October 31, 2012 by The Omega

VOLUME 22 ISSUE 9

OCTOBER 31, 2012

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CBC gets fully involved in the music game 2

Matt Mays and friends at Blue Grotto 7

Volleyball opening weekend 10

Bekkering and company bring home gold

TRUâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Independent Student Newspaper

October 31, 2012

Feature CBC champions new medium for Canadian music

Canada’s public broadcaster is working to stay relevant in the age of digital music. Brendan Kergin

Ω Arts & Entertainment Editor CBC may be the grandfather of broadcasters in Canada, but it’s not quite ready to yell at kids to get off its damn lawn. In fact, with CBC Music, it seems to be inviting kids over to its lawn to sit around and listen to music.

The website hosts 30,000 artists and 150,000 songs, according to Pratt. What makes CBC Music different than something like MySpace is not the amount, quality or genres of those uploading music, it’s that there is curation. “I think we saw a pretty unique spot for ourselves in the marketplace,” Pratt said. Something we feel CBC has had a core strength at, in a lot of different areas throughout our history, is

genres of music who are choosing all the songs and scheduling them,” Pratt said. “It’s not a random mix of songs; it’s very much a curated and programmed station.” Radio 3

Radio 3 is still a big part of CBC Music. Started in 2000 as a web-only broadcaster, it has been constantly evolving. Now What is it? broadcasting on SiriusXM and podcasting, it had The online music been the preferred service launched in a site where artists February, though uploaded their muits roots go back sic. Now it plays a further. more auditory role In that short pewith shows and riod of time it has hosts. Craig Norris integrated its past is one of those onincarnations into a air personalities, much more varied and has a band of and vibrant online his own. music scene. —Craig Norris, CBC Music “When someSteve Pratt, dithing new comes rector of digital along, people wormusic for CBC and ry about new things, you know? Radio 3, said the goal of the site context and curation.” He added that if you look at ‘Oh, I don’t understand this.’ and service is to connect Canadian fans with the music in where the music universe is go- Like when CBC Music came a unique way – moving away ing, the services that are devel- along and everyone thought it from traditional broadcasting to oping are simply unlimited juke- was swallowing Radio 3, but that wasn’t really the case,” Norris something only the internet can boxes. “One of the biggest challenges said. “There wouldn’t be a CBC deliver. “We have 48 web radio sta- with that is figuring out what Music without Radio 3.” Pratt agreed, describing Radio tions on there, whereas we have to listen to and what music is one [CBC] Radio 2,” Pratt said. good… It’s our job as CBC to 3 as a place for CBC to figure “So we can’t please everybody help Canadians make sense of out how to be relwith one radio station. We have that and find the good stuff and evant as a public broadcaster onRadio 3, which is another really provide some context to it.” Radio 3 is the central stream to line. terrific music service, which is “Radio 3 has designed to focus around Cana- the station with hosts like Craig Norris or Grant Lawrence play- been a huge, dian independent music. “For lots of people that’s won- ing bigger artists in the bigger huge part of backbone indie music the derful, but genres, which of CBC Music. if that’s not includes sing- Radio 3 has had your thing e r - s o n g w r i t - quite a long hiswe haven’t ers and gui- tory now: it’s been able to tar, bass and over 10 years of do anything d r u m - b a s e d reinventing itself else about it. over and over,” he said. bands. There’s been Norris said, as a musician, he There are a whole bunch nearly 50 addi- sees Radio 3 in a different way. of music that’s “I think about my band, and I tional streams important to covering less think ‘Holy sh*t, if Radio 3 had Canadians that popular styles existed when we were starting we haven’t such as ba- 22 years ago, oh my god, things been able to roque, classic would have been so much differshowcase until soul and ab- ent,’” Norris said. we had CBC “We will never take credit for original. Music for it.” “The rest anyone’s success, but there are While CBC of [the online bands that will tell you, like Two Music is relaservices] are Hours Traffic, or even guys like tively new, it’s m u s i c - o n l y Dan Mangan, who no one was had a strong CBC’s Steve Pratt channels, but playing outside of campus radio. start with muthere are ex- Campus radio is great regionalsicians up- —PHOTO COURTESY FLICKR perts in those ly, but we’re like a campus radio loading music. CREATIVE COMMONS

“...we’re like a campus radio station that is on steroids, in a good way.”

station that is on steroids, in a good way.” R3-30 is a weekly countdown show hosted by Norris that includes the most popular songs on CBC Music using internal metrics, some interview clips and a second countdown discussed online the week before. “A chart show is a pretty great concept because you know you’re getting the best, the top 30 songs,”

Norris said. “The music we play on the R3-30, by and large now, it’s the music that is more accessible. It’s a really good gateway to getting into maybe some more adventurous music. “And to that end it has been gangbusters.” Music now

Neither man takes credit for the music that’s being produced right now. Both admit CBC Music wouldn’t have good songs to play were it not for the people creating that auditory art. “It starts with … the advent of highquality home re cording and the fact —Craig Norris, CBC Music that now bands can record pretty kickPratt said. “If you want an entry ass sound and records with amp point coming into a world of mu- simulators and mike simulators sic that you may not be familiar and they can record those in their with, being able to hear a top-30 is rehearsal hall,” Norris said. “That a great way to bring people in the alone is going to keep this sort of flow of creativity. It’s so much easdoor.” Norris agreed, suggesting that ier to work.” “Personally, I feel like we are the concept of a countdown is something that is easier for new in a really nice golden age of Canadian music where there is just listeners to get into. “The format of a countdown is a ton of great stuff coming out very mainstream FM radio. To that from all over Canada in really end it’s really accessible. People wide variety of genres and a lot go ‘Oh, I know what this is,’ even of it even defies being able to put though they may not necessarily it in a traditional genre,” Pratt know any of these artists or songs, said. “It’s just really creative at least it feels like they get it,” work and amazing music.”

“Personally, I feel like we are in a really nice golden age of Canadian music.”

ON THE COVER: Alanna Bekkering fires a ball into the box during her PACWEST player of the year-earning season. The team is now off to the national championships in Charlottetown, P.E.I. trying to improve on their fourth-place finish of last year. — PHOTO BY ADAM WILLIAMS

The Omega · Volume 22, Issue 9

THE

MEGA

www.theomega.ca

October 31, 2012

Volume 22, Issue 9

Published since November 27, 1991

editorialstaff EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Mike Davies

editor@truomega.ca

Editorial/Opinions Humans are too good for cancer to win Letter to the editor:

250-828-5069

@PaperguyDavies BUSINESS MANAGER VACANT NEWS EDITOR

Devan C. Tasa

news@truomega.ca @DCTasa ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR

Brendan Kergin

arts@truomega.ca @roguetowel SPORTS EDITOR

Adam Williams

sports@truomega.ca

@AdamWilliams87 ROVING EDITOR

Samantha Garvey

roving@truomega.ca @Sam_Eliza COPY/WEB EDITOR

Taylor Rocca

copy@truomega.ca @manovrboard

omegacontributors Allison Declercq, Chris Albinati, Courtney Dickson, Jess Buick, Mark Hendricks, John King, Travis Persaud, Sean Brady,

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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF * Mike Davies BUSINESS MGR * VACANT INDUSTRY REP * Mike Youds FACULTY REP * Charles Hays STUDENT REP* Sadie Cox

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Literary and visual submissions are welcomed. All submissions are subject to editing for brevity, taste and legality. The Omega will attempt to publish each letter received, barring time and space constraints. The editor will take care not to change the intention or tone of submissions, but will not publish material deemed to exhibit sexism, racism or homophobia. Letters for publication must include the writer’s name (for publication) and contact details (not for publication). The Omega reserves the right not to publish any letter or submitted material. Opinions expressed in the Letters & Opinion section do not represent those of The Omega, the Cariboo Student Newspaper Society, its Board of Directors or its staff. Opinions belong only to those who have signed them.

Editor’s Note Mike Davies Ω Editor-in-Chief As of 2011, according to the Canadian Cancer Society’s published annual statistics, when you average out the number of people diagnosed and dying of cancer in this country it equals 20 diagnoses and eight deaths — per hour—and this number is only expected to increase. This is unacceptable. We can stop this. I refuse to accept that cancer is how nature thins the herd of an overpopulated planet. I refuse to accept that cancer is caused by smoking, or cellphones, or hydro “smart meters,” or genetically modified foods or any of the other plethora of things that people blame for its formation in a body.

All material in this publication is copyright The Omega and may not be reproduced without the expressed consent of the publisher. All unsolicited submissions become copyright Omega 2012.

(Correspondence not intended for publication should be labelled as such.)

It’s not that I don’t support the fight against breast cancer, ovarian cancer, lung cancer, melanoma or any of the other terrible and terminal (or non-terminal) forms of the disease, but this is the one I can support with my face as well as my heart (and wallet). So when you don’t recognize me for the first week of November because you’ve never seen me without facial hair -- or at least have forgotten what I looked like for the first week of November last year -- maybe think about pitching in so we can keep bringing these numbers down. While it’s true that not every problem in the world can be solved by throwing money at it, it’s also true that research is expensive and that this is a cause worthy of the cost. Contact me at the email address below if you need a guide to supporting these battles, but I’m sure you can find your own way and I will see you there. I’ll direct you right to the place where you can contribute to my personal facial-hair-growth representation of the cause — but wherever or whatever your cancer fight is, I’d be happy to join you in arms and together we can conquer cancer. editor@truomega.ca

Paying it forward by junkpunching cancer where it hurts

Cariboo Student Newspaper Society (Publisher of The Omega) TRU Campus House #4 Box 3010, Kamloops, B.C. V2C 0C8 Phone: 250-372-1272 E-mail: editor@truomega.ca Ad Enquiries: managerofomega@gmail.com

I will accept that we don’t fully know why cancer happens and that we can figure it out. I know it takes good people from the Earth before they’re done and that we need to find out why. I believe if we can land a car equipped with our best scientific research methods and resources on a planet 36 million miles away (at the closest points in our respective orbits) and we can figure out how to lift a man 24 miles into the air and drop him safely back to the surface of the planet and we can create a pill that keeps a man’s penis erect for days, we can figure out why cancer continues to kill us. According to a report released in January by Statistics Canada, the measure of cancer prevalence — which is used to study the burden of a disease in a population — shows that new cancer diagnoses are increasing, but so are the survival rates. So while cancer isn’t going away — and in fact is taking hold in more people than ever — as a society we’re getting better at fighting back. I fully support this fight. I shave my face once a year in recognition and support of the fight against prostate cancer and other men’s health issues through a movement called Movember.

TRUe Thoughts Taylor Rocca Ω Copy/Web Editor One in four Canadians will die from cancer, while one in seven men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime — and every 15.6 minutes, a man dies from prostate cancer, according to the Movember Health Checklist (ca.movember.com/ mens-health/). I’ve had the unfortunate experience of losing my grandmother to a seven-year battle with ovarian cancer. Recently my father fought off prostate cancer. Thankfully he has since been given a clean bill of health. Because of my close family ties to the war on cancers below the waist, Movember and the fight to raise awareness about prostate cancer and men’s health is one cause I hold close to my heart. This will be my fourth year engaging in the Movember campaign. So what exactly is Movember? Movember is an awareness

campaign aimed at educating people on destructive illness and disease, specifically prostate cancer and men’s mental health. Another clear initiative for the movement is to raise funds to help advance research in these areas of men’s health. So why the focus on prostate cancer and men’s mental health? According to the Movember Health Checklist, there will be 26,500 new diagnoses of prostate cancer in Canada during 2012. Think that number is significant? How about this — 4,000 of those diagnosed in 2012 will eventually succumb to their cancer. The Interior Savings Centre (ISC) here in Kamloops has a seating capacity of approximately 5,500 people. The Kamloops Blazers, the primary tenant of the rink, have an average attendance of 4,513 so far through their thus far undefeated 2012 regular season. The 4,000 men who will eventually perish at the hand of a 2012 prostate cancer diagnosis nearly fills the ISC and almost matches the average attendance for a Kamloops Blazers home game. Scary, or what? If those numbers don’t frighten you enough, how about the alarming statistic that one in four cancer patients also experience clinical depression? Here is where the mental health aspect of the Movember campaign comes in. At that rate, 6,625 of the 26,500 men diagnosed in 2012 could not only be faced with prostate cancer, but could also be tasked with fighting off clinical depression along the way.

I have approached this cause with gusto in each and every year since my father was first diagnosed in 2009. While I obviously have a close tie to the cause, I truly believe that everyone is tied to this cause. Had there not been others out there working to raise awareness about this men’s health initiative, my father might not have been lucky enough to get an early diagnosis and successfully defeat his prostate cancer. I might not be lucky enough to be telling you all about how I can still have a beer with my dad, or how him and I can talk about why the Calgary Flames needed to fire their coaching staff, or how the Calgary Stampeders won’t win a Grey Cup with Kevin Glenn calling the shots under centre. I’m thankful that someone else out there had the foresight to do this work and help my dad win his war. That sense of camaraderie is something that most people appreciate in their lives. These terrible diseases tear away this camaraderie far too often. We need to be proactive in fighting back — in a way I may not have been prior to my dad’s diagnosis. I try to be proactive on behalf of others in order to pay forward the hard work that contributed to my dad’s defeat of his cancer. Whether you’re being proactive or fighting back because of some impact in your life, I hope you join me. copy@truomega.ca

The Lost Message One day a young girl made one mistake that sent her life spiralling out of control. As she lost control in her life she turned to drugs and alcohol to ease the pain. In the end she decided to end her life. Today we are going to talk about Amanda Todd. Not the media the sensation but the girl behind the story, taken from her own words. The only way to stop a repeat of this tragedy is to understand what actually happened in this girl’s life. Amanda went looking for attention in an Internet chat room, just like many people do. She suffering from low self-esteem and wanted to feel better about herself. However, what she found was a cold-hearted sexual predator. He built up her confidence to the point she was willing to do whatever he wanted. In a moment of weakness she made a mistake and exposed herself on web cam. She thought she was in an anonymous situation and no one would ever find out. A year later the predator was back to exploit Amanda again. As she refused to show him more he posted a picture of her everywhere including Facebook. One simple moment in her life just changed everything. The media has done an incredible job of dehumanizing Amanda. Through this process Amanda is seen less and less as a person and more of a fictional character. The more we hear this story the more we become desensitized to it. By turning this story into an anti-bullying campaign, they have been able to win over public opinion and keep this story constantly in the news. All the interviews from her closest “friends” are an example of how her story has been manipulated. If you watch her video they would see she had no real friends, and this was one of the many causes of her depression. All the work by the media has been to keep the story alive and to sell their product. The message Amanda died to get out has been lost. The online attacks have continued even after her death. The comments you can read online about Amanda are disturbing. Most of these individuals are making the exact same mistake Amanda made; they assume that online gives them anonymity. These comments seem to be more of a contest to see who can post the worst possible attack. These individuals have to learn the simple lesson Amanda learned: once it’s online you can’t take it back. Clearly, in order to stop a repeat of this tragedy, we have to understand what actually took place. A troubled young girl trying to escape her emotional abyss lost everything. She called out for help for three years to no avail. In a final attempt to take back control of her life she wrote her story on cue cards and made another webcam video. Amanda committed suicide shortly after posting her story online. To bring an end to her pain she went back to where it all started, on her webcam. Imprisoned by loneliness and silenced by her peers, Amanda hopes the world will understand her final message. Wayne Mernickle, f irst year social work, TRU

October 31, 2012

News

Citizens rally against pipelines, tankers MLA Terry Lake’s office sees large gathering as people extend the Oct. 22 protest at the legislature in Victoria to smaller communities

Mason Buettner Ω Contributor

Approximately 150 people rallied outside the office of Terry Lake, Kamloops-North Thompson MLA, to oppose the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline and tanker project on Oct. 24. The rally was a part of Defend Our Coast’s day of action, where 75 communities and over 7,000 people rallied at MLA offices across the province, according to Calvin deGroot, Defend Our Coast outreach coordinator and Capilano University student. Defend Our Coast is a coalition of different environmental and social justice groups from across British Columbia. “The purpose of the decentralized actions all over B.C. was to harness the momentum from the rally in Victoria,” deGroot said. “We kept Defend Our Coast in the media for four days. We wanted to prolong the movement.” Oct. 22 saw 4,000 people gathered on the lawn of the B.C. Legislature for the Defend Our Coast day of action that led to Wednesday’s province-wide rallies. In total approximately 11,000 people attended the two separate days of action against the pipeline project according to deGroot. Maude Barlow, author, activist and chairperson of the Council of Canadians, made a special appearance and spoke to the crowd at the Kamloops rally. Now 65 years old, Barlow was still able to ignite the crowd. “The answer for all of us is to stay strong, to defend our coasts, say no to the pipelines, no to

Devan C. Tasa Ω News Editor

Approximately 150 people gather outside Kamloops-North Thompson MLA Terry Lake’s office in protest of the proposed Northern Gateway Pipeline project Oct. 24.

—PHOTO BY MASON BUETTNER

Anne Grubbe, Kamloops rally organizer, discussed the next step for those in opposition to the pipelines and tankers. “The government is thinking that these people will just give up after a while, but I don’t think they will,” she said. “There will be more opposition.” “It’s definitely not over yet, it’s really just the beginning,” deGroot said. “We are getting louder and the more our politicians refuse to listen to us, the louder Defend Our Coast will get.”

tankers and to say to these energy companies when they come to our territories: you will not pass,” she said. A number of TRU students attended the rally. Drew Dochstader, an adventure guide diploma student, took the microphone and shared his support of Defend Our Coast with the crowd. According to Dochstader, the adventure tourism students are very knowledgeable on the subject and concerned for the future. “We have an extremely strong

tourism industry and for that to be destroyed would be a huge blow to the British Columbia economy,” Dochstader said. “It would even jeopardize the program at our school. Our future is at stake.” Dochstader would like to see a greater response from TRU students. “If we put our numbers together it could really be a deciding outcome for us to really make a difference,” Dochstader said. “People underestimate the power of the human voice.”

ers in order to break down barriers between students and professionals. “This workshop has success stories,” said Susan Forseille, Student Employment Coordinator at TRU. “There was a student a couple of years ago who is now in the process of applying for a job with one of the mentors she met at this event.” Alexander Osipov, a second-year bachelor of business administration student, was invited to Networking 411 by friends and decided to check it out. “The event was helpful, but next time there needs to be more food,” he said. Michelle Butterfield used networking to land a position as an editor at the Calgary Herald and is now associate news editor for The Huffington Post. “Networking is the future,” she said in early October. “To be able to network effectively, you have to take risks.” Butterfield said she is an avid social media user and makes effort to call contacts and arrange meetings. Program-specific networking workshops will be the next event hosted by Career Mentoring and the TRU Alumni Association. Students can expect those in the spring. For more information visit tru.ca/ alumni/mentoring.html.

Students gain networking skills at the fourth annual Networking 411 event put on by TRU Career Mentoring and the TRU Alumni Association Oct 28.

Aspiring professionals take advantage of networking opportunity Courtney Dickson

Ω Incoming Roving Editor Career Mentoring and the TRU Alumni Association held their fourth annual speed-dating style networking event, Tuesday, Oct. 28, that gave students first-hand insight and advice from industry professionals. “Every person who has made something of themselves owes it to his or her interactions,” said Michael Cohen, one of the professional representatives at the event and past TRU graduate. Cohen opened Networking 411 with a speech that encouraged students to value networking and take advantage of the opportunity. There were 150 students who attended and had access to 46 professionals from various disciplines including business, arts, science, tourism, information technology, journalism, architecture and engineering. Throughout the 90-minute event, students were given 10-minute sessions to speak with industry professionals about how to find a job, the transition from school to the workforce and labour market changes. Organizers at the event gave direction about which professionals to speak to as well as conversation start-

Vote final step for deal with union, university

—PHOTO BY HUGO YUEN

The university and the suppor t workers represented by Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 4879 are close to signing a new contract. The four-year contract is backdated to 2010 and will last until April 1, 2014, but it has to be approved by a vote of the union’s membership before it becomes off icial. “We’re extremely glad to come to a fair and sustainable agreement,” said Christopher Seguin, TRU’s VP advancement. No representative from CUPE 4879 was available for comment before press deadline. In the f irst two years, union members won’t get any increases in wages. This follows the provincial gover nment’s net zero mandate in those years, in which no gover nment workers were supposed to get wage increases. For the f inal two years there will be a two per cent increase each year. The union hasn’t given any concessions to the university. According to a press release from the provincial gover nment, it has given no extra money to fund increases in wages. “It’s a mixture of cost-savings and revenue generation,” Seguin said, when asked where the extra money would come from. A press release from CUPE 4879 said a contract wasn’t signed until now because of the provincial gover nment’s inference. The last contract ended in 2010. “The smallest items that included any monetar y element had to be sent to the gover nment for approval,” said Lois Rugg, CUPE 4879’s president, in the release, “and then we would have to sit and wait and wait and wait for a reply from them.” “I wouldn’t identify it as inference,” Seguin said. “We’re a public institution with a provincial mandate that we have to work within.” The tentative contract is similar to ones proposed at other universities. CUPE Local 116 at the University of B.C. and CUPE Local 3799 at the University of Nor ther n B.C. are both seeing no increases to their wages in the f irst two years followed by a increase of two per cent each year in the last two years. CUPE 4879 said in its release it would be preparing to negotiate the next contract. “We will be back in bargaining as early as next year for the next contract and we will be looking for whoever is in power to respect our collective bargaining process,” Rugg said. The contract ends after the May 2013 provincial election.

The Omega · Volume 22, Issue 9

News United Way’s annual campaign hits TRU Devan C. Tasa Ω News Editor

The local United Way fundraising campaign at TRU has seen professors get pies to the face – but it’s not over yet. From Oct. 20 to Nov. 2, students will be able to support the Thompson Nicola Cariboo United Way’s campaign by buying a cup of soup at the Culinary Arts cafeteria and going to the basketball game against the University of Northern B.C. Timberwolves Nov. 2. The campaign was launched Oct. 22. On Oct. 24, students could, for a fee, pay to shove a cream pie in the face of TRU professors and administration. On Oct. 25, students could talk to 13 local charities at a non-profit information fair in Old Main. “The main purpose of the United Way, first off, is to fundraise for local non-profits,” said United Way resource development staffer Geralyn Beaton. The United Way generally doesn’t provide front-line services. Instead, it distributes grants to organizations like the Kamloops Brain Injury Association and the Elizabeth Fry Society, which provides housing and legal support. Last year, the United Way’s campaign at the university raised $57,000 from students, faculty

and staff. Most of that came for voluntary payroll deductions, Beaton said. “All of the money that is raised during the campaign, which was almost $2 million (for the Kamloops Area) last year, all that money stays in the community,” she said. This year, the goal is $60,000. Beaton said she was pleased how the campaign has been doing so far. While students might not have a lot of money to donate, there are other ways to help the United Way. “I think that, obviously, they may not be in the position right now to donate, but at the same time there’s a lot of ways to get involved,” she said. “Participation, no matter how that actually looks, is the thing we are pushing the most and we’d love for people to get involved whether it is through donating, through volunteering, or just through supporting the organizations that are in the community.” One way to do just that can be found right on campus. “We actually have a youth club on campus that really provides volunteer and leadership opportunities for students to get involved with.” Those interested in donating or getting more involved can go to http://www.unitedwaytnc.ca or contact the youth club at youth@ unitedwaytnc.ca.

International Intonation

Computerized ski goggles, a really old language, and bomb sniffing mice Mark Hendricks Ω Contributor

New ski goggles will change the way you look at a mountain

Deciphering the oldest mystery in writing Crowd sourcing could be at the heart of understanding the oldest untranslated writing system in the world. The written language, known as proto-elamite, is 5,000 years old

system, which uses 76 separate photographic lights to record the tablets. The result from this process is an extremely clear digital image of the tablet that can be rotated and viewed from every angle. The images will be made publically available online with the intent of using the widespread academic audience to help crack this 5,000 year old code.

The new Air wave ski goggles by Oakley give you instant infor mation of the mountain and your r un via a built-in heads-up display (HUD). The Air wave goggles Where you can find out use what Oakley is callmore: www.bbc.co.uk ing “prism” technology to give you a wide range of Genetically modified infor mation that will show bomb detectors up in the bottom left-hand cor ner on a small screen. Laboratory mice are being The screen will look as genetically modified to be large as looking at a 14able to search out TNT-based inch screen at f ive feet. explosives. A built in wrist conScientists in New York troller will allow you to City have modified mice to manipulate the infor mahave a sense of smell that is tion you’re receiving. 500 times more susceptible to The screen will show you DNT, a closely-related chemia map of the mountain cal to TNT. The mice will along with the r uns on then have a microchip imit and the location of all planted under their skin that your friends cur rently on will wirelessly report back to the mountain. — IMAGE COURTESY CHRISTIAN FISCHER a computer. The goggles will also WIKIMEDIA COMMONS The idea of having mice contain infor mation on searching out explosives to your speed, both maxisave human lives is not new. mum and time for r uns, air time and height for jumps and belonged to a Middle Eastern A Belgian company has already and comparisons on all these society based in southwest Iran. trained giant African pouched Proto-elamite is believed to have rats to search out landmines. metrics to your previous r uns. The advantage these new mice The goggles also links to your been inspired by the Mesopotasmar tphone so you can manage mian language but the symbols bring is an inherent super-sensitivity to DNT, thanks to genetic your music and texts via the have all been changed. The key to unlocking this mys- modification. Combined with the wrist controller. The goggles go on sale Oct. tery is the new way in that these ease of breeding mice this could stone tablets, which the writing result in large quantities of easily 31. is on, are being photographed. trainable, tiny, bomb detectors. For a full breakdown go to: These tablets are being placed Where you can find out more: inside a device called the ref lecnews.cnet.com tance transformation imaging www.huffingtonpost.com

The BCLIP is an educational six-month opportunity for Canadian university graduates to work in British Columbia’s parliamentary system. Your academic training will be enhanced by exposure to public policy-making and the legislative process by working in the executive and legislative branches of the provincial government at the Parliament Buildings in Victoria.

Russell Currie, TRU’s dean of business and economics, prepares to shove more cream pies in Dennis Olson, associate dean of faculty, students and research, and Tony Bell, accounting professor.

B.C. residents are eligible to apply if they have received their first Bachelor’s Degree from a Canadian university within two years of the start date of the 2014 program.

—PHOTO BY SAMANTHA GARVEY

Puzzle of the Week #8 – The New Job Apply online at

Degree proudly in hand, you have just landed a job. There are two ways you can get paid. Plan A is that you start at $40,000 per year with raises of $4,000 per year every year. Plan B is that you start at $40,000 per year with raises of $2,000 per year every six months. Does it matter which plan you select? If so, which is the better deal for you? This contest is sponsored by the Mathematics and Statistics department. The full-time student with the best score at the end of the year will win a prize. Please submit your solution (not just the answer but also why) by noon next Wednesday to Gene Wirchenko <genew@ocis.net>. Submissions by others are also welcome. The solution will be posted the Wednesday after that in the Math Centre (HL210A). Come visit: we are friendly.

www.leg.bc.ca/bclip Deadline

2014 PROGRAM DIRECTOR Karen L. Aitken Legislative Assembly of B.C. BCLIP@leg.bc.ca ACADEMIC DIRECTOR Dr. Patrick J. Smith Simon Fraser University psmith@sfu.ca

January 31, 2013 Location: Parliament Buildings, Victoria, B.C. Term: January 6 to June 27, 2014 Remuneration: $21,997 for six months

October 31, 2012

Life & Community Revelling in a repeat

WolfPack women’s soccer bring home their second PACWEST title in as many years

Adam Williams Ω Sports Editor

A year ago Alanna Bekkering was celebrating being named PACWEST playoff MVP and scoring an overtime goal that secured a provincial championship for the WolfPack women’s soccer team — this year she celebrates the same accolades. Bekkering was the lone goal scorer in her team’s 1-0 victory versus the University of British Columbia Okanagan Heat Oct. 27 in the PACWEST championship final in Squamish, B.C. “I thought for sure that we were going to score another one, I didn’t think that it was going to end 1-0,” Bekkering said. “It’s really nice, it’s always an honour to get those goals and keep the team motivated with that one goal. We did come out very hard in the first half and we were playing very well, but I know that after we were up 1-0 our motivation just got stronger and we pushed even harder to keep that lead.” The WolfPack took an unorthodox route to the final, initially falling behind 2-0 to the Langara College Falcons in Oct. 26’s semi-final match. The ‘Pack battled back in the second half to secure a 5-2 victory and a berth in the final. “We totally dominated the game actually, it’s the best we’ve actually played all year as far as possession goes but we just weren’t finishing,” said head coach Tom McManus. “I walked into the dressing room [at halftime] and stayed calm and

said, ‘We’re not going to lose so don’t worry about it, continue to do what you’re doing and we’ll come through.’ So we tied the game up 2-2 and in overtime we scored the three goals to make it 5-2.” Bekkering wrapped up another outstanding PACWEST season with the close of championship weekend, one in which she was awarded the PACWEST Player of the Year title, her second playoff MVP title, the top striker title, her second-consecutive first-team all-star honours and managed to score the game-winning goal in the championship final for the second year in a row. “She had a phenomenal weekend, she’s just a joy to behold and a true team player,” McManus said. “I asked her if she would do runs to pull the defenders away and she constantly did it and created space for her teammates who were scoring the goals. It was great to see such maturity in a player.” Bekkering, who has one year of eligibility left with the team, will return next year and be named one of the team captains according to McManus. Bekkering has always prided herself on her leadership abilities and spoke at length of how humbling it has been to receive so many honours. For some, it would be hard to find continued motivation to play after winning almost every personal award available, but not for Bekkering. “[Blair MacKay and I have]

Your 2012 PACWEST Champions, the TRU WolfPack.

known each other since kindergarten and played soccer together since we were 10,” Bekkering said. “Knowing that it’s her last year, I kind of want to do it for her and go out with a bang for her. Not only that but I just know that this team has such a strong potential to win the national title.” The WolfPack will now move on to the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association championships in Charlottetown, P.E.I. Nov. 7 to 10. This will be the ‘Pack’s second-consecutive appearance at nationals and they will be looking to improve on

—PHOTO COURTESY TRU ATHLETICS

their fourth place finish from 2011. “The big thing I said to the girls the other day,” McManus said, “I said, ‘You remember what it was like when we won provincials last year?’ And everyone said, ‘Yeah, we were playing so great,’ and I said, ‘Now what happened when we got to nationals and we went to Quebec City?’ And it was kind of silent and I said, ‘Exactly’. I said, ‘You went in there, happy you were in Quebec City, but you forgot the reason you were there was to win the games and this year we’re going there to win the games.’”

Bekkering echoed McManus’s thoughts on the 2011 nationals and said her team focused too much on the experience - sightseeing, shopping - and not the soccer games ahead of them. This year the focus is on placing in the top three at the very least, but more optimistically coming home with a gold medal around their necks. “I’m just so excited. I want everyone to see and know that TRU women’s soccer is a tough team to beat and to watch out for us because this is the strongest team I’ve ever played with.”

Samantha Garvey

dollars per pound of food). For Hendricks, the feeling of going hungry is a recent memory. “I know what it’s like as a student to go hungry and wait till pay day, or to not have a pay day coming,” Hendricks said. “There’s been times when I had five packs of Mr. Noodles and six days till pay day.” For several years, the Kappa Sigma team always had the most members participate on Halloween night and usually came back with largest donation from trick-or-treating. After 2009, the fraternity was asked if it would take on the leadership role. Hendricks explained that community service is an integral part of the group and they happily accepted. “It’s a nice opportunity to give back to community that has given us so much,” Hendricks said. “And to show we’re not what you see in the movies.” Along with fellowship, leadership and scholarship, service is one of the four pillars of Kappa Sigma, which began at TRU in 2004 and became official in 2006. It is part of the larger network of 282 chapters and 250,000 past and present members. Hendricks became a brother in 2010 and has felt the camaraderie of the group ever since. “I’ve never had a day that I didn’t eat (because) the boys wouldn’t let that happen,” he said, adding his fraternitybrother roommates would take him directly to the grocery store. “They’d say, ‘Dude, why didn’t you ask?’” Nine teams have already registered but organizers will be accepting people all the way to the date. Volunteers are asked to meet at the Thompson Hotel downtown at 4 p.m. and will be collecting until 9 p.m. “It’s a lot of fun,” Hendricks said. “It’s fulfilling.” For more information or to register to volunteer, visit trickoreat.ca.

That’s what you said Trick-or-treat for a cause For this week’s issue, we patrolled the grounds looking for your answers to this question:

What are you dressing up as for Halloween?

Elena Tsvetkova

Asif Haque

Aaren Ritchie-Bonar

“I went to the ISAP event. I went as Jessica Rabbit.”

“I’m going to put my hair straight up and wear the mask of a skeleton and I have special shoes with Homer Simpson’s face on them.”

I wanted to go as a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle but I ran out of time. Then I thought about buying a onepiece and a banana hat and going as Banana in Pajamas but couldn’t find the banana hat. So I’m going to wear a blue towel with my face on it and go as Towelie.

Third year tourism

Post baccaleurate accounting

Costume contest!

Second year natural resource science

Send us your photos from Halloween, and the best costume(s) will receive a prize. Get your photos in by 5 p.m. on Friday Oct. 26 and look in next week’s edition for the winning entry to claim your prize! submit to editor@truomega.ca

Ω Roving Editor

Most students at TRU may never know what it is like to go hungry. For some, they go day to day trying to maintain the busy life of a student without the resources for the most basic necessity of life. This year the Kappa Sigma fraternity at TRU will once again host the Trickor-Eat fundraiser on Halloween, when volunteers go door-to-door and ask for non-perishable food item donations. According to Food Banks Canada, 867,948 Canadians relied on food banks in 2011. In Kamloops, 6,810 residents used the local food bank including 804 children, according to the Kamloops Food Bank website. TRU has its own food bank through the students union as well as its own population of people in need. “For a specific period of time in early January we were essentially scrambling to purchase food,” TRUSU’s executive director Nathan Lane told The Omega last February, indicating students had been turned away. According to him, the students union had been expecting a contribution from the campaign. But there was a mix-up and the TRUSU Food Bank didn’t receive its expected donation. “I’m making sure … we’re definitely giving to the TRUSU Food Bank (this year),” said Kevin Hendricks, Kappa Sigma’s grand master and second-year bachelor of business administration student. He added he wasn’t sure what the percentage would be. Last year the event raised $22,000 in donations, up from $16,000 in 2010 when Kappa Sigma first hosted the drive. The goal this year is $30,000 in combined online donations and door-to-door contributions (which are counted as two

The Omega · Volume 22, Issue 9

Life & Community Beats, bananas and the bubbly

Dada Life brings their “anthems for fun” to Cactus Jack’s Saloon

John King

Ω Contributor

Kassandra Mitchell Ω Contributor

Swedish electro-house duo Dada Life performed at Cactus Jacks Monday, Oct. 22, showing fans in Kamloops what their famous energy is all about. Hailing from Los Angeles, opening act 12th Planet did a great job of priming the crowd with electric dance music (EDM). Dada Life members Olle Corneer and Stefan Engbliom then burst on stage and manned the turntables for what would be a night of high-energy fun. For those unfamiliar, Dada Life has amassed a markedly larger fan base since their debut in 2006. These fans have become welcomed citizens of “Dada Land,” where their electronic, bass-ramped beats are anthems for fun. As the kings of this fantasy empire, Dada Life has also created a list of “Dada Rules” which prescribe certain behaviour for admirers and show attendees. Monday’s performance proves the duo isn’t just talk – they practice what they preach. Rule #35 – Never bring your brain into the club. Inf latable bananas and champagne bottles swirled across the dance f loor, while several fans dressed as bananas fist-pumped their way to the front. Fans even brought their own bananas, hurling the fruit on stage. To an outsider unfamiliar with the pair’s trademark gimmickry, this all appears moronic. That’s just the point – the club isn’t for your brain and it certainly

The accidental chaplain

David Nasz plays bass alongside Lewis Jay on guitar for their band FAMINE at the Little Big House show on Oct. 10.

—PHOTO BY SAMANTHA GARVEY

isn’t for thinking. Both members of the duo even picked up some of the fruit, peeling them back for a mid-performance snack. Rule #12 – If you don’t want to get wet, you don’t want to have fun – and get wet show-goers did. The pair popped at least three bottles of champagne and drenched half the dance f loor in the bursting bubbly. Rule #9 – If you’re stuck, there’s only one solution: go harder. From beginning to end, Dada Life filled Cactus Jacks with their characteristic, energy-driven sound, playing fan favorites like “Kick Out The Epic,” “Rolling Stones T-Shirt” and fellow DJs Bingo

Players’ “Rattle” (arguably one of the most popular EDM tracks of 2012). The harder it was, the louder it sounded and the faster it got fans moving, the more Dada Life let it play. The show gave fans exactly what they wanted. Cactus Jacks became Dada Land, and the rules of Dada were strongly enforced. Overall attendance was small, but the fans that were present made up for the lack of numbers with their energy and enthusiasm. If potassium-infused, bottlepoppin’ fun is something you’re into, make sure not to miss the duo next time they slide through Kamloops.

These days, TRU chaplain George Feenstra’s life is peaceful. Sitting in the chaplaincy office at TRU, this weathered minister looks kind of like a sage far removed from his days as a rebellious church outcast. He’s more an intellectual thinker now, who ponders the role of the church in social organization through the first half of the 20th century. He also thinks about the life of Jesus Christ, who he says fought against the power structures of the day to better the lives of common people. “If the Christian faith has anything to offer, it’s the critical nature of Jesus who fought against the religious institutions and political structures,” said George Feenstra, a United Church minister. “As a minister, I am just another capitalist wage earner. The church itself has become the benefactors of a system it should be criticizing.” Feenstra and his small United Church congregation in the Mount Pleasant neighbourhood near Vancouver’s Commercial Drive, fed porridge in the mornings and soup in the evenings to sex trade workers after police pushed them off downtown eastside streets in preparation for of the 2010 Winter Olympics. “We had guests and you treat your guests well,” Feenstra said as he shifts in his chair at the small Interfaith Chaplaincy office carved out of the wall off a hallway in Old Main on TRU campus. The influx of street people from depressed areas of East Hastings and Main Street neighbourhoods in the late 2000s didn’t sit well with a local community watch group, who Feenstra said called police and the United Church to complain.

“The United Church gave the police permission to drive the street people away from the church,” Feenstra said. “It was a gross act of social injustice.” The 62-year-old TRU chaplain was a street person himself at one time. He dropped out of high school and lived a transient lifestyle until he decided to enter the United Church as a minister. After obtaining a bachelor’s degree, he attended the Vancouver School of Theology and obtained a master of divinity. “It takes courage to be who you are,” Feenstra said, reflecting on his life journey, adding he finds comfort in the teachings of Buddha and Socrates. “I admire them because they were unique.” Uniqueness is a longstanding issue for Feenstra who suffered exile when he was asked to take a leave of absence from the United Church ministry after police arrested him during a peaceful protest in Vancouver, an event that was followed by the Mount Pleasant debacle. “The people were unhappy Gordon Campbell was playing up the sponsors of a daycare that was privatized,” Feenstra explained. The community members gathered at the daycare where Campbell was set to give a photo-op. Feenstra decided to try and go into the daycare. When he was denied entry the first time, he was arrested the second time and charged with assaulting a police officer, resisting arrest, and inciting a riot. “When the crowd shouted for the police to let me go, they charged me with unlawful assembly and uttering profanities,” Feenstra said. He denies he swore and said the gathering was peaceful. Feel free to visit him in his office just off the main intersection of Old Main.

Matt Mays brings East Coast rock west

Matt Mays at the Blue Grotto with Gloryhound and the Meds Brendan Kergin

may have been having more fun than anyone else in the Grotto. His comfort on stage was evident when he took to the mike as well. “We got a triple threat of According to Mays, good jeans East Coast rock,” Evan Meisner can be found in Great Slave shouted at the beginning of GloLake, a good show requires plenryhound’s set, the first band of ty of smoke, but not too much. the evening. Not only is he comfortable in Truth be told, on Oct. 22 the front of a crowd, he seemed fine Blue Grotto was host to one of being part of it as well, pulling the biggest gatherings of Marione lucky fan on timers that Kamstage for the last loops has had in song before the ensome time. core and then leavGloryhound, of ing through the Halifax, opened crowd. the evening, while Starting off with C h a r l o t t e t o w n ’s the lead track off The Meds played —Evan Meisner Coyote, “Indio,” the middle set. the first big song Juno nominee rock star and Cole Harbour, N.S. resi- name, virtually everything was of the night was “Take It On dent Matt Mays wrapped things original, from new work off his Faith,” Coyote’s first single. 2012 release, Coyote, to his first While mostly off the new album, up. Gloryhound’s first trip to Ka- single, “City of Lakes,” from he selected a few of his older tracks to fill out the 20-song set. mloops was a raucous success 2002. “Terminal Romance,” “On the Mays is a man comfortable on and while they weren’t so counHood” and “Tall Trees” all got try/folksy as the later groups, stage. While there were six men on time in the spot light. they played aggressive rock, By the end, the crowd was similar to mainstream fare but stage, he had all the attention chanting for 2005 hit “Cocaine but not in an arrogant way. with a serious edge. His enjoyment of the stage and Cowgirl.” The Meds followed up quickly. They weren’t let down either, While they lacked some onstage songs was evident. Shaggy-haired, face painted with the track taking the place energy, their style involved a lot more participatory action, with with red and white streaks down as part of the big, rousing end his cheeks and without socks, he encore. sing-a-longs and clapping.

Ω Arts & Entertainment Editor

A rocky start at first, they warmed up well and the crowd warmed to them. The real reason most people were there was the headliner. Matt Mays has been a solo artist for 10 years. Before that he was a part of East Coast folk-rock act The Guthries, but he didn’t touch that material. With five studio albums to his

“We got a triple threat of East Coast Rock.”

Matt Mays (pictured) brings out the new stuff from Coyote, as well as the olf favourites like Cocaine Cowgirl to gear up the crowd at the Blue Grotto Oct. 22.

—PHOTO BY KARLA KARCIOGLU

October 31, 2012

Arts & Entertainment Album Review: Queen of Vancouver Island Jess Oja Andrews Ω Contributor

Carolyn Mark’s newest album, The Queen of Vancouver Island, is an adventure in genres, with 12 tracks ranging from country/ folk to jazzy/burlesque. There is also a healthy dose of humour and some songs sound as if they came straight from a Quentin Tarantino film. I started out pretty skeptical, considering I’m not a big fan of the country twang but the more I listened, the more it grew on me. I really liked the first track, “Poor Farmers,” with the distant echoing vocals and the acoustic guitar. The title track, “The Queen of Vancouver Island,” wasn’t my favourite, but it had joyful charm to it and had a plethora of talented musicians and support vocals. In fact, I counted 30 different people that contributed to the album. “Flaming Star,” an Elvis cover, is a lot of fun and well done. It reminded me of Johnny Cash, but be warned, it will definitely get stuck in your head. “Nobody(‘s Perfect)” is probably my favorite track, an incredibly cleverly written, darkly humorous and easy track to listen to.

“Old Whores” is emotional and poignant and has a lovely piano solo. Bet you weren’t expecting that. “You’re not a Whore (If No One’s Paying)” has a burlesque feel; you could picture Mark singing in a smoky club with a chorus line kicking high behind her. I could have lived without the gurgling though (insert joke

here)… Carolyn Mark is clearly an intelligent and thoughtful writer unafraid of sarcastic wit and self-deprecating humour. If you’re looking for tunes that are formulaic and predictable don’t buy this album, but if you’re adventurous, quirky and appreciate unbridled creative expression then take a chance.

Concert Listings: November Marianas Trench w/Down With Webster – Nov. 3 Interior Savings Centre, doors @ 7 p.m., $46.75 to $54.75 Canada has had a string of successful pop-punk bands and Marianas Trench are one of the top, with a string of hits during their ten year career. An upbeat, accessible sound which cracked the charts with songs like “Shake Tramp” and “Celebrity Status.” Openers Down With Webster promise a high energy set as well with their brand of pop-rap-rock. Lost in The Woods, Simon King, Mike Wolfe – Nov. 9

—IMAGE COURTESY MINT RECORDS

Bailey’s Pub, 8 p.m., $10 advance or $15 at the door A night of live comedy with a twist of music. Lost in the Woods, folksy rockers from right here in Kamloops, will be playing a set with a pair of comedians. While they will be providing songs reminiscent of the Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack, Simon King and Mike Wolfe will be offering up jokes. The edgy King has had some success lately, including an appearance on CTV’s Comedy Now and a contract with Uproar Entertainment, a comedy talent label.

Kamloops Symphony Orchestra does Elton John – Nov. 16 & 17 Sagebrush Theater, doors @ 7 p.m., $37 For fans of one of the greatest pop acts of all time, the Kamloops Symphony Orchestra will be doing a pair of nights in honour of Elton John. Classic pop and classical will probably not clash, but meet up in a perfectly civilized manner and spend the night drifting through a 50-year career. The Kamloops Symphony Orchestra Choir will be providing vocals for hits from “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” to “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting.” Xzibit – Nov. 28 Cactus Jacks, 10 p.m., $25 advance or $30 at the door The rapper and car enthusiast will be hitting Cactus Jacks supporting his new album Napalm. Xzibit is a heavy-duty rapper with production more akin to metal than most of his Californian counterparts. With a recent video shot in Iraq, this is sure to be a loud, intense show, but as many saw on his MTV show Pimp My Ride, he’s got a sense of humour too. Expect the crowd to be edging on mosh pit more than they would at a Snoop Dog show.

Shred Kelly folking on Heroes Oriol Salvador

Canadian Music Corner Taylor Rocca

Ω Copy/Web Editor Formed in 2006, Silvergun & Spleen pistol-whips listeners with a gritty brand of rock ‘n’ roll that screams, “Hell yeah!” Driven by heavy guitar and a female vocalist dripping with attitude, Silvergun & Spleen follows a long line of Canadian bands, such as Mother Mother and Hey Ocean, to make it big while featuring strong female vocals. The one difference is that Silvergun & Spleen’s brand of rock is much more aggressive than that of Mother Mother or Hey Ocean’s indie-pop efforts. Lead singer Marie-Eve Mallet strives for and succeeds in injecting a sassy personality and vocal track oozing alternative hipster-rock sexiness. Her presence on the band’s

Brendan Kergin

Ω Arts & Entertainment Editor One of the worst birthdays just happened. Singer-songwriter Aidan Knight was on the road, heading to Regina, when his tour van hit black ice and skidded into a snow bank. No one was hurt, but they had to cancel the Regina show, which is a shame for fans of Knight’s dreamy, folksy style. Based in Victoria, B.C., he spent some time playing with other more established artists, such as Maurice and Dan Mangan, before striking out on his own. In 2008 he released a couple singles but it was his first al-

latest album draws the listener in, leaving them wanting more despite already being more than satisfied. The band also features the sister of Marie-Eve, Veronique Mallet. The two raven-haired, dark-rimmedspectacle wearing ladies take control of the guitar tracks while Chris Page handles duty on the bass. John (El Conquistador) Lenherr brings Silvergun & Spleen home with a crisp and confident drumline. Silvergun & Spleen’s latest album, Semi Truck, is a nine-track pleasure ride aboard a runaway 18-wheeler. It’s a fast-paced adrenaline rush best exemplified by tracks such as “Kiss & Tell,” “Just Enough to Dance,” “An Eye for an Eye” and the lead single off the 2012 release, “Crack.” Prior to the release of Semi Truck, Silvergun & Spleen broke on to the scene with the release of its 2011 EP, Through My Skeleton. bum, 2010’s Versicolour, which really introduced him to critics and fans. He released Small Reveal, his second full-length album this year, the day of his birthday and van accident. A softer sound, without the twang and thump of many other folk bands, Knight produces a much more polished sound. This is partly due to his vocals and quiet, thoughtful voice, which is much less forceful than others. It’s not music made for big clubs or arenas, it edges on shoe gazer with the slightest touch of Dave Matthews at times. Check out his new single, “A Mirror,” for the evolving Knight, as he’s expanding his sound to include a band.

Ω Contributor

Coming from the East Kootenays of British Columbia, Fernie’s Shred Kelly visited Kamloops on Wednesday, Oct. 24 as part of their Fall Album Release Tour to perform songs from their second album, In The Hills, recorded in May and released in September. Heroes Pub was more full than what could be expected on a cold Wednesday night. Supporting local band Van Damsel warmed up the stage offering a 40-minute set of their energetic indie-rock songs. Shred Kelly started with the title track from its latest album, following that up with “Goodbye July.” The audience fervently joined, clapping and tapping to the mixture of folk, rock and country. The audience was divided between people that already knew the band and new listeners, but all of them were easily conquered by Tim Newton’s brisk banjo. The party went on among the crowd at Heroes, with two more songs from the new album, “Cabin Fever” and “New Black.” Female vocalist and keyboardist, Sage McBride, took the lead role on “Leaving Town,” followed by “Ghost Inside My Head.” By the time audience joined the chorus of “I Hate Work,” a great night of live music was guaranteed, both for the listeners and for the band, who was surprised by the reception of their live show in Kamloops. The band maintained high spirits with a pack of new songs — the powerful start of the banjo in “Time is Passing,” the quiet and tender start turning into a crescendo in “Rowed Away,”

Shred Kelly (pictured) from Fernie teams up with local band Van Damsel to continue the Heroes Concert Series, running Wednesday nights.

—PHOTO BY ORIOL SALVADOR

a vigorous boy-girl chorus in “White River,” the pianistic background of “The Bear” and the powerful drumming in “The Cold.” The great finale for the show had been awarded to the mighty “Tornado Alley.”

After this more than six-minute-masterpiece, the audience still wanted more and Shred Kelly ended up playing two more new songs, finishing with a singalong chorus — one that the audience was still humming on the way back home.

The Omega · Volume 22, Issue 9

Arts & Entertainment

Film review: Cloud Atlas

Brendan Kergin

Ω Arts and Entertainment Editor The first words to describe Cloud Atlas would be expansive and epic from start to finish. Edging towards three hours long, the film takes six plots from six periods of time and intertwines characters, characteristics and the very basic pieces of humanity. Themes include, but are not limited to, love and fear, cowardice and courage, truth and justice, strength and weakness, faith, racism and kindness. For a film as huge as Cloud Atlas, the audience needs to go in with a mind prepared for something big. The six plots occur concurrently on screen, that is, even though they relate to each other, the film jumps back and forth through time, moving all the plots forward at the same speed, so that they all finish at the end.

Characters appear in multiple plots, and the souls of some characters appear in all or many of the plots. That’s the central point to the film; the criss-crossing of these characters souls over hundreds of years. There are the two protagonists, two souls that repeatedly find each other over time, and a villain. The same actors portray characters in many of the plots, but not always the same soul, which can be confusing, but lends to the theme of repetition. Through out the film there are strong performances by many actors. Tom Hanks as the post-apocalyptic Zachry stands out, as does Ben Whishaw as pre-Second World War composer Robert Frobisher and Doona Bae as Soonmi-451. As there are six plots with two or three main characters each, many actors have memorable moments,

especially as the climax to the plots lasts much longer than the average film. As a film of theme and philosophy, it’s not action battles that make up the majority of the conclusion, but characters discussing rhetoric. They muse in speeches or letters on hope, love, justice and rebirth as they choose their path in life. Production-wise, there are few flaws. Arguments could be made about the amount of make-up instead of just hiring different actors, but the repetition of faces is part of the theme. The bigger issues for filmgoers will be following the plot and letting go to the screenplay. It’s such a big view on human nature that some of the details can get lost. Fans of the book Cloud Atlas, which this film is based on, might have an issue with the translation onto screen, but that always happens and with a story as big as this, there will be issues.

B-grade horror fest full of flesh-crawling fun Samantha Garvey Ω Roving Editor

Zombies, hammers and blood all stumbled, struck and splattered their way across the big screen for the Fake Flesh Film Fest. On Sunday, Oct. 28, the Paramount Theatre in downtown Kamloops hosted more than 300 people for two showings of Kamloops’ first horror film fest. Seven of the 14 films aired were made locally, most without budgets, all from the passion and creativity of their makers. Darryl John organized the event and also had two of his shorts aired, which he completed before he began to plan the festival only a month ago. “I thought it went pretty g*d d**n awesome,” John said. “Everyone was really happy.” He made his first film when he wanted to attend the Whistler horror film fest three years ago, “[Because] the only way to get in is to make a movie.” He said he knew many others in Kamloops with similar interests because when he would ask for help on his projects he received overwhelming responses. When Whistler cancelled its festival this year, John went to work on Kamloops’ first annual. His films received huge roars from the crowd. In the first film of the night, John played a man on a murder spree, beginning with a friend’s daughter who he ended with scalding water and a lawn mower. After making his first film spontaneously a year ago, Corey Rajala entered his latest project, a 16-minute narrative that he began making in August. It received enormous applause and cheers from the packed audience. “It’s got everything,” he said about

Night of the Ooze. “It’s funny, grossed out, kind of emotional. At one point you might cry.” Not to mention the appearances made by zombies, an ooze monster, a cheesy girlfriend death, a UFO, graveyards and a mad scientist, who was actually played by Rajala himself. In addition to starring in his film, Rajala wrote his script, titles, music and did all of the editing, narrating and filming behind the camera. The final cut had a lot of help, all friends of Rajala, who put their own time and expertise into the zero-budget project. In fact, many of the stars of all the local submissions could be seen in the crowd, apparently de-zombied and cured of their murderous tendencies. Kamloops residents in the theatre would recognize familiar sights around the city, such as the Pleasant Street Cemetery, which was featured in several movies, as well as Riverside Park and Kelly O’Bryan’s. Also local was the sponsor, Mountain High Pizza, and the host for the evening, comedian Dan Jakes. “Enjoy yourselves, you sick f***s,” he addressed the crowd to kick things off. The night was gory and disgusting the whole way through. Making the final cut was zombie death squads, literal blood showers and a killer boob on the prowl, resulting from a botched breast-enhancement surgery. Perhaps the most over-the-top horrific images were from the animated film where an overweight man and a baby were attacked by ever-expanding, flesh-eating killer hamburgers. Due to the night’s success, John plans to make the event annual. “Next year, I’m going to take it on tour, hopefully four or five stops,” he said.

—IMAGE COURTESY CLOUD ATLAS PRODUCTIONS

We’re still looking for a distribution/ adsales manager. Want a parttime job with incentives? Got a car and a license to operate it? Contact editor@ truomega.ca for details. The Fake Flesh Film fest goes off with a scream.

—IMAGE COURTESY FAKE FLESH FILM FEST

October 31, 2012

Sports Volleyball season opens at the TCC Adam Williams Ω Sports Editor

“It was really good. Obviously we were a little shaky in the first set there, in front of the big crowd, a lot of guys’ first time playing at TRU, but it was really good.” Setter Colin Carson’s assessment of the Wolf Pack’s first match on Oct. 26 was dead on — the team was nervous, but managed to battle through it and secure a commanding win. More than 300 fans came out to watch the action as the ‘Pack took on their regional rivals, the University of British Columbia Okanagan (UBCO) Heat, in their season and home opener at the Tournament Capital Centre. The men secured a straightsets victory, while the women dropped a straight-sets loss. Nerves characterized both the men’s and women’s matches. The men’s victory came in three straight sets, as they won 25-22, 25-18 and 25-16. TRU secured the momentum after winning a close first and didn’t look back. “I think that’s always key,” said head coach Pat Hennelly. “You could sense the nerves on both sides of the court, homeopener, new year.

“We talked about that after the timeout, said ‘listen we’re going to play a lot of ball tonight, even if we lose this let’s get back to how we felt last weekend.’ That was a big key for us and I thought we ended that set pretty good.” The men were led on the court by outside hitter Hardy Wooldridge, who had nine kills and two service aces, as well as Carson, who had 28 assists and 8 digs. Hennelly also had praise for middle Mohamed “Manny” Abdel Rehim’s role in the first set. “I thought Hardy had a really stable game, both from the service line and back court passing and hitting,” Hennelly said. “Manny was very instrumental for us early, got some big kills...and then went on a serving run himself. “I thought those two guys showed some leadership when it was a little bit unstable and Colin Carson did a good job of making sure everyone was a part of the offence.” The women were on the wrong side of a three set match earlier in the evening, as they fell to the Heat 25-15, 25-9 and 25-18. Head coach Keith Lundgren spoke about the nerves and inconsistency that were clear in his team’s play, but pointed out some positives his team could

take from the game. “The numbers from our first set match the numbers, aside from the errors, of their second and third sets,” Lundgren said. “So we just got to keep our numbers up consistently and that’s one thing that we’re working on and going to get good at.” The women come into this season as a rebuilding club. In a recent poll of coaches around the CIS, the Wolf Pack women’s volleyball club was predicted to finish dead last in the CIS. Unfortunate as it may be, it’s not necessarily a surprise with a club as young as the Wolf Pack’s, who have only three returning players. With second year outside hitter Brianne Rauch currently out of the lineup with a shoulder injury, the team on the court is even younger. “We’re working on court balance,” Lundgren said. “We’re working on being in the right spots, right? So obviously it’s a learning curve with that kind of stuff. I think some of the errors are definitely on our inexperience.” The men put together another strong performance the next night, defeating UBCO 3-0 in Kelowna, while the women were again defeated 3-0.

Setter Colin Carson sprawls for a dig in the WolfPac’s straight-set victory over the UBCO Heat Oct. 26. —PHOTO BY ADAM WILLIAMS

Bounce back win for WolfPack hockey Men’s soccer brings home bronze Adam Williams Ω Sports Editor

Adam Williams Ω Sports Editor

The WolfPack men’s soccer team was hit with disappointment Oct. 27 when they were defeated by the Vancouver Island University (VIU) Mariners 4-0 in the PACWEST semifinal. “It was experience versus inexperience and the vets won out,” WolfPack co-head coach John Antulov said in a press release from TRU Athletics. “Unfortunately, the score was indicative of the play. We just didn’t come up with a strong effort. “This was a good learning experience for our young guys.” Down but not out, the team notched a 6-2 victory against the Kwantlen Polytechnic University Eagles Oct. 28 to come home with a the bronze medal. “Obviously our sights were set on beating VIU and earning a position at nationals,” said co-head coach Sean Wallace. “It just wasn’t meant

to be on that given day. VIU is a strong team so they were deserving of the victory on Saturday. The boys showed a lot of character in the way they bounced back and prepared for our game on Sunday.” Oriol Torres led the ‘Pack with a hat trick against the Eagles as Kyle Fertile and Colton Walker had strong games as well. Sebastian Gardner, one of the WolfPack’s captains, spoke to the team before the game and urged them to win the game for Justin Smeaton who was playing in his final PACWEST game. Coach Wallace said it was a fitting gesture for a player who has given so much to the soccer program over the course of his career. The WolfPack will remain largely intact next season, with Douglas College and VIU losing a significant portion of their rosters to graduation. Wallace believes the team has the hunger and depth to have an even better season next year. “This is something to build on for next year.”

Your 2012 PACWEST bronze medalists: the TRU WolfPack

—PHOTO COURTESY TRU ATHLETICS

The Wolf Pack men’s hockey team worked their way back into the win column Oct. 27, with a 5-2 victory over the Trinity Western University (TWU) Spartans. The ‘Pack fell behind midway through the first period when Douglas Gordon of the Spartans scored a power play marker from along the goal-line. That was as far as the Spartans would get however, as the Wolf Pack answered less than four minutes later and never looked back. “I thought we had a pretty solid first two periods,” said Wolf Pack head coach Don Schulz. “I thought we took the foot off the throttle a little bit in the third - not too bad - but give them credit, they always work hard right until the last second and that’s the same sort of

work ethic we’re trying to instill with our guys.” Wolf Pack forwards Tyler Jackson and Nathan Michaels led the team with three points each and captain Curtis Tonello had a strong game on the back end with two goals of his own. Jackson scored the eventual game winner. “Tyler’s got good speed, he’s got really good work ethic and when he works inside and within the system he can be very, very effective,” Schulz said. “He may not be the biggest guy in stature, but he’s got a lot of heart, so you have to really respect the way he plays.” Heart is a word that might be used to characterize the entire team’s play Oct. 27. The ‘Pack was handed two embarrassing defeats last weekend in Castlegar, 11-0 and 8-1, at the hands of the league-leading Selkirk Saints. It’s a pattern the team could have allowed to continue against TWU

this weekend but instead hard work and physical play led the team to victory. Schulz said the team went through a long week of hard practices and battle drills in preparation for this weekend’s play and not one complaint was uttered when things got tough. With TWU now firmly in the rear-view mirror, the focus shifts to next weekend, when the WolfPack will have the opportunity to exact revenge on the Selkirk Saints at the Memorial Arena in Kamloops. They will also get their first look at the Eastern Washington University Eagles, who sit just one point behind the Wolf Pack in the BCIHL standings. Both games have important implications on the young BCIHL season and the Wolf Pack will be counting on hard work and heart to carry them through.

Forward Rigby Burgart fights for position in front of the Spartans net on Oct. 27 at Memorial Arena. —PHOTO BY ADAM WILLIAMS

The Omega · Volume 22, Issue 9

Coffee Break

SUDOWEB.COM

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1. Spring flowers 6. Holder for 1-Across 10. Luxury home features 14. Ready for battle again 15. Regrettably 16. Broke down 17. Available 18. Barber’s supply 19. Part of WATS 20. Liposuction, e.g. 23. Encirclement 24. Maximum 27. James, for one 32. Clavell’s “___-Pan” 33. Decorative pitcher 37. Emmy-winning Lewis 38. Hit TV show 42. Turbine part 43. Decorative inlay 44. Corroded 45. Supplement 47. Waders 50. ___ sin 54. Updating a kitchen, e.g. (Brit.) 61. Start of something big? 62. Stake driver 63. Like some calendars 64. Make waves? 65. Bugbear 66. Computer acronym

67. Deep black 68. Engine parts 69. Gave out

41. “In & Out” star, 1997 46. Aftershock 48. “Johnny Armstrong,” for one 49. Maltreat 51. Insect stage 52. Noggin 53. Wastes time 54. Arizona Native American 55. Dutch ___ 56. Gloom 57. Prize since 1949 58. Machu Picchu builder 59. Hit hard 60. Pluck

Down 1. Video game 2. City near Sparks 3. These may be sowed 4. Doggerel 5. Drives 6. Oracular 7. “Wellaway!” 8. Hot stuff 9. 100 centavos 10. Booty 11. Title for some priests 12. Monkey 13. Corset part 21. ___ pole 22. Apply anew 24. Female organs 25. Phylum, for one 26. Paws 28. Howe’er 29. They go with the flow 30. Mountain ridge 31. Some messages 34. It’s catching 35. Down Under bird 36. Noise from a fan 39. Lobster eggs 40. Overthrow, e.g.

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LAST WEEK’S ANSWERS

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MYLES MELLOR AND SALLY YORK

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“Renovations”

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