The Cascade Vol 25. Issue 22

SEPTEMBER 20 TO SEPTEMBER 27, 2017

VOLUME 25 ISSUE 22

Rollin’ with the Luddites since 1993

how to

Publish a book without a

Publisher

Murals

3

UFV students beautified two locations, at CEP and Abbotsford.

Charity fee

6

The Evered Hall won’t ever be profitable. The new rental fee is another nail in the coffin.

Sawbones

pg. 9-12

19

MALK released a killer new album.

WWW.UFVCASCADE.CA

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2017

Editorial //

STAFF Editor-in-Chief Joel Robertson-Taylor joel@ufvcascade.ca Business Manager Quintin Stamler quintin@ufvcascade.ca Managing Editor Kat Marusiak kat@ufvcascade.ca Production Manager Caleb Campbell caleb@ufvcascade.ca Production Assistant Satinder Dhillon satinder@ufvcascade.ca Illustrator Amara Gelaude amara@ufvcascade.ca Online Editor Jeff Mijo jeff@ufvcascade.ca Staff Writer Aleister Gwynne aleister@ufvcascade.ca

Copy Editor Cat Friesen cat@ufvcascade.ca News Editor Joel Robertson-Taylor joel@ufvcascade.ca

I got Facebook, now my life sucks

Junior News Editor Jessica Barclay jessica@ufvcascade.ca Opinion Editor Jeff Mijo jeff@ufvcascade.ca Feature Editor Joel Robertson-Taylor joel@ufvcascade.ca Culture & Events Editor Jeff Mijo jeff@ufvcascade.ca Arts in Review Editor Martin Castro martin@ufvcascade.ca Varsity Writer Rachelle Strelezki rachelle@ufvcascade.ca

THIS WEEK’S CONTRIBUTORS James Tait Ekanki Chawla Panku Sharma Cover: Caleb Campbell Back Cover: Joel Robertson-Taylor, Caleb Campbell

WWW.UFVCASCADE.CA JOEL ROBERTSON-TAYLOR EDITOR-IN-CHIEF @UFVCASCADE FACEBOOK.COM/UFVCASCADE INSTAGRAM.COM/THE.CASCADE Volume 25 · Issue 22 Room S2111 33844 King Road Abbotsford, BC V2S 7M8 604.854.4529

The Cascade is UFV’s autonomous student newspaper. It originated under its current name in 1993, and achieved autonomy from the university and the Student Union Society in 2002. This means that The Cascade is a forum for UFV students to have their journalism published in an entirely student-run setting. It also acts as an alternative press for the Fraser Valley. The Cascade is funded with UFV student funds, and is overseen by the Cascade Journalism Society Board, a body run by a student majority. The Cascade is published every Wednesday with a print circulation of 1,250 and is distributed at Abbotsford, Chilliwack (CEP), Clearbrook, and Mission UFV campuses and throughout the surrounding communities.

The Cascade is open to written, photo, and design work from all students; these can come in the form of a pitch to an editor, or an assignment from an editor.

Writers meetings are held every second Monday at 12:00 p.m. in The Cascade’s office on the Abbotsford campus.

In order to be published in the newspaper, all work must first be approved by The Cascade’s editor-in-chief, copy editor, and corresponding section editor. The Cascade reserves the right to edit submissions for clarity and length. The Cascade will not print any articles that contain racist, sexist, homophobic or libellous content. Letters to the editor, while held to the same standard, are unedited, and should be under 400 words. As The Cascade is an autonomous student publication, opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect that of UFV, The Cascade’s staff and collective, or associated members.

2

I’m getting tired of being online. It’s sort of an existential thing, really.

Expressing frustration for the online realm often conjures up thoughts of social media or Netflix, but those make up a comparatively a small portion of time I spend online.

Living online is a necessity, everyone wants you to do it.

It’s education, banking, working. And when it’s not doing something online, it’s thinking about doing something online — then it’s about being distantly aware of something that needs to get done, read, sent, or deleted. It’s no wonder anxiety levels are exploding, we exist everywhere at once.

There’s a number of studies that reveal the incredible amount of time people spend on social media — alarming numbers. According to GlobalWebIndex, an audience profiling data company, 16–24 year olds spend 3.5 hours using social media a day, which is a third of their total time online.

We talk about social media consuming all this time, and it does, and there’s lots of data. But I’m curious about all the other online hours, the other two thirds (or more).

There’s a very blurry line between online and offline, I think. How much time is actually spent online — or the inverse, how much time is not spent offline. What’s of a particular interest to me is what happens after signing off, closing the screen, entering airplane mode. Because being online doesn’t really stop when we unplug, so to speak. Being offline is basically just being online except you can’t get your fix. Who’s responding to my tweets? Do I have

emails I need to read? Did my assignment upload properly? Don’t I have an assignment due? It’s toxic. Being offline comes with that pervasive anxiety that constantly looms overhead — not being able to check the things you’d check if you were online.

Is there a good solution? Not really. Not going online for a day today is practically the equivalent of disappearing for 13 years in the Canadian North. (“He’s dead by now.”)

Besides, taking a break from being online is probably the worst way to address the problem. An online hiatus is basically delaying defecation. You’re only making the shitstorm messier.

These new rules of living socially are killing my sense of self. I just got Facebook and now my life sucks. My friends are screens, their voices are however I imagine them, and I’m the perfect balance of awesome and interesting, without appearing too conceited. The only difference now is I get invited to things.

According to practically every study on the topic, too much internet use can cause stress, sleep disorders, and depression — oh, and a swath of other issues. Well I am bereft of joy so maybe I’ll trade in my laptop for a typewriter.

At this point I almost wish my phone was sentient. I’m ready for it, to embrace the whole artificial intelligence thing. I just really want my phone to feel my anger and suffer when I tell it to burn in hell.

Last week, I caught myself screaming at my computer: “You work for me. You work for me,” making grotesque faces, trying to scare the tech into submission.

Now, each day, like a mirror, I reflect and appear more and more like my computer. When I wake up, so does my device. When I go to work, so does my device. When I need to a little something, I go to my vice.

NEWS

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2017

Campus Art //

Hidden oasis created at UFV

NEWS BRIEFS NDP cabinet to discuss comprehensive housing plan at B.C. municipal convention

As part of a public arts course, UFV students beautify unused spaces with landscape murals

The scarcity of housing, especially affordable housing, in B.C. urban areas has become a crisis, and the NDP government is working on a strategy for a possible resolution through a comprehensive housing plan. Part of this resolution includes some of the province’s property transfer tax revenue and a share of capital gains being dedicated to municipal affordable housing and transit.

Proposals will be discussed at their first Union of B.C. Municipalities convention on September 2529 in Vancouver.

-the CBC

McMaster University to ban all on-campus smoking as soon as next year Starting January 1, 2018, all forms of smoking and vaping will be banned on McMaster University campuses, from cigarettes and cigars to medicinal marijuana. As well, staff and students will not be permitted to smoke inside of their vehicles when on university property.

The school hopes to enforce this rule through “gentle persuasion” rather than fines; anyone in violation will be asked to stop and referred to a program that assists with cessation. Reasons for the ban include aiding those trying to quit and utilizing the free assistance programs and resources on campus, and the school feeling it is “the single most important change a person can make to improve their overall health," according to Hamilton's medical officer of health, Dr. Elizabeth Richardson.

-Abbotsford News

Photo: Caleb Campbell

JESSICA BARCLAY JR. NEWS EDITOR

Students in the Visual Arts 390 (Community Arts Practice) course brought beauty to the UFV community by painting two large murals on unused spaces at the Abbotsford and Chilliwack campuses.

The murals at UFV were part of a pilot project for the class to partner with the university, and bring student-designed, public art pieces to the campuses.

The Community Arts Practice course has run at UFV since 2004 under the leadership of Chris Friesen, associate professor in the visual arts department, and former president of the Abbotsford Art Council.

“They go through a process they literally would do in real life,” said Friesen.

“I want students to realize that this, as a career, is possible.”

The goal of the course is to introduce students to the steps of proposing and completing a public art piece for a community organization.

Up until this year, it has focused on bringing art to smaller locations around the Fraser Valley, in particular community organizations and inner-city schools that may not otherwise have had the means to commission large public art pieces.

Students conduct research on the loca-

tion, then consider what is possible with the space, outline a budget, and put a together a project proposal. The community then fundraises money for supplies based on the student’s budget plan.

At UFV, the art proposal was presented to a panel made up of representatives from faculty, the sports department, and Student Life. The panel chose between several proposed art pieces, with the final decision being for the mountain scape at the Chilliwack campus, and the oasis mural on the Abbotsford campus.

The mountain scape was chosen to cov-

“...that’s what good art should do. It should tell you where you are.” er a large concrete wall on the old RCMP gun range that has been repurposed for recreational use. Students will use the space to hold fitness events for the community.

“Instead of having this daunting wall that was used to catch bullets, we incorporated it into the environment,” said Friesen.

Students worked with the building’s architecture, creating a mountain mural that, when viewed through Quonset Hut building, made it look as though there

was a sunrise.

“We want to try to put art for a public place, not in a public place,” said Friesen.

On the Abbotsford campus, the new storage containers outside of C building were chosen for the mural.

The containers form a semi-enclosed seating area with benches that were brightly painted, with the intention of drawing people into the hidden space.

The mural features a flower field against a bright blue sky, and an old Volkswagen van. The colours are vibrant, and a stark contrast to the surrounding storage spaces and parking lots, where students and the campus connector bus park.

“To me, it speaks a lot about the environment that we want to see, and yet it's in a gravel parking lot,” said Friesen. “It’s not just about beautification, it's about consequence.”

Friesen said that so far, the art on campus has been well received by students, faculty, and visitors alike. He believes this is in large part due to UFV and the Abbotsford community’s recent growth, and the increasing appetite for more social and cultural hubs on campus.

“There’s something in public art that reinforces one’s own location,” said Friesen. “It has soul, it has personality. And that’s what good art should do. It should tell you where you are.”

3

NEWS

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2017

Fitness //

Fitness in The Cave

New expansion to the UFV fitness facility for training and group fitness program An expansion to UFV fitness facilities was unveiled last week. “The Cave,” as it’s come to be known, was formerly E182, and housed racks of seldom-used folding chairs. Now, The Cave houses 10 spin bikes, two squat racks, a training sled, and a variety of weight-training gear including free weights, medicine balls, and kettlebells.

The 850-square-foot, 16-foot ceilinged room faces south, with a garage bay overhead door, which can be opened to host indoor/outdoor classes.

Cascades varsity and club teams will use the new facility for training, but it’ll also be open to UFV students, faculty, staff, and alumni through Campus Rec group fitness programming.

PacificSport Fraser Valley, a not-for-profit regional sport hub, which was created to support athletes and coaches, as well as host community sport programs and events for youth to adults, will also run programs out of the space.

UFV Athletics and PacificSport Fraser Valley sent a joint application to the 2016 Abbotsford B.C. Summer Games Legacy Fund, who made the expansion possible with a $33,000 grant.

The Fitness Centre in the northeast corner of E building is still in use, and has also seen improvements to fitness equipment.

The project was overseen by Steve Tuckwood, UFV director of athletics and campus recreation.

“We’re deeply thankful to the 2016 B.C. Summer Games for providing the funding to help our vision to become reality, and we’re excited to partner with PacificSport to deliver services to the community.”

It took cooperation from UFV facilities to

clear out the storage space, and find a new place for the stacks of folding chairs previously stored there.

On September 12, members of the UFV President’s Executive joined stakeholders from the 2016 B.C. Summer Games board and PacificSport Fraser Valley to tour the new facility.

“Two years ago we were talking about, ‘When we have a legacy, what’s that going to look like?’” said Steve Carlton, president of the 2016 Abbotsford B.C. Summer Games. “It’s really gratifying to see one of our partners, UFV, and PacificSport using the money in a way that will benefit so many for so many years to come. We’re delighted about this — it’s just awesome.”

Jared Kope, executive director of PacificSport Fraser Valley, said the space will meet the needs of PacificSport’s high-performance athletes, to community sport organizations in need of space to train.

“The transition of this space from the start to the end, and how quickly it came together, is so exciting,” Kope said. “Our athletes, and the sport groups we work with, are so keen to find facility space to train, and we can already see how excited the community is.”

“What is most fun for me is, we took a dormant space, and turned it into a dynamic space,” said Tuckwood. “We certainly appreciate our facilities team for being willing to give it up. As a program, I see it as a monumental leap for us, for a strength and conditioning opportunity not only for our varsity teams, but for any students, staff, and faculty that want to get healthier through our Campus Rec program.”

With files from Dan Kinvig

Stories worth paying attention to

#WageSystems

4

#OhPesticidesKillPests?

#SubsidizingParties

Minimum wage increase may threaten jobs

Scientests say there’s no longer doubt about pesticide impact on bees

Premier defends public subsidies for political parties

Ontario’s upcoming minimum wage could have negative consequences for the surrounding area of Toronto. Areas outside the Toronto region could feel the pressure caused by minimum wage increase to $15 dollars per hour.

A study by the Fraser Institute found that the closer a province’s minimum wage gets to its average wage, the higher the chance there will be an increase in unemployment throughout the region.

The main concern is that businesses will not be able to afford the cost increase, pushing them to cut staff, or lessen hours in order to save costs. Ontario will be the second province in Canada to implement the minimum wage increase up to $15 dollars.

A group of international scientists are to meet in Ottawa to convince parliament that there is no question about the harmful effect agricultural pesticides have on honey bees.

According to the Globe and Mail, Jean-Marc Bonmatin, a French National Centre for Scientific Research scientist, notes that neonicotinoid pesticides are harmful to many different organisms in the environment, including birds, frogs, and fish.

Bonmatin was part of a task for the International Union for Conservation of Nature, who released a paper on neonicotinoid which underwent peer review of more than 1,100 other scientists.

A primary issue with neonicotinoid is it being the cause of a massive loss of honey bees, which presents a large problem for the pollination of crops. Scientists hope to achieve a policy that limits or bars the use of neonicotinoids.

The B.C. premier, John Horgan, is defending his government’s decision to put in place taxpayer subsidies for political parties, a day after introducing legislation to ban union and corporate political donations.

“Horgan says the changes, including capping individual donations at $1,200 and banning donations from outside of B.C. would have meant $65 million less during the last four year election cycle,” the CBC reported.

The subsidy will be phased out in five years.

The parties will receive $2.50 per vote in 2018, later moving down to $1.75 in 2022. The opposition’s argument is that individuals that have no wish to put forth their money to political donations. Horgan is hopeful that this legislation will pass soon, as British Columbia will be the fourth last province in Canada to incorporate such a subsidy.

-the Globe and Mail

-the Globe and Mail

-the CBC

OPINION

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2017

Stalled Situation //

No relief in sight for UFV’s parking crisis The new school year sees an increase in UFVs parking space inadequacies, with no relief in sight.

JESSICA BARCLAY JR. NEWS EDITOR

Attending class on time is an essential part of being a successful student. Being on time makes a good first impression on your professor, doesn’t interrupt other students’ learning, and allows a chance to get notes organized. Not to mention that arriving early allows students to bypass the after-class Tim Hortons rush.

It seems, then, that someone is out to get the hardworking students at UFV. Year after year, the start of a new semester sees students struggling to find a spot to park. It seems that the only way to guarantee a space is to arrive before dawn or after dusk, as at all other times the lots are packed with cars parking in any available space — some that may or may not be actual parking spaces — like a can of metallic sardines.

Even arriving 30 minutes before class means very little. With no students leaving the campus until their classes are over, an early arrival only guarantees a gaswasting parade of desperate people waiting to jump on any open parking space.

Our school is not blind to this problem, and has done a few things over the years to try to improve the parking situation. Not by creating more parking spaces, mind you, but by offering some alternatives to driving to school.

The shuttle bus is actually a reliable and fast alternative, leaving every 15 minutes from both the Abbotsford and Chilliwack campuses during peak hours.

UFV has tried to do their best with the Abbotsford

bus line, which goes all the way from Clearbrook to the Abbotsford campus every 30 minutes. The rest of Abbotsford’s troubling transit system is a whole other can of worms, one which limits the practicality of taking the bus from most locations in Abbotsford.

For those that simply must drive to school, UFV has provided dedicated parking locations for carpooling along A building, with a special carpool parking permit that can be transferred between three cars, in hopes of enticing students to ride share.

There is also some city parking surrounding the campus, including the semi-new carpool lot along King Connector, and the street parking along Gillis Avenue. But, as I’ve learned the hard way, these public locations are not covered with the student parking pass, and tickets will be issued liberally to anyone who mistakenly parks there without paying.

All of these are temporary solutions, designed for an idealist world where class times line up with other outof-town commuters, and there is time between work and school to take an extended bus trip home.

This is not realistic for the busy lifestyles of most students. Many times, there are just no practical alternatives to driving to class.

It is clear the university needs more than a bandage solution. Every year, parking becomes increasingly difficult, and extends far beyond the first few weeks of chaos.

I am far from being an expert on the intricacies of campus planning. I know there are space restrictions, as well as budget, community, and environmental considerations. I understand there is more to it then simply

throwing some pavement down, and hoping for the best.

But as a student, crawling into class late once again, I have difficulty remembering these issues. The solution seems markedly simple: we need more places to park.

And we need them soon.

Advice //

The point of no return Some advice for those further behind on the path ALEISTER GWYNNE STAFF WRITER

It is the beginning of my fourth semester at UFV. In my time here, I’ve gained a greater understanding of my chosen degree program and career path; an understanding that I wish I had at the beginning of my adventures at UFV. I chose my program, Library Sciences and Information Technology, because I thought it would be something I was good at. At the time, I had no clear idea of what sort of job I would be interested in that utilized this degree, beyond some vague notions about working in a public library. Fortunately, going through the program courses has given me a clearer idea of what to expect, and what specific workplaces I might like to apply to. On the other hand, I discovered that I am not as passionate about my chosen major as I expected to be. However, at this point, roughly halfway (I hope) to earning my degree, I feel that the chance to change my mind, and pursue a truer pas-

sion, has come and gone.

It is not so much a matter of time, as it is money. If money were no object, I would be content to “explore myself” in an academic environment for however long it takes for me to find my true calling and master it. Unfortunately, money is an object for most of us. When my grandparents agreed to pay for my tuition, they had only one condition: do not let their money go to waste. Nobody wants their, or someone else’s, money to go to waste. We need to be careful how we spend our money, and the more we have already sunk into a particular program track, the more anxious we are to get some kind of payoff, even if it isn’t what we really wanted. Some might say this is playing into the sunk cost fallacy, but it is a lot easier to dismiss abstract theoretical costs than real money that comes out of your own (or a friend or relative’s) pocket, with no quick or easy way to replenish it.

For those of you in your first or second semester, I would strongly encourage you to seek career counselling.

It is important to find out if your chosen education plan

is an accurate reflection of your talents and interests, and if not, what would suit you best. If you discover that your chosen major is not for you, it is much less painful to switch gears early on, than to wait until you can no longer afford to cut your losses.

For the rest of us, career planning can still do us some good. Don’t forget about practicums, master theses, and other prerequisites to graduation. It is better to learn about these things and take action sooner, rather than later. As one’s vision shifts to look toward the ending, knowing how to fill out the rest of your graduation checklist will save you valuable time and money.

This may not be the ideal way to chart one’s higher education, but expenses are high, and earning power for students is limited. In a perfect world, we would not have to justify our mere existence, and we would be able to follow our dreams without reservation. Sadly, that is not the world we live in, and we must all make difficult choices, even and especially when many of those choices are already behind us.

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OPINION

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2017

Charity tax //

SUS imposes fees on charity fundraisers It shouldn’t cost seven grand to try and give sick kids Nintendos PANKU SHARMA CONTRIBUTOR

I understand that there’s a certain level of distrust and wariness regarding the relationships between third-party organizations and student groups. Of course, there should be safeguards to prevent outside parties from using students to circumvent restrictive policies, or influence them to their own end. Campuses alway foster a murky environment for money and interests to play their game. It’s important that a student union puts policy forward to fight for student rights, interests, and investments.

However, Evered Hall is not the venue for that fight, and the recent SUS decision to start charging student groups a prohibitive hall rental fee if they fundraise on behalf of charities is a mistake that I won’t even give the benefit of being well intentioned, because of how clumsy its implementation was. This might change, depending on new information being released in the coming weeks, like a budget detailing how much we actually stand to gain in revenue, or actual verifiable instances of past shady goings-on. But with the reality in front of us, I don’t see much room to be idle on this issue.

Like others have already said, blocking Child’s Play, of all events, really sends the wrong message to students interested in getting involved in their communities. To treat a charity the same as a corporate or political entity is wrong (obvious exceptions being organizations like Susan G. Komen and some Red Cross initiatives that have proven ineffective). The interests of nonprofits and for-profits won’t be the same, and neither will the net outcomes. It actively stifles campus activity, engagement, and enthusiasm for good work and human connection.

The student union uses language about student benefit, but they seem to ignore their obligation to the students themselves. I think it’s pretty clear that many people who ARE the organizers and active leaders on campus are against this. People aren’t worried about recouping building costs a few years earlier, if that means we’ll have to go without student organized charitable fundraisers. (Also, I think we all know that even if the building fee goes, it’s just going to be replaced with some future bullshit VR rental fee for off-world classes.) Not to mention how a less active campus might actually make the venue less appealing to external groups whose money we want to grift.

However, in their pursuit of more revenue from the building, I think an even more glaring fact has been overlooked in this entire conversation: the Evered Hall is never going to be the cash cow that SUS hopes it will — ‘cause unfortunately, it ain’t that Great.

The airflow in there is bad, so it’s hard to balance not only a comfortable temperature in there (especially during the summer), but also manage general body odour when it gets really packed. While it’s kind of cool to see the dividers fold out, they aren’t entirely noise blocking, and you don’t have full lighting or sound control for each section. The lack of that control, as well as screens and multimedia options, makes individual section rentals unappealing. That big gray wall isn’t really a sight to inspire creativity and merriment. It would be nice, too, if there was glass or windows on the wall facing the atrium. Then, events could actually drive in foot traffic and curious students. As it is now, you have dinky sandwich boards, and people awkwardly poking their heads in, while not being willing to fully commit to being seen in whatever event is going on.

I’ve only heard rumours of initial building plans to have the restaurant on the first floor, or a beer garden/patio adjacent/overlooking the Evered Hall — but everytime I do, I can’t help but think of how much easier it would be to have licensed events and food service. That’s not really something that can be changed, but like many aspects of this campus, the only joy I feel anymore is in griping about things that will never be different. (Although, while we are on it, sledge hammer the wall behind the bar in the Canoe, and let’s get a proper barstool situation going there.)

So, what’s the answer? Let Child’s Play continue as it has every year, and allow Student Life/UFV to do the actual leg work to properly vet events and outside parties, in case there are worries about outside and third parties avoiding payment for rental. But do so in a way that does not inhibit student engagement. Mistakes might happen, some things might slip through, but at least people will feel like they are welcome to explore, lead, and be engaged here.

Sound hard? Yeah, it’ll probably be more work, but it’s that, or we turn into a no-fun and overly expensive campus, where initiative and community building are discouraged and in turn everyone is fucking miserable and just counting down the hours till they can leave.

“It actively stifles campus activity, engagement, and enthusiasm for good work and human connection.”

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Photo: Cat Friesen

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SPORTS

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2017

Basketball //

Cascades back in gear RACHELLE STRELEZKI VARSITY WRITER

The UFV Men’s Basketball Team is back at fall training in preparation for the upcoming season. After hosting open gym sessions two to three times a week over the summer, they are ready to get back on the court. Players are responsible for coming in for individual or group workouts throughout the summer to enhance their game. Their first exhibition game this season is a home game on September 23, 2017 at the Envision Athletic Center. Pre-season games begin in October, and then shift into league games. There are 20 league games this season. The team’s main goal is to make playoffs this year, which means they would continue playing until March.

Adam Friesen is the head coach of the men’s basketball team this year.

“Being a fairly young team, we are look-

ing to learn how to succeed on the road,” Friesen said.

The team is primarily made up of first and second year athletes who are not used to travelling, having back to back games, and experience playing varsity basketball at the university level. Not to mention simultaneously managing expectations of their courses. The UFV men’s basketball team hopes to improve this season by “playing at a faster speed and getting more possessions,” Friesen said.

Based on the demographic and location, Trinity Western University is UFV’s biggest rival. Other teams they will compete against this season are University of British Columbia, and University of Victoria.

Soccer //

Men’s soccer tackles losing seven starters

RACHELLE STRELEZKI VARSITY WRITER

UFV men’s soccer is facing a big change to their roster this season. The team had five players graduate, two players went to medical school, and they gained 10 rookies. The squad this year has 26 players. In an interview with head coach Tom Lowndes, he said “the team is going to have to find a new identity for a group of players who aren’t used to playing with one another.” The team still has the same expectation as usual, and that is to make the playoffs. According to Lowndes the biggest challenge the team will face this season is “our age and our lack of university soccer experience.” The players they have brought in have played in top environments such as U18 Club Nationals and U18 Whitecaps Program. However, this will be their first real experience at university soccer and playing games on backto-back nights (Lowndes). Lowndes says “this will be a great opportunity to learn off one another.”

This year the team had their first league games on August 25-26. On Friday, they played against UBC and lost 1-0. The next day they battled against UVIC and tied

2-2. In these two matches the Cascades started five rookies. Lowndes states: “This was a real eye opener for the young players on our team and they saw the level of play we need to be more consistent with.” Lowndes believes that the rookies will benefit down the road from starting at that level of play early in their university career.

This year the team’s last league game will be at the end of October. If they make the playoffs this year they will be competing until November. The biggest rivalry team this season for the Cascades is Trinity Western University. Coach Lowndes says that “We have had some good battles with them the last couple years.” The other main competitors in the Canada West Conference are the University of British Columbia, Thompson Rivers University and the University of Victoria. All of these teams have had intense matches and will help the Cascades gain experience at the university level.

Last season the team had the most wins in program history in a season and had the least amount of goals scored against them. Last year they made the playoffs for the 5th consecutive year.

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OPINION

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2017

Everything old is new again!

To like or not to like?

At the end of 2016, Facebook showed users videos with some stats, including how many posts they’d “liked” that year. I noticed my total was far higher than practically everyone I know (like, by thousands…), and it made me wonder: Why do there seem to be so many people who hardly ever, or even never, like — or one of the other “reactions” — people’s posts?

Is it because they don’t like the posts?

Perhaps they’re hard to impress. Maybe they just don’t see or read a lot of posts?

Or made a decision long ago that they just weren’t going to do that? Do they worry that others might think it’s weird they were reading their post and/or not want them to know they did?? Isn’t that the point?

I don’t always have time to comment, so I’ll often just like something to let the person know somebody noticed, laughed, or was otherwise affected by what they put out into the world.

Maybe I’m a weirdo who’s just overly generous with my likes, but I don’t mind some people possibly thinking me strange when I know most people probably appreciate it.

Brief bits of bite sized brevity

Kat Marusiak

History has a way of repeating itself, whether it be in television, movies, fashion, or books. Old thoughts, patterns, and trends are emerging back into mainstream. Take for example Spider-Man: Homecoming. It’s a great movie, but the same ideas (the same character, the same plotlines) are being recycled to entertain the present audience. Why do you think that is? I believe classic ideas and notions never die, because people still hope for the best in others, hope politicians don’t tell lies, watch and like the same things over and over again.

This is what makes us human, and gives life meaning. It’s not just recycled ideas and ideals, but rather that human nature changes very little, and as long as one can hope, feel, and breathe, history will repeat itself. So, we should stop complaining and just go with the flow, because whenever we complain about something being overused and overdone, chances are there are a lot of people who have not seen the repeats, and admire and appreciate these “new” representations of life.

SNAPSHOTS

Geek Gatekeepers

Midday Misery

There’s been a pushback in the geek community about the “commodifying” of geek culture in recent years, which really seems to have begun with The Big Bang Theory, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe making it “cool to be a nerd.” I’ve seen a lot of sentiment (online, of course) that, because some people came to these hobbies or fandoms later in life, they didn’t have to go through the hardships of being an “outcast” for their interests.

People who say that are elitist, gatekeeping jerks. In what world is it bad for more people to like the things you enjoy?

A bigger audience makes those hobbies more profitable, and more able to produce the content these people claim to enjoy.

I’d much rather have more people wanting to play Dungeons and Dragons with me than have it be some super exclusive club that only people who have memorized entire rulebooks can enjoy. I’m one of those people, and I’ll teach a new and enthusiastic player over associating with curmudgeons who feel ownership of a hobby any day.

Scheduling my classes for around midday seemed like a good idea at the time.

Unfortunately, that is exactly when my metabolism catches up with me. I may not have had to get up at the crack of dawn, but my morning commute is long enough that I still end up getting out of bed earlier than I’d like. So, to make up for this, I get myself some coffee and breakfast, but by the time I get to class, the food and drink has passed through my system. Fifteen minutes after class starts, regular as clockwork, I’m tired, I’m hungry, and I have to pee. None of these conditions make me particularly inclined to pay attention to the lecture, let alone share and participate, when all I can think about is my aching stomach and bladder. Unfortunately, I still have two hours of class time to go, so I just have to suck it up until then.

No matter what I do, I end up ruined by the fact that my own bodily clock, and the almighty master clock that everyone else uses, refuse to have anything to do with each other. I can’t win.

Illustrations: Amara Gelaude

8

Jeff Mijo

Rachel Tait

Curtailed commentary on current conditions

Aleister Gwynne

Publish a book � � how to

without a

Written by: Jeff Mijo Designed by: Caleb Campbell I’m a published novelist, and these days, that’s not nearly as impressive as it sounds. Don’t get me wrong, I’m proud of all the hard work and countless hours I put into making my books as good as they could be, but actually being published? Well, it doesn’t have to be years of waiting and countless rejection letters anymore: in a matter of days, or even hours, anyone can have their book sitting on Amazon, next to the latest from Stephen King — although selling as many copies as him might be another matter.

I’ve written three books, self-published one, and although I spent far longer than a few days on the process, let me tell you: the self-publishing is not the hard part.

The internet is absolutely full of advice on how to write a book, so here’s the condensed version of everything I’ve learned: write every day (except when you need breaks), have a detailed outline (unless you write better spontaneously), edit as you go (unless it kills your momentum), and finish what you start (actually do this).

Okay, now that you’ve finished your masterpiece, we can talk about self-publishing. The

Publisher

process has had a bad reputation for quite a while, but that’s starting to shift. There’s still a lot of self-published work out there that was in no way ready to see public release, but there are also more and more success stories, ranging from such as Lisa Genova’s Still Alice, to E.L. James’ Fifty Shades of Grey, to Andy Weir’s The Martian, all of which reached just as high heights as books from traditional publishers.

When I decided to look into self-publishing, I was cautious. Like everyone else who’s ever written a book, I “knew” mine was a bestseller waiting to happen, but I was scared of trying to sell it by myself, of releasing it without proper editorial support, and of having to muddle my way through a complicated business without anyone to guide me. And while those are all real hurdles, the discovery that pushed me over the edge was that traditional publishing (that is, getting an agent and a publisher) had almost all of them too. Gone are the days where every author is guided along and promoted heavily by the publishers. If you aren’t a proven bestseller, you’re pretty much on your own. While the edi-

Where

tors are still there, new writers may just get a simple copyeditor pass (spelling and grammar, rather than content suggestions), and marketing will likely be limited to a listing on the publisher’s website. Your book might show up in bookstores, but only if bookstores are asking for it. As for marketing? Be prepared to make your own website, tweet constantly, and set up your own readings. The number of books traditional publishers are putting out is massive: industry analysis website Bowker projected 304,912 titles would be released in 2013, so having your book be number 304,913 doesn’t make it special, and doesn’t mean it’ll sell. Weighing my options, I decided the upsides weren’t worth a year or more of extra steps. Maybe I was impatient, maybe I was sick of working on this book and wanted to move on to the next one, but at the time, self-publishing seemed like the clear answer.

Now, how was I supposed to do that?

to publish

The first step of self-publishing turned out to be simply deciding how I wanted to do it, where I wanted the book to be sold, and if I wanted a paper version. If you’re happy with only an e-book, you’ll save yourself a ton of work, but for me, it was important to have a physical, paper and ink book that I could display on a shelf. I also wanted to make sure my book was for sale anywhere people were likely to look. With those criteria in mind, I settled on three websites: CreateSpace, Kindle Direct Publishing, and Smashwords.

CreateSpace is my sole source for physical books. The company is owned by Amazon, which makes the sometimes cumbersome website worth the hassle, since any book published through it can automatically be listed on the omnipresent online retailer.

It’s also a print-on-demand service which means, rather than requiring me to buy dozens of copies of the book myself, hope they sell, and then take them to the post office to ship myself, CreateSpace handles everything. If someone buys my book from Amazon, it is printed and shipped directly to them, usually very quickly, which keeps the upfront costs minimal and means significantly less work for the author. Despite

all of that, I still make a small amount more on a physical sale than I do on an e-book (but more on royalties later).

The other half of the Amazon formula is Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), which is all but essential for self-published authors.

While I wouldn’t recommend limiting yourself, if you only want to sell through one service, this is the one to pick. It’s also shockingly easy to use, which explains some of the less-than high quality work available on Amazon. However, while KDP will make your book available on Amazon, it’ll only be readable by people with Kindle e-readers, Kindle apps, or on their computers, not on other brands of e-readers.

Speaking of those other e-readers, there are an overwhelming amount of non-Amazon retailers for e-books. That’s where Smashwords comes in. In addition to their own reasonably active storefront, Smashwords acts as a distributor. You upload the book to them, and they send it off to Apple, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, and a whole bunch of other sites I’d never heard of before, but that I assume some people use. That means you can manage all of your information on those sites from this one place.

9

L aying

the groundwork

With the book finished, and the distributors selected, I was ready to get into the nitty-gritty of self-publishing. As it turns out, that just means spending a lot of time Googling how things work, and following the breadcrumbs those results give you to learn about steps you never would have even considered.

The first of those steps for me might not matter to anyone else, but it was a key part of my planning. I wanted to write under a pen name. I think it was a combination of fear that my book would be a flop and my well-learned knowledge that nobody knows how to pronounce my last name (hint: it’s like “my Joe”). As it turns out, releasing a book under a different last name is not difficult at all — while the publishing sites do require your legal name (for tax and payment reasons), all of them provide easy options to write under a pseudonym, likely due to the vast, vast amounts of erotica self-published every day under obviously fake names. My book didn’t fall into that category, but I was thankful that those authors paved the way for me to hide a bit.

After that, I got to wade into the wonderful world of numbers. There are a lot of numbers you need to consider if you’re going to peddle your words. Most of them involving money, but before any of that, you’ll need an International Standard Book Number, or ISBN. Or rather, you’ll need one for each version of your book.

These are those 13 (formerly 10) digit numbers used by stores, libraries, or customers to identify your book, even if its title isn’t unique. If you read about getting an ISBN online, you’ll hear a lot of authors complaining that this is the most expensive step, but thankfully for those of us in Canada, that isn’t the case. Every country handles ISBN distribution differently, and while it costs $125 for each one in the U.S., they are handed out to Canadian authors like samples at Costco. The Canadian ISBN Service System

10

(CISS) website just requires that you register as a publisher, and the hardest part is deciding what to call your “company,” since it’ll appear on all of your product pages.

The biggest hurdle in the numbers department, which I am incredibly thankful you only need to do the first time, is figuring out how U.S. tax law applies to you. Because all of the publishing sites are based south of the border, citizens from other countries are expected to pay a certain amount of taxes… except for those that, like Canada, have a tax treaty. However, to do business, you’ll need to register for an Employer Identification Number from the IRS, which means filling out a few pages of paperwork, mailing it off to the States, and waiting potentially months to receive it. I won’t lie. It’s a headache. But, if you’re planning to self-publish, don’t delay on this like I did. KDP’s help pages will do a good job of guiding you through what you need to know, and Google will easily answer the rest, as it’s a common issue to encounter.

Now we get to the fun numbers. One of the biggest questions people ask about self-publishing is how much money you’ll make. First off, if you’re planning to publish your book to make money, temper those expectations. This is a hard business, and while I’m not one of those people who thinks their craft is high art, and that money should never cross your mind, you do need to get fulfillment from the work itself, or you’ll likely have a miserable wake-up call at the end of all this. That said, you can definitely make some money. Pricing is a tough subject, but for e-books, the market seems to have settled on $2.99 USD. It seems low — I certainly had a hard time listing the result of a full year’s work that cheaply — but the accessible price point means you will see more sales from tentatively interested people than you would at, say, $9.99. For paper books, there’s a bit more wiggle

room. I went with $12.99 USD, which kept my profit from each version similar, and seemed like a reasonable middle ground. At this price point, I get between $1.84 and $2.55 USD from each sale, depending on which site it’s from.

When considerate people ask me where the best place for them to buy it is, I just tell them Amazon — not because I make the most, but because the bump to my sales rankings is worth more in theory than an extra 10 cents, and odds are good that they already have an account there.

Now of course, because standardization is apparently overrated, each of CreateSpace, KDP, and Smashwords all pay you in different ways.

Smashwords, as is its way, keeps things basic and effective, handling all payment through PayPal, which is easy to set up, and can then be transferred to your bank account. KDP skips the middleman, and deposits directly into your bank account, which is convenient and easy to set up.

CreateSpace, however, is the outlier here. While they offer direct deposit for U.S. authors, international authors can only be paid by cheque.

Which is fine, except that they only send it once you’ve pass the $100 USD threshold. That might work for people doing steady business, but with my sales of paper books limited to friends and family, I ended up with about half that amount sitting in limbo, inaccessible, at the point where I doubted I’d see many more sales until I released another book. The only solution here, outside of getting a U.S. bank account, is to have the money deposited into the account of a trusted American friend, and then have them pay you. It’s far from ideal, and won’t be an option for everyone, but I’ve spoken to CreateSpace, and confirmed it isn’t against their rules.

M aking

it professional

I had gone through all of the setup pages for my account and my book on these three sites, so I was ready to upload my files and hit publish, right? Not quite. Because these are automated systems rather than professional book designers, you need to put in the effort to make your book look as good as it can. There is still a stigma against self-published books, and an (understandable) fear of low-quality writing. Assuming my book was actually good, I set out to make sure the presentation matched the writing.

Formatting terrified me. All throughout the writing process, the idea of formatting an entire manuscript loomed over the end of the project, threatening to scare me off from even finishing the book. It’s intimidating, but I discovered it isn’t nearly as bad as it sounds. Each of the sites has their own style guidelines and requirements for design elements like margins, chapter breaks/headings, and linked tables of contents (for e-books), but they all have clear documentation that will walk you through what you need to know.

I also had to figure out how to get people interested enough in the book to spend their time and money on it. Funnily enough, that sounded much easier than formatting, but it was the bigger job. Because, while I’d just spent months on end writing, the level of fine-tuning I felt compelled to do for my book’s blurbs far exceeded anything in the actual novel itself. Despite having a handful of different outlines and summaries, none of them worked as a basis for a blurb. There were at least four or five versions, and I went over each one with a fine-toothed comb, weeding out any extra, or even just weak words, making sure I didn’t reuse any single word too many times, and trying to gauge (with the help of friends) which ones sounded the most appealing. The only way to figure out what to write is to read a lot of blurbs. Look at bestsell-

ers to see how they grab attention, look at your favourites to see what they do and don’t reveal, and look at books towards the bottom of the sales charts to see what they’re doing wrong (if anything). I also wrote three versions: one sentence, one paragraph, and three paragraph, for when situations called for different lengths, and with each longer version, revealed a bit more. Where the short version might just say “A mistreated orphan learns that he’s a wizard and discovers a world of magic,” the long version can hint at some of the adventures he’ll run into along the way, mentioning trolls, magical sports, and three-headed dogs. If someone cares enough to read the whole blurb, reward them with more information, don’t just stretch out the same simple points.

However, potential readers won’t even reach your blurb if you don’t have a good cover to draw them in. There’s one piece of advice repeated over and over for selfpublished authors when it comes to covers: don’t design it yourself. Unless you’re a graphic designer, it’s hard to get the right level of objectivity, and since this will literally be the face of your book, it needs to grab the eye, and convey what you want it to. The other key thing to keep in mind is that your book won’t be sitting on bookstore shelves, proudly displayed at full size. It’s going to be a small thumbnail, on an online store, sharing the page with dozens of others as a reader quickly scrolls past, half-reading titles and glancing at covers. Complicated, intricate covers are great when you’re holding a book, but make sure whatever it looks like, it’s not just a jumbled mess when viewed at that small of a size. For my book, I hired a designer online, and I would recommend against asking your artistically talented friend to do it, unless you have a relationship where you can be honest and upfront if their work isn’t what you envisioned. Before commissioning a cover, be sure to read up on the requirements from each site you’re publishing on, particularly CreateSpace, as physical books have more restrictive needs in terms of size, ratios, and spine width. (You’ll need a final page count before you know how thick your book will be.) All of that said, you do still need to figure out generally what you want on your cover, even if you’re commissioning someone, because you need to give them instructions. Just like blurbs, take a look at what else is out there, and make as many notes on what you don’t want as what you do. If you have a little bit of money to invest in your publishing experiments, the cover is the place to do it.

R eleasing

it into the wild

And finally, after months more of preparing what I’d considered a finished book, I came to the end of the road. My masterpiece was complete, my story ready to be shared with the world, and my finger hovered over the “publish” button. I was done. Except, I realized, if I wanted to get anyone outside of my social circles to buy the thing.

One common marketing tactic these days is offering a pre-order for you book, and the reasons for that are two-fold. First, it’s an easy excuse to build some hype, talk about the book a lot, and hopefully have people take notice. But the second, and less obvious benefit, is that for most sites, pre-orders count as sales on day one.

That means that, on top of some sales you’ll hopefully get the day your book launches, everyone who’s already bought it will be added to that number. If you can even get 20 or 30 people, that puts you well ahead of the hundreds of other self-published books coming out every day, and could put your book on the radar of a few new potential readers. And if those readers buy it and tell a friend, and those friends post on Twitter, and that tweet gets shared… suddenly you could have a success on your hands.

However, maybe that’s just wishful thinking. I didn’t do a pre-order, and the reason why is incredibly dumb, so I hope you all pay very close attention here. You see, when you do all of your formatting for the paper book on CreateSpace, you go through an approval process to make sure it will print fine. At the end, you can (and should) order a proof copy to review for yourself. It’s exhilarating holding that first copy of your book, flipping through it to make sure everything looks right. But don’t get overwhelmed by that excitement, because when you’re happy with it, you’ll be tempted to hit “approve proof” on CreateSpace. Unfortunately, CreateSpace fails massively in this one department, and doesn’t tell you that “approve proof” really means “approve proof and publish.” Once you hit that button, your book’s heading straight for Amazon, and anyone can buy it. I did this, and accidentally released my book weeks earlier than intended, then had to scramble to get all of the e-book versions out at the same time and to write announcements. It was an incredibly stressful week, and while I doubt it made the difference between my book being a commercial success or failure, it’s not the way I wanted to release my first novel.

My messy launch aside, there’s another facet of promotion to consider, either once your book is out, or in the months leading up to your release: reviews. Reviews, particularly posted on Amazon, are incredibly important, because they give potential readers the sense that other people care about your book enough to read it.

Reviews are also one of the most nerve-wracking things about writing a book. Throughout the whole writing process, I was thinking about what my family would think, yes, but the idea of hearing from strangers, without any reason to sugar-coat their criticisms, was terrifying, even though I knew I needed them. Getting reviews is actually not that hard, just time consuming.

There are countless book bloggers online, and almost all of them will have a review policy posted on their CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE

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CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

website.

I used the website The Book Blogger List (bookbloggerlist. com) to find potential reviewers, who are helpfully listed by genre, and with descriptions of what they review. Some blogs on the list are no longer active, so be sure to check out when their most recent post is, and do also consider the quality of their reviews, since they will be appearing alongside your book.

Most bloggers didn’t get back to me, lots turned me down, and a few asked me for a copy of my book. Then I waited. And waited, and waited, and waited.

With my book out, I was busy making sure everyone I knew was aware of it, and I got a lot of nice feedback from friends and family, but I’d say you should expect to wait at least two or three months before you’ll see any reviews. Some were closer to a year. Eventually, though, I started to get emails, Twitter notifications, and just notice new reviews on my Amazon page. And every time one of those appeared, my heart would skip a beat. I’d anxiously rush to their blog to see what they said,

and try to read as fast as I could while taking everything in, trying not to scroll to the bottom and reveal the score until I got there, but dying to know. Some of the reviews were critical, and one of them clearly had not finished the book. But let me tell you, the best compliment I have ever received was reading that someone started my novel one evening, and got so hooked that he had to finish it that same night. It got called a must-read, and was compared to Michael Crichton. And those compliments stick with you, because this is something you’ve probably spent at least a year working on at this point. Sure, the criticisms stick with me too, and make me look back on the book with some regrets, but they’re almost all issues I knew existed, or choices I consciously made, because nobody is going to be more critical about my book than I am. In the end, all the anxiety of seeking out reviews was absolutely worth it, and there are a few that I should print out and frame on my wall, because they made me the proudest I’ve ever been of my work.

What

does the future hold?

The world of self-publishing, like anything else on the internet, is constantly changing. I self-published my book in late 2014, and since then I’ve written another. At this point, it’s sitting in CreateSpace, KDP, and Smashwords’ systems, just in need of a release date, but I haven’t set one yet. I was within days of launching the pre-order when I decided I should take another chance. I’ve done the self-publishing thing, so should I try it again, or should I try the other route? I spent the summer break researching how to write a query letter, and reaching out to agents all across Canada and the United States, seeking representation for my new book. Maybe they can help me find a publisher and get a great deal, and I’ll look back on self-publishing as a silly waste of time. But I don’t think that’s the case: even if my new path leads me somewhere, I wouldn’t have had the confidence to pursue it without seeing that I could release a book on my own, independant of the support offered by traditional publishers. I don’t have any illusions that my self-published book was a masterpiece, but I received enough positive feedback to believe that I also do have a shot at this. And I think anyone who has it in them to write a book, be that a novel, a memoir, or a collection of poetry, has it in them to self-publish. It’s easier than ever to get your words out to the world.

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CULTURE

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2017

Seminar //

Award-winning doctor and author to speak at UFV JEFF MIJO CULTURE & EVENTS EDITOR

On Monday, September 25, UFV will welcome Dr. Gabor Maté to Evered Hall.

Maté, who will be speaking at 2:30 p.m., is an expert in the fields of addiction and trauma, and will be speaking with people who have “lived experience of trauma, addictions, and incarceration.”

An experienced medical doctor who is actively involved with Vancouver’s Portland Hotel Society, and the safe-injection site Insite, Maté is a bestseller and awardwinning author of four books on topics such as attention deficit disorder, stress, parenting, and addiction.

The free event, called “Prisoners of Childhood: Reconciling Justice with Trauma History, Healing, and Resilience” will be followed by a book signing. Doors open at 2:00 p.m.

13

CULTURE

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2017

Art exhibit //

The Witness Blanket displayed at UFV CAT FRIESEN COPY EDITOR

On Wednesday, September 13, The Witness Blanket: Pieces of History opening ceremony was held in Evered Hall in the SUB. The installation was created by Carey Newman (traditional name Ha-yalthkingeme), a Canadian artist of British, Kwagiluth, and Salish descent. His project, which uses reclaimed objects from abandoned residential schools, is meant to weave together a narrative of survivors, and to continue to call attention to the brutal treatment that many Indigenous witnessed during their time there.

Attendees were asked to refrain from taking photographs or videos of the ceremony, as they are not a part of traditional oral practice. Instead, four individuals were called upon to be witnesses to the event.

The crowd was silent as each witness spoke, telling personal accounts of their time in residential schools and how it affected them then, and how it continues to affect them now. Those who had not personally experienced time in a residential school showed their support through kind words, and acknowledgment of the atrocities that had occurred.

However, everyone that was in attendance was an unofficial witness; they all observed the ceremony, somberly and respectfully,

Local Events //

and will be able to tell the story of it to those who were not present. By being a witness to this ceremony, and to the installation, individuals are able to pay tribute to those affected by residential schools, and to continue the narrative, rather than have it lost and forgotten.

Despite the overwhelming number of attendees at the ceremony, it is important to note that witnesses are not required; events, both wonderful and tragic, occur all the time without witnesses. A lack of witnesses does not make something any less real.

Carey Newman has also created The Witness Blanket app, which allows users to see the entire project virtually from their phone, as well as identify specific information from pieces of the exhibit, such as the object’s original location.

The exhibit runs from September 13 to November 8, and can be found in Evered Hall in the SUB.

UFV sponsors Abbotsford’s first TEDx talk Mallory, Travis Klassen, Danielle Arsenault, Megha Tiwari, Vijay Manuel, Darren Spyksma, Carin Bondar, Jory On Saturday, September 23, the first Smallenburg, Paul Henczel, and Nick TEDx​Abbotsford will take place at the Dhaliwal. Topics for the night will Matsqui Centennial Auditorium from widely range from how to see like an 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. The independently artist, changing someone’s life for the organized event, licensed by TED, will better, silencing stigma through storyfeature local voices and TED Talks vid- telling, sustaining transit growth, and deriving character from community. eos under the theme​​of​​t railblazing.

Launched in 2009, TEDx is a pro- Artists also confirmed to attend are gram of locally organized events that Paige Caldwell (painter), Trevor Hoffbring the community together to share man (musician/composer), and Stepha TED-like experience. Some of the anie Standerwick (singer).

Registration of $40 for the evening best talks from TEDx events have gone covers a general admission seat, cofon to be featured on TED.com,​​ a nd​​ garnered​ ​millions​ ​of​ ​v iews​ ​f rom​ ​audi- fee, a snack bar, appetizer-style lunch and drinks, prizes, and networking ences​ ​across​ ​t he​ ​g lobe.

This event intends to bring the​​com- opportunities. Tickets are available munity​ ​together​ with local speakers​ ​ online at tedxabbotsford.com. and​ ​talent​, who ​w ill​ ​share​ ​t heir​ ​ideas​ ​ and​ ​inspire​ ​creativity, ​awareness,​ ​a nd​ ​ action. Tiffany Beaton, lead organizer, explained that “​ We don’t only want to share new ideas from around the world, but we want to provide a platform for our local community, so that the best ideas from Abbotsford​​a nd​​t he​​ Valley​ ​c an​ ​reach​ ​beyond​ ​t he​ ​borders​ ​of​ our​ ​town,​ ​province,​ ​a nd​ ​country.​” The diverse lineup of 11 confirmed speakers includes Dave Dinesen, Scott

EKANKI CHAWLA CONTRIBUTOR

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CULTURE

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2017

Local Artist //

A fresh face, a trip, and a place… a look into Matt Gibson’s debut record MARTIN CASTRO ARTS IN REVIEW EDITOR

On August 30, Vancouver-based musician Matt Gibson released A Trip to Remember, A Place to Forget, his debut record.

The seven track LP, which is perhaps best described as equal parts ambient and folk, is Gibson’s first decisive plunge into the world of professional musicianship, despite it having been a long time coming.

“I’ve wanted to do this for a while. I’ve been slowly writing, and using software to flesh out demos and songs for three to four years.” Said Gibson. A Trip to Remember, he says, is “the natural progression of having enough content.” He himself attests to the fact that there’s something more to it than that.

“I didn’t start playing guitar and singing until I was 18. I went through a period [of being] quite depressed, quite sad from the time I was 18 to around 20.” Says Gibson. “Music was a huge outlet for me. I put a lot of emotion into my music.”

The release of A Trip to Remember marks the culmination of a creative process which is just as novel to Gibson as it has been therapeutic.

“This is the first time I’ve released anything that’s slightly polished.” Says Gibson.

Interestingly, Gibson’s release comes at a time of expansion within the musical landscape in the Valley. Gibson is a part of the wave of Folk artists coming out of Vancouver, which has so captured the attention of many in the Valley, placing names like Jenny Banai alongside hometown staples at venues like Field House and Carport.

And A Trip to Remember sees yet another artist surface in the Valley and surrounding areas preoccupied with turning their creative ear to an increasingly atmospheric realm, adding to the ever-increasing number of artists being drawn to Abbotsford whose repertoire consists of more ethereal alternatives to

the locally-shipped product, artists like Calgary’s Foonyap and Saskatoon’s respectfulchild.

Despite this, Gibson admits that his entrance into the scene, relegated solely thus far to the realm of online streaming platforms, is a quiet entrance.

Quiet, but not without reason. Perhaps exacerbated by the fact that Gibson is based primarily in New West, his freshness and patience in releasing material grants him a (partially self-imposed) double-edged experience of novelty and solitude, which is expressed to a certain degree through the record’s warm, echoing tones.

“I don’t really talk to many musicians here.” Gibson says.

This is perhaps due to the fact that Gibson is a relatively new player, not just in the Valley, but in the public sphere of the music world in general.

Despite this, Gibson does have one connection to the Valley: Western Jaguar’s Brent Webb, who played bass on the record, and sat in on recording. This experience, says Gibson, was invaluable.

“The give and take [during the sessions] kind of changed my input towards the songs.”

“It was almost empowering being that vulnerable. Just trusting them, being like, here’s what I have. I respect your input, because I know what experience you have.”

That input, however formative it may have been in encouraging Gibson to release his debut, resulted in a record which focuses on ambient aesthetics, and personal folk narratives. And, looking back on the record’s release, Gibson expresses the record’s release as part of a necessary form of expression.

“At the end of the day, music for me really is just instinctual.” He says, adding that the experience has only left him hungry for more.

“I just want to do it more now. I want

The Cascade is hiring a

NEWS EDITOR

to collaborate more, because I know how much experience people can bring to the table. Something I definitely want to move towards is finding more people to collaborate with, and from that stage, then performing them once we’re at that

level of comfort.”

You can stream A Trip to Remember, A Place to Forget on Gibson’s Bandcamp, as well as on most major music streaming platforms.

Like editing?

Got a keen eye for details?

You may be our next News Editor!

For more information or to apply, visit ufvcascade.ca/employment or email kat@ufvcascade.ca.

15

STUDY BREAK Crossword //

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2017

Made by Jeff Mijo

ACROSS

DOWN

1. Simple; a starting point; no frills

1. Human framework material

3. Grabby sea-dweller

2. Train’s rear

5. Second tallest bird species

3. Suitcases and bags, especially on a trip

6. Small Italian dough dumplings

4. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ of the Lost Ark

8. Impressive or daunting; more casually, excellent or great

7. Notable person with first name Noam

9. Similar to 8 Across’s casual description, or unit for measuring X-ray strength

10. Vietnamese currency

11. Reasons for not doing something 12. Not old

LAST ISSUE’S ANSWERS: Across: 1. Know-it-all 3. Asia 5. Bureau 7. Lima 8. Ability 10. Sweater 12. Cube 13. Sudoku 14. Sega 15. Trebuchet

Down: 1. Kabob or kebab 2. Lasagna 4. Author 6. Ulysses 8. Athens 9. Lab coat 11. Erupt

Illustration by: Amara Gelaude

Horoscope //

Astrological mysteries interpreted by Master Moji

Aries — Mar 21 to Apr 19 Looking at landscapes and listening to nature sounds on YouTube is a cheap and cool alternative to actually taking a vacation. It definitely feels just like the real thing!

Leo — Jul 23 to Aug 22 They say you’re not supposed to wear white after Labour Day, but don’t let them tell you how to live your life, you rebel, you.

Virgo —Aug 23 to Sep 22

Taurus — Apr 20 to May 20 This week, don’t forget: if you don’t know just what it is, don’t put it in your mouth.

Gemini — May 21 to Jun 20 People will feel an inexplicable urge to laugh at all of your jokes this week, so hit ‘em with all you’ve got!

Cancer —Jun 21 to Jul 22 You will spend over two hours trying to find parking this week, so really, you’re probably better off just staying in bed.

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If cactuses are the porcupines of plants, then what does that make potatoes? Really makes you think, doesn’t it?

Libra — Sep 23 to Oct 22 Don’t tell anybody, but I secretly switched one of the flags in the SUB for the unofficial flag of astrologers.

Scorpio — Oct 23 to Nov 21 It doesn’t matter how you get to the pot of gold, all that matters is that you beat the leprechauns.

Sagittarius — Nov 22 to Dec 21 The proof is in the pudding. So, eat a lot of pudding, I guess?

Capricorn — Dec 22 to Jan 19 That whole “apple a day keeps the doctor away” thing is just a marketing ploy from Apple to raise brand awareness. They actually repurposed an ancient Byzantine saying that roughly translates into “Eat well, and the spectre of death will be bored by your nondecadence.”

Aquarius — Jan 20 to Feb 18 Halloween is less than six weeks away; have you decided on a costume yet?

Pisces — Feb 19 to Mar 20 One of these horoscopes won’t come true. It might be this one.

ARTS

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2017

TV Review //

CHARTS

SHUFFLE AARON LEVY

1

Alvvays Antisocialites

2

Woolworm Deserve To Die

3

Whitehorse Panther In The Dollhouse

4

Big Thief Capacity

5

respectfulchild Searching

6

Do Make Say Think Stubborn Persistent Illusions

7

Faith Healer Try ;-)

8

Blessed EP 2

9

Percy Fairweather Reign of Blues

10 11 12

Kristin Witko Union

14

John Maus The Combine

15

Chad VanGaalen Light Information

16

RZ aka Rhymeztein Mary Jane

17

Tough Age Me In Glue

18

Deerhoof Mountain Moves

19

Chihei Hatakeyama Mirage

20

Ariel Pink Dedicated to Bobby Jameson

I’m going to spoil it for you in both ways

PROUD GARAGE OWNER

CIVL Station Manager Aaron Levy is excited to drop the 2017 FVMA rollout soon, so here’s a shuffle for last years’ class. Also, I wonder if Production Manager Caleb could name each song just by reading the abstract.

My bet is he gets 2 out of 4.

You Say Party (WSD) — Dark Days I used to live in the house this video was shot in, about five years later, for about three months. True story: Experimental category winner Cheap High’s drummer witnessed my being “evicted” under threat of violence over a scheduling dispute with a work study. Such is life. Oh, the Turd.

Blessed — Endure

The second “music” “video” featuring shots from a “home” I’ve “resided” “in,” Tops is also being shuffled here Sugar at the Gate for the second time. This band did not win an award, White Poppy The Pink Haze Of Love but they probably would’ve sold it as scrap so they could make their next record.

Weed That’s how industrious these Born Wrong Love guys are. Enduring.

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Game of Thrones, but no time to sit

Open Letters — It’s Cool, but Unfun Already Did It (or whatever it’s called) Another second, from a band that didn’t win an FVMA last year and doesn’t have a new recording since, nor have they played a show (yeeeeet... X 2!!). This is the second bonafied singalong anthem banger among their 20-some odd recordings of catchy, bangin’, anthemic choruses. Mysogynist’s the first.

Saint Soldier — Namaste Our hip hop category winner is taking a leap of faith in playing with BA Johnston Wednesday the 27 in Abbotsford, for what is my favourite bill since nominee Malk’s Alex’s other band’s 2011 finale with pre-Purity Ring, pre-Little Wild and Atodoso/Cascade/Blessed/ Open Letters’ members’ old band GSTS.

PANKU SHARMA CONTRIBUTOR

The phrase “prestige television” seems to be thrown around more often in relation to budgets and buzz, rather than quality. I still watch Game of Thrones, but my excitement and faith in the television product has withered in the past few seasons.

(My excitement for the novels is all but dead — I don’t think we are getting a written conclusion to the story.)

Every superficial element of the show has certainly gotten grander and more impressive; the CGI work being put into the dragons, the sets, and the cinematography are unparalleled on television. Being flashy, however, will only get you so far when the entire premise of the show relies on its approach to storytelling and characters.

I give all the credit in the world to showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss for taking the story up, and pushing for this adaptation to happen, but I think it’s very telling that in early interviews, they expressed interest specifically in wanting to get the show to the Red Wedding.

I think the emphasis of the series since the Red Wedding itself (and increasingly since the showrunners have left the written material behind them, and been forced to write on their own), hasn’t been on the building towards and logic of these moments, but the shock and brutality of the payoff. The show hasn’t focused nearly as much on its characters as people, but as vehicles for the big moments. This in turn has shaped a world that is loose in terms of consequences and follow through.

It has also been marred by extremely weak writing, and decisions when it comes to introducing new storylines that aren’t directly lifted from the books.

This isn’t a well-written show anymore, and if you’re looking for examples, you don’t have to go much further than the dropped Dornish element.

I won’t lay blame at the feet of the actors involved, but instead at the showrunners for not knowing how to lay the groundwork for Dorne’s story, and failing to create compelling connections with the audience. The writers themselves seem aware of their shortcomings. In “Stormborn,” the second episode, the Dornish element is wrapped up so neatly

by fan-servicing the deaths of the Sand Snakes that no further mention is made of the Dornish armies, political situation, or the consequences of an entire leadership having been extinguished.

The entire Winterfell plot this season spun its wheels, struggling to fill screen time. The fickle Northern lords are uninteresting, and hardly engage in meaningful enough politics to provide a backdrop for the Starks, who were left with little to do. Littlefinger in particular seemed to stick around only to smirk and stroke his mustache.

A lot of fuss was made last season concerning the power of religion and the common folk — addressed through a crusade waged by the Sparrows, a group of religious hard-liners — but there have been absolutely zero repercussions for Cersei blowing up the Great Sept, killing hundreds of Westerosi nobles. The world has been flattened for the sake of convenience. (Suddenly all forces supporting Cersei look like Lannister soldiers, wearing their colours.)

Instead of evolving as a consequence of past decisions, characters and agendas change merely so they are in the right place and the right time to move the plot forward. Some storylines clumsily spin their wheels (Winterfell and King’s Landing) while others jerk forward on the momentum of one plot twist to another.

Game of Thrones is no longer good drama, even if it has improved marginally from seasons five and six. It’s barely even a TV show anymore. The showrunners have (apparently) checked out, and moved onto their next project (HBO’s 1Confederate), many of the actors are antsy to leave their contracts behind and chase Hollywood, and the writers are failing to even pay homage to G.R.R.M.’s source material, instead choosing to rely on fan service, one-liners, and dick jokes in every second episode.

Game of Thrones is still fun, but it’s frustrating.

It’s flashy, but it’s shallow. Watching it is akin to playing a high budget video game and only tuning into the cutscenes when they are unskippable.

1 it is and they did

17

ARTS

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2017

Album Review //

Steven Wilson wants to be Peter Gabriel and is pretty good at it the Bone, full of different sounds and styles) if you played it for me on its own, I’d never guess it was Steven Wilson, but I’d definitely enjoy it.

The parts of the album that don’t grab me are when Wilson moves towards a heavier direction, showing off his guitar skills with long solos and thudding bass. The problem isn’t that the music is heavy, either — it’s just that it stops being interesting. Wilson is clearly an incredible talent, and the album is tightly produced and perfected, but songs like “People Who Eat Darkness” don’t evoke any emotion in me, besides curiosity about how far into their sixminute runtime I am. I might not notice these tracks if I heard them in the background, but when I actively listen, I don’t find a lot to engage with.

By all accounts, To the Bone is a good album. Even if there are a couple songs I don’t care for, it is immaculately made, and boasts more songs I enjoy than I don’t. But I don’t feel anything in particular when listening to it, and that’s the same result I had with Hand. Cannot.

Erase. I’ve listened to the latter a good number of times, but I couldn’t tell you much about any single song. At best I could muster up a few lyrics from I’m-not-sure-which-one. But where Hand. Cannot. Erase. was at least held together by a cohesive and interesting theme, To the Bone just kind of… exists.

I’ll listen to it again, probably a dozen times, but it will be as background music while I’m playing video games, not as something I ever crave or seek out.

Maybe I just don’t get Steven Wilson.

JEFF MIJO CULTURE AND EVENTS EDITOR

As one of the biggest and most prolific artists in the progressive rock genre today, Steven Wilson seems like a musician whose work I should love. He’s very, very, good at what he does. And yet, after trying to dip my toes into a variety of albums (both from him as a solo artist, and from his various projects and bands like Porcupine Tree), I’m still not sure I get him. That said, his last solo release, 2015’s Hand. Cannot.

Erase. was the closest he’s gotten to producing an album that really clicked with me. So when I heard that his newest release, To the Bone, took heavy influence from Peter Gabriel, a musician whose work definitely does click with me, I decided to give Wilson one more try.

If nothing else, To the Bone absolutely delivers in that one regard. Wilson doesn’t just draw on Gabriel’s poppier hits — while one song, “Pariah,” feels like a cousin to Gabriel’s 1986 collaboration with Kate Bush, “Don’t Give Up,” more songs feel like Gabriel’s most recent original-content album, 2002’s Up. They’re moody, atmospheric, and plodding, at least in parts.

And those parts are great — anytime Wilson is singing gently, with a piano backing him up, he produces great music. “Song of I,” in particular, would easily fit into Up’s dark, synthy environment.

To the Bone is a bit of a departure from most of Wilson’s work, a step towards a more pop sound from his usual prog, and in no song is that more evident than “Permanating.” It’s less Peter Gabriel, and more some strange fusion of modern pop, The Beatles, and Electric Light Orchestra. It’s catchy, upbeat, and (while it doesn’t feel out of place right in the middle of To

ART

MONTH

ART

Submissions are due:

Wednesday, September 27th

Limit of three submissions per person, per month

Submissions must have been created with in the last year

OF THE

MONTH

18

OF THE

Email submissions to: artofthemonth@ufvcascade.ca

Submissions are due:

Wednesday, September 27th

Accepted mediums: painting, drawing, print, photography, digital art, sculpture, 3d work

Limit of three submissions per person, per month

Submissions must have been created with in the last year

Include a 50 word bio, 150 word artist statement, and image list with titles, mediums, sizes, and dates of creation Selected works may be displayed at the Cascade lounge

ARTS

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2017

Concert Review //

Podcast Review //

My time in an old man’s garage The weird and beautiful world of the local music scene

JAMES TAIT CONTRIBUTOR

As far as Sundays in Abbotsford go, September 17 was fairly forgettable: lots of rain, and, if you had a particularly keen nose, the aroma of small-town angst hung ever-so-lightly in the air. In an effort to address the existential dread that peers over my every waking moment, I decided to check for anything fun happening locally. To my great relief, I found one shining answer in the dark — an acoustic(ish) act playing at Carport Manor.

For those of you unfamiliar with the local haven of sonic pleasure, Carport Manor is quite literally a boarded up carport in someone’s house. Trust me, it’s quite awesome, except for maybe the couch, but hey, nobody gets everything right. The real front-and-centre appeal of the venue, aesthetics aside, are the varied acts that call the small slice of crust-punk heaven home. At any rate, Carport’s allure took a lacklustre weekend and gave back an especially auspicious evening, as far as Abbotsford Sundays go.

Locally-grown and long-time vegan Holden Milne had the honour of being the first act to grace the stage. Unfortunately, I was unable to catch a good bit of the first song, but the rest of the set seemed to mirror the dreary night in a beautifully hypnotic manner. Milne went on to play a ballad recounting the the death of his dearly beloved pooch, Halo, who died prematurely. I have to be honest, I don’t think a single eye was

dry there after. As all things must come to an end, so too did Milne’s set, ushering into my ears an as of then unheard of voice.

I must admit, I was renewed in my vigorous love of life because of the next set, so hats off to Greg Rekus.

Greg, hailing from Winnipeg, was truly amazing. Often, people equate acoustic guitars and tambourines with horrible memories from some form of Bible camp, or mind-mushingly soft pop. But here, I saw a man scream, shout, stomp, and strum out a ragingly beautiful composition of sound. Among Greg’s many talents, the most mind blowing was his ability to really get the crowd engaged with his music, which was undoubtedly due to his limitless energy on stage, and his undeniably honed talent. My only criticism is that not enough dancing was taking place.

Local punk legends Like Bears took to the stage to finish off the night. With such earworms as “Crickets on the Interstate” and “Don’t Be A Trout,” it was physically impossible not to have fun. If you ever get the chance to see them play live, and believe me there are many, do yourself a huge favour and just go, for the love of God. With great confidence, I can say that Like Bears brought about an indescribable end to an already awesome night of live music.

Sawbones makes medical history fun MARTIN CASTRO ARTS EDITOR

Of the many podcasts that are part of the McElroy brothers’ literal universe of podcasting content, Sawbones has the most appeal to listeners whose interests don’t pertain to some kind of media. A medical history podcast, Sawbones is hosted by Justin McElroy (also the host of My Brother, My Brother and Me, and The Adventure Zone), and physician Sydnee McElroy, his wife.

Unlike MBMBaM or The Adventure Zone, a comedy life-advice podcast, and a comedy Dungeons & Dragons podcast respectively, Sawbones’ format resembles a small, informal lecture by Sydnee McElroy covering a medical topic (interspersed with jokes and questions, often comically ignorant of the subject matter) which varies weekly.

Now, even though I have next to no medical knowledge, Sawbones is enjoyable not just because it’s accessible (oftentimes, Justin’s ignorance takes the place of our own as he elicits more accessible explanations of often-times complicated medical jargon and topics from Sydnee).

One might be excused for thinking that a podcast about medical history sounds like it belongs in the lower-rungs of the podcast catalogue ranked by their entertainment value, but Sawbones gets two things right, both of which propel it away from the pitfalls of potential boredom, and into a niche that is both entertaining and informative.

Firstly, the topics covered on Sawbones are usually interesting themselves, or have an interesting history behind them. One episode focuses on hysteria, for example, which in antiquity used to be considered an actual disease, affecting only women.

In actuality, hysteria served as a cover-all term used to refer to many different physical afflictions and mental health disorders, often associated with pregnancy or menstruation, symptoms of which male doctors at the time chose to discard under the assumption that women were just not as wellequipped to deal with life as men, and were therefore prone to “fits of hysteria.”

Episodes range from the outlandish (for example cannibalism, or the practice of tattooing people for medical reasons), to more serious episodes covering cholera, opioid addiction, or the now-debunked practice of eugenics.

If anything, the variety of topics covered in different episodes usually underlines an argument in favour of modern medical science. Either by exploring an ailment that is currently crippling to certain parts of society, such as opioid addiction, or by lampooning outdated beliefs and practices, such as the consumption of tobacco for its “medical benefits” (“It soothes your T-Zone!”).

Sometimes, however, the unsavoury history of some “medical facts” is discussed.

Eugenics, for example, which purports a theory of selective procreation in pursuit of a quote-unquote “superior gene pool” is discussed throughout an episode which doesn’t mince words in denouncing the practice as having been clearly implemented in bigoted circles of society, most infamously Nazi Germany.

More often than not, however, the exchange between Sydnee and Justin makes the half-hour episodes go by pretty quickly.

If you’re looking to spice up your morning commute, and wouldn’t mind learning a thing or two about medical history, you could do a lot worse than Sawbones.

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Have you recently been offended?

p u d e f ’ n i k c e h Are you r u o y h s a w o t g n i with hav p a o s h t i w t u o s e y own two e ? ? ? y l t n a t s n o almost c With your brain be ing infiltrated by thoughts??? s i h t ut

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