experimental.

And like Vs, no music videos were made to promote the album.

In the age of compact discs, Vitalogy was initially released only on vinyl, a move that would further distance them from the limelight.

Pearl Jam was trying to alienate itself from the mainstream by further circumscribing their reclusive stance — to obtain an exclusivity, as it were, to be by themselves, with the hope of developing a core fan base (something they would continue to do until the mid 2000s). The album cover and notes — a beautiful colour booklet — were taken from a 1920s medical book of the same name, and featured depictions of strange and archaic medical procedures,

LLIAM EASTERBROOK/THE RUNNER

instruments and ruminations spliced with Vedder’s cryptic lyrics.

Kurt Cobain was quoted as saying that Pearl Jam wasn’t truly “alternative” because their songs contained prominent leads and ‘70s-inspired anthem rock.

Pearl Jam seemed to take this to heart because Vitalogy features faster, more punkfocused tracks that revolve heavily around riffs and rhythm instead of the lead-focused material of their earlier albums.

“Spin the Black Circle” is frenzied punk rock about the ritualistic nature of playing vinyl, while “Not For You” is Vedder’s dark rhythmic ode to the authoritarian record companies trying to capitalize on Grunge and the Seattle scene.

Fast songs are juxtaposed with slow eerie numbers like the macabre-psychedelic “Tremor Christ” and the reflective “Immortality” — a song Vedder wrote after he learned of Cobain’s suicide. “When I first

found out, I was in a hotel room in Washington, D.C., and I just tore the place to shreds,” Vedder said at the time.

If releasing the record on vinyl and refusing to make music videos weren’t enough, the album also contains several experimental tracks.

“Satan’s Bed” is a sardonic, funk-tinged romp about making deals with the devil: “Never shook Satan’s hand, look see for yourself you’d know it if I had, that shit don’t come off/ I’ll rise and fall, let me take credit for both/ jump off a cliff, don’t need your help so back off/ I’ll never suck Satan’s dick...again, you’d see it, you know, right round the lips,” Vedder sings impishly.

The Tom Waits inspired “Bugs” features a rampant accordion with Vedder mumbling about bugs “on my skin” and “in my room.” He asks, “Should I join them?” And if that wasn’t enough, “Hey Foxymophan-

dlemamma, That’s Me” — the most disturbing song on the album — was created using a continuous loop of recordings from patients from a psychiatric hospital.

Vitalogy is Pearl Jam’s most garage-focused, experimental album.

At a time when they could have reigned as rock gods, they chose to shun the whole industry and make an album that is staggeringly idiosyncratic.

Pearl Jam can still sell over five million copies of this frantically-paced, at times insane, and unashamedly sincere album, which ultimately speaks volumes about the band’s cult-like following, and even more about a time in music when art and conviction triumphed over image and ambivalence.

Play It Loud. Play It Proud.

page twelve | April 17 2012 | vol. 4 issue 15

CULTURE

The Runner | www.runnermag.ca

INTERVIEW

REVIEW

3 Inches of Blood talks flutes, folklore and fans I

JACOB ZINN CONTRIBUTOR

Shane Clark, one of the two guitarists of 3 Inches of Blood, seems entirely at home within the Rickshaw Theatre’s crimson walls overlooking a line-up of metalheads down East Hastings Street.

The Victoria-based band has had success throughout British Columbia, with a loyal fanbase and a sell-out crowd waiting to get inside.

He kicks up his feet outside the venue’s washrooms and casually discusses the band’s themes of ancient history and mythology that are rampant in the band’s discography.

“It’s more just the escapist vibe that we have,” he said of the lyrical content. “It’s the same as seeing a movie or reading a book. It’s taking you away for a story.”

Throughout the interview, he scratches his gnarly beard, which closely resembles the facial hair of the Vikings, wizards and pirates that vocalist Cam Pipes sings of. While Clark’s outward appearance may frighten small children – he joked that mothers take their children aside – he and his bandmates are five cool-headed guys. They write songs about fantasy because reality isn’t as interesting and they don’t have a message to push.

“There’s bands who have that social or political or even religious agenda that they want to tell people,” he said.

“I’m not knocking it, but it’s not where we’re coming from, not what we’re into.”

It’s mere hours before their Vancouver stop on the Metal Alliance Tour and the rest of the band is doing soundcheck in the background.

With seven bands on the line-up – ranging from hardcore punk to Christian death metal – no subgenre is left untouched on this outing.

“A diverse bill is interesting for the fans too,” said Clark. “Seeing a bill that’s, like,

Eight and a half not afraid of going pop

I

JACOB ZINN/THE RUNNER

Cannibal Corpse and six bands that sound like Cannibal Corpse gets kind of boring.”

Furthermore, the band is touring on a new album, Long Live Heavy Metal. Influenced by British steel and Bay Area thrash among other genres, the disc hits as hard as their last four, giving long-time fans a solid dose of double-kick and electric riffage. It features Part IV of “The Boiling Sea” episodic swashbuckling tale, a rock ‘em sock ‘em hockey anthem and an acoustic instrumental with a flute part that sharply contrasts the album’s other 11 tracks.

“I’ve always been a fan of cool interludes within albums,” he said, citing examples from Metallica, Black Sabbath and Overkill.

“It’s really good to just have peaks and valleys within your record.”

One of the stand-out songs is “Leave It on the Ice”, a hockey song that rivals Anvil’s “Blood on the Ice” and is a little louder than Stompin’ Tom Connors.

It may not be the Hockey Night in Cana-

da theme song, but it ought to be.

“At first I was like, ‘eh, a hockey song’, but it fits in really good for the echelon of our songs involving battle and brotherhood,” said Clark, who by the way is a fan of the 1982 Vancouver Canucks.

As for the rest of the album, Clark said things just fell into place.

Pipes’ Rob Halford-like falsetto vocals make the band’s sound reminiscent of Judas Priest, with “Metal Woman” showing signs of “The Hellion” and “Leather Lord” carrying the same energy as “Painkiller”.

Having performed in Vancouver extensively the past few years, the band skipped classics like “Deadly Sinners” and “Destroy the Orcs” in favour of new tracks like “Dark Messenger”.

But no matter what they play, the hometown crowd is sure to do as Clark hopes: “I expect them to go nuts and hurt themselves and have a great time.”

CHRIS YEE SENIOR CULTURE WRITER

If there’s anything you should know about Toronto band Eight and a Half’s label, Arts and Crafts, it’s the love its roster has of collaboration.

Chalk it up to one Broken Social Scene. It seems that a lot of bands on Arts and Crafts have some connection to the Torontonian supergroup; in fact, the label was started to promote Broken Social Scene’s sophomore album, You Forgot It in People.

Eight and a Half is no exception. The band consists of veteran Broken Social Scene drummer Justin Peroff and Dave Hamelin and Liam O’Neil of the recently disbanded The Stills, keyboardist and singer, respectively.

This is Peroff’s first musical project outside of Broken Social Scene, for whom he had been drumming ten years. Eight and a Half had been simmering as a side project for Peroff since 2009, but it was only after Peroff, Hamelin and O’Neil found themselves back in Toronto that Eight and a Half started working toward their self-titled debut, Eight and a Half, which dropped April 10.

At first glance, Eight and a Half’s debut is a dead-ringer for post-In Rainbows Radiohead. This is not necessarily a bad thing.

Arts and Craft’s press release for Eight and a Half quotes Now Toronto’s review of Eight and a Half’s debut show in February - “Eight and a Half sound like what Radiohead could be doing, if only they weren’t so terrified to write a pop song.” Now Toronto got it half right – the throb and pulse of such songs as “Scissors” and “Go Ego” is every bit as tuneful as anything the Oxfordshireborn band has released presently, their feel sparse at times, yet surprisingly inviting.

Something of The Stills’s and Broken Social Scene’s sensibilities – romantic, sometimes sentimental, sometimes dream-like – can be found in the rest of the album, starting with “Took a Train to India” and climaxing with “Walked into Diazapene,” the sedated, boring haze of “Oh, My Head” the only real misstep. Fortunately, Eight and a Half closes quickly, with “My Forevers” evoking the pastoral ambience of Eno’s Another Green World – a delightful coda to a generally decent album.

CULTURE

www.runnermag.ca | The Runner

vol. 4 issue 15 | April 17 2012 | page thirteen

REVIEWS

Game of Thrones season 2 a lot to live up to

Stannis Baratheon, the late king’s brother, has also declared himself king. Meanwhile, the current king, Joffrey, who is not really Robert Baratheon’s son but is instead the product of incest between Jaime Lannister and his sister, Robert Baratheon’s wife, Cercei, is swiftly establishing himself as a cruel ruler with a potent sadistic streak.

And in Essos, Daenerys may have lost her husband and her son, but she has not lost the will to fight and she has gained her dragons.

Life grows ever more perilous across the lands. And all the while, winter is coming.

Mad Men is back I

KATYA SLEPIAN CONTRIBUTOR

The second season of Game of Thrones, based on George R. R. Martin’s series, premiered on April 1. The premiere episode was titled “A Song of Ice and Fire.”

For those who didn’t raptly watchthe first season, the series takes place in a world that is divided into two continents; Westeros and Essos.

Westeros, also called the Seven Kingdoms, is divided into north and south, and further divided by “the Wall” at the upper reaches of the North, above which civilization ends.

The Wall is manned by the Night’s Watch, who bear allegiance to no House but are sworn to protect the Seven Kingdoms.

These Seven Kingdoms of Westeros are ruled by a king in the south who sits on the Iron Throne. In the first season, this was Robert Baratheon.

The north is ruled by Eddard Stark, Lord of House Stark. Essos, the eastern continent, is where the children of the murdered Mad King live in exile.

These are Viserys III, with an all-consuming obsession for getting the Iron Throne back and his sister Daenerys, whom he marries off to Khal Drogo of the Dothraki to secure an army, but all he secures is a “crown” of molten gold.

Clearly, season two has a lot to live up to. However, if the first episode is any sign, there is nothing to worry about. Robb Stark, Eddard’s son, is continuing his campaign and has declared himself king.

stop making the audience hate them, Mad Men’s cast is mostly comprised of bad people that the viewer gradually begins to feel more and more sympathy for.

Even characters like Pete, whose squashed-bug expression is so punchable it inspired a website, petecampbellsbitchface.com, has become so endearing to viewers, despite his underhandedness, they’ve deemed him “everybody’s favorite little shit.”

Recently, my brother, who only knew the show through the highly stylized commercials that have been running nonstop, every few minutes on AMC, told me that all he wanted in life was to “be Don Draper.” For a second I was confused by this concept. Why would anyone want to be the petty, two-faced, sexist, ass that is Draper? Sure, there’s tons to like there, but Don Draper is in no way the ideal person to model yourself after. Then, of course, I realized that all my brother saw was the devilishly handsome, mysterious, capable Draper you see in the commercials.

It turns out Mad Men’s advertising is as effective as the fake ads on the show.

Draper really is good, isn’t he?

light the amazing ideas and inventions introverts have brought to the world, such as: the theory of gravity, Chopin’s nocturnes, Peter Pan, Orwell’s 1984 and Animal Farm, The Cat in the Hat, Charlie Brown, Schindler’s List, E.T., and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Google and Harry Potter, to list a few. An inspiring read, and definitely an answer to many questions, Susan Cain grips the readers attention from the very beginning.

The House I Loved a heartwarming, emotional journey

Quiet is an essential read for introverts I

CONNOR DOYLE CONTRIBUTOR

Recently, AMC’s Flagship program Mad Men returned to it’s Sunday night timeslot. The show, famous for it’s dissection of the world of advertisement in the’60s, has been hyping its return with (what else) a series of seductive ads announcing that style, debauchery, deception, adultery and jealousy are all finally back.

The show distinguishes itself from most for its novel-like storytelling, its attention to wardrobe and design, and its engaging, meticulous development of its characters.

The creators have done a phenomenal job thus far of making every character seem human; unlikable characters are not necessarily bad character, and vice versa.

Unlike one of AMC’s other popular shows, The Walking Dead, which follows a group of supposedly relatable people that won’t

I I

SANA SOHEL CONTRIBUTOR

Susan Cain stole the hearts of many introverts out there with her inspiring TED talk on the power of introverts in a world that is filled with extroverts, while on tour for her book, Quiet. Her book maintains that “at least one-third of the people we know are introverts. They are the ones who prefer listening to speaking, reading to partying; who innovate and create but dislike self-promotion; who favour working on their own over brainstorming in teams. Although they are often labeled “quiet,” it is to introverts that we owe many of the great contributions to society – from van Gogh’s sunflowers to the invention of the personal computer. The book is an essential read for all introverts. Our world, as it is, is mostly dominated by the extrovert culture, and Susan Cain brings to

SANA SOHEL CONTRIBUTOR

New York Times best-selling author, Tatiana de Rosnay hit the shelves this March with her new book, The House I Loved. It is “an absorbing new novel about one woman’s resistance during an époque that shook Paris to its very core.” The protagonist, “Rose Bazelet is determined to fight against the destruction of her family home until the very end; as others flee, she stakes her claim in the basement of the old house on rue Childebert, ignoring the sounds of change that come closer and closer each day.” Beautifully written, the book holds the readers attention until the very end. The book is heartwarmingly emotional and as one reads, the characters come alive allowing the reader to glimpse at old Paris and enjoy its charm. The novel is a wonderful account of love, compassion, and strength. Quite simply, if you are going to read a book, then let this be it.

page fourteen | April 17 2012 | vol. 4 issue 15

CULTURE

The Runner | www.runnermag.ca

FASHION

Will write for clothes: brighten up your outfit with the change in weather I

LAURA COLLINS CONTRIBUTOR

The sun’s out and school is coming to a close, which means it’s time to get your wardrobe ready for spring and summer.

The drop waist dress has returned, echoing a ‘20s feel. This style works great if you’re tall, and will elongate your torso.

Add some chunky platform shoes or a cork wedge sandal to dress this piece up for those summer nights out.

This season the cropped blazer is a great pick to add some interest to jeans and a tank top.

With shorter sleeves and a shortened torso, this piece is waist-defining and will slim any silhouette.

Try this blazer in one of this season’s pastel colours, like lavender, peach, blush pink or light teal.

If you’re a fan of pattern, then head out on a hunt for florals. As flowers begin to pop up in the garden, they will on clothes.

This is a very versatile pattern, and can be found on short to floor-length dresses, blazers, tops and even pants.

Don’t go overboard with this pattern, and only stick to one floral piece per outfit, making that the focus of your look.

Try a sheer button-up tank in this warmer weather.

This piece will be sure to add a little edge to your outfit. The button-up sheer is great worn tucked into jeans with a pair of heels to give you some height.

Try this shirt in a classic black or an offwhite, and you’ll be sure to have a go-to outfit this season.

Colour is always huge as the weather warms up, but this year it’s all about putting the emphasis on your bottom half. Brightly coloured jeans are hitting every store, and the options are endless. From fuchsia to tie-dye, you’ll be sure to find a pair that fits your comfort level.

Don’t be afraid to be a little bold and pair some orange bottoms with a floral shirt.

You’ll be making a fantastic statement.

For the finishing touches, gold jewellery is a must.

Look for long, dangly earrings, chunky gold rings and shiny gold bangles.

Protect your eyes with a pair of retrostyle sunglasses in either a classic brown or a bright shade of peppermint green.

A sheer button-up (pictured above) keeps a light, airy feel for the summer months while complementing bold colour like these mosaic sunglasses (left).

MITCH THOMPSON/THE RUNNER.

PROCRASTINATION

www.runnermag.ca | The Runner

STARS

vol. 4 issue 15 | April 17 2012 | page fifteen

KESSEL RUN IN 81 — BEN HORNE

ARIES March 21 - April 19

LIBRA Sept. 24 - Oct. 23

Facebook invitations are great but you may go blind if you play with them too much.

Consider the ham sandwich as a possible symbol of your greatness.

TAURUS April 20 - May 20 Next weekend will be epic so remember to control your bladder.

GEMINI May 21 - June 20

SCORPIO Oct. 24 - Nov. 22

SMART ZONE

The pen is mightier than the sword but strangely not the banana.

SAGITTARIUS Nov. 23 - Dec. 21

Wagga Wagga (the un-funniest horoscope ever).

Nobody talks about Weekend at Bernie’s anymore.

You should really do something about that.

CANCER June 21 - July 23 Start a Cee Lo Green fan club. Why? Because that guy is awesome.

CAPRICORN Dec. 22 - Jan. 20 Kick a hipster. Seriously.

(CUP) — Puzzles provided by BestCrosswords.com.

Used with permission.

LEO July 24 - Aug. 23

AQUARIUS Jan. 21 - Feb 19

Listen to your inner voice. Eat a hot dog.

VIRGO Aug. 24 - Sept. 23

Ride the SkyTrain nude. It will be fun, I promise.

Wear spanx today, even if you’re a dude.

PISCES Feb. 20 - March 20

It’s time to start listening to your mom. You are fucking cool.

Across 1- Martini’s partner; 6- Commoner; 10- Horrors!; 14- Choreographer de Mille; 15- Accent; 16Make-up artist?; 17- Chimes; 18- Entr’ _ ; 19- Big do; 20- Conical native American tent; 21- Causing horror; 23- Actress Peeples; 25- Author Rand; 26- “A Hard Road to Glory” author; 29- Invitation letters; 32- Biblical mount; 37- USN rank; 38- Chip in; 39Optimally; 40- Cause light to pass through; 43- Add fizz; 44- Caspian Sea feeder; 45- Edge; 46- Passover feast; 47- Old Dodge model; 48- IRS IDs; 49- Attorney’s org.; 51- Writer Hentoff; 53- Highly productive; 58- Started; 62- Bunches; 63- Sup; 64- Eat away; 65- Decant; 66- Cornerstone abbr.; 67- Negatively charged particle; 68- Bluesy James; 69- Foot covering; 70- The house of a parson;

Down 1- All ears; 2- Arch type; 3- Break, card game; 4- Greek goddess of the moon; 5- Japanese immigrant; 6- Egyptian deity; 7- Bananas; 8- Snare; 9- Drunken; 10- Minnesota’s St. _ College; 11- LP player; 12- Bust maker; 13- Acapulco gold; 22- Infuse; 24- “L.A. Law” lawyer; 26- Take the role of; 27- Carousal; 28- Accumulate; 30- Letters on a Cardinal’s cap; 31- Soft palate; 33- Son of, in Arabic names; 34- Approaches; 35- John of “The Addams Family”; 36- Units; 38- Stellar; 39- At full speed; 41Not for a Scot; 42- Coffee container; 47- Uncouth; 48- Breastbones; 50- Waits; 52- At right angles to a ships length; 53- Scheme; 54- Defeat decisively; 55- Other, in Oaxaca; 56- A big fan of; 57- Give up; 59- Enter; 60- Brouhahas; 61- Branta sandvicensis; 62- Big brute;

page sixteen | April 17 2012 | vol. 4 issue 15

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