The Cascade Friday, January 7th 2011

Avoiding danger since 1993

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Polar Bear Swim pg.14

FRIDAY, JANUARY7th 2011

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UNIVERSITY OFTHE -

RASERVALLEY

UFV Teaching .

Excellence pg. 5

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THE CASCADE

FRIDAY,JANUARY 7th, 2011

Stereotypes are us

Volume 18 • Issue 34 Room Cl027

JED MINORgangster because at least dogs are

33844 Kmg Road

EDITOR-IN-CHIEFfriendly, loyal, and mostly nonviolent.

In this weeks Cascade we have I want to continue to interview included an article entitled "Inter- members of particular societal view with a homosexual." While groups whether religious, heasome people might find it offen- then, asexual or otherwise. I hope sive that we are interviewing one that these interviews will be inmember of a particular group and formative in that they will show asking him to speak for the group the indivual humanity of the indias a whole, this is how society of- vidual and the fact that although ten treats people. When they talk they may align themselves with about the "gay agenda" people a certain group, their group does act as if every single gay person not define every single aspect of has this so called agenda on their their existence. !phone and uses it to organize It should be self evident but we their lives. What is often revealed need to start treating people as inwhen talking to a member of a cer- dividuals and stop labelling them tain group is that no social group- mentally before getting to know ing is homogenous and there is them. Humanity has always been infinite diversity within some of very diverse and hopefully our society's most stereotyped groups. social perception will finally be I am a heterosexual male but I able to catch up with that reality. have as much in common with cer- The alternative is to alienate ourtain other members of my sexual selves by creating a false ':other" orientation grouping as I do with and then have to deal with the a dog. In fact I might have more problems social divisions create. in common with a dog than I do Labels hurt and stereotypes often with your stereotypical redneck/ kill.

Abbotsford, BC V2S 7M8

Editor-in-Chief cascade.chief@ufv.ca Jed M,11,:n ProductionManager cascade.production@ufv.ca R.md,Jru, Conrad

Production Scott Varga

Copy Editor Chns Bon,hor

News Editor cascade.news@ufv.ca Paul Brammer

Arts & Life Editor cascade.arts@ufv.ca Paul Falardeau

Sports Editors cascade.sports@ufv.ca Joel Smart Justin Orlewicz

Government and Universities Should Do More to Support Cash-Strapped Students L

etter to Editor: I think the government should help support all students financially. In a time where most of us are unemployed or "underemployed" (some training and education but no jobs available), what else is there to do but go back to school? Everyone should be encouraged to get more education.

I myself am a newlywed; before I got married I took a college course to find a decent paying job.

Luckily, at the time I had a family member who was willing to help me one time financially.

After graduating and going out to the job market, there wasn't

much out there. Most places were word of mouth hiring or were not very nice places to work at. So after two years of working retail and getting hitched, I decided, 'Tm now married and should be able to go back to school!' So, like most, I decided to get a student loan, because I now have a mortgage and a husband to feed. Sadly, because I am married and my husband owns his vehicle, I don't qualify for a government student loan.

Apparently you are supposed to be broke and not own a thing to get one. I don't get how anyone is ever supposed to pay that back then?! I started to ask around, and

it seemed that most people I knew had the same experience.

In 2010 the Olympics were held in Vancouver and hundreds of millions of dollars were spent, close to 900 million. Many people were not happy with the Olympics at all. They were very dissatisfied with the opening ceremonies and several things did not even work out as planned.

Now why can't some of those hundreds of millions of dollars go to help students in Canada? I was able to take two courses this year and charge them. My plan was to do the same for 2011. But now somehow it has been approved

that you can no longer charge your classes as of January 1, 2011.

And you are charged over two hundred dollars in extra fees for a radio station and a U-pass, which I will never use. Can I not get a break? Now I am forced to not be a student and wait till I can save up to pay for a class in full, and UFV only gives you two weeks to pay for it.

Where is the support from universities and the government to help people get educated?

Opinion Editor alex@ufvcascade.ca Alex Watkins

Online Editor onlineeditor@ufvcascade.ca Nick Ubels

Photographer Brittany Wiesner

Staff Writers Trevor Fik Sophie Isbister Paul Esau

Contributors Ali Siemens

Aaron Levy

Amanda Esau

Printed By Web Express

TheCascadeis UFV's autooomousstudelltnewspaper.It providesa forwn for UFV studentsto have theirjoomalism published.It also acts as an alternative pressfor Ille FmserValley.The Olscade is funded withUFV studentfunds.The Cascadeis publishede¥efYFridaywith a cin:ulationof 2000andis disttibuted at UFV campuses811dthroughout Abbotsford,Chilliwack.and Mission.The Cascadeis a memberof the Canadian UniversityPress,a nationalcooperative of1S Wliversityand collegenewspaper.;fromVictoriato St. John's. The Cascade followsthe CUPethicalpolicy concerningmaterialof a prejudicialor oppressivenature.

Submissionsare preferredin electronic formateither throughe-mailor on CD. Pleasesend submissionsin ".txt" or ".doc"formatonly.

Articlesand lettersto the editormust be typed. The Cascadereservesthe right to edit submissionsfor clarity and length.

The Cascadewillnot printany articles that containracist,sexist,homophobic or libellouscontent.The writer'sname and studentnwnbermust be submitted witheach submission.Lettersto the editormust be under250 words if intendedfor print.Only one letterto the editorper writerin any givenedition.

Opinionsexpresseddo not necessarily reflectthat of UFV,Cascadestaffand colleciive,or associatedmembers.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 7th, 2011

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THECASCADE

InterviewW_itha FormerYasminUser JED MINORing it; I assumed the side effects EDITOR-IN-CHIEFwould be the same across every contraceptive pill containing esn the last year, various class tradiol. (i.e. not an androgenic action lawsuits have been birth control.) I read through the launched in Canada against Bayer drug information contained in Healthcare, makers of the popular the package and knew there were birth-control pill Yasmin. Accord- higher risks of side effects for ing to the Tony Merchant law firm smokers and people with sedenwhich has a class action suit pend- tary lifestyles. There was nothing ing against Bayer Healthcare in about how this was a newly-marBC, "Our firm has received com- keted chemical or a chemical with plaints from dozens of women higher risks than other pills on across Canada who have suffered the market. So, of course, I had no blood clots, pulmonary embo- idea that I was taking a higher-risk lisms, gall bladder removals, and drug until I heard about the law other serious medical emergencies suit. Had I known, I would have which our class action lawsuits al- chosen another drug. I noticed a lege were caused by Yaz/Yasmin." small breast lump approximately According to the New YorkPost, "a seven months after taking Yasmin. spokeswoman for Bayer said the company would not comment on Q: Howdid youfeel whenyou pending litigation. But the phar- first foundout aboutthe lumpin maceutical giant has staunchly de- yourbreast? fended the drug, which accounted for $1.5 billion in sales in 2009."

I recently interviewed a former A: I ignored it for several UFV student, and a former user months by brushing it off and of Yasmin, to find out about what thinking it must be a harmless risks she feels the drug poses to cyst. It was a cause of background women. The interview was done stress most days. anonymously as the young woman is part of a class action lawsuit Q: Whathappened afterthat? against Bayer Healthcare in BC.

I

Q: Do youknowhowthe lawsuit againstBayerHealthcarecame about?

A: I started reading online about breast lumps/cysts (the worst thing you can do, because the internet will tell you everything is cancer) and started to A: According to the lawyers on worry a lot more. It was only about board, a few hundred complaints nine months later that I told my were made about the product and doctor. I tried to rationalize with the drospirenone it contained. (A the doctor about how it must be new chemical that does not as ef- a cyst (I knew all the symptoms fectively prevent blood clots and from reading online) and the dochyperkalemia, compared to other tor agreed with me. I was referred birth control pills.) The chemical to have an ultrasound; there was a was never sold in North American wait of two months because we bemarkets before Bayer sold it here lieved it was a cyst. The ultrasound in Yasmin. showed it wasn't, so I was back the next day for a core needle biQ: Whatwasyour personalexpe- opsy. I waited almost three weeks for the results and harrassed my riencewithYasmin? doctor's office with phone calls in the meantime. I was eventually A: There wasn't anything par- told I had a benign tumour and ticularly remarkable about tak- removing it would be elective. I

developed worsening pain and symptoms (like reduced shoulder mobility because of pain) over the next year and went to see a surgeon. The surgeon advised me that a biopsy cannot conclusively rule out cancer and recommended surgery. I had surgery within the month, and found out a week later that I had a six cm fibroadenoma.

Q: Youare nowin a classaction lawsuitagainstBayerHealthcare.Howdid you get involved in that?

A: Prior to my surgery, I read a news article about the law suit over Yasmin. I was interested to know if other users had developed breast tumours. I joined the lawsuit, and was told over the phone that there are other com; plainants with fibroadenomas. I asked my doctor if Yasmin could have caused the fibroadenoma. I was told this is possible, though I think it's important to state there is no way to know for sure what caused it. There is no conclusive agreement about what causes fibroadenomas in general, though it is thought they are formed when high levels of estrogen are in the body. I found people online who claimed to have developed them after starting Yasmin, as I did.

However, I'm not sure if there are similar claims for other drugs.

Regardless of whether or not the drug caused the tumour, the basis of the lawsuit is that people unwittingly took a drug associated with a higher-than-they-believed risk of dangerous side effects. It feels as though Bayer made an assumption that women willing to take oral contraceptives in the first place didn't need to, want to, or deserve to know they were increasing their risk of deadly medical conditions. I think we (as consumers of medical products) make the assumption that drugs become safer as time goes on, not less safe.

For instance, oral contraceptives, when originally marketed, con-

tained much, much higher levels of hormones than they do today.

The reason the levels were lowered was for safety and prevention of the same risks Bayer subjected women to when they marketed Yasmin (though probably to a lesser degree - but I'm not sure if the numbers exist to compare).

Q: Inthe lightof recentevents, do youviewlife differently?

A: I am more sceptical about the pharmaceutical industry's ethics. I am also a bit of a hypochondriac, unfortunately. Not much else has changed. I want this lawsuit to set an example about how unacceptQ: Whatadvicewouldyougive to womenwhoare currentlytak- able it is for companies to gamble ing Yasminor whoare consider- with people's well-being. I don't know how many people died or ing it? became severely ill because of taking Yasmin, but as far as I'm conA: I would say try to get more cerned, anything in excess of the information out of your physician. "normal" amount of adverse drug Demand to know why they are reactions/side effects you would suggesting certain products for expect with any other oral contrayou. Ask what the risks are, and ceptive is criminal. make sure your doctor actually knows what they are. If you want Q: Thanksfor speakingwiththe to take Yasmin for any particular Cascadeaboutthis veryperreason, just please be aware of the sonalissue. increased risk. See if there are alternatives that will suit you better. Do your own research about We want to know if any UFV the safety of drugs you are taking; students have had similar experidon't count on the medical profes- ences with Yasmin. Please direct sion, Health Canada, or the phar- your comments to jed@ufvcasmaceutical companies to provide cade.ca. We will not publish any you with crucial information. It's names and we will try to print as pretty clear that they don't always many comments as we can in the do this.

Cascade.

Philosophystudentschallengeassumptionson mentalillness PAUL BRAMMER NEWSEDITOR he Student Association of Philosophy has two outlets for students to get involved with their association. The Association has two branches that serve two very different needs - one branch concerns itself with debate and discussion. The faculty advisor for the debate and discussion arm of the SAP is UFV philosophy instructor Glenn Baier. The other arm of the SAP is the Student Association of Philosophy for Counsellors (SAPC). Philosophy instructor Peter Raabe is the faculty advisor for the SAPC. The SAPC website states that their mission is " to educate the students, staff, and faculty of UFV, as well as the greater community about the function of philosophy in therapy and counselling." The SAPC also seeks to contend general public and professional misconceptions of mental illness. Raabe gave a recent example of a case in Canada that could have been better served by a more enlightened

T

approach to the issue of mental illness and its manifestation in individuals and society, "One of our main projects is to challenge the widespread misconceptions about mental illness. The myth that mental illness is biological

brain disease is deeply entrenched in both the academic world and the public."

"For example there was a December 9, 2010 Abbotsford Daily News item which reported that the death of a Nova Scotia man in jail had been said to be caused by a mental illness. A medical examiner officially declared that he had been killed by 'exited delirium.'

But the judge at a subsequent inquiry ruled the man's death had been due. to 'an intense struggle' with a number of prison guards.

The judge is quoted as completely dismissing the medical examiner's claim: 'He did not die because he was mentally ill."'

The answers to treating and eradicating mental illness lie in a wide-range of efforts and initiatives focused on challenging preconceptions and stereotypes about mental illness. Raabe touched on these, and also the importance of philosophy in treating mental illness, "The SAPC is focused on research into where this misinformation originates. Students are also determined to publicize the

truth. Part of that truth is the fact that mental illness can be treated, and cured, with philosophy alone."

"There are currently a number of projects in the works such as getting a radio program on air, surveying students to learn what they believe about mental illness, inviting guest speakers, investigating diagnostic and pharmaceutical claims, examining media portrayals of mental illness, and so on. We're willing to consider any project proposals students bring."

The SAPC is not just open to philosophy students, "The SAPC is a group of students interested in all aspects of the mind and mental illness. You don't need to be a philosophy major or even a philosophy student to be a member."

In fact, Raabe stressed the inclusive nature of the work of the SAPC, "Many of the research projects go beyond philosophy; they're inter-disciplinary. They overlap with psychology, social work, nursing, and so on. So projects undertaken in the SAPC can

be submitted as class assignments in a wide variety of courses, such as media studies or criminology.

Some of these projects can actually qualify as Independent Study courses. There is research grant money available, and there is always the possibility of a workstudy position."

"Some of the findings will result in papers that are worthy of being published in a number of journals. There's also discussion about presenting papers at mental illness support groups and elsewhere."

As well as the SAPC membership representing a cross-section of students at UFY, the aims of the SAPC are not restricted to the university. As Raabe said, "The projects undertaken by members of the SAPC are not just for their own learning. They're also meant to serve the greater community."

The SAPC meet every Tuesday from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. in Room B162 on the Abbotsford campus. For more information, contact Sheetal Deo at sheetal.deo@student.ufv.ca.

THE CASCADE

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FRIDAY,JANUARY7th, 2011

Interview With a Holllosexual JEDMINOR

while they have the Condom Depot ad across their ass is sending a message, and I am receiving.

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Q. Whatkindof gay musicdo you listento, andwhois the Q. Howmuchtime do you spend gayestartist currentlyproducing perweektryingto recruitteenmusic? agersinto homosexual lifestyles?

e hear a lot about the gay agenda here in the Fraser Valley. Many religious and community leaders have warned us about this insidious threat to our divine heterosexuality. I sat down recently with a self-professed gay man to find out more about being gay and how it threatens life as we know it.

W

A. I don't spend any time re-

cruiting teenagers, I reached my quota a few years ago. Now thanks to Bravo TV, the Twilightseries and MMA we don;t need to recruit.

Q. Whatwasyour childhoodlike?

Q. Is TomCruisegay?

A. My childhood was like any other. Toys, friends, boy scouts - never got the "molested by my leader badge," though -,TV. Tried sports but quit because it interfered with TV. In hindsight, I liked to play 'house' a lot and had lots of 'girlfriends' - of course the attraction with them was they had dolls to play with.

Q. Sowhendid you decideto be a homosexual?

A. The realization happened at an awkward time in my life - I was married to my childhood sweetheart.·

Q. Doyouthinkyour domineering mothermadeyou gay?

A. She told me not to answer

this question

Q. As a gay,whoareyour heroes?

know

A. Anyone who decides to live

their live different from the norm of society. I really admire young kids who come out early in high school; that takes incredible guts since everyone tries to fit in.

Q. Arethe GayGamesyour Olympics?

Do youthink being gay helpspeoplecompetein sportingevents?

A. Since the Gay Games have split into the Out Games and the Gay Games, no they are not our Olympics, more like our Dynasty with the Gay Games being Crystal Carrington. And yes, I think being gay can help you compete in sports. Some people take up individual sports because they don't fit in and then excel and some go

way into the closet and take up team sports to fit it.

A. You will have to ask John Travolta about that. The gay community has moved on from Ms. Cruise; he has reached his bestbefore-date.

Q. Whatdo you do for a living?

Q. Whydo youthinkthereare no openlygay athletesin the NHL, A. I am an accountant - beNBA,NFL,andMLB?Doesbeing cause I like hard figures on spread gay slowyou downsomehow sheets. so you areunableto reachthe professionallevelas an athlete? Q. As an accountantdo you A. You are so wrong; there are find it difficultto be absolutely gay athletes everywhere. Some fabulousallthe time? stay in the closet to excel in the sport they love and some to stay alive. It will take a very brave person to be the first active proathlete [in North America] to come out, but it will happen. There is an out gay rugby player in England, Gareth Thomas, [and] if he can do it, someone here can do it. Besides, the MMA is all but gay in name only. Any sport that has hot men in tight shorts rolling around

A. I listen to all types of music, but if you mean 'gay' as in "that's so gay"... then Jack Johnson and John Mayer make 'gay music.'

Q. After attendingthe GayPride paradein Vancouver, do you go directlyto a sordidsex-party,or do you stop off at a bathhouse to freshenup first?

A. First, no one goes to the bathhouse to freshen up. Calling it a bathhouse is marketing; I have never seen a bath or anyone fresh at one. And sex parties went the way of the Walkman. It's all online now.

Q. Do youfind your promiscuous anddevil-may-care lifestyle affectsyour professionallife?

A. Do you find your Peter Pan lifestyle affects yours?

A. Actually, anyone who knows me knows I am the antithesis of fabulous.

Q. Is beinga gay-marriedas boring as beingstraight-married?

Q. Do youfly the rainbowflag in front of yourhouse?

A. Oh, yes, most definitely.

But it is also just as comfortable and stable knowing that there is always someone at home to love me. That makes everything worth while.

A. No, just a gunnera plant; it is a subtle gay sign for those in the

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HELP OUR KIDS GRADUATE? WITM HOfl& WAYS TO JUCC::tlO,

Christmas treesgetnod Canada ismostweb-addicted nation, Artificial aheadofreal,according topoll saysstudy c.anadians logmoretimeontheWebandsocial mediathananyothernation.

Themeasurement company comScore reported c.anada hasthehighestpenetration ofInternet access, witharound68%ofCanadians routinely surfing online, against62%inFrance and Britain.

Close behindis60%ofGermans going onlineand,southoftheborder, 59%of Americans.

Thelaggards areItalians, whereonly36%ofthe population goesonline, according tocomScore.

Web-addicted Canadians nowspendanaverage 42hoursa monthsurfing theWeb,upfrom40 hoursin2009,andviewanaverage 147videos a monthonYou Tube.Andaround17million Canadians,or51%ofthepopulation, haveFacebook accounts. c.anada hasa vibrantTwitterverse, with anestimated 5%ofthetraffic routinely following theworlddomination ofhomegrown popidol JustinBieber.

Despite Canada's broadband connectivity, c.anadiansstilllagAmericans intheirembrace ofsocalled "smartTV." Netflix isonlya recententrant intotheCanadian market, whileGoogle TV andApple TVhaveyettobreakthrough northof theborder.

EtanVlessing - Reuters

Ottawa students sueovertransitpass

FarmoreCanadians, Americans andBritons will celebrate Christmas onSaturday withartificial Christmas treesintheirhouses thanrealones, according toa survey released onFriday.

Sixtytwopercent ofBritons, 58percent ofCanadiansand53percent ofAmericans useartificial trees,whileonlyabout16percentofAmericans andCanadians and14percent ofBritons use freshtrees,according topolldonebyAngus Reid Public Opinion.

Morethana quarterofthepeoplesurveyed in eachcountry saidtheydidnotplanto havea tree atall,thesurvey found.

Mostartificial treeuserscitedconvenience astheir motivation, andathirdfeltitwasbetterfor theenvironment, according tothepolling firm.

Tradition wasthemainmotivation forusersofreal trees,andmorethana quarteroffresh-tree buyers felttheirdecision wasthebetterenvironmentalchoice.

Thepollwasconducted onlinebetween December14and17,withopinions soughtfromthe 1,000Canadians, 1.005Americans and2,003 Britons whoarepartofAngus Reid's regular political survey forums inthethreecountries.

NineUniversity ofOttawa students aretakingthe students' uniontosmalldaimscourtoverthe implementation ofatransitpasstheyargueisn't useful.

"Idon'tusetheU-Pass.

I havenoneedforit.I don'tliketheideaofwhether ornottherewasa referendum thatthemajority ofstudents could decide thatanindividual service couldbe imposed oneverystudentat a cost," explained plaintiff Chris Spoke, a second-year economics student.

"More thananything else,[thedaim)wasto... makethecasethatit'snotrightto [force] students to buya buspassthattheydon'tneed~ In~bruary2010,thestudents' unionhelda referendumthataskedstudents iftheyagree"with thecreation ofa mandatory universal studentbus passatthecostof$145perfull-time student persemester orbothfallandwintersemesters?"

Theplaintiffs arguethatthequestion itself isunconstitutional, andthephrasing ofthe referendum question wasambiguous.

Theyfeelthatitwasnot clearthattheuniversal buspasswouldnotbe validonalltransitnetworks inthecity.

Allan Dowd - Reuters

Katherine DeClerq - TheFulcrum (UofOttawa)

Concordia president quits

Manitoba targetsminimum secondary-dropout age

Onlyhalfway intoherterm,Concordia University's Newprovincial legislation willincrease thecompresident steppeddownfor"personal pulsory education agefrom16to 18inaneffort reasons" onDec.22. to curbdropout ratesinManitoba.

While theembattled president willreceive Nancy Allan, theprovince's minister ofeducation, $703,500 - theequivalent oftwoyearssalary saidtheproposed legislation reflects a underthetermsofhercontract, sources inthe changing society. university claimthatConcordia's boardof "Webelieve, asa government inthisdayandage, governors presented Woodsworth withanultithatstudents willbemoresuccessful ingetting matum.

Thepresident's resignation wassimilar jobsandcareers andgoingonintopost-secondary tothatofherpredecessor, Claude Lajeunesse, education iftheyhavehighschool diplomas," wholeft shesaid.

Concordia midway through hiscontract inOctober Allannotedthattheunderlying purpose isto prevent studentdisengagement atanearlyage.

2007attheboard's urging.

Atoddswitha boardstaffedoverwhelmingly bythesamemem- Theprovince isalsolooking tointroduce new bersthatsawWoodsworth go,Lajeunesse took programs, including alternative highschools for the$1million remaining inhiscontract whenhe students, aswellasteacher-student mentorship walked away. forstudents thatare~ulnerable todropping out.

"I'llbetshehada Merry Christmas," quipped "Whatisencouraging isthatweknowthereislots Aaron Green, thepresident oftheArtsandScience ofgreatprogramming already happening in Federation ofAssociations atConcordia.

"Idon't ourhighschools toengageyouthandensurethat thinksheresigned, Ithinkshewastoldto theystayinschool," saidAllan. resign."

AnewstudybyStatistics Canada foundthatthe TheASFA headwasmostdisturbed bythesizeof province continues tohavethesecond-highest thepresident's severance package, s"Thatmoney rateinthecountry at 11.4percent. isstudentmoney anditshould beusedtowards "We've madesignificant progress onthisissue, studentprojects," saidGreen. butwehavetocontinue todomore," saidAllan.

JustinGiovannetti - TheLink (Concordia)

Talia Joundi- TheManitoban (UofManitoba)

r FRIDAY, JANUARY 7th, 2011

THE CASCADE

5

A Recurring Nightmare Called fo~l"SPay ALEX WATKINS OPINIONEDITOR

C

rowded malls somehow bring out the worst in people. Yearround, whenever I'm compelled to visit the mall, I typically have a pleasant experience; I can stroll through the stores at my leisure, calmly browsing the racks until I find whatever I came there for.

However, several weeks before each Christmas, the mall suddenly becomes a total nightmare - a veritable cornucopia of rude, busy people slowly coming to an explosive, Mount Vesuvian head that erupts every Boxing Day. I can't stand crowded places at the best of times. Standing at only 5'2, I am not exactly a physical force to be reckoned with; not only can I barely see through/over a crowd, I am in constant danger o'f being trampled. That said, a Boxing Day mall definitely does not qualify as the best of times.

I have never personally worked in retail during Boxing Day - al-

though I imagine it would be a nightmare - and so I was naturally curious as to how staff manage to deal with the madness. I inquired at a store just the other day, ·and one of the clerks told me that there had been so many people in the place that there was perspiration running down the mirrors in the

change rooms from the collective body heat. And, as the store was one of those unfortunate places that sells bedazzled Ed Hardy knockoff t-shirts and fake Gucci sunglasses, it was so permeated with cheap cologne fumes that her boyfriend grilled her about why she smelled like some barely

post-pubescent broheim when he picked her up from work.

To me, this is beyond disgusting. I can never seem to understand why people are time and time again willing to pack themselves into a mall like cattle, cutting each other off and screaming over parking spots, pushing and shoving and breathing down each others' necks in the name of a bargain. What also baffles me is how a good price on crap that we don't even need can turn us into totally inconsiderate monsters, foaming at the mouth to get our hands on a bargain big-screen TV or Lanvin for H&M. Even more puzzling is the fact that hundreds of people are willing to wake up early and stand outside in the dead of winter to wait until the stores open. If one plans on braving the big-box stores at all, this is a necessity, because they are generally deaned out of most of the good stuff within hours of opening. I have cousins who get up as early as 3 a.m. to go stand

outside of Best Buy every year. 3 a.m.! As a student and hardened procrastinator, I get precious little sleep during the semester and catch up on all the missed hours during vacation through something akin to hibernation. Why any young person would want to wake up during winter break before the birds are chirping and the Egg McMuffins are long since gone is beyond me.

Pushing and shoving to buy things that you don't need just because they are at a discount?

Freezing your nads off at an ungodly hour for a half-priced camera? Pardon me for being a snob, but the whole thing reeks of mindless consumerism and culminates in a bargain-driven feeding frenzy that is in total opposition to the brotherly/sisterly love and well-wishing espoused during the holiday celebrations only hours before. Frankly, I could die happy without ever emerging victorious from a Boxing Day sale, reasonably-priced crap in tow.

As a fan of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) I am repeatedly told by slack-jawed bystanders how gay the sport is. "It's so fucking gay" is a common, well-reasoned argument that the genius in question will postulate. To which my response is: Yeah, so what? Do you hate gays? Do you think that things that are "gay" are bad? Yes, ABBA and man-purses do suck, but having anal sex with another man? Well that's just natural.

Natural in that almost everything we do as a species is "unnatural" or in direct opposition to nature, so what the fuck do you care what someone does with their penis in their spare time? I for example like to wash mine for a really, really, REALLY long time in the shower, but that's just cleanliness.

It's called hygiene.

Back to the point, though: is MMA gay? I mean, sure, it usually involves two well-built specimens of manhood approaching each other in a cage from which there is no escape. Then, staring deep into each other's eyes, they fasten each other in a mortal embrace, struggling against each other, sweat dripping off their ripped and glistening torsos, their rhythmic pulsating bodies locked in a joyful e,stasy that I have never known ... Whoa! Wait.

What was I talking about? Oh yeah, do you think that MMA is gay? Well if you think the aforementioned scenario is gay then it is you who are the gay my friend.

Not L Never I.

MMA actually has its roots in a sport called pankration, which was popular in classical Greek civilization, so you know there was some ass-fucking going on prior, post, and probably during the ancient sporting event, but that doesn't make the sport itself gay. The word pankration comes from greek "pankratos" meaning literally "all powers", and hence competitors could use wrestling along with kicking and boxing to subdue their opponents. Really, what is more heterosexual than striking another man in the face with your appendages? Unless, of course, the appendage you are using happens to be your cock.

The fighting system most commonly employed in modern MMA is Brazillian Jiu Jitsu (BJ]). The "reverse triangle" is a popular BJJ submission choke in which the person defending the choke has their face planted squarely into their opponent's crotch while they are simultaneously squeezed unconscious by their opponent's legs. While it is not overtly gay, I do not recommend the _practice of BJ] to those who are not confident in their sexuality.

As more women get into BJ] and MMA, however, these distinctions will fade. When the spectacle of two women wrestling in a cage in front of a cheering audience becomes more commonplace, the adjectives that men use to describe MMA will change. "Gay" will be replaced by a more appropriate descriptor: "hot!"

Sex BeingTaughtin Abbotsford?

CHRIS BONSHOR COPYEDITOR he current Abbotsford school T board policy regarding sexual education is as follows: "When human sexuality is di°scussed in any school district context, the Board requires that the instruction and resources are age-appropriate and promote abstinence from sexual activity" (sd34 policies, 7.180: 1).

The goal behind this is to promote student health by avoiding pregnancy and STD's and to "encourage and promote responsible, informed decision-making and create a climate where abstinence is celebrated as a smart, safe, healthy choice [so that] students will choose to not engage in sexual activity, thereby avoiding the associated negative emotional, physical, and psychological consequences" (ibid). The policy then goes on to explain how teachers should apply age-appropriate information inthe classroom in order to foster discussion about "'saving sex' instead of 'safe sex' or 'safer sex"' (ibid, 2).

-should education for sex be a_bout abstinence? What if math education was abstinence based?

"Ok, Timmy, here are integers and fractions, but you should probably stay away from them until after you graduate to avoid the negative numbers." But seriously, is telling someone to avoid the problems associated with a large part of their life really education at all? There are many limitations to this policy. My primary concerns with this policy stem from who is teaching the material under discussion, how it is being taught, and what is not being taught.

Firstly, who is best suited to teach a child about sex: his/her parents or a teacher? Should sex education be taught in schools at all? I think so. After all, parents do not have access to all of the information that teachers do, and it is important that students receive the same basic facts on the matter. However, should parents be left out of the discussion? I do

notthink so. After all, they dearly know the ins and outs of sex; otherwise, they would not have had children in the first place. I think this policy is limited by not including parents and their views in the discussion. Students should be encouraged to talk about sex with their parents.

Secondly, I worry that byteaching avoidance of sex, the Abbotsford school district is not adequately preparing students for what lies ahead of them. Sex is complicated and difficult to figure out, and by urging students to avoid it, this policy simply focuses on the negative aspects of sex. This can be seen in the purpose behind this policy: "to avoid negative consequences" rather than to encourage a healthy celebration of sex itself. If students want to see the negative consequences of sex, all they have to do is turn on the TV and watch Sixteen and Pregnant or any other high-school drama.

Students need real facts about all aspects of sex, not just negative ones, delivered in an honest and frank fashion. Otherwise, how can they develop a healthy attitude towards it?

Finally, this policy is at its worst where it avoids the question of how to use birth control: "While students will be instructed about contraceptives, the "how to" will

not be taught in the classroom setting" (ibid). Instead, failure rates and health risks are all that are dealt with in the classroom.

This works fine for those students who choose to avoid sex altogether, but what about those who do not? Not only will they be doing something that is frowned upon by the school administration - they will be doing it without much of an idea about the safest way to go about it. Condoms are really hard to get the hang of, and the pill is more complicated than it seems (for example, it takes three months before it can reliably prevent pregnancy). By only offering this information if students are willing to take extra steps to get it - which they probably won't, as it is frowned upon - this policy sets those students who choose to ignore it up for a very bad time indeed.

That is why this policy is too limited and could use some serious changes. Bringing parents into the discussion of sexual education, fostering a healthy attitude towards sex in the classroom (that does not rely solely on avoidance), and teaching proper contraceptive use would all go a long way to making this policy more appropriate and useful for students.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 7th, 2011

THE CASCADE

6

To Eat Glittering Scum and Smile JED MINORthese genres are often enjoyed by

EDITOR-IN-CHIEFthe widest range of people both high and lowbrow.

Certainly there was a time inston Churchill once said that "Cultured people are when the most critically revered merely the glittering scum which . artists of the day were also the floats upon the deep river of pro- most popular. The people of Rome duction." He was essentially say- rejoiced to see the creations of Miing that rather than being_useful chelangelo adorn their city and to s·ociety, culture and by exten- the citizens of Milan were not only sion "cultured people" are some- inspired but protected by the work how outside of the productive ca- of Leonardo da Vinci; da Vinci pacity of society and therefore not produced art and military invenreally needed. This is a very inter- tions as well. Since those pesky esting statement from a man who impressionists started cleaning motivated the British people dur- their brushes on canvas at the end ing a time of war with some of the of the 1800's, however, there has most profoundly moving speeches been a major split in the world of ever made by a 20th century lead- visual art. This can be roughly deer. What is writing except art, and fined as the separation between what is art if not culture? By this "contemporary" and "lowbrow'' · rationale, Churchill was prob- art.

In the lowbrow category we ably the finest artist of his generation and a "cultured person" of find cartoonists, animators, tatthe highest quality - although he tooists, vehicle decorators, illusseemed blissfully unaware of the trators, and graffiti artists. These artists are often defined as craftsfact at the time.

Being that Churchill was in people or as something other than many ways an artist, and a master the beloved artists which grace the craftsman of indelible sentences, world of contemporary art. Conperhaps what he actually meant temporary artists are those that by "cultured people" are those usually have an academic backwho enjoy bad art. The tepid and ground and produce art which stale offerings of yesteryear or the usually only people with academmindless gibberish of the young ic backgrounds can appreciate.

The exceptions make this rule, have always been highly praised by those with too much money as certain contemporary artists and not enough brains. While have garnered mass appeal, but populist art such as crafts, callig- by and large, the public remains raphy, illustration, folk tales and unaware of the most "important" songs have historically been dis- contemporary artists working todained by the '!cultured people," day.

W

H art does not communicate, then is it art? H you intend to make

people think of love and friendship with your Venus de Milo sculpted from pure salami, yet achieve only laughter, what is it that you have created?

Contemporary artists construct elaborate artist's statements to rationalize and justify their work, but if I can't feel some sort of inspiration, emotion, or intellectual argument from the piece itself then what do the statements matter? If I am unable to make a sandwich properly, I don't write a letter to my stomach about what I was trying to do.

Art is nourishment, plain and simple. It is meant to edify, direct, encourage, and - above all - communicate, and if it fails to do so then it is not art. I look around the world of contemporary art and see a bunch of pathetic buffoons making uncommunicative claptrap springing from their insular and myopic "practices" which amount to exorbitantly priced navel-gazing. Churchill would have whipped this lot with his left hand, drank a mickey of 50 year old scotch, punched a Nazi right in the mouth and, finally, would have written a speech to make both you and your grandma cry. That is art. Art makes us feel and think, and if it can't do that, it amounts to no more than glittering scum.

UFV SPEAKS II

Katy Q. What's your major?

A. Criminology.

Q. Do you read the Cascade?

A. I do if I'm waiting for a class and I see it in the stacks.

Q. Have you visited our website?

A.No. Q. What did you do to relax after exams?

A. Had a few drinks.

Q. What class are you most looking forward to this semester?

A. Criminology two-something; indigenous people in crime.

Q. Describe yourself in one word.

A. Awesome - no, right now I guess I'm excited.

Q. Who would win in a fight: Big Bird or the Cookie Monster?

A. That's a good question! I don't know.

A Day of Rest AllSIEMENS CONTRIBUTOR

ittle House on the Prairie was one of my favorite TV shows as a little girl. I remember all of the fun things Laura and Mary Ingalls would get up to in the Big Woods playing with their balloon made of a pig's bladder, for instance.

Sunday was the worst day of the week for the Ingalls children the Sabbath, or as some of us call it: "the day of rest." Pa would get out the Bible and read to his kids, no one was allowed to play or work, and meals were to be prepared the day before so the family wouldn't have to light the fire to cook. The purpose of the Sabbath is to pay God respect after he created the world in six days and then rested.

This sounds like hell on earth, especially in today's society with its dependence on technology. Being a fan of pain and pleasure, I decided to take part in a modern-day Sabbath: no cell phone, no computer, no microwave or stove, and no car. Also, no using any of these services through other means, such as going to a restaurant; and I thought I had a loop hole.

I thought: it won't be so bad, right? I mean, I can just sit back and read all of those books that I wasn't able to during the fall semester. I can make a cup of coffee... wait, no I can't, that requires me to use a coffee maker, and if I use the French press, then I have to boil water. Okay, so here's how my day went.

I woke up that morning and the light was streaming through my window, a good sign considering I wasn't allowed to turn on my lights. I was miffed because I couldn't have my morning cup of coffee, and I felt dirty all day

L

Q. What's your major?

A. General Studies.

Q. Do you read the Cascade?

A.No. Q. Have you visited our website?

A. Yes I have.

Q. What did you do to relax after exams?

A. Went out with some friends, drinking.

Q. What class are you most looking forward to this semester?

A. Acting 112!

Q. Describe yourself in one word.

A. Unique.

Q. Who would win in a fight: Big Bird or the Cookie Monster?

A. Big Bird, he could just sit on him.

because I couldn't shower. I ate bread for breakfast, not toast. The plan to read went well for the first few hours, but then I got bored. As the day progressed, like all other days throughout the year, it got dark. At this point, reading wasn't an option anymore because I don't own enough candles to throw adequate light. I was also regretting not paying attention when I was being taught how to knit. Or is knitting considered work?

I didn't know what the hell to do with myself! I became overwhelmed by the new simplicity of my life that was only supposed to last 24 hours. While sitting in the dark, the fact that I couldn't just be by myself and enjoy a single day of rest pissed me off. This way of thinking isn't new by any means; numerous professionals talk about our connection to technology, both in a positive and negative sense.

I had my moment of enlightenment while sitting in the dark,

perpetually bored, just wanting to tweet about my day. No matter how hard :we try, we cannot escape our attachment to technology- I was lucky I didn't invest in a Kindle and scrap all my books.

Our society prides itself on all of the advancements we have: we can use one device to social network, call a friend, get directions, check stocks (if we have money), and listen to music. The kicker is we find it harder to enjoy life for what it is at its most basic. It sounds cliche, but do you think you could do it? I thought it would be easy and was humbled.

When the 24 hours were complete, I immediately turned on my iPhone, texted a few friends making plans to meet them via car - and updated my Facebook status while sipping a cup of coffee I made, all in less than five minutes.

The Sabbath was one of the longest days of my life.

Brittany

Q. What's your major?

A. English.

Q. Do you read the Cascade?

A. Yes. Q. Have you visited our website?

A. Yes. Q. What did you do to relax after exams?

A. Had a quiet night at home.

Q. Who would win in a fight: Big Bird or the Cookie Monster?

A. Big Bird, the size and beak are an advantage.

c1r1.

'IUUl#II

7

www.ufvcascade.ca

FRIDAY, JANUARY 7th, 2011

Documentaryexplores'girlfrom the Apple commercial' Intimate portrait intothelifeofFeist DANHAWIE THESILHOUETTE

1

The Arcade Fire The Suburbs Women Public Strain

2 3

Grown-Ups I Can't Win Petroleum By-Product Superficial Artificial

4 S

Suuns Zeroes QC

Winter Gloves All Red

6 ,

Beneath The Massacre Maree Noire Long Long Long Shorts

8 9

Stolen Organ Family Band Cooking With Joyboy

1O

The Mother Tongue Band The Mother Tongue Band

11 12 13

The National High Violet Gigi Maintenant

BigBoi Sir Lucious Leftfoot: The Son of Chico Dusty The New Pornographers Together

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ls

ZolaJesus Valusia EP

HAMILTON, Ont. (CUP) anadian songstress Leslie Feist has spent the better part of the last decade under the luminescence of the world's spotlight, earning multiple Juno awards and multiple Grammy nominations.

But if the name doesn't ring a bell, most people simply know her as "that girl from the Apple commercial."

After cutting her teeth with Toronto indie giants Broken Social Scene, Fiest found success through showcasing her prowess as a solo act, with the single "1234" propelling her 2008 record The Reminder into international levels of acclaim, with over 1.5 million copies sold to date.

Yet in the shadow of that ubiquitous girl-with-a-guitar image lays a group of contributors that have been just as important to her radiance. The substance of Feist's own stature is very much concealed in a veil of colours behind her, and puppeteers, musicians and visual artists are all part of the production.

Fittingly then, her most recent endeavour with film auteur Anthony Seek pulls back the curtain on what she describes as her "amplifiers" in a documentarymeets-poetic piece titled Look at What the Light Did Now. Culled from hundreds of hours of footage taken during the writing, recording and cross-continental touring of The Reminder, Seek sheds light on the helping hands behind the creative process of Feist.

The film was shown at a soldout screening in Toronto last week that brought out hometown fans and artists alike, including members of Sloan, The Barenaked Ladies and Howie Beck, to celebrate the Canadian indie darling.

Seek takes us on a visual journey of the 2007 tour, while circling back to cover the album's recording process in a decrepit French mansion, then forward to the creative assemblage of her very image. And in this collaborative frame of motif, we learn that the songstress is very much reliant on

C

the support and comfort of those around her.

When performing in a packed arena, she shies away from the glare of the spotlight over top, as one interviewee notes her fear of being "exposed" and insistence of being dimly lit. Instead, a canvaslike backdrop of kaleidoscopic shadows and clay finger-paintings are projected behind her, as puppeteer Clea Minaker and her helpers craft a visual masterpiece from the back of the stage.

Swift montages of the creative processes behind choosing the album's artwork reveals a whole new perspective on each helper's absorption in the finished product

too. We learn that the iconic shot of Feist's silhouette was pushed more by the photographer behind it, and that the multi-coloured streamlines in the artwork are artist Simone Rubi's conceptual idea of human connection.

Ultimately, the film unveils a vibrant world behind the shadows of one artist, whose path to stardom is just as colourful as it is brimming with like-minded personalities. The film itself is not so much biographical then, as it is impressionistic to the viewer in revealing that sweet spot of where art meets music, which certainly resonated through the warm Toronto reception.

In a brief chat after the screening, the leading lady couldn't help but gush about the importance of bringing the film back to where the bulk of her career took off.

She explained, "The film's been screening all over the place, and this one's smack dab in the middle. But it's certainly the most special because it's where everything started.

"The stakes are higher because everything's a little harder at home. But everyone's been so enthusiastic tonight, and I can only hope for the same wonderful reception with the rest of the tour," she added.

CHECK US OUT ONLINE

The Brains Zombie Nation

16 17 18 19

Twin Crystals Twin Crystals

The Ex-Friends XFREN Gorillaz Plastic Beach Sufjan Stevens The Age of Adz

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FRIDAY, JANUARY 7th, 2011

JED MINORtheir other masterpiece, 2007's EDITOR ANDCHIEF **Sound of Silver**.Leader James Murphy's lyrics are a bittersweet PAUL FALARDEAU meditation on life, love, loss, and ARTS& LIFEEDITOR feeling too old to be making dance music, and their songs are some of PAUL BRAMMER the only works that can make you NEWS& OPINIONEDITOR laugh and cry even as you shake your thang. A truly unique album NICKUBELS in a truly unique year for albums.

ONLINEEDITOR

The final "American Recording" from Johnny Cash sees producer Rick Rubin do what he does best with the Man in Black's last songs. The songs sound like a eulogy at times, including the titular gem, "Ain't No Grave" which comes complete with rattling

AARON LEVY CONTRIBUTOR ell here we are, another year has just finished and we are left in its wake trying to decide what to make of oil spills and Olympics. Well, any attempt to recollect a year in history would be futile without considering the · music that got us through it, that picked us up at our lowest and that sang triumphantly with us at the best of times. Party soundtracks, road trip fodder, homework sessions, and more are waiting below, and I think you'll be happy with the results, but first a quick reminder before you dive-in and start reminiscing and replaying. A Year ago we put together a "Best of the 0O's"and, believe me, it was tough. The same goes here: there was so much good music this year that we have all been spoiled by choice. The unfortunate backlash is that list-makers like us have a tough run of it when we get these annual runoffs together. Well, so be it, and let it continue into 2011, if that means that the Black Keys put out another amazing album like Brothers or Kanye continues to be our favourite mess (with hearty competition from MIA!), if it means artists like the Roots and Big Boi redefine their genres (in very different ways), or old-timers Robert Plant and Neil Young look as good· as new champs like Caribou and Brasstronaunt, great. On that note, part of the challenge of making these lists is properly representing each genre. Well, this year music has continued to transcend the idea of genre, and increasingly good music can be seen as just that, no matter who is listening. So, I'm happy to have a few more tough choices when making next year's list. If the decision is as hard to make as it was this year when deciding between This Is Happeningand High Violet, both pieces of musical art from artists sayipg goodbye and hello respectively, at the end of the day I can rest with a smile, knowing the job's not so bad after all.

W

To another good tunes,

5)Konye West - MyBeautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy The fullest expression of his artistic vision to date, **MyBeautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy** synthesizes and improves on Kanye's signature elements (humour, wordplay, genre-defying compositions, cinematic arrangements) while plunging into the depths of

12}NeilYoung - LeNoise Produced by, the world-renowned Daniel Lanois (Lanois becomes Le Noise),this is Neil Young in his elder years acting like that means nothing. Creative, surprising, and fresh, while dabbling in retrospective moments, Young goes solo without any backing instruments save the wild effects thrown in by Lanois. An unmis-

The National's follow-up to their acclaimed 2007 release **Boxer** is a thrillingly cathartic take on their distinctive sound and a how-to manual for any band striving to achieve a balance between commercial and critical success.

9}Spoon - Transference This is an album by

The Inack

Keys.

Thenameoi this album is

Brothers.

m 3)TheBlack Keys - Brothers In the midst of a year that saw the Black Keys break out everywhere from jewellery ads to magazine covers, **Brothers** was at the epicenter of it all. The album moves from Dan Auerbach's neosoul falsetto to the Keys' trademark garage-blues stank driven

by Patrick carney's tight drum groove.

While **Transference** may not be as immediately catchy as 2007's **GaGa Ga Ga Ga**,it is no less captivating and well-crafted. his wounded psyche.

Its off-kilter production and challenging song structures yield deeper rewards upon multiple lis6}Janelle Monae - TheArchAndroid Hands down the best debut album of the year, **The ArchAndroid** announced Monae as the most electrifying AfricanAmerican artist to emerge in the 21st century. Her debut is a genrehopping, quasi-concept album that takes elements from dozens of different influences and throws them back imbued with her own

takable high-mark.

13}HotChip - OneLife Stand

tens while tracks like "Written in Reverse" are undeniably soulful.

10}MIA - Maya

incredible persona. Very exciting.

Paul Falardeau and the Cascade Crew

7)TheRoots - How IGotOver

4)Caribou - Swim

New York's finest bid farewell by crafting a masterwork to rival

chains.

2)TheNational - High Violet

year blessed by

1)LCD Soundsystem - ThisIsHappening

debut and the wide-ranging eye of their second and blends the two in an acerbic and melancholic meditation on the suburb, rearing place of choice for the urban Westerner.

The most beguiling LP of 2010 came from Canada's Dan Snaith, who gave us a trippy, slippy, gorgeous, claustrophobic, and wonderfully-engineered dance album that sounds as though it's bubbled up from the bottom of the ocean.

Snaith's lyrics also tell the story of a relationship gone wrong - a mundane story cloaked in the most fantastical music.

It might be a bit easier to like MIA if she would stop shooting her mouth off for half a moment.

That's not really what she's about though, and this music reflects that: it's eclectic, energetic, unique, and never fails to be hard to handle. In fact, on first listen it can be unbearable at points. Yet, if you let

Easily late-night's best house band, with duties on Jimmy Fallon's after hours talk bit, the Roots also continued their reign as one of hip-hop's greatest rap groups.

Appropriately-titled, **How I Got Over**is an optimistic, if cautious, look at the challenges of Obama's America. Appearances by regulars like Raekwon are coupled with indie-rock notables such as Jim James on "Dear God 2.0"

_p,,......

14)BigBoi- SirLucious LeftFoot: TheSonofChico Dusty

8}TheArcade Fire- TheSuburbs Hard to think that this is only the third album from The Arcade Fire, such is their ubiquity in the charts and our hearts. **TheSuburbs** takes the intimacy of their

Best British album of the year and best career album from Hot Chip, who finally reached their full potential by trimming the fat and keeping things frank. Hard to believe from the band who burst onto the scene with a song about monkeys with miniature cymbals, but **One Life Stand** is a truly beautiful work catalysed by the birth of the lead singer Alex's first child. A gem of an album.

it, it will get inside your head and set up shop to stay.

11)Johnny Cash- American VI: Ain'tNoGrave

Atlanta's finest tore up the hiphop rule book with his first solo album. Every cut on the album is an energetic, virtuoso performance for Big Boi and his collaborators.

When hip-hop looks back in 50 years at the best of the century, it's hard to envision that Big Boi's latest will be overlooked in the "Greatest" lists. A masterpiece.

-r www.ufvcascade.ca

FRIDAY, JANUARY 7th, 2011

9

BRASSTRONAUT

15}GilScottHeron - I'mNewHere

sey is haunted, but not overcome, by the spirit of Bruce Springsteen.

Heron proved that his mojo is still in working order with the release of this mini-album. As with Cash's career renaissance, Heron opts to tell his story mostly through other people's words, and the man credited as the progenitor of hip-hop shows he is not to be only taken as an anachronism, but still contains the fire and nous to dazzle a contemporary audience.

24}Curren$y - PilotTalk

31}Brosstronout - MtChimera

42}ArielPink'sHaunted Graffiti Before Today

25}Tome Impala - lnnerspeaker 32}Wovves -King oftheBeach 43}TheDriv.Sy Truckers - TheBig 33}Four let - There isLove inYou To-Do

44}JoshRitter - SoRuns theWorld Away

19}DieAntwoord -SOS

16}Robert Plant& TheBond ofJoy - Bond ofJoy

This South African rap rave group took the interwebs by storm when their music video "Enter the Ninja" blew up on YouTube last year scoring millions of hits. Since then Ninja, Yolandi Vi$$er and DJ Hi-Tek have scored a major label deal, toured North America and look to be releasing a new album in early 2011. Come for trashy Afrikaans rhymes, stay for the fresh flows and legitimate social commentary.

Coming off his Grammy-winning duet album with Bluegrass beauty Alison Krauss, Robert Plant works again with producer T Bone Burnett. This time it's with his pre-Zeppelin group, The Band of Joy. On the album, the man who once wielded the Hammer of the Gods looks more like a Viking mystic than a warrior as he slides his way through this dark and moody affair.

26}JohnLegend - Woke Up! 34)Tallest MononEarth- TheWild Hunt 35)Flying Lotus - Cosmogramma 45)TheNew Pornographers Together

46}MaleBonding - Nothing Hurts

27)TheDead Weather - Seaof Cowards 36}Sharon JonesandtheDapKings - I learned theHardWay

20}Block Mountain - Wilderness Heart

37}Belle & Sebastion - Belle and Sebastian Write About Love

Vancouver's own psychedelic shamans go at it again with their best effort to date. The disc shifts from Iron Maidenesque headbangery to Devandra Banhart neo-hippy jams. The album retains a smooth flow nonetheless: like a good trip, the hits just keep coming.

17}FreeEnergy - Stuck onNothing 21}Grindermon - Grindermon 2 Free Energy's exuberant, James Murphy-produced debut is the kind of album that can make any night spent driving around with your friends feel like the most important event in world history with its ample selection of tunes best heard blaring from your car stereo. In another universe, every one of these hook-filled, guitardriven sing-alongs would be a top ten single.

18}Titus Andronicus - TheMonitor Titus Andronicus are a force to be reckoned with. Their literate, caterwauling, and personal collection of anthemic punk-rock songs filled with references to the civil war and growing up in New Jer-

22}Deerhunter -Halcyon Digest

47)Cinnamon Toast Funk- feels Much Better

38}Robert Randolph & TheFamily Bond - WeWolk ThisRood 48}Huron - Huron 39}TheSoftPock - TheSoftPock 28)TheWolkmen - Lisbon 29}Crystal Castles - II

40}TheHold Steady - Heaven is Whenever

49}Surfer Blood - Astro Coast 50)Villagers - Becoming aJackal

41)Sufyon Stevens - TheAgeof 23)Gogol Bordello - Transcontinen30}Massive Attack - Heligolond Adz talHustle

FRIDAY, JANUARY 7th, 2011

www.ufvcascade.ca

Top 1) Flms of201) 4.True Gril

"The Dude" Jeff Bridges. The plaudits, however, must go to youngster Hailee Steinfeld, who carried the brunt of the film's emotional weight on her shoulders. Laughs, thrills, and drama came in plentiful supply in this fabulous film.

to make another masterpiece?

l. Toy Slory 3

5.Shutter Island

9.Scott Pilgrim vs.lheWorld

Pixar's poignant final instalment in one of the best trilogies of all time struck a chord for its humour, meticulous construction, and startlingly mature outlook.

Toy Story 3 is a powerfully moving, landmark film for the animated genre.

When a cinematic genius like Scorsese wants to make a genre movie, you pay attention. And what a genre movie **Shutter Island** is - adapted closely from Dennis Lehane's riveting book, our Greatest Living Director produced a sumptuous visual feast that was hewn with horror and dread, and paced perfectly, each reveal the equivalent of a master magician displaying his talent in his time off. Di Caprio's performance once again solidified him as the best actor of his generation.

If this is Scorsese slumming it, what are we in for once he decides

its technical achievements to ask NICKUBELS

ONLINEEDITOR important questions about how we interact in the 21st century.

PAUL BRAMMER

NEWS& OPINIONEDITOR

3.Inception

PAUL FALARDEAU ARTS& LIFEEDITOR

2.TheSocial Network **The Social Network** is an engaging character study about power, loneliness, betrayal, and Facebook. Well acted, written, directed, shot, and scored, David Fincher's latest film moves beyond

Christopher Nolan's mindblowing adventure through the world of dreams was easily the most exciting and innovative film to hit theatres this summer. Hans Zimmer's iconic score is some of his finest work to date.

The Coen's latest seems to point to a recent-career rhythm of alternating weighty and funny movies.

After last year's dark mini-masterpiece **A Serious Man**, the Brothers Coen returned to more humourous territory with an adaptation of the already-adapted novel **TrueGri**t.Theirs cleaved closer to the book and was blessed with another great performance by

6. AProphet 7.TheGhost Wriler 8.Cyrus

10.TheTown

TIE10 BEST UIIEO RIMES OF2010 JOEL SMARTperior experience. Both fun and STAFFWRITER challenging!

CHRIS BONSHOR7.Fallout: New Vegas (PS3/360/ COPYEDITOR

PC}

l. Red Dead Redemption (PS3/360} Beautiful countryside teeming with wildlife (and side-quests) envelopes numerous thriving Old West towns and hideouts. The story is distinguished and revolutionary. Game of the Year!

2.God ofWar Ill(PS3} The ultimate action game, GOWIII is almost too fast-paced, with every level topping the absolute epic-ness of the one before it.

Great puzzles too!

3.Super Meat Boy(360/P(} Instant reloads after deaths keep this side-scrolling, walljumping, quirky masterpiece from becoming overly frustrating as you learn levels trial-and-error style. Must Play!

For those of you who loved Bethesda's awesome 2008 Fallout 3, Fallout:New Vegasoffers more of the same crack that we all became addicted to before. Come for the show tunes and gambling, stay for the massive world and varied game play.

8.Sports Champions (PS3} Proving motion control is relevant with the most accurate representations of ping pong, frisbee golf, volleyball, sword fighting and others. Surprisingly fun and a workout!

9.Starcraft II:Wings ofLiberty (PC}

A finely-tuned, evolved realtime strategy, futuristic war game aimed at fans of the original. In4.Minecroft (PC} w credibly deep but difficult to masThe indie smash hit of 2010, ter.

Minecraft is the greatest 3D block sandbox that you have played in 10.Limbo (360} since you were in diapers. Come Though remarkably short, this for the free-form playing style, stay for the massive, addicting ex- XBLA side-scrolling platformer oozes style and creativity. Dark, ploration and crafting. twisted and absolutely brilliant; . don't miss it!

5.Angry Birds (iPhone/Android) Rediscover the fun of slingshots as you try to topple precarious structures and destroy the evil pigs hiding inside. Highly addictive!

6.Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii) Building on the creativity of the first iteration, SMG2 improves on its level design for an overall su-

Honorable Mentions: Mass Effect 2 (PS3/360/PC), Heavy Rain (PS3), Gran Turismo 5 (PS3), Bioshock 2 (PS3/360), Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: the Game (PS3/360), Napoleon: Total War (PC), VVVVVV (PC), Halo: Reach (360), Shank {PS3/360/PC), Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (PS3/360/ PC)

www.ufvcascade.ca

FRIDAY, JANUARY 7th, 2011

11

THE RELT VIOLET HART SEXPERT f you ever wanted to see an endless number of hairy dicks, boy is there a website for you. As a sex columnist, I want to say that every dick is beautiful in its own way.

However, after about five minutes on this site let me tell you, there are some pretty ugly, scary dicks out there. On that note- this isn't the seventies anymore, for the love of god men at least TRIM down there.

Some explain ratemydick.org (and other similar sites, such as ratemycock.com) as a healthy, positive experience for men. Once they've posted a picture of their dick, they can receive feedback from other men (and perhaps the odd woman). It's supposed to be a "feel-good" experience because, after all, there's a dick for everybody. I'd say it's more just an adult version of "you show yours, I'll show mine." Still, even the ugli-

I

est and/or smallest cocks get good comments. There's a surprising lack of negative commentary on the site. Big heads, little heads, purple heads, uncircumcised, circumcised, bent, fat, thin, long, short... perhaps there truly is a dick for everybody.

The site as a whole definitely has an overwhelming gay/bi male

straight guys, but the commentary is certainly guy on guy. I can't help but wonder if most of the ratings come from gay/bi men as well- the size and girth of the top ten dicks make my cervix hurt just looking at them.

Bigger, however, isn't better on the sister site ratemyknockers.com.

Some of the biggest tits on there have the lowest ratings, while some of the smaller racks have the highest. Ratings seem to depend more on form, nipple and size in relation to the girl, rather than just the biggest set of knockers.

I've certainly noticed a trend over the years of straight men leaning feel. Most of the commentary con- toward more moderate, sculpted sists of comments from other guys breasts than a giant pair of "jugs." such as "Hot body and cock! I'd But again, there's a pair of tits for love to suck it stickin' out through everybody and once more most your jeans!" "Great cock & love of the commentary, whether the your low hangers. FUCK ME!!!" flattest pair or the largest, is overor "Would love to drain your nice whelmingly positive. flag pole!" I'd hazard a guess that What's the point to such sites? many of the dicks posted actu- I can understand that many critics ally come from a fair showing of would point to it as shallow and

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degrading. However, to be honest I find the whole thing refreshing.

Why? Because let's face it: humans are physical beings, and no matter how much you value the person within a body (and you should), we are more than aware of that body. We dance around the subject and nobody outright says it, but hell- we all want to know how our body measures up and what others think of it.

The people who post on these "" sites take a risk; they are being judged completely based on what nature gave them. Fortunately, no matter how low they are rated, the commentary reveals one universal truth: beauty certainly is in the eye of the beholder. Your body is thought attractive by someone out there. Now hopefully you have the spirit to match!

Have a question you want answered? Add "Violet Hart" to your facebook or e-mail violethart@hotmail.com. All questions are anonymous.

12

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FRIDAY, JANUARY 7th, 2011

Face book a faux fix when it comes to grieving University ofIllinois study shows people whospend time"grieving" online more susceptible tolong-term effects DANIELLE POPE

R.I.PHayward <:;oodyearwe all miss u :'( .,.(only people that know hayward)

CUPWESTERN BUREAU CHIEF

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197 people like 1hls.

VICTORIA (CUP) checked Facebook almost every day for a month after my boyfrie.nd broke up with me. Not just every day, but 10 to 30 times every day.

I say "almost" every day because I want to believe there was at least one 24-hour period when I went witho.ut scouring my page for any trace that he still cared. In reality, though, I know it got to the point where I would check my page, then his page, then the home page and back to my page so many times a day, it almost felt like I was still a part of his life.

Pathetic? You betcha. That much I could figure out. What I didn't realize, at least until my best friend demanded I give her my password and surrender my techno-stalking privileges immediately, was that it was also quite dangerous - not just to my health, but to my entire grieving process.

R.i.p Eyedea (Micheal Larsen)

!

A new study released by the University of Illinois shows that people who use Facebook as a form of grieving - see: keeping attached to those lost - actually set themselves back considerably from those who endure a Facebook-less time of trauma.

The study, which was performed on students following the mass shootings at Virginia Tech in 2007 and Northern Illinois University in 2008, asked about 300

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students to provide feedback on their emotional states and online grieving activities. Overall, 89 per cent of students joined a Facebook group dedicated to victims of the shootings, 74 per cent replaced their profile picture with a memorial image, 64 per cent wrote about the shootings on a friend's wall and 13 per cent left a message on a victim's wall.

Despite all those activities, two weeks after the shootings 71 per cent of students had symptoms of depression and 64 per cent showed signs of post-traumatic

stress disorder - much higher than estimates under normal circumstances. And two months after the tragedy, people's online grief-sharing activities had made no difference in their emotional states, even though people felt like it was helping.

"What I found was that ... there was no relation between how many Facebook groups students joined, how many messages they left on victims' walls and their depression and PTSD symptoms six months later," Amanda Vicary, a doctoral candidate in psychology

who led the study, told media.

"However, students did report that right after participating in these behaviours, they did feel better."

Okay, so a breakup is hardly comparable to people who have undergone the deep trauma of a school-shooting, but it's easy to understand Vicary's ideas that online grieving, whether by looking through people's walls or writing a farewell message, might make someone feel better temporarily but have no lasting effect. In fact, Vicary said there could even be a placebo effect at work, because it can feel like a person is still present long after they're not in our lives.

"Maybe emailing or communicating with a close friend versus a stranger on a Facebook group, maybe that affects people differently, but we just don't know," Vicary said, adding that while the media has been "fascinated" by electronic mourning, no one seems to really know what to make of it.

While many studies have explored the variance between how much time people spend online and their subsequent emotional well being, Vicary's study is the first of its kind that examines how online grieving affects people.

She was inspired to conduct the research after seeing her friends flood Facebook with messages, groups and photos following the Virginia Tech massacre that left 32 people dead.

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Janet Sheppard, a counsellor with University of Victoria's counselling services says, when it comes to stress and grief, trying to carry on like normal is more worrisome than facing the facts something we don't always have to do when social media sites like Facebook and Twitter can keep us too intimately in the loop.

"Ironically, trying to carry on as though everything is fine is about the most damaging thing I've observed," she said. "I don't think we can ever prepare for trauma, it could end up looking like staying in bed with the sheets over our heads ... what most people need in that process is permission, understanding and support."

Sheppard recommends that if things feel like they're getting worse and last for more than a few weeks, it's never a bad idea to seek professional help. She also says to watch for feelings of hopelessness, apathy or prolonged despair.

Often, as Vicary's study showed, when people can distract themselves from those feelings long enough, they think they've outrun them when they're really just snowballing over time.

Indeed, distraction had been my own master tool. It's a little comfort, now at least, to know that ignoring my online social life might make my internal social life all the easier. In the meantime, I'll probably still look mournfully at Facebook for a while yet - just safely oufside the login screen.

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13

Fur is 'eco-fabulous,' says council Animal activists outraged byclaim \

\

KADIE SMITH Making fashion outoffur THEMARTLET VICTORIA (CUP)he Fur Council of Canada has launched a campaign claiming that animal fur is eco-friendly.

But anti-fur advocates are arguing this claim is not only false, but irresponsible.

For Niilo Van Steinburg, founder and co-director of the University of Victoria's Vegan Association, the question of whether fur is environmentally friendly does not even compare to the ethical obligations we have to animals.

"Unnecessary suffering is what we should be preventing," he said.

"What we try to do [at the UVA] is put things into the human context.

We would not impose harm on humans to help the environment; therefore, we should not impose harm on other sentient creatures."

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Everything's gone green These days it seems as though every marketable and consumable product and service must be green, natural or biodegradable.

Consumers often find themselves reaching for the brightest label that reassures them that they are indeed responsible shoppers.

In 2008, the FCC launched their Fur is Green campaign and asked Montreal-based writer Alan Herscovici, who is also the group's executive vice-president, to spearhead the project. His mission was to tell people that animal fur is really a "green" product.

"I thought it was important, at a time when we're all talking about green living, that it was a good time to talk about some of the environmental aspects of the fur trade," said Herscovici.

Today, the FCC's website tells people to "buy fur with confidence." The group's Facebook page says fur is "eco-fabulous."

The site offers to educate those who will listen "about the ecological and ethical values of fur."

These claims present a stern challenge to the responsibility of the average consumer. What does "green" really mean? And can the environmental advantages - if they do in fact exist - outweigh the long-running ethical debate surrounding fur?

"It's such a controversial claim to make," said Kristen Barnes, coordinator for the Victoria branch of the B.C. SPCA. "To use the slogan 'Fur is green,"' I mean, obviously that's an attempt to garner attention, and they have to expect that people are going to try and challenge it."

And garner attention it has.

Several comments on the Fur is Green website have been left by anti-fur activists, appalled at the FCC's claims and the organization's supporters.

Adrian Nelson of the Association for the Protection of Fur-Bearing Animals also argues against the "fur is green" claim.

"This claim is not substantiated by any third party; it's irresponsible and self-proclaimed," said Nelson. "The fact of the matter is fur is not an environmental choice."

Fur in its natural state - on an animal's body - is 100 per cent biodegradable, says Nelson. However, in order for the pelt to be harvested and used, it must be processed using chemicals and dyes.

"We're talking about the skin of an animal that has to be literally stopped from decomposing," said Nelson. "It takes a harsh amount of chemicals to do that. Formaldehyde, chromium, these things are actually listed as carcinogenic. Fur processing [was] listed as the third most pollutant industry, according to the World Bank [in 1995]."

Processed fur is first pickled in a compound of either potash alum or ammonia and salt, which is then treated with sulphuric acid.

Rinsed of this material, the fur goes through a complex process of beating, washing and tanning before it is moved on to the dyeing process. The purpose of dyeing increases the lustre and the value of the fur.

Often furs such as lamb, fox and rabbit are made to better resemble the fur of another animal, usually mink or chinchilla. In this process, a kitchen cupboard's worth of dyes are used to treat the fur: Wood dyes, potassium permanganate, anililne and coal-tar dyes are among those most commonly used.

Nelson says that formaldehyde is also used in toxic quantities in the fur tanning process, but Herscovici disagrees. While the Fur

is Green website does state that a small amount of formaldehyde may be used during dyeing, Herscovici says that "the main ingredient in dressing a fur pelt is alum salt."

"What [anti-fur advocates] are referring to when they cite harmful chemicals all has to do with the processing of leather, not fur," Herscovici said.

What is clear is that synthetic fabrics are made from petroleum, and the production of petroleum is inherently harmful to the environment. What remains to be determined, however, is whether the statement "fur is green" really lives up to its claim.

Thegreat furdebate

The Encyclopaedia of International Labour Organization says that hydrochloric and sulphuric acid, formaldehyde, lead acetate and three-valent chromium - all potentially toxic and harmful are chemicals used commonly in a normal fur processing plant.

Chromium has been linked to increases in testicular cancer, and a 1999 study from the New York Department of Health found that nearly 50 per cent of the state's testicular cancer victims worked in the fur-tanning industry.

Fur is Green, however, says the only products used are alum salt, water, sawdust, cornstarch, lanolin and "other natural chemicals."

In 1991, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency warned the public about the potential harm caused by the fecal waste of furfarmed animals, stating that they "may cause respiratory problems and are listed as possible carcinogens."

Herscovici, however, notes that the warning was released almost 20 years ago, and the fur industry, like all other industries, has come a long way since then. "The fact of the matter," said Herscovici, "is that fur is an excellent example of the sustainable use of renewable, natural resources, and synthetics are not."

For Barnes and Nelson, the problem is not whether or not synthetics harm the planet; the problem is that the FCC has made the claim that fur is eco-friendly when this remains unclear.

"What the FCC and Fur is Green are doing is playing on people's very real desire to be environmentally conscious and manipulating them with words like 'natural' into thinking that fur is somehow an environmentally friendly choice," said Nelson. "It's so dangerous. It's dangerous and it's scary."

For Nelson, the claim becomes dangerous because we are no longer talking about a bottle of bleach or a plastic bag; we are talking

The debate over fur is one that has remained rel~vant since the early '80s when PETA moved to the forefront of media attention with shocking and often gruesome ads slamming the industry.

PETA's "I'd Rather Go Naked" ad campaign is still going strong today, featuring supermodels like Cindy Crawford and Kate Moss proudly bearing their bare behinds and telling the world they would rather go naked than wear fur.

In comparison, the FCC website includes a star-studded photo gallery of pro-fur celebrities including Kanye West, Lady Gaga, Naomi Campbell and Victoria Beckham.

Since then, the issue has ranged from discussions over the use of leg-hold traps to the more extreme debate over the use of animal products at all. But rarely, if ever, before has the discussion stepped outside the realm of animal rights issues. The FCC's argument consists of three main points: Fur is sustainable and biodegradable, fur processing does not use petrochemicals, unlike the production of synthetic fibres, and fur is renewable, unlike synthetics.

"Eighty per cent of the clothes we wear in Canada come from synthetics, basically another form of a plastic bag, and we all know how bad plastic bags are for the environment," said Herscovici.

Herscovici is not far off. Synthetics made from petrochemicals do account for a large amount of pollution and can take hundreds of years to breakdown in a landfill.

The problem, however, is sorting out whether that pollution comes from synthetic clothing or from the countless other petrochemically processed products - such as products made from plastic as they all fall under the umbrella pollutant known as petroleum.

about an issue that runs very deep for a lot of people.

"What kills me the most is that they throw this claim out there without any study or backup and it's so irresponsible," said Nelson.

"The majority of consumers, we're not going to do that kind of research, so we take it at face value."

Amatter ofdefinition In-search ofproof Is there a real answer as to whether fur is eco-friendly, or at least more eco-friendly than synthetics? The exact level of toxins used in processing furs is unclear, as are the pollutant levels of synthetic fibres.

Also unclear is how energy consumption compares between the two. There was one study done at 'the Ford Motor Company's research facility that showed it took 3.5 times more energy to make a wild-fur coat than a synthetic coat and 15 times more energy to make a farmed-fur coat. That was in 1976.

Since then, there has been no further study on the environmental impact of synthetic or fur products. Some, however, say the level of toxins, pollutants or energy consumption is not, in fact, the issue.

"Whether fur is environmentally friendly or damaging, it really doesn't speak to our ethical obligations towards non-human animals," said Van Steinburg. "One of our biggest concerns environmentally is the overpopulation of humans, yet no one would soundly suggest we impose any harm to humans to combat that."

Van Steinberg points out that synthetic fabrics or fur are not the only options and says we should never be lead to believe that it is one or the other. He suggests recycled and organic-hemp alternatives.

"There's no shortage of options for us in terms of clothing without having to go to these either unethical or environmentallydamaging choices," he said. Other potentially eco-friendly options for clothing include organic wool and cotton.

The reality is that as the popularity of eco-friendly products continues to grow so, too, will the responsibilities of the consumer.

14

www.ufvcascade.ca

FRIDAY,JANUARY 7th, 2011

JUSTIN ORLEWIUity and half the fans were in Rang-

SPORTS EDITOR ers jerseys.

After a few days in New York his past month has been a City, I headed north to Pittsburgh hockey pilgrimage of sorts for to catch the beloved Winter Clasme. I decided to take a trip out East sic. I got to Pittsburgh two days and see what hockey (and hockey before the big match up, and the fans) were like out there. streets were already flooded with My first stop was New York Capitals and Penguins jerseys.

City to see the Rangers play the As I was checking into my hotel, Devils, a rivalry that goes deep, I met a band of Capitals fans (and with a rich, contemptuous history. one Penguins fan) that struck me Both these teams have won recent as good people. I ate, drank and Stanley Cups, and despite New spent time with my new friends, Jersey's recent slide, the rivalry is and after three days of hanging stronger than ever. I met up with out and ringing in the new year, I my friend from NYC, "Scotty felt like I had known these people Hockey". Scotty is a Ranger's blog- for far longer than just a few short ger and was kind enough to take days. me to the Prudential Center in Even though the majority of New Jersey to take on the Rang- the group were Capitals fans, we ers. We hopped on a train at Penn all packed into Adam's car, with Station wearing our Broadway the beautiful Kristin driving, Blue Shirts and made our way to and we all witnessed hockey hisTony Soprano's homeland to see tory together; the first nighttime just how bad the rivalry between Winter Classic. After the game, these two teams really is. Just as we returned to the hotel so that expected, the rivalry was still in we could say our goodbyes, and full motion. For once this year the so that I could pack for my trip Prudential center was near capac- to Toronto. Logan, Adam, Kris-

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tin, Rick and Alli, you guys are great hockey fans and even better people. I was really happy to meet all of you! So here I am in Toronto on one last assignment to end my

JeffTambellini:passionateabout thisteam JOEL SMART SPORTS EDITOR hough Jeff Tambellini is a new face in the Canucks's locker room, his father and BC Hockey Hall-of-Farner, Steve Tambellini, played three seasons for the Canucks back in the 80s, and after working with the team for many years, he went on to become the Vice President and Assistant General Manager for the team in June 2004. Originally from Trail, Steve has since gone on to become the General Manager of the Edmonton Oilers. Jeff has had an impressive beginning to his hockey career as well, and though he hasn't shown as much success in the NHL so far, his play in Vancouver is starting to get him noticed.

The 26-year-old left-winger told the Vancouver Sun in September that he had always dreamed of playing for the Canucks: "I grew up wanting to be part of the Vancouver Canucks from age six up.

That's all I could think about. I was a kid drawing pictures of the Canucks, going to the rink with my dad, and skating. It's been a huge part of my life. I've always been passionate about this team, even when I was playing on another one."

He showed great promise in the juniors when he played for the Chilliwack Chiefs. In the 20012002 season, he won the Brett Hull Trophy, awarded to the BCHL leading scorer, with 117 points.

His play secured the Chiefs victory that year as league champions, landing them the Fred Page Cup. The following season he was picked up by the University of Michigan to play in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association, where he won the 2002-2003 Rookie of the year award with 45 points in 43 games played. In 2005 he won the Tournament MVP

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hockey pilgrimage.

I had started my enormous month of hockey with the Naslund retirement game at the local "Cable Box" which ended with Steven

Stamkos killing the Canucks in overtime with a rocket slap shot from the point after a terrible Ryan Kesler penalty ended the most disappointing Canucks "special night" ever.

Then following weekend, my beloved Maple Leafs were in town to take on the Canucks in what has become a heated rivalry in Vancouver because of all the Toronto transplants. The building was a healthy half-and-half mix of Canucks and Leaf fans, but as usual, the Maple Leafs fans would leave the newly named Rogers Arena in heartbreak, a theme that the fans have grown well-accustomed to by now. However, this rivalry only exists in Vancouver: the fans of Toronto are too busy whipping themselves, hoping to please the Hockey Gods enough for a victory.

Now, tomorrow night I will find myself in the Air Canada Centre to watch the Maple Leafs take on the Boston Bruins. What better way to end a hockey pilgrimage than with an original six match up and a trip to the hall of fame?

Sle~ge hockey justlike ·regular hockey· MEAGAN GILMORE THESPUTNIK

BRANTFORD, Ont. (CUP) Sean Corner plays sledge hockey for a simple reason: It allows him the chance to "just to get out, hit some people, [and] have fun doing it."

Although he skis and plays tennis as well, his passion lies in sledge hockey, partly because it is the only full-contact wheelchair sport.

A multi-sport athlete, rugby was his forte growing up. However, a hit during a Hamilton Hornets rugby club game in September 2006 left him paralyzed from the waist down.

For Corner, learning sledge hockey was "frustrating" at times.

He'd played hockey growing up, and the two sports are more simiaward, and was soon signed to an Now, in his fifth year in the NHL, lar than different. Corner knew NHL entry-level multi-year con- and first with the Canucks, he has where to be on the ice, knew the tract with the Los Angeles Kings, already managed to take hjs game strategies involved. But it was who had originally drafted him in to another level. By the end of 2010, "tough getting the movement on 2003 in the first round. Though he and in only 21 games, he managed the sledge." only played four games with the to tie his previous best for points The equipment is the greatest Kings that year, he did well on the in a season, at 15. With the Island- difference; players sit on sledges, AHL affiliate-team, the Manches- ers, it took him 65 games to reach which are raised platforms with ter Monarchs. He was managing the same point total. Just the game two skate blades on the bottom. a point for each game he played, before he had beaten his season They use two smaller sticks with 56. His play got him noticed by best in goals scored. For Tambel- picks on the ends to move and the New York Islanders, who lini, there couldn't be a better time score, each requiring different traded for him midseason, where to get hot. TSN has estimated that wrist motions. he played the final 21 games on the 1861bforward is on pace for a For many involved, though, the NHL squad, managing four 45-point season with 27 goals. sledge hockey is just hockey. points. Four more years with the Whether he reaches those lofty "To me, this is regular hockey," Islanders lead to significant im- heights remains to be seen,_ but Doug Robb, president of the Brant provement, and he began to spend one thing is for sure, Tambellini is and District Sledge Hockey Assomore time in the big league, and taking it in stride. "Hockey, every ciation, explained. "To others, it's less time with the AHL farm club, day you think it's the last day," he different." the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. told the Vancouver Sun. ''But it's Robb first became involved Between seasons, Tambellini funny, one day you can feel like with the sport so his son Andrew, moved back to Vancouver, where nothing's going right for you and 26, who was born with spina bihe grew up. So when the Canucks then the next day you're playing fida, could play. Spina bifida is a offered him a two-way contract on with Daniel and Henrik Sedin. It's birth defect, caused when the emJuly 1, 2010, worth only $105,000, such a great ride. You have to take bryonic neural tube does not close he jumped at the chance to play for each day like that." completely. the team he had idolized as a child.

"Hockey has been a way of life

for me," said Robb, a former referee with the Ontario Hockey Association.

Andrew Robb played his first season in Mississauga, Ont. before \)is parents heard about teams in Hamilton, where they went on to become involved for almost two decades.

According to Robb, this team is also fully integrated. Some have cerebral palsy, some spina bifida and others cannot walk due to accidents or viruses. Women play alongside men, and even people who can walk are allowed to play. "!We have] one of everybody, one of everything," Robb said.

Teams are allowed three ablebodied players, though only two can be on the ice at a time; some, however, have none. The rule was first introduced as to ensure teams have enough players.

Clubs average 16 players, but injuries need to be accounted for.

Common infections like head colds can be more difficult for those with spinal injuries to recover from. Depending on the reason for the disability, surgeries may be more common.

The provision also allows siblings and parents to play, makiRg the sport accessible to those without disabilities.

As Dan Fador, who has played the sport for 15 years and came from the Hamilton teams, said, "[I] can only foresee it getting bigger."

I ' j

FRIDAY,JANUARY 7th, 2011

www.ufvcascade.ca

Heat Reoort

15

The Winter Classic

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JUSTIN ORLEWIU SPORTS EDITOR

I

t's been a while since you have had your Abbotsford Heat update due to the holidays, so I will fill you in on what you missed.

The month of December was a very important month for the Heat due to all the divisional match ups that they had to endure to stay competitive with the rest of the North Division and stay in the playoff race. The Heat played eight of their thirteen games in December against divisional rivals and needed to have a strong month.

However, December was a very mediocre month for the Heat.

They started the month off with three straight losses but followed them up with three straight wins.

They then lost one more game before getting back into the win column, essentially trading losses and wins to start the month off.

After their .500 start to the month of Deceinber, the Heat went on a five-game losing skid to cap off the Christmas month. Maybe they should have asked Santa for an-

other winning streak. After their string of losses in December, they dropped down from sitting comfortably in second place in the division to a dismal sixth place, with only the Rochester Americans sitting below them.

However, this isn't the end of the world for the Abbotsford Heat.

They are still only four points out of their former second place standing and have two huge games coming up against the- Manitoba Moose. Two wins against the Moose could have the Heat right back where they want to be.

Sweeping the Manitoba Moose at home is very crucial to their success.

The play of Matt Keith has slowed down, but the return of Mikael Backlund from the strug-

gling Calgary Flames could give the Heat a much needed offensive boost for the club. Having Backlund as a new linemate could be just what Keith needs to rekindle his previous hot streak.

The Heat also have an eight game home stretch that could easily help them get back to their winning ways. The Heat have home series with the Manitoba Moose, the last place Adirondack Phantoms, the Toronto Marlies, and the Peoria Rivermen. Four wins over the Moose and the Marlies could put "them right back in the drivers seat.

The next Heat home games you JUSTIN ORLEWIUfields. They decided to give it one can catch start on the weekend SPORTS EDITOR more go; this time, though, they against the Adirondack Phantoms, January 7, and then their series would put the league's premiere with the Toronto Marlies starts on he Winter Classic has become players team against the then red January 14 at the AESC. Rememthe signature event for the hot Buffalo Sabers. Despite a few ber to look for student deals for "new'' NHL, when it made its game stops to scrape the snow off these games, the Heat need the debut in Buffalo at Ralph Wilson the ice, the game was a wild suchometown support. The Abbots- stadium in 2008 where the Buf- cess, and at that instant, the Winford Heat currently have a record falo Sabers faced off against the ter Classic was born and became of 16-16-1-3.For more insider info Pittsburgh Penguins. Since 2008, an: annual event. The AHL does on the Abbotsford Heat and other the Winter Classic has seen the outdoor games every year and so hockey news, follow me on Twitter Detroit Red Wings play the Chi- does the NCAA; outdoor games @ JustinOrly. cago Blackhawks at historic Wrig- have become the hottest hockey gly Field in Chicago, and then the ticket around next to the Stanley Broad Street Bullies from Philadel- Cup. phia faced off against the Bruins This year the game was played at the cathedral of Boston, Fenway at Heinz field in Pittsburgh at the Park. However, this is not the first home of the Steelers. The game series of outdoor games that the was between the Pittsburgh Penhockey world has encountered; in guins and the Washington Capithe 50s the Russian's had an out- tals and was being dubbed Crosby door hockey game. Let's also not versus Ovechkin. Despite rain forget that the game originated forecasts, higher than usual temon outdoor ponds and arenas. The peratures for Pittsburgh, and an 8 outdoor game didn't make a come- hour delay, the game went down. b!lck to the hockey world until I was lucky enough to attend the 2001 when the Michigan Wolver- game and see what all the commoines faced off against their arch ri- tion was about for myself. Capitals vals, the Michigan State Spartans and Penguins fans flocked to the in NCAA division 1 action. The Steel City from every corner of the game was held at Spartan Stadium hockey world to see this epic outand set a world record for most door match up. Tail gate parties people to ever attend a hockey were at every corner of the city. I gamewith 74,544 in attendance even stumbled into a beer pong and was dubbed the "Cold War." tournament. A little bit of rain This gave the NHL an idea to wasn't going to get in the way of try it in the big leagues. The game this battle for the ages. The ice was was played in Edmonton at com- poor but sufficient, and the fans monwealth stadium between the were all about it regardless: they Montreal Canadians and the Ed- packed the stadium and screamed monton Oilers. 57,000fans showed at the top of their lungs until the up to the event but, because of the Capitals finally beat the Penguins extremely cold weather, it did not in their own temporary barn. The catch on for the NHL right away. streets of Pittsburgh turned into This did not foil any other at- a giant after-party, regardless of tempts at outdoor hockey games; the colors you were wearing. This swim is just to get in the water. in 2006 the Ohio State Buckeyes game truly has become the NHL's Perhaps they would make the trek played their NCAA rival, the signature event: even HBO did a to Vancouver for the "real" thing, Wisconsin Badgers, at the Holy 24/7 series for the event, which is but it's too far. A small amount of Lambeau Field in Green Bay to a usually reserved for boxing alone. internet research tells me that a crowd of 40,000. The NHL finally The Winter Classic has become the group of about 25 people in Chilli- realized that there was money to next best thing to the Super Bowl wack jumped off the dock at Cul- made by hosting outdoor hockey in the United States of America, tus Lake for their polar bear tradi- games in football and baseball and the fans love it! tion.

Whatever the draw is, the polar bear swim brings crowds and raises money for good causes. The Cascade's possibly-insane Editorin-Chief Jed Minor attended this year's Vancouver polar bear swim, which he described as "fun and refreshing," and said that it had the affect of recharging his otherwise tired self. So maybe the polar bear swim isn't a weird sport after all, but a tradition of people striving to make a memorable January 1, whatever the zany cost may be. People leave behind the old year on the beach as they enter the shocking cold water, and they subsequently enter a new year with new challenges which they are well equipped to face.

Sports You've Never Heard Of:

Polar Bear Swim SOPHIE ISBISTER STAFFWRITER eal polar bears don't mind the R cold. Perhaps that's what the human fans of yearly polar bear swims are trying to attain with the annual tr,adition of hurling themselves into freezing water.

In Canada, the polar bear swim (also known as polar bear plunge or dip) is celebrated on New Year's Day. At the Vancouver polar bear swim, most participants register, although they don't have to. Registering, which includes a donation of food to the Food Bank, gets you a small amount of swag and the fuzzy feeling that your contribution is going to people in need.

But is this fuzzy feeling enough to keep you warm in the wintry water? In short, no: most polar bear swim participants leave the beach shortly after the dip for the warmth of their showers or hot tubs.

Despite this, the event, which has been going on in Vancouver since 1920, draws at least 1,000 registered participants, while looky-loos who don't take the plunge number among the tens of thousands. Similar events are held across Canada on January 1 in places ranging from Edmonton, Alberta all the way to Saint John's,.

Newfoundland. Also popular in Ontario and Quebec, it's clear that frigid temperatures are no deterrent for arctic ursine wannabes nationwide.

There is no competition involved in the polar bear swim: you win as soon as you enter the water,

even if you promptly run back to dry land and warm towel, yelling obscenities. The point of the polar bear swim is to start the new year doing something challenging.

And in the cold Canadian winters, willingly entering the water is definitely challenging. It's a way for people to show the new year that they're not going to take any crap, that they have the mental strength to face difficulties, and that they have the tenacity to hold on through whatever may come.

Or, maybe it's just an excuse to run screaming into the ocean with thousands of gawking onlookers.

For some, the polar bear swim is simply about the first swim of the year. In fact, in Abbotsford it's hard to find a publicized outdoor dip; the Abbotsford Recreation Centre and the Matsqui Recreation Centre both offer what they call "polar bear swims," but they are held in the balmy indoor pool at nearly tropical temperatures.

For attendees of these events, perhaps the draw of the polar bear

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www.ufvcascade.ca

FRIDAY,JANUARY7th, 2011

The mysteries of volleyball: Q&A with Brynden MacTavish

PAUL ESAU and the rest of the UFV student STAFF WRITER body.

Q ver the last few months, I've spent some quality time in the Envision Athletic Centre, watching the UFV Men's Volleyball team compete against some of the best talent in 8.C. While appreciating the intricacies of high-level volleyball, I've also been formulating a list of questions about the sport and its more enigmatic elements.

The following are some of these questions, the ones that don't generally get asked about the game and its participants.

Many thanks to UFV Men's Volleyball player Brynden MacTavish for taking the time to provide some "inside" answers for me

in place of a "less skilled" defensive player.

Whatrule wouldyouadd If youhad to explainthe to the game of volleyballif game of volleyballto, say,a youwere allowedto make a bunchof prehistorictribeschange? men in three or four sentences, whatwouldyou say?

Being allowed to try and block You have three touches to get the ball over the net however you want, but you can't catch it - and a different person much touch the ball after every touch.

Whatis a liberoand what purposedoeshe/she serve in the game?

A libero is a defensive specialist who comes into the game in the back row to pass and play defense

UPCOMING

Whatis, in your opinion,the best part of volleyball?In essence,whatseparatesit from othersports?

Most team sports have an aspect where one dominant player can control the game, but volleyball is total team game considering how no player can touch the

UFV GAMES

Women'sBasketball Men'sBasketball Jan14: UFVvs. Alberta@EAC @6:00p.m.

Jan14: UFVvs. Alberta@EAC @8:00 p.m.

Jan15: UFVvs. Alberta@EAC @5:00 p.m.

Jan 15: UFVvs. Alberta@EAC @7:00p.m.

Men'sVolleyball

Woman'sVolleyball

Jan27: UFVvs. CBC@EAC@ 7:45 p.m.

Jan27: UFVvs. CBC@ EAC@

6:00 p.m.

or spike a serve would be interesting.

UFVMen'sHockey Club(B.C.I.H.L.) Jan9: UFVvs. Okanagan Co~ lege@ AESC@ 5:00 p.m *EAC= EnvisionAthleticCenter (oncampus) * AESC=AbbotsfordEntertai1rmentandSportsCenter(on campus)

ball twice in a row. Even if a team has a dominant hitter they need good passing and setting to even get him the ball, and teams can easily pick on a weak link, so the six players on the floor need to play well together.

Describea trick playthat you'vealwaysadmiredor wantedto use in an actual game.

Another guy on our team and I spent 15 minutes one time trying to see if we could set middle by letting the ball pass through our hands and heading it up like soccer.. .it was almost impossible to control, and I would never dream of using it in a game.

Whatis, in your opinion,the

worstpart of volleyball?

'

Easy, getting "packed" (ball to face).. .it's humiliating; luckily it's only happened to me once.

Shareyour opinionon the currentNCAApushto make spandexshortsmandatory Men'sandWomen'svolleyball teams. Do you believe spandexwouldbe an assetto your game?

I've heard a bit about it, and I have to say I wouldn't be a fan of it for guys without actual shorts over top for obvious reasons. I personally do wear spandex (compression shorts) under my actual shorts, and I find them helpful and comfortable for playing.