swept Issue 2, Volume SWEPT1. May 20131
editor’s desk Business as usual
Writing and nail-biting at Sweptmedia.ca It all began nearly a year ago as a garbled e-mail conversation with Camilleri, when Local Lit was still a concept. Our team is now producing three to four pieces every week consisting mostly of poetry, but with the new site we’re looking to start including short fiction again, as well as significantly expanding the range of content. It’s great progress, but it’s astonishing to think it might never have happened if I hadn’t found Camilleri’s e-mail on a crumpled piece of paper while cleaning my room last summer.
A few people who need recognition: Nicholas Camilleri, Volo Von Wolfenstein and Magda Wolak. Without their work and dedication the section couldn’t produce the same quality content. I also have to thank all the contributors and the people whose feedback has improved the quality of the site and the section. And of course, a special thanks to the readers. The title of the section is Local Lit, but at first it was just a few guys writing and sharing stories.
Promoting Toronto literature and art is what we’ve become, but the field is changing. The Internet is allowing us to interact almost instantaneously with content producers from all over the planet. I’m currently communicating with potential contributors all over the country and in places such as Turkey, France, Portugal and Japan.
Social media also allows us to connect with new audiences: some of our poetry has been picked up by an online writing community known as paper.li in Liechtenstein, which I didn’t even know was a country prior to our digital interaction.
Thinking locally and acting globally has become part of the routine here at Swept, and I’m excited to say that Sweptmedia.ca is on the cutting edge of how literature can be shared in the 21st century. It’s been a wild ride so far, it’s only going to get crazier, and I hope you’ll join us for more.
Neil McKenzie-Sutter
Masthead
Public Mischief - By Callan Schaub
Nicholas Camilleri - Founding Editor and Art Director Alex Lambert - Managing Editor and Copy Chief Neil McKenzie-Sutter - Managing Editor of Local Lit Magda Wolak - Contact Resourcing and Poetry Contributor Jen Alvarez - Events and Arts Reporter Volo Von Wolfenstein - Poetry Contributor Ivan Kostynyk - Photography Contributor
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features 5 Politics and Comics 8 Suspended coffee Three guys, 9 10+ instruments, one dream
12 Casino Concerns
Local lit 4 “Helen of Troy.” 7 Arrogant The Doubles 11 Advocate
14 “ALL MIGHTY DOLLAR”
Special Thanks To... Calan Schaub - visual artist calanschaub.com Attila Szanyi - visual artist attilavision.com METRO - by Attila Szanyi
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"HELEN OF TROY." By Tamie Dolny
I string goldfish around your neck and watch you Hang yourself with your words. They erupt out of your Sapphire lips with the passion of cyanic acid.
When you die, I will come in late and sit in the back row. I will paint my lips an exuberant shade of red and Mouth swear words at the priest. When the service Is over I will flee to the bridges and the hydrowires and the Hydrowires and the bridges to mourn your death In the places where I felt you were most alive.
If you die young, I will come in late and sit in the back row. I will paint my lips an exuberant shade of red and Mouth swear words at the priest. I will sob and contemplate Suicide.
I will not kill myself.
When you die, I will suddenly realize that your car is Grey, not brown. Slowly your blurred face will come into focus. I will learn to mourn the photographs of your fake smiles And not the memories of our boredom. They don't write books on falling out of love.
Your life will transform into lightning streaming up and Down my veins, thunder pounding my eardrums and Muffled cries in fabric, instead of the silence in your car On the odd Tuesday afternoon. I will hop roofs and grieve For your reckless wild spirit, when in reality you were a Waterspout and I was a natural disaster.
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politics and comics Story by Jen Alvarez
Editorial cartoonist Matt Bors comes to Toronto’s Comic Arts Festival to show off his new book and talk comics with his Toronto fans.
Swept met up with him.
Photo by Jen Alvarez
Political comics were the hot topic at the Comic Book Lounge’s live talk and presentation on May 10, featuring the award-winning syndicated editorial cartoonist and editor Matt Bors. Promoting the recent publication of his second book, Life Begins at Incorporation, thanks to a successful Kickstarter fundraising campaign, Bors was welcomed by local comic aficionados and supporters of his published work. Life Begins at Incorporation showcases Bors’ political cartoons that have been published over the last four years, along with essays, and chapters detailing some of his most recurring and popular themes, such as religion and war. “I like to write too, but the idea, I guess, is that it’s not just simply a collection of work that’s been published before. There’s a lot of extra material,” said Bors.
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“It’s one of those mediums where you have dynamic interplay with an image and words that sort of pulls people in and so, in that respect I think that it’s a highly accessible medium and I think it’s for people who don’t necessarily like to read books or pick up the newspaper on a daily basis.” - Nicole Guiniling, Founder of Ad Astra Comics
Bors said he began drawing political comics 10 years ago opposing the Iraq war and saw this kind of cartooning as a viable platform for relaying information and opinion in a creative and humorous way.
else would come out to learn more about the world of political comics. “This event is almost the barometer of seeing what the interest in Toronto is for political comics,” she said. “I feel like it’s a good opportunity to sort of open up the subject of political comics for people who maybe don’t see comics as a potential medium for raising awareness or for talking about more serious issues and then just starting the conversation and see where it goes.”
“I’m someone who’s always been into all forms of comics and I’ve read them since I was a kid, and I still read some superhero stuff. So, I’m not snobby about my choices. I’m really into non-fiction comics and political comics and the potential that comics journalism has, which I think is one of the last genres of cartooning that hasn’t fully been explored by a lot of people,” he said. Nicole Guiniling, event organizer and founder of Ad Astra Comics, a company dedicated to political and historical comics, said comics, especially those focused on political topics, have the power to stir debate and inform an audience in the same way other forms of media do. “It’s one of those mediums where you have dynamic interplay with an image and words that sort of pulls people in and so, in that respect I think that it’s a highly accessible medium and I think it’s for people who don’t necessarily like to read books or pick up the newspaper on a daily basis,” said Guiniling. “I also think it’s for people who are looking for something more than just an objective article. Maybe they’re looking for an artistic interpretation about a political event.” Guiniling, who also moderated a panel discussion about political comics at The Toronto Comic Arts Festival (TCAF) on May 11, said she was happy to notice some audience members at the event who supported Bors’ Kickstarter campaign and was interested to see who
Alice Quinn, event MC, founder of TdotComics. ca and host of QuinntessentialComix, the website’s YouTube channel, said she enjoys how Bors’ work can cause audiences to think more deeply about the message he tries to get across through his drawings and humor. “(When it comes to comics) People often think of capes and tights but it’s so much more than that. You can explore any subject matter through comics and it’s cool because in a way you can give it comedic tones and treat it with a lighter demeanor than you would treat news stories,” said Quinn.
Photo by Jen Alvarez
Quinn said Bors’ work is not limited only to news and the work he does is also in line with what avid comic reviewers and lovers like her look for in a story. “It fits in with the comic world in the sense that it’s comical and the art style is very cartoony but it’s about serious topics,” she said. Quinn will be posting her live interview with Bors on the TdotComics website. For more details, check out torontocomics.com.
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Arrogant BY Volo von Wolfenstein
A lot of people want to know, what really happened to me on St. Patrick’s day and you may already guess, say, that I got hammed and proceeded to that… voulez vous couchez….. moi? nah, although I was certainly down to get laid ce’st soire, ce’est soire
However that morning I woke up to a ninth floor view of a super lame coup d’etat.. normality deposed with the Walt Disney version of the Pride parade, yeah… Ooh la la, nah.. this was truly GAY St.George Street blocked and ready to (sort-of) celebrate…. Those douchebags. Come on…. Green pantalons and a concerto of gold trombones..? Holy fuck, why is no-one streaking and getting stoned?
And I thought… ….are we too old, is today the day we die down and roll on our side like dogs, is our generation too obedient to the codes of responsibility and law? Fuck that brah..
I want to get drunk, I want to get stoned I’m down to get Loco …….Estoy tan borracho! So, I grab my friends and we buy out the entire LCBO:
Mixed drinks and of course those (shots and shots and shots ) of Souza Gold. Now, Allen says he’s too drunk to drive, Greg says it’s 2pm and he expects us to join dinner with his wife
I’m very easy to excite, like fuck yeah, let’s go, and then, all of a sudden
no way FUCK THAT BRO … I didn’t realize it was in Scarborough & but here is where things go awry.
The drunker I got, the more humility left my eyes, Greg was pissed, he just wanted us to come by… one week later he leaves his wife, did we plant a seed of anger in his mind, did we water it with beer and let it metastasize… I don’t know, o_o’ I can’t see shit dude I’m stumbling through the sky.. & it didn’t stop, I mean we couldn’t let Matt and Aaron down, they haven’t had a sip of booze this entire time. And I watch my virtues drown, And I watch my virtues drown.
Show up at residence, real upset that nothing was going down. I say: “This is boring yo; this is lame….” ‘Then get the fuck out motherfucker you’re driving us insane!’
Now I’m alone, now I’m enraged, knocking shit over on my way to find the real Partay. Dear Club V, you saved my night and day! Fuck you Club V, Drained my wallet with over-priced Labatt Fiftay. But I still danced, I still raved, stepped on people’s shoes, “what’d you say? Fuck you bitch.. get out my way..”
&& then I met her, miss Darling Let Me TasteYour-Face, and we made out in each-other’s arms… until I tripped hard and you
landed on your face.
Why? Why? “It's not a question but a lesson learned in time” No matter what arrogance, no matter what your sun, Icarus still falls from pride - landing on his ass.
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Photo courtesy Justin (Flickr: srslyguys) From Lincoln, New Jersey.
Charitable European trend
catches on in Ontario Story by Kara Matthews
Supplying a hot cup of coffee on a cold day to someone in need has become easier as the European movement ‘caffe sospeso’ comes to Ontario. ‘Caffe sospeso’, or ‘suspended coffee’, is a new concept being introduced in coffee shops around the world. Customers can go in, buy a coffee, and ‘suspend it’ for someone less fortunate. A person in need can then go into the shop and receive that suspended coffee for free. Homegrown Hamilton in Hamilton is one of the first shops in Ontario to adopt this new idea. “We’ve always given out coffee before, just because we are a very community minded, socially conscious place,” said owner Tim Lidster.
He said Homegrown Hamilton tries to encourage people to donate and inquire by putting up signs, adding that the shop has seen a surprising amount of success with suspended coffee. “I’d say we hand out at least 10 to 15 coffees a day,” Lidster said. Many customers have also begun to suspend soup orders, he added.
Despite the best efforts of those participating in the suspended coffee movement, some have concerns about its popularity. More specifically, there’s concern about it becoming popular in Toronto – a city with a significantly larger homeless population. Nolan Murray is in the Community Worker program at George Brown College, and volunteers with the homeless community at the All Saints Church-Community Centre in Toronto. He sees the project’s potential, but said its success depends on how well it’s implemented.
“It can be beneficial as long as its targeted to help the community, and not for advertisement purposes,” he said. “Programs like this are, unfortunately, often used as more of a marketing approach for people who want to make themselves feel better.” Murray said at the community centre, participants have to pay a minimum of 25 cents for their coffees, and he thinks it’s been beneficial.
“Like most within society, the homeless population likes to pay for what they receive,” he said. “It allows them to be self-sufficient.” Murray said despite the cons, a number of people in the homeless community would likely be interested in the suspended coffee program.
Cathy Crowe is a street nurse in Toronto, and has been a strong advocate for the homeless since 1988. She co-founded the Toronto Disaster Relief Committee and volunteers as the executive director. She said it’s unlikely that suspended coffee will do much for the most serious issues facing the homeless. “I think this effort will be a nice idea but certainly won’t make a dent in the hunger, malnutrition or desperation that our homeless experience,” she said. Lidster said he understands why coffee shops in Toronto might be nervous to offer this service, but believes the pros outweigh the cons.
“I can see them having concerns about being taken advantage of,” he said. “If they’re willing to try it though, it’s really just a nice little way to provide someone in need with something warm to drink.”
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Image courtesy 3Versatile
Three guys, ten+ instruments, one dream
Ever wish you could quit your job on a whim and follow your dreams? The members of the band 3Versatile did just that.
Story by Dona Boulos
N
ot all people have this thing called passion. It's a powerful force that lies within. It forces you to face your fears, pushes you to success, and brings you an indescribable and overwhelming sense of joy. Left with nothing but the drive to succeed, 3Versatile, a Toronto-based band, have committed their lives to the hopeful future of their musical careers. "We quit all our other jobs that we had on a full-time basis," said band member Alexander Arthur. "We are in the studio from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. every day." While they all have bad-ass degrees in their back pockets, Alex Saloomi, another band member, said these credentials are basically last resorts. "Although we have great backups, our plans are definitely not to use them," said Saloomi, who has a degree in economics and management science. Drawing influence from myriad genres, 3Versatile's eclectic sound
defies comparison, and watching the band's multi-instrumentalist members switch instruments in the middle of compositions is impressive. What's available of them on their website offers a unique mix of tracks, including an interesting cover of Tool's "The Pot", complete with haunting vocal melodies. As I spoke with these three twenty-something guys, I wondered why people don’t always go through with their passion, wholeheartedly and balls-deep. We always hear people say ‘I wanted to be actor’, or ‘I wanted to be a dancer’, so what happens in between the dreaming and the reality? The answer is fear (also a powerful emotion), and one that 3Versatile brushes off and attacks full force. “There’s always a fear of failing, its just a matter of putting your head down, shutting up and working,” said Saloomi. “The fear is there but it shouldn’t be in your mind, what should be in your mind is ‘There’s a goal in my future and I’m going to work hard to achieve it.’ The fear pushes us forward.”
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“Everyone always says music is really hard to get into and to make a living, but it’s like every other business,” said 3Versatile member Thomas Arthur. “You have to put all of your effort into it.” “If something goes badly, we know it’s our fault for not trying hard enough. Everything is in our control and it’s our responsibility,” said his twin brother and band mate, Alexander. “(Failing is) an uncontrollable thing that could happen to us, but that would mean we didn’t give it our 100 per cent.”
“We’re always offering something new, and that new element to us is that we are a multi-instrumental band,” they said. “We switch between instruments while we play during a show and sometimes when we play during a song.” “We don’t know anyone with superstar status with that before. We know Walk off the Earth does a little bit of multi-instrumental stuff but no one does it quite like us with the emphasis on the switching,” they said.
A survey of recent graduates conducted by Experience, Inc., which runs post-secondary career resource websites, found 70 per cent of respondents (all generation Yers), left their first job within two years. It goes on to say that of the Millennials (people born from around 1980 onward) surveyed, 60 per cent are currently look for other employment, despite 57 per cent being happy working their current job.
The attitude expressed by 3Versatile is that whether or not they succeed in their musical journey together, happiness will always overwhelm them when they pick up the guitar, drum sticks, mic, clarinet, accordion, or flute. They feel that no failure can take that away from them.
Going by this survey, it seems generation Y is actually a generation of overachievers and dreamers.
“It’s an exhilarating feeling (to perform). It’s very much an interesting mix of happiness and concentration,” said Thomas.
“I think we are very much a part of generation Y. Our parents say why can’t you find a steady job, but also pushed us to do what we love,” said the Arthurs, who both have a degree in kinesiology.
“When we rehearse it’s a controlled environment. It’s never similar to a show where there’s random people involved, mixed with alcohol and drugs. There’s pressure involved but in the best way possible,” Saloomi said.
“We never went (to school for music) because we didn’t think it would be a full-time career. It was essentially a hobby that continued to grow into a more powerful passion, to the point where we ended up knowing that our degrees would be nothing but backups,” said Saloomi. But with no steady income, the band faces many obstacles and will probably continue to make financial sacrifices on behalf of their dream: making it big as 3Versatile. They all agree that the problem with hobbies is they require money, especially pricey hobbies like learning music and building a band. Luckily for them, they seem to have been born with the gift of being naturally musically talented. Alexander Arthur took basic guitar lessons in the past but also plays bass, drums and the clarinet, all of which are self-taught. Thomas Arthur learned to play the flute and keys in high school but taught himself how to play the accordion and drums. Saloomi self-taught himself everything he knows, whether it’s vocals, on drums or playing the guitar.
That is the power of passion.
“During rehearsal, you’re not sharing the magic,” they said. “It’s some next level stuff. It’s like we are communicating with our fans and our fans are also communicating back. It’s an unexplained level of communication,” said Alexander. When asked ‘why do you love music?’, Saloomi wrote back via email, (in the most poetic way possible): “Music is a universal language that has no boundaries or limits. It can take you as far as you want to go, and as fast as you want to get there. My passion for music has resulted in an itch; an itch so deep in my veins that no object can seem to scratch at.” “It’s become a passion so powerful, that I long for it when I wake, and crave it when I sleep. Even as I write this right now, I can feel my soul rattle as I know the second I press send, a pair of drum sticks are going to be in my hands, and a guitar melody in my head.”
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Image courtesy 3Versatile
The Doubles Advocate Andrew Murphy
Lips open, triplets hammer out melodies on the vibrational extension of my cornea.
Let the first chord decide the placement of the resolution. Trees balk, bark in a tempo tailored in ten moons, to the ears of a transmigrated truant.
They blend. water and plasma run together and each takes an aspect of the other. The great breath runs down in liquid form, smiling through the streetlamp: “Nothing is true, except what is told.�
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Casino Concerns
Photo by Ivan Kostynyk
story by Briar Hopley
As the Toronto casino debate rages on, many are speaking out to voice their concerns. Toronto city council, supporters, and those opposed continue to look into the potential benefits as well as the concerns regarding a Casino in Toronto’s downtown core. Next week, City council members are expected to debate on the megacasino proposed by the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. Mayor Rob Ford, who’s openly in favour of the casino, released an open letter on April 8, which said “This is a golden opportunity for Toronto and one we probably won’t see again for a generation.” But some do not see it in the same light as Ford.
A report from DPRA containing the results of the City of Toronto’s public consultations about the proposed casino found that two thirds of respondents are strongly opposed to having a new casino in Toronto. It also states that 69.8 per cent of respondents feel that a new casino does not fit into their image of the City of Toronto. In Ford’s letter, he tells readers that the casino will generate thousands of much-needed jobs and revenue for the city. “Such a development would create 10,000 new permanent jobs at an average salary of about $55,000 and inject $1.2 billion into Toronto (and Ontario’s) annual GDP. Construction would create an additional 7,000 to 11,000 temporary jobs. All of these jobs will pay provincial income tax,” wrote Ford. An MPI report released in March raised concerns that the casino may not have such a positive impact on the city.
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The report looks at the impact the casino will have on things like jobs, neighbourhoods, and businesses. It points out that although the construction of the casino/resort will boost jobs, there are already many construction jobs underway in the GTA, and it poses the question: is there “a need for greater demand for more construction jobs?” The MPI report states that although greater demand might boost wages, the “slowdown in Toronto’s construction market that could be created by increased demand and wages” may not have such a positive impact on, for instance, other developers, or the Toronto region. Further, it explains that a “major developer” who is finalizing plans for office, commercial and retail space in Toronto’s downtown core “has already expressed grave concerns about being able to complete their project, something equivalent in size and scope to a resort/casino, if a downtown casino is approved.” The debate isn’t exclusively about how many new construction jobs this will create. There’s also a discussion around the number of casino and resort jobs that this project could generate. “Casino profitability is primarily tied to slot machines so the casino’s acreage would be dominated by slot machines, which require very small numbers of employees,” said the report. The report also writes that workers in Niagara and Windsor said casinos tend to only hire part-time employees and that they are unable to support full-time workers. “The City of Toronto’s own website reports that casino workers in the city earn roughly $25,000 per year (before taxes),” it reads. It comes to the conclusion that although the casino itself might generate jobs, the majority of them created will be part-time, low paying, and transient employment. But not only is there the potential that it won’t create as many high paying jobs as predicted, it also might take jobs away from small business owners that will have to compete with the casino resort. “I think that anybody that owns anything downtown is going to see this as one big huge competitor and it’s really hard to compete against these places because they have such high margins of scale,” said Humber College business professor Steve Bang. Restaurateur Fred Luk, owner of Fred's Not Here and The Red Tomato, wrote an open letter to Mayor Rob Ford expressing his concerns.
“
“Up to $1.5 billion in discretionary entertainment dollars will be siphoned out from the local economy. In other words, businesses will
suffer and jobs will be lost as local retailers, restaurateurs and operators of entertainment venues continue to pay the City the highest commercial property tax rate in Canada. If a casino were built, local businesses will lose revenue to the casino operators,” Luk wrote. MPI also raises the concern Luk has and poses the question: how many jobs will really be created as small business owners lose money and jobs to the mega-casino? “Existing established Toronto hotels, restaurants and other businesses, who do not have the luxury of collecting money from their customers in a casino, will not be able to compete. Once again, the resort/casino adds jobs but the rest of the city loses jobs.” Putting aside the wide range of other concerns, a casino’s social impact on Toronto and GTA citizens may on it’s own be reason enough for some to re-evaluate how they feel about the project. “If you’ve ever been to a casino, what you notice is there’s a lot of regulars, there’s a lot of locals and there’s a lot of people that basically can’t afford it - to give away all their money - that are in there trying to win the big money,” said Bang. A report conducted by Toronto’s medical officer of health in collaboration with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, reviewed the impact that a casino would have on gamblers. The report states that approximately 129,000 people in the GTA “are considered to be at risk for problem gambling.” “Hosting a new casino in Toronto is anticipated to increase the frequency and severity of problem gambling in the city, and the associated negative health impacts on individuals, families and communities,” the report reads. The Toronto Board of Health voted 9-1 against a casino in Toronto because of the health and social impacts it could have on its citizens. With implications for jobs, small businesses and the potential social impact on the city of Toronto, many people will continue to voice their concerns about the project. The mega-casino, which would include hotel and retail space, was proposed by the OLG in October 2012. Toronto city council members were originally slated to deal with this issue earlier this month, but the long-awaited vote has been postponed. The fate of the casino will now be debated during a special meeting of Toronto city council on May 21. In any case, if Toronto refuses the casino, surrounding cities in the GTA could benefit from the opportunity, but they might also end up plagued with the project's potential problems.
If you’ve ever been to a casino, what you notice is there’s a lot of regulars, there’s a lot of locals and there’s a lot of people that basically can’t afford it - to give away all their money - that are in there trying to win the big money. - Steve Bang Humber Business Professor
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looking to get published? Swept is always looking for new talent and fresh content. While poetry and journalistic content seem to be coming in by the heaps, we are still looking for short stories, video interviews, reviews, mini-documentaries and visual art. Head over to sweptmedia.ca and visit the contact page for submission details. Swept’s beta phase is almost done, and full issues are in the works.
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