Imprint_2010-11-12_v33_17 by Editor Imprint

Imprint The university of Waterloo’s official student newspaper

Friday, November 12, 2010

Vol 33, No

imprint . uwaterloo . ca

Dinh Nguyen

Paying tribute in a world of change Dinh Nguyen features editor

country in distress. Their government is corrupted. Awesome explosions and three-dimensional visual effects flash as warplanes are shot down by rocket launchers. The underdog: a lone hero who comes to the rescue. Will he make it in time? Or will he blow up? Not one of us has been spared by Hollywood’s glorified images of war. Even if we are able to tell

the fictitious elements apart from the historically accurate, our minds tend to concentrate on outcomes and the larger events like Hiroshima and the Holocaust. We tend to overlook the sacrifices, the suffering, the protective instincts — the individuals and their experiences in times of war. For many of us, Remembrance Day is just another day. One where we show off our fashionable poppies, and pretend to be people who care. But for Korean War veteran Dave Davidson, November 11 is a day of pride and memory.

Davidson, who led and recited The Act of Remembrance during the KitchenerWaterloo Remembrance Day parade, served as an artillery repair soldier in 1953. Though gun maintenance is not a role that many of us associate with our enchanted views of war, Davidson assures that it is an important part of an army. “I knew what my mission was, it was to keep the guns firing,” he said. “It was 100 per cent important to me to make sure that those

weapons were working perfectly for the people that were using them. “ While it may seem like an easy job to be the guy who repairs flame throwers, rocket launchers and 25-pounder guns, every role played during a war is crucial — and with that comes harsh responsibilities. The consequences of Davidson’s position as an artillery repair soldier still haunt him today. See VETERANS, page 22

Waterloo start-up delivers BBM to everyone assistant editor-in-chief

KIK developed a cross-platform mobile chat application that has seen record viral growth.

om Livingston understands that the future is mobile, and his new chat application has mobilized millions of users to transcend smartphone operating systems and connect with each other. Waterloo’s co-op program has trained him so well that he is no longer concerned about graduating, he is more concerned with his next big

social platform. The application he developed called Kik, launched Oct. 21, has seen extremely strong viral growth, garnering over one million users in under two weeks and manages over one million messages per hour. The cross-platform application is marketed toward the smartphone users, and is easily downloadable for no charge to any iPhone, Android, or BlackBerry device. The reason the growth has been so strong is because the application was built for fast viral

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News

Imprint, Friday, November 12, 2010 news@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Waterloo’s reputation stays on top

UW maintains ranks in Macleans’ 2010 list: best reputation, third in comprehensive category Eleonora Meszaros & Julia Peters imprint interns

he University of Waterloo was once again found to have the best reputation of any Canadian university, according to Maclean’s annual survey. The magazine ranks universities on a variety of criteria including reputation, availability of resources, student achievement, class size, and faculty quality. UW continued its streak of winning three of the four reputation subcategories: best overall, most innovative, and leaders of tomorrow. UW finished second in the fourth subcategory, which measures highest quality. UW also maintained its level in Maclean’s own survery, where in finished third in a round up of “comprehensive universities,” which are those that have solid research programs but do not have a medical school. UW’s interim President Feridun Hamdullahpur expressed excitement at the school’s ranking. “The Maclean’s rank-

Krystin Li

ings, like many others, offer an interesting and relevant indicator against which we and others can measure excellence as well as develop strategies for future success,” he said. Being surveyed in subcategories that relate to faculty, Waterloo has finished first in its ability to attract social science and humani-

ties grants, second in total research funding and third in awards for full time faculty as well as in medical science grants. It was the 17 time in 19 years that UW emerged as the top university in terms of reputation. University of Waterloo’s 2A accounting studnet Usman Chaudhry said when he got accepted into the University of Waterloo as an international student, his father was disappointed because he had never heard of the school. “After speaking with friends from Canada, they assured him it was a reputable school,” he said. The latest rankings clearly buoyed Chaudhry’s school spirit. “In 10 years from now, people are going to see me and say ‘Wow, you went there?’ That’s right, we are the next Harvard,” he boasted. Wilfrid Laurier University fell one rank in its category — from fourth to fifth. Laurier is grouped with those institutions that focus primarily on undergraduate students. news@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Engineers exhibit their next batch of innovations Luna Wei assistant news editor

buzz with conversation, Engineering 5 was the place to be this past Thursday for a peek into engineering research at Waterloo. The showcase event, WE Innovate, featured displays from active research groups at Waterloo as an opportunity to inform the public about leading technological efforts at the university. A number of faculty members and their respective groups attended, with an approximate 40 displays on the show room floor. An address by the dean of engineering, Adel Sedra and interim President Feridun Hamdullahpur remarked on the significance of innovation at Waterloo. Hamdullahpur called engineering a “faculty of innovative culture,” where everything is integrated from the co-op students learning from the industry and applying it back to their studies. “Things are different at Waterloo because creators own the rights of what they create. Faculty members create innovation and help grow and nourish it,” Hamdullahpur stated. Hosted by the Engineering Research Office, WE Innovate was born primarily to provide Waterloo researchers with an outlet to connect to industries looking for new technology and implementation. This follows from Waterloo’s four-year initiative plan, Vision 2010, which outlines strengthening research at the university as a primary objective. Richard Culham, associate dean of research and external partnerships, feels WE Innovate opens communication between industries, government sponsorships and research initiatives. “People drive by Waterloo and don’t know what takes place on campus. [WE Innovate] gives

them a reason to stop by and promote research collaboration with industry,” he said. Mingling in the crowd was a cross-section of attendees, ranging from industry representatives to government funding agencies to graduates to undergraduates, all embracing the collaborative spirit of the event with drinks and refreshments in a casual atmosphere. “We try to get the upper year students interested to let them know about the post-graduate options at Waterloo rather than moving on to other schools,” Culham noted on trying to get the undergraduate population involved. Many of the attendees expressed similar statements. “Because Waterloo, a school known for its brilliant students makes [events such as WE Innovate] a great way to pick young minds and recruit students to the research effort,” one attending researcher, Ibraheem Khan, remarked. Researcher Stacey D. Scott, an assistant professor with system designs engineering, takes part in the Human Factors Research Group, which creates multi-modal devices for applications such as remote piloting and collaborative interfaces. Scott also believes in the significance of attending showcase events. “It’s important to talk to the public, to get the exposure and feedback to grow,” she said. Wilson Tran, an undergraduate in computer engineering, feels that WE Innovate lets him know what’s going on with his professors outside of the classroom. With a successful reception of around 300 attendees, and a claim of the largest showcase of Waterloo engineering this year, the Engineering Research Office has future plans for expanding the event to include more displays. news@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

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Ibraheem Khan, PhD candidate in the mechanical and mechatronics department, discusses the findings of his research group, which is investigating multi-memory materials. The materials under investigation take different shapes depending on their temperature, and the research group wants to find ways of exploiting this phenomenon for practical applications.

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News

Imprint, Friday, November 12, 2010

the U of A’s Teaching and Learning Enhancement Fund and is undertaken with the financial support of the Canadian Space Agency.

Eduardo Ramirez staff reporter

Julia Peters imprint intern

University of Alberta begins homegrown, introductory rocket science course

University of Alberta students with an eye for space exploration may get a chance to study rocketry in Edmonton. U of A has been sending a few lucky students to week-long rocketry boot camps in Norway for about the past year-and-a-half. Because the overall success of the course, U of A researchers proposed starting their own homegrown, introductory rocket science course. In 2009, the U of A partnered with the University of Oslo and the Andøya Rocket Range. So far, four U of A students have attended the week-long training and launch camps, referred to as the “Canada-Norway Student Sounding Rocket Exchange Program” (CaNoRock). The Andøya Rocket Range sits along Norway’s North Sea coastline. The program is a partnership between the U of A and the Universities of Oslo, Calgary, and Saskatchewan. Dave Miles, a master’s of science student, released information about the potential to kick off a one-term, laboratory-based course in January 2012. The students would be expected to design and build sophisticated instruments at the U of A and then launch them in Norway as part of a science payload. Miles also says that CaNoRock student trainees were educated on a number of launch roles including the building of simple atmospheric measurement instruments, assessing launch-time weather and predicting the rocket’s flight path. The CaNoRock program is supported by

Tragedy at St. Thomas, University of New Brunswick

Questions are being raised about university athletic policies in New Brunswick, after the death of a St. Thomas University student. Andrew Jason Bartlett, 21, was found dead in his off-campus apartment building on the morning of Oct. 24. Cst. Rick Mooney of the Fredericton Police Force, said that foul play has been ruled out and they are still investigating the incident. Mooney was unable to comment under what circumstances the body was found. Bartlett was a fourth-year English major and a new member of the St. Thomas varsity men’s volleyball team. He was known as a kind, responsible and funny person to many friends and members of the St. Thomas community. The incident has raised serious questions about hazing practices at UNB. Multiple athletes weighed in on the forms of hazing that they had either seen or experienced at UNB. Second year UNB linebacker Mat Flosse said he has never had any problems with hazing personally, but he said that he had been witness to both subtle and obvious cases of hazing while at the university. UNB declared that they still need to conduct more investigations in order to demystify the death of Bartlett. Ryerson University tests fossil fuel, planes

The Facility for Research on Aerospace Materials and Engineering Str uctures (FRAMES) at Ryerson University is a mystery to most students, but they recently have been testing some new technology that might

make renewable fuel sources more effective. Zouheir Fawaz, one of Ryerson’s aerospace engineering professors, declared that “The facility is pretty much number one in Canada and the university system.” Fawaz is now working on two major projects, both aimed at reducing the environmental impact of the next generation of commercial aircraft. The most significant project is an algaebased biofuel that is currently being tested in collaboration with researchers from McGill and Laval universities for $5 million. Fawaz declared that biofuels might help reduce the number of greenhouse gas emissions and ultimately put an end to the global warming problem. Researchers at the facility use a state-ofthe-art clean room to soak a variety of aircraft components in the experimental fuel for as long as 28 days, simulating the long-term effects on an aircraft’s inner workings. Canadian medical schools eliminate unnecessary requirements

Medical schools across Canada are revising their application process by adding new requirements and eliminating out of date application criteria. Requirements such as autobiographical essays, panel interviews and, in some cases, the Medical College Admissions Test have all been eliminated in an effort to admit more students to the programs across the country. McGill announced in July that Canadian applicants to their program would no longer have to submit an MCAT score after the Englishlanguage test were criticized by francophone applicants The University of British Columbia is one of the schools in favour of a multiple mini interview system that gives applicants the chance to showcase a variety of skills, includ-

ing their interpersonal skills and ethical and moral judgment. Several universities have also removed the autobiographical essay component of the application process. Applicants were to submit an essay explaining their reasons for pursuing medicine. McMaster University now requires students to take a computer-based personality test instead of submitting the previous mentioned essay. Holocaust Education Week at Queen’s University

Currently, Queen’s University is displaying a walk-through exhibit that is designed to educate people about the Holocaust, antiSemitism, and the reasons it is important to remember that specific time in history. The exhibit is just one part of Queen’s Holocaust Education Week, which includes photos, information, and quotes from people who experienced the Holocaust. The main purpose of Holocaust Education Week is to show respect to survivors and educate the current generation. There are a wide range of topics being discussed, including the rise of Adolf Hitler, concentration camps, and the current genocide happening in Darfur. Students that view the exhibit will also be encouraged to take an identity card at the start of the exhibit with the personal story of someone who was directly affected by the events of the Holocaust. Nate Leipciger, the grandfather of a Queen’s student, a survivor of Auschwitz, and one of the leading promoters of Holocaust awareness, visited the campus on Wednesday to share his own story. — With files from University of Alberta, Queen’s University, University of New Brunswick, The Brunswickan, and The Eyeopener

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Lest We Forget:

ethan oblak

Associate Prof. Geoffrey Hayes, history, addresses students about the sacrifices of past Canadian soldiers and the limits of popular history in Arts Lecture Hall on Nov. 10. Hayes was joined by Dean of Arts Ken Coates and WLU Prof. Emeritus Terry Copp, who both study Canadian history. The event was presented by the Arts Student Union and the UW History Society to commemorate Remembrance Day.

News

Imprint, Friday, November 12, 2010

Student protestors occupy Tory HQ Demonstrations over tuition turn violent in London Azra Premji staff reporter

Riaz Nathu staff reporter

Eleonora Meszaros imprint intern

Tuition protests turn violent in London

Thousands of students joined together in Westminster on Wednesday to protest against the Tory decision to raise tuition fees. After discovering the government’s plan to raise fees from £3,290 to £9,000 per year, around 52,000 students and teachers travelled to London to march and rally against the plans. The peaceful protest, organized by the National Union of Students and the University and College Union — the academics’ trade union — quickly descended into riots Wednesday afternoon when participants unexpectedly began to leave Scotland Yard and rerouted their march towards the Tory party headquarters. Enraged students set fires, smashed windows, fought riot police, and forced their way onto the roof of a building in Westminster, from where they raised flags. Students also broke into Tory party headquarters, wrecking the building’s lobby. Arrests were made for criminal damage and trespassing, with 35 protestors currently in custody at stations across central London. Sir Paul Stephenson, Metropolitan Police Commissioner, said the force should have better anticipated the level of violence. “It’s an embarrassment for London and to us and we have to do something about that,” Stephenson said. Obama calls for expansion of UN Security Council in overseas trip

U.S. President Barack Obama made quite an impression during his three-day visit to India. Coming off a serious mid-term election setback,

Obama hit the international circuit hard by visiting India and Indonesia in the past week. The most notable event was Obama’s endorsement of India’s bid as a permanent member on the United Nations Security Council. “The just and sustainable international order that America seeks includes a United Nations that is efficient, effective, credible and legitimate,” said the president. Currently the UN Security Council includes the U.S., China, France, the United Kingdom, and Russia as permanent members. The council has significant influence over the UN system and has been criticized for not developing in tandem and reflecting current geo-political dynamics. Beyond the announcement of the American support for India’s permanent seat, the visit centered on developing economic and trade ties between the two countries. Obama recognized the newfound importance of the sub-Asian country by saying, “I don’t think India is emerging, it has emerged.” Tensions heating up ahead of Seoul G20 Summit

Prime Minister Stephen Harper set off for Seoul, South Korea on Tuesday afternoon to attend the second G20 meeting of this year. Harper faces a serious divide that many critics claim is undermining the purpose of the international group. The divide between countries stems largely from the uneven economic response to the recession. Countries like China and India have responded strongly while the U.S., Canada and some parts of Europe are still recovering. Accordingly, in an effort to recover from the economic crisis, countries enacted policies designed to stimulate their respective economies which resulted in large debts. At the international policy level, this inevitably results in a geo-political blame game that is bound to stifle upcoming talks.

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In a letter addressed to all G20 leaders, Harper called for the cooperation and co-ordinated action of all members during this time of economic recovery. It will be imperative for leaders to leave Seoul with agreements on economic issues if the G20 is to remain as the pre-eminent multilateral summit. Father shot and killed in front of three-year-old son

A 33-year-old man, Nelson Ramirez Guerrero, was shot in his car with his three-year-old son in the vehicle on Nov. 7 in Westminister, B.C. The child was sitting in the back seat of his father’s vehicle when someone opened fire, and he got out of the car in response. The boy was about three meters from the location of his father’s murder where five shots were fired, but he remained unharmed. Guerrero had previously been convicted of drug offences in the United States and was charged in 2 000 for conspiracy, wire fraud, and money laundering in a connection to a Canada-based telemarketing scheme.

According to Cpl. Dale Carr of the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team, his past could be associated with the shooting. “We don’t know if he belongs to some group and he’s just been somebody that was able to fly under the radar, or whether he’s some person involved in business and a business deal went bad and he ultimately ended up murdered because of it,” Carr stated. In an effort to find further information on this case, the police have released Guerrero’s name to the public. The lucky boy has been returned to the custody of his mother. The Sentimentalists wins Giller Prize Award:

Montreal-based writer and poet Johanna Skibsrud has won the $50,000 Giller Prize Award for her first novel, The Sentimentalists. The Giller Prize Award is Canada’s highest profile literary award. Skibsrud’s novel addresses the difficulties of a father-daughter relationship. According to the Giller Prize jury — consisting of CBC broadcaster

Michael Enright and novelists Claire Messud and Ali Smith — the novel is the “multi-layered truth which lies at the moral core of her dying father’s life.” According to Skibsrud, the story was partially autobiographical including her father’s experience in the Vietnam War. Initially, 800 copies of The Sentimentalists were printed by the small publishing house, Gaspereau Press. Now, the five-person publishing company is working around the clock to print about 1,000 copies per week to keep up with the increased demand. Skibsrud previously published Late Nights with Wild Cowboys, a poetry collection. The finalists for the Giller Prize Award also included David Bergen for The Matter with Morris, Sarah Selecky for This Cake is for the Party, Alexander MacLeod for Light Lifting, and Kathleen Winter for Annabel. — With files from Daily Mail, Toronto Star, Financial Times, CBC, and Globe and Mail

Opinion

Imprint, Friday, November 12, 2010 opinion@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Campus journalism: where it all begins

IMPRINT The University of Waterloo’s official student newspaper

Friday, November 12, 2010 Vol. 33, No. 17 Student Life Centre, Room 1116 University of Waterloo Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1 P: 519.888.4048 F: 519.884.7800 http://imprint.uwaterloo.ca Editor-in-chief, Gina Racine editor@imprint.uwaterloo.ca Advertising & Production Manager, Laurie Tigert-Dumas ads@imprint.uwaterloo.ca General Manager, Catherine Bolger cbolger@imprint.uwaterloo.ca Co-op placements, Annie Laufer, David Lehto, Eleonora Meszaros, Julia Peters Sales Assistant, Lana Fell Systems Admin., Ben Waismark Distribution, Abdul Asmat Distribution, Ali Saeed Volunteer co-ordinator, Michael To Board of Directors board@imprint.uwaterloo.ca President, Angela Gaetano president@imprint.uwaterloo.ca Vice-president, vacant vp@imprint.uwaterloo.ca Treasurer, Howard Leung treasurer@imprint.uwaterloo.ca Secretary, Erin Thompson secretary@imprint.uwaterloo.ca Staff liaison, Keriece Harris liaison@imprint.uwaterloo.ca Editorial Staff Assistant Editor, Brent Golem Head Reporter, vacant Lead Proofreader, Divyesh Mistry Cover Editor, Steve Cutler News Editor, Ryan Webb News Assistant, Luna Wei Opinion Editor, Clara Shin Opinion Assistant, Lindsay Simmons Features Editor, Dinh Nguyen Features Assistant, Zoe Kim Arts & Entertainment, Michael Chung Arts Assistant, Marta Borowska Science & Tech Editor, Jordan Campbell Science & Tech Assistant, Jennifer Nguyen Sports & Living Editor, Namish Modi Sports & Living Assistant, vacant Photo Editor, Ethan Oblak Photo Assistant, Sophie Côté Graphics Editor, Alcina Wong Graphics Assistant, Majuratan Sadagopan Web administrator, Marta Borowska Production Staff Ronald Chui, Michelle Sterba, Gabriela Grant, Ananya Chattoraj, Jason Day, Mika Ilic, Caitlin McIntyre, Anui Vasishta, Stephen Kearse, Komal Sandhu, Brittany Nychka, Winona So Imprint is the official student newspaper of the University of Waterloo. It is an editorially independent newspaper published by Imprint Publications, Waterloo, a corporation without share capital. Imprint is a member of the Ontario Community Newspaper Association (OCNA). Editorial submissions may be considered for publication in any edition of Imprint. Imprint may also reproduce the material commercially in any format or medium as part of the newspaper database, Web site or any other product derived from the newspaper. Those submitting editorial content, including articles, letters, photos and graphics, will grant Imprint first publication rights of their submitted material, and as such, agree not to submit the same work to any other publication or group until such time as the material has been distributed in an issue of Imprint, or Imprint declares their intent not to publish the material. The full text of this agreement is available upon request. Imprint does not guarantee to publish articles, photographs, letters or advertising. Material may not be published, at the discretion of Imprint, if that material is deemed to be libelous or in contravention with Imprint’s policies with reference to our code of ethics and journalistic standards. Imprint is published every Friday during fall and winter terms, and every second Friday during the spring term. Imprint reserves the right to screen, edit and refuse advertising. One copy per customer. Imprint ISSN 0706-7380. Imprint CDN Pub Mail Product Sales Agreement no. 40065122. Next staff meeting: Monday, November 15 12:30 p.m. Next board of directors meeting: Friday, November 12 12:30 p.m.

editor@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Big things are happening in the world of campus media as students take the role of journalists

s I have mentioned before, my career as a journalist began at my campus newspaper. The first story I ever wrote was about a former student who made it big in the big city (Toronto, that is) with a business he created. I remember the phone interview we had, the many questions I asked him (most of which were probably quite trivial and somewhat irrelevant) and the amount of time it took me to go from a bunch of quotes on a page to a 400-word news story. After that story was heavily edited, my news editor explained where I went wrong and every story after that got just a little bit better. I knew right from the moment I walked into the newsroom at the Cord Weekly that I wanted to spend the rest of my life chasing the news. And it was everything I learned there that got me my first job as an actual news reporter for a weekly newspaper. In case you didn’t know, Imprint editors take on a variety of roles. They

first and foremost manage the content that appears in their section, meaning they actively seek content to put in their section and when they have story/photo ideas, they are responsible to find someone to cover the story/photo in question. In addition to managing their section’s content, they must also train their volunteers on an ongoing basis, giving them input and advice about the content they are submitting. Section editors, with the help of their assistants, are also responsible for the layout of their section each week. They must also attend weekly meetings and undergo training on an ongoing basis as well. Oh, and let’s not forget that when they can’t find someone to write that story or take those photos, they will do it themselves. This long list of editorial duties is probably why working for a campus media outlet provides students/future journalists with an abounding resume, filled with interesting skills. The best part is, they also leave university with

a portfolio filled with published works and something truly amazing — experience. Big things can happen on campus, as well. Take the Campus Court Plaza fire, for example. The University of Waterloo’s official student newspaper was at the scene of the fire alongside news reporters from The Record, CTV, Global News and so on. We proved to be a strong contender in the world of news and who knew the most about a mostly student-populated business plaza? Students, duh. And that’s one instance where campus media prevails. I was able to take in a very interesting lecture by the incredible radio host-turned-media-guru Alan Cross a few weeks ago. Can you take a guess where his career kicked off ? That’s right, the University of Winnipeg’s campus radio station, CKUW. Cross openly talks about the importance of campus journalism and how it’s a great place for aspiring journalists to begin their careers. I couldn’t agree more.

George writes. See George write. Write, George, write! pmcgeown@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Get out your e-readers, ‘Dubya’ is being published

ecision Points, the memoir of much-maligned former President George W. Bush, hit stores Nov. 9. I waited outside Chapters until 2 a.m. Tuesday morning before realizing there was no midnight release. On one hand, I was disappointed; on the other, there was no possibility of someone ruining the ending. (Spoiler alert: Iraqi citizens – not Snape – killed Saddam Hussein.) The 512-page memoir, “shatter[s] the conventions of political autobiography,” by offering “a strikingly candid journey through the defining decisions of his life,” (Amazon.com). For those of you who followed his presidency — specifically his war on the English language — that description will sound awfully euphemistic;

somewhat like a parent describing his dimmer-than-last-year’s-Christmaslights child. My guess is that “strikingly candid” is to “vaguely coherent” what “unique” is to “can’t do up his Velcro shoes.” It should also strike you as odd that a man who presided over two wars, guided the nation through the largestever terrorist attack on American soil, and was in office for two terms can sum up his life in a mere 512 pages. By contrast, Nixon — who was only in office for five years — penned over 1,000 pages, and Bush Sr. — who served just one term — outdid his son by more than a hundred pages. I know, I know, picking on Bush is old hat. My gripe, really, is with political memoirs in general. I understand

the appeal; the American presidency is said to be the most powerful position in the world, and even I am intrigued by the thought of being allowed inside the White House, if only vicariously. However, even if ex-presidents are willing to be entirely forthcoming, one has to assume that they are not allowed to be. I would wager my OSAP loan that various intelligence agencies and advisors comb through each memoir to ensure that nothing is revealed that might compromise national security or the American public image. To be fair, I haven’t read every presidential memoir. Maybe Nixon spilled about Watergate. Maybe Truman revealed Communist sympathies. Maybe Kennedy — uh, never mind. But I

have a difficult time believing that Bush, a man whose administration authored the Patriot Act, is going to reveal anything more gossipy than the fact that he nearly replaced Cheney before the 2004 election (that, folks, is your “Snape killed Dumbledore” moment.) So, why read the memoirs of a man who had trouble forming a sentence? Besides practising your editing skills (every copy of Decision Points comes with a red pen and grammar guide), a number of people will no doubt be intrigued by the thought processes of a man who often acted and spoke as though he had none. —With files from thirdage.com, amazon.com, and huffingtonpost.com

Community Editorials

A tale of two ditties

A brief analysis of popular culture’s evolution through a principal form of expression Stephen Kearse

2a classical studies/political science

opular culture is stupid. To be precise, popular culture has always been stupid and always will. Contemporary popular culture is only unique because it leaves no place for subtlety or reason. To support this statement, I offer the vociferously trite testimony of pop music. My understanding of pop music is purely observational, but it coheres with cursory Internet searches. Pop music is, simply put, a genre that is designed to appeal to the most people; it borrows elements from numerous other genres, but primarily the one which is most popular at the time. In this sense, pop music is very utilitarian: the greatest pleasure for the greatest number with only

a necessary regard for artistic quality. With your leave, I would like to introduce you to Wang Chung’s “Everybody Have Fun Tonight,” (“EHFT”). This song was released in 1986 and peaked at number two on the Billboard U.S. Hot 100 chart. “EHFT” is a pleasant song, with simple yet potent subject matter — the joys of having a good time with loved ones — and an absurdly catchy beat. It has little artistic or intellectual merit, but it invites the listener to forget his/her everyday cares and boogie — a perfect pop song. As an indicator of 1980s popular culture, “EHFT” tells me that people understood the need for an escape, but expected that escape to have certain standards. If they wanted music which redefined those standards without abandoning reason, they could always turn to Tears for Fears or Michael Jackson. Now let us jump forward by a short 23 years.

“I Gotta Feeling” by the Black Eyed Peas was released last year and peaked at number one on the same chart. Like “EHFT,” “IGF” is also a strong advocate for having a good time. It does so, however, in a rather mind-numbing and nonsensical fashion. For brevity’s sake, accept the music and the chorus as examples. The beat of this song is maddeningly strident, intended to provoke sustained, repetitive movement with minimal variation. Typically, it elicits freak dancing or a recent phenomenon in dancing known as “jumping up and down.” The chorus continues this trend; consisting of four words repeated too many times (“Let’s do it, and do it” for four lines), it is ridiculously inane and presents a circular message — have fun as often and as wildly as possible because it’s fun. See POP CULTURE on page 7

Opinion

Imprint, Friday, November 12, 2010

From the Vault

Community Editorials Pop culture Continued from page 6

This brings us back to popular culture. “IGF” tells me several things about the current status of popular culture. From its suggestion that losing all control is the best way to cope with stress, I can deduce that the majority of people feel as though their everyday lives are hopelessly restrictive and provide no satisfaction. From the numerous references to wild partying with wanton abandon towards everything (usually involving sex, drugs, and/or alcohol), I can deduce that, for most people, this is the most effective counterbalance to their dreary daily lives. Finally, from the strident beat and the hints of despera-

tion in the chorus, I can deduce that people don’t want to think about their escapism — they just want to get lost in it. And I know why. We are all a rowdy bunch of overstimulated dolts. We live in an age where every bit of information about everything and everyone is readily accessible and constantly flowing, forcing us to be continuously engaged. In addition, the number of outlets for this information, combined with other distractions, has become truly gargantuan. Consequently, we have not the energy, the patience, or the time to create our own escapism. Moreover, we are in such a complete state of overstimulation that, for the most

part, removing the stimulation abruptly only generates greater despair, confusion, and/or isolation. Thus, the only avenue is to jettison one’s senses entirely through various media (i.e. get smashed, sleep away the day, do internet video marathons until 3 a.m, etc.) and hide for a little while. In essence, then, popular culture become inextricably bound to our technology and our escapism. None of the distractions are going to fade away, but I have a simple strategy to counteract them: turn off your computer, put the phone on vibrate, silence the music, and go play cards with some people – preferably by a window where you can receive some natural stimulation from the sun.

50 years ago Left: An editorial printed in the November 16, 1960 (volume 1, no. 2) issue of Coryphaeus, the undergrad student publication at the University of Waterloo prior to Imprint.

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Opinion

Imprint, Friday, November 12, 2010

Letters to the Editor

Re: Unconditional love on the international stage Brian Shaposhnik wilfrid laurier business student

agree completely that Israel is not above legitimate criticism, in the same way that no country should be. As a Canadian-Israeli Jew, I love my homeland, and as part of that, I welcome legitimate criticism in hopes of seeing a better Israel. I myself, an ardent defender of Israel, often voice my criticisms of the Israeli government when it is deserved. However, your article took a serious downturn when you brought up the Turkish flotilla. Let me be clear: this flotilla was a provocation by recognized terrorists. You are dead wrong when you claim that Israel’s actions were contrary to international law. A naval blockade is legal under international law and as part of that, Israel has the legal right to inspect ships attempting to breach the blockade, especially if the ships are suspected of transporting weapons to the terrorist Hamas leadership in Gaza that seeks to kill innocent civilians and destroy the state of Israel. Five of the six ships in this flotilla surrendered peacefully with no incidents. The Mavi Marmara, the sixth largest, and most publicized ship, was boarded by tens of Turkish members of terrorist group IHH. Their mission was not one of peace; they were not delivering badly needed humanitarian aid. Their cargo was two-year-old expired medicine and broken wheelchairs. Their purpose, as reported by themselves, was to break the blockade. Their method? Viciously attacking Israeli soldiers (equipped with paintball guns) with knives, metal

poles, and even live fire. In a fight for their lives, the Israeli soldiers killed nine terrorists. The loss of lives is unfortunate. The legitimate criticism on Israel is that their intelligence should have been better prepared and the strategy should have changed when they realized they would be greeted with armed thugs. Rappelling down one by one onto the ship armed with paintball guns is an idiotic mistake, at the very least. It’s a miracle that more people weren’t killed in the aftermath of this error. But criticizing these soldiers for defending themselves, and Israel for enforcing a blockade against a terrorist group that seeks to destroy Israel is illegitimate and unacceptable. Many people buy into the anti-Israel propaganda and claim that Israel’s actions in the flotilla were illegal, defending the terrorists without learning the true facts about what happened on the ship. These people need to do their research. There is clear video evidence showing exactly what happened that day. There is even footage of these Turkish terrorists prior to the incident discussing their goal of dying on the ship as martyrs. Yes, Israel was criticized by the United Nations Human Rights Council, a joke of a body, run by countries like Libya, China, and Saudi Arabia, the absolute worst human rights violators on Earth. Please look up the history of the UNRHC (a very new body). Out of all the world’s human rights violators, out of all the world’s tragedies and genocides (Darfur), almost every single UNHRC action has addressed Israel. Why, I ask? Is this legitimate criticism?

University of Ottawa

No, it’s not. This constant obsession, demonization, and delegitimization of the Jewish State is rooted in anti-Semitism and must not be tolerated. Blaming Israel for anti-American and antiCanadian sentiment in the Islamic world is very naive. It is very narrow sighted to believe that the world’s problems will be solved with IsraeliPalestinian peace. Israel is one small front in radical Islam’s war against the West. These fundamentalist Islamist terrorists are at war with the very essence of America. They are at war with Western culture and way of life. As a Canadian, I am damn proud that our government has the balls to stand up and say proudly, we don’t care what extremists think. We stand up for democracy. We stand up for freedom. We stand up for human rights. And we will publicly stand strong with our friend, Israel, the one country in the Middle East that shares these values. You want to talk about belligerence? Let’s see you write an article criticizing the Arab countries that have abused Palestinians for decades. Do you know that more Palestinians have been killed by Jordan and Lebanon than by Israel? Do you know that Lebanon has legislation denying Palestinians citizenship, and even going so far as to refuse Palestinians the right to “high status” jobs such as lawyers, doctors, etc. Let’s see you write an article speaking out against Muslim countries that execute homosexuals. What about Saudi Arabia, where women are barred from driving or leaving the home without male accompaniment? And Iran where political dissidents and protesters are murdered in the streets? Is this not a concern to human rights activists?

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On noticing things and Waldo Zainab Ramahi 1a knowledge integration

very single day of our lives we pass by objects, events, people, or ideas that go unnoticed. But instead of imploring you to be on constant alert and nerve-tinglingly aware of every minute detail around you, we all know that there are some things that we do not need to notice. After all, there is only so much that our brains can handle at a given instant in time, and I am confident that ensuring you do not hit the car in front of you is more important than the puffy white cloud that looks like your Aunt Lucy. There are also parts of our daily lives that we notice — but we just do not know that we notice them. Thoughts pass through our subconscious all of the time and may forever rest in our dreams, never to reach our conscious minds. But what makes us less likely to notice something that another person may remember vividly? It could be that we are not “primed” in a sense, to have these events, encounters, or instances achieve full status as memories in our brains. Just as learning a new word makes you more likely to notice it afterwards, you are more likely to notice what you have been conditioned to notice. If you did not know that you were looking for Waldo, would you ever find him? While not finding Waldo might not qualify to be a life-changing experience, we can recognize that there are, in fact, experiences that we have that do change us. Advertising and promotion, usually of goods and services, primes us to be aware of and notice trends, fads, and other opportunities to be a consumer. So why is any of this noticing business important? Well, are we missing out on opportunities to enrich our lives?

Opinion

Imprint, Friday, November 12, 2010

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Arts & Entertainment

Imprint, Friday, November 12, 2010 arts@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

photos by ethan oblak

The Glass Factor: an exhibition of fantasy and beauty

Carla Valerio staff reporter

e may not be splendid French candelabra like Lumiere (Beauty and the Beast), but we are most definitely welcome to enjoy one of the most impressive exhibitions of the season here in Waterloo. The Glass Factor, launched earlier this Fall at the Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery in Uptown Waterloo, will be running until January. The glass exhibit shows the work of 18 prominent Canadian glass artists. Brad Copping, Laura Donefer, Susan Edgerley and Alfred Engerer are just some of the names one encounters when approaching the exhibition. These artists not only draw inspiration from nature, but they also focus on the Canadian landscape, which gives a special and national touch to their work. The marvellous works of art are primarily made of glass, beautifully crafted and magnificently designed to portray colour and lines within their fluid medium. Looking at these luminaries, one may feel a sense of fragility, transparency, and reflection. It is like seeing one’s self portrayed in the nature of complex glass pieces. But despite their apparent fragility, these works are both sturdy and strong. It was rather impressive to see how an artist can play with a material like glass and turn it into something as complex, detailed and eye-catching as these pieces. On the other hand, it is fair to remember we are talking about the works of 18 different artists

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here, meaning that we will find different visions, styles, and methods that show on each piece. Some pieces follow an abstract aesthetic, while others are contemporary and realistic or even classical and meticulous. It is interesting to see how these artists can put their unique signature on works made on glass just as painters do in their paintings. Light also plays a key role in this exhibition and the gallery has done a great job assorting all of the works so that their unique features come out. Such professionalism and such attention to detail both on the gallery’s and on the artists’ part surely deserves credit, and we are all quite fortunate to have such talented artists show their work close to home. The best news for everyone interested in getting to know more about these works is that all exhibitions at the Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery are accessible to the public, and the hours are rather convenient. Not only this, but the gallery also hosts a variety of events and activities where the public is able to interact with the artists, the curator and other glass art fans. Year-round, the gallery runs lectures, workshops, tours and demonstrations for all kinds of public to allow them to experience more closely the crafting of clay and glass. They also take donations and admissions to certain exhibits to help fund their work, so if you would like to get involved there are plenty of ways to do so. If you are a fan of glasswork or would just like to witness these wonders just come uptown and see the works for yourself. For more information visit www. canadianclayandglass.ca.

INSIDE THIS SECTION: Movie review: Saw 3D P13 Review of the albums Airborne and Baptized In Blood P14

The photos above and to the left show some displays of art at The Glass Factor exhibition. Launched earlier in the fall by the Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery, The Glass Factor features approximately 100 works of art by 18 of the best artists from the contemporary Canadian glass scene. The exhibition will run until January.

Imprint, Friday, November 12, 2010

Arts & Entertainment

Finished Writing Your Thesis? Need To Print and Bind it?

Bounded by law

f any gamers do read this column, then I am sure that you are aware of the current (or maybe resolved case by the time this article comes out) case of censoring games. If you aren’t aware of the issue, however, fear not. I am here to throw in a little background. In California, a new law has been challenged by a court case recently. The new law demands that video games which contain “deviating” violence become censored. In other words, video games that contain images of blood being spewed out of a human being are now illegal. On the other hand, a video game that has a humanoid alien spewing out blood is okay because that “alien,” despite having two legs, two arms, and the same pink coloured skin that humans have, is not human. There’s a wacko lawyer out there by the name of Jack Thompson, whose main argument against violent video games is that they will corrupt children into imitating actions such as picking up a gun and shooting “terrorists.” We wouldn’t want that now, would we? The picking up a gun part, I mean. When you begin censoring a game for supposedly “deviating” from standard violence, we have a problem. First of all, what is “normal” violence anyways? Is it normal for me to shoot someone, and watch as gallons of blood pour out? Is it normal for me to shoot someone, and then watch his body explode with his rectum in my face?

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Is it normal, then, for me to shoot someone, and then walk away because I am such a badass? We might never know. Another thing is the “snowball” effect. If you have read Iliad or the Odyssey you would know that a Cyclops’s eye was gouged out by Ulysses. Why wasn’t that depicted as graphic or “deviating?” Once we start censoring video games, then who is to say that we can’t start censoring television, films, or the arts in general. No more will we see nude bodies being painted. No more will we see topless Brad Pitt preparing to make love to star actress with fake boobies number 4053. No more will we see action sequences where the passenger gets their head blown out the front window. No more will we be able to enjoy saucy romance literature. Most importantly, no more will artists be able to express themselves. Now, I’m not going to start arguing video games as an “art” today. That’s simply too large of a topic that I will have to cover another day. But what I’m saying is that video game censorship is ridiculous. Can anyone of this generation truly say they’ve never picked up a violent video game, whether “deviating” or not, and have felt some sort of sick enjoyment out of it? Perhaps not everyone can be the type of person to enjoy cutting apart someone limb by limb, but I think there’s a sort of sick enjoyment out of it.

Back to the supposed law that’s being reviewed. If it’s allowed to get through, then video games would just become sillier. The artistic value of said video games will just go down. Whereas now we have humans fighting aliens, we might have “humanoid like aliens” fighting aliens in the future. Not that this new law would actually stop video game production or anything, but stay with me here. Imagine you went to watch a movie about love, or something you enjoy. A new law is passed that you can’t see actors or actresses who weigh over a certain amount. Of course, they would do all they can to lose the weight, but it would just become incredibly silly and even less realistic than movies are now. The movie audience needs a character they can relate to, a character that they can say, “Oh yeah, that’s totally me,” and a character that they can see leaving the theatre with them; no one wants a twig in bed. Seriously, I don’t. I can’t stand people who call foul, accusing the government of watching us, and then trying to establish laws like this. If you don’t want the government shoving their hands where they don’t belong, then don’t try to shove your hands where they don’t belong either. If God and I know how many other gamers out there, say we want our guns, blood, and gruel some deaths in our game, then stay the hell out of my throat because I’ve got other uses for it.

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Arts & Entertainment

Imprint, Friday, November 12, 2010

Movie Review Saw 3D: The Final Chapter Kevin Greutert Maple Pictures

ello readers, I want to play a game. Sound familiar? It should, since it wouldn’t be the Halloween season without a rendition of the Saw series for the past six years. Director Kevin Greutert (Saw VI) is back this fall along with jigsaw (Tobin Bell) and Jill (Betsy Russell) with the Oct. 29 release of Saw 3D: The Final Chapter. According to MTV, the film made $24.2 million on opening weekend, banking beyond the low budget for production. Fuelled by a number of enticing trailers, the short teasers leading up to Saw 3D created more hype than the actual film did. I mean, what Saw fan wasn’t thrilled with the 3D trailers? Strapped into your seat, saws flying at you through the air, and a pig-masked jigsaw minion reaching out from the big screen? Admittedly, my inner Saw fan was screaming, “Yes, please.” Looking back now, it’s more or less cynically scoffing, “Give me a break.” Truly jigsaw and truly gory, the opening scene of the film is the first “game,” where we find three characters chained to a device that will result in

one of them having to die. Ultimately the opening scene comes down to two guys deciding whether the cheating girlfriend hanging above them (who is currently two-timing them both) should live or die. Enough suspenseful music and drama to bring me to the edge of my seat, the fantastic opening scene only ended up making me laugh. Call it what you will, but noticeably fake intestines and pink blood? Come on, Lionsgate, I thought you could do better than that. As all Saw movies prior, this 3D movie follows the unravelling of one “big game” while revealing random details of jigsaw’s life through flashbacks to Saw I-VI. Predominantly following self-help guru and bestselling author Bobby Dagen’s (Sean Patrick Flanery) experiences to save those around him through torturous tasks, the film also works to tie up the loose ends of all Saws prior, without any real success. While the devices and scenarios throughout the film are exceptionally top-notch, with many being realistic enough to make my stomach turn and my gag reflex kick in within seconds, most of the excitement was short lived, overshadowed by repeated use of devices from the previous movies and the mediocre use of special effects.

So what could Saw 3D have had less of? First and foremost, the buckets of fake pink blood. No further comment. Secondly, I really do wish the trailers lived up to the content of the flick. With no taunting pig-masked minions and never strapping viewers into their seats, the concept of being the last puzzle of jigsaw’s game just flew out the window. And of course, let’s not even talk about the countless cameos of past Saw victims and survivors. It’s hard enough to keep track of them all as a fan, but stopping midway through the film to think “Oh wait, which game did this one play?” is really annoying. Not to mention Dr. Gordon’s (Cary Ewles) comeback. Really? He’s still alive? I thought he crawled away leg-less at the end of the original Saw. Despite high anticipation and the full 3D production of The Final Chapter, this Saw fails to live up to its name. Fake blood and a blur of random details, the film never really ends the series after all. Like all Saw movies before this one, it leaves you hanging, wondering whether Lionsgate finally wrapped it up. Overall, the film deserves four sawed off limbs out of a potential 10 and a direct-toDVD verdict. Oh, and don’t bother buying the 3D edition, either. — Eleonora Meszaros

courtesy of IMDB

Book Review

courtesy of amazon

Michael Lewis The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine W.W. Norton & Co

n Oct. 22, 2008, Deven Sharma, president of Standard & Poor’s, a key credit rating agency in the U.S., would appear before the U.S. House of Representatives testify that “[v]irtually no one… anticipated what is occurring.” Enter Michael Lewis’s book, The Big Short, which details the lives of Steve Eisman, Michael Burry, Charlie Ledley, Jamie Mai, Vincent Daniel, Danny Moses, and Greg Lippmann who all saw the growing crisis and decided to short-sell Wall Street’s sub-prime mortgage bonds and collateralized debt obligations (CDO’s). Lewis takes the reader through the explosive growth of sub-prime lending where mortgage rates were generally several points below the prime rate set by banks. $30 billion U.S. was considered a big year for sub-prime mortgages in the 1990s, though in 2000 $130 billion U.S. sub-prime mortgages would be sold with $55 billion U.S. being repackaged into mortgage bonds and sold off by investment banks. In 2005, Lewis states this number would grow even larger, rising to $625 billion U.S. with $507 billion U.S. being repackaged as bonds. Also, while sub-prime mortgage sales were rising, the percentage of Americans taking variable-rate mortgages was rising with 35 per cent of households taking a variable rate in 1996 growing to 75 per cent in 2005, usually with a two-year “teaser” rate. It would be this “teaser” period that would be of significance to Lewis’s story, as he explains how seven people saw the end of teaser rates and falling house prices as potentially devastating to the mortgage bond and CDO system. Since mortgage bonds couldn’t be shortened, these individuals would turn to credit default swaps (CDS’s) which were invented by bankers in J.P. Morgan. They would allow institutions to buy protection on a bond for regular payments so that if the bond were to default, the seller of the protection would pay the buyer the par value of the bond. In 2004, Lewis explains that AIG Financial Products would start selling “naked” CDS’s (naked in that you didn’t have to own any part of the bond to buy protection, thereby inviting speculation) which by 2008 would make up a $15.5 trillion U.S. market. While Lewis explains the origins of mortgage bonds, CDO’s and CDS’s,

he also explains the great failures in the credit rating agencies Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s in granting triple-A status (virtually riskless or U.S. Treasury Bond equivalence) to CDO’s made up of very risky triple-b mortgage bonds with a few triple-A’s for the higher credit-average. Because the credit rating agencies didn’t know how to rate these derivatives they took money from investment banks to devise ratings and were staffed by what Lewis considers analysts that didn’t make it to the big banks. The rating agencies inappropriately gave low-risk ratings which would allow investment bankers to make more money on the spread in interest rates. After years of issuing loans to some of the least credit-worthy individuals in the United States, the music would finally stop in August 2007, when the first few batches of sub-prime mortgages would leave the teaser-rate period and enter the usually much higher variable rate. With falling house prices, Americans would not be able to refinance their homes to quickly gain capital. So what would come to be called the Great Recession, began as millions of homeowners started defaulting on their mortgages. Woven with the personal tales of the seven who foresaw the Great Recession, Lewis writes a down-to-earth account of Wall Street in the run-up to the 2008 collapse of Lehman Brothers and the significant government bailouts under the Troubled Asset Relief Plan. It is dotted with quoted profanity as hedge fund giants verbally lash at investment bankers, CDO managers, and humourously in one instance at the CEO of Option One, in front of an audience of sub-prime mortgage bond sellers and investors. In the high-stakes world of investment banking, Lewis follows the lives of these seven men, who seeing the looming crisis, risked a little money in betting against the incentive-based greed of Wall Street and came out big. The Big Short is a must-read for students considering or interested in investment banking and the recession, we are now only slowly leaving behind us. The Big Short can be found at the UW Bookstore. — Matt Austin

Arts & Entertainment

Imprint, Friday, November 12, 2010

Music Reviews Airbourne No Guts. No Glory. Roadrunner Records

irbourne’s newest album No Guts. No Glory. is groundbreaking in its fast-paced vibe. Before I say anything else, I feel I should mention that Airbourne shares an incredible likeness with AC/DC. I don’t want to say they sound the same, but one can lose oneself in Airbourne and zone back in, realizing that they actually aren’t listening to AC/DC. But, enough praise for the old rock gods. Each and every song is catchy enough to be a hit, which can be a good thing or a bad thing. If you are a diehard fan of this type of music, you’ll love it. However, if you are experimenting and just trying to get into this kind of genre, it may be difficult. This is because none of the tracks actually stick out. All songs on the album sound the same, with the exception of a few words relating to the track title. It honestly feels like I’m listening to a single 40-minute long song. That being said, I’m unable to compliment any song in particular. What I can do is summarize all the songs into one long run-on sentence. The album is as follows: We’re just surviving by singing rock n’ roll and being extremely patriotic and riding trains while having sex with tons of beautiful women while we go crazy and drink lots of whisky while we bust outta this steel town, more whisky, more women! I will be hunted by those bloodthirsty fan boys for writing that, but it’s true. This is the life they have lived, which had me surprised at

first. Their life seemed almost like a dream to me, always partying, rarely worrying about anything and always having a good time. But then reality hit me in the face and I realized that even Airbourne went through bad times. They don’t like to admit it because it contradicts the insane nature of the group. The lead singer and vocalist, Joel O’Keeffe, is nuts. With the way he makes himself look on their website, he’s the most chill person you could imagine. He stresses the point that to listen to Airbourne, you must have at least couple beers ready and you have to listen to the CD much louder than a doctor’s recommendation. For three years the band lived on welfare in a Melbourne suburb, with a sturdy diet of booze and barbeque. I’m guessing it was those years that made them into the loud, rowdy, rebellious, Australian band they are today. Yet back when I said the album was groundbreaking, it was no lie. The music really is amazing. It almost feels like Angus Young and Phil Rudd from AC/DC, and it’s nostalgic to say the least. — David Lehto

courtesy of roadrunner records

Want your band’s album reviewed? Send an email to arts@imprint.uwaterloo.ca for more information!

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“... makes the inner mosh kid inside me jump for joy and want to run at any group

of people coming my way, courtesy of baptized in blood

Baptized in Blood Baptized in Blood Roadrunner Records

aptized in Blood (BIB) is back and packing grenades. With the drop of the band’s selftitled sophomore album, it’s evident that the members have transformed the metal genre to find new licks, kicks, and screams to entice listeners and fellow musicians. Originating from London, Ontario, they’ve even managed to impress Dave Mustaine, guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter of Megadeath, who has taken over managing the band. From the opening chord to the final fade-out, this is an album that should be listened to from start to finish in all of its speed metal glory. The album opens with “Up Shirts Down Skirts” filled with strong vocals, heavy drumming, and the unique guitar sound that Baptized in Blood has worked to develop since their first album, Gutterbound, in 2009. The song, combined with the second track on the album “Dirty’s Back” hardly needs to persuade us that the band has done anything but

elbows raised for attack.” perfect the ultimate guitar melody. The lyrics of “Dirty’s Back” remind us why we listened to the band in the first place: they refuse to be ignored. Despite frontman Johl Fendley’s attempts to provide exceptional vocals throughout the album, it’s the guitar cadence that verberates through the rest of the sounds packed into every song. Though a range of vocal skills are there, they are overshadowed by the countless guitar pull-offs, bends, and breakdowns that are timed perfectly with fast-paced drumming and heavy bass. “Down and Out” is arguably the greatest song on the album, changing the pace and rhythm of sound to explore new grounds of melodic deathcore in true BIB fashion. The combination of an incredible breakdown with a change in vocal technique makes the inner mosh kid inside me jump for joy and want to run at any group of people coming my way, elbows raised for attack. “Mental” is a song to definitely explore, with further proof of the exemplary guitar melody and chord progression that makes heads turn

and bang along. Most memorable on the album includes a later song, “Will of a Demon.” Deeper lyrics, a true ode to musical integrity, and a change in tempo show us that Baptized in Blood can go beyond their own expectations to create a fresh sound. It’s not music to listen to, it’s music that must be felt. The final song on the album, “Event Horizon,” shows the band’s talent to incorporate all they have throughout the album and more: the opening chords are enough to prove that Baptized in Blood can create a distinctive sound and subgenre of music. The song concludes with a progressive, dramatic fade from the album that I want to keep listening to over and over again. Overall, the album is short, timing in at a mere 48 minutes, but provides enough blow to satisfy the metal-induced needs of any listener. A message to all fans of the likes of Dead and Divine, Kingdoms, and the Holly Springs Disaster: make room in your music library for Baptized in Blood — these boys are here to stay. — Eleonora Meszaros

Sports & Living Men’s volleyball splits games over weekend

Imprint, Friday, November 12, 2010 sports@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Warriors men’s hockey splits games over the weekend

Namish Modi sports & living editor

he Warrior’s men’s volleyball team opened their home schedule over the weekend with a win and a loss. Waterloo lost a closely contested match 3-2 against the Queens Golden Gaels on Friday Nov. 5 at the PAC. “We love the crowd, it certainly is a more fun atmosphere to play in when there is lots of noise and energy,” said Waterloo coach Chris Lawson. Queens started the match off well by defeating Waterloo 25–17 and 25–20 in the first two sets. “We made a couple substitutions in the third set that stabilized the line up a little and we just tried to focus on playing loose and aggressive,” Lawson said. These changes helped as Waterloo ended up taking the next two sets 25–18 and 25–22. However, the Gaels prevailed by dominating the fifth and final set by a score of 15–4. “There is no such thing as a good loss, home or away. It’s especially tough when you don’t play consistently for a full match,” added Lawson. “The key to any win in the OUA is consitent serving, passing, and agressive defence.” The Gaels were led by Joren Zeeman who had 19 kills and three service aces. Bryan Fautley also provided a significant contribution with 14 kills and three service aces. The Warriors were led offensively by rookie Middle Jordan Dyck and outside hitter Aleks Poldma, each contributing ten kills. Outside hitter Fiodar Kazhamiaka also contributed for Waterloo with eight digs. The loss dropped the Warriors record to 1–4. Waterloo hosted the RMC Paladins on Nov. 6. Waterloo improved its record to 2–4 with a straight sets victory taking the sets 25–14, 25–12 and 25–13, controlling the match from beginning to end. The Warriors were led by Kazhamiaka, who provided 10 kills and seven digs. Outside Corey Yednoroz had six kills and six digs. Outside Matt Snyder also had six kills, and chipped in with five digs. Setter Kevin Wiseman was stellar with 18 assists. “RMC is a little different then playing Queens. Although they play very hard on every point and are well coached, the size of the school makes it tough to match up physically with other teams,” said Lawson. “This was the first playing opportunity for some of our newest guys and they handled it very well.” Waterloo will next face Laurier on Saturday Nov. 13 at 12 p.m. at the PAC. Laurier has an even record at 3–3.

courtesy Carl powloski/ UW athletics

Warriors forward Mike Veysey pitched in with an assist against York. Chester Yang staff reporter

n the battle of the two evenly matched teams in the standings, Waterloo came out the victor with a 4–1 victory over the visiting York Lions. York managed to get on to the board first nine minutes in. York forward Chad Hohmann took the puck at the top of the faceoff circle and sniped a wristshot over the blocker of Warriors goalie Justin Leclerc. The Warriors jumped on the Lions quickly in the second to get the equalizer. Just a minute into the period, a streaking Ryan Molle fired a shot on net, forcing Blair to give up a juicy rebound to the waiting Josh Schappert. Schapper switched to the backhand and tucked it through the five-hole of Blair to even the game at one. With Molle in the box for interference, Leclerc was a wall in net for the penalty kill. A rebound was kicked directly to the Warriors penalty killer, which resulted in an odd-man rush the other way. Forward Mike Veysey would play the 2-on-1 perfectly, passing it to Thorner who one-timed the shot, giving the Warriors a 2–1 lead. Warriors would then go on the powerplay a few minutes later. A point shot by captain Chris Ray snuck through the screen of players for the 3–1 lead. Waterloo’s Aaron Lewicki would add a goal in the dying seconds of the game for the 4–1 final score. Leclerc finished with 24 saves on 25 shots, while Blair was 24 for 28 in the game. Tempers flared near the end of the game sports@imprint.uwaterloo.ca banner_ad_v6.qxd:Layout 1 11/9/10 12:25 PM Page 1 that even after the handshake, the two teams

congregated in a scrum that needed help to be separated. Capitalizing on scoring chances in the opening period was the difference in an otherwise closely contested game between the Warriors and the Mustangs in London last Saturday. Western took the lead early in the first when Jason Swit took a pass from Geoff Killing and snipes it past the screened goaltender Leclerc, who was making his second consecutive start on the weekend. Just a few minutes later, Mustang Steve Reese banged in a rebound on the doorstep on a powerplay for the two goal lead. Mustang Kevin Baker finished the scoring in the first period by making no mistake after being sprung on a breakaway. “They had one more scoring chance than we did inthefirst,buttheycapitalizedontheirsandwedidn’t,” said coach Brian Bourque. “Down three in the first in this league makes it very difficult to come back.” Western extended the lead to four in the second, but Waterloo would claw back by scoring one in the second when Veysey scored his first of the season on a backhand on opposing goaltender Anthony Grieco. Western would quickly get the four goal lead back; Mustang Aaron Snow scores his sixth of the season just a minute later. In the third period, Jarret Schnurr scored his sixth of the season and Steve Whitely followed with his third. “Credit to our guys in the third, they never gave up, they scored a couple of goals and outshot them quite heavily,” said Bourque. Warriors outshot Western 19–8 in the period and outscored them 2–0, but four goals was too much to overcome. The Warriors will visit the Laurier Goldenhawks on Thursday night.

THINK PINK T-SHIRTS PRESENTS...

First Down... For those of you asleep for the past few weeks, you might be surprised to learn that Mike McEwen took home the World Cup of Curling title with a victory over Jeff Stoughton last weekend. If that name doesn’t sound familiar, that’s understandable, but McEwen could become a household name this season. He took out Kevin Martin’s rink in the quarterfinals and has already won two events this season... Can someone explain the rationale behind Randy Ferbey joining Brad Gushue’s rink? And to throw another little twist Ferbey (four time world champion) will skip the rink? see RUNDOWN page 20

ATHLETES OF THE WEEK

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THIS WEEK IN

ATHLETICS AND RECREATION

t’s one of those things that not a lot of people take into consideration when watching a football game. What happens to these guys after they retire? A few become television analysts and some get into coaching, but the majority of them do not, and this is the problem behind the National Football League. Where do the players go? Consider the fact that the average length of an NFL career lasts around three years. That’s three paycheques and even for those players making seven figures, that still isn’t enough money to last a lifetime. Most of the players will end up in a second career after their playing days have ended. But what if they can’t? Unless you are a kicker, punter, or quarterback, the day in, day out physical punishment on your body is eventually going to take its toll. Many former players are now crippled or have debilitating pain and are unable to work after they’re done playing. And if they didn’t earn enough money during their career, they’re basically surviving on disability cheques. This isn’t a sob story about NFL players, or a petition to increase salaries. This is merely to show why protecting it’s players is such a central focus in the NFL these days. It’s why there is outrage on helmet to helmet hits on defenseless receivers and cheap-shots are no longer viewed as part of the game. If the NFL can do something that will keep it’s players healthier, they should definitely make the change. Obviously there is inherent risk in playing football, but that doesn’t mean the players don’t have the right to live their life after the game. It’s amazing that James Harrison and other players around the league don’t have enough respect for their fellow athletes to recognize this simple fact. It’s not about taking anything away from the game, it’s about keeping the players safe and that should be the focus for anyone associated with the NFL...

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JOBS FOR WINTER TERM Winter 2011 employment opportunities in Athletics available. Visit the “Employment and Volunteering” page online for more details on jobs in Campus Recreation, Varsity and Promotions.

KAYLA

CHRIS

WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL

MEN’S HOCKEY

RAY

Think Pink “

Namish Modi sports & living editor

photo courtesy uw athletics

— Jenny mckay, Special events & promotions coordinator

“

Spreading the word and creating awareness is very important. This is one of our goals for the weekend of events, plus fans can win lots of great prizes while supporting a great cause.

Think Pink Weekend UW athletics fundraising for Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation - Ontario Region

$10,000 Goal for 2010 $8,745.33

Amount raised in 2009

$4,137.39

Amount raised in 2008

hink Pink will take place this weekend, Nov. 12 -14 at the University of Waterloo. The event is used to raise awareness for breast cancer, and all funds will be donated to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation Ontario (CBCF). It will be an exciting weekend for the Waterloo Warriors on many fronts as the volleyball, basketball, and hockey teams will all host games during Think Pink. There will also be other events such as the Spin-a-thon and the campus recreation soccer tournament. “The volleyball and basketball teams will be wearing Think Pink T-shirts during warm up and the hockey teams will be wearing pink jerseys for warm-up,” said special events and promotions coordinator Jenny Mckay. “All teams are encouraged to wear other pink items. In the past teams have worn pink socks, tape, hair pieces, and ties. It’s all dependent on the teams.” Waterloo’s department of athletics and recreational services will be hosting the event, which is being held for the third year. The aim is to raise funds for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation - Ontario chapter. In 2008, $4,137.39 was raise, while $8,745.33 was raised in 2009. The goal for 2010 is $10,000. “The goal for fundraising this year is $10,000 and I’m happy to say we’ve already reached that goal as of earlier this week. The goal now is to raise as much as possible for the great cause,” said Mckay. “The biggest change this year from last year is the option to donate online. Unfortunately, last year the CBCF wasn’t able to get this option up and running for us. This year, the amount of online donations has been outstanding.” There are a variety of ways to donate to the campaign. Think Pink T-shirts are available for $15 in the athletics office. Think Pink bang sticks will be sold at all varsity games. Shaving your head at one of the varsity games is also an option, as well as dining out at Boston Pizza on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, and making a dollar donation to purchase a paper ribbon. “I think encouraging students to be aware that cancer affects each and everyone of us and any small donation can help fight this ongoing battle,” added Mckay. “ Spreading the word and creating awareness is very important. This is one of our goals for the weekend of events, plus fans can win lots of great prizes while supporting a great cause.” The first varsity game of the weekend will feature the Warriors women’s basketball team in their home opener as they host the University of Ottawa at the PAC on Friday November 12th at 6 p.m. The men’s team will follow with their home opener at 8 p.m., also hosting Ottawa. The men’s basketball promotional event will include the paper airplane toss. Also on Friday, the men’s hockey team will play host to the Brock Badgers at CIF at 7:30 p.m. On Saturday at 12 p.m., the men’s volleyball team will host Laurier at the PAC. At 2 p.m., the women’s volleyball team will do the same. At 6 p.m., the women’s basketball team will host Carleton, and at 8 p.m., the men’s basketball team will host Carleton. Saturday also features the Spin-a-Thon. The event will take place at 10 a.m. till 6 p.m. in PAC Studio 2. Registration for the event is available until Friday. Two to eight cyclists will participate in hour long cycle-fit classes, and the cost is $20 a person. Prizes and raffles will be involved. The women’s hockey team will host the Toronto Varsity Blues on Sunday to close out the weekend. The game will take place at 2 p.m. at CIF. Also occurring on Sunday will be the head shaving of athletics director Bob Copeland co-op student Emma Glofechski. The initiative for this event began at the CIS level through women’s basketball.

Help create a future without breast cancer

“

Warriors ready to raise some spirits

Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation is a worthwhile cause Brent Golem

assistant editor-in-chief

reast cancer has always been an issue in Canada. In 1986, the mortality rate was 32 per 100,000 people. Now that rate has decreased down to 21.4 per 100,000 in 2010. The reduction in mortality can be attributed to better screening and treatments. However, it is estimated that 5,300 women and 50 men will die of breast cancer in 2010. A further 23,200 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year. Although the five-year survival rate is pegged at 87 per cent, one in nine Canadian women are expected to develop breast cancer during her lifetime. As can been seen by the statistics, as far as we have come technologically, we haven’t truly begun to eradicate the problem of breast cancer in our society. Back in 1992 the Canadian government launched its first phase of the Canadian Breast Cancer Initiative, allocating $5 million dollars a year in funding. Nowadays, the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation (CBCF) helps create a future without breast cancer by raising the funding for necessary research and community grants across the country. Since 2000, the Ontario chapter of the CBCF has allocated over $68 million to the most promising breast cancer research throughout Ontario. This past year has seen Ontario raise $17.3 million for the cause. The nationwide organization runs a mandate to fund, support and advocate for innovative research, education and awareness programs, and early diagnosis and effective treatment. In 2010, $6,503,755 was allotted for 18 research projects. Some research currently being supported by the CBCF included a scientific report that recommended more comprehensive breast cancer screening in Ontario. That report has resulted in the creation of Bill 56, which will be an Act to increase access to breast cancer screening. If Bill 56 is enacted into law, then women ages 40-49 will be permitted to join the Ontario Breast Screening Program with a healthcare provider’s referral. The funding provided by the Foundation has led to significant advances in the breast cancer research and in patient care. The Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation has been a leader in raising millions of dollars for breast cancer since it was created in 1986. It is a great cause to be partnered with, as it has such a deep impact in our society. It continues to be a strong advocate for increased initiatives to deal with breast cancer. Supporting them through the Think Pink Weekend, in conjunction with our varsity teams makes for an easy decision. Grab a Think Pink T-shirt and enable the CBCF to help our Canadian women coast to coast. — Foundation photo ethan oblak graphic majuratan sadagopan

Breast cancer statistics 1 in 9 (11per cent) Canadian women are expected to develop breast cancer during her lifetime, 1 in 28 will die from it. 445 Canadian women will be diagnosed with breast cancer every week. 5,300 women in Canada will die from breast cancer in 2010. 100 Canadian women will die of breast cancer every week. 28 per cent of all new cancer cases and 15 per cent of the cancer deaths, breast cancer is the most common form cancer among Canadian women. 87 per cent: Five-year survival rate of woman diagnosed with breast cancer. 180 men in Canada will be diagnosed with breast cancer in 2010, while 50 men will die from it. source:

Canadian Cancer Society /National Cancer Institute of Canada. Canadian Cancer Statistics 2010, Toronto, Canada, 2010.

the Canadian Breast Cancer

photo courtesy uw athletics

Friday, November 12 - 13

Friday, November 12

BOSTON PIZZA INDOOR SOCCER TOURNAMENT

WARRIOR BASKETBALL

WARRIOR [M] HOCKEY

vs. Ottawa Gee Gees PAC Main Gym

vs. Brock Badgers CIF Arena

[W] 6:00 pm

7:30 pm

CIF Gymnasiums

[M] 8:00 pm - Airplane Toss at half time

Saturday, November 13

SPIN-A-THON 10:00 am-6:00 pm PAC Studio

Saturday, November 13 Saturday, November 13

WARRIOR VOLLEYBALL vs. Laurier Golden Hawks PAC Main Gym [M] 12:00 pm - Warrior Day [W] 2:00 pm

WARRIOR BASKETBALL

“FILL THE GYM”CHALLENGE vs. Carleton Ravens PAC Main Gym [W] 6:00 pm - Airplane Toss at half time [M] 8:00 pm - Mascot Basketball at half time

Sunday, November 14

WARRIOR [W] HOCKEY vs Toronto Varsity Blues CIF Arena 2:00 pm

Sports & Living

Imprint, Friday, November 12, 2010

Men’s basketball team opens season with split

Charlie Villenueva makes the Personal Public

Michael Markovski reporter

aarevalo@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

evin Garnett, often referred to as “KG” in the league, plays for the Boston Celtics. He was playing the other night against the Detroit Pistons. Charlie Villenueva, who has a skin condition, plays for Detroit. During the game, KG — according to Villenueva came out and said to him, “You look like a cancer patient.” Now KG denied that and, this is laughable, said “My comment to Charlie V was, in fact, you are cancerous to your team and our league!” Pft, yah I’m certainly going to buy that KG. I have to be honest with you, I’m not really siding with KG on this …but Charlie was way out of line. Because he took the private and made it public. Let me ask you something. If you’re in trouble with your boss and your boss says to you “Chuck, come here.” When you walk into your boss’s office, what are the first three words your boss says to you? “Close the door.” If your boss rips you and says the exact same thing in front of your peers and colleagues, your boss is a jerk. But if your boss says “close the door,” it’s intended only to be a private conversation. KG did not grab a microphone during the game and say “Excuse me everyone, Charlie V is cancerous to his team and the league.” No, it was a side comment, perhaps inappropriate. Celtics coach Doc Rivers sided with KG saying “He said what he says he said.” I know that doesn’t make any sense, but that’s not the point. You might say “Andrew, what’s the difference … Randy Moss, you killed Randy Moss in your rant about his inappropriate behaviour.” Really? You don’t see the difference? Randy

Moss publically humiliated somebody, in front of 30 other men. He screamed and pointed fingers. KG under his breath, bad mouthed him. If you don’t like it, confront him in the moment by saying “Dude, don’t give me that BS — that’s over the line.” You don’t go to your Twitter account. If I was a dad and went to my daughter to privately scold her, it’s a teachable moment. If I do it in front of 30 of her friends, it scars her for life. If you can’t see the difference between private scolding and public humiliation, I’m sorry but there is not a lot I can do for you. As a society, we view public humiliation differently, we certainly do. If Randy Moss had gone to that guy in Minnesota and said to him “Dude, I don’t want to be a bully, I don’t want to say this in front of the other people … but this stuff doesn’t work for me, this is brutal. Got anything else?” We would almost see Randy Moss as compassionate. “What a decent guy he is,” would be the perception. Close the door. Its bosses say to us within those doors, they say it in public … the boss is a jerk. But we’re the jerk when he shuts the door. It should be noted that Charlie V, two years ago, got busted by his team and the league for twittering during a game. Dude, spend less time tattle tailing on twitter … spend more time grabbing boards and you won’t be on the Pistons. I mean, sure KG may have overstepped some fuzzy, nebulous, line, probably. But Charlie took the personal and made it public, okay? Here is what I know: I don’t know exactly what KG said and I think he crossed the line — I think.

he Waterloo Warriors kicked off their 2010-11 season with an impressive 82–59 road victory over the Royal Military College Paladins last weekend. Over their past three match-ups with RMC, the Warriors have won by an average of 41 points, receiving positive contributions from everyone who stepped on the court. Although Friday night’s game in Kingston saw a marginal drop in those numbers, the Warriors used up-tempo gameplay and stingy defense to get up and down the court and spread the scoring effectively. “Our game versus RMC was a run and gun game which allowed us to play everyone. We scored most of our points in transition and the players did a great job of finding the open man,” said coach Kieswetter. The Warriors opened the game strong and didn’t look back after taking a 40–25 lead into the locker room. Forward Alan Goodhoofd was the game’s leading scorer with 16 points, and was one of four Warriors who reached double figures. The following day had the Warriors scheduled to take on the Queen’s Gaels as they looked to build on their convincing victory over the Paladins. However, the competition proved to be more resilient and the Warriors lost by a single point, falling by a final score of 63–62. Fourth year Gael’s guard Tim Boyle sunk a clutch free throw with about 10 seconds left in the game to give his team the narrow edge.

But I know you don’t take personal and make it public. You don’t rip your daughter in front of 30 people; you don’t rip the guy in the food hall and embarrass his company in front of 80 people. If you’re going to bang on every player in this league, Jordan punched players. Michael Jordan is the luckiest guy in the league because Twitter wasn’t around during Jordan’s reign. He made fun of their stuff … Jordan was brutally vicious. Jeff Van Gundy, in an interview with ESPN radio, talked about the KG/Charlie situation. He basically said that if Charlie had a problem, he should’ve confronted him right there and then. Citing that iconic players in the past and present have probably done the same as KG, claiming that if tweeting existed in their era, they would all be ashamed of what they said. KG didn’t do this five times a year, he didn’t haunt him, he didn’t stalk him, didn’t leave him messages at his hotel. He didn’t send dolls with shaved eyebrows to Charlie’s room. He didn’t have other players call him out. It was a one time, inappropriate, mean spirited in the moment opinion? If players are going to broadcast all of this trash talking on the court, then the whole world is TMZ.com. Nobody will say anything. Kobe can be cruel; Jordan was the worst, the guys you love. Larry Bird, Dr. J. The guys we love, were brutal. Larry Bird and Michael Jordan and Gary Peyton, historically, we’re so foul mouthed and over the line, they make KG sound like a cub’s scout.

The first quarter saw the Warriors overcome some early issues and the team managed to create a sizeable 45–31 lead going into halftime behind a 27–7 run to end the second quarter. Unfortunately, the second half produced less favourable results for the Warriors as the Gaels limited their post presence and forced them to take the outside shot. Their strategy worked as Waterloo went ice cold from beyond the arc, and the result was a 22–7 third quarter triumph for the Gaels. “In the second half Queen’s decided to step up their team defense and really pressured us all over the court. They took away our post passes, making it hard for us to establish an inside game when the outside shots weren’t dropping like they were in the first half of the game,” said Warriors’ guard Cam McIntyre, who scored only two points in the second half after dropping 21 points in the first. Queen’s guard Dan Bannister led the way for his team with 20 points, and sparked an early third quarter run to push the Gael’s towards their first victory of the young season. “We didn’t really have a game plan for him (Dan Bannister), since he never really had exceptional games against us in the previous years. But I guess he decided to show up and he definitely hit some big shots down the stretch,” said McIntyre. The Warriors will look to get back in the win column when they host the Ottawa Gee Gees and the number one ranked Carleton Ravens as part of the Think Pink weekend at UW.

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Sports & Living

Imprint, Friday, November 12, 2010

NFL Midseason Report

ike a bad night at a club, the NFL season thus far has produced no standouts, no team that has run away with first place. Last week the consensus was that the New England Patriots were the best team in the league, only for them to fall to the lowly Cleveland Browns. There have been so many shocking wins and losses that it’s hard to be surprised anymore. Whether from the bizarre no-cap off season or possibly the looming possibility of a lockout, this year’s NFL has been extremely chunked together with no team seemingly able to distinguish itself from the general pack. But without further ado, the mid-season NFL awards: Most Valuable Player: 1. Phillip Rivers, 2. Peyton Manning, 3. Eli Manning…It’s almost ridiculous that Rivers keeps producing numbers at the level he does when you consider all the injuries he’s had to endure to his key playmakers. Last week he was without his top four receivers and still passed for 295 yards. He’s on pace to break Dan Marino’s single-season passing record, while leading the surging Chargers back into the playoff mix. Offensive Player of the Year: 1. Roddy White, 2. Adrian Peterson, 3. Arian Foster…It’s hard to deny White, who is second in the league in receiving yards, second in receptions and third in touchdowns. For a team that is playing well, White is their most dangerous weapon. Meanwhile,

jtoporowski@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Peterson continues to plow away on a team that clearly undervalues him. What must it be like to be Peterson? He’s the best player on his team, yet gets little recognition with Brett Favre being around. Defensive Player of the Year: 1. Clay Mathews, 2. Haloti Ngata, 3. Albert Haynesworth (kidding)…It’s hard not to pick Mathews, since he leads the league in sacks with 10.5, has forced a fumble, caught an interceptions (which he brought back for a touchdown) and is leading a solid Packers unit. With that being said, Ngata is a defensive tackle and it’s easy to overlook them. On any football team I’ve ever played on, the linemen always come across as a little peeved that they don’t get recognition, and for good reason, lineman are the foundation of any great team, and Ngata is the best in the league. If you watch a Ravens game closely, you’ll see that every positive defensive play begins with Ngata. As for Haynesworth, he’s being paid to be the defensive player of the year, so I thought that would be good enough for third. Offensive Rookie of the Year: 1. Sam Bradford, 2. Mike Williams, 3. Dez Bryant…This award is Bradford’s to lose at this point. I’m not sure Bradford has had the impact people may be attributing to him (his QB rating is only 75.9), but in a position where winning is put at a premium, Bradford has helped get the Rams winning again. Bryant, if

he was on a competent team, would have run away with this award since his talents are other worldly, but alas, he has been subject to the newly fired Wade Phillips this year. Williams is the surprise rookie no one saw coming, leading rookie’s in touchdowns, receiving yards and third in receptions. Defensive Rookie of the Year: 1. Ndamukong Suh, 2. (and that’s it)…Suh could win this award, quite possibly, if he never played another down all year. Not only has he racked up a truly impressive 6.5 sacks from the DT position, but he has caught an interception, recovered a fumble and rumbled for a touchdown. He is already the best defensive player on his team, and in his rookie year, is actually receiving buzz for Defensive Player of the Year. If Ngata is the best defensive lineman in the league, Suh is in the top three, and that’s truly saying something from a rookie. Mid-Season Super Bowl Pick: Never has there been a year where this is harder to gauge. I like the Giants, but they’ve simply been gutting terrible teams of late. I like the Steelers, but losing DE Aaron Smith has noticeably hurt their defense. I like the Patriots, but that defense truly is a work in progress. When all the dust clears thought, I think it’ll be a Steelers-Giants Super Bowl, and I think the Steelers will pull it out. Of course, next week I’ll probably have a different answer.

The Rundown: Browns on the upswing CONTINUED from page 15

This does not make sense for Ferbey or Gushue; Ferbey leaves a legacy in Alberta to team up with a rink from Newfoundland and Gushue relinquishes control of his rink by bringing in a hired gun? If it’s publicity they’re after then mission accomplished but what a bizarre move... Seventh Inning Stretch... Colt McCoy has the Cleveland Browns looking like a real football team for the first time in years. Their victories over New England and New Orleans were dominant and this could be the start of a new dynasty in Cleveland. It isn’t that McCoy has been winning games singlehandedly either. The last few games have been total team efforts with the defense looking especially sharp. Sometimes it only takes one player and the rest of the pieces fall into place and that’s what it looks like is happening in Cleveland. A lot of credit needs to go to Eric Mangini and the rest of the coaching staff for bringing everyone together... Haven’t seen the Indianapolis Colts look this beatable for years. It doesn’t help that they are losing players left and right. In a sport where injuries are common and players go down every day the Colts have an excess of them, Austin Collie being

the latest. And if anyone out there wasn’t sure what an MVP looked like, take a photo of Peyton Manning. Take a look at who he is playing with and what he has done to stay competitive week in and week out. MVP Overtime... A huge hat tip goes out to Toronto sports fans. Hang in there, friends. Humorously enough, the Buffalo Bills who are Toronto’s de facto NFL team are 0–8. Including a loss in a very winnable game in Toronto against the Chicago Bears. There must be some sort of curse on the city; either that or poor management is contagious... Is anyone else surprised to see the New Jersey Devils wallowing at the bottom of the NHL? Haven’t seen any Devils’ games this season but Martin Brodeur must be having a terrible season at age 55. In related news, only the Devils and Buffalo Sabres have yet to win at home this season. Must be the water out east... Shout out of the week: A shout out this week to the Tennessee Titans who claimed Randy Moss off of waivers. I give them two weeks, tops. jsmith@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Features

Imprint, Friday, November 12, 2010 features@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Veterans:

The Act of Remembering Continued from front page

“The toughest part of my job was (and I would never tell it before,) when someone was loading the gun, and through an accident they hit the side of a release sprint, blew up himself and the gun. I had the unpleasant task of repairing that gun,” he said. “I still have nightmares sometimes about having to pick the pieces of [human flesh] left off the guns so that I can repair it and get it back into action.” Picking off human flesh and being so close to death may seem like the obvious draw-back of war to us, but to Davidson, it is only one of the many horrors. “The harsh reality of war is the poor little children that run around in the cold of winter and have no clothing, no food. They have some of their limbs blown off because of landmines, and they’re just trying to survive,” he said.

“

When we ran out of fresh water and food we thought we were going to die. Some people on my ship drank salt water and got sick. One person was so hungry he ate the flesh of a dead person We had to chop up pieces of the boat to keep ourselves warm.

“

— Hai Le, Vietnamese Boatperson

Though many of his memories are grim, Davidson still takes pride in them on Remembrance Day. After serving in the Korean War for one year, at the age of 21 he went on to work on a peace-keeping mission in Egypt. He also worked with NATO in Europe for a total of 30 years of veteran service. Like most veterans, Davidson takes pride in the title. He went on to become, and is now, the former president the Royal Canadian Legion in Kitchener. There he helped maintain a community of local veterans and their families. As one Legion member, Jim Frazer, puts it, “Experiencing hardship together, the military is a place where people build bonds. The Legion is a place where people understand those bonds.” For all members of the Legion, Remembrance Day is a meaningful and busy day. Though not every member is a veteran, most are affected by the war in one way or another. Frazer did not serve in an army, but his veteran roots runs deep. “My family was originally from Scotland. They came here during the First World War,” he said. “As soon as we arrived and settled in Branford, my grandfather was conscripted and was sent back to Europe. I remember sitting beside him seeing pieces of shrapnel come to the surface. We had to bring him to the hospital to take them out.” To Frazer, Remembrance Day is a time to reflection upon a foundation that was set by war veterans and those who lost their lives in battle. He believes that the freedoms we have today, our rights to fight for rights, is built upon the sacrifices made by those who came before us. Frazer grew up a family that is proud of their military roots. As a

child, his father told him stories of his grandfather. “My grandfather was wounded behind Allies lines,” he said. “He didn’t know who he was and where he was because of his wounds. And because he didn’t show up for muster, he was declared AWOL (absent without leave). In those days they cut your pay. And because there was no pay coming home, it came to a point where Frazer’s father had to chop up the kitchen table for firewood just to keep warm. When we think of war today, it is easy for the majority of us to look away because it doesn’t directly affect us. Perhaps this is because, in the past, wars affected a whole society and so it was fully supported. Frazer agrees with this. “A lot of people forget that during the Second World War, the wives and mothers had to go to work in order to sustain the Allied army, “ he said. “Today, though, we are at war again (referring to the war in Afghanistan.) It doesn’t affect us the same way because we don’t put the same effort into supporting our troops.” But we also have to take into consideration other factors that may be responsible for the lack of support for our troops as well. While some of us are patriotic when it comes to notions of war, Canada is a mosaic of ethnic diversity, and there are those among us who have spent their lives running away from wars. One current Kitchener resident, Hai Le, does not support the current Afghanistan war, but is very receptive to the spirit of Remembrance Day. “When I see people in military uniforms every year, I think about my country and the soldiers who fought there,” he said. Le was a deserter in the Vietnam and Cambodia War of 1977. He spent two years hiding in Laos and then hid in Cambodia until his family eventually arranged for him to escape the country via boat. During the war in Vietnam, those who were caught and deemed as a deserter were executed. Le was a member of the Boat People of Vietnam who escaped to refugee camps in Hong Kong. Though he did not fight in a war, his journey was also one full of lifelong nightmares. “We wandered the sea for so many days,” he said. “When we ran out of fresh water and food, we thought we were going to die. Some people on my ship drank salt water and got sick. One person was so hungry he ate the flesh of a dead person. We had to chop up pieces of the boat to keep ourselves warm.” Le’s ship was eventually rescued when they made it to Hong Kong. Out of the 13 people who began the journey from North Vietnam, only five had survived. For Le, Remembrance Day is a time to reminisce about the his past, and reflect upon his fortune and his life here in Canada. Though the day of remembering may mean different things to different people, lest us forget that remembrance is not just about Western war veterans, but all people, soldiers, citizens, deserters, and victims who made sacrifices in the name of peace. dnguyen@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Photos Dinh Nguyen

A stone monument outside the Royal Canadian Legion. It reminds passersby of people who gave their lives in wars that Canada took part in.

A plaque explaining the history of the cenotaph in the picture above. The cenotaph is decorated by four poppy wreaths during the month of November to reflect Remembrance Day. It can be found in downtown Kitchener across the street from Market Square.

Journalists for Human Rights

“

By using the PANEL guidelines, students can critically evaluate and engage the media around them while also helping them to create socially conscious media of their own.

Anthony Smyth imprint intern

Ethan Oblak

tudents who are interested in changing the world will now have more opportunities to do so. The Waterloo Public Interest Research Group (WPIRG) launched two new research and editorial publications on Nov. 4: The Bridge, a WPIRG journal on social and environmental issues; and Journalists for Human Rights, a collaborated publication by Wilfrid Laurier University and the University of Waterloo. A special party was held in the environmental studies courtyard to celebrate the launch with experienced guest speakers in the world of journalism and human rights. According to Erin Oldynski, WPIRG’s co-ordinator of programming and volunteer support, The Bridge is a journal that focuses on social and environmental justice issues. “Its aim is to provide a bridge between academics and student activism,” she said. “It is a forum that provides an outlet which enables students to share their own ideas and academic work; to have it published so that other students and the community can get involved and become aware of what is going on in the world they are living in.” Journalists for Human Rights is a publication that is true to its name. “Journalists for Human Rights is a local chapter of a national organization dedicated to raising awareness on human rights, both locally and on an international scale,” said Oldynski. “This organization focuses on training students and young journalists to be effective, specifically overseas. They also provide internship and workshop opportunities.” The first issue of the publication features articles on climate change and human rights. Their goal is to make

people aware of what rights they have as this is one of the first and most important steps into ending human rights abuses. Organizations involved with the group and publication include the Sustainable Technology Education Project (S.T.E.P.), WPIRG’s Climate Action Group, Residential Energy Efficiency Project (REEP), UW Sustainability Project, and Wilfrid Laurier’s Geography, and Environmental Students Association. The launch was followed by an evening of keynote speakers. This included Dr. Jennifer Simpson, a UW speech communications professor, who is currently teaching a class on social justice. She enables her students to do research projects on matters that are actually happening here in the community. For example, at the moment her students are conducting a review on disability justice at UW. Another group is doing a survey on the Food Not Bombs campaign. FNB serves free food to the community donated from grocery stores. Prof. Linda Snyder promotes the idea of students concentrating their academic work in the local community and focusing on real people. She also covered the importance of corporate responsibility in Canada. Another speaker, Dr. Bob Gibson, is the associate chair in environmental studies at UW. Gibson spoke about environmental advocacy in Canada and the importance of environmental awareness in the 21st century. Later in the evening, WPIRG held a workshop that focused on media and human rights. Representatives from Journalists for Human Rights in Toronto including Ken Zolotar, Journalists for Human Right’s youth engagement coordinator, came to talk about their

experiences as journalists in Liberia in West Africa. They also spoke about the Journalists for Human Rights approach to journalistic tool known as PANEL, which stands for Participation, Accountability, NonDiscrimination, Empowerment, and Linkage to human rights. Journalists for Human Rights use PANEL to evaluate the media they consume. The PANEL approach means that basic human needs such as health, food and water, shelter, fair trials, etc. are not matters for charity but are basic human rights which every person should be entitled to in modern times. Participation means that voices of all parties involved have their place in the media. This is crucial to journalists as leaving out a particular side or person can make an article biased. Accountability ensures that when human rights have been violated or neglected that those responsible are held responsible. Non-discrimination should keep journalists focused so that their work is all inclusive and asks if all subjects have been presented in a discriminatory way. Empowerment should aim to make sure that their work includes information that should equip the reader to realize that they have the power to push for change. Linkage to human rights insures that stories include information explaining why and what in the story makes it a humans rights issue. By using the PANEL guidelines, students can critically evaluate and engage the media around them while also helping them to create socially conscious media of their own. To get involved, share ideas or for further information, visit wpirg.org. asmyth@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

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Features

Imprint, Friday, November 12, 2010

Here, There, Everywhere Weird and funny news from around the world

from a Honda Monkey motorcycle. According to Watkins, the revolving key was used as a fun way to give the car a toy-like appearance. This is not the first time Watkins has invented and broken a record; in 2008, he invented the world’s flattest car, aptly named the “Flatmobile.” Courtesy Martin Meissner/MSNBC

Perry Watkins of Germany tested his 51 x 26 inch car for the first time. Eleonora Meszaros imprint intern

Germany The world’s smallest car was wound up in Essen last Monday morning. British inventor, Perry Watkins, designed what is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s smallest car legal to drive with a license. Not only is the car allowed to be driven in public, it even has seat belts — it has to be legal, after all. Watkins repainted the body of a coin-operated children’s ride and built around it, using chassis from a quad bike, and rear tires and wheels

Canada On Nov. 5, Canadian authorities attempted to discover how a man in his 20s boarded a flight to Vancouver disguised as an elderly passenger. Upon arrival from Hong Kong, the young man was arrested in Canada. He boarded an Air Canada flight on Oct. 29 wearing a silicon neck and a face mask that made him appear elderly. The man’s identity remains unknown as he has requested asylum in Canada. Surprisingly, the man was able to board the Hong Kong flight without identification (including both passports and a birth certificate), carrying only the boarding pass of a U.S. citizen booked on the flight. According to a Canadian Border Services Agency security alert, the subject and actual citizen passenger are believed to have performed a boarding pass swap.

The issue is currently under investigation by Canadian authorities, while Transport Canada is determining whether screening regulations were broken.

U.S.A A 45-year-old grandmother from Holly Hill, Florida was held on a $100, 000 US bond this past Saturday. Police reports indicate that they had arrested Patty Bigbee last Friday after receiving a tip that she had been out offering to sell her eight month-old grandson for $75,000 this past October. According to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the informant haggled the price of the baby down to $30,000. Friday afternoon, the two met up in a Daytona Beach parking lot, just off the speedway, to make the exchange. Immediately following the exchange, police arrived to arrest Bigbee. Along with her 42-year-old boyfriend, Lawrence Works, she was arrested for the illegal sale or surrender of the child. She also faces charges of communication fraud. Bigbee declined to comment on the event. Works also faces a bond set at $50,000.

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Currently, the baby is in state custody with the Department of Children and Families; his mother, Stephanie Bigbee-Davis, is in jail for unrelated charges.

England Two years ago, Simeon Fairburn had a tumour removed from his leg and has since performed the daily procedure of filling the gaping hole. Suffering from osteofibrous dysplasia, his body grew fibrous tumours instead of bone and the now 14-year-old initially faced amputations. Two years and 20 operations later, he can continue dreaming to be a basketball player. The brace on his leg requires him to turn tiny screws four times a day to encourage the remaining bone in his leg to stretch by 1 mm at a time. “There were some days when I thought I might never be able to walk again,” Fairburn said. “I never thought about giving up turning the screws. I would always do them, but there were times when I would skip a few days accidentally and the next day I would have to double it just to keep up.” Trained at the Great Ormond Hospital Street Hospital for Chil-

dren in central London, Fairburn’s doctor, Dr. Geoff Donald, is the mastermind behind the procedure. According to Donald, it is very difficult to grow bone because the body must be tricked into thinking there is a fracture.

Zimbabwe

A tourist in Harare was mauled to death by a family of lions as he showered at a safari camp under a tree. According to state media, Zimbabwean businessman Peter John Evershed, 59, was camping at the Chitake Campsite in Makuti with his wife and other tourists, located west of Harare. Evershed was attacked while taking an evening shower in the open, screaming for help to the other tourists. According to a police spokesperson, the tourists ran over to scare away the marauding lions with their flashlights. Steven Pop, safari operator, managed to scare off the predators by firing a gunshot into the air. By then, Evershed had suffered a deep gash to the throat and died. ─ With files from The Vancouver Sun, The Toronto Sun, MSNBC, Metro UK, and ABC News

Write for Features features@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

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Imprint, Friday, November 12, 2010

Do-it-yourself communities

“

These are the kinds of projects that can have tangible impacts in underprivileged communities. They’re the kinds of projects that involve the local populations in their own development. They’re the kind of development efforts that help underprivileged communities define their own futures.

“

classic proverb says, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” It’s a proverb we should be giving a lot more attention to because it will define the development of underprivileged countries in the future. Human ingenuity has brought us a long way from the days of living in caves and hunting with sharpened sticks, but our technological and cultural advancements are not available to everyone. Over 3 billion people — almost half the world’s total population — live in poverty on less than $2.50 a day. What we considered to be basic facts of life — running water, sturdy shelter, a basic education — are impossible luxuries to a large portion of the world’s population. For decades, privileged individuals and governments have attempted to balance this inequality by throwing money at the problem. Every year, billions of dollars in monetary aid flow from the privileged into the hands of organizations and charities whose purpose is to help the underprivileged and the poor.

araw@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

It’s a slow process, and it often seems like no progress is being made. In today’s instant-gratification culture, of course, “slow” is not acceptable. Increasingly, people are adopting a do-it-yourself (DIY) culture where they create new machines or modify existing ones to address their needs. People are eschewing commercial products for ones of their own construction and organizations are springing up that sell DIY sets of supplies and tools for building little machines like cell phone chargers and unique alarm clocks. Some organizations are also taking the DIY culture to a global level. A

number of projects are underway that embrace this DIY culture and could represent the future of development in underprivileged countries. One of these projects is the Global Village Construction Set, a set of 40 DIY industrial machines. The goal of the project is to provide people in poor and underprivileged communities with the capability of creating industrial tools that can dramatically improve their lifestyles. The products include a compressed earth brick press and a multi-purpose tractor. According the construction set’s creators, machines from the construction set are, on average, eight times cheaper than their industrial brand counterparts and include interchangeable parts. They are also tailored to a smaller scale that would be ideal in underprivileged communities and could be adapted to meet the unique cultural, geographical, and infrastructure needs of these communities. A similar DIY approach to education is the Hole-in-the-Wall project, launched in India. The project’s pioneer, Sugata Mitra, built a computer into a wall in the slums of New Delhi and left

it on for children to use. In the following months, poor children with only a very basic education taught themselves computer literacy skills. In interviews about the project, Mitra has said that he believes this model of self-teaching can be applied to great success around the world, and I agree. The Hole-in-the-Wall project is a simple, inexpensive alternative to the problematic One Laptop Per Child project, which struggles with high costs, hardware and software problems, and hesitation on the part of governments to adopt the solution. Mitra’s project has the potential to help children in the world’s most underprivileged communities teach themselves skills to improve their situation in life. These are the kind of projects that can have tangible impacts in underprivileged communities. They’re the kind of projects that involve the local populations in their own development. They’re the kind of development efforts that help underprivileged communities define their own futures. I believe they’re likely to be much more effective than current strategies, which seem to involve a lot of “throwing

money at the problem and hoping it goes away” kind-of strategy. DIY projects are, by their nature, small-scale, so they produce measurable results more rapidly than current strategies. These small but consistent achievements may be a lot more motivating and fulfilling for individuals living in affected communities than big projects whose results may be much more subtle. They can also be less expensive, so more communities can enjoy the benefits. The biggest selling point of these projects, however, is that they put the power of development in the hands of the community itself. Change is a lot more effective if it starts internally than if it is imposed from the outside, and these DIY projects allow communities to dictate the speed and path of their own change. This is the model that is going to shape development in poor and underprivileged countries. As DIY projects continue to develop around the world, they may be models that shape development in privileged countries as well.

Elected Electives

Philosophy 145 — Critical Thinking

magine a jam-packed science load, full of physics, chemistry, biology, and math. It was a hard first term to say the least. The light at the end of my tunnel was an elective in my second term. It was a painstaking dilema choosing between philosophy and psychology, but I eventually chose Philosophy 145 — Critical Thinking. It’s essentially the study of logic. The information is enlightening and easily allows a huge increase in anyone’s rationale and argument formation. It can be a bit dry and heavy at times, but two things make it worth taking. Firstly, the knowledge you take away will assuredly be used. While making a thesis, or connecting numbers to equate between functions, your mind will naturally go through a premise, arguments for or against it, and end with a logical conclusion. This course

structures your thoughts efficiently — and that was just the first unit. Secondly, Tim Kenyon. Intriguing, inviting, and delightfully sarcastic, he gave the class a desire to learn. Most importantly, he provided what is missing from a lot of courses: fun. He was fun to listen to, to learn from, and fun to wake up for at 10 a.m. Philosophy is something society needs to progress, as well as put the human back in humanity. This course is only the beginning, but it shows students the potential of logic. Too many courses merely shove information down our throats, and this is one that makes us better as individuals. I recommend students take it next winter with Christopher Eliasmith. And Tim Kenyon, if you read this, you are awesome. —Mika Ilic, 3A General Science

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Campus Bulletin UPCOMING EVENTS November 2010 ACCKWA’s Online Charity Auction from November 1 to 9 on ebay.ca or ebay.com – search “acckwa”. Great items just in time for the holidays! For more info call Colleen at 519-570-3687, ext 334. rare Charitable Research Reserve presents “November Community Events” at the rare Administration Centre, 1679 Blair Road, Cambridge. For information and registry, contact info@raresites. org or 519-650-9336 ext. 125 or visit www.raresites. org. Shape and Spirit: A Season Finale Exhibition Join us November 13 - December 19, 2010, for the exhibit of three original and highly gifted artists. Gallery hours Tuesday - Sunday 12:00 - 4:30 pm. For tickets and additional information, please visit homerwatson.on.ca. Saturday, November 13, 2010 Christmas Craft and Bake Sale: Vendors offering unique items. Christian books, jewelry, scrap booking, knitting, woodworking, and homemade baked items. Lunch available. Free admission 8 am to 2 pm, Messiah Lutheran Church, Waterloo. For more info, call 519-884-3849. Towards A Peaceful Economy: Looking at the global financial crisis and working on local alternatives. Keynote speaker Paul Hellyer. 9:30 am to 4:30 pm, Kitchener City Hall. RSVP by November 6: administrators@nonviolencefestival.com. For more info, visit www.nonviolencefestival.com. Sunday, November 14, 2010 “Laura Pudwell and Friends” – an intimate afternoon of baroque songs and sonatas at 3p.m. at the Registry Theatre, 122 Frederick Street (at Weber Street, Kitchener). For more info go to www.registrytheatre.com. Tuesday, November 16, 2010 Canadian Federation of University Women, K-W. Emily Richards will be demonstrating how to WOW guests with a minimum effort. Celebrating 25 years of CFUK K-W! 7 to 9:30 p.m., First United Church, King & William Streets.

Wednesday, November 17, 2010 In Time by Jefferson Campbell-Cooper: Come celebrate the imagined landscape of the region’s geographic history. 7:30 pm, Country Hills Community Library, 1500 Block Line Road, Kitchener. The University of Waterloo International Health Development Association (UWIHDA) is raising money for United Way. Drop by the Great Hall 12pm - 6pm and decorate a gingerbread for a tooney. Thursday, November 18, 2010 Film Society is showing films from countries whose films are rarely seen in Canada. Next screening, “The Wishing Tree,” (1976), 107 mins, directed by Tengiz Abuladze, is at 7 pm, East Campus Hall Auditorium, 1220. Free admission. Saturday, November 20, 2010 Homer Watson House & Gallery Presents: Annual Holiday Party - Join us for artwork and live entertainment, 6 till 8 pm. Free admission. For more info, visit homerwatson.on.ca. Thursday, December 9, 2010 Bereaved Families of Ontario Presents: Anything But Merry - Join us to learn coping strategies to help get you through this holiday season. 7 till 8 pm, Ratz Bechtel Family Centre, 621 King Street West, Kitchener. For more info and registration, please email admin@bfomidwest.org or call 519603-0196. Friday, December 10, 2010 The Sexuality, Marriage, and Family Studies department presents the Second Annual SMF Symposium, St. Jerome’s University. Proposal for papers or poster presentations addressing this year’s theme, “Ethical Intersections: Research, Theory, and Practice,” accepted now. For further info, visit www.smfsymposium.ca or email Jenn Wunder at jenn@smfsymposium.ca.

VOLUNTEERING

Volunteer with a child at their school and help improve their self-esteem and confidence. Call Canadian Mental Health at 519-744-7645, ext. 229. City of Waterloo has volunteer opportunities.

A GREAT PORTFOLIO BUILDER

Board of Directors position(s) are vacant The affairs of the Corporation shall be managed by a Board composed of five (5) directors. Qualifications: each director shall be a member at the date of his election ; be at least eighteen (18) years of age ; not be an undischarged bankrupt nor a mentally incompetent person and have read the Bylaw, Policies & Procedures, Board book and have signed a document confirming the above. Duties: the Board shall be responsible for the corporation ; ensuring that the Bylaw and the Policies & Procedures of the Corporation are adhered to ; providing resources to the full-time staff so that they can effectively perform their duties, and ensuring that the day to day functions of the Corporation are completed when one or more of the full-time staff positions are vacant ; dispersing funds of the Corporation to further the object of the Corporation, as set out in the Letters Patent ; ensuring that the Bylaw, Policies & Procedures and minutes of the Corporation are kept up to date ; ensuring that the assets and equipment of the Corporation are kept up to date and in working order ; maintaining liaison with other organizations for the purpose of furthering the object of the Corporation ; ensuring that their sucessors are trained and able to exercise their powers and duties and striving to improve the Corporation, in terms of both the stability of the Corporation and the excellence of the newspaper that it produces.

Deadline: November 12, 2010 If interested in Board of Directors position(s), email

board@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Imprint, Friday, November 12, 2010 ads@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

For info call 519-888-6478 or www.waterloo.ca/ volunteer. The Distress Centre needs volunteers to provide confidential, supportive listening on our crisis and distress lines. Complete training provided. Call 519-744-7645, ext. 300. Volunteer Action Centre, 519-742-8610 / volunteer@volunteerkw.ca, for all your volunteering needs! Volunteers needed – The English Tutor program is in constant need of volunteers to tutor international students. Volunteering is an essential part of student life at UW. Apply online at www.iso.uwaterloo.ca. Volunteer required to rebuild website for Kitchener International Children’s Games Chapter. Call 519-886-6918 and leave message or respond to icgkitchener@hotmail.com.

STUDENT AWARDS & FINANCIAL AID

Go to safa.uwaterloo.ca for a full listing of scholarships and awards, as well as important deadlines.

UW RECREATION EVENTS

Wednesday, November 24: Feng Shui Discussion Group, MC 5136, 12 noon – all welcome. Sunday, November 28: “Peter Pan Pantomime” at St. Jacobs Country Playhouse. UWRC Book Club, Wednesdays at 12 noon in LIB 407 - all welcome! October 20: “Eat Pray Love” by Elizabeth Gilbert ; November 17: “To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee ; December 21: “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society” by Shaffer and Barrows. Movie ticket discounts available from Empire Theatre, Galaxy, Princess. For more info for all the above email schatten@uwaterloo.ca or uwrc@uwaterloo. ca.

ONGOING

Mondays Gambling can ruin your life. Gamblers Anonymous, 7 p.m. at St Marks, 825 King Street, W, basement. Tuesdays CNIB Lions Low Vision Clinic - conducted to provide an opportunity for CNIB services and support, and access scheduled appointments with a CNIB Specialist. 9 am - 4 pm, 180 King St. S., Waterloo. For more info, visit www.cnib.ca. Thursdays UW Toastmasters – improve your confidence and communication for a successful career. 5:30 to 6:30 pm, SLC 2105B. For more info, contact uwtoastmaster@gmail.com. Saturdays Not your average garage sale - LP’s, CD’s - Every Saturday in November. 1081 Church Street, St. Clements - 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Contact at webuytunes77@rogers.com.

CAREER SERVICES WORKSHOPS

Monday, November 15, 2010 Information Session - Dalhousie Corporate Residency MBA: A 22month program integrating North America’s top employers into the academic process, providing students with exceptional pair work experience, innovative curriculum, and leadership development skills to launch their careers. 12:00 - 1:30 pm, TC 1208. International Research Opportunities: Learn about international research projects in various countries. Bring your own lunch - water provided. 12:00 - 1:30 pm, TC 1208. Exploring Your Personality Type II: Second session of a two-part workshop, applying your MBTI type to potential career issues. Prerequisite: MBTI Part I. 2:30 - 4:30 pm, TC 1112. Tuesday, November 16, 2010 The Big Guide to Working and Living Overseas: A comprehensive online guide to the global workplace. 12 - 1 pm, TC 1208. Success on the Job: Learn how to polish your professional image and avoid making simple mistakes that may result in a bad start to your career. 3:30 - 4:30 pm, TC 1208. Wednesday, November 17, 2010 Career Exploration & Decision Making: Increase your understanding of career decision-making processes. 10:00 am - 12:00 pm, TC 1112. Writing CVs and Cover Letters: How to prepare an effective curriculum vitae and cover letter. Note: Open to 4th year, Masters, and PhD students. 12:00 - 1:30 pm, TC 2218. Thursday, November 18, 2010 Law School Bound: Hear about best practices to prepare an effective law school application from

John Richardson. 12:30 - 1:30 pm, TC 1208. Preparing for the LSAT: A free copy of the LSAT Reading Comprehension Workbook, with CD, will be given to seminar attendees. 1:30 - 2:30 pm, TC 1208. Career Internet Assessment: Find out how your interests relate to specific career opportunities. Note: There is a materials charge of $10.00 payable at Career Services prior to session. The online test provided upon registry must be completed a few days prior to the workshop. 2:30 - 4:00 pm, TC 1112. Foreign (Non-Canadian) Lawyers & Law Graduates - How to Become a Lawyer in Ontario: Learn how foreign lawyers and foreign law school graduates can become licensed lawyers in Ontario. 2:30 - 3:30 pm, TC 1208. GRE Information and Preparation Seminar: GRE is required for admission to some graduate and MBA programs and is changing in 2011. All attendees will receive a free copy of “GRE For Dummies.” 4 -5 pm, TC 1208. Getting a U.S. Work Permit: Learn from Nina Juncewicz, U.S. Immigration Attorney, about options available to graduating students to work in the U.S. 4:30 - 6:00 pm, TC 1112. Teaching English Abroad: Find out about TESOL certification, skills required to teach ESL, and job opportunities. 5 - 6 pm, TC 1208.

Classified TUTORING

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$250 reward for the return of my watch. Lost Thursday, September 9 in or around Environment 1. Watch is metal with my name “Jeff” on the back. Huge sentimental value. Please email me at jcasello@uwaterloo.ca.

SERVICES

Does your thesis or major paper need a fresh pair of eyes to catch English spelling and grammar errors? Thesis English editing. Five business day turnaround. Neal Moogk-Soulis, ncmoogks@ uwaterloo.ca. WE BUY TUNES - Thousands of Records (VINYL) for sale at 3 locations. Most sell for $5.00 each. ROCK & ROLL, CLASSIC ROCK, etc. Market Road Antiques - www.stjacobs.com ; Stratford Antique Warehouse - www.stratfordantiquewarehouse.com (Both Open 7 days a week). 3rd location in St. Clements - contact us for more details. We also buy record collections. Bill and Cindy Dietrich: webuytunes77@rogers. com or 519-699-5520.

FOR SALE

HP Laserjet 2100 Printer, 10 years old. Suitable for Vista and older (not Windows 7). $30. Available from Imprint office, SLC Room 1116. Two (2)speakers – Sansui LM 220, 45 watt, asking $50 for both. Also have stands if interested. Three (3)Infinity speakers – 100 watt, asking $100. Sony receiver, asking $60. All in good condition. Location K-W. If interested, please call 519-742-0155 after 5 p.m.

HELP WANTED

Weekend counsellors and relief staff to work in homes for individuals with developmental challenges. Minimum eight-month commitment. Paid positions. Send resume to Human Resources, K-W Habilitation Services, 108 Sydney Street, Kitchener, ON, N2G 3V2. Study on slow metabolism – do you have a slow metabolism and have trouble maintaining or losing weight? Individuals who have a slow metabolism may be more prone to diet-induced obesity. Researchers at the University of Waterloo are conducting a study comparing the metabolism of overweight and lean individuals. If you are overweight or have trouble maintaining or losing weight and are interested in being a partcipant for this study, you can obtain more information by contacting Karlee at chall@uwaterloo.ca or 519-888-4567, ext 35791. Participants are asked to come in for a total of four (4) hours over three (3) visits, and will receive $50 in appreciation of their time. This study has been reviewed and received full ethics clearance by the Office of Research Ethics.

Science & Technology

Imprint, Friday, November 12, 2010 science@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

New online course system to replace UW-ACE

jnguyen@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Jennifer Nguyen assistant science & technology editor Facebook gets a royal friend

sonia lee

Julia Peters & Eleonora Meszaros imprint interns

W-ACE, the online course system used by the University of Waterloo campus for nearly seven years, is now looking to be replaced. Although the Learning Managment and System (LMS) has been well received, a replacement for the Angel-based software has been in the works since a vendor competitor of LMS, Blackboard Inc., purchased Angel Software Inc. Since the purchase in May 2009, significant changes have occurred in LMS so it seems time to consider the next best fit for the online course system. The current project for LMS selection comprises two phases. The first phase, June 2009 to February 2011, will focus on evaluating LMS options and recommending to the University Committee on Information Systems and Technology (UCIST), the project sponsor, a list of prospects and the process of closer investigation. The project commenced in the fall of 2009, performing needs analysis for the next LMS, with primary sources coming from the results of the Online Learning Environment Project that ended in early May 2009, just before Blackboard bought out Angel. By the end of Phase 1, estimated to be completed around February 2011, the campus community will have been provided with adequate information and opportunity to give feedback about the new potential LMS. After final recommendations are made to UCIST, Phase 2 of the LMS selection project will commence. The second phase of the project, around March 2011 until March 2012, will include finalization of the new LMS through installation and a pilot. After full migration from the current online course system, installation, and campus

adjustment to the new system, the new LMS will be fully implemented by March 2012. Why change from the comfort of UW-ACE?

Although the 2008/2009 Online Learning Environment review project revealed that both instructors and students felt that UW-ACE met their needs, both also noted improvements that could be made to the Angel software. When Angel Inc. was bought in May 2009, the University of Waterloo quickly learned that the software would cease to exist by 2015. Before moving to the Blackboard LMS, students, faculty, and staff had to be made aware of the importance of considering all options for the new online course system. How does this affect people at University of Waterloo?

Currently, proposed changes to Angel will be minimal, so the university is hoping students will not need to go through any upgrades on UW-ACE with the new LMS. In the spring of 2011, the University of Waterloo will begin to organize a pilot to test courses in the new environment. At that time, both students and instructors will be able to view the new LMS before it becomes permanent for the campus. The project team will be going through the pilot first familiarize themselves with the system and to make any tweaks launch. For students who did not participate in the surveys or forums but have comments, contributions, questions, or concerns, they can email lms@uwaterloo.ca.

NOW ACCEPTING

WATCARDS

Get in motion with Kinect

Last week, Microsoft released the Kinect, just in time for the start of the holiday season. The Kinect is a slim, black bar that sits above or below your television set and is meant to work in conjunction with Microsoft’s Xbox 360 — very much like the Nintendo Wii’s motion sensor. Unlike the Wii’s motion sensor, however, the Kinect features depth sensing cameras, an RGB camera, and several microphones to accurately capture the player’s movements and voice. The Kinect’s unique mechanized base also allows it to tilt up or down to follow the player’s actions. All of these sensors allow players to play Xbox Kinect games without the need of a controller. Instead, “you are the controller,” as the ads and commercials

A new browser for the social networking age

The founders of Netscape are teaming together once again to release a new web browser: RockMelt. Developed by the company of the same name, RockMelt is the first web browser from the Netscape team since Netscape was sold to AOL 12 years ago. Marc Andreessen, who cofounded Netscape and whose venture capital firm is financing RockMelt, says, “[It] is a browser for the Facebook era. “Although most people spend more time using their Web browser than any other program on their computers, most browsers have not kept up with the evolution of the Web into a social media hub,” Andreessen said. What differentiates RockMelt from other browsers are its two thin, vertical bars bordering the sides of the screen. The left bar shows the user’s friends while the right bar features the user’s favourite social sites like Facebook and Twitter. The right bar allows users to easily post a link, YouTube video, or other media to their Facebook profile or Twitter account right from the main browser window. Users can just as easily interact with friends using the left bar. “Had we known about Facebook and Twitter and Google back in ’92 or ’93, we would have built them into [Netscape],” Andreessen said. “This is an opportunity to go back and do it right.” —With files from The Globe and Mail and New York Times.

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Now you can become a “friend” of the Queen, too. As of this week, the British monarchy launched its own page on Facebook to better connect with its royal subjects. Just like any other Facebook page, users can “like” it to receive up-to-theminute news, video, and photos of the Royal Family. “Friends” of the British monarchy may also post comments and leave messages for Buckingham Palace. However, don’t expect the Queen to personally respond back, as this is a corporate site maintained by employees of the palace. The page will also include the Court Circular, which is an official daily record of the Royal Family’s engagements during the previous day. The Court Circular was started by King George III in 1803 to serve as an official source for information regarding the Royal Family’s outings, after newspapers of the time were making too many inaccurate reports. The idea of a Facebook page was personally approved by the Queen, but royal officials said she has never used the site. Although the Queen already has several social networking accounts including Flickr, Twitter, and a YouTube Channel, royal officials admit, “If you are going to have an online presence in 2010, you just have to be on Facebook.”

for the Kinect proclaim. The Kinect’s built-in sensing technology enables it to distinguish the different joints of the human body and allows it to interpret specific body movements as commands. The technology is sensitive enough to differentiate between the movements of two or more humans, making it possible for multiple players to play with just one Kinect. Besides playing games, the Kinect also works as an interface for the Xbox. Navigating the Xbox’s menu is now as simple as flicking your arm or saying the command aloud. Users won’t have to go searching for the remote ever again.

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28 Science & Technology KIK: Kicking down barriers between smartphones with blazing speed

Imprint, Friday, November 12, 2010

Continued from front page

The program doesn’t make any other information public besides your user name, and Livingston has apologized for the error and assures that an update is on the way to remedy the situation. The auto-suggestion feature is one of the key reasons that Kik has seen rapid adopted use across the cellular network. “It helps you find friends as soon as you register, and we built it so you could have very fast conversations with it,” Livingston told Imprint in an interview. “I send you messages that are literally instant.” Another reason for its popularity is that it provides a service that short message service (SMS), which is cellular texting, cannot compete with. Livingston says that Kik’s instant messaging is far

superior to normal texting and you won’t have to pay for those expensive extra text packages. “I would say there are three problems with texting: it’s unreliable, it’s slow and it’s expensive,” Livingston said. “There have been other products that focus on the expensive part. Basically if you get the program and I get the program, then we can text each other for free; but they are still slow and still unreliable.” Kik is not the first mobile messenger to utilize most major smartphone devices, the other applications it competes with already accomplished that feat. These include WhatsApp and also Pingchat!, created by a company that operates down the hall from Kik at the Accelerator Centre in the Research and Technology Park. Kik’s developing team decided to focus on making their application faster and more reliable.

They originally started with a music remote, and created software that allowed your cell phone to control any web browser over the cellular network. “I could walk up to any browser, I would connect it with our technology, click play and then on the screen it would play, and if I clicked next it would go to the next song,” Livingston said. With no set-up and no hardware and no lag, the music executives were pretty impressed. “Obviously for that to work (the system) has to be very fast. You don’t want to click play and then five seconds later the song starts to play,” Livingston said. “So we built this really fast, realtime system over cellular networks to do that.” While the Kik team was waiting to launch their music product, they decided to take this technology and apply it to a chat product. They launched the

ethan oblak

Ted Livingston, Kik Interactive CEO, stands beside the office ticker showing the number of users registered for Kik. Originally developed for a musical application, Livingston revamped his software to create an extremely popular chat service.

beta called Unsynced in June 2010 and reworked the bugs until they finished with Kik. The basis for the system was speed and has been extremely reliable as it is practically impossible to lose a message. The software has the phone connect into a server through direct TCP connection, and the software keeps this connection fresh without excessively draining the cell phone’s battery. “When you are connected to another person in chat, nothing is faster, but once you stop chatting it tears down those connections and there is zero battery usage,” Livingston said. “The system keeps engaged but optimizes battery usage.” Kik’s launch has been extremely successful, and they have hit some traffic limits for RIM after sending out 10 million messages on RIM phones during a single day. Livingston had to call RIM to get that limit increased. However, their launch has not been without its kinks. Their business plan is very scalable, allowing them to buy more server boxes as demand for the application necessitated. Therefore allowing the company to operate as small or as large as they wanted. As demand grew, Kik would purchase more boxes to keep up with demand, and forecast future demand since delivery of the new equipment had a three day lag. However, they did not forecast for unprecedented exponential growth and the demand for their service forced them to purchase the server boxes across the country and rent a plane to fly them to their data centre in less than 12 hours. They also recently caused a core internet router to break down after Kik’s servers crashed from all the traffic. When Kik went down, all the clients were trying to reconnect, and as soon as they were able to get their servers up the traffic would cause them to crash again. It took them six hours for them to fix the situation and be able to handle the 1.5 million active connections trying to gain access to their system. Those number of active connections grow by leaps and bounds on a weekly basis. Kik will be trying to increase the features of its service by adding profiles, blocking users, and being able to send multimedia via the chat service. Kik Interactive Inc. isn’t just looking to create the next big social network, they are also looking for some awesome developers to join their team. They don’t mind if you’re young, but they only take the best. If you are really smart and want work part-time at a truly innovative tech company, don’t hesitate to email Livingston, along with some work that you have done. bgolem@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Sommerfield: playing with swords and theoretical physics

n the short life of this column, I’ve spoken about physicists like Feynman or Bohr, who are big enough names that most people will have heard of them. As is the case in all scientific fields, there are a few names who are elevated to widespread fame (Hawking, for example), while there are many others who remain famous only within their domain. Arnold Sommerfeld is one of those people. He played a role in the transition period of 19th Century physics to 20th Century physics through the development of the precursor to quantum mechanics and by training the generation that wrote down the rules of modern quantum mechanics. During his high school years, Sommerfeld was a very bright individual and received top grades. It was during this time that he befriended future colleagues Hermann Minkowski, who developed the mathematics of relativity along with Einstein, and Wilhelm Wien, who won the Nobel Prize for research into radiation. During his university years, Sommerfeld was trained

lbovard@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

as a mathematician — largely due to lectures by David Hilbert, who is considered one of the greatest and most influential mathematicians of his era. Sommerfeld joined a fraternity and enjoyed much drunken debauchery, some of which involved duelling. As a result, he bore a large scar on his forehead for the rest of his life due to a mishap during a fencing duel. Fortunately, he did not continue this lifestyle and after completing his PhD, he became an assistant to the mathematician Felix Klein, that guy with the bottle. During his time with Klein, Sommerfeld’s interests shifted towards mathematical physics. He and Klein wrote a very long series of books on the theory of tops and gyroscopes, which remains one of the standard reference works in that field. With his interest shifted away from mathematics and towards mathematical physics, Sommerfeld began to study electrons moving near the speed of light. He was still working out the theory when Einstein published special relativity and Sommerfeld shifted his

work to relativity. The work he abandoned was later redeveloped by Pavel Cherenkov, who used it to discover the famous effect that bears his name. During the 1910s, Sommerfeld was one of the physicists who developed something called old quantum theory. Old quantum theory was a hodge-podge of results that are sort of classical and sort of quantum. When I discussed Bohr, I mentioned that he developed various formulae that quantized energy levels of atoms which led to the reproduction of spectral lines. In addition to Bohr, it was Sommerfeld who led the development of the precursor to modern quantum mechanics. He was the first to quantize angular momentum in this old theory and introduce the azimuthal quantum number. For those physicists and chemists out there, that is the l quantum number. When modern quantum theory was being developed, Sommerfeld was the first to study and develop various models that are used as first

approximations in solid state physics. These methods, developed by Sommerfeld and others, were abandoned after modern quantum theory came about, but were revisited in the ‘80s during the chaos craze and found to be useful in discussing the problem of quantum chaos. Sommerfeld was also a physicist’s physicist due to his renowned ability to teach. Max Born, who played an important role in modern quantum mechanics, said this of Sommerfeld’s teaching: “Theoretical physics is a subject which attracts youngsters with a philosophical mind who speculate about the highest principles without sufficient foundation.” It was just this type of beginner that he knew how to handle, leading them step by step to a realization of their lack of actual knowledge and providing them with the skill necessary for fertile research. He had the rare ability to spare time for his pupils, in spite of his duties and scientific work. Outside of physics, Sommerfeld was an avid alpine skier and would

routinely take his students with him to his cabin in the mountains to enjoy hours of intense skiing and equally intense debates about physics. Just how successful was his teaching style? Six of his students won Nobel Prizes including Werner Heisenberg, Linus Pauling, and Hans Bethe. Additionally, many of his other students became leading experts in their own fields. By the 1930s, nearly one third of all physics professors around Germany had been under his tutelage. Of his great ability to teach students, Einstein commented that “[What] I especially admire about you is that you have, as it were, pounded out of the soil such a large number of young talents.” Near the end of his life, Sommerfeld spent much of time helping to rebuild the theoretical physics community in Germany that had been greatly disrupted by the Nazis. Unfortunately, he died in 1951 in a traffic accident leaving a planned six volume work on theoretical physics unfinished.

Science & Technology

Imprint, Friday, November 12, 2010

Speaking with Scientists: The Art of Story-Telling Aletheia Chiang staff reporter

o you ever wonder about science? If your answer is no, it is likely because science to you is not understandable. Science, as a discipline that helps us look at the world around us in a new way and constantly teaches us new things about it everyday — often leaving us with more questions than we had when we first started investigating — should be a passion. At the very least, science deserves to be understood. Yet, here at the University of Waterloo, one of the greatest frustrations that professors, graduate students, and researchers alike express is that no one cares about their research. In turn, one of the most common protests among the students and the public in general is that they just can’t understand scientists. And who can blame them? Although neither the scientist nor the layman can be exempt from shouldering some amount of responsibility for the problem of scientific illiteracy (or scientific indifference, which may indeed be a more serious problem), science journalists are here to help. Science journalists have an important role because they act as a bridge between the scien-

tist and the public. In other words, they’re the people who make science matter. Since 1992, Bob McDonald has been the effervescent host of CBC’s award-winning science radio show, Quirks and Quarks. He recently sat down to an interview with Imprint to talk about his approach to effective science communication. “One of the big problems is that scientists like to talk like scientists. But the public doesn’t understand that,” said McDonald. “My advice is to keep it simple, not stupid. Simple to me means clear. If there are too many concepts with jargon names that go unexplained, it is unintelligible. Science reporting, like any other kind of media, is story-telling. You have to set the stage, which is usually a little background to the story (where is this bird found?), identify the characters (the scientist and the subject), and describe their action (bird imitates calls of others to steal food).” For McDonald, the art of story-telling is often more important than the story itself. He described instances in which he and his producers have had to “spike really excellent stories — stories that should have made it on the show,” — simply because the story-telling element was absent. As a journalist, McDonald views his role as a guiding one. “The art is to ask the questions that will lead them to that story,” said McDonald, describing

his approach to interviewing scientists. “I’m not going into [the interview] ignorantly. It’s a little trick: I’m going to sound like I’m hearing this for the first time, but really, I’m just trying to guide them to tell their story. I’m not going to tell the story — they will.” Although the majority of his guests on Quirks and Quarks are researchers and graduate students from leading universities across North America, McDonald insisted that in the conInterested in learning more about text of science journalism – that science communication? Join the is, in the context of story telling discussion at the next Biology Brown – scientists desperately need to Bag Seminar! escape from that mindset. “We’re not a university. We’re Date: Wednesday November 17, 2010 not handing out degrees here. This Time: 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM isn’t a test; it’s a story. It’s entertainLocation: B1-266 ment,” McDonald said. “That’s the (Dean’s Conference Room) difference between [science communication] and having to give a scientific dissertation to defend your PhD thesis. That’s not what we’re doing here. Sometimes I have to pull scientists back from that [mindset] because they’ll start talking to me as if they are giving a PhD dissertation. And I’ll just say, ‘No; just tell me. Just talk. I’m just a guy. An interested guy. Endless fascination with the subject – no expertise – but an endless fascination with the subject.”’

Want an excuse not to study that looks great on your resumé? Ivan Lui staff reporter

Cricket holds record for largest testicles

Relative to its body weight, the tuberous bush cricket currently holds the record for largest testicles. Its testicles make up for about 14 per cent of its entire body weight. The only downside that comes along with these large testicles, however, is that they have smaller ejaculations than other species that with smaller testicles. Chosen for its effective mating style, bush cricket species were collected from around Europe and studied. The reason for this was because the semen that is transferred to females come in neat packages. In the same vein, females also store these semen sacs within separate sacs that are developed in their body. In this way, scientists can tell how many times a female has mated. While the testicles may be largest of all known male species found in the animal kingdom, this does not mean that it is the most efficient in terms of ejaculation. “Males with bigger testicles are actually producing smaller amounts of ejaculate,” Dr. Vahed said. Karim Vahed of the University of Derby studied the testicle sizes of the bugs. “This very much favours the alternative hypothesis: that it’s about the number of different females the male can fertilise, rather than getting a greater success per female.” Findings in the study showed that as the testicle size increased, ejaculation decreased. After this study on the testicles, the team led by Vahed is going to study the “titillator” part of the insect. This is currently the least studied part of the bug; the one which penetrates the female. Concluding the study with a preview into the next, the tuberous bushcricket seemingly lacked a well-endowed “titillator,” which may allow males to hang onto the females or stimulate them. Oil replacement far away

A forecast published in Environmental Science & Technology said that after gasoline runs out, it will take another 90 years before an effective substitute can be found. This study was based on the idea introduced by long-term investors guessing how long new energy technologies can effectively take over. The study, conducted by Debbie Niemeier and coauthor Nataliya Malyshkina, a UC Davis postdoctoral researcher, was aimed at helping policy-makers set goals for the future. Rather than blindly guessing or debating about the possible future, the co-authors hoped that this study would give them a a time frame. This study relied on two aspects: market capitalizations (based on stock share prices) and dividends of publicly-owned oil companies and alternative-energy companies. “Sophisticated investors tend to put considerable effort into collecting, processing, and understanding information relevant to the future cash flows paid by

securities,” said Malyshkina. “As a result, market forecasts of future events, representing consensus predictions of a large number of investors, tend to be relatively accurate.” While newer alternative fuels, such as ethanol, have been trying to make a dent in the market, none are comparable to gasoline. The market for gasoline currently stands unchallenged, with demand for it currently higher than any other fuel source. To this end, Niemeier said that renewable fuel research has not taken a strong enough stance. In order to do better, stronger policies have to be made now about the future, to ensure that when gasoline does run out, a total collapse won’t happen. “We need stronger policy impetus to push the development of these alternative replacement technologies along,” she said. Brain injury and young offenders

A research study conducted on nearly 200 young male offenders found that they have some form of brain injury. When compared with the rest of society, this abnormality may be a reason as why the offenders exhibit these sorts of behaviours. The increase in head injuries was linked to an increase in crimes, said the University of Exeter team. The offenders, aged 11-19, were questioned about their past medical history, convicted crimes, mental health, and drug use. After taking into consideration the children’s background, the researchers asked if childhood brain injury attributed to increased chances of committing crime. With this in mind, however, only one brain injury should not be something to worry about, the study published in Neuropsychological Rehabilitation says. “The associations between brain injuries and crime are very problematic,” explained Huw Williams, associate Prof. of clinical neuropsychology at the University of Exeter, “It may not be causal in the sense of increasing the chances of crime, but it may well be a factor in terms of re-offending.” Previous studies have shown that brain injuries that lead to unconsciousness can actually cause problems in the areas of focus, attention, memory, and behaviour. Prof. Williams stresses that children who exhibit these kinds of problems should not slack in school. “What we need to think about is better access to neuro-rehabilitation for children and linking that into schools so that when head injury happens there’s a system in place,” he said. Armed with these findings, the researchers hope that it will help to rehabilitate the offenders through mental therapy, or to develop other preventative measures. Those that were knocked out, for instance, would have more chances of repeating a certain crime. In the end, however, there are a lot of factors as to why young offenders commit crimes. — With files from BBC, Science Daily, Technology Daily, eScience News, and National Geographic.

write for science & technology! science@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Comics & Distractions

Imprint, Friday, November 12, 2010

SUNSHINE ANIMAL

Sudoku by Rajul Saleh 5 1 4

3 5

8 9

4 1

7 6 8 3 9 6 9 4 2 3 8

8 4

2 5

Alcina Wong

Manny the Mandarin drake only comes in pairs – not threesomes, pairs. She loves Oriental noodles, occasionally finding some wrapped around her legs and the bedposts. Mistaking origami for other Mandarin drakes is a recent flaw of hers, resulting in many sad comings. Marta Borowska staff reporter

he Mandarin drake is a stunningly beautiful water bird painted with a variety of colours. A chestnut coat covers their body, but deep blue and green colours paint the edges of their wings and the tops of their heads. Adding to the bird’s uniqueness are wind sails. The wind sails are feathers that protrude vertically from the bird’s wings in an astounding shade of orange. Though an addition to the beauty of the Mandarin, the wind sails mainly serve to make them fly faster.Typically,

a male and female Mandarin will form a lifelong relationship. Because of their unity and apparent beauty, Mandarins often appear in Asian art. They symbolize bliss and fidelity in the Chinese culture, often appearing in one way or another in Chinese weddings. “Two Mandarin ducks playing in water” is a Chinese metaphor used to compare couples to Mandarin ducks. Mandarin drakes originate from many Asian countries such as China, Korea, and Japan. Due to deforestation, they are not as widespread as they used to be and are dwindling down in numbers like many other species. The environment of Mandarin duck are

Last Week’s Solutions

mainly streams, ponds, and marshland areas. Here they spend a majority of their daytime resting in trees because of predators. Grass snakes, eagle owls, and a variety of other mammals will prey on Mandarins if they are not careful. For this reason, they try to rest in trees directly above water so they do not have to fly. Just like the weather changes with the seasons, so do the Mandarin bird’s seasonal diets. In spring, they ingest small aquatic animals and insects. Once summer comes along they indulge in grasshoppers and snakes. In autumn, they turn to grains and in winter they eat what they can find.

Would you like to know the day you are going to die ahead of time? By David Lehto and Eleonora Meszaros

“No, because it's terrifying.”

“No, because I like life to be full of surprises.”

Cameron Johnson

Brendan Jarrett

Computer Science

Geography

“Where would the fun be in that?”

“No, because it would suck... a lot.”

Lindi Andrews

Paul Brogee

Honours Science

Biology

“I would not, because I enjoy the uncertainty of life.” Richard Liu Accounting

Whoops! Looks like the geese ate a few of last week’s crossword clues:

— Across 62. a type of knock-out, for short 64. what you should be studying for 68. first human in outer space 69. popular fps or a fish

Comics & Distractions

Imprint, Friday, November 12, 2010

Crossword by Ben Storer

Across 1. It comes earlier each day this term (4) 5. Not quite a frog (4) 9. Swear (4) 10. Sporting officials, for short (4) 14. With arm or axe (4) 15. I, for many people (2) 16. Be aware of (6) 18. Nashvilles state, for short (2) 19. Does not apply (2) 20. Did you remember them on the 11th? (8) 22. __ vey! (2)

23. Founder of the Parti Québécois, familiarly (4) 24. The Davis Centre encased in boron perhaps? (4) 26. Quality of sound (4) 27. Pertaining to (2) 29. Software Architecture Attribute Engineering (4) 31. 16th president of the US, familiarly (3) 32. 1 1 1 1 (4) 34. Smaller but non-domesticated dog (3) 35. Peanut butter and raisin? (3)

36. Celestial body (4) 37. Government investigative group (3) 38. Thailand formerly (4) 40. Logical disjunct (2) 41. Encompass (4) 42. And others (2,2) 44. Unit of work, for short? (4) 45. Internet Protocol (2) 47. Spitz type Norwegian hound, or perhaps a deer-dog? (8) 50. Episode for short (2) 52. With regards to (2) 53. Of horses (6) 54. __ and behold (2) 55. Goddess of fertility, mother of Horus (4) 58. Unlimited for short (4) 59. Bigger than a pond, smaller than an ocean (4) 61. Chesterfield (4) 62. Arrange sequentially (4) Down 1. Undoes 1 across (4) 2. Middle coat of the eye (4) 3. An expression of great extent (2) 4. Our region, for short (2) 5. Town portal, for short (2) 6. Beginning score (2) 7. Lower than soprano (4) 8. Refuse (4) 10. Know something by repetition, but not have learned it (4) 11. Summer in Paris (3) 12. With Douglas or red (3) 13. By product of a healing wound (4) 16. Hawaiian goose (4) 17. Ceases (4) 20. Treat with reverence (8) 21. Raised framework (8) 23. January 25th, __ Burns Day (6) 25. May split plantes in ‘The Little Prince’ (6) 26. Strikes lightly (4) 27. Surjective, or aware of (4) 28. Phobia indicator (4) 30. Way out (4) 32. Leopard, Vista for example (2) 33. Came before Jr. (2) 39. XY (4)

41. Canadian Tea National Exhibition? (4) 43. LKQ University (4) 44. Provide financial supplies (4) 45. The heavenly messenger who make rainbows (4) 46. Mexican dollar (4) 48. Atilla was one (3) 49. With crude or olive (3) 50. Wapitis (4) 51. One who practices poesy (4) 56. Conditional (2) 57. Salvation Army (2) 59. L when preceeded by a short vowel (2) 60. Unnatural understanding (2)

Missed Connections Dear decently good-looking free hot cider girl, Who do you think you are? Your unprovoked comments regarding your “annoyance” with moustaches were not taken lightly. You are not above Movember. Verbally slandering a charitable cause must have made you feel pretty good about yourself. Jerk. I don’t know how you sleep at night. -Disgusted Mo-Bro

Dear super-hot chick who punched me in the face at Starlight last weekend. I’m not a masochist, but I’m totally in love with you. I can still feel the softness of your knuckles bruising my eye socket. Meet me at the same place, same time next week. And will you consider giving this sad lad a kiss instead of a punch if he promises not to grab anything next time? -Racoon-Eyed Apathetic Lover email your missed connections to distractions@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

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Comics & Distractions

Imprint, Friday, November 12, 2010 MICHAELTO(IRRESPONSIBLYOPTOMISTIC@IMPRINT.UWATERLOO.CA)

lisa mai (distractions@imprint.uwaterloo.ca)

ADRIENNE RAW (ARAW@IMPRINT.UWATERLOO.CA)

“J.T.” (geese@imprint.uwaterloo.ca)