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THE UNIVERSITY OF WINNIPEG STUDENTS’ WEEKLY
02 RISING STUDENT FEES PAD SURPLUS
13 COFFEE INTAKE AND NEW ZEALAND
09 MONEEN CLIMBS THE INDIE LADDER
14 HOCKEY HITS DOWTOWN
»
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UWSA R AISES FEES DESPITE CONTINUING SURPLUS
Uniter Staff
VOLU M E 59 / I SSU E 04 / S EP T EM BR E 23, 2004
By Jacob Serebrin
BEAT R EPORTER
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF >> A. P. (Ben) Benton
unitereic@uwinnipeg.ca 786-9790
W
hen students pay their
tuition, there’s more on
the bill than simply course
fees. Registration fees, health plan fees,
and UWSA fees all add up as well. The
cost of one of these additional fees has
continued to rise this year, even while
course fees remain frozen.
Despite last year’s surplus of
$119,881, the UWSA has again raised
its student association fees - this year
by 2.8 percent. The reason given for the
increase is that the student association,
which pulled in a surplus of $135,707
in 2003, has raised fees in accordance
with the Canadian Consumer Price
Index (or CPI), to which they have
been indexed for over five years.
UWSA president Sarah Amyot
acknowledges that while the UWSA
has been running a surplus, she doesn’t
believe that it will last.
“Those surpluses, while they are
there, they will not last into the future,”
says Amyot. “Enrollment has jumped
considerably over the past few years.”
As a result of the “baby boom
echo” and the so-called double cohort
from Ontario, enrollment numbers,
which are expected to drop off in
around three years, are misleading and
when they do drop the level of fees will
be considerably smaller, Amyot says.
Amyot says it’s important to
plan for the enrollment drop in order
to avoid having to cut services, and she
wants to put in a “framework for
MANAGING EDITOR >> James D. Patterson
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uniternews@uwinnipeg.ca 786-9497
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T H I S W E E K’S
K S C O N T R I BU T O R S
Paul Furgale, Sheri Lamb, Jonathon Davis, Sarah
Hauch, Jon Symons, Paul Wedel, Dave Colangelo,
Charmaine Tambongo, Joel Boyce, Shaun Gibson,
Brett Hopper, Sam Thomspon, Sarah Amyott, Leia
Getty, Dan Huyghebaert, Nick Tanchuk, William
O’Donnell, Michael Banias, Josh Grummett
––
The Uniter is the official student newspaper of the
University of Winnipeg and is published by the
University of Winnipeg Students’ Association. The
Uniter is editorially autonomous and the opinions
expressed within do not necessarily reflect those of
the UWSA. The Uniter is a member of the Canadian
University Press and Campus Plus Media Services.
»
UWSA
»
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SCHOLARLY, AND CASUAL READING.
IN THE ATRIUM IN FRONT OF RIDDELL
CAFETERIA, SEPTEMBER 27-30, 9AM4PM.
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SEPTEMBER 23, 2004
The CPI, to which the
UWSA has indexed its fees,
acts as a nationwide measure
of inflation, and is consistently
higher
than
provincial
measures of inflation.
Professor Mills sees the
figure of 2.8 percent as a “very
advantageous version of the
CPI increase last year.” He
points to other figures which
rate Manitoba’s level of
inflation at 1.8 or 1.9 percent.
“Students might want to query
why the hell, if they’re going
to increase it, did they not take
the lower figure rather then
the higher one?”
UWSA president Sarah
Amyot says she didn’t know
there was a provincial measure
of inflation until Mills brought
it to her attention. She doesn’t
think rating used was intended
to raise more money, rather it
was chosen as a standard and
she adds that students do have
an opportunity to change it at
the annual general
meeting.
Another
fee some students
The UWSA is sponsoring a fund
have called into
raising raffle to raise money for
question
is
the
the Safewalk program and Take
building
fund
levy.
Back the Night. We are raffling
off three graffiti pieces
Th is levy, originally
that were painted during ‘O’
set in the 80’s to raise
week by local artists: Cyrus
money for renovations
Smith, Fred
to
the
Bulman
Thomas, and Pat Lazo. Tickets
are $3 each or 3 for $6 and are
Center, currently sits
that the fee increases show “rank
inconsistency, that some would
call hypocrisy…you shout down
Memorial Boulevard ‘no fee
increases’ and then you quietly go
back to your own association and
you jack up your own fees.”
Mills feels that the students
association should be more
sensitive to the cost pressures of
others.
“An argument they reject in
the mouths of university
administrators, saying we must
have higher fees because the cost
of running the university’s gone
up…that’s rejected but in their
own case that’s used as a
rationale.”
“There’s a fairly marked
difference…tuition fees are a
matter of public policy set by the
legislature in which students have
no input,” says Amyot, adding that
if the legislature were to give
students greater say in tuition fees
the UWSA would support it.
“The difference is that
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CONTACT US >>
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Fax: 204.783.7080
Email: uniter@uwinnipeg.ca
student fees as in UWSA fees
are a membership fee to belong
to an organization and
members have the opportunity
to vote to remove fees,
members can opt out of the
UWSA and members are the
ones who decided to index fees
to inflation,” Amyot adds.
While opting out may
be an option for students,
without access to UWSA
services these students can’t
use the Info Booth, take part
in the health plan, attend
UWSA events or participate
in school elections.
“you shout down Memorial
Boulevard ‘no fee increases’ and
then you quietly go back to your own
association and you jack up your
own fees.”
Classifieds
Need Back to School Cash?
SUBMISSION OF ARTICLES, LETTERS, PHOTOS
AND GRAPHICS ARE WELCOME Articles should
be submitted in text or Microsoft Word format to
uniter@uwinnipeg.ca. Deadline for submissions is
noon Friday (contact the section’s editor for more
information). Deadline for advertisements is noon
Friday, six days prior to publication. The Uniter
reserves the right to refuse to print submitted material.
The Uniter will not print submissions that are
homophobic, misogynistic, racist or libelous. We also
reserve the right to edit for length or style.
02
dealing with that surplus so that it
can get saved and used when it
needs to be used,” something she
wants to set up this year.
Professor Allen Mills, chair
of the Politics department, sees a
contradiction in the student
association raising fees while at
the same time demanding that
tuition be frozen.
“One of the elementary
aspects of political responsibility is
where you have the power to act
yourself then it behooves you to
act in a way that’s consistent with
your principles,” says Mills.
However, Mills contends
»
available at
the Info booth. Come down to
the booth and check them out.
Contest closes
Friday, October 8th. Winners will
be contacted by phone.
Take Back the Night is an annual
women- organized event to
publicly express
women’s
determination,
empowerment and struggle
against sexism and violence.
Safewalk is a volunteer program
that operates Monday to
Thursday evenings.
Safewalk volunteers are there to
help ensure that you get safely
to your car
or bus at night. Located main
floor by the Security desk.
at $6.90 per full course. The
building fund itself currently
sits at $256,964.48, with another
$150,000-200,000 coming in
this year.
When the Duckworth
Center was completed, the
Bulman Center, which had been
the school’s gym became
available and was renovated for
use by the student association.
Funding came from the
University and the province and
the UWSA. The UWSA raised
$600,000 for the project and
took out a loan for another
$600,000, with the building
fund being used to pay off the
loan. When the loan was paid
off ahead of schedule the
Building Fund became a capital
fund.
Although there has been
no major use of the money, the
UWSA has spent some of it last year giving $50,000 to the
Aboriginal Student Center, and
renovating two rooms in the
Bulman Center, one of which is
the UWSA board room. Other
past uses for the money included
computers for the Uniter and
Stylus as well as the creation of
the Info-booth.
While the UWSA has
had two major plans for using
the building fund - major
renovations to the Bulman
Center, including improving the
acoustics and adding a second
mezzanine level, and the UWSA
bid for the food services contract
- both these plans fell through.
The fi rst, when the plans failed
to meet the fi re code, and the
second when the university
awarded the food services
contract to British multinational,
Chartwells.
“I agree that we need a
plan for the building fund,” says
Amyot, who says she is willing
to “look at reducing the level of
the levy at an annual general
meeting, if it’s not necessary.”
However, Amyot maintains it is
necessary to collect some funds
in case of capital expenses,
conceding that “I don’t know if
it needs to be at the level that it’s
at.”
The UWSA does plan on
taking action and intends to
start collecting suggestions from
students as to what to do with
the money, including the
possibility of moving the
CKUW radio station off
campus.
News
NEWLY FORMED COALITION R EFUSES TO SWEEP R APID TRANSIT UNDER THE RUG
‘Winnipeggers for Bus Rapid Transit’ encourage citizens to make their voices heard
» Wade Andrew
By Vivian Belik
NEWS EDITOR
W
hen Mayor Sam Katz
announced last Tuesday
that he wanted to undo
a preexisting plan to implement rapid
transit, what he didn’t know was that the
matter wasn’t going to go down without
a fight.
In a last ditch attempt to prevent
rapid transit from being shelved for an
indefinite period of time, more than two
dozen Winnipeggers gathered around a
kitchen table in the Osborne area last
week to express their anger and frustration
over the dissolution of a fi fty million
dollar deal that would have seen a faster
and greener transit system replace the
inefficient bus system that currently
services our city.
The meeting was attended by
city councilors Donald Benham and Jenny
Gerbasi, CBC contributor Kaj Hasselriis,
Manitoba Eco-Network representative
Liz Dykman, several University of
Winnipeg and University of Manitoba
students, and a handful of other citizens
that were concerned about the fate of
Winnipeg’s transit system.
Translating words into action,
the group quickly formed Winnipeggers
for Bus Rapid Transit (W4BRT), a
coalition whose mandate is to convince
the mayor and city council that rapid
transit is indeed something the public
would like to see in place now, rather than
twenty years from now.
The Rapid Transit Proposal
The debate over rapid transit has
been ongoing for nearly 30 years. Since
the city began researching the feasibility
of rapid transit in the late 1970’s almost all
of Canada’s major cities have moved
forward to implement rapid transit in their
own districts.
“Winnipeg compares poorly
with such cities as Calgary, Edmonton,
and Ottawa in transit and cycling options,”
says councilor Gerbasi. “A modern rapid
transit is essential for the revitalization of
our downtown, improves the quality of
life for all, and helps make our city
competitive to keep our young people
here, and to entice those in other places to
come and make their lives here.”
If city council agrees to invest in the
proposed four-phase rapid transit initiative
at their meeting on September 29, the
construction of a rapid bus corridor from
the University of Manitoba to the
downtown area could begin as soon as
next year. The transit corridor, which will
be specifically reserved for buses, will
allow buses to travel at speeds of 80 km/h,
reducing current travel times by
approximately twenty minutes.
Aside from a bus corridor, the fi rst
phase of rapid transit will see the purchase
of ‘intelligent technology systems’ that
can track buses so that real-time schedule
information can be displayed at bus
stations and at major activity centres. As
well, recreation paths will be constructed
alongside the corridor for cycling,
walking, and rollerblading
Subsequent phases of the transit
proposal would involve the purchase of
diesel/electric buses that would travel
along five rapid corridors fanned across
the city linking Winnipeg’s suburbs to
the downtown area.
“Neither infi ll developments, such
as the Fort Rouge Yards, nor suburbantype developments, like the muchdiscussed Waverly West, are possible
without rapid transit,” notes Gerbasi.
A Commitment Has Already
Been Made
In 1999, when Winnipeg was
reviewing Plan Winnipeg, the city and
provinces’ planning document, a
commitment to rapid transit was
ensured. Four years later, former mayor
Glen Murray negotiated a deal with the
provincial and federal governments to
fund rapid transit through the CanadaManitoba Infrastructure Program, an
agreement that gives priority funding to
projects that enhance the quality of the
environment. As a result, the three
levels of government consented to a 51
million dollar deal that would provide
for the complete implementation of the
fi rst phase of rapid transit.
Regardless of the fact that rapid
transit was entrenched in Plan Winnipeg
and a funding agreement was successfully
reached, Sam Katz wants to dismantle
the deal.
“I believe a rapid transit system
will be part of Winnipeg’s future, but
this is a question of priorities” said Katz
at a press conference on September 14.
Rather than investing in a transit
system that would put Winnipeg on
equal footing with other major Canadian
cities, Katz stated that he would rather
put the money towards “preserving a
viable and rich community recreation
infrastructure.”
When asked whether the federal
government had agreed to transfer the
money previously intended for rapid
transit to fi x aging community centres in
Winnipeg, Katz adamantly replied that
the federal and provincial governments’
34 million dollar share “is still very
much on the table and will be on hand to
support our goals.”
Councilor Donald Benham, who
was also present at the conference, was
wary of Katz’s comments and believes
that the federal government won’t drop
the rapid transit issue that quickly
because they have a real commitment to
the Kyoto Accord and other
environmental initiatives.
“It’s very dangerous to undo that
process,” said Benham in reference to
Katz’s attempt to dissolve the funding
agreements made between the three
levels of government. In addition to
this, Benham highlights the issue of
accountability.
“If it were known by other
provincial and city governments
that the federal government was
planning to redirect the 34 million
dollars, there would be people
asking ‘what is the government
doing these days funding
community centres?’”
The Fight is Not Over
Despite the fact that Mayor
Sam Katz publicly stated that he
does not support rapid transit
there is still a chance that the deal
will not be killed.
On September 29, city
council will convene to decide
whether to proceed with the rapid
transit funding agreement. In
order for the deal to stay afloat,
eight of the fi fteen councilors
must vote in favour of rapid
transit. Currently there are four
councilors that are solidly in
favour of the initiative—Councilor
Donald Benham, Councilor,
Jenny Gerbasi, Councilor John
Angus, and Councilor Lillian
Thomas.
Regardless of the mounting
opposition amongst city councilors
surrounding the issue of rapid
transit, Benham remains hopeful
but cautions that success will
come “only through a massive
movement of political collective
will”.
Less than 24 hours after
W4BRT was formed, the coalition
proved that the mobilization of
people and resources can indeed
occur in a quick and effective
manner; nearly 20 activists were
present at the press conference on
September 14 to protest the
mayor’s decision to trash rapid
transit, to heckle him while he
spoke, and to pass around petitions
in favour of rapid transit.
Since that time the coalition
has had several petition drives
throughout the city and is
encouraging as many people as
possible to come out to the meeting
on September 29 to voice support
for rapid transit.
Kaj Hasselriis, spokesman
for W4BRT is quite impressed by
how quickly things have moved.
He believes that after five days of
petitioning, the coalition had
already gathered more than 1500
signatures. Those that have been
most receptive to the idea of rapid
transit thus far have been
students.
“Sixty percent of University
of Winnipeg students take the
bus,” says UWSA president Sarah
Amyot. “Mayor Katz forgets
that post-secondary students
represent 40,000 people in the
city; this is an overwhelming
number of post-secondary
students, especially considering
that these are people whose
voices aren’t often heard.”
W4BRT realizes that
Katz has failed to properly
represent the Winnipeg
demographic and is therefore
encouraging the public to step
up to city council and make
their views known.
Frustrated transit users
and others in support of rapid
transit are urged to visit
W4BRT’s website at www.
livingcity.org to download
petitions and obtain contact
information in order to tell
councilors that rapid transit
should not be killed.
W4BRT
a lso
encourages as many people as
people to show up to the city
council meeting on September
29 at 9:30 am to show city
councilors that Winnipeggers
want this project.
SEPTEMBER 23, 2004
03
News
FORMAT CHANGE CANCELS SHOWS ON
R ED R IVER FM STATION
By Jacob Serebrin
BEAT R EPORTER
T
he hosts of eight shows
on Kick 92.9 FM, the
Red River College radio
station, received an unpleasant
surprise this fall when they
were told that their shows had
been cancelled by the station.
According to Mauricio
Martinez, who hosted a show
called “World Beat”, the RRC
student hosts received an email
informing them that the station
would now be a “format” station
seeking advertisers, and their
shows would not fit in with the
stations new advertising and
marketing plan.
According to station
manager
Rick
Everett
Baverstock, only four of the
shows were actually cancelled
due to format constraints.
“The rest were cancelled
because the hosts showed a
complete disregard for the
rules. Some showed up only
when they felt like it. Others
abandoned their programs for
weeks on end without giving us
any advance notice. Others
conducted themselves on-air in
04
a manner that contradicted the
Codes of Ethics of the Canadian
Broadcast Standards Council,
codes to which KICK-FM
adheres.”
While he admits he did
miss some of his shows,
Martinez says the only reasons
he was given for the cancellation
were the format change.
Having graduated from Red
R i v e r ’s
Creative
Communications program,
Martinez says his shows
cancellation didn’t really matter
but that, “it didn’t sit well with
me.” He takes particular issue
with the focus on obtaining
advertising revenue. ”The
students aren’t getting paid but
they’re working for the
college.”
Launched
behind schedule in spring
2004, the college station is used
to
teach
Creative
Communications students to
be “broadcasters at a commercial
level,” says Baverstock. He
feels that in order to train
students to be commercial
broadcasters the station needed
to be the closest approximation
to a commercial station it could
be. Part of which, at least for
SEPTEMBER 23, 2004
Baverstock, is following a
format. He went on to say that
because of the delay, the station
tried to get as many students
on the air as possible, resulting
in a wide variety of
programming.
Over
the
summer
however, the station adopted
the format of “Adult Album
Alternative”, or “Triple A”.
Baverstock describes the format
as being mostly new rock music
but “less angsty” than traditional
rock radio, and named Ben
Harper and Jack Johnson as
examples of the format. In
order to sell airtime, the station
“really had to come up with one
direction, a solid fl ight plan.”
Baverstock, a former DJ
at 92 Citi FM, who has been
running a station in Victoria
for the past 11 years, also
wanted the station to be
different from other stations on
the air in Winnipeg. As a
result, some “great shows” were
cancelled “simply for fit.”
Baverstock feels that the
station’s adherence to a format
will give the students a “leg up”
by giving them experience
“working in that environment.”
This
is
something
Martinez disagrees with. He
worries “students won’t have
their own shows, especially if
they don’t fit.” Martinez also
takes issue with the commercial
radio focus. He says that the
majorit y
of
Creative
Communications students who
go into radio end up at the
CBC, not commercial stations.
Baverstock says that
while that may have been true
in the past, it was in large part
because there “wasn’t an outlet”
for students who wanted to go
into commercial radio. He
cites two recent graduates, one
who recently found work at
Power 97, the other at CJOB as
examples. He also says that
there will be more news
programming on Kick and that
as the station becomes more
integrated with the Creative
Communications program,
students will do news-based
assignments which will be
broadcast on the station and
provide experience for students
who want to work for the
CBC.
As for the four shows
cancelled for not following the
rules, Baverstock points out
that Red River does also have a
closed-circuit radio station
open to students, which because
of its unlicensed nature does
not have to follow the same
rules as Kick. Students who
want to play music not fitting
with the format can get shows
there.
So... You Want to Make News This Year
Write for the Uniter
CONTACT US - at
uniter@uwinnipeg.ca
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meetings. Room 0RM14
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There are better ways!
Comments
»
Contact
Comments Editor: Daniel Blaike
E-mail
» unitercomments@uwinnipeg.ca
Tele: 786-9497
BEWARE THE TONY ROBBINS A PPROACH TO EDUCATION
Sarah Amyot
PRESIDENT, UNIVERSITY OF WINNIPEG
STUDENTS’ A SSOCIATION
M ANITOBA NATIONAL E XECUTIVE
R EPRESENTATIVE FOR THE C ANADIAN
FEDERATION OF STUDENTS
“Access” is a seemingly
innocuous term, often bandied about
in education circles. However,
“access” is highly politicized: the
term is used by groups from all
corners of the political spectrum, to
achieve very different goals. The
make-up of our post-secondary
education system will be very
different depending on the definition
of “access” that we adopt. For this
reason it is important to clarify its
meaning.
For example, the Canadian
Millennium Scholarship Foundation,
created by the federal Liberal
government in response to growing
concerns about rising tuition fees
and student debt, has begun
producing research reports that aim
to prove that the federal government
does not have a responsibility to
provide adequate funding to
universities and colleges. The
Foundation invests public money
producing research to refute that the
single largest barrier to those wishing
to enter the post-secondary system is
financial. How? Using an American
style, Tony Robbins approach to
access: “Hey you, kid. You say your
parents have never been to university?
They can’t afford it for you either?
Well, don’t worry about it. Just try
really hard, positive energy will get
you to university!” I apologise for
being facetious – there is nothing
funny about the fact that this attitude
is honestly being advanced by groups
like the Millennium Scholarship
Foundation. When you consider that
that the federal government has cut
over $4 billion from post secondary
in the last 10 years, causing tuition
fees and student debt to skyrocket
nationally, you recognise that the
stakes are high. Barriers to postsecondary education will not be
overcome by inspirational speakers
like Tony Robbins. Not surprisingly,
school-to-university programmes in
California that rely on motivational
solutions have a dismal success rate.
But, reader, never fear. I am
not avoiding my commitment to
defining “access”. The University of
Winnipeg Students’ Association, as
part of the Canadian Federation of
Students, our national advocacy
organization, lobbies for something
concrete: a post-secondary education
system accessible to all on the basis
of interest, not income. Education at
all levels should be universally
accessible, much in the same way as
health care is meant to be. Th is
means that all people, regardless
of income, background, ability, or
nationality, have the right to
access a high quality postsecondary education that is
nationally-planned and properly
funded. It is a question of priorities
and values. Access has clear
meaning in the context of the
mantra “education is a right, and
not a privilege”.
A number of factors affect
one’s ability to access postsecondary education. The number
one most commonly cited barrier
to accessing a post-secondary is
financial. According to Statistics
Canada, over 70% of high school
graduates who had not gone on to
post-secondary education because
of barriers listed their financial
situation as the primary obstacle.
A
similar
percentage
of
respondents who had dropped out
of a post-secondary program
(71.4%) cited financial barriers as
a primary reason for not continuing
with their education. It is because
of these startling numbers that
students lobby governments for
increased funding and tuition fee
freezes. Although it is difficult to
quantify the relationship between
tuition fee increases and declining
access, we know that sharp fee
hikes result in a marked decline
in participation from those from
low-income families.
Access also involves
ensuring that there is support in
place for students after they enter
university or college. Getting a
foot in the door is not enough.
Th is is why the student movement
has voiced concerns about
recently-created federal Learning
Bond for low-income students.
The bond provides a small grant
to low-income families upon the
birth of a child, with an additional
small amount of money to be
added to the account for each year
the family remains at a low
income. However, the fund will
not be accessible to anyone until
2022 and at that time it would
likely not be worth the cost of one
year’s
education.
Savings
mechanisms such as these
probably do more to benefit
financial institutions than future
students.
Access to post-secondary
education also involves other
factors, including a safe learning
environment, affordable and
accessible transportation and
housing options, the availability
of safe, well-paid and meaningful
employment, and an environment
that is accessible to people of all
abilities. For these reasons, your
student organisations engage in
campaigns and lobby on issues
such as the Bus Rapid Transit
system, the elimination of higher
tuition fees for international
students,
and
promoting
awareness about and services that
respect the diversity of students.
On every issue we should
ask ourselves, ‘Will this strategy
help to improve access?’ Fighting
for access drives your elected
union representatives, in our
meetings with government to
press for more funding and lower
user fees for education, in our
work with the administration to
ensure that the new entrance-way
to the Wesley Hall is accessible
for students that use wheelchairs,
and in our work to ensure that
this institution is a safe place for
students to attend.
Your elected board of the
University
of
Students’
Association is in the process of
determining priorities for the
coming months. Please get
involved and share your ideas as
to how we can uphold the
principles of access in our work
over the coming months.
FARMERS ATHLETES WITH ATHLETES’ FARMERS’ FOOT
W
ell, most of the hoopla
surrounding
the
Olympics has finally
begun to calm down. I am of
course referring in particular to
the great show of nagging and
whining about providing more
money to Canada’s athletes
in order to make them ‘more
competitive.’ More money for
athlete’s . . . hogwash I say. It
stems from nothing more than a
terrible misunderstanding of what
competition really is.
Competition is not a game.
It’ not something to be done after
work or once the lawn is cut.
Competition is a way of life, and
athletes in Canada and across the
world had better come to grips
with that. Amateur sport should
not allow athletes to perfect their
bodies while letting their character
and competitive advantage in the
economy slip. Even as government
subsidized athletes train for their
sport, they forget how to hold a
job
and
risk
becoming
economically lazy. Too used to
government care, they may soon
develop a ‘can’t do’ attitude when
it comes to providing for
themselves and their families.
Of course money helps
individuals train and win medals,
but it should not be up to
bureaucrats in Ottawa or
Washington to decide who will
win the gold. They should go to
the best competitor. As long as
some athletes are funded more
than others, we will never have
true competition. We will
therefore never know who is the
best, we will only know who is
the better funded. The solution
is to find the lowest common
denominator: nothing, zero,
zilch. Let the Olympic gold test
people’s endurance not just on
the track, but off as well. After
all, anyone would throw a
discus for a living if they could
get a government salary out of
it. But what if they had to compete
for the salary by working hard
and winning sponsorships from
private corporations? Then they
would truly be in competition
because private interests only
reward winners, not runners-up.
It’s time to weed the Bombardiers
out of our Olympic team and keep
only the best.
The precedent is already
set in Canada. As much as some
farmers might ask the government
to ensure the survival of the family
farm with taxpayer dollars, our
government knows better. For a
long time now, we have politely
told our farmers that if they can’t
cut it in the ring with multinational
farming companies, maybe they
should hang up their gloves.
Nevertheless, some of them cling
to the idea that the stakes of
competition in the market
shouldn’t include their home,
their food, and their children’s
education. Now our athletes too
have become infected with this
silly notion. It’s time our farmers
and athletes toughen up, tighten
the belt, and accept what it means
to live in a market-based society.
A Sincere Free-Marketeer
R ETRO FILM R ESURGENCE
By Josh Grummett
I
s it just me, or is Hollywood
very tuned in to global politics?
You have George W. Bush
ending his reign in the White
House. A very cowboy-hero guy,
and I’m sure he’s a nice person: it
just sucks having Daddy’s Little
Cowboy as president of what is
generally acknowledged to be the
most powerful nation on earth.
Same with other powers: Tony
Blair as “militant liberal” in
Great Britain, and all the shady
characters that keep popping up in
the European Union. The political
pendulum, during the past four
years or so, has taken a massive
swing to the right, and I doubt that
this is a thing John Kerry will fi x.
Anyway.
The Hollywood movies
coming out now have a similar
swing. We had the superhero fi lm
craze when Bush came into
power: X-Men (2), Spider-Man
(2), The Hulk, et al. (Daredevil,
one hopes, will be delicately erased
from the oeuvre.) Go out there,
stop the bad guys, get the girl.
Epic, classic stuff, that appeals to
the bloodthirsty conquering hero
in you. Bush comes to the end of
his reign, and what do we have to
watch? What is being pushed by
massive dream-factory Hollywood
marketing? Good ol’ family-values
retro fi lms. Around the World in
80 Days, Bruce Almighty, Thun
derbirds, Sky Captain and the
World of Tomorrow, Little Black
Book. The kinda stuff that
makes you think your mother
will lose her high-powered
corporate station, stick around at
home in a floral apron lightly
dusted with flour, and take
up church bake-sales as her main
to-do. (And especially note the
probable moral of Little Black
Book:
past
indiscretions
shouldn’t matter, it’s about what
we’re doing and how we feel
now.)
Retro is all well and good;
history repeats itself because
important people have no
imagination. What I have a
problem with is how this stuff is
rammed down the throats of the
North American public. (Granted,
everything is always rammed down
throats; I should get used to it. But
it’s so damn uncomfortable.) Am I,
as a wide-eyed drinker-in of such
spectacles, supposed to swallow
the opinions and values of the
director with every swig of Coke?
Should I wipe my mind clean of all
experience with popcorn, and
listen
to
Holly wood?
It’s a persuasive argument:
Hollywood has money, so
Hollywood must know better than
everyone. It’s in the perfect position
to teach us all too -- five or eight
new lessons a week, $7.50 a pop.
Unfortunately, I don’t buy it.
Art is supposed to open the
eyes, not fi ll the mind. A movie is
ultimately mass-market art.
(Unfortunately, we have no shrewd
curators to save us from the crap:
brass-balled
wonders
like
Dodgeball, Underworld, and Little
Black Book get as much poster
space as Fahrenheit 9/11 and the
Lord of the Rings trilogy.) I highly
doubt that da Vinci was trying to
sell us on modeling with the Mona
Lisa, and Shakespeare would have
had a hard time inserting morality
into A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
I seriously hope that movies are
not the new commercials.
SEPTEMBER 23, 2004
05
Humour
»
Contact
Humour Editor: Janet Mowat
E-mail
» uniterhumour@uwinnipeg.ca
Tele: 786-9497
Are You Funny?
Do you want to be published?
If YES, we need YOU!
Come on down to the Uniter office
(ORM14, in the Bulman Centre), or call
Janet at 786-9497. We’d love to have your
contributions!!
If NO, we don’t care! Come
down anyways! Please!
Your Weekly Horoscope
by Madam Imadam
Aries (March 21 - April 19): Things you do
will be unappreciated this week, so don’t
waste your time helping people. Don’t
waste your time doing work, either, since
that will also be disregarded. And don’t
bother trying to be funny, because even
the most phenomenally hilarious joke will
be deemed lame by your audience. The
list goes on.
Taurus (April 20 - May 20): For some
reason, you will be ecstatically happy this
week, and it will be infectious. As you
walk down the street beaming to yourself,
other people will think about how happy
they are that they aren’t crazy like you.
Rantings of a First Year Liberal Arts Student
By: Michael Banias
Well hello, all,
This is your friendly
neighbourhood liberal arts
student Michael, and I am back
to tell you another story. So, this
little ditty occurred outside of
the university walls, but I find it
relative to...well...nothing at all. It
is actually a rant, but it still has
some sort of meaning, especially
in that cosmic all-encompassing
philosophical way.
Shoes, ladies shoes.
Now, don’t get me wrong, and
stop freaking out like you are now.
Many ladies aren’t concerned
with shoes, nor with who makes
them, nor with what they look
like, and whether they are even
wearing them at all. But there
are a few women I know who
are concerned with shoes, and
perhaps it’s nothing to be worried
about, or perhaps it could be an
unhealthy psychological issue
that needs to be taken care of
immediately. Whatever the case,
many women love shoes.
A lady friend of mine,
lets call her Jane for the sake of
me not giving away her identity;
and having some psychopathic
reader of this paper go stalking
through the night with a large
knife, loves shoes. I’m not one
to talk, but I think it may be an
unhealthy addiction. Anyhow,
shoes are a large part of this
young lady’s wardrobe. She has
shoes for every occasion and
every outfit. Shoes for dancing,
shoes for running, shoes for a
pink skirt, shoes for a suit, and
even shoes that could be used for
kicking the hell out of a victim that
may or may not have angered the
mafia.
Now, I have one question
that may help to allow me to sleep
at night, and that is: ”Why all the
shoes?” For the answer, I went
to Dr. Chris Webber, Professor of
Psychology here at the university
and asked him what he thought.
Michael: Now, Doctor, surely there
is a reason why some women love
shoes that much.
Dr. Webber: Indeed there is a
reason, and don’t call me Shirley.
Silence
Michael: ...
Dr. Webber: Sorry, I couldn’t
resist.
Michael\b0 : You sadden me.
Dr. Webber: Anyway, your question
about the shoe addiction. Yes,
there is a reason why she, and
people in general, love shoes that
much.
Michael: Why is that?
Dr. Webber: It is natural for people
to find comfort in material things
they like, such as clothes, cell
phones, and shoes.
Michael: How long did it take you
to get your doctorate exactly?
Dr.
Webber:
HOW TO DEVELOP A SENSE OF HUMOUR
No no no, I’m
TIP OF THE WEEK:
on to something, hear me out.
People seek this comfort, it’s a
nesting instinct of sorts. If they
own something, they feel that they
are safe, because they have that
specific area covered. If I have a
pair of shoes for every occasion, I
have that base covered and I don’t
have to worry about it...
At this point, the good Doctor was
getting rather excited.
Dr. Webber: My goodness, it all
makes sense. Actual sense! ...I’m a
Psychology God. All hail me, Lord
of Psychology!
At this point, I was becoming very
frightened.
Michael: Umm, can we get back
to the...
Dr. Webber: Quiet! I am the Lord
of Psychology! You will bow down
before me!
At this point, I was ticked off.
Michael: Are you even a real
doctor? No, wait, are you actually
a professor of psychology? No,
wait, are you even real at all? I
mean no disrespect, but how can
you possibly sustain the ability
to maintain complex thought or
even breathe for that matter? How
can you possibly think yourself to
be a god, and of psychology no
less? Did you just come in off the
street or something? I can’t even
comprehend your thought process
right now. You are more baffling
than a can of salmon, and I for
one won’t stand for it!
I then proceeded to strike him,
and did so with great vigour.
Though his explanation
about the nesting instinct and all
that may have held water in a
psychology class, it didn’t float
my boat, if you catch my drift.
So, I left his office; with him lying
on the floor unconscious, and
proceeded to find my answer
elsewhere.
Unfortunately, after
that whole ”God of Psychology”
bit, I forgot the question at
hand.
To finish this off, and
to try to find some cosmic
meaning, I suppose we have to
look elsewhere.
Wait! That’s it! Look
elsewhere! Whoa! If you want
answers to all of lives little
questions, look elsewhere. It’s
so simple...why didn’t I see it
before? Just look elsewhere!
Hey you, reading this stupid, yet
humorous, column. Go take it
somewhere else. You won’t be
able to figure it out while reading
this! Go now! But make sure you
look back next week; it’s pretty
funny stuff.
Anyway, now that
everyone has put down their
copy of the paper, and is off
figuring life out for themselves,
no one should be reading this...
and if I catch you, so help me
God...
Read several Calvin and Hobbes books I know you used to read them when you were a kid, but trust me, you’ll get a lot more out of it now.
06
SEPTEMBER 23, 2004
Gemini (May 21 - June 21): Your
memory’s not too good this week, so try
to pay more attention to what’s going on.
Otherwise, your life may become quite
difficult. Your memory’s not too good
this week, so try to pay more attention to
what’s going on. Otherwise, your life may
become quite difficult. Your memory’s not
too good this week, so try to pay more
attention to what’s going on. Otherwise,
your life may become quite difficult.
Cancer (June 22 - July 22): Tall things
fascinate you. You will get a crick in your
neck from staring up at things. Don’t
cross the street downtown, especially by
the TD building.
Leo (July 23 - August 22): You will win
every contest you enter, and even one or
two that you don’t enter. A great artist will
be inspired by your perfection and devote
the rest of his/her life to capturing your
spirit on canvas. Lucky numbers are 1
through 6,000,000,000.
Virgo (August 23 - September 22): You
seem to be the only person who realizes
how great you are. You can fix that by
belittling others in order to assert your
superiority. Their scowls only mask their
shame.
Libra (September 23 - October 23): You
will be exposed for the fraud you are this
weekend, effectively ruining the rest of
your week. However, a cute little kid will
smile at you and you will feel momentarily
better.
Scorpio (October 24 - November 21): You
will suddenly realize in a blinding flash
that your taste in music is really, really
bad. You can offset the cost of an entire
new CD collection by selling our old Achy
Breaky Heart singles on Ebay. There’s
bound to be someone out there who
wants them.
Sagittarius (November 22 - December
21): Try to procrastinate as much as
possible if you have a deadline looming
over your head. Honestly – what would
make you happier right now; working, or
sitting around thinking about how bored
you are but how desperately you don’t
want to get up off your ass and do your
work? I thought so.
Capricorn (December 22 - January 19):
This week will feel cursed to you. That is
because it is. Pianos will spontaneously
fall out of windows onto your head, and
warts will sprout all over your body. You
will also pet a diseased sewer rat (it will
seem a good idea at the time) and catch
the plague.
Aquarius (January 20 - February 18): You
will meet an alien from outer space this
week. However, its disguise will be very
good, and you will walk right past it with
only a fleeting sense that something isn’t
quite right.
Pisces (February 19 - March 20): People
will start telling you that you look French.
Consider ditching the beret, the tight,
stripy shirt, and the thin moustache.
You should also stop carrying baguettes
around and listening to accordion music.
Unless, of course, that’s the kind of thing
you’re into.
g
Listings
»
Contact
Listings Coordinator: Jan Nelson
E-mail
» uniterlistings@uwinnipeg.ca
Tele: 786-9497
Fax: 783-7080
ON-CAMPUS
Announcements
THE UNIVERSITY OF WINNIPEG POLITICS DEPARTMENT The Politics
Department URGENTLY requires 3rd or 4th year Politics Majors/Honours
students, and ESPECIALLY MPA and Masters students, for positions as teaching
and research assistants. Also, there will be position(s) in Aboriginal Governance.
A covering letter including a brief statement of academic interests, the name of a
referee, and a timetable indicating your availability should be addressed to: Allen
Mills, Chair, Department of Politics. Also, please attach a mark statement. Submit
to: Jacqueline Côté, Secretary (6L20) The deadline for applications is MONDAY,
September 27th, 2004, 4:30pm.
ENGLISH LANGUAGE PARTNERS for ESL students needed at the Language
Partner Program , U of W Continuing Education Campus, 294 William St. Time
commitment 1 – 2 hrs./week. Contact Rina Monchka, 982-1151, email
r.monchka@uwinnipeg.ca.
STUDY SKILLS WORKSHOPS: Starting Sept. 29, Student Counselling Services
are offering workshops on Time Management, Note Taking, Reading Efficiently,
Preparing for Exams and Handling Exam Anxiety. Register by phone (786-9231) or
in person at the Counselling Office (0GM06).
MED SCHOOL ADMISSIONS INFORMATION SESSION: UM Med School’s
Manager of Admissions and Student Affairs will be making a presentation on the
admission process on Wednesday, October 6th in 1L13, 12:30 1:30. For more information please contact the Career Resource Centre, 786-9863
or email careerresource@uwinnipeg.ca.
GRADUATE SCHOOL INFO SESSION FOR ENGLISH STUDENTS October 13,
2004 12:30 to 1:30pm. Faculty & Staff Club Boardroom (4th Fl. Wesley) Come
to an information session for English students considering a further career in the
discipline and for those interested in applying to graduate school. This is also an
opportunity to chat with recent grads of graduate school.
FITNESS CLASSES Kick-off your Kampus year. . .& get your Body into gear! Total
body noon hour fitness classes – a little sweat & a little muscle packed into a
convenient 45min class, 5days a week! Lots of program variety, and instructors
teach to all fitness levels. M (Hi-Lo)/W (Boot Camp) F (Core Body Conditioning)
12:30-1:15pm Tu (Cardio Burn)/Th (Step/Hi-Lo combo) 12:05-12:50pm Don’t lose
any more time. Start now! Classes run Sept 13 – Dec 3/04 and Jan 4 – Apr 1/05
Register at the Duckworth Centre Customer Service Desk.
PHILOSOPHY COLLOQUIUM SERIES: Sept 22nd 12:30 PM - 1:30 PM 1L12, Bruce
Morito, “Intrinsic Value”. Anyone on campus with an interest in Philosophy is
invited to join us for a series of lectures on a wide variety of philosophical themes.
For information on upcoming lectures, contact the Philosophy Office at 786-9878.
Financial Aid, Bursaries, Awards
AUCC AWARDS: The Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada,
provides 150 scholarship programs on behalf of the Federal Government, domestic
and foreign agencies and private sector companies. Check out website at www.
aucc.ca Look under programs and services. Deadlines: Various
SURFING FOR MORE DOLLARS? Make www.myuwinnipeg.ca a favourite on
your computer….. Go to Student Services Link, which takes to our Awards and
Financial Aid page…. Updated weekly….. Lots of Funding opportunities.
MANITOBA HYDRO, AWARDS BURSARIES AND SCHOLARSHIPS: If you
are in any of these designated groups, a women, or an Aboriginal person, a
member of a visible minority, or a person with disabilities, Manitoba Hydro
offers 11 Employment Equity Bursaries of $1500.00 and Summer Employment for
students entering first year studies at the University studying Computer Science,
Commerce or Engineering. Applications are available in the Awards and Financial
Aid Office, located in Graham Hall. Deadline: October 1st 2004.
U OF W SPECIAL AWARDS FOR HIGH-NEED STUDENTS APPLICATIONS
2004/2005 are now available in the Awards and Financial Aid office in Graham
Hall. Included with this application form is the Louis Riel Bursary Application
which can help Metis students with needed funding. Deadline: October 1 2004.
BRIDGET WALSH SCHOLARSHIP FOR SINGLE PARENT IRISH WOMEN:
The Bridget Walsh scholarship is on the basis of academic merit or promise
as well as economic need. The value varies from year to year depending on
royalties Contact: Mary Broderick, Chairperson, Bridget Walsh Scholarship, 205
Mountainview Road North, Georgetown, ON, L7G 4T8, Tel: (416) 873-0873.
Deadline: October 15 2004.
J.D.FEGUSON FOUNDATION STUDENT ESSAY AWARD: Two awards valued at
$750.00 each will be presented to winners of an essay competition with significant
relevance to numismatics such as history of coins, tokens, jetsons or paper money,
banking or monetary history, medallic art, banknote engraving or technology and
metallurgy of coinage. For more information, contact Awards and Financial Aid, in
Student Services, Graham Hall. Deadline: October 15th 2004.
LOCAL HAPPENINGS
HOLSTEIN CANADA EDUCATION
AWARDS: Three scholarships of
$1,000.00 are being offered to
students. Conditions: 1) must be a
member of Holstein Canada, or a
son/daughter of a member. 2) must
have completed at least one year of
university or college. 3) must submit
an official transcript of the two most
recent semesters.
4) must be returning to school within
the calendar year. Log on to www.
holstein.ca under the young adults link
Deadline Oct 15 2004.
NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL
OF CANADA NRC – CNRC:
Women in Engineering, Science, and
Mathematics Programs Apply to receive
substantial financial aid. Conditions:
1)be a citizen or permanent resident
of Canada.
2) be attending a Canadian University
as a Full time student with a high
academic standing enrolled in your 2nd
year.
Application forms available http://
www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca Follow this path:
Careers, Employment Programs, For
Undergraduate Students.
Events
WINNIPEG INTERNATIONAL
WRITERS’ FESTIVAL at the U of W:
Thurs Sept 23rd, 11:30-12:30 Studio
1L10 Galveston, Paul Quarrington’s
new novel, features a convergence
of eccentric weather-chasers. Join
Quarrington as he reads and talks with
students in a “natural hazards” class.
TAKE BACK THE NIGHT MARCH
Thursday, Sept 30 th 7pm at the
Legislature, rally at 6:30pm. Route ends
at the University of Winnipeg where
there will be speakers, free food, and
dance music.
Concerts
Coffeehouses
CHRISTINE JENSEN JAZZ QUARTET
Sept 23rd 8pm, Franco-Manitoban
Cultural Centre. $18 advance (2338972).
MOZART MATINEE RECITAL Sept
26th 2:30pm, Manitoba Conservatory of
Music and Arts 105-211 Bannatyne $10,
$5 students.
AFRO-CUBAN ALL STARS Sept
25th, Pantages Playhouse. $37.50 @
Ticketmaster.
SARAH HARMER Oct 3rd Pantages
Playhouse 7:30pm $24.50 Ticketmaster.
WENDY NIELSEN & RYSZARD
TYBOROWSKI presented by Winnipeg
Classical Guitar Society, October 3rd
8pm Planetarium Auditorium. $20 at
the door. Advance $15 ($10 students;
$10 WCGS members;)($5 WCGS
students)
Call 663-9226.
DAYGLO ABORTIONS Oct 4th
Collective Cabaret (last concert tour?)
K.D. LANG (and the WSO) Oct 8th
Centennial Concert Hall 8pm. ($$$ )
Ticketmaster.
SCOTT ST. JOHN & RENA SHARON
violin & piano, Virtuosi Concerts
October 9 th , 8pm, Eckhardt-Gramatté
Academy Bar and Eatery 414
Academy Rd. Sundays Jazz
Composers Forum, 3pm. Mondays
Student Study Night: BYO laptop.
Details at www.academybne.com.
Prairie Ink Portage Place (in
McNally Robinson Booksellers)
Sept 24th Taste of New Orleans
6:30pm.
Prairie Ink Grant Park (in McNally
Robinson Booksellers) Sept 24th
Tom Dowden Trio, jazz, 8pm. Sept
25th The Burton Trio, jazz, 8pm
Roca Jack’s 775 Corydon St. Friday
live jams w/ local musicians.
Hall, University of Winnipeg. Free
parking behind the CBC building off
Young Street. Pre-concert wine tasting
in the lobby, 7:30pm. Ticket Prices
$27/$25/$15. 24-hour Ticket Hotline
786-9000.
Comedy
3RD ANNUAL COMEDY NIGHT
for the Mood Disorders Association
of Manitoba, at Pantages Playhouse
Oct 2nd Tix $10 members, $15 nonmembers. Call 786-0987 for more info.
Rumours Restaurant and Comedy
Club 2025 Corydon St. (in
Tuxedo) Showtimes 8pm (&10:30pm
Fri Sat) To Sept 25th : Monty Hoffman
Toad on Main 172 Main St. Monday
nights improv (two shows), $5.
THIN AIR: WINNIPEG INTERNATIONAL WRITER’S FESTIVAL
Sept 20 th – 26th various venues including MTYP (Forks), U of W.
HARVEST MOON FESTIVAL Oct 1 - 3rd, Clearwater, MB. Alt folk/
roots agri-powwow. See www.clearwater.mb.ca for info.
UMFM ARTSONIC Oct 1st 8pm, Ramada Entertainment Centre.
Music, art, video, spoken word. $10 advance.
CLUBS/VENUES
Barca Club 423 McMillan Ave.
Billiard hall and cabaret in Osborne
Village. Live shows sometimes.
Bella Vista 53 Maryland St.
Pizzeria and live rock, roots, blues on
weekends.
Charleswood Hotel (Roblin &
Moray) Sept. 23rd Motion Soundtrack
w/guests Freeman, Sept. 25th
Heaven in Vain w/ guests WazookaA &
AMF 10pm $5.
Collective Cabaret 108 Osborne
St. Punk and alternative. Sept 23rd
Xiu Xiu, Albatross, Sept 24th The
Casualties, Dead City Disease, Wed.
Night Heroes, Crackdown, Sept
25th Buckethitch w/ guests, Sept 26th
Despistado, Raising The Fawn, Sept 30 th
The Manitoban Presents: Covers Night
w/ The D. Rangers, Farm Fresh, other
guests.
Club Desire 441 Main St. ‘Straightfriendly’ glbt dance club: Nyce
Thursdays, co-hosted by Nyce Records
$5, 10pm; Fridays in September:
karaoke with Dave Moffat of ‘The
Moffats’. Last Fridays women’s night.
Empire Cabaret 436 Main St.
Dance club with very high ceilings open
Thurs - Sat.
Franco-Manitoban Cultural
Centre, 340 Provencher Blvd.
Tuesdays: Mardi jazz - live jazz 8:30pm.
Free.
Gilroy 179 Bannatyne Ave. Sept 25th
Old School Party: dance music, buffet,
happy hour drinks all night.
Gio’s 155 Smith St. GLBT club with
dance floor, private patio. 1st Saturdays
womyn’s night.
Hooligan’s (formerly Eddie’s
Garage) 61 Sherbrook St. Bar
and restaurant. Local cover, rock and
alternative acts. Mon-Tues Karaoke
nights.
King’s Head 120 King St. Englishstyle Pub. House bands on weekends.
Market Avenue Social Hub 110
(112, 114) Market Ave. Multi-level
resto/pub/disco.
Palomino 1133 Portage Ave.
Cheezy gone hip dance club. DJ’s and
live acts.
Pyramid Cabaret 176 Fort St. Live
acts. Sept 23rd Non-Phixion (NYC) w/
guests, Sept 25th Love of Lucille Benefit.
Regal Beagle Pub 331 Smith St.
Sept 24th Arbrahill w/ guest Tom
Keenan, Sept 25th Come the Dawn CD
Release Party “The Sun Shall Rise in
the West” w/ guest Basil Ganglia And
The Invisible Robot Army. Wed’s Open
Mic nights: music, comedy and other
buffoonery.
Royal Albert Arms 48 Albert St.
Punk, alternative and cheap beer in the
Exchange. Sept 23rd Vagiants break-up
party.
Times Change(d) High and
Lonesome Club Main St. (@ St.
Mary) Blues and roots live music.
Sundays: Big Dave McLean. Sept 23rd
Jeremy Proctor And Friends, Sept 24th
Ego Spank, Sept 25th Big Dave Mclean
w/ Gord Kidder, Sept 30 th Scott Nolan
And Bobby Star.
Toad on Main 172 Main St. Englishstyle pub with good food. Mondays
comedy improv.
West End Cultural Centre 586
Ellice St. Sept 24th M.I.S.C. (Manitoba
Independent Songwriter’s Circle)
8pm, Sept 26th Percussion Masterclass
Clinic w/ the Afro-Cuban All-Stars
$15 1 –3pm, Sept 27th Big Sandy &
his Fly-Rite Boys w/ the Rowdymen
(roots/rockabilly), Sept 28th Big Bill
Morganfield (blues), Sept 29 th Martin
Sexton 8pm Tix $26 Ticketmaster.
Windsor Hotel 187 Garry St.
Monday night jams with Tim Butler,
Wednesday nights with Big Dave
McLean.
The Zoo (Osborne Inn) 160
Osborne St. Live bands punk, metal,
industrial. Sept 24th Projektor w/
Heaven in Vain & The Breaking Syntax
$5 advance. Sept 25th Static in Stereo
w/ Dreadnaut and Devoid $5 advance.
SEPTEMBER 23, 2004
07
»
Contact
E-mail
» uniterlistings@uwinnipeg.ca
By Dan Huyghebaert
Tele: 786-9497
ARTS
Galleries
ETCETERA
Film
Ace Art Inc. 290 McDermot Ave.
Aug 28th - Oct 2nd: ‘Too Sweet! Go
Away!’ sculptured household objects
by Helen Cho.
Annex Gallery 2nd flr, 290
McDermot Ave. Sept 9 th - 30 th :
‘from wpg. w/ ♥’ works by
Doug Melnyk, Kegan McFadden,
Michel Saint Hilaire. Sept 30 th Salon
Night and Closing party. Readings
from As We Sleep Press.
Franco-Manitoban Cultural
Centre 340 Provencher Blvd. Until
Sept 26th : The Art of the Book ‘03.
Traveling book arts exhibition.
Gallery 1C03, University
of Winnipeg (515 Portage
Ave.) Sept. 23rd - Oct 23rd Diana
Thorneycroft: The Doll Mouth Series.
Full-colour cibachrome prints of doll
mouths confront and provoke viewers.
Artist’s talk: Sept. 24th, 12:30pm.
Graffiti Gallery 109 Higgins Ave.
To Sept 24th : Neil Dyck and Greg
Hanec : paintings, sculpture and
installation by local Winnipeg artists.
Phone 667-9960 for gallery hours
Platform (Centre for
Photographic and Digital Arts)
218-100 Arthur St. ‘Full Circle:
The Circular Image Revisited’ by Bob
Preston.
Plug-In ICA 286 McDermot
Ave. Sept 17th - Nov 13th ‘Cheap
Meat, Dreams and Acorns’ - Ken
Gregory since 1993. Survey exhibition,
commission and publication,
Winnipeg’s leading media artist; Also,
ongoing billboard installation at River
& Osborne Sts.
Winnipeg Art Gallery 300
Memorial Blvd. Sept 10 th - Dec 5th:
AMERICAN TABLEAUX Selections
from the collection of Walker Art
Center.
Upcoming: SEND + RECEIVE
Festival of Sound Oct 15th – 23rd.
Presented by Video Pool Media
Arts Centre, featuring artists Clive
Holden (’Trains of Winnipeg’);
micro sound manipulator 3x3is9;
computer musician Blunderspublik;
video artist Jacky Sawatzky;
media artist Ken Gregory, soundpoet Pierre André Arcand; the
Artist Run Limousine Collective;
accordionist/improviser Raylene
Campbell; sound and installation
artist Peter Courtemanche/Absolute
Value of Noise; the duo of Anna
Friz and Annabelle Chvostek and
their Automated Prayer Machine;
video artists NomIg; Roughage [aka
filmmaker and musician Zev Asher];
sound artist and producer [sic]; and
plurimedia work cell skoltz_kolgen
and Sound of Light Film and Video
Series.
Community
Volunteer
Winnipeg Art Gallery 300
Memorial Blvd. Continuous
screenings (American Tableaux) Sept
22nd & Oct 13th: Bruce Bailie, George
Kuchar and Elizabeth Subrin, 5:45
– 9pm.
Cinematheque 100 Arthur St.
Sept 24th - 26th CANADA-PALESTINE
FILM FESTIVAL: Debris by Abdel
Salam Shehada 7pm, Playing with
Rana’s Wedding by Hany Abu – Assad
9pm. Sept 27th – 30 th : Before Sunset,
7pm, East of Euclid (Winnipeg-made
film) 9pm.
Globe Cinema 393 Portage Ave.
We Don’t Live Here Anymore/TBA.
Call 694-5623 for other shows and
times.
Towne 8 Cinema 301 Notre
Dame Ave. Budget-priced firstrun flicks. For shows and times
call 947-2848.
Literary
WINNIPEG INTERNATIONAL
WRITERS’ FESTIVAL Sept 20 th
- 26th, various venues. At MTYP
Mainstage (at the Forks): Sept 23rd,
7:30pm JOURNEYING : Catherine
Bush, Michael Helm, Don McKay,
Paul Quarrington, Wayne Tefs,
Michael Winter, Jan Zwicky, Sept
24th, 7:30pm THE SHARP EDGE OF
WIT: Canada’s Poet Laureate George
Bowering, Trevor Cole, Brain Francis,
Jessica Grant, Erika Ritter, Drew
Hayden Taylor, Miriam Toews. Sept
25th 7:30pm POETRY BASH Erling
Friis-Bastaad, Catherine Greenwood,
Louise Halfe, Robert Kroetsch, Erin
Noteboom, Ligia Roque and her
Portuguese fado stylings. See www.
winnipegwords.com for details.
McNally Robinson - Grant Park
Sept 23rd Bill Redekop (Winnipeg Free
Press) launches ‘Crime Stories’ 8pm.
Dregs Cafe & Gallery 167
Osborne St. (at Wardlaw) Sept
28th Winnipeg Poetry House’s VIBES
& VERSE: Collaborative improv
between musicians and spoken
word artists, 8pm. Details at www.
winnipegpoetry.ca.
McNally Robinson – Portage
Place Sept 20 th - 25th CBC Afternoon
Book Talk Series. Sept 23rd Paul
Quarrington, Michael Helm. Sept 24th
Trevor Cole and Erica Ritter.
TO SUBMIT SHOW AND
EVENTS INFO HERE
please contact Janice at
uniterlistings@uwinnipeg.ca
Fax 783-7080, or call in
786-9497. Deadline usually
Saturdays before Thursday
08
Fax: 783-7080
SEPTEMBER 23, 2004
RAINBOW RESOURCE CENTRE
OPEN HOUSE Thursday, September
23rd 7 - 9 pm 1-222 Osborne Street
South
An opportunity to see all of the
changes that have taken place at the
Centre, including the renovations,
our new website and exciting new
programming coming this fall.
FARMERS MARKET IN THE
EXCHANGE Last Saturday Sept 25th.
Old Market Square is transformed
into an open-air market featuring fresh
produce, hand-made crafts, and the
wares of local businesses. Be part of a
revival of the historic farmers market
in this beautiful downtown Winnipeg
location. Web: www.exchangedistrict.
org
MEC ANNUAL GEAR SWAP AND
RENTAL SELL-OFF, behind Mountain
Equipment Co-op, Sunday Sept 26th 11
– 4pm. Bring your used or unwanted
outdoor gear to MEC by Sept. 24th, $2
handling fee charged. MEC membership
is required. (So join).
SUPPORT GROUPS FOR WOMEN
offered Monday eves 7-9pm through
fall and winter by Osborne House. Sept
Sept 27th Love, Oct 4th Letting Go. Call
942-4642 Ext 242 for more info.
CANNED CAT FOOD URGENTLY
NEEDED Donations will help feed
the 500+ cats in care at the Winnipeg
Humane Society animal shelter,
especially sick cats and kittens who
cannot eat hard food. Contributions
can be brought to the shelter at 5
Kent St.to 8pm weekdays, to 6pm
Saturdays, and noon to 5pm Sundays.
Phone 982-2021.
TAKE BACK THE NIGHT MARCH
Thursday, Sept 30th 7pm at the
Legislature, rally at 6:30pm. Route ends
at the University of Winnipeg where
there will be speakers, free food, and
dance music.
VOLUNTEER WITH CFS: If you’re
thinking about a career in a helping
profession and want experience
with youth at risk, Winnipeg Child
and Family Services has volunteer
opportunities which may interest
you. Contact Sonya at 944-4184,
sowatson@gov.mb.ca.
VOLUNTEERS WANTED FOR TEEN
TOUCH Are you bored? Wanting to
contribute? Interested in helping youth?
Teen Touch has the perfect volunteer
opportunity for you: problem-solve
on our 24 hour Helpline, join our
Speakers’ Bureau, organize a fundraising campaign. Check out www.
teentouch.org for more info on
these and many other volunteer
opportunities
FRONTIER COLLEGE is looking
for volunteers to read with children
who are struggling with literacy in
the community. One hour a week
committment; near the University
of Winnipeg. Contact 253-7993 or
rtaylor@frontiercollege.ca for more
information.
ST. AMANT CENTRE is seeking
volunteers to brighten the lives
of children and adults living with
developmental disabilities. Flexible day,
evening and weekend opportunities for
patient, reliable people. Call 256-4301
ext 274, or check our website at www.
stamant.mb.ca.
ENGLISH LANGUAGE PARTNERS for
ESL students needed at the Language
Partner Program , U of W Continuing
Education Campus, 294 William St.
Time commitment 1 – 2 hrs./week.
Contact Rina Monchka, 982-1151, email
r.monchka@uwinnipeg.ca.
I
was recently forced to watch
“Swept Away” on DVD by
a Madonna freak and was
thinking of writing a piece devoted
to describing how Madonna’s
performance was so brilliantly
bad. But I regained my sanity
after attending the Planetarium’s
new Saturday night program,
Planetarium At Night. Science to
the rescue!
The treat started with a
trip through the Science Gallery, the
Planetarium’s interactive room of
joy. Mind you, some of the exhibits
are as old as Space Invaders, as
the Science Gallery is beginning
to show its age. Take the exhibit
that is a prism light video game, for
example. The graphics resemble
that Colecovision, with pixels the
size of loonies. But aside from that
drawback, there is still fun to be had
with illusion exhibits, the Matrix,
and looking like an idiot while you
test your balance against all your
friends. But enough fun... on to the
main event!
Planetarium At Night
involves a multimedia extravaganza,
with live performances from local
musicians, visual presentations by
local multimedia artists, as well
as an unscripted planetarium
operator. Combine that with
some educational astronomical
topics and you have a sort of a
multimedia jam. Each Saturday will
have new musicians, new visuals
and new astronomical topics. On
this occasion, they had a stage
set up with an extremely looking
comfy couch where Precursor
Productions was spinning some
great techno tunes, while Scott
Young, the operator, constructed a
segment around Monty Python and
then touched on the Genesis’ crash
landing in the Utah desert with some
great visuals of the $260 million
spacecraft plummeting to the earth,
breaking open and releasing most
of the star dust it had been sent to
collect from the sun. You figure they
could have afforded to throw a few
bucks at some quality parachutes,
but instead they threw that money
at some Hollywood stunt pilots.
Only in America. Did I mention
he constructed a segment around
Monty Python? Joy!
One would think though
that the visuals and the music would
blend well together in a setting such
as thing, but I found the entire
experience lacking something. If
this place was a dance venue I
would have been up there shaking
my rear like no tomorrow, for this
was the kind of atmosphere to do it
in: trance-like music, a spinning sky
of stars, meteors and other galactic
effects, as well as some terrific
warped stock footage provided by
Plain Jane. But, as I said, this is not
a dance venue. So I sat, watched
and listened. I heard that couch
calling to me, for the visuals on their
own lacked the kind of lasting power
to view for 40 minutes, particularly
with the repeated stock footage. I
also wanted more wizardry of the
planetarium machine, but I only
caught a tease of some of the
effects it can do, as I wondered
why they didn’t include more from
the Zeiss Model Vs Star Projector.
Didn’t I walk into the Planetarium?
The show had the
makings of a great visual and
aural presentation, and any such
collaboration should be given
high marks for the The three
artistic landscapes worked well
together and they really are on to
something here, given more time
to experiment with the format The
atmosphere was awe-inspiring and
the tunes were shakin my ass, but
my ass was firmly planted in the
planetarium seat. They did save me
from Madonna though.
issue.
Arts & Culture
Listings Coordinator: Jan Nelson
»
g
Listings
SWEPT AWAY WITH THE MANITOBA
MUSEUM’S PLANETARIUM AT NIGHT
Arts & Culture
»
Contact
Arts Editors: Jo Snyder
E-mail
» uniterarts@uwinnipeg.ca
F
ROM THE
Tele: 786-9497
BASEMENT TO THE BURTON.
MONEEN CLIMBS THE INDIE LADDER.
By Nick Tanchuk
I
» File Photo
»
Almost six years later,
Moneen is out of the basement
and touring with bands on
Warner music and people who
have graced the cover of Spin
Magazine. They have an album
out on huge American emo
label, Vagrant, and a video
entering rotation on Much
Music. On tour currently with
A lexisonf ire
and
Closet
Monster, they are set to play at
the
1,700
seat
Burton
Cummings Centre for the
Performing Arts here in
Winnipeg. In a recent phone
interview, lead singer and
guitarist
Kenny
Bridges
described the transition from
playing small venues to big
tours, and in particular The
Burton Cummings in support
of the album Are We Really
saw Moneen for the first time
almost six years ago. It was in the
basement of the West Broadway
Community Centre. My friends and I
heard about the show on a local punk
rock message board. The posting
simply read: Brampton Emo Band,
Moneen, to play Winnipeg, on such
and such a date. We had no idea what
to expect. We went to the show for a
lack of something better to do. We had
no expectations. Moneen destroyed
us. We’d heard or seen anything
like it before. Shit was f lying all
over the place, bodies, guitars…band
members, it didn’t matter. It seemed
like anything that wasn’t bolted down
was part of this show that was totally
off the hook.
Happy with Who We are Right
Now? as one that has not been
without its weirdness.
“First off, it’s going to be
weird playing there because it’s
not the West End and it’s
definitely not the Albert…The
second thing that’s weird is that
it’s called the Burton Cummings
theatre. My mom is obsessed
with Burton Cummngs. She
flew to Winnipeg, I guess to
see Burton Cummings open it
up when he changed the name,
he played there...opened up the
washrooms or whatever. Well,
when he took that first dump,
my Mom was there. She is very
proud that we are playing the
Bruton Cummings theatre.”
Bridges, known to climb
the occasional sound tower at
Winnipeg
shows,
was
disappointed only to hear that
the chairs at the Burton
Cummings Theatre would be
safely bolted to the floor and
that such Brampton scene antics
as chair stacking/crashing and
water-sliding through the
middle of the crowd would
likely be impossible.
On tour that with
fel low
Onta rio
bands
A lexisonf ire
and
Closet
Monster, Moneen are fresh off
a four-show stint in the UK
with Vagrant Label mates
Dashboard
Confessiona l.
According to Bridges the shows
with Dashboard were both an
educational
and
highly
beneficial experience for their
slightly less well-known,
Canadian band.
“The cool thing was that
for him they booked smaller
shows, but they were like 8001000 people, which for us is
huge. The first show we watched
Dashboard in sound check and
I was like, you know we really
have to step up our game. We
can’t just flail around, throw
our guitars and roll on the
ground because all the people
at this show won’t buy it. It’s
good because I love playing
with bands that are so
professional just because it
makes us want to be the same. I
think within those four show
that we had we bettered
ourselves greatly as a band.”
“We’ve always had a lot
of fun playing live but I want to
get it so it’s perfect. We do what
we do and I want to be perfect
at the same time.”
With a strong relationship
with Vagrant Records in the US
and a new video for the song
“Start Angry, End Mad,”
entering airplay on Much
Music, Moneen definitely have
a lot to be excited about; not the
least of which is the fact that
their music is getting out from
the basement and blowing away
thousands of people all over the
world.
Moneen
will be
playing September 28th with
Alexisonfire and Closet Monster
at the Burton Cummings Theatre.
Tickets are available at Music
Trader, Ticketmaster, Into the
Music and SK8. All ages. Doors at
7:00. Show at 8:00
L ABEL PROFILE OF THE WEEK: No List Records
By Jo Snyder
A RTS AND CULTURE EDITOR
No List Records was
born out of the lounge at CKUW
back in the day when it was in
the basement of the University
of Winnipeg—1994 to be exact.
Three guys were involved: Ted
Turner, Ryan Howard and Lee
Repko. In their eyes, vinyl was
too hard to get in Winnipeg,
and not enough bands were able
to make actual records.
Lee: We decided that
there was a lack of vinyl being
produced in the Winnipeg area
and that there were a lot of
bands that we really needed to
pay some attention to. My first
choices for the first two records
were
Meatrack
and
Stagmummer. I thought they
were the most complimenting
bands in the city, some of the
most fierce music the scene has
ever seen. Ted brought to the
table Fallen Short. He received
a cassette one day and was just so
blown away by it. So the three of us
just started putting our money
together and saving every month. I
just always felt that as a record
collector I wasn’t really seeing the
vinyl. I didn’t know what was out
there. When I started travelling a
little more I realized that people
where making records all over the
place. But there were very few
outlets (in Winnipeg) for selling
vinyl at that time. The Cellar was
around and Fwip the Wecord came
out. We wanted to be a part of that
and bring more vinyl into
Winnipeg.
J: Did you feel that you were
contributing to the scene that way?
Did you guys actually make a
contribution?
L: To be honest I would
probably say no because I still have
a stack of it in my basement. I do
know that there are bands out there
that thank me for putting out their
first record instead of their first CD.
There were others out there putting
out vinyl at the time.
I just think it’s a superior
medium. The highs are higher and
the lows are lower as far as the
frequency goes.
Repko, now running the
label on his own, is more than just a
geek about vinyl. He is also a school
geek, having completed two
University degrees, one in
Geography Science another in
Engineering. How does one balance
a career and a label that isn’t quite
self-sustaining?
J: Is the label for you a part
time thing? Something for your
spare time?
L: Right now, as I am looking
for work in my chosen field…I
would like to work as a technological
advisor on an environmental impact
assessment team or in forestry. And
I have aspirations to go back and do
my masters in Natural Resources.
But right now, while I am not
working, this is full-time for me and
so is riding my bike. I am not in any
hurry to get into the official
workforce. I really want to work
hard on these new releases.
Especially for Kilbourne, out of
Calgary. They are working really
hard, so I want to work really hard
for them.
J: Do you have aspirations
for the label to be bigger than it is?
L: I like to keep it in my spare
time, but that said, if I am working
in my Geometrics field, mapping
and surveying, than I may be able to
hire one person, full-time to work
on the label. Then the label could at
least make enough money to put out
records, that in my view, maybe no
one else would put out.
J: So do you feel obligated to
put these bands out? I have heard
other labels express that same
sentiment.
L: No. I want to. And, I don’t
mean no one will touch it, back in
the day there were lots of labels;
SST and Touch n’ Go that were
putting out heavy stuff, but today…
I mean those bands paved the
way so that you can hear screaming
on the radio and things that are
faster.
J: If someone is wanting
to start up a label of their own,
what is your advice to them?
L: Check your head. But
seriously, know what you love
and believe in it. Get your
finances in order. Being an
organized person is definitely a
part of that. If you don’t have
the passion for the music you
put out, then don’t bother.
When it stops being fun, stop
doing it. We don’t need a bunch
of bands or a bunch of labels
out there thinking that they are
doing us a favour.
No List is releasing the
VaGiants final record on vinyl.
To learn more about No List
Records check out www.
nolistrecords.org, but be
patient,
it’s
under
construction.
SEPTEMBER 23, 2004
09
Arts & Culture
»
Contact
Arts Editors: Jo Snyder
E-mail
» uniterarts@uwinnipeg.ca
Tele: 786-9497
FRESH JUICE AT THE WINNIPEG INTERNATIONAL WRITER’S FESTIVAL
by Joel Boyce
A
s you may or may
not
know,
the
aforementioned
Winnipeg
International
Writer’s Festival is nigh. In
fact, by the time you read this,
it will have already started.
Celebrating it’s eighth season
this year, it promises to be as
engaging and dynamic as ever,
with a plethora of performers
and events. The excitement
runs from September 20 th
to the 26th. From the press
release:
“Writers, like all artists
(including journalists), pull
ideas out of hiding, and through
inspiration, offer these works
as evidence to the way things
are, to the way things might
be. In an era which tends to
glorify mediocrity, the complex
gifts and pleasures of both
creative and cultural activities
needs to be both celebrated
and protected.” Thus the theme,
“Th in Air”. Check out http://
www.winnipegwords.com for
more details.
As you also may or may
not know, Juice, the U of W’s
own literary journal, is
unveiling it’s newest volume at
the same festival. Juice is
celebrating the launch of it’s
fourth volume this year, as well
as its fourth year with the
Writer’s Festival. Last year’s
volume was accompanied by a
spoken word CD, which was
featured on CBC radio. Th is
year’s launch will be on Friday,
September 24, 4:00-5:30 pm
at Eckhardt-Gramatté Hall.
Check
out
http://juice.
uwinnipeg.ca for more details
on past issues as well.
I was fortunate enough to
be able to spend some time
recently with this year’s coeditors: Cynara Geissler, who
was an assistant editor for Juice
4; and Sabrina E. Melanson,
who was a co-editor for that
issue as well. Here are some of
the things we talked about:
Do you think Juice is a
good fi rst step towards getting
published professionally?
Cynara: We have a pretty
artistic community on campus,
and we needed somewhere that
was safe and accessible to our
writers here. When you publish
in Juice, it gives you a publishing
credit...it’s in the national
library. It’s open to students of
U of W so there’s a smaller
number of submissions, and
you have a better chance.
Sabrina: People here are
extremely talented, in this
community, and this is an
outlet for them. The process is
just as grueling, or, I think,
professional, as any other
publication.
Cy: We give a detailed
rejection letter and – things
you have to work on, that we’ve
handwritten. Most places you
go to, you get a rejection letter,
it’s gonna be a form letter.
Did you want to go into
your involvement with the
[Winnipeg
International]
Writer’s Festival?
Sab: Our Juice launch
has been a part of the
International Writer’s Festival
for the fourth year running
now. It’s a wonderful way of
presenting your volume at a
time when there’s a large
community
of
writers,
circulating throughout the city,
going to different venues. The
festival has supported us
immensely...the time and the
attention, in that I’d have to
thank them. But Juice is an
ongoing project, so we have to
thank people like the Infobooth,
who carries them 24/7, the
Petrified Sole, which had the
one with the CD in them [Vol.
4, last year’s], McNally
Robinson is stocking them this
year ... the whole art community
... Also, we’ve had interviews
with CKUW ... CBC Canada.
What would you say the
U of W art community is to
you?
Sab: I think everyone
who goes to U of W is open
enough to dabble with as many
creative outlets as possible. We
have so many different outlets,
it’s hard for a fi rst-year student
not to fi nd their group.
Whether it’s music, writing,
photography. And Juice is just
one wedge of the pie ... All the
[creative writing] professors
really encourage their students
to submit to Juice. It’s the
students who aren’t in writing,
who still dabble with writing,
that we want to get to ... I’d
like to go to the psych
department and poster it up.
Just so they know, it’s for
everyone.
What do you think about
literary society today?
Sab: I think that there’s a
lot more freedom ... I think the
way that writing is moving
nowadays, it’s not just to tell a
wonderful perfect tale, but to
tell stories that matter. It’s not
about the perfect romance
story, definitely not, but it’s
about how well you can express
yourself, how well you can
explain your stories that are
important to other people.
Cy: With Winnipeg, I
would say that we’re pretty
lucky. We have these launches
at Mcnally, launches that you
can attend for free. You can go
to McNally and [a writer] will
be sitting there on the
staircase.
Sab: It’s possible to talk
to a writer.
Okay, thanks a lot for
your time, and good luck with
the launch.
Sabrina and Cynara
wanted me to remind our
readers that Juice’s call for
submissions is waxing ever
closer. They will be accepting
submissions for next year’s
issue, Juice 5, as of the official
launch of Juice 4, and they are
due by the end of December.
That gives potential contributors
about three months. But, as
Sabrina stressed, don’t wait ‘til
the last minute.
If you submit early
enough, you can expect to
receive constructive feedback,
and be able to work with the
co-editors to get your piece
polished and published.
Anyone can get published, as
long as they’re willing to put
the time in. Similarly, when
you do submit, make sure that
you are available to work
together with them on your
piece, and are willing to revise
as necessary. Juice is very much
a collaborative project, so a
commitment to your own work
-- beyond simply dropping it
off at the Juice office and
forgetting about it -- is critical.
You should also have an
electronic copy of your
submission.
The Juice office is located
at the 5th floor library, where
the journals and stacks are. If
you take the stairs, you’ll find a
spiral staircase a few feet away
which leads up to the Juice
office. There’s a restricted access
sign there, and there is also a
sign with Juice’s hours on it.
Cynara and Sabrina encourage
you to drop in anytime, before
or after a submission, to talk
about contributing, or working
on a contribution. With your
help, next year’s issue could be
the best yet.
Juice truly is an excellent
journal, and I’ve been enjoying
reading through last year’s
issue tremendously. I would
recommend that anyone who
has an interest in literature
(which should be everyone)
check out the launch and pick
up a copy of the newest volume.
And consider contributing.
Everyone has a voice so get
those juices flowing and make
yours heard.
AN AUTHENTIC VOICE AT THE CENTRE:
A N INTERVIEW WITH M ARGARET M ACPHERSON
By Leia Getty
Leia: So when did you
discover that you were in fact a
writer?
Margaret: In Grade nine in
Yellowknife I won a short story
contest award sponsored by one
of the big banks. It was an award
for three hundred dollars, and in
1974, that was a lot of money. I
remember the story. It was called
The Pride of my People, the story
of an Inuit child having to leave
his community to start school in
the south. I remember feeling
great empathy for those
transplanted kids. I assumed the
voice and I guess it struck a chord
with the judges. Th at award
helped in affirming my abilities
but it wasn’t until, oh, six years
ago that I started calling myself a
writer. Before I had anything
published it seemed pretentious
somehow.
L: You wrote several nonfiction books, correct?
M: Yes. I was a journalist
for years and also a teacher of
journalism and creative writing.
It was my shadow self at play, the
part that wouldn’t allow me to
010
call myself an artist. Anyway, at
one point I took a contract to
write some “bad-guy” books:
bandits, train robbers, that sort of
thing. I wrote two books in twelve
weeks, a bit of a marathon. After
I realized I could do it, I got more
serious. I wrote another book
about the Northwest Passage
called Silk Spices and Glory and
also a literary biography of Nellie
McClung called Voice for the
Voiceless. The Nellie book won
some critical acclaim and I was
on my way. I think it gave me the
courage to get the first collection
of short stories out.
L: Do you consider yourself a
genre writer?
M: No, not at all. I love the
form of the short story but I also
write poetry, critical reviews,
essays, and, like most writers, I
have a completed novel in my
bottom drawer. I still like it but it
needs some work before it will be
ready for public consumption. I
also have nine new short stories,
not quite enough for a book but
they keep coming.
L: Who are some of your
favorite writers (prose or poets) or
short stories?
M: I was totally smitten
SEPTEMBER 23, 2004
with Guy Vanderhauge’s fi rst
collection Man Descending and I
like Joan Clarke’s work a lot. I
met Mavis Gallant when I was a
cub reporter so I read a lot of her
work too. Alice Monroe and
Carol Shields are both women
who have influenced me, as has
Grace Paley, the amazing
American writer.
L: All of these short stories
are told either by a female or the
main protagonist is female. Is there
any reason for this?
M: Actually that’s not so.
With Child is from a male point
of view. It is Paul’s story. But, yes,
most of the stories are female,
likely because I’m interested in
the female experience and
exposing or revealing some of the
secrets around sexuality, coming
of age, etc.
L: Are any of these short
stories autobiographical? Or based
on yours or anyone you know of ’s
life experience?
M: At the heart of any good
short story is a kernel of truth. I’ll
always remember something a
writer said on the radio, “All of it
is true, none of it is real.” It’s a big
mistake to think the protagonist
in these stories is me. My life
actually isn’t that interesting but
at the heart of each story is
something that happened to me
or someone else, or something
I’ve thought about, that starts the
story. It’s built upon by drawing
from a thousand different sources
but I think the reason the stories
resonate with readers is that they
have an authentic voice at their
centre.
L: My favorite story out of
the collection was “Rubber Bullets.”
Can you pick favorites?
M: I really like Raising Cade
because the events speak to the
child, but the story is all about
the marriage. I think a lot of
people my age (I’m 44) will be
able to relate to that story. It’s not
that unusual for a partnership to
get overshadowed by the parentchild relationship. My story
explores that.
L: What would you say is
your greatest strength as a writer?
M: I have a fairly good
sense of place and allowing it to
inform the story. I also think I
am able to start a reader off in a
very comfortable and familiar
place and then take them outside
that space - turn it on its head, if
you will, so they have to look at
things differently.
L: How about weaknesses?
M: I can’t spell worth
beans.
(Yay! There’s hope for
grammar-less folks such as myself!)
L: Is anything new in the
works?
M: As I mentioned, the
novel is next. It likely needs 8 to
18 months but the bones are there
and the bones are strong.
L: Any advice for aspiring
writers?
M: Keep at it. Find a way to
tell your own stories. Write
something--observations, a line
for a poem, a small scene, a snatch
of dialogue overheard in a coffee
shop--something every day if you
can. Oh, and the other thing,
claim the word ‘writer’ as your
own. It’s scary and exciting, but
for me, it is creative energy and
writing that makes my heart sing.
I wish I’d claimed that word as
my own a lot sooner than I did.
Arts & Culture
Fractal Pattern
(Method Records)
No Hope but Mt. Hope
Perilous Departures
Margaret Macpherson
(Signature Editions)
By Leia Getty
A solid collection of Canadian
fiction, Margaret Macpherson’s first
collection of short stories delivers
well-written prose.
Admittedly, I am not drawn
to Canadian literature in general. I
find it preachy and politically correct,
and furthermore I’m the sort of reader
who likes to be challenged on further
fronts than typical Canadian life or
coming-of-age stories. Macpherson’s
stories seldom breach the stoic
barrier. That being said, the stories
were not painful to read and did not
strike me as being like typical
Canadian fiction.
The first story dealt with
children, with an “us versus them”
mentality towards a convicted
aboriginal man joining them for
dinner until they find that he is not so
different after all. While well-written,
this story raised no further questions
and was just an overall realization
story. Another story dealt with a 17
year-old
Canadian
hitchhiker,
suddenly in over her head after
accepting a ride in Germany. While
the ending was entertaining and
realistic, the story in itself seemed a
bit dated, perhaps because the
author limited herself in the graphic
content she was allowing for.
Overall, I enjoyed this
collection of short stories, but while
they can be read by anyone, they’re
not for everyone. This book is geared
towards the older generation, and
while we can enjoy this collection,
this is probably a better present for
your mother than your significant
other.
Margaret Macpherson will be
reading at the Writer’s Festival September
26 on the main stage, which is located at The
Manitoba Theatre for Young People, at the
CanWest Global Performing Arts Centre,
found at The Forks Market. http://www.
margaretmacpherson.com/fiction.html
»
The Globe is Golden
By Dan Huyghebaert
I
CD Reviews
»
»
Book Review
n the two and a half years since
the Portage Place theatres
reopened in the form of the
Globe Cinemas, I have seen a
number of very fine fi lms, ranging
from Kill Bill, The Dreamers, The
Magdeline Sisters…well the list can
go on and on...
And now you can add
Napoleon Dynamite to that list.
Napoleon Dynamite is one
of the most charming and goofiest
movies you are likely to see. The title
character is a lovable loser, whose
unconscious quirks will have you
laughing and cheering for him. The
laughs are an acknowledgement that
all of us have wacky behavioural
habits that we don’t want to admit
we have. Writer/director Jared Hess
provides us with a hilarious pseudo80s style world with eccentric
Napoleon trying to help his friend
Pedro win the high school presidency.
If I were an audiophile
music geek, I’d probably be
tempted to throw around terms
like post-rock, slow-core and
the like to describe the sounds
on this album. I’d name-drop
bands like Mogwai, GSYBE!
and Explosions in the Sky, and
say that these five musicians
sound like a cross between Set
Fire To Flames and the Giant
Sons.
For just the right
amount of pretension, I’d use
words such as haunting, epic,
and expressive, and I’d mention
how the dichotomy between the
crescendo and decrescendo
serves as a perfect juxtaposition
of tonal ideas. I’d say that this is
the type of album that goes well
with long, lonely introspective
winter nights, or maybe as
the soundtrack to a long drive
through farm fields (or something
like that). But I won’t bother with
any of that. However, what I
will say is that this is one on
the best albums I’ve heard in
awhile. It’s a polished, concise
and emotive record that rewards
repeated listening. If this is any
indication of the potential of this
group, they will be well worth
watching over the next while.
(www.fractalpatern.com) www.
methodrecords.com
-C.M.
The Teenage Knockups
(Steel Capped Records )
Keep Hollywood Out of Winnipeg
Local gutter-punk idols, the
Teenage Knockups, have made a
name for themselves by having
some of the most intense shows
this city’s ever seen. That’s why
it saddened me particularly to
find out that “Keep Hollywood
Out of Winnipeg” will be their
final release due to the fact that
founding member and guitarist
Kevin Kontagious will be pursuing
other interests in Vancouver in the
near future. The Album is hard,
fast and full of angst, but it still
doesn’t capture the intensity (or
Is it a satire? Is it a surreal comedy?
Yes, it’s all that, especially when a
fi lm features characters you know
you have encountered before, but
have been skewed by a person who…
Oh yeah, let’s not forget that pet
llama either. To add to the joy, as we
were leaving the theatre, Globe
Cinema manager Bong Villarba
ushered everyone back by telling
everyone of an additional scene
following the credits. I’d like to see
someone at Silver City do that!
In fact, Bong hopes
Napoleon Dynamite will be a fi lm
that helps the younger generation
get turned on to fi lms that present
an alternative to mainstream
H o l l y w o o d .
“There has been a growing
interest in these kind of fi lms, thanks
in large part to Bowling for
Columbine,” Bong says. “But I also
feel that a lot of people still aren’t
aware that the Globe Cinema even
exists.” Bong shows a lot of passion
for fi lms, and it shows. He has also
showed passion for connecting to
the community. His theatre is the
Spearmint/Novillero
(Endearing)
Intercontinental Pop Exchange No.5
The Barrymores
(Bacteria Buffet Records)
All Nighters
With every release of a
new IPX, I worry that it will not
meet the standards of those before
it. London, England’s Spearmint
and Winnipeg’s own Novillero put
those worries to rest by teaming
up for, quite possibly, the best IPX
to date. Spearmint’s melodic indiepop will have fellow bus patrons
wondering where they can get a
copy, as you sit bopping along in
you seat with your headphones
cranked up. Local favorites, Novillero
see their fi rst release since the
reformation of the band after 2001’s
The Brindleford Follies. Their four
tracks (including one featuring new
bassist/keyboardist Grant Johnson
on lead vocals), flaunt Novillero at
their very best, with the unbelievable
breakdowns, ridiculously powerful
vocals and wonderful
musicianship that their live show is
known for.
-Shaun Gibson
If the terms “Barrymores
record” and “serious” sound
obscenely wrong, you’re not alone.
The local ska-rockers, named after
their original drummer’s unhealthy
obsession with a certain actress, are
best known for goofy songs like “Up
The Bum” and “My Girlfriend’s Got
Bigger Balls Than Me.”
With their latest release,
“All Nighters,” however, the local
ska-rock six-piece have upped the
ante. The zany lyrics and five-yearsbehind-the-times Reel Big Fishesque sound are still here, but the
quality of the songwriting and the
playing on the record are infinitely
superior to their self-titled debut.
There’s a reason these guys (and
gal) are a big hit with the all-ages
crowds; it’s up-beat, high energy
music that stays away from heavy
themes and anything too complex.
That holds true for most of the songs
on “All Nighters,” but the group has
definitely taken some risks this time
around that might alienate their core
Julie Doiron
(Endearing)
Goodnight Beautiful
Julie Doiron remains in
classic form on her latest album
Goodnight Beautiful. This time, her
musical autobiography includes
countless references to her children
and to her own profession: “Tomorrow
I’ll be on a stage / and I’ll sing the
words from all of the pages / I will
close my eyes in front of all of the
people / I will close my eyes thinking
of you.” Relying on her consistent
formula of speak-in-melody vocals
(also known as singing) over minimalbut-lovely music, listeners will agree
that Goodnight Beautiful will become
another memorable album from the
former Eric’s Trip front woman.
-Shaun Gibson
as many random broken objects)
of their live show. The harsh vocals
stand out like a slap to the face,
especially on “Anxiety Attack” and
“Kill Kill Kill”, and the guitar work is
really crunchy throughout the entire
album. “Keep Hollywood Out of
Winnipeg” is well done for the type
of punk rock these guys play, but
still, if you want to hear them at their
finest, go see them live, before they
break up.www.steelcappeddesign.
com,
www.teenageknockups.
steelcappeddesign.com
-Brett Hopper
annual venue for the NSI Film
Festival in March, as well as being
the venue for Reel Pride, the gay and
lesbian fi lm festival (November 2428 this year); and Freeze Frame, the
international children’s fi lm festival.
Add to this his midnight showings
of classic fi lms that started with
Friday the 13th (including an
impromptu audience participation a
la Mystery Science Theatre) as well as
A Clockwork Orange. “I’d like to do
the Midnight Movies again,” he
says. “I’m just not sure about when
I’ll be able to.” He eagerly shows me
his list of fi lms he is planning on
procuring for the theatre. He’d love
to do a Japanese animation festival.
“When we showed Spirited Away,
the crowds were incredible, especially
after it won the Academy Award for
Best Animated Film.”
He’d also love to show
Paperclips, a documentary about a
school in Tennessee whose students
try to collect 6 million paper clips
representing the 6 million Jews
killed during the holocaust. Or Mean
Creek, a fi lm about a birthday river
Greg Milka Crowe
(Bacteria Buffet Records)
Bhakta Basics
If you were a fan of
Winnipeg’s ska scene in the second
half of the 1990s, you were probably
really into Whole Lotta Milka, the big
stars of the local scene. You were
probably also really disappointed
when the group called it quits
shortly after their brilliant sophomore
album, “Al’s Diner.” Frontman Greg
Crowe’s first post-Milka project,
the Wedgewoods, were a big
disappointment (if you ask me, that
is), and it was beginning to look like
that ol’ Milka magic wasn’t coming
back. Winnipeg ska would just have
to make do with mediocre bands.
Thankfully, this isn’t the
case. Crowe’s debut solo album,
“Bhakta Basics,” is an incredibly
well-made disc that blends the highenergy blast of Whole Lotta Milka
with the mellow vibes of traditional
ska and rocksteady. “Bhakta Basics”
was obviously a labour of love for
Crowe, who plays virtually all of the
instruments on the record. It sounds
like it’s been meticulously prepared
and recorded, and Crowe’s efforts
have certainly paid off.
“Bhakta Basics” is basically
a collection of short, sweet little
songs; an album equally suited to
igniting the dance floor as it is to be
used as relaxed background music.
It’s also very accessible to people
who may not be familiar with ska
music, as many of the tracks stand
trip that goes very bad, combining
elements of Heart of Darkness and
Lord of the Flies. Add to that list
Coffee and Cigarettes, Jim Jarmusch’s
collection of shorts devoted to the
two greatest vices of conversation,
with an all-star cast led by Iggy Pop,
Bill Murray, The White Stripes and
Steve Buschemi. The vignette with
Roberto Benigni and Steven Wright
is a masterpiece in minimalist
comedy. I certainly hope he succeeds
in getting these fi lms. I would
practically live there, thanks to the
fact it’s only two blocks away from
the U of W and is dirt cheap. Cheap
as in $1.50 less than Silly City at
Polo Park thanks to the Globe’s
student pricing and the fact they
actually care about a student’s
budget. Not only that, but if you are
a member, you get free upsize on
concession plus another discount.
Th row in free indoor parking for our
horrible winters and you have a
movie nut like me sold.
audience. If you ask me, it’s a step in
the right direction. “Crystal Clear” is
by far the album’s highlight, a hazy
dub groove that seems far better
suited to singer Jolene Norton’s
breathy vocals than the band’s
usual generic ska-punk. The key
factors here, as usual, are Dan Parr’s
cock-rock informed guitar licks and
“The Reverend” Rob Goodman’s
trombone magic, which makes even
the weaker songs listenable. Bassist
Ian Lodewyks really comes into his
own on this record, handling song
writing duties on most of the tracks
and providing much-needed male
backing vocals (along with Parr).
Still, the thorn in the Barrymores’
side has always been that the skapunk thing is so overdone that it’s
almost impossible to inject new life
into it...and the Barrymores certainly
fall short on the “innovation” side of
things. “All Nighters” is certainly a
step in the right direction, though,
and the songs where they break
the mould and take on reggae or
straight-up rock n’ roll are definitely
worth repeated listening.
-Sam Thompson
alone as catchy pop tunes, subgenres
be damned. Although it’s hard to find
fault in most of the album’s 16 songs,
there are definitely some tunes that
rise above the rest as highlights;
namely the 50’s a cappella-inspired
“Leaving Little Girl,” which really
showcases Crowe’s vocal talents.
Although the originals are
great, Crowe really shines when he’s
interpreting other people’s material.
Billy Bragg’s “Help Save The Youth
Of America” is turned into an angry
Clash-inspired tirade, and one of
the few instances where politics
outshine the love song vibe on the
record. A Beatles cover and a Chris
Murray number all receive the Crowe
treatment and end up sounding, for
the most part, like lost Whole Lotta
Milka recordings. Crowe’s update
of the Jamaican classic “Rules of
Life,” with backing vocals by Ten
Too Many’s TiffanyJoy Hirniak is one
of the songs that holds the record
together; it comes across as almost
deferential to the music that has long
been Crowe’s inspiration.
Overall, “Bhakta Basics”
rivals the best Milka records, and is
far superior to anything Crowe did
with the Wedgewoods. At 16 tracks,
it’s a little long, but not unpleasantly
so. In the ever-younger local ska
scene, Crowe is one of the elder
statesmen, and this album proves
he’s still worth listening (and dancing)
to.
-Sam Thompson
Contest!
Five double
passes to give away to the fi rst five
people to email us with the correct
answers to the following movie trivia
questions! Send your answers to
uniterarts@uwinnipeg.ca
1. Which Guy Maddin fi lm played
the 2004 NSI Film Festival?
2. In the Matrix series, what is
Neo’s real name?
3. Which two Michael Moore fi lms
played at the Globe Cinemas?
4. Which star of the 70s
Streetfighter fi lms appeared in Kill
Bill playing a
samurai sword maker?
5. What is the llama’s name in
Napoleon Dynamite?
SEPTEMBER 23, 2004
011
Arts & Culture
THE VAGIANTS PREPARE FOR ONE L AST LICK
By Jo Snyder
Just under five years ago
the VaGiants hit the Winnipeg
music scene with a powerful
campaign of logo’s and hard rock
shows. There wasn’t a telephone
pole spared from the red and
black circle V. However, a few
months ago the band had
decided to call it quits. In their
short life they were able to pack
in two full-length records and a
lot of shows. The second LP has
just been released on No List
Records. With no promotional
tour ahead, it seems a little crazy.
Guitarist
Craig
Bjerring
explains:
Jo: Why are you guys
»
Contact
Features
Features Editors: David Pensato
E-mail
By Dave Colangelo
THE SILHOUETTE (MC M ASTER
UNIVERSITY)
H
AMILTON (CUP)
-- It’s 8:30 in the
morning and your
head is throbbing. It feels like
it’s been shaken like a dry
martini. Your thoughts are as
cloudy as the six Smirnoff Ice
bottles, among other things,
you drained the night before.
You’re already late for class, but
it doesn’t matter since you don’t
plan on paying attention to
anything today anyway; you’re
hitting the snooze button like
it was a buzzer on the Family
Feud. Survey says: you’re hungover.
They happen to the best
of us, and they bring out the
worst in us. Hangovers cost
employers millions of dollars in
lost productivity, cost workers
their sick days and keep students
away from their studies. They
wreak havoc with our nervous
system and, all in all, make for
a
generally
unsavoury
experience. Luckily, everyone
from your best friend to your
favourite scientist claims to
have a way to prevent or at least
treat the symptoms of this bitter
reminder of a night of high
spirits.
Of course, prevention
and treatment can only occur
once we understand the cause
of problem. It’s alcohol. More
importantly, it’s what an excess
amount of alcohol does to your
body.
A hangover is a
culmination of a number of
metabolic
processes
and
imbalances. The first is
dehydration. Coupled with this
is
the
production
of
acetaldehyde, a toxic by-product
012
playing a show and putting out a
record after you broke up?
Craig: The record
was already done before we
broke up. It was one of those
things where it was all sent
away to be pressed and then
we broke up and then a week
later it arrived. I can’t speak
for “we,” I can only speak for
myself but the reason I am
doing it is because Lee is a
good friend of mine and No
List is a good label and he
has put out a lot of good stuff
over the years and I don’t
want to leave him hanging. I
want to play one last show. I
also want to play some rock
n’ roll. Also, Susan Krepart
is organizing the whole thing
» uniterfeatures@uwinnipeg.ca
and it’s her birthday….that’s
part of it too.
J: So it’s a joint party
then.
C: Yeah. I guess you can see
it as a farewell show, in my
mind it’s already done.
J: You guys have only been
together for five years….
C: Under five years….
J: ….so, was it a
worthwhile project?
C: Yeah. It was super fun.
It was short and hard, like
the title of the first record.
We went pretty hard to the
point where I have permanent
damage in one of my knees
from dropping on stage night
after night and hearing loss
and all that. It was really fun
and I wouldn’t trade it for
anything in the world. It’s
sounds clichéd but….
J: What are your band
mates going to be doing now that
the band is over?
C: I don’t know.
Brendon’s an excellent artist,
he’ll fi nd something and
Joanne and Chris are both
fantastic musicians, I’m sure
they’ll do something else.
J: What about you? You
are moving to Germany?
C: No. I’m not moving,
I’m touring a record….
J: Old Seed.
C: …yeah.
So
while
bands
come and go, musicians
never quit. Further, music is
made to be listened to.
We can expect to see
these folks in another
form on another stage
eventually. But for now,
pick up their new vinyl
and check out their final
show at the Royal Albert
Arms on Thursday,
September 23, 2004.
Joining them on stage
are Les Tabernacles, The
Bratt Attack and The
Fabulous Kildonans. The
show is $8 and starts at
10 pm.
Tele: 786-9497
THE MOURNING AFTER
Hangovers increase absenteeism, decrease productivity and
leave us with a feeling of spiritual malaise
of alcohol metabolism. While all
this is happening, your vitamin A, B
(mostly B6) and C levels drop
drastically.
The result includes anything
from dry mouth, nausea, fatigue,
dizziness, headache, diarrhea, and
my personal favourite, tremulousness.
Combine this with decreased
occupational, cognitive or visualspatial skill performance, and your
glass doesn’t look so half-full
anymore.
According to the Life
Extension Foundation website,
absenteeism
and
poor
job
performance cost $148 billion
annually in the United States. That’s
roughly $2,000 per working adult.
As students, we can’t quantify the
detrimental effects of hangovers in
dollars, but we can get an idea of
how much hitting the booze is
keeping us away from hitting the
books.
In 2003, McMaster
University’s campus health centre
conducted a survey on General and
Heavy Episodic Use of Alcohol. Out
of 100 randomly selected fi rst-year
students who took the questionnaire,
59 per cent admitted to experiencing
a hangover. More importantly, 38
per cent said they had missed class at
some point as a result.
A practical and sober mind
might suggest cutting out drinking
all together, but as many of us know,
a student’s lifestyle cannot always
accommodate that. For this reason,
the practical and sober mind turns to
ways of circumventing and subverting
the dreaded hangover altogether.
SEPTEMBER 23, 2004
Since it takes lots of water to
detoxify alcohol as it moves through
your liver, the most obvious thing to
do is drink lots of water. The more
water you drink the less dehydrated
you will become and the less severe
your hangover will be.
Taking aspirin or Advil when
you wake up reduces inflammation
of irritated tissues, thereby decreasing
the amount of pain you might feel in
your head or other parts of your
body. It is very important to note
that acetaminophen-based pills such
as Tylenol are an extremely dangerous
substitute for aspirin, since they
compound the effect alcohol has on
your liver. Combining alcohol and
Tylenol damages your liver
exponentially, as compared to the
minimal damage resulting from the
components taken separately.
One thing that does reduce
some of the damage due to overconsumption is a nice ripe banana.
Bananas act as a natural antacid,
which quells tremors emanating
from your stomach. The high
magnesium content of bananas also
helps to relax the pounding blood
vessels that cause a hangover
headache. So forget about Wheaties
-- bananas may be the true breakfast
of champions.
A bunch of bananas, a bottle
of aspirin and a gallon of water still
won’t completely prevent the dreaded
hangover; they can only dull the
pain. Th is is why scientists have been
looking into some potent preventative
measures.
Ironically, the latest
breakthrough comes from a plant
that existed long before fermented
beverages were fi rst consumed. The
prickly pear cactus, or Opuntia
ficus-indica, is the source of an
herbal extract that is the active
ingredient in a new product, tested
by
the
American
Medical
Association, called Hangover
Prevention Formula.
The prickly pear cactus used
in HPF is known for its ability to
survive with little water and endure
sub-freezing nights and sweltering
days. Th is capacity to deal with
shock and dehydration is what
originally attracted scientists to the
plant. The plant thrives because of its
ability to induce the synthesis of
protective heat shock proteins, which
prevent damage due to physical
stress.
HPF, taken in capsule form
approximately two hours before
drinking alcohol, is meant to protect
the body from the symptoms of a
hangover for up to three days.
According to Perfect Equation Inc.,
the company that produces HPF,
fibre intake needs to be suspended
for two hours before and after taking
the HPF pill. Some notable
substances that contain fibre include
fruit, fruit juices and, most
importantly, beer. Needless to say,
preventing a hangover requires a
great deal of active preparation on
the part of the drinker.
Several independent tests
have been conducted and the results
look quite positive for HPF. A writer
from Esquire magazine described it
as such: “I hit the bed with the
distinct sense that the Earth’s
rotation is about to launch me into
orbit. But I awake feeling as if I
haven’t had so much as a wine
spritzer.” Other magazines such as
Men’s Journal have covered the issue
and have found HPF to be “very
effective at reducing pain and
spiritual malaise.” Since it costs
about $3 a pop, HPF does start to
sound quite attractive when
compared to spending the morning
getting to know your toilet bowl
more intimately.
But -- as alluring as it sounds
to eliminate the consequences of an
enjoyable night of drinking by taking
a pill -- we need to remember that
getting a hangover is nature’s way of
telling us that our bodies can’t handle
that much alcohol. When abstinence
is not an option, knowing your limit
and being sensitive to your body’s
limits are the best ways of making
sure you skip the snooze button and
make the class.
» David Pensato
Features
»
Contact
Features Editors: David Pensato
E-mail
TAPEWORM
» uniterfeatures@uwinnipeg.ca
Tele: 786-9497
MYTHS DEBUNKED
Parasites not the path to miracle weight loss
reproduce. The most posterior proglottid found in which the pork tapeworm, T.
America. Family physician
breaks off from the worm and exits the solium, may result in neurocysticercosis,
Dr. Thomas Gibson said:
which is a cause of acquired epilepsy.
body via the feces.
“Of all the 39 years that I’ve
Tapeworms have a complex life Also, if a human becomes an
been in practice, I’ve
cycle that involves different hosts. There intermediate host to the T. solium,
diagnosed a tapeworm
is a herbivore intermediate host and a cysticercosis may develop. Identification
infection only once.”
carnivore definitive host. It is in the of the specific species of tapeworms is,
Nevertheless,
latter in which it reproduces. Adult therefore, very critical, and it can only
tapeworm infections do still
tapeworms exploit humans as a definitive be done only by examination under
occur, perhaps not so much
host. Unsuspecting people may ingest microscopes by trained professionals.
in
North
America,
but
Photo Edited by: David Pensato
If tapeworms become large
an intermediate host, such as beef, that
certainly in other developing or less
enough,
they may block the intestinal
has
developed
a
cysticercosis,
the
prosperous
countries.
And,
they
are
By Charmaine Tambongco
condition of having tapeworm larvae in tract, or proglottids may become stuck
still a concern in human health.
THE PEAK, SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY
the host’s body tissue. It takes place in the appendix, causing appendicitis.
Two types of tapeworms
when cysts develop in bodily tissue, As well, if tapeworms are present for
commonly
infect
humans.
Taenia
URNABY, B.C. (CUP) -- My
such as in the brain, eyes and spinal too long in humans, they may cause
solium is found in raw or undercooked
high school science teacher
cord. Th is can cause serious neurological deprivation of important nutrients like
pork. It is more often seen in poorer
once told us that a person with
damage, blindness and paralysis. The Vitamin B12. Tapeworms can
countries where people are in close
tapeworms could sit on a bucket of
tapeworm then returns to the occasionally cause diarrhea, stomach
contact with swine. Taenia saginata,
water and wait until the tapeworms
intermediate host by the ingestion of pains and slight weight loss. The
the other common tapeworm, is
exited out the anus. The thought of
proglottids in the feces of the defi nitive immune response of the body to a large
contracted through the ingestion of raw
something crawling out of a bodily
host. A return to the intermediate host tapeworm may also be water retention
or undercooked beef. Tapeworms reside
orifice would make anyone’s skin crawl.
allows the tapeworms to find another in the abdominal region, causing a “pot
not only in humans; they are also a
Yet, one cannot help but be intrigued by
belly.” So, the idea of a tapeworm weight
definitive host to infect.
concern for pet owners and the health
tapeworms.
Tapeworms are completely loss method is certainly unviable.
of their beloved companions.
There are, in fact, a lot of myths
As mentioned earlier, tapeworm
parasitic, having evolved for millions of
In adults, tapeworms can grow
about tapeworms and how to get rid of
years and becoming highly specialized. proglottids exit the body along with
to be up to several meters in length. The
them -- probably due to the lack of
They lack a digestive system and absorb bodily wastes to search for a new host in
tapeworm body is a long, flattened, and
knowledge about them. One ancient
nutrients through their skin. In the which to proliferate. Tapeworms have
cylindrical, and it is cross-wrinkled or
myth begins with the insertion of a
human intestines, they do not cause also been known to crawl out the anus
grooved longitudinally, unmistakably
cracker or a piece of meat into the anus
serious problems when feeding off as single proglottids or a chain of
resembling a ribbed ribbon. An organ
everyday for a week. On the eighth day,
nutrients that are being absorbed proglottids. If a tapeworm leaving the
for anchorage is necessary because they
the worm should come out the anus
through the intestinal walls. For body is pulled, it is likely to break. Thus,
live in the hostile peristaltic environment
looking for food and can then be pulled
example, the T. saginata species of this is not an option for treatment. As
of the intestines. A scolex, or a holdfast
out. There is also a myth about the
tapeworm is essentially harmless to for tapeworms crawling out of the
organ, on the anterior end of the
riddance of tapeworms concerning the
humans. There have been cases, however, mouth or anus in search of food, as they
tapeworm fastens to the intestinal
other end of the body. According to the
are not complex enough to have sensory
walls. Posterior to the scolex are
myth, one must fast for three days.
organs that can identify food outside of
segments called proglottids. Proglottids
After fasting, a bowl of food is held to
the body.
are complete reproductive systems that
the mouth and the worm would then
Such myths are clearly used to
allow the hermaphroditic tapeworm to
crawl out in search of the food. Then, of
course, not to be overlooked is the tale
departures
of the tapeworm as the basis of the
miracle weight loss diet. The fable
begins with young, aspiring actors and
models in Hollywood purposely
infecting themselves with tapeworms in
order to lose weight. Clearly, without
BY PAUL WEDEL
proper education about tapeworms,
Paul Wedel was born in Winnipeg and has suffered through 26 Manitoban winters without
imaginations can run wild.
reprieve. In four days, he will travel to New Zealand. Each week he will tell us about it. Last week
Tapeworm infections are not
very common occurrences in North
he was freaking out about how close he was to leaving. This week, he’s filled with a sense of calm,
»
B
A WINNIPEGGER IN NEW ZEALAND
03 HOW DO YOU SPELL PROXIMITY?
add a grisly unappeal to the appalling
invertebrates.
Keeping you and your family
safe from tapeworm infection is actually
quite simple. The occurrence of
tapeworms in North America is already
very low because of the federal inspection
of food products. Infection by T.
saginata may be prevented by thoroughly
cooking beef for at least five minutes at
56 degrees Celsius, or by freezing beef
at -10 degrees Celsius for 10 days before
consumption. As for pork, thorough
cooking can also prevent T. solium
infection. When traveling in developing
countries with poor sanitary conditions,
one must be cautious about the water
they drink and the food they consume.
Tapeworm infection is rare in Muslim
countries where diets do not include
pork. T. saginata is usually found in
tropical and subtropical regions of
Africa, the Middle East, parts of
Europe, Mexico and South America.
Medical personnel at a treatment
centre should carry out treatment where
proper sanitation methods such as
washing facilities and a proper latrine
are available. Diagnosis of a tapeworm
infection can be done by taking blood
and stool samples.
Doctors commonly prescribe an
anthelmintic drug called Praziquantel
as a treatment for tapeworms and other
worm infections. Praziquantel affects
muscles of the tapeworms and causes
them severe spasms and paralysis. The
tapeworms then exit out in the stool or
are destroyed in the intestine.
Because tapeworms are common
in developing countries, travel, industry
and immigration may cause the spread
of tapeworm infection. With adequate
knowledge about tapeworms, however,
infection can easily be avoided and
treated.
Suff icient
sanitation,
government food inspections and proper
food handling all work hand-in-hand in
preventing the spread of this unpleasant
parasite.
This experience is all new to
me. We haven’t even left yet
and we’re already passing into
that surreal realm. Everything
we now do takes place in some
universe that is quite separate
from the one which we usually
inhabit.
Like
y e s terd ay :
we went into the bank and
transferred our savings into an
account in New Zealand. So
now, all our money is tramping
its way through the electronic
ether between here and the
other side of the planet. In
Limbo. (Insert shortness of
breath here.) We’ll find out
»
F
our days to go. How do you
spell proximity? We are
finished all our errands!
The list has been cleared
and has no further additions.
Actually, I still need to buy
contact lenses. Dammit! OK:
one more. And I still have to
email our travel agent with
one last question. But I can
almost see the end of all this.
Just to get on the damn plane
already. (The plane, owned
by Singapore Air by the way,
features a small television
screen in the back of every seat,
sure to provide countless hours
of top-notch entertainment.
Booya.)
If you’ve read this
column in the last couple weeks,
you can probably tell that I’ve
never traveled overseas before.
Photo by: David Pensato
though his thoughts seem slightly less coherent.
on Monday whether it made
the trip safe and secure. I am
confident that it did.
I’ve realized over
the last few weeks that the
preparations for a crosscontinental journey, though
plentiful, are not difficult to
complete. Working up the
will to go is another matter.
I realize that our decision to
leave was made rather easily,
“We’re going to New Zealand
in the fall.” Now it’s finally
September, and I understand
that the will to leave doesn’t
have to be that strong, but the
will to hold things together
does.
Last week, I was in
full freak-out mode; now for
the first time in over a month,
I feel a strange calm. Maybe
“calm” isn’t quite accurate.
Less freaked out, maybe? But
it does take a lot of will to
not give in to our friends’
and families’ sadness. I feel
well loved. That is the most
difficult part. Saying goodbye
to everyone I know. I am
being subjected to a complex
set of emotions. Highs, lows:
the entire emotional gamut is
within my grasp. I can feel it
all! I’ll just drink more coffee.
A side note: My intake
of coffee has just about tripled
in the last month. Why? I’ll
take coffee over water, tea and
some meals. Maybe I just want
to keep my heart rate going
at the highest possible pitch
before we go. Maybe it’s one of
those constants. No Horton’s
outside of Canada, though.
Damn! But apparently, in
New Zealand, there is a hot
beverage called a Flat White:
like a cappuccino, but without
all the foam nonsense. I’m
immediately drinking one
of those when we land in
Auckland. I’m going to need
something quasi-familiar.
SEPTEMBER 23, 2004
013
p
Sports
»
Contact
Sports Editors: Leighton Klassen
E-mail
» uniternews@uwinnipeg.ca
Tele: 786-9497
HOCKEY HITS DOWNTOWN
THIS WEEKEND
Fact & Fitness
BY
SARAH HAUCH
Are you frustrated by the astronomical amount ot “get in shape” slogans out there? Don’t
know what to believe or where to start? Well, I’m here to let you know the truth about the
myths and facts of fitness. As a third year student in the faculty of Physical Activity and
Sports Studies, I have the inside info and want to show you just how simple ‘being in shape’
can be.
By Leighton Klassen
SPORTS EDITOR
I
t may still be a couple of
months before the aura
of hockey officially hits
downtown Winnipeg, but an
event next week will in fact
bring Canada’s game right to the
streets of downtown, literally.
It’s the third annual
corporate/university ball hockey
tournament, and it’s taking the
streets – on St. Mary between
Edmonton Street and Vaughn
– next Saturday, September 25.
Mindy Kigtkowski,
special events coordinator for
Easter Seals Manitoba and
representative of one of four
companies that sponsor the
event, says the tournament acts
as a great way to get people into
downtown.
“It’s on the Winnipeg
streets,” she says, “and
ultimately, it’s a good way to
bring people out to downtown.”
But she appoints the
overlying motive of the
tournament as being a good way
to raise money for children with
disabilities, which is achieved
by mandatory fundraising from
every team.
“It’s great because it
raises money for children with
special needs and with physical
disabilities,” Kigtkowski says.
Upon registration, every
team is required to fundraise right
up until the date of the tournament,
which in the past has resulted in
large quantities of money being
donated. But aside from the
obvious benefits associated with
donating money to disadvantaged
people, it also can crown the
fundraising members with some
red carpet treatment.
“The top two fundraising
teams will get a free dinner with
limo service and tickets to a Moose
game,” Kigtkowski explains.
But the prizes don’t stop
there. Although the winning team
of the tournament may not get a
silver cup, they will get an upgrade
to their sporting attire.
“The winner of the
tournament will get $200 for Royal
Sports and a gift certificate for
some jerseys,” says Kigkowski.
The tournament was
pioneered two years ago by the
downtown area, but this year it’s
sponsored by the Manitoba Moose,
Power 97, Downtown Biz, and the
Pony Corral- a team of sponsors
which Kigtkowski says will expand
the festivities of the event.
“We’re having opening
ceremonies this year that begin
with the singing of the national
anthem and a ceremonial puckdrop by Mickey Moose. There will
also be live bands playing,
a D..J. on site as well as a
Pony Coral beer garden.”
Kigkowski says
she had hoped for a total
of 28 teams to enter the
tournament, but as the
deadline for registration
nears, they’re expecting
they’ll hit the 18 mark.
Since
the
tournament requires a
minimum age of 18,
Kigkowski says many of
the participants come
from the business district
and university sphere.
“It’s mainly a
corporate and university
challenge,” she explains.
“Every one is 18 or over
and quite a few companies
have registered. The
Manitoba Moose and
Power 97 each have a
team in.”
The “ balls” drop at 10
a.m. and the
tournament is expected
to last until about 4
p.m. If you would like to
register, contact Mindy
Kigkowski at 975-3078.
» Photo by: Downtown Biz
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www.nwlawenforcement.ca
014
SEPTEMBER 23, 2004
I have been asked MANY questions
· Headaches, aching joints and
regarding the benefi ts and dangers of muscle cramps
steroids. I thought that I should include some
· Nausea and vomiting
credible information so as to clear up any
· Sleep problems
misconceptions, spur questions and
· Increased risk of ligament and
,hopefully, to deter anyone thinking about tendon injuries
taking dangerous steroids.
· Severe acne, especially on face
and back
You may have heard them called
· Baldness
‘roids, juice, hype or pump. Anabolic steroids
High school and middle school
are powerful drugs that many people take in students and athletes need to be aware of
high doses to boost athletic performance. the effect steroids have on growth. Anabolic
Anabolic means “building body tissue.” steroids, even in small doses, have been
Anabolic steroids help build muscle tissue shown to stop growth too soon. Adolescents
and increase body mass by acting like the also may be at risk for becoming dependent
body’s natural male hormone, testosterone.
on steroids.
Lower doses of anabolic steroids
Males
sometimes are used to treat a handful of very
One of the more disturbing effects of
serious medical conditions. They should not steroid use for males is that the body begins
be confused with corticosteroids, which are to produce less of its own testosterone. As a
used to treat common medical conditions result, the testicles may begin to shrink.
such as asthma and arthritis. Corticosteroids Following is a list of some of the other effects
are strong medications, but do not have of steroid use for males:
muscle-building effects. Anabolic steroids
· Reduced sperm count
are the ones abused by athletes and others
· Impotence
who want a shortcut to becoming bigger and
· Increase in nipple and breast size
stronger.
(gynecomastia)
Athletes, whether they are young or
· Enlarged prostate (gland that
old, professional or amateur, are always mixes fluid with sperm to form semen)
looking to gain an advantage over their
Females
opponents. The desire for an “edge” exists in
Since steroids act as a male hormone,
all sports, at all levels of play. Successful females may experience the following side
athletes rely on practice and hard work to effects:
increase their skill, speed, power and ability.
· Reduced breast size
However, some athletes resort to drugs to
· Enlarged clitoris (a very sensitive
improve their performance on the field or the part of the genitals)
court.
· Increase in facial and body hair
Some high school and even middle
· Deepened voice
school students are using steroids to gain an
· Menstrual problems
edge, improve their skill level, or become
Steroids also can have the following
more athletic. Steroid use is not limited to effects on the mind and behavior:
males. More and more females are putting
· "Roid rage" — severe, aggressive
themselves at risk by using these drugs. It is behavior that may result in violence, such as
important to know that using anabolic fighting or destroying property
steroids not only is illegal, but it also can
· Severe mood swings
have serious side effects.
· Hallucinations — seeing or hearing
In the past, steroid use was seen things that are not really there
mostly in college, Olympic and professional
· Paranoia — extreme feelings of
sports. Today, steroids are being used by mistrust and fear
athletes as well as nonathletes, in high
· Anxiety and panic attacks
schools and middle schools. Most major
· Depression and thoughts of
professional
and
amateur
athletic suicide
organizations have banned steroids for use
· An angry, hostile or irritable mood
by their athletes. These organizations include
With these types of side effects, many
the International Olympic Committee, over-the-counter supplements such as
National Collegiate Athletic Association creatine and androstenedione ("andro") are
(NCAA), and the National Football League gaining popularity. Though these supplements
(NFL) .
are not steroids, manufacturers claim they
Most commonly, steroid use can be can build muscles, and improve strength and
found among the following groups:
stamina, without the side effects of steroids.
Athletes involved in sports that rely on
It is important to know that these
strength and size, like football, wrestling or substances are not regulated by the Food
baseball
and Drug Administration (FDA) and are not
· Endurance athletes, such as those held to the same strict standards as drugs.
involved in track-and-field and swimming
Like steroids, they also are banned by the
· Athletes involved in weight training NFL, NCAA and International Olympic
or bodybuilding
Committee.
· Anyone interested in building and
Although
both
creatine
and
defining muscles
androstenedione occur naturally in foods,
Steroids can be taken in the following there are serious concerns about the longtwo ways:
term effects of using them as supplements.
· By mouth (pills)
These products may be unsafe. Remember,
· Injected with a needle (Athletes there is no replacement for a healthy diet,
who share needles to inject steroids also are proper training and practice.
at risk for serious infections including
Success in sports takes talent, skill
Hepatitis B and HIV, the AIDS virus.)
and most of all, practice and hard work.
Some athletes take even higher doses, Using steroids is a form of cheating and
called "megadoses," to produce faster interferes with fair competition. More
results. Others gradually increase the amount importantly, they are dangerous to your
they take over time, which is called health. There are many healthy ways to
"pyramiding." Taking different kinds of increase your strength or improve your
anabolic steroids, possibly along with other appearance. If you are serious about your
drugs, is a particularly dangerous practice sport and your health, keep the following tips
known as "stacking."
in mind:
Remember, steroids cannot improve
· Train safely, without using drugs.
an athlete’s agility or skill. Many factors help
· Eat a healthy diet.
determine athletic ability, including genetics,
· Get plenty of rest.
body size, age, sex, diet and how hard the
· Set realistic goals and be proud of
athlete trains. It is clear that the medical yourself when you reach them.
dangers of steroid use far outweigh the
· Seek out training supervision,
advantage of gains in strength or muscle coaching and advice from a reliable
mass.
professional.
· Avoid injuries by playing safely and
using protective gear.
Steroids — Dangerous Side Effects
· Talk to your pediatrician about
Steroids can cause serious health
problems. Many changes take place inside nutrition, your health, preventing injury and
the body and may not be noticed until it is too safe ways to gain strength.
· Share this information with friends
late. Some of the effects will go away when
and teammates.
steroid use stops, but some may not.
If you, your friends or teammates are
For Both Sexes
Possible side effects for males and using steroids, get help. Take a stand against
the use of steroids and other drugs. Truly
females include the following:
· High blood pressure and heart successful athletes combine their natural
abilities with hard work to win. There is no
disease
quick and easy way to become the best.
· Liver damage and cancers
· Stroke and blood clots
· Urinary and bowel problems, such
as diarrhea
If you would like to ask a fitness question, or comment on anything related to fitness and
getting into shape, email Sarah Hauch at sar_endipity@hotmail.com, or leave a message
at 786-9497
p
Sports
PERSONALITY, PAC BELL, AND THE POWER ERA:
Does Barry Bonds Deserve to be a Legend?
By Jon Symons
On Friday, Barry drilled
homer number 700 of his career
off my No.1 fantasy starter, Jake
Peavy. Hes now officially in a
club with Hammerin Hank and
the Great Bambino, sans a cool
nickname. And no one really
seemed to care all that much. Its
been up for debate for the past
little while, with Barry chasing
and most likely in 2005 or early
2006 eclipsing Hank Aaron for
HR No. 756, as to whether Barry
truly deserves the honour of
being the greatest slugger to walk
the earth. To determine Barrys
status as a legend, three things
always seem to be brought up; his
personality, the effect of Pac
Bell/ SBC Park, and the power
era.
Barry
may
never
compare to the Ruths and
DiMaggios in terms of what he
does for the game. For starters,
Barry doesn’t have much of a
personality. The McGwire-Sosa
race for 62 back in 1998 was one
of the more memorable moments
in baseball history. Everyone was
rooting for one of them to break
the record and mainly because
McGwire and Sosa were
personable guys. Role models
kids could look up to. In 2001,
when Bonds hit a single season
record 73 homers, it soon became
a blip on the baseball radar.
Bonds didn’t seem to care, so the
fans outside of San Francisco
didnt care. In the end it was the
fight for ball number 71 that got
more attention then the actual
record. No, Bonds doesn’t do
anything. He stands and waits
for his pitch, trots around the
bases and then shuns the press
and heads home to his family.
When Barry does open his
mouth, its usually to say
something stupid that makes us
wish he never opened his mouth
in the first place.
So, who cares! Steve
Carlton never spoke to the press
for twenty years, and Ty Cobb
was a racist, sexist, abusive
alcoholic, and legend has it he
once played a game after getting
stabbed in the stomach in a bar
and went to the hospital only
after the game was over. Barry
likes to make the fans hate him,
likes making the world know
that he wants to forever be seen
as an egotistical superstar. Thats
what makes him all the more
endearing to baseball fans.
Nobodys asking Bonds to be
Mark Fidrych, the only guy in
baseball history to sell out every
park he played in during his
career. Everyone loved Fidrych.
Hed talk to the ball before every
batter, chew gum on the mound,
clean cleat marks out of the dirt,
and showed the enthusiasm of a
little leaguer. Looking at Fidrych,
you knew he loved playing
baseball. Looking at Barry, its as
if hes got this great burden to
carry. Barry knows a lot of people
hate him, so hes going to feed off
that and make it his legacy. Barry
Bonds: Most Egotistical Man in
baseball. Sure, it would be nice to
see a couple more Mark Fidrychs
out there swearing at the ball and
acting like they won the World
Series after every strike-out, but
personalitys just one of the
reasons why we love to hate
Barry. It has nothing to do with
what he does on the field, which
is where it counts.
A lot of Bonds’ fans say
the fact that hes mastered the
dimensions of one of the toughest
hitters parks in the game, Pac
Bell/ SBC Park, is one of the
reasons hes so good. A lot of
Bonds detractors say that SBC
Park was built exclusively to suit
his swing. Im kind of in the
middle on this issue. The park
had little effect on Bonds homer
totals in 2001, as his 73 homers
were divided evenly: 37 at home,
36 on the road. SBCs also got the
lowest homer index of any park
and the fences are farther back
then the parks Ruth and Aaron
spent most of their careers in.
While Milwaukee County
measured 320-402-320 and
Ruths Yankee Stadium 301-487295, SBC measures 325-404307.
On the other hand,
theres something odd about the
fact that coming into this year
54% of the homers hit by lefties
in SBC have been hit by Bonds.
Hes also a lefty pull hitter;
meaning most of his shots head
to right field, which is conveniently
the shortest part of the park. This
had to have been on the minds of
Giants execs when they were
developing Pac Bell.
When it comes down to
it, personality and Pac Bell/SBC
will matter little twenty years
after Bonds is retired. What will
matter are the changes made to
the game since Aaron played.
Were a long way from the days
when 30 homers a year could win
you a HR title. The five-man
rotation and loaded bullpens have
added to the juiced up numbers
over time. Up until the 70s it was
common for both starters to still
be in the game in the ninth, and
then pitching another nine three
days later. Bob Gibson completed
52% of the games he started in
his career. Sandy Koufax
completed 44%. Roger Clemens,
a guy comparable to these two,
has completed just 19%.
Nowadays, if a pitcher looks like
hes tiring by the seventh hell get
the lift regardless of the score,
and usually itll be for some
mediocre call-up with a 5.22
ERA who cant handle MLB
batters.
Parks are shorter,
expansion has drained teams of
talent, baseballs are harder and
players are bigger. The power era
is here to stay, and the sole reason
why Bonds will come under
scrutiny after hes gone and will
forever be debated why he’s is in
the Hall of Fame, and why he
should or shouldn’t be considered
a legend is steroids.
Looking at pictures of
the main power threats through
the years, its safe to say that the
steroid scandal is a relatively new
invention. Ted Williams and
Hank Aaron are relatively skinny
dudes, and the only drug Ruth
was under the influence of while
he was playing was alcohol.
Before Bonds the biggest drug
scandals the game had were when
Dock Ellis pitched a no-hitter
while tripping on LSD, and
Strawberry and Gooden got
caught snorting cocaine with the
Mets in the 80s.
There was a bit of
controversy when McGwire
admitted to using andro, but at
least McGwire was honest
enough to say that he was using
something. Bonds will deny to
his death that hes used steroids,
hes even denying that hes using
some kind of supplement. Theres
no question Bonds has done a
little more than just work out to
get to where he is. Back in 91
when he was with Pittsburgh,
Bonds was 185 lb. and a decent
power threat averaging about
twenty homers a year. All of a
sudden the man became a 228lb.
behemoth who hasn’t dipped
lower than 33 homers in ten
years. Sure, Bonds was always
good before he came to San Fran,
but never this good. If Bonds is
telling the truth, and all hes
doing is lifting weights, then
thats one weight-training
program Ive got to look into.
Even if Barry conducts
himself like a jack-ass off the
field, and is more juiced up then
a Sun Rype factory, you cant
argue with the presence he
commands on it. Steroids or not,
the guys still won a record six
MVP trophies. Hes got the same
fire in his eyes as Gibson, one of
the most intense pitchers ever.
Fans stand on their feet when
Barry steps up to the plate.
Opposing pitchers are treating
him like a panhandler on Portage:
Walk fast and then hes gone.
When they do pitch to him,
Barry has the greatest patience of
anyone whos ever played the
game. Hes got a superhuman
ability to predict what pitch is
coming next, passing on two
fastballs down the middle because
he knows the next pitch is going
to be a high curve. Steroids have
no effect on his ability to judge
pitches.
So, back to the question.
Is Barry Bonds a legend? Only
time will tell. Itll take years for
the Bonds myth to develop into
Ruthian magnitude. Itll all come
down to the steroid issue. If he
used steroids, then Barry joins
the other fallen heroes of the
game: Pete Rose and Shoeless
Joe Jackson. If he didn’t, well
look back and finally realize that
Bonds is one of the greatest of all
time.
September 27 and 28
The Wesmen cheerleading team is holding
tryouts at the Duckworth Centre from
7-10 p.m.
September 23
Women’s and men’s volleyball alumni
games/reception 7:30 p.m.
October 8-10
Women’s basketball Converse Shootout
September 29
Men’s basketball alumni games 7:30 p.m.
NFL PICKS
With Fantasy Football moving into the colonization status of fan friendly
sports gambling, any bit of information and resources will give you
an edge on predicting the likely outcome of a football game. So, the
Uniter sports team have decided to offer our voice on what team will
come out on top of every week of NFL football. We’ve structured it in a
format where we’ve handpicked what we think are the top five games
of the week, which we’ll then apply our expert opinion on who will be
victorious and why. Here are this weeks top five games.
01 New Orleans at St. Louis
Leighton Klassen
02
Cleveland at NY Giants
New Orleans over St. Louis
-Simple -- no Warner, no win
03
Houston at Kansas City
04 San Francisco at Seattle
05 Green Bay at Indianapolis
NY Giants over Cleveland
- Winslow factor -- Giants will
capitalize on Winslow’s absence
K.C. over Houston
- Houston is still in “new
franchise” mode. Although the
Chiefs are struggling, there’s
no better way to bounce back
with a win than with an 0-2 inexperienced team like the Texans.
Seattle over SanFrancisco
-No contest, Seattle’s hot,
SanFran is not.
Indianapolis over Green Bay
-Green Bay’s still going to be
feeling the “Bear’s Blues” so
Manning, and James will stomp
out the pack.
Sheri Lamb
Jonathon Davis
New Orleans over St. Louis
-The Saints pull out a close one
and Mike Martz is one step closer
to the firing line.
St. Louis over New Orleans
-St. Louis, after getting thrashed
by Atlanta they’ll have something
to prove...strong stats as well.
NY Giants over Cleveland
-Giants win their second straight
over a Browns team still in it’s
infancy of winning games.
NY Giants over Cleveland
– Giants...let the big apple reign
supreme!
Houston over K.C.
-- K.C. was the class of the NFL
for the first three-quarters of last
season; their downward spiral
continues.
Seattle over San Francisco
-- One of the Seahawks only
home games in the first half of
the season, they’ll make it count
over a weak 49er’s squad.
Indianapolis over Green Bay
-Colts lose only if Manning
and Co. get cocky and overconfident... They won’t.
Houston tie Kansas City
-That’s a close one...I’m going to
call a tie...just because I can!
San Francisco over Seattle
-San Fran look to be the stronger
team.
Green Bay over Indianapolis
-Green Bay...Favre is always
solid!
SEPTEMBER 23, 2004
015
Sports
“FORE:”
Here Comes Frisbee Golf
By Paul Furgale
O
n the eastern edge of St.
Boniface, where you can
just start to smell the pigs
stewing in the meat packing plant,
there is a park that appears to be
sprouting a crop of metal laundry
hampers. I noticed them out the
window of a moving car on a warm,
clear, smoky-smelling day during the
summer of 2003 and decided to pull
over to inspect them more closely.
Each basket looks like a metal garbage
can mounted on a pole two feet off the
ground, with the middle third of the
mesh cut out all the way around with
chains hanging down from the outside
of the top circle to the center of the
basket at the bottom. I approached a
knowledgeable-looking young man in
a tie-dyed t-shirt, who was carrying a
bag that appeared to be a fi le folder for
Frisbees. He explained that we were
standing three-quarters up the fairway
of the ninth hole of Winnipeg’s fi rst
fully-developed disc golf course--a
game that has rules very similar to golf
with specially-designed discs taking
the place of the clubs and balls.
He then fl ipped through his
nylon fi le folder, selected a small neonblue disc and fl icked his wrist sharply
at one of the metal baskets. The disc
floated languorously in a soft arc
through the air, hitting the chains,
which guided it into the basket below.
It is just this curious fl ight
pattern that gives Frisbees their charm.
A flying disc combines the properties
of a wing and a spinning top. When
flying quickly, the beveled edge causes
the air rushing over its top to travel
farther and therefore faster, creating
an area of low pressure above the disc.
The high-pressure region under the
disc moves toward the low-pressure
region above, pushing the disc
upwards. The spin of the disc exploits
a principle called angular momentum-the same principle that keeps tops and
cyclists from tipping over. The
weighted wheels tend to spin in a level
plane without wobbling and resist
angular shifts while stopping the lift at
the front of the disc from tipping it
over. The two features combined
explain why a properly thrown disc
may fly in an arc until its forward
momentum (and therefore its lift) is
exhausted and then stays level as it
floats straight down.
In 1948, two Californian
World War II veterans noticed these
properties in the fl ight of metal pie
tins in a game improvised by
neighborhood children. But metal
discs were heavy, stung when caught
improperly, and sometimes developed
sharp edges that cut children’s fingers,
so the two set out to construct the fi rst
plastic flying disc. Using a lathe, they
carved a prototype out of Tenite, a
plastic now used in tool handles and
pen barrels. The disc flew well but was
brittle and shattered after a solid
impact. They obtained a disc of softer
plastic, heated the edges and curved
them down. Th is prototype had the
aerodynamics and durability they had
been looking for. Together, they pooled
enough money together to purchase a
custom injection mold, and by the end
of the year Partners in Plastics Co. was
producing a disc the two men named
“The Flying Saucer.” Franscioni and
Morrison hawked the Flying
Saucer up and down the west
coast with middling success.
Pipco folded in 1950 and the two
went their separate ways, but in
1954 Morrison patented a slightly
altered version of the disc that he
called “The Pluto Platter”.
He began selling it in
his spare time. In 1955 he signed
a contract with the Wham-O toy
company who gave the disc its
common name. The Frisbie
Baking Company of Bridgeport,
Connecticut sold pies along the
eastern seaboard. The pie plates
were embossed with the company
name and it became common in
eastern colleges, where the bulk
of the pies were consumed, for
students to yell “Frisbie!” in
warning unsuspecting bystanders
of an errant flying pie tin. The
marketing wonks at Wham-O
patented the name “Frisbee” and
began an aggressive advertising
campaign.
There are reports of
organized disc golf matches as
early as 1964. Early on, games
were played with fi re hydrants,
trees, or wooden crates as targets.
In 1975, in an attempt to formalize
the game, Ed Headrick patented
the modern disc golf hole.
Headrick was the Wham-O
employee who invented the
Superball and perfected the
modern Frisbee by streamlining
its shape and adding ridges to the
top. He called his target: “The
Pole Hole,” where Happyland
Park at Marion and Archibald use
nine of them, together with
eighteen tee-off pads, to define
eighteen unique holes along a
ravine that runs into the Seine
River. Regular toy-store Frisbees
are totally adequate to enjoy the
game, but the specialty disc-drivers, mid-range discs and
putters--sell for around fi fteen
dollars each and allow for more
strategy in the game. As there are
no course fees, this is the only cost
to play the game. The game is not
intensely physical and proficiency
comes from spinning the disc
properly, not throwing it hard.
There is a childlike aspect to the
game in that it involves throwing a
plastic toy around the park with
one’s friends. Miscalculated
throws can land the disc in a tree,
in the ravine or on the road.
Since I have started
playing I have found myself on
many occasions acting like a
twelve-year-old again. I tried to
climb a tree. I played outside all
winter, even when it was way, way
too cold. I had to search for a long
stick to fish a disc out of the
ravine. I spent a half hour kicking
up snow trying to find a disc,
eventually giving up, only to find
it months later during the spring
thaw. I even fell in the
ravine and had to ride my
bike home soaking wet.
Now, as I sense winter
scratching at the window
in the early mornings, I
find myself eying sturdy,
felt-lined
boots
in
department stores, and
throwing
margarine
container lids at the
dishwater. And last
weekend I fell asleep in
my homework chair,
with a math book on my
lap, staring out the
window at the first
autumn trees. As my eyes
glazed over, the falling
leaves
transformed
themselves into an
endless line of orange,
yellow and red discs
floating lazily downwards
against the sky, to a
forest of chain baskets
below.
» Photo By: Wade Andrew
Konrad Ross lines up for a basket during a game of frisbee
golf at Happyland Park