The Cascade Thursday July 16th 2009 Volume 17 Issue 19 Page 16

The

Harrison Arts Festival

Lettuce leave you since 1993 Vol.17Issue19

In Memory of Neda Agha-Soltan

The Dead Weather Review

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OffensiveAdvertising ...? ,'\

REBEKAH DUPREY a little bit offensive. What, can't we ACTINGEDITORIN CHIEF here's been some small uproar over the parklng-llcket-advertlsing fiasco, and I must confess to finding it rather amusing. Advertising is a constant part of our lives, and while we may dislike having it slip into places we don't think it belongs, at least the Idea was a novel one.

Advertising In general has become tired and boring these days, with too many people taking offense at nothing. Have you ever noticed how In commercials it's always the man doing something stupid, because If women aren't represented as perfect there' II be activist groups up in arms?

Cereal commercials show men saying silly or stupid things to their wives,with the all-knowing, brilliant wives looking down their noses. There's a pickles commercial that shows a helicopter transporting the product to the front of the fridge, where a father and son are staring blankly at the shelves, unable to find what they need.

Women arc never the butt of jokes in advertising these days, and I actually find that

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16th 2009

Cascade News • Thursda

take a joke?

And what's with the ad that used to say "stong enough for a man, made for a woman ... " they changed It to "Strong enough for a woman."

Did the woman who requested thal change ever stop to think that "strong enough" refers to how powerful the deodorant needs to be to overcome sweaty stench? Ilow on earth is affirming that "we're as smelly as any man!" an issue of equality?

People are certainly too easily offended by advertising. A recent ad by

UPCOMING LOCAL EVENTS Abbotsford Agrifair July 30th to August 3rd This five day summer agricultural fair attracts 41,000visitors each year to Abbotsford. The fair features agricultural displays, family entertainment, arts and crafts, animals, midway and fireworks, but the headline fun Is the professional rodeo on Friday and Saturday and the well-known musicians. '!here Is also mini-car racing and demolition derbies.

Address: 32470 Haid a Drive Abbotsford Tel: I 604 852-6674

Abbotsford International Airshow August 7, 8, & 9 The Abbotsford International Airshow Society will be cclcbrnling their 46th Anniversary. Help• Ing them celebrate will be the CF Snowbirds, the CF Skyhawks, and many demo teams and solo acts.

This year's show will provide spectators with death defying acls and thrilling routines. Please refer to the event's website for complete information.

an Israeli cell phone company depicts Israeli soldiers encountering a soccer ball kicked over the West Bank Bar-. rier, a large concrete wall reminiscent of Berlin. " The soldiers kick the ball back, and ILis kicked back again from the other side. They call some friends on their cell phones, and a game ensues with the ball being kicked around and then kicked back to the other side, an returned by the unseen Palestinians.

Overall it's a corny, feel-good ad that, in my opinion, whitewashes a serious situation, but doesn't really

Bowl 2010 Aug 1 - 17 In commemoration of the 2010 Olympics and the centenary of 5 pin bowling, Abbotsford will host Bowl 2010. Teams of 4 will bowl until a score of 2010 is recorded at Galaxy, August 1st till 14th.

Medals for 1st, 2nd and 3rd arc then awarded at a closing concert held at Exhibition park on August 17th. Registration is required, please contact Galaxy 604-853-1366. For more info about Bowl 2010, please call 604-302-4004. There is also a planned attempt at a world record.

BC Cultural Crawl August 1 - 31 This August over seventy communities from around the province will participate In the 8th Annual BC Cultural Crawl, a vibrant celebration oflhc arts, culture and heritage of our province. 1be BC Cultural Crawl includes community-inititatcd musicals, theatrical and dance performances, visual arts display in galleries and artist's studios, festivals and events, museums and heritage sites, cultural centres,

, hurt ·anyone. Its been ordered off the air, with people claiming that it is de•grading to Palestinians and profiting of people's suffering.

•..· ··Advertising always profits off ,· of people's suffering, and it always whitcwash,es,bnd situations. Arguing spous~s or hectic housewives arc exploited on TV everyday, and what about that granola bar ad where children 'talk ab?ut all the mean or dysfunctional things they overhear at home? The ad suggests using granola bar~ to shut them up. That's totally whitewashing the issue of family dysfunction.

However, the commercial Is cute, and relatively harmless. So is the cell phone ad. Why can't we loosen up a little and re• member that ads arc supposed to be a reflection of the way we'd like things to be, or a satire reflecting the way things arc or aren't.

Advertising isn't a serious comment on the world. Ads are fantasy, and I know one of my fantasies involves getting an invitation to a bar under my windshield when I'm expecting a parking ticket.

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Friday, September 11th, 2009 Saturday, September 12th, 2009 Sunday, September 13th, 2009 1PM - 9PM 11AM-9PM 11 AM -SPM

4th Annual Well Seasoned BBQ on the Bypass Sunday, Sept. 13th The Well Seasoned BBQ on the Bypass is the Fraser Valley's premiere BBQ event that attracts thousands of people to watch competitive slow roast BBQ teams from throughout BC compete for the BC BBQChampionship. Thi\ evtnt is free to the public and offers all day en'te,.t!l'lnmentfeaturing musical performances by cover band the Other Side of 5 and cincee'd by local celebrity Chef Dez.

Fraser Valley Thunder Rally Saturday, September l2th

Mark your calendars for the 2nd Annual Fraser Valley l11t1nderRally to raise.funds for the CanaEAT! Fraser Valley dian Cancer Society. llie mo!orcycle rally starts in Vancouver and ends al Vcdd~r River Campground Returning al the Tnidex Exhibition Centre In where family can join in lhc fun with children's Abbotsford, BC in 2009. The festival will draw on events, live music, bbq, door prizes, vendors and a consumer base of over 1.5 million persons in Lhc morel fastest growing community in Canada.

Volume17• Issue19 RoomC1027 33844 KingRoad Abbotsford, BC V2S7M8 ActingEditor-In-Chief cascade.chlef@ufv.ca RebekahDuprey AdvertisingManager cascade.buslness@ufv.ca SamanthaGunson ProductionManager cascade.productlon@ufv.ca Randona Conrad Production Assistant A.M. Bois

News& Opinion Editor cascade.news@ufv.ca David Miller Arts & Life Editor cascade.arts@ufv.ca Paul Falardeau

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SportsEditor cascade.sports@ufv.ca Brittany Wiesner Copy Editor A.M Bois

StaffWriters SuzanneKlttell Roml Chan Angela Ostrlkoff Contributors Sonja Szlovlcsak Paul Brammer Larry Portelance StaffPhotographer RandonaConrad Printed By CoastalWeb Press TheCascadela UPV'1autonomOIII studentoewsplpCr.lt providesa forum for UPVatudents to hawtheirjoumaliam llhed.It abo act, a, an altematiw press forthe FraserValley.TheCucade Isfunded withUPVstudentfunds.TheCaac:ade ls publishedeverylhunday witha dmdation of2000and Isd.istribwd at UPVcampu,es and throughoutAbboufurd, Oillliwack, and Mission.TheCascadeIsa member of the Canldlan UnlvenltyPra,, 1 national cooperatlwof75 unlwnttyand collqie newspapersfromVictoriato St. John's.The Cascade followsthe CUP eth1'8lpolicy concerningmaterialof a prejudicialor opp~w nature.

Submissions areprekrrcdInelec:tronlc formateither through e-mailor on CD. Pleasesend1ubmlsslons in ".txt"or ".doc" form11t only.

Articlesandlettersto the editor must be typed.1heCase.we reserwsthe right to editsubmissions forclarityand length.

TheCll5Cllde willnot printanyarticles thatcontainracist,sexist,homophobic or libellouscontent.'Ihe writds namrand studentnumbermustbe:submittedwith eachsubmission.

Lettersto theeditormust be under400 wordsIf intendedforprint.

Onlyonelctlllrto theeditorperwriterin anygivenedition.

Opinionsc:xpreslied do not Dt'C~ssarlly rdlcctthatofUFV,Cascadestaffand col lcctivc,or assod~k-<lmcmbcn;.

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Cascade News• Thursday July·•16th ~009

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FakeParkingTickets Rile Impark SUZANNE KITTELL Infringement. l

don't think I can be HP Lavos contends STAFFWRITER sued for what I have done. 'If it dpes~ that Its Intentionswere recent ad campaign run by local come to that for some reason, I ·would not to ruffle feathers DJgroup HP Lavoshas UFV and not have the resources nect;~saryto· . ·withUFVand TmPark, ImPark officials agitated. The group defend myself. I am a low7 1nco:m.e but to bring more stuleft fake parking tickets on several student who thought· I had a witty dents out to the shows. windshields in the UFV parking lot and innovative ad campaign'.which , One member told the last week, inviting students to a show turned out-to be n ·J~t-more trouble· Cascade, "We think that this student night at Bull and Raven. The bills featured than It was worth." : . . ,· UFV's policy on distributing ad- at the Bull and Raven the show information as well as a modifiedversion of the lmPark logo. vertisements 01i campus led security is especiallyappealing TmPark was notified and accord- guards to ask the group· riot t9 hand to people at a universiIng to senior operations manager out the flyerson UPY property. UFV ty age, yet we are findBruce Ingkleson, their "legal depart• also contacted the Tlulland Raven to ing it hard to come up ment sent Lavosa teller asking them ask them to stop advertisil)gon cam- with ways lo advertise to this demographic. to cease and desist." pus. .

One of the members of HP Lavos, According to a ri1emberof HP La- Abbotsford is not exas well as the creator of the ticket ads vos, "the flyers were sciinewhatsuc- actly a hot-bed of actold the Cascade that he has "not been cessful; there was a drastic Increase tivity for young people contacted by lmPark about the ads in the number of people lat tha show] and especially not for and neither has the Bull and Raven." that week in comparison with the those who enjoy dance He believes that lmPark Is misin- weekbefore.A lot of new peoplecame music and DJs,or even an atmosphere that formed about the nature of the ads, out that I had never seen before."

Student reactions have been mixed doesn't play just top thinking that they arc duplications of parking tickets. The designer, how- with some people irritated and others 40's music."

HP Lavos has yet ever,has stated that he "only used the impressed. A member of the group ticket as a referenceand made the fly- states, "l am not aware of any negative to receive communier using AdobelnDesign. 1he flyers1 response from students. We distrib• cation from ImPark produced are quite different from the uted the flyerstwice a day so when we regarding legal ramiImPark ticket aside from the general came back later in the day, I thought fications for the adverformat and a fewpiecesof text." for sure they would be all over the tising. In the mean• The main issue for TmPark has ground. I only found four crumpled time, the controversy been the use of its trademarked logo. up on the ground the first day and surrounding the ads HP Lavos tells the Ca~cadcthat "the two the second day and that was out has led to increased P shaped lmPark logo Is similar,but 1 of 600, so people were at least taking publicity on the UFV feel1 have changed it more than 30%. them. I had planned to, and did clean campus, both good To my knowledge,becauseof this 30% up any and all tickets I found on the and bad. change, this is not a case of copyright ground."

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NewsBriefs

Surrey RCMP studyfirstofItskindin Canada TheSurrey RCMP havepartnered withthe Universityofthe FraserValley to begina newresearchproject believed to bethefirstofItskind InCanada.

OnJune15,Surrey Detachment andtheUniversityoftheFraser Valley commenced a studyInto theresource requirements ofgeneral-duty patrol members.

Theresultswillhaverelevance to all police agencies InCanada andspecific relevance toRCMP-pollced Jurisdictions. ·we are veryexcitedaboutthe potentialthis project provides," saysSurrey RCMP Chief Super• lntendent, FraserMacRae. "Whatwedohereon thisproject willbeofvitalInterest andexamined byallpolice forces Inthecountry andpossibly In otherpartsoftheworld."

TheprojectwillInvolve approximately thirty criminology studentswhowill'ridealong'with general dutymembers.

Thetermofthesurvey Is fortwomonths, 24hoursperdaywithonestudentassigned toeachofthefivedistricts.

UFV signs" historic" agreement Inda-Canadian Business Commu- withMennonite FaithandLearning nityEndows Student Award atUFV Society

Mums-to-be needed byUFV nursingstudents

UFV alumni association creates newawards forstudents

Mostrecently, members oftheFraser Valley TheUniversity oftheFraser Valley signed an Volunteer mumsandtheirpartnersareurThreeadditional deserving studentswlllrelndo-Canadlan Business Association (FVICBA)agreement todaywiththeMennonite Faith financial support everyyear,thankstoUFV's gentlyneededto helpeducatenursing students ceive Joined togetherto support UFV students dem• andLearning Society (MFLS) withtheintentof whilereceiving extrasupportduringtheirpreg- alumni association.

Theassociation recently gave onstratlng leadership qualitiesby endowing establishing a Centre forMennonite Studies, as $25,500to createawardsforstudentsInthree nancy andlabour. the lndo-Canadlan Pioneer Endowment Lead- wellasa Chair, a certificate, andpossibly a minor Mothers-to-be whowillbehaving theirbabies morefaculties.

Theassociation nowhasnamed ership Award withagiftof$12,500. .

IntheFraser Valley areonceagainInvited to help awardsInfourUFV faculties: Arts,Professional InMennonite Studies.

Thanks to th·eendowinei,, "every yearone Thegoalofthepartnership Science, andTrades, aswellasanannual IstoJointly create a UFV nursing studentlearnaboutpregnancy and Studies, forstudents tostudytherich Leadership award.Thelatestdonation deserving studentwillrecel~:pproximately anopportunity chlldblrth fromthepatient's perspective.

Women Gl'(lduate oftheMennonites andtheircontribu- havingtheirbabiesat Abbotsford, Chllllwack,willproduce threeawards ofSSO0 annually and $500to support theirpost-secondary pursuits. heritage Theawardwillbegivento a UFV studentwho tionstotheFraser Valley andbeyond.

Surrey Memorial, orLangley Memorial hospitals wasmadepossible withproceeds fromconvocahasdemonstrated excellence throughleader- "Wearethrilled aboutthispartnership with areeligible forthisprogram. tionphotos,capandtasselsales,merchandise shipIna rangeofnon-academic fieldssuchas UFV," saidDr.JohnRedekop, co-president, MFLS. "It'sbeena wonderful opportunity forour sales,andMBNA MasterCard royalties. community service, studentactivities, andvol- "Wehavelongsoughttoprovide association boardmembersapthecommunity students.It givesthema chance to experience "Alumni unteerlsm. withaccess toMennonite studies ata public thevalueoftheireducation at UFV and thepregnancy andbirthprocess upclosefrom preciate "ThisIs veryexciting forourassociation. university, andthisIsourchance tocreate the perspective of the motherand her fam- wantedto payit forwardto futurestudents," manager Nancy Armitage. andenhanced presence inthe ily,•saidUFV nursing professor Marlene Upton. saysalumnirelations Having a legacythrough. an endowment that greaterawareness willlastforever Istrulya wonderful opportunity community," Women whoare duebetweenSeptember and "Many ofthesealumni havegoneonto achieve forus,"saysFVICBA pre!fdent Kelly Chahal.

Thesigning oftheagreement Isanhistoric occa- April andwhowillbehaving theirbabiesat Fra- greatsuccesses Inourcommunities andtheyfelt Ifyouareinterested,ln supporting student sion,concluding serValley hospitals areeligible to participate In theyneededto givesomething backto where a yearofdiscussions aboutthe success andwouldliketosetupa scholarship/ natureanddirection began.' ofsucha Centre andhow theMums-to-be program.For moreInformation,theirjourneys bursary ofyourownorcontribute to anexisting Itcanbestservetheuniversity, theMennonite ortovolunteer, callUFV's Health Sciences Centre award,pleasecontact UFV actingdirector ofde- community, andtheLower Mainland. at604-795·2817, or604-504-7441, local2817. velopment RyanKoch at 604-851-6326 orryan. koch@ufv.ca.

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Cascade News • ThursdayJuly16th 2009

UFV Sees Increase of Applicants ANGELA OSTRIKOFF"Tt i' nlik'l that there

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ill be STAFFWRITER . s u cy w a direct match between the perDAVID MILL£ftcentage of additional applicants N_E_W-S_&_O_P-IN~IO=N-E_D_l~TO~Rand the percentage of additional

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he recent recession and increasing cost of education doesn't seem to be leaving a dent on university applications. According to outgoing UFV Presidenl, Skip Bassford, the number of applicants at U FV has Increased by twenty percent.

The comments were made when Bassford presented his report to the University Board of Governers. According to UFV spokesperson, Kim Lawrence, as the university ls still accepting applicants the final figure may change, "but we have a seen a marked Increase over last year."

Lawrence, however, urges us not to Jump to conclusions on how this increase will translate into class registring: "An applicant is someone who has applied to become a student at UFV.A registrant has been admitted to UFV and has registered for classes. Registration Is ongoing now and w!ll be until classes begin in September," says Lawrence.

registrants, so you can't assume that there will be 20 percent more students in the fall," As registration has not closed, the magnitude of student registration increase hasn't been comfired but Lawrence says that UFV Is seeing an Increase in class enrollment.

Any increase in sludenl numbers raises concerns of an increases in class waiting lists. Lawrence responded to these concerns say• Ing, "We hope to fill classes better across the board. If demand Is significant ln certain classes, then the decision about adding sections will be tabled."

Another concern Is the demand on parking at UFV. Lawrence accepts,"Parking ls always a challenge at our Abbotsford campus," however Lawrence spoke of the recent increase in parking spaces brought by the construction of the Abbotsford Entertainment and Sports Centre, "Additional spaces we have gained along Mackenzie Rd. will

help, and we always encourage students to carpool where possible and consider their transit options," says Lawrence.

UFV ls not the only university rccieving an increase in applications. According to a new Statistics Canada reporl, there has been a Canada-wide increase of one million students attending post-secondary Institutions. 'n1is Increase of .6 perecent (for the 2007-2008 years is small compared tu recenl years, From 1998-1999, according to StatsCan there was increase of 2,6 percent.

BC Post-secondary instltu• tlons where marginally above the national average with a 2.7 percent increase leaving BC second only to Manitoba, who received an increase of 5.4 percent.

According to the report, so, clal sciences, law, business and administration remained the most popular areas of post-secondary education. The fields of Mathematics and Computer Information Science weren't so lucky, seeing a decrease of 32,000 applicants (4.6 percent).

A Home May Still Not be a House _AtlGRA OSTRIKQFF STAFFWRITER ince the global economic downturn, the housing market has received a substantial blow. Although according to the Canadian Mortgage and liousing Corporation, BC may see an increase In housing starts over the last half of 2009. January 2009 to April 2009 saw an 83% decrease in housing starts in Abbotsford and Mission in comparison to January 2008 to April 2008. Urban areas of BC reported 1062 housing starts compared to 2635 in June 2008. Tn Aprll 2009 63 new housing projects began In Abbotsford and Mission, in April 2008, 223 were begun.

Although the blow to Abbotsford and Mission's housing market has been significant, Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation's spokeswoman, Carol Frketich stated that Abbotsford and Mission are merely "following the trend" of the rest of BC. Surrey, Coquitlam, Richmond and Vancouver have been the worst hit by the downward trend, Surrey with 222 new builds ln the early part of 200!-> compared to 1674 in 2008.

In a statement made ln April 2009, by Abbotsford's economic development planner, Jay Teichroeb said that It Is Impossible to predict what wlll happen to Abbotsford's housing market in the long-term, since much depends on the economics of North America and the rest of the world.

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However, the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation's latest prediction is that housing starts will once again pick up due to low mortgage rates, growing population, fewer existing homes for sale and the rise of economic certainty.

Many banks are offering mortgage rates as low as 1.75% on a 19-month term, or 3.50% on a 5year term. July's mortgage prime is at 2.25% declined from January 2009's 3.00%.

According to Remax: Little Oak Realty in Abbotsford BC, comparing June 2009 to June 2008, there has been a 6.8% decrease in the price of the average

home in Abbotsford; in June 2008 what could be sold for $446, 707 is, in June 2009, sold for about $416,192.

BC has already seen an increase in new home construction, with 12,000 units in June 2009 up from May 2009's 9,600 units. The decline in April 2009 from the previous year was 73%, however, this Is up from the 96% plummet from March 2009 compared to March of the prevous year.

Frketich said that, "June's housing starts are in line with CMHC (Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation)'s forecast for the year.''

Student GroupsCan Run Political Advertising On Public Transport:SupremeCourt DAVID MILLERthe running of political ads on the side of NEWS & OPINION EDITOR buses would not be hostile to their function n1e BC wing of the Canadian Federation as public transportation, Yet the issue did of Students is celebrating after the Supreme not rest here and the GVTA sought to have Court of Canada ruled that BC transit's ban the matter decided by the Supreme Court of on political advertising violates the CanaCanada. dian Charter of rights and freedoms.

Tn siding with BC CFS, the Supreme 1he ruling comes four years after TransCourt of Canada considered whether BC Link rejected politcal ads by BC CPS and the transLink was a government agency, which BC Federation of Teachers in the run-up to if true meant the charter of rights would the 2005 Provincial Election. The ads were have to apply to them: part of CFS-Be's "Rock the Vote" campaign "Although TransLlnk is not an agent that encourage students to "learn the issues" of the government, it is substantially controlled by a local government entity - the before voting.

CFS-BC Chairperson, Shamus Reid, cel- Greater Vancouver Regional District - and ebrated the ruling as victory for freedom of is therefore itself a government entity. Since the transit authorities are government entiexperession "at the core of an open democracy." tles, the Charter applies to all their activi"This decision ensures the public's right ties, including the operation of the buses to use public media to create dialogue on they own," wrote Justice Marie Deschamps, the issues that impact our lives, from tuition Justice Deschamps also sided with the fees, to the minimum wage, to the environBC Court of Appeal in rejecting the noment," said Reid. tion that allowing political advertisements BC Transllnk argued that allowing po- on public transport would create a hostile atmosphere, something she believed would lltlcal ads would create a hostile atmosphere for those utilizing publlc transport. BC CFS only occur if the ads advocated for violence disagreed and took the Greater Vancouver or terrorism: "Thave some difficulty seeing how an adTransport Authority to the BC Supreme verlisement on the side of a bus that constiCourt 'lhe banning of the CFS ads, however, was tutes political speech might create a safety upheld by the BC Supreme Court in 2006, risk or an unwelcoming environment for transit users. It Is not the political nature of after the BC supreme court Justice said that an advertisement that creates a dangerous there was no history of politcal ads on public transport and that transport owned by or hostile environment," Said Justice DesTransLink was not "public space." champs.

Deschamps ultimately concluded that BC CFS persisted in the matter and in the same year the BC Court of Appeal over- the restrictions could not be justified "in a turned the previous decision, arguing that free and open democraticsociety."

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CascadeNews • ThursdayJuly 17th 2009

Ode to Angst ANGELAOSTRIKOFF

were driven to be different. The music STAFF WRITER

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e are university students. We are young and in a place where we are learning to expand our minds.

This is the time of our lives when we should be passionate and questioning and willingto stick it to the man. Instead all I see is thousands of drones, more concerned with updating their twitter status and buying the next American Apparel item.

In the baby-boom generation, people our age looked different. They

they listened to was revolutionary, the clothes they wore were statements and the life they led was interesting to say the least. They lived in days of protesting Vietnam, Milllon Man Marches, Woodstock, the Beatles and the pill.

The world we live in today has just as much unrest, injustice and need of revolution as it did then. Yet look at us, we are so used to everyone else fighting and paying the price that we do nothing. We truly have become a consumer-generation; since the last

time anyone our age made any fuss about anything was when the !Phone came out.

On a small scale, there is a huge woodlot that is not only necessary for some departments' research but it Is also a beautiful piece of preserved nature right in the heart of our city.

Right now, there is a very real threat that it will all be destroyed. I'm sure there has got to be some people on our campus or in this town that oppose this. And there are, and there are many good people who are doing

their best to stop this; but our generation has become so passive. Back in the 70's, I'll tell you exactly how they would have stopped this, chaining themselves to the trees. Yeah, it's extreme and crazy, but who cares, if you feel strongly about something, put your money where your mouth is.

On a slightly larger scale, the Mission hospital cou Id be on its way to being shut down. Again, this affects our families, and us yet very few will get out of the line-up to Vanilla Room to even pay attention. Are we that afraid

of consequences that we don't do what we want? Most likely not, since things like the morning after pill exist.

When we look back on our university days, I hope that we have something to remember other than studying and partying. I hope that we can remember being young and carefree and taking every opportunity that's given to us. And yeah, the baby boomers made some mistakes, but at least they tried. Because at the end of It all, we only have this one life, so lets fuck some shit up.

lam. 'their lies are not Islam.

There are those In Iran who, having seen and heard the violence and bloodshed, arc unwilling to risk their own lives. Indeed, security forces asked Neda Agha-Soltan's family to not hold a memorial for her in a

mosque, or to speak publicly about their murdered loved one; they were even asked to take down the black banners of mourning from their house.

However, Hamid !Janahi, who was a close friend of Neda, and was with her when she was murdered, refuses lo shut his mouth, 'lhey know me. They know where I am.

They can come and get me whenever they want.

My time has gone. We have to think about the young people ...

When they kill an innocent child, this is not justice. This is not religion. In no way is this acceptable. And I'm certain that the one who shot her will not get a pass from God.'

Twitterfor Hope (In Memory of Neda Agha-Soltan) PAUL BRAMMER

member of CONTRIBUTOR

omething is rotten in Iran. As the sun sets on Mahmoud AhmadlneJad's improbable Presidential election victoryl more than a few lingering doubts remain about the legitimacy of the vote. As a Muslim, 1 find it abhorrent to hear the influential Iranian Islamic cleric Ayatollah Ahrned Khataml condemning the protesters who took to the streets to make their voices heard after a frankly bewildering Presidential election. Khataml declared that the protesters were 'at war with God', and that they should be dealt with 'without mercy'.

According to the 'Preliminary Analysis of the Voting Figures in Iran's 2009 !:/residential Election', published by the Institute of Iranian Studies at the University of St. Andrew's, in two of the thirty provinces of Iran, voter turnout of more than 100% was recorded. The Guardian Council of Iran tried to explain this by claiming that voters are likely to cast votes outside of their own district (one of 366). Whtie this ls possible, the amount of people who c;:ouldfeasibly cast their votes outside of their province is 'much smaller', due to the geographical size of the provinces.

As the Preliminary Analysis goes on to say, 'ln Yazd, where turnout was above 100% at provincial level, there are no significant population centres near provincial boundaries'.

Also, 'In 10 out of 30 provinces ... the official data suggests that Ahmadinejad not only received the votes of all former non-voters and former President Rafsanjani voters, but also took up to 44% of the vote from those who had previously voted (for the opposition)'. To cut a long story short, the results don't add up in quite the way Ahmadinejad and the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenel would like.

A 26-year-old woman, Neda AghaSoltan, was shot In the chest and killed, apparently by a plain-clothed

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the Basij militia, as she stood on the sidelines of a protest and watched, on June 20th, 2009. Of course, Khataml said that she was shot dead by protesters, and not the Basij. However, YouTubc tells a different story, for the brutal slaying of Soltan was captured on video, and broadcast around the world.

The woman lies bleeding on the street, as passers-by and friends apply pressure to the bullet-wound. Their efforts, ultimately, were In vain, and the video shows blood running from her mouth as she dies, and the screams of those around grow. Her last words were 'I'm burning! I'm burning!' As Khatami said, protesters are 'worthy of execution'. I'm sure he would be happy with the sight of Neda's life ebbing away as the blood coagulated around her brown hair.

Neda Agha-Soltan is only one of the victims of Ahmadinejad's regime, and her pointless death serves as a touchstone for those still struggling in Iran, where she has become a symbol of the struggle against the government.

Was Neda Agha-Soltan's m~•rdcr brutal and cowardly? Yes, it was. But was it in vain? While I don't enjoy watching videos of young women dying, the very fact that such a candl.d image can be seen across the world allows us an Insight into a secret bloody unrest that we would otherwise had only read In clinical news reports.

A ~er the disputed election result, the Iranian government set about severing lines of communication with the outside world. First to go were the telephones, which stopped people from sending text messages to one another, and the outside world. Also, the website of the 'defeated' Presidential candidate, Mir J-Iousseln Mousavl, was shut down. If you type in the address 'www.kalemeh.ir/', you are greeted with a blank white page. In a counteract, Iranian hackers took down Ahmadincjad's site. Through the social networking site 'Twitter', thousands of

photographs, videos and updates of the massive protests against the election results were uploaded.

And this is where the unrest in Iran offers us a beacon of hope for the future, if not of Iran, then of other countries. Technology is moving so quickly that, as soon as Ahmadinejad and the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's goons shed the blood of innocent people exercising their rights as Iranians, Muslims and human beings, it can be captured by those with camera phones and instant Internet connections, to be catapulted round lhc world, to our quiet, leafy corner of the planet.

As far as I can see, 'Twitter' is, in this safe Western country, used to find out what the Jonas Brothers are up to, or who Rhianna thinks is 'way cool'. Evidently, there arc people in other parts of the world who see this means of communicating as a tool to educate and inform others of important events across the globe.

There may be those of you who will read of the violence in Iran and dismiss It as Muslims following their violent religion. As a Muslim convert, J can tell you categorically that violence and intimidation, the slaughter of Innocents and the suppression of the truth, is In no way connected to Islam. The word 'Islam' is literally translated as 'peace', and every Muslim I have ever come into contact with has been a gentle, peace-loving person that I feel honoured to call my 'brother' or 'sister'. The actions of the murderers In Iran and their politician masters Is not Islam.

Their bloodshed is not and bullylngs are n

6

Opinion

CascadeNews• ThursdayJuly 16th 2009

CanadianIdentity in the Shadowof America ROMICHAN getting harder to tell the difference

STAFF WRITER between

the two nations. Even our word processors don't seem to recogThroughout history Canadians nize the Canadian vadallons of "favorite" (favourite) or "center" (centre). have always struggled with separaUng their national identity from that of Our televisions are bombarded with American trends, brands and dreams. their American neighbours. It is present In our minds that as far back as Our theme parks seem to quiver in the shadow of places like Six Flags or our history books date, the developDisney World. Our army is insignifiment of the USA can be found runcant, our leaders arc dull and even our ning almost parallel. It Is this fact that motivated one of our first Prime Mintop professionals opt to move South: isters to push for the development of so wouldn't it just be such a relief to the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1881. give up and assimilate already?

Hold on. There's something that John A. MacDonald hoped that with a physical boundary separateveryone seems to forget when coming early Canada from our southern paring our two nations, and that ls counterpart we would be able to build a strong nation that was completely independent. Fast forward to our present time and even though the definition of Canada evokes a sense of distinct• ness from the US, It ls equally true that as Canadians we also acknowledge the idea that it wouldn't be difthat Americans don't want to be Caficult to Just slide into the melting pot nadians. In the 18th century the Thirbeneath us.

Pretend that this suggestion isn't teen Colonies of America staged a offensive for a minute and a larger revolution to gain independence from their British over bearers. When they question appears: could Canadians succeed as Americans? After all, It's defeated England in 1781 they were

~/

given a rare opportunity

to begin a fresh culture.

Like John A. MacDonald of Canada, George Washington wished to separate any ties from an opposing nation.

This is why many of the earliest buildings of the USA resemble the architecture of the Greek; because Washington disliked the idea of having English trends such as Gothic architecture in his America.

The US has had to build their nation up from almost nothing.

N,,,.1 It This is why American flags are so prominent and their pride ls almost obnoxious to the rest of the world.

Look at the position the US has achieved alone; this Is where the American !1<411<, L\4,700,000 ,._,..,..,.:.. dream comes ...,.,.,,_.M J7•Naati..S•N from. But with •,. . great success ====;:-.:. comes great responsibility and we see Brave; In God we trust.

America take this obligation upon her In contrast Canada has had quite shoulders. Maybe the best decisions a different upbringing. We arc diploaren't made but at least one is made mats. We're able to appreciate everywith confidence. America is out there thing and while we may not be as shiny for better or for worse. America the we're just as strong. So the answer is

_ --...

--

.,.,,.--:

..

no. Canadians could never succeed as Americans, and why would we want to? Let's focus on what It means to be Canadian from sea to sky and every• thing in between.

FakeParkingTicketsare Annoying SONJASZLOVICSAKlike a good way to get drivers' atten-

CONTRIBUTOR tion. After all, if you've paid f you park on campus (and not across Ihe street, as a number of students have been doing this semester), you probably noticed something odd on your windshield. Twice now, I've walked out lo my car to sec a plastic bag lucked under my wipers.

1he first time, 1 thought my car had been vandalized by garbage. A ftcr all, who in their right mind would stick a plastic bag under my windshield wipers? Then I noticed several other cars were suffering from the same adornment. My car wasn't suffering from vandalism, il was suffering under advertisements.

These plastic bags placed on my windshield were stuffed with an envelope and a fake parking ticket. I suppose this is supposed to be a clever marketing scheme, but it's not. It's just plain annoying. And just so that 1 don't add to this marketing scheme, I'm not going to mention the name of the company that put these "tickets'' on my car.

I

On the surface,these tickets seem

for parking, you'll know that you have been wrongly ticketed. In theory, most drivers would be distressed about their ''ticket", and would promptly examine the ticket to find out why there is

imp~rk

bar in Abbotsford.

However, the brains behind this marketing campaign forgot one important fact: Impark is run by Satan's minions.

Those of us who have received actual parking tickets from Impark know these llckets do not come in a plastic bag for protection; nor do they come with an envelope so you can mail the payment of your

tine.

Asalalllnc.provld~ lreo of chArgalo Imparkcualomeri9t M lmpork101for fuol, look-oul,dOlldbftlloryor fl~I tlro.

Ask attendant for details

one on their windshield.Upon closer examinationof the ticket, the victim

would learn aboutdrink specialsat a

Impark Is cheap; If It Is pouring rain, in the middle of December, they will make you peel your soaking wet ticket off your windshield. They would never waste money on a plasllc bag to protect your ticket from the rain. Nor would they give you an envelope so you could promptly mail payment to Impark's office. I'm shocked Impark doesn't charge $2.99 per minute when you call their customer service line.

As cheap as Impark is, they aren't above spending money on litigation when they're pissed off. These parking tickets infringed on Impark's logo; hopefully, Impark will treat the company that printed these tickets the

same way they treat those of us that don't pay fo~ parking!

I was templed to throw the plastic bags on the ground. I don't appreciate ,strange~s touching my car, particularly if they're doing it for a lame market1,i,g· campaign. However, I decided to··preserve these tickets so I could bring them lo Tmpark's attention. Fortunately, other students were complaining about these tickets, so UFV and Impark were well aware of the sltuatlo~.

I did notice several other students had thrown their "tickets" on the ground. Plastic bags stuffed with blue paperand whiteenvelopeswereblow-

ing across UPV's parking lots for several days.

1 noticed posters in Building Cadvertising the same event as the tickets were. Building Chas signs stating that il is a "poster free environment".

Building C Is supposed to be reserved for student art; garish posters advertising for random bars in Abbotsford arc not allowed In Building C. This was a very amateurish marketing campaign. l11e designers of these tickets did not realize that they would annoy people-or Impark-by covering cars In fake tickets. Hopefully they won't be touching my car again.

&

ife

cascadeNews· Thursday July16th 2009

Album Review Tho Doad Weather Mako a Stunnir1gf)obut PAUL FALARDEAU ARTS &LIFE EDITOROthers

T

hings slowly rattle to a start on "60 feet Tall", the dirty blues that opens up The Dead Weather's debut album Horehound. Less than hour later, ''Will There be Enough Water?" fades away gradually, ending the album leaving you uncertain when to clap. But clap you must. There are few uncertainties left concerning whether 1be Dead Weather live up to the an• ticipation and hype - usually the biggest pitfall of supergroups.

The Dead Weather is made up of Alison Mosshart, on lead vocals, formally of the Kills, Dean rcrtlta, known for his work with Queens of the Stone Age, plays guitar here, Jack Lawrence from the Raco.ntcu rs i~ on bass and organ and Jack White gets behind the kit to rattle out some beats.

1 assume I don't have to tell you where you know'M't. White from. The Mastermind behind the White Stripes, 'lbe Raconteurs, various impressive movie soundtracks and Loretta Lynn's Grammy winning comeback album is at it again.

The man has the Midas touch. For some people that's enough to sell the album. Blind faith.

will need more, either they aren't convinced so easily, don't like White's other work or simply want to know what's different here. Is this just another version of the Jack White show to take in?

All three of those concerns can be addressed with the same assurance, it is diffcrcn t. First off Jack White really steps out of the spotlight, by playing drums, not that he's not a com-

petcnt drummer (in fact, Meg might be sweating a little) oF,1that you ,;an't

hear little stamps of White's handiwork throughout the album, but with Mosshart and Perlita handling vo-

together, White and ·Mosshart have immediate vocal chemistry.

Fertita has managed to do here,

cals and guitar this is Jess obviously a Jack White Album. n1e change ls welcome''too. Mosshart has an amazing voice.

Jack sings a few times, but Mosshart steals the show. Her voice is mean and big and raw, she commands youi- attention in a very Janis Joplin kind of way. Also like )op• lln, she exudes a huge amount of sexuality, power, roughness and danger. When they do sing

what Brenden Benson did with the Raconteurs. Benson and White sang together and blended their distinctive styles. ·n1at goes for guitar In this case. There are times when you could swear its White burning the frets (Jack does play some guitar, but its mainly Fertita), other times the sludgy desert rock of QOTSA is evident in the ripping solos ("Rocking Horse") or Spanish Acoustic ("3 Birds").Overall White and Fertita's guitar styles blend almost seamlessly in a scarily beautiful way. 'l11e end result is a sound that is darker than other White creations.

Even Songs like "Your Southern Can

Maritlm.es MerryTlm.ea Wlth~atty ?Qttlance The Trick, Ruby Jean artd the Thoughtful LARRY PORTLANCE

coNIRIBO loR

T

here were many options if one was looking for a place to dance nmrsday, June 11th 2009 In New Brunswick's capital city. Obvious and obnoxious options aside, the Capital set the scene for something pleasantly different and home-grown in the Maritimes. On that evening, the one-person act The Trick opened for the headliners Ruby Jean and the Thoughtful Bees. Unless one is not a fan of Canadian cultural products, or not a fan of dancing, there was nothing to nol be liked about the evening.

For those who enjoy saying that geek is chic, The Trick has the soundtrack for those all-nighter LAN parties fuelled by energy drinks or places where serious sci-fi insider humour goes on. The brainchild of Fredericton's Patick Reinartz, the Trick puts out some great elcctronica that echoes another New BrunswickIan artist called A/V. With a good pinch of80s new wave, Reinartz sang, played an electric guitar or a synthe-

sizer while he frantically adjusted the various electronic doodads that littered the stage.

As the general fe~l of the Trick is danceable video game music that has some aggressio~ and distortion thrown into the mix!, Reinartz could probably play at the Penny Arcade Expo if his lyrii;;s were more video game based. During the set, there were a few times whcri Reinartz ran into a few issues when his gear seemed to have a mind of its own and cut out.

1t must be tricky (pun intended) for Reinartz to operate all that gear on his own. Despite this Rclnartz ~as able to pick up the slack and get ba<:_k,into his spastic gestures whicl\ suggested that he felt his art deep down.,,to the nerd• core.

Coming from Halifax, Ruby Jean and the Thoughtful Bees took Lo the stage with their bouncy beat that got the Capital kids dancing almost right from the beginning. The .music took the same form as the opening a~t. but was benefited by a full spread of band members who could focus and

for.mulate their end of the musical spectrum. For more Insight, Ruby Jean and the Thoughtful Bees' music seems like it would be the begotten child of Death From Above 1979 and Chromeo, If music could physically procreate.

Floating above the dance beat of the drums, i;;omputer sound effc,ts and funky guitar, the voice of Rebekah Higgs was often like a haunting whale song that one could dance to. Higgs would often sample here own falsetto and throw it into a loop with effects to cause this effect. Higgs definitely felt the groove as she almost had a few wardrobe malfunctions while she boisterously encouraged the crowd to get Into it. Generally, not much encouragement was required whenever a recognizable song like "How to Win Friends and Inlluencc People" was played. But It was at these times the Capital kids seriously strutted their stuff.

As Ruby Jean and the Thoughtful Bees had to drive all the waY,out to

is Mine" by the Stripes or "Carolina Drama" by the Raconteurs seem mild in comparison. Fcrtita and Mosshart overhaul Jack Whites output into something more carnal.

Of course, for existing fans, there is a lot of classic White to go around.

For every song like "3 Birds", an Instrumental which sounds like an outtake from the "Nightmare Before Christmas" score there is also plenty of the neo-garagc-blucs fuzz we have all grown to love, not to mention classic riffs, organ dispersed between call-back singing ("Treat Mc Like Your Mother") and delicious White• penned lines like "I wrote a nasty letter and I sent it to the Lord. I said, 'Don't you dare come and bother me no more" from the stunning White/ Mosshart duet, "Rocking Horse" or "Just because you caught me, docs that make it a sin?" which closes out the album on "Will There Be Enough Water?"

I would hardly call anything on this glorious debut a sin, allowing that at times it feels so good it should be one. And as for catching Mr. White? T hardly think anyone can. Besides tl'lc:! constantly evolving sound in his other work, this is yet another sign thp.t Jack White is one of the greatest musical geniuses of our time. While always changing and adding new sounds to his repertoire, White has cemented his own unique style which, most Importantly on Horehound and all other albums, past, present and future, will make you want to have a listen over and over again.

8

Arts & Life

Cascade News• Thursday July 16th 2009

UJv'~ .iJo..lldJ.Ai tJf .JJ~ On Wednesday July 15th UFV's Students for Sustainability hosted a free salad bar, The fresh romaine lettuce was planted earlier this semester in the SFScommunity garden and was accompanied by various fixin's, homemade buns, and delicious made-from-scratch dressings.

Sidrah Ahmed commented, "l haven't seen this many students on campus all summer!" as U House was packed full of hungry salad seekers. SFS president Michelle Sylvest said, "It is great to sec people enjoying healthy meals in the summer time that we could provide for them from our community garden."

Overall the event was very successful and was a wonderful way to share an afi.ernoon meal with fellow studeMs. To find out about more upcoming Students for Sustainability events of for general information, visit the SFS website at:

UPCOMING ABBY SHOWS

http://sfsufv.weebly.com/

HP LAVOSMOBILEELECTRO

NewBullAndRaven Bi-Weekly With $2.75Beerand2 for1Appys, whatbetterwayto spendoTuesday night?

BullondRaven: 33785Essendene Ave, Abbotsford Startsat8,endsat 12everysecond Tuesday Night!

Nextshow: July14th& 28th

TheBerryBeat festival @ TheBull' n Raven StartTime: Saturday, July4,2009at 11:00am EndTime: Sunday, July5,2009at 1:30pm location: TheBull'n Raven Eatery & lounge http://www.focebook.com/event. php?eid•91094332561

lhe Magician// OhNo! Yoko// The HotMoonbeams@ lhe Bull & Raven Dole: Soturdoy, Julyn,2009 Time: 8:00pm-11:00pm location: TheBull& Raven h tr p: // www. face book.com/event. php?eid•l 32436928568 AnEveningwith the TragicallyHip Saturday, Aug8 7:30p atAbbotsford Entertainment & Sports Centre, Abbotsford,BC

lhinty Thursdays@ Blueridge Bar & Grille. inettnct over intellect Representing thePyrokinetyx is Kidd zennpresenting loyouPeople, Drinks, Music andDance.

Top40s,REGGAE, DANCE Fully renovated BlueRidge BarondGrill DAVID MILLER VISIT THE PYROKINETYX@ http://pyrokinetyx.com/ NEWS &OPINION EblWR LISTEN TO'ELECTRO STYLE KIDD ZENN @ ht1p://woxdj. onday, June 30th. I am about to start my com/djs/6745/ bi-weeklyroutine of compiling the news VisitTheBlueRidgeDor& Grillwebpage@http:// and opinion section of the newspaper you arc www.centreice.ca/Blueridge/ currently holding. My deadline is 8am the next Come ondowntoBlueRidge Bar& Grille everyThurs- morning. Yet instead of doing this important daynightforcheapdrinksandgreatentertainment! task, I end up In the Biltmore Caberet, watchFeaturing $2.99singlehighballs and S3.99double ing a hairy sweaty man with moustache and mascara gyrate on stage in sequin dress. Needhighballs everyThursday night! less to say it was the most fun I've had with my EVENTLINK: http://www.facebook.com/event. clothes on. php?eid-89291411658

hipe over the head

111 1 1 m-1,·11 w a-m,-m, mmm M

n,e act I was watching wasn't a scuzzy male strip-act, but the garage rock duo, King Khan and the BBQshow. Imagine Chuck Berry being foliated by the Stooges and you're getting close (although, a friend of mine says the Stooges would fellate anyone). One moment they soulfully croon sunny doo-wopp, and the next they sloppily unleash a 35 second screamo about gang-banging. Somehow it makes sense even If MonJUL06PRO-PAIN -PLAZA ThurJUL 09LOS RASTRILLOS •SHIP POINT VICTORIAyour mother wouldn't be proud.

The duo is comprised of Arish "king" Khan FriJUL10THE SLACKERS -SHIP POINT VICTORIA (the sweaty one in the sequin dress) and Mark SolJUL11MIGHTY MIGHTY BOSSTONES - VICTORIA Sultan, Aka the BBQ show. While Khan twists CURLING CLUB and shouts across the stage, Sultan is seated SunJUL12REVEREND HORTON HEAT-COMMODORE playing guitar and drums (a simple combinaWedJULlS HANDSOME FAMILY -BILTMORE tion of bass, snare and tambourine operated by ThuJUL16CASIOTONES & CRYPTACIZE -BILTMOREfoot). Khan screams while Sultan stays smooth

UPCOMING VANCOUVER SHOWS

and sweet and It makes for a fascinating dynamic.

On paper they aren't terribly origiMI or technical. In one song, Khan cheekily steals the main riff of Johnny b. Goode," and Sultan's drumming Is Just basic one-two, bass-snare.

This would piss off those that obsess over such things, even if such things often breed selfaggrandizing and stale music. Most of King Khan's sound halls from the sixties but their primitivism Is what keeps It from sounding contrived. It Is music of the hips, not of the head. Instinct over the intellect.

Tile simplicity and rough sound from the sixties appeals to this idea in a way that the behemoths of seventies and eighties rock missed out with their over-emphasis on hype and spectacle.

At the Biltmore, King Khan and the BBQ show kept the focus on the crowd. Just as Gogol Bordello are geniuses at making the audience participants, rather than spectators so does King Khan, ratcheting up the tempo with each song, whipping the audience into a frenzied moshplt (complete with celling crawlers). Friends split up only to end the night with new ones. lf couples didn't go home and have great sex then I hope they are hanging their heads In shame.

As for your humble writer, I didn't go home and have great sex. Instead I had to stay up until 6am and finish my newspaper work. But It didn't matter. 1 had just watched King Khan and the BBQ show and left my mind on the sweaty floor of the Biltmore.

-- - - Arts & Life

Cascade News • Thursday July 16th 2009

9

AlbumReview

@o□~~ ~~@B@lW Debut Album for Rah Rah PAUL BRAMMER

of the CONT~isuTo~

TI ah

Rah hail from Regina, Sas1'..katchewan, and their album Going Steady, released in 2008, is their first.

Opener 'Betrayal Part 1' bursts into life with Jangly, hypnotic guitar lines that are backed up by solid drumming. 'lhe song is very reminiscent of anything off 'Funeral' by the eponymous Arcade Fire. This similarity Is furthered by the twin vocals of man and woman. If you're into jangly, bright, summery rock, this opener will definitely be for you. However, there ls the nagging sensation that this has been heard and done before, by many different artists. While the opener docs hold its own against similar artists plying their trade, it's hard not to be wearied by another lifeaffirming kooky rock band who sing about dysfunctional relationships.

The ncx t lrack, 'Tentacles', has more of a 'Yankee Hotel Foxtrot' eraWilco vibe to it, and Is once again punctuated by strings. However, the lyrics on this song feel content to wallow in semi-smart obscure slogans, such as, "There are trolls, everywhere that l look there are trolls to spare."

Whereas some musicians can get away with, and indeed, flourish upon, nonsensical lyrics (e.g., Pixies, The Mars Volta), when they are delivered in a lazy, half-sung manner, it's hard to connect with such bollocks.

IL's this 'singing without trying' shtick that is, sadly, carried on throughout the• album. There comes a point when a singer should stop sounding like they don't want to sing; it might be cool for the skin-tight Jean parade but for everyone else, you really should sound at least half-way interested in what you're telling us.

Track 3 'TI1e Innocent One' features the singer actually reaching for a few notes! The track itself is reminiscent of some cast-off from 'lhe Neon Bible'; it lacks the emotional intimacy

,-y-<

opener, and fails to get above about forty beats a minute. The lyric 'You don't help me one bit with the pain' is repeated several times over in the mid-song breakdown, despite the fact that I feel no pain emanating from the voice of the lead singer.

'My Guarantee' follt)ws, and the machine-gun drumming is gone, replaced by acoustic guitars. n1 ls Is another song that addresses itself to a lost love, and I can't shake the feeling that I'm wailing in line in a God-forsaken Starbuck's while this warbles through the speakers. It's so middle of the road it's stmddlhig the median.

'Duel for Emmylou and the Grievous Angel' opens into another sweeping, grandiose aural landscape intro.

Guess what?! He's singing about another lost love!!! Although this song docs contain a funny little line about how 'it is fashionable to be single in big cities, but not in small towns'.

In an album with little to no lyrical highlights, that Is a belter of a chorus.

The lady on backing vocals takes over in the second verse, and stretches her voice a bit, which is a nice change, but the lyrics are shit, to be honest.

'Ihe splendidly-titled 'Fuck NAFTA' follows up with more pulsating drumming and soaring strings.

Again, if you like The Arcade Pirc, and you like excessive use of the word 'fuck' by someone who sounds like he's half-asleep, this js for you. But, if you do like 111eArcade Fire, why not just listen to them, instead of plumping for weak substitutes?

'I've Got Faith' opens with a nice Pavement-esque riff, until the singer starts warbling about how his hair is a lampshade, and he should shave it, because he'd be really clever ifhe did.

Frankly, l couldn't give a monkey's ball sack what he's saying. 111ere's a delightful bit of crashing white noise before the chorus that makes this song worth listening to, but, before long, it's back to the inevitable big chorus. 'lhere are chinks of light in

I

.. •~-• .l

•

•

, I

I

,

I

this album, and they're mostly when the band takes over and adds individual flourishes to the fray, but, more often than not, the band are relegated to mere backing for Mr. Charisma on lead vocals, who says 'fuck' in lhe chorus of this song. Oooh!

'Winter Sun' has lovely instrumentation; a really nice lazy summery beat. The male and female vocals intertwine through the verse, and, once more, it's the lady's voice that captures the Imagination, as the bloke sleepwalks through another few rhyrniiig couplets. But the song is again saved by some great quiet beauty in the instrumentation.

As much as l try to find an argument for the male singer to persist, I come up short. I'd like to sec the band dictate the flow and feel of the tracks, and i 'd like more of the lady singer.

'Castles' has a nice muted quality, even with the standard military drumming hanging round the edges. This is countered by the boring stereotypical build to yet another grand climax. 1t would be nice for the band to show some restraint <ma couple of tracks.

'Betrayal pt. 2' is about a relationship. As every other song on the album is. And it has the old pulsating drumming to .... another soar-away song! Blood and sands, this is getting tedious. There seems to be either a muted verse and soar-away chorus, or soar-away verse and muted chorus, and that Is a very hackneyed and tired device to deploy for twelve whole tracks. 'l'll find myself another girlfriend' is what the singer warbles at the song's close. Mate, with this evidence, it's a wonder you ever got one In the first place.

'Our l !carts Don't Match Up' opens with the line 'Let's go to the Eiffel Tower, for an hour' before declaring

JUNK0HANHlH0

that the Tower is not as nice as ... any guesses? A lady's face!! Yippee! Another love song! There's the obi igatory mid-song breakdown before we arc thrust back into the too-oft repeated slogan of the title as the song repeats itself, and nol in a good way.

'Cuba/Peru' has a lovely guitar line in the opening thirty seconds, before giving way to another singalong bit that your mum would like, and more ho-hum relationship lyrics.

The album ends with the refrain, 'If I was Cuba, you would be Peru', which makes a change.

In closing, 'Rah Rah' do seem to have some potential, but they need to cllher wake up the lead singer or get rid of him. His vocal style is boring and his lyrics tread the familiar

C KA\l n,

(i~ ,!Jl)J

THE GOOD THE BAD & THE lJFV PAUL FALARDEAU Bruce Springsteen • Atlantic

ARTs &LIFE EDITORCity

SHUFFLE

The Black Keys• When the Lights Go Out

Guns and Roses • You Could Be Mine

Pure, plodding blues. It almost brings a sense of impending doomIng along with it. Fitting with the hook of "You'll know what the sun's about/ when the lights go out."

Say what you will about AJd Rose, it's probably true. Still, this is one of those moments that you can't help but feel he ls the devil, a devil you can't help but love.

Toe Grateful Dead - Hell in a Bucket

Funky, jam band, anti-government rock. This Grateful Dead Track is sure to beat the summer heat. Dig it.

Tots Heartbreaker from the Boss' album Nebraska is nothing short of stunning. Tracing the path which can turn any normal person to crime and violence, held together with remarkable vocals and a sorrowful hannonica, this song will move you to your core.

ground of being In/out of love. 111e lady's voice ls nice, and saves a lot of Lhesongs from total ruin. For me, the most enjoyable parts of this album are whc.:none of the band members takes centre stage and hits you with something out of left-field, but, more often than not, the band seem content to wallow in mediocrity and plod from one song to the next.

Having said all this, with time and a little luck these guys will be huge, and their music will be piped into a trendy coffee shop near you, and slapped onto Volvo commercials from here to New Deihl. While the soft-rock disease furthers Its world domination, I'm going to lie downjn a quiet room and listen to some Opeth for a while.

Takako Millekawa • Maxi On J•pop, that old bastion of weirdness. Minekawa is a master, yet it is strangely alluring. A plucky bassline cements Minekawa's voice as she dreams her way through this entertaining jingle.

10

• I

Arts & Life

__________

Cascade News· Thursday July 16th 2009

S_U_ZA_N_N_E_K_ITI __-EL_Lwagon of publishing his mem-

STAFFWRITERoirsand exposing his struggles with hard drugs to the world.

As he mentions in the afterword, the rug culture has always held a strong place in western literaprocess of sharing one's life story is quite Important for recovering adture. Whether its vicarious fulfillmcnt of curiosity, the schaddendicts, as It helps force the Individual freude of watching another fall, the to come to terms with everything that has happened. It also can be of sensationalism of lives more exciting than our own, or inspiration to clean great help to those who arc attempting rehabilitation and need the testiup and get sober, we love to read it.

There have even been several authors mony of a success.

That being said, these therapeutic who have fraudulently written memoirs of their drug-filled lives, only to benefits that accompany the book be c,cposed later as fiction writers. It won't make it a great piece of literature. It's always difficult Lo critique seems that the genre will always be popular, and regrettably, quite easy . someone's memoirs, as it is imaginably quite painful to revisit certain to write. past events and put them inlo print.

Nie Sheff has jumped on the band-

D

Sheff's book Is an Interesting ride through recovery and relapse, but fails to deliver on the literary front. Every page ls riddled with "like" "I mean" and "you know?" and the prose Is descriptive but remains for the mosl parl, superficial.

Sheff has moments of insight, but there are very few memorable pieces of wisdom, perhaps the only one being that care for others fills a void in one's life.Sheff does become very introspective toward the end of Lhe book, bul only manages to speculate on his own condition and fails to make the revelations relatable.

As a previously published writer, Sheff frequently will remind the reade,r of his experience writing movie reviews for online maga:r.ines. T hate to burst Sheff's bubble, but writing movie reviews docs not make you capable of writing an entire book. Movie reviews at the Cascade are freebie artic:les that evecyone wa,nts to write becnuse they're , the easiest way to the fill up the word count.

Sheff seemed to be channeling several writers, including Borroughs and Thompson, but just came off as

morning dark is cold and I'm holding my jaw tight, too tight. I mean, more than normal. I'm talking real angry about my mom and my step dad and blah, blah, blah."

lazy. His honesty and simplicity were not accompanied by the necessary profundity and quality of prose to balance it out. There were even spelling crrors in the book, such as Sheff's reference lo "ying and yang". But, T guess that fault lies with the editor.

The story was readable, but only for its content,1.1nd,nQtfo~ ;.tsquality.

With paragraphs like: "We spend a long lime getting dressed. We get in the car and I drive and we arc very high and Amon Tobin is on the stereo. The early

the whole book reads like someone sharing their story at a twelve-step meeting, not something deliberate and well thought out, as literature should be. 1'd like to see what Sheff can do without leaning on the saleability of his story.

To be quite honest, l could name ahout ten people in Abbotsford off the top of my head who have experienced a similar lifestyle. This story, asmuch as it may mean to the person who wrote it, is generic and stale. There is nothing to mark this memoir as any differenl from Lhestories you can hear any day of the week at your local al-anon or nar-anon meetings. l commend Nie Sheff for his courage in sobering up and his constant battle not to relapse. l admire that he has been able to face the horrors of his life and come to terms with them.

However, l don't think that any drug addict wtth ,a<;ce8,ll to Microsoft Word should be able to make gratuitous sums of money for writing absentmindedly with the diction of a teenaged blogger.

Giving Peace Another Chance Fa,moushotol TOOTn1,layshost to Lon non tributo MADELINE COLEMAN there ...''

THELINK "Okay, feel the spirit, everybody!" llis Steinberg throws open the door to room 1742 and strides ahead with a guitar case In one hand and a sitar in the other. We file In after him, glancing at the plaque on the open door that reads, "JOHN LEN• NON I YOKO ONO," Lhcn repeats the same in Braille.

It's June 2, what Steinberg calls "the Day After Tomorrow." Porty years ago yesterday, the couple whose names are proudly displayed on the doorand whose framed photographs and records hang on every wall-recorded a little song called "Give Peace a Chance" in this suite of the Queen .f,llizaoethHotel.

And Steinberg plans to record it again today.

His father, Eric, Is here now. He was also here then. Somebody he knew-a friend of a friend's fatherhad a press pass. Eric and his friends found out Lennon was on a macrobiotic diet. They came to room 1742 bearing bread they had purchased at a health food store. He was seventeen.

"I'm jusl reliving Lhis,"he says, retracing his steps from the front door to the bedroom. "John was on that side, and Yoko was on this side, and there was a Hare Krishna guy over

E

While Eric reminisces, his son gets down to business. Ellis is an honours psychology student at Concordia and, in his words, "the biggest Beatles fan that exists." He's also a member of a Beatles cover band called the Wannabeatles.

Steinberg booked this hotel room a year and a half ago so he and his friends could celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Bed-In by making their own recording of "Give Peace a Chance." He plans to send it to reams of influential people, from Jean Charest lo Barack Obama, The package will include a letter, but really, Steinberg says, "the song will be our message." l am handed wine In a styrofoam cup.

As Steinberg rushes about, setting up microphones and calling everyone he knows ("We need voices!"), his friend, James Benjamin, tells me he thinks the song might even be more relevant now Lhan il was 40 years ago.

Al least back then, he says, there was something more tangible for peace advocates lo fighl against, but "now It's so faceless."

The Beatles arc so deeply ingrained in the pop culture consciousness that it's surprising to hear a fan like Steinberg admil he didn't gel into them until his latter years of high school.

He first listened to the song "Come Together" during a car ride with his

family. Until that moment, he knew the Beatles-arguably the most famous and influential outfit in history-only as ''this weird British band people seemed to like."

Steinberg's father Lelis me he just spoke to a guy from Liverpool who went to the same elementary school as George Harrison, albeit a few years later, and was assigned the same hand-me-down German primer, with Lhe not-yet-famous name still scrawled in the front of the textbook. A girl comes into the room holding a canvas. Nailed to it are rows of plasticine strawberries In a gummy, plasticky red. Someone asks her why she made it. ''Oh, it's to copy the movie," she says.

"Whal movie?"

"Across the Universe."

Someone holds up a John Lennon songbook for Steinberg as he tests the recording equipment by warming up his voice. "Everybody's talkin' 'bout bagism, ragism, thisism, thatism!"

Lennon's face looks out sternly from the cover of the book as people filter into the room, bringing with them

Lhc voices Steinberg needs for a successful re-enactment. The choir for the original recording included pop celebrities like Timothy Leary, slavering journalists and the sound of a PR man kicking a door; Steinberg says he wants at least 30 people to make the song sound really full. Replicas of the infamO\iS "HAIR PEACE" and "BED PEACE!'-signs He on the bed next to two tambourines and a Blackberry.

Steinberg gives me a high five and says, "High five! YES!" His project has received the blessing of the benevolent Ms. Ono_ There is a phone in the Imagine exhibit at the Musee des .Beaux Arts that she calls once a day.

Steinberg waited more than six hours over the course of Lwodays Lobe able to speak to her. When he told her

about his plan to make this recording and asked for her blessing, she said, "'that's extremely sweet of you. Of course you have my blessing."

This is what he tells room 1742 as, finally, we all move into position.

From my vantage point on the wlndowslll at the head of the bed, Tsnap a photo of the assembled voices, college kids and their middle-aged parents, with egg shakers in their hands and anticipation In their smiles. Everybody knows the words to the chorus and Steinberg Is more than willing to fill in the gaps.

"Ev'rybody's talkin' 'bout revolution, evolution, masturbation, flagellation, regulation, integrations, mediations, United Nations, congrat• ulations!"

Arts & Life

Cascade News • ThursdayJuly 16th 2009

11

Reverenceand Mirth UFV Lit.oraryCafeat Harrison Arts Festival SONJA SZLOVICSAK

sion."

The poemsbyMartens were very satirical and elicited several laughs from the mostly Mennonite audience.

One poem in particular, "The Mennonite Louise",told

CONTRIBUTOR n Monday, over 100 people crammed into the Harrison Memorial Hall to hear jazz music and poetry from a very unlikely source; the Mennonite community. Mennonites are known for their devotion to God, dislike of dancing and pacifist practices; with that In mind, the topic of the Harrison Festival of the Arts 2009 Literary Cafe was "Reverence and Mirth".

UFV's Continuing Studies department was a sponsor of the literary cafe. Mennonite poets Leonard Neufeldt and Elsie K. Neufeld both read a selection of their work. Andreas Schroeder, a Mennonite and a 2002 recipient of an honorary doc• torate from UFV, read an excerpt from his novel "Renovating Heaven".

Cheryl Isaac was in attendance as a representative of UFV's Continuing Studies Program.

The evening opened with the Nelson Boschman Trio. The trio is a Mennonite band which plays Mennonite hymns Interpreted through jazz.

Several Mennonite members of the audience were shocked to hear their favourite hymns played as jazz music, but most genuinely enjoyed the new sound of their church's music.

Elsie K. N eufeldt was the first writ• er to present her work. Her poetry was presented In a mix of Russian and English language. Her family ls of Russian decent, and she admits that her Russian mother was a huge influence on her work. Her poems were all tied, in some way, to her Mennonite roots. She read a humorous poem

O

his mastery of English to his abusive first grade teacher. If he made a mistake on the pronunciation of a word or mangled the structure of a sentence, she beat him with her ruler. Schroeder explained: "My whole career as a writer was fostered by this monstrous woman. I haven't dangled a modifier in 50 years!"

There was hardly any mention of faith at the literary cafc. Most rcfcr.ences to being Mennonite were poking fun at the faith; Schroeder stated: "In our house, we worshipped the fa. ther, son and the holy right angle. The holy ghost was too fuzzy a concept."

All of the writers mentioned family and childhood memories as an inspi• ration for their poetry, and credited the community of Yarrow for heJplng to turn them into writers.

Even though UFV was a sponsor of the literary cafc, most people in attendance were either Mennonite or tourists attending the Harrison Festival of the Arts; there were very few students at the literary cafe.

The Harrison Festival of the Arts continues until July 19. More infor• mation can be found at www.harrisonfestival.com.

;1,1~;..:"!:::-'!..4~, of a Menno-

about the good and bad points of potatoes which was In both Russian and English.

Neufeldt explained that each of her poems is inspired by a different source. She said "sometimes it's a scent in the air; sometimes it's an article in the newspaper." She then read a poem which was inspired by an article she read In the Vancouver Sun about a rose festival.

Leonard Neufeld presented several humorous poems about his childhood. Neufcldt is editor-in-chief of Yarrow, British Columbia: Mennonite Promise.

Neufeld read poems about growIng up in Yarrow with his family and friends. He explained that when

he was young "Yarrow had its share of rebels-young women and young men-and we were in awe of them."

He then shared a poem about a young rebel from Yarrow who grew up and moved away. He also read a poem about himself and his brother "drop· ping a garter snake Into Betty Waddle's dress", which seemed to hint that he and his older brother were also rebels.

The last writer to present was Andreas Schroeder. Schroeder opened by reading a poem by a fellow Mennonite, Robert Martens. Schroeder described Martens by saying: "As pacifists, Mennonites would never have a Marine Corp-but if they did, [Martens] would be In the Delta dlvl-

nite woman who said: "If it doesn't hurt, it isn't good for you." That line had everyone in the audience laughing and applauding.

Schroeder's novel, "Renovating Heaven", has been nominated for a 2009 Ethel Wilson fiction award. The title comes from his father's renovation of his childhood home. Schroeder's father believed Canadians were inherently lazy, particularly when it came to construction. Schroeder explained: "This wreck of a house became a metaphor for Canada ... this house was going to allow [his father] to fix it and show Canada, hell, the whole world, how it's done!"

Schroeder's family immigrated to Canada in 1951 from Germany.

Schroeder was five years old, and had no knowledge of English. lie credits

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12

Arts & Life

Cascade News • ThursdayJuly 16th 2009

Real Life Emulates An Emulation Of Real Life STACEY MCLACHLAN THEPEAK leep. Go to work. Urinate. Col• lapse from exhaustion. Call your friends at 3:00 a.m. In a desperate attempt to win their favour. Initiate tickle fights with everyone you meet.

In summary, It's blindingly obvl• ous that The Sims Is Just about the most awesome game series ever created. The numbers certainly substantiate that: As of March 2008, it was the best selling franchise in computer game history.

The Sims 3 launched June 2, and will likely set new records of its own.

I'll certainly be buying a copy. Ever since a borrowed disc (well, l guess technically stolen, as it was never returned) ofSimCity2000 found its way into the shiny belly of my state-of-theart 1995 Packard Bell, l have been as hooked as someone with low-to-moderate Interest In PC gaming can be.

Prior to letting Maxis Into my life, Lego Island and that snake game where you eat the apples were pretty much my only computer activities.

But once I walked into that magi• cal world of simulated city zoning, I never looked back.

The summer after sixth grade is a wonderful blur In retrospect. The sun \1 bloc.\r.cdby bllt\ds it\ favour of the computer screen's welcoming glow; Coolville, my baby, is a whirr of activity. I build railroads in the blink of an eye, solve droughts with a few well placed clicks and an arsenal of cheat codes, and cultural champion that I am, put a zoo on every corner.

I am the best mayor a city could ask for. And after balancing the budget, I still make time for real life friends, with whom I discuss my strategies for dealing with frequent forest fires (the solution: more cheat codes), while enjoying a hearty lunch of KoolAid

S

powder mixed with sugar.

SimTower put a spell on me next.

It's every young girl's dream to man• age and construct a skyscraper to balance work, living, and commercial t\ccds, 111\d I was no exception. I spent countless sleepless nights Installing express elevators to keep my tenants happy, which is no easy task when bomb threats face your building daily for no clear reason. But I'm the kind of girl who enjoys a challenge - especially If that challenge Involvcs creating and maintaining 17 underground burger restaurants with a cockroach problem in an Imaginary hotel.

As I entered high school, I seemed to have less lime for computer games.

This isn't surprising; when you're 13 years old, huge chunks of your day are

dedicated to trying desperately not to have acne. Gradually, my favourite, vaguely nerdy pastimes were replaced by magazines with sassy names like Twist or TeenSomething•or-other, and CJ;l)Crimcqtnpony,,ith gl\ttf~ ~ye shadow.

But then one day a few years ago, a little game called 'lbe Sims 2 walked into my life and l answered once again to the siren song of simulation. Maybe It'sthe escapism. Maybe I'ma controlling jerk. Maybe I just think the gibberish - make that Simlish - that the Sims spew is too funny to stop. Whatever it is, The Sims 2 has captured my heart and made it almost difficult to function in reality. Sometimes I'll have a busy day ahead of me, and I'll Imagine myself with giant floating

icons hanging around, denoting the order of the activities I need to do. "ha!" I think. 'Tm planning on having a shower and then making macaroni! Just like a Simi" yVhen ,ny ,enyf ron met t If 1 9,ymming me out, I think about how red my happiness meter would be, were I a Sim. When my carpool has to wait outside my house for three hours while I put on my giant llama mascot costume and get ready for work, it just boggles me how uncannily similar my life is to the game.

Yes, It's terribly Ironic to compare real life to a game that's based on real life. And even more so to put off real life to play with your fake one instead; my favourite way to procrastinate in my first year at Simon Fraser Univer-

slty was to play with The Sims University expansion pack, preferring Sim• homework to writing papers for any actual class.

But somehow there arc enough distinctions between boring old reality and these wacky animated characters to make it excusable. With the Sims, you can wear pyjamas all the time and no one says a word! You can get a promotion just by practicing talking to yourself In the mirror! Unless you foolishly buy a seasons expansion pack, you never have to shovel snow or rake lc::aves!You can install an inground pool in under 30 seconds!

There arc money trees! It's a gender and race neutral world, where you can be anyone's friend or lover If you Just call them every day and take them on a very laggy outing to a sub-par Italian restaurant!

TI1e endless possibilities we find in the Sim games - whether we're controlling a city, a tower, or vaguely humanoid characters - arc at once terrifying and awesome. These virtual dollhouses allow us to play with almost no rules, encouraging experimentation and learning as well as self-reflection. Within these spaces, we find plenty of room for critique and remixing of real life culture and relationships. These games ask us important questions: How do we balance actions and consequences? When you give someone unlimited power, what happens? And most crucially, why Is it so hard to get your Sim abducted by an alien?

With the recent debut of Sims 3, it's only a matter of time before l become a hermit again. I am okay with this.

Perhaps my loved ones arc not. But I don't need their approval - I'll have a new Sim sports car. Plus, in Sims 3, you can turn off aging and death; don't wait up.

BRINGING THE METAL BACK TO LIFE RICH WILLIAMSON

Plfty-somethlng metal-heads Steve 'Lips' Kudlow and Robb Reiner of «How many bands stay togeth• Anvil still long for rock stardom. Iner for 30 years?" asks former stead of touring the world, Reiner and Guns'n'Roscs shredder Slash.

Lips haul ass, performing mundane He and a panel of rock mavericks, occupations knowing full well of the including Metallica's Lars Ulrich and dreams left unfulfilled. Braving the Motorhead's Lemmy, pose this ques• snowy roads of Ontario delivering tion early In Sasha Gcrvasl's metal food to cafeterias, Lips pathetically doc-with-a-heart, Anvil: The Story of cries, "When 1 work at Choice Children's catering, they don't even know Anvil.

"You've got U2, 'lhe Stones, and that my band exists!"

It wasn't drugs or sex that defeated Anvil." But wail. Who is Anvil?

Anvil, we learn, were one of the the rock dinosaur, the movie shows; hardest rocking metal acts of the early success Just happened to pass them 80s. Touring the world with rock-Jug- by. gernauts like Bon Jovl and The ScorWhile the two struggle to make pions, Anvil was just as likely to suc- ends meet, they are excited to learn that an old fan, Tiziana Arrigoni of ceed as the rest.

Fusing electric guitars with buzz- Sweden has booked a year-long tour Ing vibrators, they were considered across Europe. Before long, missed revolutionary In a lime when shock trains, tardy venues and overall misrock was king. Belting out tunes aptly management hinder a once-promis• titled the likes of"Thumb Hang," and ing tour.

"Show us Your Tits," Anvil made no Gig after gig, less people show up. gripes about their intentions to rock, Anvil plays their hearts out to a crowd and were poised to take the world by fewer than 10 people.

"How much more love could one storm.

Fast-forward 25 years. person put Into something?" asks

RYERSON FREEPRESS

Lips.

One would be hard-pressed to argue.

Despite pitfalls, Lips' die-hard In• tegrity prevails. Returning to Canada from the failed tour he exclaims proudly that even though everything went drastically wrong, "at least there was a tour for it to go drastically wrong on!"

Regrouping, Reiner and Lips decide to go all-in, pouring their savings into producing the Anvil album to end all Anvil albums, This is 13 - their thirteenth effort, and their last chance to do it right.

Told with sharp comedic timing, Gervasi's storytelling technique harkens back to classic mockumentaries like This Is Spinal Tap. Al limes the characters arc so outrageous, the actions so unbelievable that one would be lead to believe the story Is fiction.

Watching Lips and Reiner trudge down Toronto's College Street reminiscing over hard-rock memories quickly reminds viewers that these guys are real people. They're the guys who busted their asses playing hard

rock In their basements 'ti! four in the morning, raising the one-finger salute at anyone standing In the way of their unrelenting ambition. These are the guys you called the cops on.

Having seen Anvil at a film festival, the crowd was split in three: everyday folks, film critics, and some guys with pink mohawks, multiple piercings and Jean jackets. .Every• one came in with preconceptions about the music.

Some found It Irritating; others worshipped its mighty tune.

Some grew up with metal, others didn't.

When the film ends, it isn't the music so much as the passion exhibited by Robb and Lips that infects the

audience. 1he passion Is contagious.

People who would never be into metal become metal heads when they see it, finding themselves tapping away Lo the beat of Anvil's classic tune "Metal on Metal" as the credits roll right to the end.

Arts & Life

Cascade News • Thursday July 16th 2009

13

Movie Review

Towne Cinema Showtlmes

1>11111.11: l:Nl:~~111:S

1518 Mccallum Ad, Abbotsford, 604-859-5019

July 17th • July 23rd Bruno

Dallyat 1:20,3:66, 7:20,9:66

lBA

Transformers:Revengeof the Fa.lien (DTB) De.tlyat 12:26,3:40, 7:00, 10;10 14A The Hangover Dallya.t 1:30,4:00, 7:30, 10:00 18A

I LoveYou,BethCooper Dallyat 1:10,3:46, 7:10,9:46

PG

TheProposal De.Hyat 1:10,3:60, 7:10,9:60

PG

BRITTANY WIESNERto

Justice, Melvin Purvis, just didn't live up to Its hype.

SPORTS & HEALTH EDITOR iJJJJ,.,.,u•J o,1.,., v,.., .,,,,.,j• .,.• ,, ,J.--f .1u, .............

•~''1 '"P\1blic IMcfrilcli"1-illdall tl\'c'):>otenhat do you get when you comtial for success with Johnny Depp as bine the talents of Batman and John Dillinger and Christian Bale Captain Jack Sparrow, throw in Dr. as Melvin Purvis considering that Manhattan, an academy award win• they're currently two of the biggest nlng French beauty, some thrilling blockbuster stars in Hollywood. The action scenes, and line it with the hint film also starred Billy Crudup as J. of a true story? Well you'd think you'd Edgar J-loover,who's still living off his get a five-star, two thumbs up movie, recent claim to fame as Dr. Manhattan right? l hate to burst the proverbial in Watchmen, and Marlon Cotillard, bubble, but you're wrong. The highly who won the first Academy Award for anticipated film depicting the life of Best Actress in a Leading role for a the bank robbing legend John Dill- French Film when she was in La Vie inger and the mon who brought him en Rose, played John Dillinger's lady

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love llillie Frechette. While Public Enemies started out with a bang, quickly t!t'aMl~Hn1tf tM"tdylllc· ·tot1g-h·\nld tumble life style John Dillinger lived during the hardship of the dirty thirties, the film faltered as it went on.

The creators tried to stay true to the life of Dillinger while he was on the run from the FBI, highlighting the cat and mouse game Purvis and DillInger were playing. However, staying true to the real life story created a and slow and mundane pace. The director decided to film it in HD to give the audience a more involved feel; sadly It instead resulted in a more confusing

ovieReview· Because Borat Was So 2006 his ROMICHAN

comeback and vows to become the most famous celebrity since Hit• STAFF WRITER ler. This sets the stage for an in-depth must admit that r was not enthulook and the concept of celebrity and siastic about Sacha Baron Cohen's the lengths people will go for their I 5 first motion picture, Dorat. After being minutes of fame. dragged to the movie theatre 1 sulked One of the first Jaw-dropping issues in my chair and watched as a characBruno explores is the role of parents ter l abhorred ran around America In with aspiring child actors. In a mock a satirical fashion while performing a interview Bruno, posed as a director number of stunts. Cohen's character, 11sksone mother if it would be okay Borat was offensive and the core point for him to hang her child from a cross of the movie was lost to me. So when in a crucifix style. 1 he mother replies the trailer for Bruno appeared one that as long as her child is given the fateful day I couldn't help but roll my part, it's alright with her. eyes. However, Sacha Baron Cohen's Next, suspecting that success has return to the sliver screen is a comical something to do with his sexual oritriumph. entation, Bruno seeks out a pastor In the film, Cohen steps into the who specializes In gay conversion. He role of an extroverted gay fashion dealso Infiltrates an army barrack in Alsigner, Bruno. Disaster strikes when abama which yields an amusing scene his Velcro creation is met with outand sets out on a hunting excursion to rage from his fashion peers and he the dismay and growing irritation of is thrown out of the fashion Industry his Southern hunting partners in his and barred from all future fashion attempt to become straight. shows. Left with nothing, Bruno plots Bruno also draws attention to

I

the growing trend of celebrity adoptions of children from impoverished countries. In a hilarious sequence he succeeds ii, pilfering a child from a remote African community and ships him to America in a cardboard box with "fragile" written on the side.

He then tries to gain attention from American society by portraying himself as a sympathetic and gracious father when he brings his new child onto a talkshow and delivers the unforgettable line: "r gave him a traditional Africa name ... OJ." in Bruno, Sacha Baron Cohen delivers a provocative and sometimes shocking look at the world of celebrity.

This is the only way to deliver a message about the lifestyle and people we seem to idolize and aspire to. in our complacent society, Cohen's genius breaks through and shines a light that serves as a long-awaited reality check for the viewer.

atmosphere.

Public Enemies wasn't a complete l6ts: The Scl 'they used wa:. outstand: Ing. 1bey even used the Little Bohemia Lodge as a shooting location, which was the actual location where Dillinger and his crew had a gun fight with the FBI. Also, Johnny Depp stunned the audience with his amazing talent and ability to immerse himself into any role. 1 was somewhat worried that 1 wouldn't be able to focus on him as Dillinger because 1 knew him too well as our favourite rum loving pirate, but, he was able to shed that title

Pleasenotethat the

followtng filmsa.repass

restricted: Ice Age:Dawnofthe Dtnose.ura (DTS) Dallyat 1:16,3:46,7:16,9:46 G

PubltoEnemies(DTB) De.Hyat 12:30,3:36, 7:06, 10:06 14A

He.rryPotter and the He.lf-Blood Prtnoe (DTS) De.tlye.t 12:20,3:40, 7:00, 10:16

PG

My Slater's Keeper Dallye.t1:26,3:60, 7:26,9:60

PG

and reinvent himself as a true I930's bank robber. Toobad not all the cast members were able to shake off their old roles so easily. T'm looking at you Christian Bale.

Even Billy Curdup was able to shed his giant glowing blue ... ncss, but as hard as Christian Bale tried he couldn't help but use the classic Batman voice.

Overall the film isn't terrible. It's interesting and comedic at times. I suggest you wait until it comes out on DVD to see It, however.. Save your pennies for a different blockbuster.

Cascade News• Thursday July 16th 2009

tuff

·, ..

The Cascade ·Liquor Cabinet PAUL FALARDEAUBulmers Cider ARTS& LIFEEDITOR

T

he time has come, time for an end to drinking tasteless beer, bland wine and Jager bomb after Jager bomb.

The Cascade believes in drinking well and we aim to provide you with the scoop on the best wine, beer and spir• its including drink recipes and local brews and vintages for your drinking pleasure. Every month we will bring you three of the best beverages with liquor contents. This month we bring you three tasty drinks to quench your thirst in the summer heat ...

Blasted Church Wineries • Mixed Blessings This delicious white ls a mix of Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris and a touch of Ehrenfelser. 'the result is a delicious wine that has notes of melon, citrus, pineapple and finishes with apple.

Mixed Blessings should be enjoyed on patios everywhere this summer, in fact why not include decks, and balconies as well. The crisp, refreshing flavours will beat the summer heat and have you running to the liquor store for more.

The are certain things the Eng• llsh do well. Cider ts definitely one of them, and Bulmers gets top marks in that field. Availible in flavours like apple and pear, it's great served over ice or mixed with other juice.

Be careful, it goes down so smooth that you may find yourself forgetting how to walk sooner than you thought.

Cariboo Genuine Draft

Made in Prince George, Cariboo GD is a great economy beer. Its cheap and It tastes good to boot. "lhe alcohol content Is 5.5, so Its no slouch In that field either. 'TI1enice little kicker at the end of the day is that for every case you purchase CGD plants a tree ... go Earth!

Recipe of the Week Planter's Punch 2 oz. Dark Rum 2 oz. Orange Juice 2 oz. Pineapple Juice 1/2 oz. Lime Juice Dash Grenadine Orange Slice & Cherry for garnish

TheFornication Conversation OhMiBod VIRGINIA SUMA

.

.

There are many othe~ packs, suited SEXADVISOR to different situations, including longYpets, I know you cherish my d ista nc.,:love. , advice ...but this week I thought . For those wh'o new to the toy I'd give you something tangible. I've scene, .or fe~l like ''s!epping up the stumbled upon a company called game, the website also has a decent OhMIBod, and they have raised the bar In sex technology.

Their product Jines are designed to respond to music and noise, vibrating in response to the rhythm and Intensity of sound waves.

All of the vibrators are compatible with !Pods and can pulsate to the beat of whichever song you choose. Tt seems to follow as well that those who keep a little porn stash on their video capable !Pods will be able to watch, listen to, and feel the movies.

The basic product in the line is the NaughtiBod, which comes in a plethora of colors and hooks up to your ipod.

Next up is the Gspol, which is essentially the same design, but with a G-spot stimulator on the end of the vibrator for that little extra 00mph.

A little racier, is the BodiTalk, which responds to cell phone calls and sends out a vibe pat• tern that lasts throughout the call. Phone sex just became hands free.

TI1e product with the most flair, however, would have to be the ClubVibe. This little treasure has a selection of books dedicated to the art m:ret bullet vibrator that gets tucked of mechanically assisted love. With away in your knickers. It then re- titles like "Getting Off- A Woman's sponds either to your iPod or to ambiGuide to Masturbation", how can you ent noises in the room. This can mean resist wanting to at least flip through speech, or music or anything else that the pages? gives off sonic vibration.

ClubVibe Is designed to wear to clubs and parties and responds rhythmically to the DJ's music. This discreet little wonder has just made it remarkably easy to get off in public.

The website also sells accessories such as travel cases and toy wipes, and necessities like condoms and lube.

They even sell a product called just in case, which comes in pink and black and has me saving my college-student pennies to buy one.

It's just like a regular compact that opens up to a mirror, but it also has a compartment under the mirror In which to store a condom or two. Perfect for a girls night out that doesn't end with the girls.

There are even nifty little pleasure packs for sale through OhMiBod, my favourite being the NaughtlGlrl "for the nice girls who have a naughty side", Ttcomes with a blue NaughtiBod, blue raspberry lube, toy wipes, and a dozen condoms.

M

.a.re

The OhMiBod website is filled with innovative sex technology and delightful products. I definitely suggest that you check it out and discover a whole new way to enjoy the U FV Shuffle.

If you do happen to purchase one of these musical sex toys, let meknow what you think. Send your letters to Virginia Slims at cascade.arts@ufv. ca.

"

....

ports&

_cascadeNews• Thursday July161~ 2009

ealth

California Beach Body, Here we Come '

by about half. This is clue to the power

ROMICHAN of water resistance which causes your

CONTRIBUTOI~ body to exert hile on vacation, California has let me in on a secret. The way to a killer beach body is not through activities 011 land but in water; at least if you want to cut your workout time

W

more energy therefore multiplying the results of your work out by five-fol<j. Ip fact, ,next to crqss• country skljng, power swimming ranks second when it comes to which form of exercise burns the most calories the quickest.

With beach access and warm weather in abundance, California is the perfect place for a water workout. To be sure I took a poll from a random sampling of the many surfers who reside on the beach near Orange County, On average, recreational surfers spend at least forty-five minutes in water each day which includes them paddling out to meet each incoming wave. That means collectively that an average recreational surfer spends 5.25 hour a week exercising in water. You'll have to take it on my honour when I state that the results of this workout arc excellent.

I took my new findings and compared it with the average time of a random sample of people working out in a gym. Gym~ in the greater Los Angeles area are so numerous that they may even rival Starbucks. My sources were the staff members of each gym who subtly tried to swindle me into purchasing a workout package. After inquiring on average the amount of time most of their members spent on machines such as the treadmill or pumping weights, the answer to the least amount of time was one hour in the morning and another

twenty minutes in thc evening each day. TI1at's9.20 hours a week spent inside just to keep your body toned.

British Columbia may not have the continuous glow of the sun or the fortunate warm weather but there arc most definitely pools, lakes and even

the Pacific Ocean which arc readily available to every one of us. If you don't believe that swimming could cut your work-out time almost by half then go ahead, slip on your bathing suit and test the theory out yourself.

gained at SFU. "The [design] program that I took and the breadth of knowledge you're forced to explore turned out to be a pretty serious asset," said Hulse.

"With the position I have now, I don't do one thing for any extended period of time. [Everyday) I'm exploring other design disciplines or forced to roll with the punches," lhere similarities between his Job and his education, such as having to do both things he loves and things he hates.

"Sometimes you have to just put your nose to the grindstone and get through it , , , then there's the other side where you feel like you're living the dream. It's part of the life."

"For the most part, I think that

another common thing between university work and my post-university career is the thing that keeps you going, which ls the passion for what you do," Hulse said. "II]learned to trust my gut when it comes to most things ... and It's something I continue to learn."

In the last couple of months, Hulse has been approached by several companies, begging him to work for them.

"We'll see if anything transpires, but I have no Idea [about future prospects,] and that's exactly the way I want it to be. I'm really excited to be back in the unknown: that's one of the things I love about my job right now.

It doesn't have a defined timeline; it's like being back in university.''

a three-hour practice on ice. Afterwards, we'll go to the gym floor for an hour-and-a-half to do the routine to make sure timing is exact so when we go to the ice, there arc no disasters."

When asked how she fits all of this practice into her schedule, Milne chuckles.

"I don't sleep that often. I just need around six hours, and I'm good," Depending on the day, she will either have to travel to Waterloo or Burlington, Ont. to practice. Plus, team works with a personal trainer on weights, cardio, and modern dance.

Even diet is a factor. During Lhe interview, Milne passes a bake sale, but with a smile says: "No extra cals, thanks."

"I don't eat any bad foods," said Milne. "You want to portray yourself as an athlete, especially when we go away because we're all in Canada

wear. r'm not going lo sit there eating French fries, and be like: 'Oh yeah, I'm a Canadian athlete."

W !th all her time invested into skating, she describes her Iife as "jug- 1 gling a career and school."

Even'while missing the parties, the cookies, the chicken wings, and the college Iifestylc, she reg re Lsnothing. ' She credits her team and her supporters for her success.

"My teachers are really supportive, and they're actually helping me. "lhey've been very accommodating. • They would let me hand things in early, or if I was away, I could e-mail It to them," she said.

"And our team is very strong.

You're only as strong as your weakest link, and I don't think we have any weak links. Even coach said that she 1 had a hard time picking who should rotate or not."

SFU Alum Works on Olympic Torch ·~-~~ Work is a lot like University, says Designer Ben Hulse KENDRA WONG the freelance work that I was doing

. TKEPEAKfor

B

en Hulse is an Simon Fraser University alumni who graduated in 2005 from the School of Interactive Arts and Technology, Four years later, he is a part of a small group of designers who had the privilege of co-designing tHe torch for the 2010 Olympic games.

Like so many students, after Hulse graduated, he began to question what he could do with his university degree. He worked as a freelance designer throughout university and also took time off to tour with his band, Run the Red Light.

"I was looking for an opportunity where I could get much more than

small businesses," said Hulse. "I was looking for opportunities that were bigger in terms of scope and was something tha.t I could really sink my teeth into."

While he was in the midst of searching for jobs, Hulse received a call from Vancouver 2010, requesting him to apply for a design position.

One of the directors had seen his work online and was eager to have Hulse on the team. He began doing a mix of graphic design, branding, and photography and then soon became involved in the designing of the Olympic torch, "We developed the emblem for the torch relay before we had anything, before we had the torch ... one of the

influences was the notion of the pathway and the northern lights," he said. "[1he design] could be read as the northern lights, it could be read as a pathway, or as a torch. TI1eline style and themes influenced the entire torch relay program and subsequently the torch itself."

In a nod to its inspirations, the emblem has been named "Pathway of the Northern Lights."

Hulse emphasizes that the design was a group effort.

Hulse's university career helped create a deep reservoir of interdisciplinary experience for use later In life.

He attributes his success in creating what wlll soon be one of the most recognizable symbols of the Vancouver 2010 Olympics to the experiences he

Student Glides around theGlobe onIce three national champions in the past

ROZINABBAS three years, as well as two bronze

INTERROBANG medals In the last two world champ!•

T

aryn Milne sails down the ice as the crowd is cheering and applauding.

No, it's not hockey; it's synchronized skating.

Synchronized skating is an ice sport where a team of20 participants, 16 of whom actually participate at a given time, compete In a free program that showcases emotions and interpretations, and a short program that showcases more technical aspects of skating.

Milne, a second-year fashion merchandising student at Fanshawe College in London, Ontario, is part of the number two ranked synchronized skating team in the world, Nexxicc (pronounced nexus).

Nexxice's senior team has won

onships.

Despite her recent accomplishments, Milne wasn't always a national champion synchronized ice skater, "I was a free skater," Milne said.

"I was in pre-novice ladles competl• tlvc. Then, I just needed a change. I loved skating, but I wasn't happy with singles."

Earlier In the year, Nexxice visited Mcxico City where they got to visit the biggest outdoor rink in the world with all expenses paid. Milne and Nexxlce next traveled to France, where they placed fourth, and then it was off to Oshawa, where they won nationals.

Soon Milne and the team wlll be heading off to Croali11 for Worlds looking lo improve on the bronze they earned last year.

Milne's skating career has taken her places like Boston, Budapest, and Milano, Italy.

All the travel isn't as glamorous as it might sound though.

"We start in May where we go to Boston for a week, and we train our programs with a choreographer, da11cer, pairs team, and everything.

We'll train from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., and come back and train what we learned," "It's kind of cool," Milne said, "We kind of say it's all work and no play.

We'll get an afternoon to go out, shop, and see some cool stuff, but we aren't there to gallivant around Europe; we're there to skate," This training isn't limited to the team's globe-hopping adventures.

They put in a Significant amount of time at home as well. ''Four to five limes a week we do

16 Sports& Health

cascadeNews· Jhyrsday Julv16th 2009

"SpecialOlympics"Livesup to its Name coming atmosphere and friendly vibe PAUL BRAMMER

at the games, lhe alh leles are there to CONTRIBUTOR hen I hear lhe words 'Special Olympics', the first thing that springs to mind is thal South Park episode where Cartman pretends to de disabled so he can enter the Special Olympics. The bullish, arrogant

compete, and they'll probably surprise you (unless you're Usain Bolt, in which case, you'll probably win).

The history of the Special Olympics dales back to the 1960s, where testing of children with Intellectual dlsabllilles found that they were only

Eric Cartman successfully sneaks his way lnlo LheGames as a 'ringer', and Cartman becomes even more cocky, cerlain that he Is desllned for illicit victory.

Al the games, Cartman comes last in every single event, and herein lies the rub. Beneath South Park's deceptive exterior as a foul-mouthed cartoon lies a show wilh strong moral messages. I might be wrong in assuming this, but, to me, the moral of this

half as fit as their peers who did not have intellectual disabilities. At the time, it was assumed that their low fitness levels were as a result of their intellectual disabilities.

A researcher from Toronto (woo! go Canada!), Dr. Frank Hayden, questioned this assumption. The research that he conducted proved that people with lnlelleclual disabilities could, given the opportunity, acquire the physical skills necessary to become

episode is that, just because someone has a disability doesn't mean they can'l kick your arse al something.

So, if you head down to the Special Olympics BC Summer Games, think before challenging one of the alhleles, because you might be in for a rude awakening. Despite the we!-

physically fit, so as to participate and compete in competitive sports.

Imbued wilh confidence by his findings, Dr. Hayden sought a way to create a national sports evenl for those with dlsabilllles. Eventually, his search led him into contact with the Kennedy Foundation in Washington,

W

D.C., and the Special Olympics were formed.

The first Special Olympics competition was held In Chicago In 1968 (I don't think it had anything to do with the Democratic Convention riots in the city that year, though). Dr. Hayden was eager for Canada (go Canada! again!) to be represented at the competition, and enlisted the help of Harry 'Red' Foster, a well-known broadcaster, businessman, and humanitarian, to form a Canadian team.

'Red' Foster had a very personal attachment to the cause of championing the righls and abilities of people with disabilities - his brother John 'Jackie' Foster was born blind and with Intellectual disabilities.

'Red' Foster accompanied a Toronto floor hockey team to the inaugural Special Olympics games (trust Canada - it doesn't matter whether it's regular Olympics or Special Olympics - the first team on the plane is the bloody hockey team), and due to the zeal and commitment of Dr. Hayden and Mr. Foster, the Special Olympics was held in Toronto the following year.

Since that year, the Special Olympics has become a world-wide phenomenon, and led to Lheformation of Special Olympics BC in 1980. Today, over three and a half thousand athletes compete In Special Olympics BC Sports Programs in 54 communities province-wide, and SOBC offers eighteen year-round sports programs.

TI1e provincials are held between July 9th to the 12th this year, and 1,500 athletes and coaches are expected to take part. Abbotsford has the honour of hosting the games this time round, and the venue city will rotate once more when the next games are held in four years' time. In an era where big sporls and athletics competitions are dominated by money and celebrlt y and all sorts of silly hoopla, it is refreshing to see a provincial organization which relies on the dedication and commitment of 2,400 volunteer coaches, administrators and event volunteers to provide the backbone to their Games. And, of course, let us not forgel the athletes themselves.

Victory for one of the athletes at this year's games will lead to entry in the national games In London, Onlarlo, 2010, which, in turn, could lead to representing Canada al the international Special Olympics, held In Athens, Greece, in 2011. Par from being a token athletic endeavour for people wllh intellectual disabilities, the Special Olympics BC Summer Games has a strong competitive Incentive to those involved. In spite of this, the Special Olympics BC Summer Games is primarily about people gelling together and having a positive experience In a friendly atmosphere, and enriching the lives of all of those involved.

TI1ecompelllors, through Lhe 'divisioning' process', arc grouped together wilh other compelilors In relation to such factors as their age range and ability. 1he youngest compelltor

age is eight, while there is no limit on how old the entrants can be. In this sense, and many others, the Special Olympics offers such a cross-section of people with intellectual disabilities the chance lo shine at their chosen sport.

No Special Olympics BC Summer Games would be complete without a local boy for the Abbotsford crowd to get behind. One of these Is Hank Vlelvoye, who, at forty years of age, has been competing in the Special Olympics for fifteen years. Here's what Hank had to say about his expe• riences, 'I have worked hard in all the sports 1 have participated In over the years. My greatest triumph and most memorable experience is going to

China this year with the Lower Mainland soccer team and bringing home the gold medal. It was a goal I have been reaching for ever since I slarted with Special Olympics'.

The achievement of Hank, and the thousands of others who have triumphed over the years, should not be overshadowed by the fundamental purpose of the Games, which is encapsulated by the Athlete Oath, "Let me win But ifl cannot win Let me brave In the attempt."

Our professional and Olympic superstar athletes could take a leaf out of the book of the Special Olympics, and its competilors.

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